February 13, 2002

The night was dark, the rain drenching. But morning is upon us now as a boat tailed crackle bird sits in a palm tree singing out praises to his maker. All is well he sings, He is still on His throne, be of good courage, taste the sweetness of His love!

The medical and dental team has headed for The Cay this morning. It will take them about 40 minutes by boat. Jenna spotted a small hole in the boat squirting water.
She stuck her finger in it, but after awhile she decided to wedge her gum in it. No leak.
Fred Nudd bought a new high-powered generator to bring with him to work at the construction site. He is trying to flush the fuel out so it will be able to be put on the plane and brought home. Any smell of fumes and they will reject it.
Last night I gave Pastor Adonia all the craft books and materials his wife had asked me to bring. Mrs. Adonia and her children are making crafts to sell in order to pay their school expense. Between the Salvas, Sterners, Becthas, Bates, and various other generous people, she will be set for a long time.
The rain was so torrential last night that Petche, our guard came and woke us up, concerned about the height of the water in the canal just feet away from us. We would not be in danger, but our food and supplies would be if it crested over the bank. He said he would watch during the night and let us know. Petche is a fine, faithful man. He patrols the area all day and night, always cheerful and happy. I have no idea when he sleeps; he is always here ready to keep danger away and help in any way. Our building is progressing nicely. The west outside wall is finished, three of the class room walls on the west side are almost finished and the main back wall is almost complete, the east outside wall is close to completion. The walls in the bathrooms are about half way finished and Jeff Beisiegel worked on the plumbing while Dale LaRoche and Pastor Thomas worked on wiring today. Bonnie said the kids have shoveled 98 buckets of sand today and it takes 10 shovels to fill each bucket. This is for mixing mortar and grout. The swing sets are all erected and finished. When the concrete dries the swings will be hung.
Delores told me she and Dr. Kellerman had to stitch up man that had been in a fight at the medical clinic. His face was slashed and his ear was cut completely in half from the top to the bottom. He had cried the whole time on Delores' chest as she patted his back and told him it would be ok. Dr. K talked to him about Christ as he stitched him up and told him he needed to give his heart to the Lord. Now that is a medical team! The man was so afraid of going to jail, he said they don't feed him and are very mean. The police came and took him away when they were done. Dr. Bainum treated a woman whose brother had repeatedly hit her in the face and chest with a screwdriver. She had also received a corneal scratch during this fight and was very seriously injured. The doctor signed a paper for the court testifying to how badly she was beaten. Dr. Bainum has a new name for The Cay, he calls it V.D. City. He said every non-Adventist he saw had it. The clinics were like a mob scene in a movie. As I passed through the crowds trying to get into the optical clinic a lady who was in line looked at me and must of saw my fear as she responded back to me, scary isn't it? People were standing with numbers in their hands and were pressing up against the locked door waiting for it to open for the next patients. It was incredibly hot in the optical clinic and the room was filled with patients. They eventually broke the lock from the door with the press. I followed Bob over to the dental clinic, which was equally mobbed by a very unruly crowd, as we banged on the locked door and yelled our name it was finally heard over the noise, and we were let in. The only reason we were even able to squeeze through the mob was because of our shirts with our logo on it. They knew we were American and with this group. In the dental clinic, Donna had one patient in the chair cleaning his teeth; Dr. Williams had another patient in his chair waiting for the tooth to be pulled. He had one patient that he extracted an impacted wisdom tooth from. Judy told me one lady refused to leave unless they let her children in and fixed their teeth. Judy told her no they couldn't do that, they had to go in line and no matter how long she sat there they were not going to give in. After a long time she finally left. The line at the pharmacy was way out into the street. They stood with number and prescription in hand. Bob teasingly yelled in to Karen Pelote that he needed some Valium for some stressed out doctors he just saw. Her quick reply was that she and Melissa get to take some first!
The Cay is very populated, building after building being connected to each other with paths just large enough to walk side by side. No bicycles are allowed on The Cay, not enough room for bikes or cars. At the local bank, a guard stands outside with a gun; another guard stands inside with a rifle drawn and ready. The door is locked at all times. When you need to go in they unlock it, let you in and then relock it.
Bob Whitney just brought in a stack of beautiful dishes and bowls that his wife Anita's Sabbath school donated for the people on The Cay that lost everything in the fire. Thank you Deltona Church! Our evening meeting is about to start and I see Paul Freed busily helping bring out chairs.
Elise reports that Kimberly has become very independent as of today, and is feeling more confident about being alone and making her wants known.
Medical clinic lost track of how many patients they saw after registering 500, but they estimated a conservative 550-600.
Dental clinic extracted 20 teeth, cleaned 19 and filled 5.
Optical clinic lost track of their total as it was so many.
Building crew put down 920 blocks
Evangelistic meeting had 125 people.

He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk even as he walked. John 2:6

Smiling with love,

Jennifer Young