St. Bess - The Return

[Diplomat]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BlueAngel</div><div class="ubbcode-body">



<span style="font-size: 14pt"><span style="font-weight: bold">Is that you CEW?</span></span> </div></div>
Er, no - I was behind the camera for all these pics That is Pastor Devon - another fine young pastor whom I had also met in '07. And I did tell him I loved the outfit

[Diplomat]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Compray</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: CEW</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
The greatest miracle - a surrendered life

</div></div>
What a beautiful sight.</div></div>
It really is, and we saw it every night we were there. Thanks for dropping in.

[applepie]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

<span style="font-weight: bold">also read recently that &quot;wealth is not just about money. It is about people, relationships, values, and certainly about family.</span>

Replace wealth with prosperity............remind me of Compray's question.......so true

[Sinco01]

Re: St. Bess - The Return


I'm waiting to find out what happened on Friday night .. and why ! ? ?

[Compry]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: CEW</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
It really is, and we saw it every night we were there. Thanks for dropping in. </div></div>

Praise God. That is what it's all about.

[Diplomat]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Sinco01</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
I'm waiting to find out what happened on Friday night .. and why ! ? ?

</div></div>
Stay tuned. Friday night came into perspective on Sunday, and I still have a bit of ground to cover before I get to it.

[Diplomat]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Compray</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: CEW</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
It really is, and we saw it every night we were there. Thanks for dropping in. </div></div>
Praise God. That is what it's all about. </div></div>
As you mention that, on Friday night one of the pastors asked of all the new believers, who wanted to be baptized. As some of the hands went up, we heard a male voice from the back, &quot;Pastor, can I say something? I have something to say.&quot; Prudently, the minister replied, &quot;Come up here and tell me first&quot;, and the man obliged. After a short conversation between them, allowed to speak, the man said, rather animatedly: &quot;Pastor, wi wan' fi baptize but we caan jus' baptize soh. Some a wi haffi guh home an' tek care a some tings, clean up di mess, get wi life strate, <span style="font-style: italic">dennnnnn</span> we can' baptize.&quot; We all had a good laugh, especially at how he emphasized/stretched out the &quot;dennnnn&quot;, but I admired his 'theology'. He knew that saying &quot;Yes&quot; meant there were things that had to be left behind.

[Diplomat]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

Saturday morning, and two teams members were leaving us as they had to be back in Toronto. We breakfasted and fellowshipped together before they left out for the drive to Montego Bay. One other team member was leaving for Kngston, so by midday we were down to four. I would leave on Monday for Kingston, two others would leave that day to catch return flights to Toronto &amp; Charlotte, and the last person would be visiting with family and friends in Malvern, and staying until the following Monday.

It was a down day for us, and thankfully so. It had started to rain heavily, and from the gusts of wind I could tell this was no passing shower. The rain fell, and fell, and fell - a tropical depression had blanketed the whole island. At different times, the hotel lost electricity though the standby generator provided some lighting. I really didn't mind what was going on because the sound of rain beating down on the roof was like music to my ears. Evening came, and it was still raining. By this time I had passed the time watching the one channel that was still available, reading, and chatting with my sisters on the phone. But I was hungry, and figured I would go check with the rest to see if they were ready to eat. Stepping down from the bed, I realized I had stepped into about an inch of water. My room was flooded!

&quot;Oh, really cool&quot;, I thought. Opening the door, portions of the hallway was under water. A pool had settled in front of my door and another was settling in front of a team member's room. I alerted him, and we placed all the available towels by the door to trap the water. That was a futile exercise \o/ I decided to go down to the reception to alert the office staff and to see if they could move me to another room on the main floor, but the ones on duty were fighting their own battles. Water had come through an unfinished room that was facing the ocean, and the lobby was under water! Water was pouring through window cracks, down the stairs, in the dining room one floor down, and the mops and buckets they were using was like fighting a forest fire with a garden hose! We offered to help, but the water was coming in much, much faster than we could get it out. The best bet was for a break in the rain

Along with two other persons whom we did not see during all the excitement, we were the only guests at the time. So barefooted and sloshing around in water, we laughed and chatted with the staff. What else was there to do? Back on the second floor, I discovered that my side of the hallway was being flooded by water coming from the room across from mine. One of the girls checked, and sure enough, the sliding doors in that room - facing the ocean and from which direction the wind was blowing - were open. Quick checks in the other rooms on that side of the floor showed the same thing!

