A Storm By Any Other Name

Is Still a Storm!

   Well, as you have rightfully guessed, it has been some time since we have last updated this site! I would like to place the fault on two individuals named Fay and Gonzalo! Fay was a tropical storm that was suppose to "brush Bermuda" on Saturday October 11th. It not only "brushed" Bermuda it struck us with a wallop! Anything under 75 mph is supposed to be a tropical storm. Fay hit us with wind bursts that some measured at 125mph. Needless to say come Sunday morning the power was out and the majority of roads on the Island were impassable. I tried to drive from my home to the church and finally had to turn back. Thankfully, the telephone was still working and so calls went out notifying people that they were to stay at home "no  church today." We were very fortunate at the manse in that the power came back on later Sunday afternoon! Most of the following week government crews and private contractors were kept busy clearing the Island's roadways. St Andrews Church was fortunate in that besides branches and debri on the lawn the only other damage was that we lost our church sign (multiplied into several pieces).

   Following Fay the local weather service warned us that one named Gonzalo was on the way. Gonzalo was listed as a Hurricane category 4 (right up there at the top). The word was out that Bermuda was in its direct line of approach with winds that could easily top 125 mph and higher. Jill and I like every other resident in Bermuda closed our shutters and stocked up on all the essentials. Gonzalo arrived Friday afternoon and our power promptly went out (again). The eye of the storm settled right over Bermuda. Now in the eye of a storm (as we all know) there is a great calm. The winds stopped and the sea was calm but only for an hour. On the other side of the eye the winds can get far worse and Gonzalo was not about to disappoint us! On more than one occasion the house would shake. We had an electric shutter that we closed over our living room window well before the storm's arrival. Other windows in the home were closed with manual shutters. By 3:30 in the morning Gonzalo had left our shores on a course north east of the Island.

   The aftermath of Gonzalo meant that Island cleanups had to begin all over again! It is now over a week following the storm and trucks can still be seen moving trees, branches etc. etc. to the local landfill site. Once again we are thankful that our church, our home and the homes of many of our friends were spared. But guess what? WE ARE STILL WITHOUT POWER! We are one home of about 3000 that still remains without the luxury of power. Because we have no power our generator has been powering our fridge and Jill and I are eating still by candlelight. Our electric shutter remains in the down position because we don't have the power to reverse it. The latest word is that we may remain without power for another week. I am fortunate in being able to update our website from the church which never lost its power. There has got to be a sermon in that!

Blessings
Rev. John

Prayer Full of Tears

Prayer Full of Tears

  Prayer Full of Tears sounds rather strange doesn’t it? We have heard of a “Bucket Full of Tears” perhaps but what is a “Prayer Full of Tears?” Allow me to elaborate. Just a little over a week ago I attended the monthly meeting of the Bermuda Bible Society where two years ago they made me vice chair! Following our meeting a few of us began chatting about the terrible conditions in Iraq and Syria. The radical group Isis who claim Northern Syria and also a large segment of northern Iraq are on the move for yet more territory. They hate the West and anything to do with the West. They hate Christianity and any Christians they capture are given the ultimatum, “Renounce Christ or die.” Christians are being persecuted like never before. Christians and many others are being shot, beheaded and crucified! Captured women and young girls are being sold and exchanged as sex slaves. We cannot begin to imagine the stress that the people here are under. Getting back to our Bible Society meeting one member shared with the rest of us about a message that had been received by a Christian missionary in northern Syria. He could apply for evacuation (possibly) but he said, “How can I leave my people in such a great time of need?” He went on to say that he spends all of his days on his knees shedding tears in prayer.” I suspect that many buckets full of tears have been shed for our brothers and sister in Christ who live in Syria, Iraq and Iran.

   So what are we to do? Well, we can certainly pray for them that God will give strength for his children to stand firm. The report is that they are standing firm even as they are being slaughtered. As important as it is to pray for them I would also pray that President Obama along with leaders of other nations would send their armies in to destroy this terrorist group which is none other than an army of Satan. We need boots on the ground not just planes in the air and we need it to take place now.

   God loves to hear our prayers but there are times when “army boots” can be the answer to the prayers offered and I firmly believe that this is one such time.

Rev. John Fraser