Hurricane Season

We had afternoon showers three or four days this week!  This is amazing, considering the drought that Jamaica has been experiencing this summer.  The locals say this has been the hottest summer in recorded history.  I had a discussion with my doctor the other day and we projects two hurricanes this summer.  He is worried because of the extreme heat this summer has been bringing to the caribbean.  Hey said until the last ten to fifteen years, Jamaica would experience a hurricane maybe once every ten years.  During the last decade, hurricanes have become much more frequent and severe.  He says that now Jamaica can expect at least one hurricane a year. And he thinks that the warmer weather will bring two this summer.  Jamaica is not the only place in the world experiencing high temperatures.  Taiwan was just hit by a horrible typhoon. Global warming is real, just ask a Jamaican.    

Even a tropical storm can do much damage to a less developed country like Jamaica.  Many people in King Weston live under tin roofs and within thin wood walls.  Some rely on the strength of bamboo.  Some are very fortunate and live in a concrete home.  But then, many people make a living from livestock.  Last year, a woman in King Weston lost close to one hundred chickens during Hurricane Gustav.  That is devastating when those chickens are one's means of making a living!  I had a visit with Miss Donna yesterday.  She raising pigs and chickens.  She introduced me to the two pigs and two piglets.  Her chicken coop was empty.  She told me that she just sold all the chickens she had and will not buy again until October.  She is worried that she will lose them if she buys during hurricane season.  The chicken coops are not typically made from concrete, so they are not strong enough to withstand the winds and rain from even a severe tropical storm.  So, she will live off what she has until October, when she feels safe enough to buy another hundred chickens.  

We volunteers will be taken care of if a hurricane comes our way.  We have Rosie, who is a sweetheart.  She will shelter us at her house, which is very safe and strong enough to withstand hurricane winds :)  But, please pray that the hurricanes, already forming off the coast of Africa, will die off before they reach the caribbean.  

Posted are some pics of Miss. Donna's grandchildren, pigs and land.

Peace and love,

Matthew