Thunder, Lightning - and JANE

Well my friends - things have been jumping!
Last weekend started with an incredible period of thunder and lightning and monsoon rain.  We have seen the power of hurricanes - and they are fierce - but a quick gale or the arrival of a strong weather front can let you know the power of Mother Nature just as well.

From Friday night to Sunday morning we must have lost power 5 or 6 times with lightning strikes that actually made the window panes shudder.  Saturday morning at 6AM there was a crack of lightning that must have been directly over the church!

Our problem when we lose power is that we also lose water.  The water system in our township uses electric pumps to pump the water throughout the town and (in our case) uphill.  The end result is that every now and then our shower is more like a birdbath in the sink.  We have about 8 gallons of water in gallon bottles under the bathroom sink for this purpose (and to flush the toilet). 

During the day on Saturday it was a typical Bahamian summer day - hot and humid!  Ginni really feels the heat and planted herself in front of our bedroom air conditioner (the only air conditioner).  We finally headed out to the US NAVY AUTEC Navy Base for Saturday evening service, the first of the weekend.

When we got home, after having spent so many hours in the air conditioned Navy Chapel, the house felt particularly hot.  Ginni washed up as best she could with no water, and as I peeled off my sweat-dampened clothes, the phone rang.  It was the family of one of our home-bound parishioners.  Jane has been going downhill for months and they felt this was the end.  She had been carried to the clinic and they asked if we could meet them there.  Gin and I ot dressed again and by 8:30 we were with her at the clinic.

Jane is really the matriarch of our parish in Fresh Creek.  In her early 90s she is the oldest person in the parish and, over the last year, has suffered a series of small strokes.  The last month has been particularly difficult, her family is financially challenged and her living conditions were very hard, especially with the power outages.  We were able to bring a battery-operated fan to give her some relief and, with Ginni's nursing experience, she was able to give advice to help them care for her.  On this night, however, it was clear that the end was near.

When we arrived at the clinic the waiting room was packed with Jane's adult grandchildren, as well as the great and great-great grandchildren.  Ginni and I were able to get by her side and I knelt next to the bed, caressed her head, and prayed with her, and the immediate family that was in the room.  There were many tears and, from the waiting room, we could hear the wailing of otheres grieving for Momma.

The Doc asked if we could clear the room so he could attach leads to monitor her condition and, when we did, it gave us a chance to explain to the family her condition and what the Doc was doing.  A bit later we were invited back in and we set up a system where 3-4 at a time, the entire crowd could come in and pray with Momma and see her.

After a few hours everyone seemed calmer, Jane was clearly fading, but there was not much more we could do so we said our goodbyes and left to try to get some sleep before we started our Sunday services.

Sunday morning at 7, the phone rang to tell us Jane had passed at 6.  Our first liturgy is at 830 so I had time to run over and pray with the family, comfort them, and let them know that the Church would do whatever we could to help them.  Then I jumped back into the van and got back just in time for the 830.  Then it was off to Cargill Creek for the 1130, then back to Fresh Creek, doing a few communion calls of other sick parishioners on the way.  On the porch of one of those sick parishioners a car pulled up - it was Jane's grandson who would be making arrangements.  We talked a bit and he headed off to meet with the family.

Planning a funeral here has its challenges - first, we have no mortician on the island so all the bodies are shipped to Nassau.  Then, depending upon the finances of the family, the body is either buried in Nassau or shipped back to Andros on the ferry for the funeral here.  Shipping the body back is not cheap.  You have to pay for the hearse, the funeral director's staff, et. al. AND for their trip back to Nassau.  Many families simply bury the body in Nassau and I am more than happy to take the short flight to Nassau to participate in the funeral liturgy and internment.  We should hear shortly what the family decides to do in Jane's case.

Today is Monday, a holiday in the Bahamas - Emancipation Day - the day the British Empire outlawed slavery - a big deal if you know the history of the Bahamas.

Tomorrow the Royal Bahamas Police Force will be starting a week-long day camp for Bahamian children on Andros.  I have been asked to do the opening 'Devotional' - about a 30 minute time slot with song, bible readings and a refletion (for 6-16 year olds).  I've been thinking about what I'll do and I'm planning on starting with a little Simon Says - then making the connection that you have to do was Simon says to win, but in life we have to do was God says.  We'll see, I still have tonight to put the finishing touches on whatever I'll do.  No clue on how many kids will be there, which makes planning what to do difficult.  Simon says for 50 kids I can handle - for 150 kids is a different story.

Till next time.
F.