Bahamas Slideshow

July 5th

Mornin' family and friends. Happy belated 4th of July! The computers were ALWAYS busy yesterday--everyone catching up on holiday greetings, maybe--so I jumped on for a quick note this morning before I finish packing and we head off to the airport for an early flight.

As I write, there is a major lightning show going on out there with thunder I can hear even inside this huge hotel with the background music loud as it always seems to be in the lobby here. I've seen more lightning here in the Bahamas in the past 9 days than I think we see all year in Phoenix. I got up early to watch the sunrise on the beach yesterday and lightning accompanied that, as well, but it was much farther out to sea than today. Right now it's directly overhead, but as fast as most of the storms seem to move here, it should move out before our plane takes off in three hours.

I will post pictures after I get home. Uploading them will use up time I don't have this morning.

Okay, I know I am probably the last woman in the world to finally experience snorkeling, but it is definitely my new, very favorite thing in the world to do!! 8 of our team went out on a catamaran yesterday morning and were in the water checking out the fish for nearly an hour. I hung back on the boat at first to capture pictures, and from that vantage point, it looks odd--lots of bodies just floating in the water, occasionally kicking their fins. Once I put on my mask and got in the water, I was completely hooked. The tropical environment was stunning. One woman in another party who was with us said she's snorkeled lots of places and this was the best ever. So I am sure that once again, we were blessed with a PEAK experience.

The afternoon was devoted to shopping for souvenirs--for some of us--and beach time afterwards. We had dinner as a team together, decided that our community dinners together were far superior (really and truly! the food at this resort has been disappointing, but if that's the only complaint besides the mosquitoes, pretty darn good week!), and then had a box seat on the beach for an absolutely incredible fireworks show! None of us had ever seen anything like it, and the 4th of July isn't even the Bahamas holiday. Yet another example of wonderful hospitality from a generous people.

I'll give an update or two once we are back home. We have lots of pictures and once we collectively upload those, I'll let you know where to find them. Let us know what you thought of our blog and our daily adventures. We've missed you.

Friday, July 3rd

Dick, Craig, Todd building the gate






Our entire group, with Lyn, her son Vincent, and teacher Gary, in front of the school



















Emily, Alisa, Kathryn sanding
















Dick and Ellen in front of the school

A.J. with the coconut he finally cracked open showing the group.








Hi from Nassau, everyone!

The past two days have been a fantastic blur of activity! And all of us have pretty much loved nearly every minute.

Wednesday afternoon, Ellen and I left the rest of the crew early, around 3 pm, to take the 20 minute ferry ride with Lyn, the school director, over to Elbow Cay, where Hopetown is located. She went home with her boys, and Ellen and I walked the quiet, sleepy residential town, enjoying all the pastel Cape Cod style homes there. Shops closed at 4 and 5 pm, so walking was about all we got to do until we caught the 6:30 ferry back to Marsh Harbour where Todd and Dick figured out where to find it after a couple misturns. :)

Meanwhile, the others had returned to our church home, and after the hot, sticky day, none of them could wait to jump into the water just outside. However, this time while they were all taking turns snorkeling again with Craig and Emily's equipment, with the snorkelers swimming off to some rocks to see amazing fish, and the rest staying close to the rocky coast of our church, Alisa, who was right in the middle of 4 or 5 others, was stung by jellyfish on both of her arms. Somehow, the others who were a foot away from her, fortunately escaped. She had a rough hour or so, and when Todd picked us up from the ferry, his first words after I buckled my seatbelt were, "I need to tell you something about Alisa, but first you need to know that she is going to be fine." All of you parents out there know exactly how quick those words stopped my heart! And she is fine. We heard later that jellyfish (and these were little ones, because the snorkelers had seen them where they were, right up against their goggles) tend to come out after storms. I wish we had known that Wednesday.

Anyway, by the time we got back to the church, the A-squad of Kathryn, Derek, and A.J., with back-up from Emily and Alisa, had "brinner" almost done--what a feast! French toast, bacon, sausage, fresh fruit salad. We ate and ate and ate. After they cleaned up, we had our nightly meeting to recap Wednesday and plan Thursday, and then broke out the snacks and cards.

