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Georges: Sept. 22, 1998Santo Domingo The first misty drizzle comes whispering in from the north but we know his eye is fixed on us from the east. This is just the caress of his fingertips fondling the fertile tropical surfaces of our land. His breath is sweet and cooler than usual but as trees slap back in resistance he becomes irritated. His brow, looming above, darkens and he hurls handfuls of watery darts which stutter across windowpanes and begin to tatter the gentle leaves of the smaller plants. The deceiving and intimate whisper degenerates into a more honest and characteristic hiss. He buffets and batters in horizontal outbursts of fury followed by ever shorter moments of calm contrition and loving strokes. His arms circle disdainfully in from the Atlantic and he slings anything that comes to hand in wild arcs. The air fills with the detritus of his tirade. The verdant and fruit laden Avocado is first striped of its produce and then slammed to the ground in shameful disarray. She is followed by the forty five foot white orchid who leans battered and weary on the shoulder of one neighbor's house for a while before he returns to kick her down into the backyard of another. She clings virtuously to her roots and drags the retaining wall down with her. He rages in triumph overhead before tuning to the Fish Tail Palm trailing graceful strings of nuts and providing refuge and nesting to several birds. Unable to shake her footing, he scatters the nests from her hair and with one slicing stroke breaks her neck. Agonizing, her head slumps to our roof crushing the now naked bougainvillea. As he draws along side us to north, he seems to pause and eye us. Not satisfied, he lashes his tail in from the sea to the south with whip like velocity. He pours a horizontal waterfall through our tropical iron work and screens and halfway through the house. We reposition furniture and try to stay dry. He pounds in vain at the terrazzo and stone floors and is frustrated in his voracious search for carpets all rolled and hidden. He plasters the walls with leaves but finds only barren screws and nails as the works of art are stacked into windowless closets. Seeking revenge, he rattles windowpanes and shreds cloth from awning skeletons leaving only dangling kite tails. His back draft begins to diminish as he turns form us and blusters on westward. There are still roof drains to unplug and water to sweep from the house. We venture out to see that streets are blocked with trees and deserted. The power outage continues but we are thankful for brown water flowing from our taps. The calls and emails begin as we check on others and they on us. David, Nicole, Hunter, Andrea, Violeta (our maids) and a friend of theirs hunkered down with us as Georges looked in on us. The carpets are in their places and the art is hanging out again. Hunter and the dogs are feeling the normalcy of things in place. It is when the world (either natural or political) rages that you realize that our only hiding place in under the wing of our Lord. Oh sure, we peek out every now and then but true security is only in Him. He either protects or takes us home. In either instance we live in His peace in the midst of the storms. So, when the hurricanes come, look ‘em in the eye and trust the Lord. Yours, Willie "I find the doing of the will of God leaves me no time for disputing about His plans." HURRICANE GEORGES/DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Bulletin from Willie Hunter: "All MMI personnel in the DR are well. All suffered property damage. All projects will go on as scheduled. The Santana Center was closer to the eye of Georges, hit harder than the city of Santo Domingo and suffered damages of about US $110,000. Santana's staff are well but suffered personal property damage of about US $10,000 total. The Center is up and running and repairs are being done. We are thankful for your prayers and that God protected us to be able to continue to serve in His name." The Santana Center Administrator can be reached at 809.473-5300; 809.472-3380 or 809.473-1593. The entire island is involved in the destruction and many areas will be without power for months. Crops and homes are blown away. The Lord protected all our Santana staff, who left their families and came to the hospital to help. There are no lights or water. The 250k hospital generator must be replaced. Fifty trees are down, some on the guest house. The big blue van is battered and a truck needs replacing. The new construction for the pediatric hospital is hardest hit. The nearby barrio of La Union is completely wiped out. The roof flew off the "Chicken Hilton" where furnishings are battered and mattresses soaked. At Santana Center some damage is obvious (the mammogram machine and one computer are standing in water), and personnel have not tried to turn on any medical or OR equipment. Roof leaks are being repaired. The library is dry, and the warehouse is intact. We begin regular clinic hours on Monday and will be treating injuries as well. |