It was late when the manager and his assistant arrived, and the rain had subsided. I have to give them kudos for how efficiently they got things done. They had a very broad squeezee that they used to push the water out of the rooms (the floors were marble-like), into the hallways, where some huge mops and wringer buckets were used to mop it up. In about an hour, one could hardly tell we were just about flooded out

They were extremely apologetic, but we were very light-hearted about it. This was a first for me, but I quite liked it. It was Just another experience in what had been a memorable trip so far.

More later...

[Sinco01]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: CEW</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Saturday morning, and two teams members were leaving us as they had to be back in Toronto. We breakfasted and fellowshipped together before they left out for the drive to Montego Bay. One other team member was leaving for Kngston, so by midday we were down to four. I would leave on Monday for Kingston, two others would leave that day to catch return flights to Toronto &amp; Charlotte, and the last person would be visiting with family and friends in Malvern, and staying until the following Monday.

It was a down day for us, and thankfully so. It had started to rain heavily, and from the gusts of wind I could tell this was no passing shower. The rain fell, and fell, and fell - a tropical depression had blanketed the whole island. At different times, the hotel lost electricity though the standby generator provided some lighting. <span style="font-weight: bold">I really didn't mind what was going on because the sound of rain beating down on the roof was like music to my ears</span>. Evening came, and it was still raining. By this time I had passed the time watching the one channel that was still available, reading, and chatting with my sisters on the phone. But I was hungry, and figured I would go check with the rest to see if they were ready to eat. Stepping down from the bed, I<span style="font-weight: bold"> realized I had stepped into about an inch of water.</span> My room was flooded!

&quot;Oh, really cool&quot;, I thought. Opening the door, portions of the hallway was under water. A pool had settled in front of my door and another was settling in front of a team member's room. I alerted him, and we placed all the available towels by the door to trap the water. That was a futile exercise \o/ I decided to go down to the reception to alert the office staff and to see if they could move me to another room on the main floor, but the ones on duty were fighting their own battles. Water had come through an unfinished room that was facing the ocean, and the lobby was under water! Water was pouring through window cracks, down the stairs, in the dining room one floor down, and the mops and buckets they were using was like fighting a forest fire with a garden hose! We offered to help, but the water was coming in much, much faster than we could get it out. The best bet was for a break in the rain

Along with two other persons whom we did not see during all the excitement, we were the only guests at the time. <span style="font-weight: bold">So barefooted and sloshing around in water, we laughed and chatted with the staff. What else was there to do</span>? Back on the second floor, I discovered that my side of the hallway was being flooded by water coming from the room across from mine. One of the girls checked, and sure enough, the sliding doors in that room - facing the ocean and from which direction the wind was blowing - were open. Quick checks in the other rooms on that side of the floor showed the same thing!

It was late when the manager and his assistant arrived, and the rain had subsided. I have to give them kudos for how efficiently they got things done. They had a very broad squeezee that they used to push the water out of the rooms (the floors were marble-like), into the hallways, where some huge mops and wringer buckets were used to mop it up. In about an hour, one could hardly tell we were just about flooded out

They were extremely apologetic, but we were very light-hearted about it. <span style="font-weight: bold">This was a first for me, but I quite liked it. It was Just another experience in what had been a memorable trip so far.</span>

More later... </div></div>

Kudos ..

some folks would have been quite upset ..
probably cussin mad ..