Thursday we finished up our work in the morning. Dick, Todd, and Craig made a super sturdy gate to put at the top of the stairs in one of the buildings, the girls finished painting and then sanded the bookshelves from the day before, Derek continued working with the drywaller in the other building, A.J. mowed the knee-high (no exaggeration) grass in the never ending yard, and Ellen cleaned up behind all of us. We finished and said our good-byes and thank yous and exchanged contact information with all that we had made connections with--always a tough thing to do. We arrived back at the church right around noon, to inhale lunch, change into our swimsuits and sunscreen, and then hop into Pastor Campbell's bus to make the 40 minute drive to Treasure Cay. It was an unbelievably beautiful place--white fine sand going on for miles, and we literally saw only 3 other people there. If this is the 2nd most beautiful beach in the world, we can't even imagine how the first place one can beat it. None of us have ever seen anything this incredible!

We arrived home by 5 pm, showered while Dick grilled us hotdogs and pulled out every possible leftover we had--another amazing feast. Then we spent an hour and a half or so cleaning up after ourselves to leave the church a better place, as we always try to do. We met for a while, agreed we'd made some wonderful new friendships, both in Marsh Harbour and on our team, and then played Hearts. But the morning was coming early--we needed to get up at 5 a.m. to catch our 7:20 flight to Nassau--so we ended a bit earlier than usual.

And now I sit here at a computer kiosk in the Sheraton we're staying at for the weekend. They generously allowed all of us to check in at 9 a.m. this morning when we got here, so we dropped stuff off and then pretty much scattered to the winds after that. Some went snorkeling, some went into town to see the shops, and Alisa and I hit the beach to just veg for the afternoon. We watched a thunder and lightning storm out at sea that was incredible, but it never came into shore.

The R&R time at the end of each GROW trip is a good transition--we all talked about how the work we've done really takes us out of our natural environment and creates something "euphoric" was Kathryn's word for it. The work we do is important, the people we've met have created something really special, and the location is unforgettable. None of us is ready to go back to our "ordinary" lives. The weekend will help get us ready. And we hope you are ready to put up with our stories over and over and look at the million pictures we've collectively taken. :) Next year you'll have to come with us!!!

Wednesday, July 1st

This plaque by ECC's school is why we do what we do!

Derek and A.J. enjoy jamming each evening

The birthday girl is delighted!

Alisa and Emily, the cake decorators

Todd and Dick, carpenters extraodinaire!

The sun rose this morning!!! It was a beautiful sunrise that only Craig saw, but he took a picture to show us the rest and maybe I'll be able to send that picture later. Most of us assumed there would be more rain, so no one planned on an early morning. But with every good thing, there's a shadow--steam city here in Marsh Harbour. Our one day reprieve with the cooler temperatures the rain brought is over. Back to sweating!

The men made a delicious dinner last night--chicken, rice, salad, more garlic bread on the texas toast bread we all loved the night before. Even though it was sprinkling, I convinced Kathryn to go in the water with me since it was her birthday, and Derek and A.J. went right along. They brought Craig and Emily's snorkeling equipment and the three of them traded that on and off for 45 minutes or so while I tread water in perfect temperature. Meanwhile, Alisa and Emily were decorating the chocolate cake we got to sing to Kathryn after dinner--she definitely was surprised and touched. And of course we had ice cream with the cake, and had popcorn and cheese and crackers while we played Hearts later on. There is no shortage of eating around here!

With the return of the sun, Craig, Ellen, and I decided to walk to the school this morning, while Todd brought the others in the van--it's only a little over 2 miles. Craig went ahead and Ellen and I stopped at the bakery to get some more of the fresh baked bread for lunch and dinner (the younger set is making "brinner" as A.J. calls it for tonight, and wanted this bread for French toast). Once again, the bread was too warm from the oven to slice! Fortunately, it was ridiculously warm in the bakery or Ellen and I would never had left because everything smelled so wonderful!

Today brought more painting, sanding, fixing windows, and Todd and Dick jumped on a new big project--making 6 3-shelf bookcases for the school. As I type this, they are already almost finished even though they didn't buy the wood until mid-morning. What a crew. The kitchen and bathroom look brand new, the floors upstairs that we painted are bright and shiny, the doors and windows all close easily. I know the staff is very happy with us.

