Trip Report VII - A River Runs Through It
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Posted by Paul King on November 21, 1999 at 08:00:47:
About ten days after the storm had struck the Abaco's our relief crew of seven prepared to leave Elbow Cay. Members of my church, the Unitarian Church of Charleston, had donated funds to help with the purchase of relief supplies, mostly chainsaws, tarps, and oil. Our crew included Elbow Cay property owners and concerned individuals from Iowa, Chicago, Conneticuit, and Pennsicola. We had helped clear power lines and fallen trees, removed debris from Hope Town, inventoried the existing medical supplies which were merged with our own donated medical supplies, and in general did anything that helped with the recovery effort. Our chartered flight departing from Marsh Harbour neccessitated us having to leave Hope Town on the 11:30 AM ferry. I wanted to present our donated materials to the Methodist Church at the 11 AM service. The Lay Minister, Vernon Malone, welcomed the opportunity for us to meet with his congregation even though we would have to depart early from the service. The materials were set in the church which sits on a very large bare coral outcropping that extends forty feet into the Atlantic. The church had suffered major roof damage and resulting water damage but this particular Sunday would be the second service in the church since the storm. This pretty white church has two very large windows looking out toward the ocean. One of the windows was nailed shut with plywood but the other window was open to the purple/blue sea crashing against the coral outcropping behind the church, the white spray of the waves clearly visible from inside the church. The wounds from the storm were still fresh. Vernon started the service by saying "Last Sunday, I said we were devastated but not destroyed. And, I repeat that this week. We have been devastated but not destroyed..." Sighs, and deep, sporadic breathing, and an occassional sob filled the quiet church on this beautiful morning. The gathered sat in their own thoughts while the eternal waves continued to crash against the rocks. Several nights before, our crew had been awakened at 1 AM with screams of "fire, fire!!" There had been a fire in the middle of Hope Town that had consumed three houses and caused the brave people of Hope Town to simply wonder what curse had befallen them. From the house we were staying in half way up the hill to Hope Town Harbour Lodge it looked like all of Hope Town was on fire as the flames shot twenty to thirty feet over the rooftops. The Hope Town Volunteer Fire and Rescue had worked for several hours to contain the fire, drawing their water from hoses and pumps set in the ocean. Drawing their strength and courage from God knows where... After several moments of silence in the church, Vernon introduced me to the congregation and I stepped to the front. I explained how my congregation had taken a special collection and how I was honored to present the fruits of this collection to their congregation to be passed on to the brave and committed Hope Town Fire and Rescue. I introduced one of the members of our relief crew, Cary Tolley from Connectuicuit. Cary stood at the front of this quiet gathering of souls and shared his vision of the power of hope. In his soft and powerful way, with a tender smile, he concluded with the words "It's gonna be OK .... it's gonna be OK..." We shook hands with Vernon and left the church for the short walk to the ferry. It was so difficult to leave with so much to be done. A couple of days after the fire in Hope Town I had walked by the remains of the homes that had been burned. Several children were playing on the concrete steps that had led to one of the houses. As I got a few more houses away I heard them singing the alphabet song. I turned and saw these four or five children standing on the steps of this burned out home, framed by the charred remains of the door, singing the ABC's... including "Now tell me what you think of me." What is there to think... these people are tough and I knew that they would find a way.
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