Power, Water & Money

Well it was about two weeks but it looks like the power is back. Having electricity impacts us in the obvious ways, but the fact that the town's water supply is dependent upon electricity to run the pumps means when we lose power we lose water too.

We still wrestle with water and water pressure, but having electricity is a good thing. Just to give you some idea of the water pressure issue. Ginni has actually been able to count the number of holes in the shower head while taking a shower (36) and the number of holes with water leaking out (5).

When Ginni was a growing up her family never had a shower. She grew up with a tub and washing her hair in the kitchen sink - well she has gone back to that and is much happier than what she was trying to wash her hair in the shower.

I have figured out that its not only the pressure of pumping the water up hill to the church, but also the way the plumbing in the house was installed. Pipes here run above ground since everything here is rock. Once the pipe from the street reaches the top of our driveway it was sunk under the church parking lot and re-surfaces on the church lawn. It then splits, with one line going to the church and the priest's weekend residence, and the other line going to our house/rectory. The pipe runs along the foundation then, for some unknown reason it was run up the side of the house to the roofline, around the back of the house, and into the bathroom.

Clearly the pressure can get it up the hill, but then to get it up the wall to the roofline and then to the show is a challenge for this system. Fixing it would be an expense not in anybody's budget.

Speaking of budget -
The Archdiocese of Nassau has an Annual Archdiocesan Appeal much like any other Archdiocese to support programs and needs beyond what parishes can support. Last year, of our 3 churches, 18 people contributed and we beat our $1,500 goal bringing in $1800. They have beat their goal consistently for the last few years but I was surprised that only 18 people had contributed.

We just finished this year's appeal and over 40 people contributed and we brought in just over $5,000. With the current economic climate this is outstanding. I am both proud of our parishioners and humbled by their generosity. This really is one of the better charitable efforts for Bahamians to help Bahamians.

The next effort will be to try to do a fund raising effort to upgrade the interior of some of our churches. The rugs at St. John's look like the original rugs as do the pews, several of which have significant termite damage. Termites are everywhere here and they are incredibly destructive. Hardwood seems to be safe, but soft pine or other soft woods are a favorite so often you might see doors or windowframes riddled with termite damage. Christ the King in Cargill Creek will need to be treated this year - yet another special collection.

Dealing with all the infrastructure related expenses is something I'd like to have the Bahamians take pride in funding on their own. We'll see if that's realistic or too optimistic on my part over time. From the conversations I have had I do believe that if specific needs are identified they'll pitch in. The challenge may be to identify the priority of what needs to be fixed first. Some may say we need to deal with the leaking roof in the priest residence, then the rugs, then the pews. Others may say the termite riddled pews should be first - it will be interesting.

With the children back in school, CCD is on our horizon. Ginni and I have spoken with a few book publishers and they've sent us samples. Setting up the curriculum for this year is almost settled and registration is well under way. CCD is a major task here and it takes a sizeable chunk of our time - pray for us - we'll need it!