I'm taking the ferry over to another island to see the little town of Hopetown where the school director, Lyn Majors, lives--she's taking me down there in a half hour or so. No one else really had the burning desire I did to see it--getting in the water on a sunny day is much more appealing to the younger set! I don't know that I'll get a chance to jump on tomorrow because we are only working half a day, and then the minister of the church at which we're staying is taking us up to Treasure Cay to see the beach there--everyone needs to pray for sun! Friday morning early we are flying back to Nassau for a couple days of R&R there, so once we are settled, I'll see if I can find a cafe somewhere there to write. I hope everyone there is not too hot! The ocean breezes here at least cool us off regularly! We miss you and wish you were here with us.

Tuesday, June 30th

Plumbing by Craig and Dick,

Painting duo Kathryn and Alisa,

Painting floor Emily

The five amigos enjoying the ocean

Hi family and friends!

Today's word has to be RAIN. Several of us woke up around 5 this morning to the sounds of high winds, thunder, and torrential rain (so some of us gave up the idea of maybe actually going for a run while we're here...) and then just lay in bed readjusting our ideas of what we would get done today. It has pretty much rained all day, sometimes hard, sometimes a nice easy rain, but when that wind and heavy rain gets going, we wonder how much worse a hurricane would be. Except for flooding on the sides of the roads (and think about how that complicates our learning curve on left-side driving), the town handles all this rain just fine!

Needless to say, very little outdoor work can be done--somehow, power tools and water don't mix, according to Craig and Dick! Fortunately, there's lots to be done indoors--kitchen and bathroom painting, upstairs floor painting, sanding the new wall in a classroom in preparation for sanding, and Emily pointed out a little sink problem in one of the bathrooms that necessitated a trip by three men--Craig, Dick, and Todd--to the hardware store for new faucet and plumbing stuff. Since this is the first time these three felt the need to go together, I think they were feeling a little cooped up by the weather.

After work yesterday, 5 of our team walked down the little ramp the church has to the ocean and enjoyed an hour of cooling off in the warm water. Kathryn (our birthday girl today! Happy birthday, our much loved friend!), Derek, A.J., Craig, and Todd cannot wait to do that again. Ellen and I, with help from Alisa and Emily, made spaghetti for dinner and extorted promises from the 5 swimmer/snorkelers that Tuesday would be our day to swim while they made dinner. Everyone agreed, but we're making an exception for our birthday girl!

We all met some wonderful people yesterday and are working on making those relationships more significant today as we talk while we work. Each day we are more amazed by the work done at ECC and how Lyn Major's dream has evolved into a school serving so many with support from different communities. All of us talked last night about how much the teachers at this school, Gary, Pam, and Margaret are the ones we've met so far, are so committed to their work and the idea of just making a difference in life that matters. That's the reason our team loves doing this work-to be a part of something so significant!

Monday, June 29th

Approaching the Bahamas Saturday night

Dinner first night
Our OFFICIAL meeting site

Cards at the Nassau airport Sunday afternoon

It's been an amazing 24 hours!!! We spent several hours in the Nassau airport yesterday waiting for our little airplane to fly to Marsh Harbour--it ran about 45 minutes late, and the Bahamasair officials always apologized about that whenever they made an announcement. When was the last time you heard that from an airline! When we arrived after a peaceful 30 minute plane ride to the small town here, Pastor Campbell, our host at the church we are staying at, greeted us, helped us with our luggage, and drove most of us to the church. I talked to a young man behind one of the two counters inside the airport building who led me to our rental minivan, and then I drove behind the bus the pastor drove--ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE STREET!--while Todd did navigation duty in the passenger seat. The beautiful building that is the church is built right on the edge of the sea--I am temporarily a hero for having been so lucky to "find" this place--courtesy of Lyn Major's recommendation--she is the school's director. What a peaceful setting for our work this week. Some of the ladies of the church had cooked us a delicious dinner of baked chicken, a delicious rice dish, salad, vegies, and a to-die-for chocolate cake. Pastor Campbell then took us to Every Child Counts school so we would know where it was, then said goodnight. After gathering together for our nightly meeting outside at oceanside, we set up our beds in the assigned rooms and then played a particularly loud game of hearts.

