Water, water, everywhere....

Imagine waking up one morning, thinking it would be a regular day. You get your children ready for school, send them to school, and then you go to work, expecting that you will pick up your children from school and head home, make them dinner, and then spend some family time together because it is Friday and you don't have to get up early to go to work the next day. You have no idea that by the end of the day, you would be fighting to keep your head above flood waters while you watch everything that you worked so hard to obtain get washed away. This was the sad reality for hundreds if not thousands of persons in Trinidad and Tobago on October 19th 2018.

Aerial view of one of the many communities inundated by
flood waters

Since Wednesday 17th October Trinidad had been experiencing consistent, heavy rainfall. The appropriate agencies sent out warnings about possible flooding in areas so prone. The rains continued throughout Thursday and into Friday, but no one expected what happened next. The rivers could no longer contain the volume water that was flowing into so they overflowed their banks, causing rapid, devastating flooding in the surrounding communities. My friend Naomi was at her cousin Karina's house in St. Helena and sent out a plea for help at 8:45pm on Friday night. They spent the entire night there until they were rescued at 1:47pm the following day. This was her account of what transpired:

The flooding begins

"My cousin's home is about 3 feet higher than ground level so when water started gushing in from every available and created space (entry doors, foundation and through the garage doors) we were coloured stupidly shocked. Everything happened so fast after that. It's like we were living in slow motion, in fast forward. Before we understood what was happening, we were mid-thigh deep in a mixture of water, oil, and sewage.

Karina's leg covered with oil from the flood waters

"Our only thought was to preserve life. It is a blessed relief that my cousin in law went against my cousin's wishes and built a little (8*4) balcony about 8 feet off the ground because 8 of us scrambled up there and huddled wet, cold, tired, and denying what was happening for the next 16 hours. One by one our phones discharged as we called every single team or office who could possibly assist the 8 of us. (1 senior, 4 adults, 4 year old twins, our nine year old trooper, suicidal dog and three cats) We were helpless and could do nothing but wait for rescue and trust that God still had our present and future safe and secure.

This tractor came to rescue their neighbours

"As the water rose to our necks, our emotions retired and we just looked on as this tragedy unfolded. The army eventually rescued us with a boat because the trucks in the yard were now underwater obstacles. I'm writing this after having scrubbed away the grime in a hot bath and after having dinner a poop and a nap. We are snuggled safely in bed by our Aunty/Mommy while many people are still stranded on the roof or are bedding down at a relief centre somewhere, hoping to wake up from this nightmare. 

Family in another part of Trinidad who spent their night on the roof

"Thank you thank you thank you to all of you who tried so hard to get us help, for praying, for watching and waiting, for your support. [My cousin and her family] have lost every material thing. Cars are under water. All the tools and equipment for their individual businesses are gone, every single thing in the house gone. The floor boards were also swimming away with my cousin's favourite pair of pants. We are overwhelmed with thankfulness that we are alive but the loss is also overwhelming. If you would like to help with clean up efforts by donating cleaning supplies or manpower please let me know and I'll keep you updated as we chart a way forward through this.

Naomi and her cousin's family finally being taken to safety

There are so many families who have similar stories. In the case of this family, Reaaz is a mechanic while his wife Karina is a cake decorator. They have lost all the tools necessary for them to earn an income. They along with their three children - Kate-lee, Kimberly and Rebeeca - are left with only the clothes on their backs. They would need as much support as possible to get back on their feet. If anyone would like to assist them in any way, please let me know.

We thank God for the reduction in rainfall, which is forecast to continue until next week Tuesday. Please continue to pray for those still stranded in their homes, that the flood waters would subside to allow for rescue and clean up operations to continue, and for relief supplies to reach to those most in need.

Galatians 6:10 - Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

If the Lord had not been on my side

This is my version of Psalm 124:

If the Lord had not been my our side

when my car was giving trouble

I would have been stuck somewhere on the side of the road

or gotten into an accident because my brakes had failed

Praise be to the Lord

who made sure that I had help

who provided me with food to eat and a place to sleep

and a mechanic who was able to rectify the problem

My help is in the name of the Lord

The maker of heaven and earth

So here is the story behind my psalm...

One month ago, I got into my car to drive to church, but when I turned the key in the ignition it refused to start. Thankfully I was by my brother's house and his wife was able to give me a jump start (thanks Sarah!) The next morning it refused to start again, and my church family who I spent the night by went up and down the street until they found a neighbour who had jumper cables (thanks Lawrence!) I drove straight to the place I usually get my car batteries from. By this time, the battery was fully charged, and they could not find anything wrong with it. However it was over 2 years old so they agreed to replace it.

For the rest of that week, my car started fine until Friday afternoon. I took it to the small electrician nearby and he said I had a current leak but he didn't have time to run the diagnostics to ascertain what was causing  it. Thankfully my brother had bought this emergency car starter kit for Mummy so I kept it in my car for the times when the battery died again until I was able to take it by the big time electrician.

Every car owner should have
one of these for emergencies

The following week I took it to the big time electrician in Gasparillo, but after some initial testing he was unable to determine the source of the current leak. In order for him to diagnose the problem, he said he needed to replicate the problem, which would mean him having my car when the battery died. I took it in the following Sunday evening and got a drop back home (thanks Lisa!) He predicted that he should be finished with the car by midday the next day. But what he didn't know is that the car would have started just fine on Monday. He still did some digging but could not find anything wrong with it, so he asked me to leave it on Monday night as well. Well guess what happened on Tuesday morning? That's right - it started again!

At this point, he said it made no sense for him to keep the car, because he could not fix a problem that did not exist, so I took a taxi and went to collect it. As soon as I drove the car out of his yard, however, I heard a loud 'Clunk!' and the car stopped. I was puzzled, and attempted to drive it and it drove for a while before I heard the 'clunk' again. I still wasn't sure what was going on because after that it drove fine but when I heard the third 'clunk' I pulled over. A man who was in his front yard over the road from where I stopped said, "That sounds serious. You should get a mechanic to check it out. There is one right over the road." Talk about divine provision! He went with me to the mechanic's house. He wasn't at home, but his father, who was a retired mechanic, was at home and he agreed to check it out. After a few minutes he diagnosed the problem - my brake pads had become unstuck.

My regular mechanic had checked them
at the beginning of September and figured
I had 40% life left in them. Guess he was wrong

He didn't have the parts I needed and when he called the parts places they were closed. It would have been too risky to try to drive home so I asked him if I could leave the car overnight and I would get the parts in the morning and bring it for him. He offered to get the parts for me early in the morning and replace it so my car would be ready by 9am and I gladly accepted his offer. I called Uncle Terry and he came to my rescue - thanks Uncle Terry!

Dinner courtesy Aunty Carol

I spent the night in Marabella and by the time I called the mechanic at 9:15am the car was ready. He had forgotten to tell me that he was supposed to drop someone to the airport at 9am and didn't have my number to call me, so he had gotten to the parts place at 7am and done the repairs early to ensure it was fixed before he left. Thankfully the person he was supposed to drop was running late so he was able to wait until I collected the car before he had to leave home. Talk about the Lord being on my side!!!

For the rest of that week my car started with no problem, but then on Monday this week it refused to start again. I took it back to the electrician and he still was at a loss as to what was causing the problem. He disconnected something to see if that was the culprit, and so far so good. Hopefully that would be the end of this issue, but even if it isn't, I am not worried because the Lord is clearly on my side!