You never know who you meet

Yesterday I attended a funeral. A BIG funeral.
We had been asked if another church could use our building for a funeral, and I happily obliged. When I sat in church yesterday, I couldn't believe the amount of people in church (now there's a vision for church attendance...).
And I couldn't believe all the people I met, before the service, and after, and later at the "wake" (reception).

Bermuda is a small island. I have begun to get used to meeting the same people, such as bus drivers, post office workers, supermarket staff, and--of course--church members. So I was not surprised to see some of the bus drivers at the funeral. Just intersting to see them not in their regular uniform, and in church :-)

But it was the fact that I met a former premier (prime minister in Bermuda) Dame Jennifer Smith, a government minister Mr Michael Scott, and the first woman leader of the opposition in the British Commonwealth (plus the first female Attorney General of Bermduda) Dame Lois Brown-Evans, that struck another chord.
When, in England, did I ever meet such illustrous people. Did I mention that the leader of the opposition came to my installation service? That's like David Cameron showing up at North Wembley or Gloucester church to welcome the new pastor.

Adventist Pastors are not regarded as, "what church is that you're from again?" Our church is held in high regard. After all, 1 in 18 Bermudians is said to be an Adventist.

When the bus stopped outside the house to pick up the kids this morning, I recognised the driver from yesterday's funeral. So we had a little chat--as you do.... it's Bermuda.

IT'S COME HOME

Finally....

I have it.

Our long lost suitcase has come home!

I had a "hunch", an impression, guidance by the Holy Spirit--go to the airport, check it one more time (as if that helps... I thought). So on my way back from the main town--the route takes us pass the airport--I got off and walked to the Airline desk. I presented my situation and waited for the usual and inevitable "sorry Mr Burton-Schnüll, we have no information about your suitcase". Instead I heard, "oh, yea it's right here" I thought, she's kidding me right?! But no, off she went, and dragged our old battered suitcase into the room. I hugged her, I was so happy.

For almost 6 weeks I have lived in the no-man's land of not knowing, in limbo between "here it is" and "we've definetly lost it". Almost every day I wondered if they'd find it. Calls to the call centre (strategically located in India) were fruitless and only added to a feeling of helplessness. So my exuberance is understandable, though I had little time to explain all the details to the bewildered Airline staff :-)

Thank you God for looking after something seemingly so insignificant as a suitcase!
(and if I had a camera, I'd taken a picture to prove my point LOL)

It's coming home.

I just came across this news story on BBC News (click the heading). Hurricane Gordon -- actually, what's left of it -- is going to hit parts of the UK. How interesting.

Just about 10 days ago I experienced my first hurricane here in Bermuda (Florence). Then Gordon came and missed the island by a few hundred miles. So did Helene by the way, and that one is heading up to Europe too.

And now I'm reading that Gordon made it across the Atlantic and is coming home... But I guess it won't be quite as exciting. (Maybe Helene will be LOL).

the invasion

I wish I had a photo to show...
We've been invaded!

It seems they lay dormant for a month, or just let us settle in before making their move. Which they did with precision and determination: Bermudian ants.
They can be seen everywhere on the island: thin lines on walls and paths that are alive. Lines of ants walking to and fro, long lines that seem to originate in infinity and also end there. Where do all these ants come from?
There are less than 70,000 people on the island, but there must be billions of ants.

I had seen them, and admired their order. I remember sitting in a car showroom, while a sales assistance gave me this very amusing quote (small cars, BIG prices). There was a line of ants running down the side of the wall, following a corner in the wall, running along the skirting, disappearing behind the office plant, reappearing further on, and moving who-knows-where. And I thought, I'm glad they are not in MY house. So much for new-comer's ignorance.

And they cannot be beaten. We sprayed the lines and points of entry, but it seems that for every ant that dies, there are 100 waiting to come and explore our house.

We were of course forewarned: don't leave food around, they will find it etc. Funny thing is, there are NO ants anywhere near the food. They are in my study, behind cardboard boxes. Or on the living room floor, taking an interest in the computer keyboard -- yes I had to brush one persistent critter off just before typing this.

So when you think about the Burton-Schnülls in Bermuda, don't envy us for having a pink sand beach. Rejoice in the fact that British ants are nowhere near as persistent, organised, and numerous than their Bermudian counterpart.

That was it.... for now.

So in the end Florence came, made a mess but no real damage, and left.

It's Tuesday, 10am, the sun is out, there's a mild breeze, and it's back to normal, except that school's out for a second day.
We passed the day yesterday sitting around, the kids watched some videos and (grudgingly) did some homework. I tried to keep in touch with the world during the storm, and did so until our power went out at about 10am. From then on it was walking around, looking out the little window in the study room door, watching the storm slowly change direction, trying not to catch cabin fever.

That big bin with water came in handy, as the water pump was off (Bermudian houses have big water tanks underneath, where rain water is collected. The water is then pumped into a pressure tank to feed the house.) But now it's all back to normal.

In the afternoon some friends came to visit--crazy Bermudians, I thought. They stayed for a while and then we (yes, WE) walked back to their place, in the now slightly less strong winds. Still we got soaked by rain and the spray from the ocean.
The kids had a ball jumping in the puddles. And with the water quite warm (compared to English rain) nobody was too concerned about getting wet.
We visited some church folk, and ended up staying with our friends and their neighbours (all church members) till mid evening. Seems that a storm brings out the community spirit in this place even more.

So that then was our first taste of a hurricane. (This website has some more pictures etc. [not ours])

To think that the strong winds I had seen and felt were "only" a category 1, and it can go up to 5... there're some awesome forces in nature. I'm just glad that God is always larger than His creation.

We're here now

We're here now... since Aug 16. But that is another story
Right now we're waiting. Again LOL....

Hurricane Florence is on the way to pass by Bermuda in the next 24 hours.

At the moment it's just grey and breezy. There's a bit of rain, but not as much as earlier on.
And we're waiting.

Never been in a Hurricane... But I can't say I'm excited. well maybe a little.
We got our supplies, as the electricity might go off later in the night...

Hey, it's our fourth week in Bermuda. What a welcome!
BTW, that's our patio door, boarded up...





And here's our "water reservoir"--it's a big trash bin (40 odd gallons)...



all that's left is just sit around, blog or watch videos... and wait.