{"id":3731,"date":"2019-09-25T13:15:41","date_gmt":"2019-09-25T18:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/disasterresponse\/?p=3731"},"modified":"2019-09-25T10:16:07","modified_gmt":"2019-09-25T15:16:07","slug":"conversations-with-members-of-our-saviour-freeport-after-hurricane-dorian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/disasterresponse\/conversations-with-members-of-our-saviour-freeport-after-hurricane-dorian\/","title":{"rendered":"Conversations with Members of Our Saviour, Freeport After Hurricane Dorian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Conversations with Members of Our Saviour, Freeport After Hurricane Dorian<\/h1>\n

By Thomas L. Weitzel<\/h3>\n

Nearly two weeks after Hurricane Dorian struck the Bahamas as a category five hurricane, the people of Grand Bahama, and particularly the members of Our Saviours Lutheran Church in Freeport, are still struggling with basic needs like water and power.\u00a0 They\u2019re also still processing the trauma associated with two days of 185 mph winds and\u00a0 2o foot storm surges that carried off many a loved one.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was horrible \u2013 <\/span>a nightmare,\u201d said Greg Smith, a long-time member of Our Saviours.\u00a0 \u201cThe wind was ferocious. It sounded like a train coming.\u201d The storm damaged Greg’s roof, causing rainwater to pour into his family room. \u201cAll we could do was try to keep ahead of it with towels and blankets,\u201d Smith said. \u201cBut it just kept coming in. It was so frustrating. And long. I would check the storm\u2019s progress on my cell phone, and find it was moving at 2 mph. Then I\u2019d turn it off to save the battery.\u00a0 And when I would check again hours later, I would find it was moving at 1 mph! It just went on and on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly all the members of Our Saviours experienced property damage of some kind. \u201cWe have a lady at the church who lost her car and had to retreat to the third floor of her complex.\u00a0 Fortunately, people were neighborly enough to take them in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pastor Cliff Lewis \u2013 <\/span>Pastor of Our Saviours <\/span>\u2013 <\/span>spoke of one member, Ivan Bethel, who lost his entire business to the flooding.\u00a0 Another member had five feet of water in her home and lost everything.\u00a0 And yet another member, an attorney with three children, was forced to evacuate and returned to a total loss.\u00a0 \u201cIt was a disaster, to say the least,\u201d said Pastor Lewis.<\/span><\/p>\n

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LOSS OF LIFE<\/strong><\/p>\n

While none of the congregation died, many lost friends and loved ones. Mordine Smith, Greg\u2019s elderly mother and a member of Our Saviours, lost her sister when the waters surged up.\u00a0 \u201cShe clamored up on a rooftop for safety, but lost her balance and fell into the water and was carried away,\u201d Smith reported.\u00a0 When Greg and his mother shared the news with her sister, who was in cancer treatment in Nassau, she was so overcome that she died two days later.\u00a0 “So my mother lost two sisters and I\u2019ve lost two aunts in just a couple days,” Smith said.<\/p>\n

Janet Albury-Simpson, who was in England at the time of the storm reported that <\/span>Virginia Mosvold, her daughter Sissel and son in law, George, were rescued from their farm after holding on to the highest point in their home. Everything at the Mosvold farm was washed away, and unfortunately, their right-hand person drowned.<\/p>\n

Those water surge stories are repeated again and again by Our Saviours members, with untold numbers of people and children washed away.\u00a0 \u201cI met a man who told me that nine members of his family were washed away,\u201d said Greg.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you say to that?!\u00a0 What can you say?!\u201d<\/p>\n

The waters came up in a matter of 10 minutes, Gena Granger, another member of Our Saviours said. \u201cWe had flooding in areas that have never flooded before.\u201d She described the storm surge coming in from the north, near the airport where if frequently floods.\u00a0 This time, the storm surge was so high that it went all the way through the downtown and as far south as Sunrise Blvd, the east-west thoroughfare on which the church sits.\u00a0 That\u2019s about three miles of water over an island that is only five and a half miles wide from north to south. \u00a0“It essentially closed down the economy,\u201d said Albury-Simpson.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

NO DAMAGE AT THE CHURCH<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>For all the damage across the island, and for as close as the floodwaters came, there was no damage to the church itself, members reported.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the congregation replaced the roof on their 1967 church sanctuary just three years ago, installing a \u201churricane resistant\u201d interlocking metal roof.\u00a0 \u201cIf we hadn\u2019t done that,\u201d said Smith, \u201cit might have been a different story.\u201d<\/p>\n

A roof replacement over the offices and classrooms also occurred in 2005 following damage from Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne, and that roof held firm as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to check to see if any pins came out or were loosened\u201d on the new roof, said Pastor Clifford.<\/p>\n

