Hello and welcome to the April blog! The "dry season" this year continues to be both wet and uncomfortable. The deluge the week before Easter was such that the Western road from Sauteurs to St. George's was blocked by an enormous mud slide. It took a large back hoe and many human hands twenty-four hours to open the road. As if this were not enough, two houses were swept into the river at Gouyave and quite a bit of damage done to a bridge on the same road. There was a herculean effort from the local town folk there and the highway was again open in twenty-four hours. When we finally travelled to St. George's over the road on Maundy Thursday the surface was still slippery from the mud and debris. The Grand Etang road which cuts across the mountains in the centre of the Island to St. George's was also damaged, quite severely in places by the same storms. Then, in the middle of April, a hurricane started to form just north of Puerto Rico. Hurricanes are not supposed to happen until July! It quickly dispersed when it hit the cold air from North America.
The next Election in Grenada will be held in 2012. April saw a few opening salvos in the upcoming battle. Raw politics were evident, Grenadian style! There was no mention of the country facing a new direction or of turning from what could be argued as doing the same things all over again; that is, we will continue to take the same actions, made the same choices or think the same thoughts. Is it possible that Grenadians could be encouraged to turn the focus of their lives toward a new reality? Are there woes in Grenada that most people could agree on? Please take your choice of what is worst: too much debt, personal and national, not enough jobs, no political harmony, climate change and natural disaster, the lack of love in society and the collapse of compassion. I think everyone would agree on one thing. The country is headed in the wrong direction. Somehow it has gotten on to the wrong track. The crux of the matter, for me, is that no one can agree on what the right track is. Surely all of these things must ring a bell with Canadians as they go to the polls next week.
My Grandparents would point out from time to time that if you put two Presbyterians in a room you would get at least three points of view! The same applies to Grenadians. What to do about it? After all us Canadians don't even talk about politics or religion! Here the separation of church and state would be helpful. So would the understanding of what is financial and educational accountability by the various Ministries. If we were allowed to vote, who would we vote for? That choice would be as uncomfortable for us in Grenada as it is for us to make a decision in the present Canadian General Election. I would also like to be clear. Grenada is not different from most other third world countries. There is great wealth here yet the May Day parades on the 2nd of May will be indicative of thorny industrial relations be they of the private or public sector. It will be interesting for me to watch if there finally will be a recognition of the Revolution that was so brutally put down in 1983. The question is will the charismatic Maurice Bishop's heritage be celebrated officially or not in 2013? There was some movement by the Government to start this process this present year at the Independence Day celebrations. As an expatriate Scot I know very well history cannot be rewritten. Can people here learn to live with the past and be given the freedom to celebrate it as they will? Time will tell.
MacDonald did badly, for them, at the Inter-Collegiate games back on the 6th and 7th of April. Enough said! The Easter holidays also reduced the time I spent at the school by a large amount. The teacher I was "standing in" for is back to work and, as exams take over from the months of May and June, there will be little for me to do. The next event will be the final assembly for the graduating Fifth Form on the 3rd of May. The class will graduate, after their exams, on the 8th of July.
The children at Belair Primary school continue with a near miraculous turn around. Thank you for all your prayers, keep them coming, please! Even young Leonson who was causing the greatest amount of concern has moved forward quite dramatically. Self-confidence is part of it all, as is the self-respect a good teacher/pupil relationship brings. Anyway, there is some time to go for him on the programme, we will see how it all went soon enough. Congratulations Ann!
Time flew at Belair Presbyterian Church through the Lent and the Easter celebration. Now we are getting geared up for our "harvest" on the 5th of May. The "harvest", the main fund raising event for the year leaves everyone exhausted from the physical and mental strain of it all. In the past though it has raised sufficient funds for Belair to live through the year and be able to handle most of the unexpected expenses that are always forthcoming from older church buildings.
On a personal note we lost a friend of forty years in Calgary at the end of April. He finally lost his battle with heart disease; one that he had been fighting for around thirty years. Because we were so close we now feel we are so far away. What a strange existence living overseas can quickly become. Yet we forget that life is made up of a balance between what we see as "good" or "bad", "helpful" or "unhelpful". At times like that I feel almost as strange and fearful as the disciples locked away in a room despite Mary's testimony about her face to face meeting with the risen Jesus. Like me the disciples are withdrawn, immobile and physically incapable of meaningful movement. Jesus came to the disciples where they are, just as they are. He offers one of his most precious gifts, twice. "Peace be with you." Jesus says it again for the one we call "Doubting Thomas" so that he might have the gift of Easter faith. (John 20). And, if we will allow him, the one who said "I am standing at the door knocking" (Rev. 3) will come in to whatever state our heart, mind and soul are in. With him inside courage comes back and the immense gift of Easter faith. Help us all, Lord, to risk giving whatever little we may have knowing that you are with us each step of our way.
No comments:
Post a Comment