My peace was shattered though, as the boys came tearing in through the house, bug-eyed, and talking so fast, on top of each other, that I could hardly understand either of them. Something the whole village of LaBorie was talking about, but apparently I was blissfully unaware of the impending danger as I bee-bopped around in my kitchen....unaware that I was about to be blown off the map into the great unknown. Or, who knows, maybe swept to sea along with all the other inhabitants of Grenada.
At least, that's what the boys had heard....a rumbling volcano causing earthquakes, that pending its imminent eruption, would cause a tsunami so large it would cover all of Grenada, that is, if Grenada still existed after the eruption.
Now, I must say, from what I had previously heard of the submarine volcano, (meaning in the ocean) located off shore at the northern end of the island, it did sound pretty scary. It is one of the few active volcanoes in the world. Large enough that if it blows to the extend it could, the little pin dot on the map called the island of Grenada could no longer exist.
But as often is the case, fact and fiction became a swirling vortex of mixed and mangled information. It traveled with the speed of a tsunami and left the hearers as unsettled and shaken as the aftermath of an earthquake. So now my goal was to separate the two, so I could disregard the fictitious part and closer examine the facts.
I called Chris, who was out and about, to see if he had heard anything. He didn't know much more than the boys knew. I checked the news online but unfortunately that web page was down because a major communication cable had been damaged in an earthquake. So at this point I really had no clue what was happening other than what the children were saying, and by now they had worked themselves up in a complete tizzy. While I was trying to find any tidbit of news on the situation, they had ripped the book off the bookshelf on "What to do in Natural Disasters." Quickly flipping to the tsunami section, they found what they needed to know, and the book was flung aside and forgotten as they raced around the house throwing together survival kits. Flashlights! Water! Cookies! Nestle Quik powder! (Who knew you needed chocolate milk to survive anyway?)
When the living room reached the point of looking like a mini tsunami had already hit and it started holding more clothing than their closets, my annoyance level was raised to red, meaning I could very well erupt without a moment's notice. With information, false and true, swirling around me as fast as things and children and clothes and cardboard for survival kits, I was wondering if I'd survive this, the natural disaster pre-disaster!
In an attempt to find out more, one of the staff called the American Embassy. Their advice was, "No need to panic at this point, but get your important documents ready and have a pair of shoes handy in case you need to leave in a moments notice."
Little by little information kept trickling in....they had raised the alert level on Kick-'em Jenny (what a name for a volcano!) to orange, meaning it had highly elevated levels of activity and eruption could begin with less than a 24 hour notice. (fact)
After it blows it will trigger a large tsunami, covering all of Grenada (IF it erupts it could cause a tsunami, but very very unlikely that it would cover all of Grenada)
There were over 200 tremors/earthquakes in a span of two weeks causing them to raise the alert level. (fact)
When it blows, it will blow Grenada clear off the map. (more than likely fiction. It is a large volcano, so if the whole thing would blow it could do alot of damage but its history of eruptions are not that scary)
These earthquakes are an ominous sign of more to come (Could be, but Grenada lies on a fault line, meaning when the earth's tectonic plates move or shift it is more likely to cause an earthquake. However, tremors and small quakes are quite common and not necessarily a sign of an impending larger ones.)
Update...as most of my posts are, this one was written in bits and pieces, so by the time I get it finished and published the news is slightly outdated. But I guess the good thing is that now I can give you an update:) After a few days of the volcano being on the highest alert level that it could be before it erupts, it seemed to settle down and they lowered the level to yellow, which means it is still restless, the activity is above historical level and it can be expected to change without warning. We checked the news quite frequently for a few days but, to be honest, it kinda slipped our minds already. Every now and then I'll check the web-site but it seems around here word of mouth is just as fast, although usually not quite as accurate!:)
it will almost certainly be a killer. But you have a good chance of survival IF
you know what to do........(ok, no wonder they were in a tizzy!)
(The Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute began its ministry in 1977 by offering one six-week term of study. Through the following years it has grown to now offer five six-week terms of study in Bible, Theology, Missions, Music, Language, History, and Practical Studies. The institute also offers a six-week summer W.A.T.E.R. (World Awareness Training in Evangelistic Responsibility) program)
we were youth leaders and the boys always loved all the attention he gave them!
peers but deep down inside a longing to learn of the deeper things of life
on him, it had to be confiscated during class after proving to be a major distraction!
proved to be a major distraction. After that they had the boys class on an outside veranda
which worked well...except there was no outside entrance. A ladder worked fine though.
Will they remember what they were taught this week?We trust the seeds planted were not in vain.
needed...which included lots of cleaning and odds and end projects!
L-R: Christianne Musser, Lauren Oberholtzer, Jolene Sensenig,
Bethany Sensenig, Jen Wenger, Amanda Snyder (Kaylah & Shivoni)
The WATER students were here for the month of July
addition to a home with the help of Galen Shrock, Daryl Hursh & Joel Hoover
(never mind the size of the plot....:)
side into the ditch, tipping the freezer that was full of drinks on the back of the truck
Conrad & Caleb Lapp, Trey, Bryce, (peeking:) & Kade Martin
And that's all for now folks! Thank you for continuing to remember our family and the work down here in prayer. We are highly anticipating (understatement) our visit home from August 19-Sept 9.
Pray that we could feel refreshed and ready to come back. This past month has held some disappointments and times of discouragement. Pray that we could keep our eyes lifted up, be faithful in the little things and focus on the positives and not the negatives.
Also prayers for the teachers, especially the new ones, would be appreciated. They are adjusting to alot all at once.
The children and I really enjoy reading your blog. Love your way of writing! Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteI don't know you personally and I doubt you know us, but I thought I'd comment and let you know we enjoy your blogs. ~ Jo Weaver