A lot of that kind of checking is probably going to be necessary across the island, given the ferocity of two days of 185 mph winds on homes and buildings.\u00a0 Gena Granger reports cracks in the 4×10 inch beam supporting the roof of her condo.\u00a0 \u201cObviously from the roof trying to come off,” she said.<\/p>\n

Similarly, all the water damage is creating problems for reconnecting homes to the power grid on the island.\u00a0 \u201cEvery house that was flooded has to be inspected before they can turn the electric back on,\u201d Granger reported.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re talking hundreds of homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

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NO POWER, NO WATER<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a result, power has only been restored to about half the population of 30,000 residents of Freeport as of Sep. 15, according to the Facebook page for the Grand Bahama Power Company.\u00a0 Fortunately, that brought most ATMs online, reported Pastor Lewis, even though banks are still only operating on a limited basis because of flooding.<\/p>\n

Equally challenging is the restoration of the public water system because of \u201csaltwater intrusion in the water storage tanks,\u201d according to Gena Granger.\u00a0 \u201cSo we can\u2019t drink the water, and we can\u2019t wash with it either \u2013 until they give the all-clear.\u201d As of Fri., Sep. 13, only 50% of homes had safe running water, according to the Facebook page for the Bahamas Information Services.<\/p>\n

All these challenges mean that it\u2019s going to be a long haul getting the city of Freeport and the East End back together again, commented Pastor Lewis. Fortunately, the port is open to shipping, and the airport is open on a limited basis.\u00a0 \u201cCommercial flights only, no international flights, and only humanitarian flights from the States.\u201d<\/p>\n

For those looking for ways to help, money is the best way to support at this time.\u00a0 This allows the church to direct support towards what is needed most.\u00a0 Be cautious of mailing things to the Bahamas. \u201cIt will take six months to get here that way.\u201d\u00a0 Instead, Granger recommends wire transfers to Our Saviours Lutheran Church.\u00a0 Pastor Lewis similarly suggested sending pre-paid credit or debit cards that the church could give out and that could be used in ATM machines to draw out cash.<\/p>\n

Donations may also be made through Lutheran Disaster Response<\/a> or the Florida-Bahamas Synod Disaster Response.\u00a0 Both organizations are working directly with Our Saviours to support immediate relief efforts.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Our Saviour Church members sorting and stocking items for distribution in Freeport.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

WITH GOD\u2019S HELP<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWith God\u2019s help and the help of so many from across the U.S. and the world, we will put it all back together again,\u201d said Pastor Lewis.<\/p>\n

On the Sunday following the hurricane, about 30 people gathered at Our Saviour for worship. They began with a hymn and a prayer.\u00a0 Pastor Lewis gave a short homily referencing all the adversities of the week, yet affirming that \u201ceven with the stench of death all around us, God gives us life.\u201d<\/p>\n

He asked members the question, \u201cHow have you been tested this week?\u201d\u00a0 That started a conversation that lasted about an hour and a half.\u00a0 \u201cEven the quiet folks who hardly ever talk spoke out,\u201d said Pastor Lewis.\u00a0 \u201cWe just had to get it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was cathartic,\u201d said Smith recalling the service.\u00a0 \u201cPeople talked about their experience and what they were feeling.\u00a0 Then there was communion and more talking afterward.\u201d\u00a0 That talk included planning for work with the Florida-Bahamas Synod and Lutheran Disaster Response.<\/p>\n

Pastor Lewis said the service ended with the singing of \u201cMy Life Flows on in Endless Song\u201d (ELW 763), whose refrain ends each verse:<\/p>\n

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\u201cNo storm can shake my inmost calm while to that Rock I\u2019m clinging.<\/h4>\n

Since Christ is Lord of Heaven and Earth, how can I keep from singing.\u201d<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Thomas Weitzel is a freelance writer and a former pastor of Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Freeport, Bahamas ( 2004-2006).<\/em><\/p>\n

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Be a part of the response:<\/em><\/h2>\n
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Pray<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Please pray for the communities that have been affected by Hurricane Dorian. May God\u2019s healing presence give them peace and hope in their time of need.\u00a0 You can find additional resources for worship here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Give<\/strong><\/h4>\n

We invite you to stand by all the communities impacted by Hurricane Dorian. Your gifts to Hurricane Relief<\/strong><\/a> ensure that our church will be able to provide help and hope for those affected by this disaster for years to come.<\/p>\n

Connect<\/strong><\/h4>\n

To learn more and stay connected to the latest events and our response to this and other disasters:<\/p>\n