Hello, and welcome to the September blog! It is almost the end of September and while the humidity is still an acute discomfort we are beginning to hope and give thanks that Grenada may have passed through the worst of the hurricane season. October will, of course, keep us guessing as to what Mother Nature may send our way but we have been promised that by the time we return from our vacation in Canada things will be cooler! Cooler for us will be days with much less humidity. To put all of this in perspective the Women's Group were planning Christmas at Belair P.C. last night. Christmas carols sung under the monumental magnificence of the tropical moon and stars. Holy night, silent night sung with reverence and just a hint of calypso gusto on the hill side? Christmas cake with a few grains of sand attached? Jesus' birth in the stable; the well used and somewhat ramshackle one at the end of the road? No matter what Jesus will be alive and well in our hearts on Christmas day. We'll pass on the snow and the white Christmas for this year!
The highlights of the month have been many. On a personal level the manse is finally together enough for us to move in the "heavy" furniture we have been buying as we saw things like bedding, fridge, stove, washing machine, etc. on "special" at the local version of a "furniture barn". We still cannot move in as there are essentials missing such as the piping to conduct the propane to the stove, bathroom fittings of all shapes and sizes, a tap in the kitchen which will reach all three of the sinks, a drainage ditch to prevent future flooding and a major clean up of the property to remove the builders debris and the accumulated garbage deposited on the lot over twenty-five years of non-usage. Then there is the "landscaping". Trees to be pruned, bushes to be trimmed, grass planted, etc. Grenadian time (see the July blog) is still alive and well and very much a part of our life at the manse from the very beginning.
Part of the "stuff" that I'm bringing to the writing of this blog is the knowledge that we are leaving for Ontario on Sunday the 27th. We will stay overnight in Barbados, a place we haven't visited for many years and arrive in Toronto on the 28th. What will home feel like after eight months away? We will be living in Gravenhurst with family and that will give us access to the Muskoka's in their fall finery. It will be a great treat to walk in the woods, smell the pine scented air and pull a jacket collar more snugly around the neck to protect us from the cool, dry, fall air. Will it snow? A few flakes will actually be welcome! How will we find our children? How will the health of our older friends be? We couldn't find any onions for sale in Sauteurs today. How many varieties of onions will be on sale in the supermarket in Gravenhurst? I'm betting on at least six!
Our full time work at MacDonald College now shows some signs of beginning. We sincerely hope the office is ready so that we can work there on our return from Canada. While we may poke gentle fun at Grenadian time (see the July blog) its ability to render great frustration with its ensuing impatience, feeling of helplessness and ensuing volatility can be absolute. So, we look forward to gradually becoming a meaningful part of the school community on our return. On the other hand at Belair P.C., largely due to the Youth Camp last month, we have Confirmation Classes underway with five of the youth as well as a baptism (on our return from Canada) of two of the younger children who attended. The Youth Group elected six of their members as a leadership team, last Sunday. The Spirit is alive and well at Belair!
I read somewhere that we do not create community – we are created by it. Our end of Grenada, the parishes of St. Andrew's and St. Patrick's are warm, welcoming, peaceful places. Life is hard here. Life is not fair. Nor does it have great expectations attached to its moments as they flit by. The Cruise Ship Industry will again begin using the Island, as cold air takes over in North America and Europe. Life will become busier but not easier for the folk whose livelihood depends on the somewhat fickle (at this time of economic uncertainty) travel industry.
What then can we feel, intellectualize and reflect on at this time. And how do these reflections express the concerns of the community around us? How are we being influenced? In short, how do Ann and I think communally rather than individually? Karl Barth wrote for the time of great change which he was passing through that to understand the Bible using human standards and expectations was to realize the Bible's importance was that it did not recognise the fundamental difference in the life experience and life style of its readers. Are the answers to our questions in Scripture in plain sight or are they the meat we receive when we pray for understanding? Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:12 that if we receive "the Spirit who is from God we may understand what God has freely given us". As a cradle "Wee Free" Church of Scotland with all its Calvinism it's never easy to receive grace without trying to give in return. Giving what we can to the Lord is never easy or adequate for me as a human being. What a blessing these last eight months have been to Ann and I! As we prepare to leave moments in time after moments in time pass by our eyes in the rapid slide show of our memories. This gentle, peaceful, happy island home of ours, even with all of its many pressing social issues gives us an enormous sense of freedom in which we can address all that God opens our eyes to. Can we simply follow God's Spirit which Paul wrote about? The same Spirit who needs only our love, trust and faith in return? Will our community continue to bloom and grow with the occasional setback every community encounters? God knows. We are all in good hands!
Pray for a joy filled family time for us over Thanksgiving. Pray for travel mercies. Pray for rest and peace for us. Pray most of all for our community at Belair as the Elders prepare to lead worship and offer the community's praise and thanksgiving to our Jesus.
