First vacation- installment 3- Omar

So, after a couple of days being able to get out a little bit- even if only to splash around in the puddles, we were settling in tues evening- Elisha had just conked out in his crib (They placed one in our room Sunday while we were out shopping for groceries :0) Yay!!) and we had a knock at the door. Hhhmmmm..... strange. We weren't expecting anyone.

"Hello??" I said.

"Guest's services," a young man's voice replied.

I peeked through the peek hole and then opened the door.

There stood a young man with a bunch of papers in his hand. He handed me one.

That's when the reality of our Caribbean vacation at the end of hurricane season hit.

The letter was from the National Weather Service. A notice that hurricane Omar had just formed a bit south of us and would most likely hit landfall sometime Wed or Thurs.

Hmmmmmm....... how interesting.

On came the TV, and, instead of the DIY channel, or Law and Order, we watched the National Weather service for several hours. The day culminated with the 2 of us joined together in heartfelt prayer for the safety of ourselves and the people on the island around us

Sooooo, off to the store we went the next morning, just to make sure we had enough food to get us through. Wow. Talk about pandemonium. The grocery store we stopped at, whose parking lot is usually only about 1/2 full or less was packed. It was already raining and windy- sort of misting at times. We got what we came for (Tim got the very last bottle of Mountain Dew on the shelf. Whew!! we came just in time!!!! :0) lol) and headed back out to our resort.

Amazingly enough, Tim's new AT&T cell phone actually had service there. We called our parents to let them know we were OK- guess we had "more bars" :0)

The power went out at lunch time, just as I finished preparing the meal. I was so glad we stopped and got some extra candles and matches at the main house on our way back from grocery shopping. We lit the candles, served the food and sat down to a rather romantic mid afternoon meal by candle light. Then the generators kicked on- YAY!!!! As lovely as candlelight is, it was nice to be able to have the air conditioning and fans running :0) (and keep an eye on the hurricane via the Weather channel.)

The weather was eerily quiet for most of Wed. We wondered what people do that don't have the advance warning we had- you would never know what was coming. The water was calm, and if not for the rain, one would never have known the weather was any different than any other day. The electricity was quite spotty throughout the day and into the evening. There was an almost palpable feeling of something impending. We all showered early and Elisha went to sleep pretty easily. I had a very specific prayer in my mind. That Elisha would sleep through the hurricane. I didn't want him to be terrified of this place that Tim and I have come to love.

We went to bed a little early- the wind was picking up, the rain was like a severe thunderstorm, without the thunder or lightning- and the sound. Hard to describe- and this was before the hurricane even came close!! Tim got a little bit of video before it got too dark. Reminded me of the amazing winds we had here a month or so ago that made our big trees out back dance like drunken soldiers.

Around midnight, when the storm was projected to hit land, I was wakened by the sound of the door bumping. Can't think of a better word to describe it. The doors going out to the screened in porch have a brass slider that locks them into place. The outer doors are glass, the inner doors are slats. Apparently, we hadn't pushed them in tight enough. I was earnestly praying that we could tighten it enough that the winds (projected at 80-100mph) wouldn't rip the door open- smashing the glass and allowing these strong winds (along with salt water) to fill our room.

It was quite bizarre as we ran around trying to see out the windows, to see if we could see anything. The moon was full and highlighting the waves, a mere 50 feet or so from our room. We could see them gather, crash and recede. The trees swaying, whipping back and forth and the rain. Again, it was like the most severe thunderstorm you've ever seen, without the thunder and lightning. We did see a few flashes way up in the clouds, but no corresponding thunder could be heard- at least not over the noise of the wind howling around us.

The closer palm trees were thumping against the building- every now and then we'd hear a thud or a whack- hmmmm- wonder if it was a coconut? But no broken glass :0)

I am continually blessed and amazed as God shows me more and more of Himself and answers these prayers we ask. I felt such a serene peace through the night- almost an acceptance. God knows the plans he has for us- and if his plan was to take us home to be with him- it would be perfect. If it was not yet time- even better- so we can spend more time together with family here on Earth.

Elisha slept through the worst of the storm. He woke up around 2- the power was out- and it was DARK!! and Hot and Stuffy in the room. We lit a candle and I thought everyone went back to sleep. I did. Thank you, God. Any of you who know me know what a miracle that is- I am such a light sleeper the slightest thing keeps me up. Tim later told me he and Elisha tossed and turned for a few hours before falling asleep ( the firefighter in him, I'm sure- he waited until Elisha fell asleep and then extinguished the flame in the bathroom from the candle we lit). Boy, I sure was surrounded by the peace that passes all understanding. It was AMAZING!!

We slept in that morning a little, ate some breakfast, found a mop and broom, cleaning up the place, and then, if you can believe this, headed out to the beach. A lot of sand had been washed off the beach, several trees were down, but the air!! The air was clear, the sky beautiful- with a few fluffy clouds. The temperature was not quite as warm and humid as it had been and would soon again be. The beach still had plenty of sand- and the waves were like something you'd see in Hawaii- the body surfers were actually surfing on it. We went out to our knee/thighs with Tim holding Elisha- that's all the further we (I) felt comfortable going.

Tim went out a little further after a few minutes as I held Elisha. He got slammed!! He said the undertow was amazing- sucking his feet out from beneath him, while the wave slammed over him. Elisha thought it was hysterical. "Papa BIG Wave. Boom!" "Papaw BIG Sandbox" We had fun playing on the sand for a little while, not quite ready to leave, yet tired from the waves. There was about a 2 foot drop off in the sand where the water met it. We had a blast scooping sand up, knocking sand down and just being together.

Thank you God for all your answered prayers!! Tim placed our rental car in a different spot after we got back from shopping. We discovered the tree we usually parked under had been blown over. Our rental had a few leaves stuck on it- but otherwise- no damage. YAY!!!