Today, we arrived at ECC shortly after 8:00 and talked to a couple teachers who greeted us. Once we reviewed our work list--everything from scrubbing walls to prepare them for painting tomorrow, to clearing a room and washing the floor to paint IT tomorrow, to putting up shelves in a garden shed, to fixing various doors, windows, and cabinets--Todd and I made a supply list and went shopping at the hardware store across the street with the project funds we all contribute. I brought him and the supplies back to the school, and then Ellen and I went grocery shopping for lunch and breakfast the next 4 days. When we returned, everyone else had already made a serious dent in our project chores and were ready for food and Gatorade and water. It's been a humid day--lots of rain off and on and very little sun. The breeze feels wonderful. Since lunch, we've been scrubbing walls and fixing doors.

I'll upload a few pictures for you and then the teachers are ready to go home, so I will update you on our adventures more tomorrow. Take care!

June 28th

It's Sunday afternoon and I have 10 minutes to update you before we catch our taxi over to the airport for our short ride to Marsh Harbour! We've walked all over downtown today, checking out old buildings and climbing 66 steps to see the old Water Tower and Fort Fincastle, then a long walkabout over to Fort Charlotte where we were greeted by a great view of Atlantis on Paradise Island. We walked back to where the cruise ships dock to check out the shops, but no serious shopping happened today because we still have luggage weight issues to deal with! When we return at the end of the week, that's when serious shopping can begin.

We wish you were here. The humidity is pretty ridiculous, but the ocean views and kindness of the residents are amazing. We were lightly rained on during our adventures, but it cooled us off. We had lunch at Senor Frog's where a pretty intense karaoke crowd entertained us with plenty of oldies. It's been a fun, bonding day to get us ready for the hard work of the week ahead. Once we settle in quiet Marsh Harbour, we'll probably break out the card games again! Pictures, unfortunately, will have to wait until I find a computer that will let me upload them. Just want to give you something to look forward to!

Saturday, June 27th

Our travels to Nassau today went very smoothly! I am sitting here writing you from a corner in the lobby of our hotel, the Towne Hotel, a very quaint place that is also providing seating space for about 7 other hotel patrons to work on their laptops, while a young woman and I work on the computers provided. However, the internet is running slowly, so I will try to update the blog tomorrow with pictures rather than tonight!

The Phoenix contingent of our team arrived at Sky Harbor this morning before 5:30 a.m., breezed through check-in and security, and then left for Atlanta in an on-time flight! Once we arrived in Atlanta, Todd, Craig, and Emily quickly grabbed lunch, because they were catching the flight to Nassau before the rest of us. We waited at our gate for a few hours; meanwhile, Kathryn flew in from Michigan to round out our numbers, Derek, A.J., Ellen, and Dick played a great game of crazy rummy for an hour or so, while Alisa and I spent some very relaxing time coloring Disney pictures!

One highlight of the trip already is our flight to Nassau. While enroute, our pilot told us NASA would be launching a rocket at Cape Canaveral (sp?) that had been delayed a bit because of weather. Sure enough, as we passed the site, the rocket was catapulted into the air! Kathryn saw it happen since she was sitting on the left side of the plane; the rest of us had to be content with seeing the spiralling plume of white smoke it left behind it! I wonder if the plane would have leaned if we had all known to rush to that side of the plane the minute before it happened!

Once we arrived here, we collected our luggage, met up with the three who flew first, and traveled in the van they had arranged to bring us here. We quickly dropped off our luggage and then walked over to Conche Fritters for a dinner that hit the spot--conche chowder, conche burgers, and conche fritters were popular choices among our group.

Don't know when I'll get a chance to add more--tomorrow will probably be another crazy day, and we won't have a handy hotel lobby that provides free internet at the end of the day! So I will probably report on our adventures sometime Monday. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. We will think of you all as we saunter through the turquoise waters on the beach tomorrow!

Getting Ready

Welcome to our team's record of our journey and work in Marsh Harbour, Abaco Island, Bahamas at the Every Child Counts School. If you want to see what inspired us to contribute to their progress, check out their website at http://www.everychildcountsabaco.org/.

( above is last year's GROW team)

We are leaving early Saturday morning, June 27th, to make our way to the Bahamas, and will actually arrive in Marsh Harbour on Sunday night. We hope you check in with our blog occasionally to see our progress. The plan is to update it at least daily while we are in Marsh Harbour, but we will see how reliable the internet connections are in that tiny town. Let us know what you think of our adventures with your comments, and we can't wait to share the entire story with you when we return home after the 4th of July weekend--we'll be spending that holiday in Nassau!