[Diplomat]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Sinco01</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Kudos ..

some folks would have been quite upset ..
probably cussin mad .. </div></div>
That much is true As someone once said, difficult times doesn't necessarily make or break people, but simply reveal who they are. At the time I kept thinking that the way we dealt with the situation was just as important a witness as anything else we had done on the trip, and reminded the rest of our team members of that as well. Plus, I had no idea when I'd get the chance again to walk around barefooted and sloshing in water in a partially flooded hotel. When life hands you a lemon, you make lemonade. It really was cool

[Diplomat]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

This was taken in mid-afternoon while the wind was howling. Look closely and see the bend in the leaves/branches and in the archway.


A grainy TV pic of Tommy Cowan, who at the time was being interview on a gospel program. Here he was talking about Bob Marley, and confirmed that Bob told him that he was baptized in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Very interesting discussion about his (TC's) involvement in Jamaican music, his conversion to christianity in 1996, and how he and wife Carlene Davis continue to impact the gospel music scene through their Vessel Ministries.


Sunday morning - things looking normal. Look closely, and the three &quot;dots&quot; you see are actually ships out at sea waiting to get into the bauxite port.

[Diplomat]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

Sunday morning was a bit windy but gorgeous. The tropical depression had moved on, and one could hardly tell it had rained almost non-stop all of Saturday. We would branch out to different churches for that morning service, but I didn't think the tent could have &quot;survived&quot; the windy onslaught of the past 24 hours. A couple of phone calls later, and it was confirmed that it hadn't. There would be no tent service that night. The organizers had to go to Plan-B, and the team of 60 that would come in after us, from the States, would be deployed in the churches starting Tuesday.

Our leg of the mission was over, but my thoughts went to the community and the very successful week we had shared with them. The tent had become their rallying point, a part of who they were. To my delight, the organizers assured that it would be back up once they got it repaired. They had committed to it being there for four weeks, and they would honor that commitment to the community.

Rewind to Friday night. The appreciation for our mission team after that service wasn't planned that way. It was to have taken place on Sunday night, but earlier in the day the organizers &quot;were led&quot; to do it that night so the guys leaving on Saturday could have been a part of it. That was a part of why it was our longest service of the week! But more importantly was the sensitivity of the Pastoral team in going ahead with what was impressed upon them. Had they waited until Sunday night, Friday's thanks and goodbyes would not have been possible. Collectively we felt that given the way the community had embraced us, it would have been a tremendous disappointment if we had left without those minutes of chatting and fellow-shipping with the people there that night.

So on Sunday night, with no service to go to, we headed back to the Chinese restaurant in Junction, with the AOG's Regional Superintendent and his wife. Dinner was great, and they insisted we had to go to a food shop across the street to try the Dragon Stout ice cream. I took a pass, but the rest indulged.

What caught my attention however was the improvised &quot;drivein theater&quot; in front of me. The pic below was the best I could get; I opted not to use a flash just in case their was anyone in the crowd that would have reacted in less than friendly ways.



Basically, someone had tied a white plastic sheet on the handrail on the upper floor of the building. In front of it, look closely and you see a pickup truck. It had a projector on top of its roof, and in the open back was a large speaker, and I assume, the DVD equipment, and the guy operating it. In cars and standing around were quite a number of people watching the night's featured movie &quot;Really cool&quot;, I thought; community entertainment at its finest If that wasn't enough, the best part of all this was that it was taking place right across the road from the Police Station

[Diplomat]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

Monday morning. Up early as usual, I opened the door to the balcony and was greeted by some of the most beautiful of sky views I've ever seen.



The clouds were shifting fairly quickly, providing a different view every few minutes.






These about an hour later...




More later...

[Laurel]

Re: St. Bess - The Return



what a wonderful thread this is ... haffi come back later for a proper read ...

[Hush Darlin]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: CEW</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Monday morning. Up early as usual, I opened the door to the balcony and was greeted by some of the most beautiful of sky views I've ever seen.



The clouds were shifting fairly quickly, providing a different view every few minutes.






These about an hour later...




More later... </div></div>
these are very beautiful pictures
awesome
Morning has broken