Sunday morning, we attended Bethesda Methodist church in Flower’s Bay. Some of the first-timers on the trip were a little concerned after hearing that the service could last anywhere from 2 to 4 hours and the church didn’t have an air conditioner; however, the church is located right along the beach and had all its doors and windows open, so the sermon was more than enjoyable with a perfect breeze and oceanic view. The worship service was wonderful, full of loud musical praise and a passionate message about the Golden Rule.
Following the service, we hosted a community lunch for the congregation and the community. We were eager to serve but the women of the church were equally as insistent to serve us. It was great to get to interact with the congregation and to see everyone who had made relationships with locals on prior trips reconnecting and catching up over a meal. After the meal, we went by the home where we’d be working for the week to assess some of the needs we had been told about.
We were introduced to the homeowner, Mrs. Elva, an 83-year-old widow. Mrs. Elva told us the story of how 21 years ago, her husband bought all the supplies to rebuild the roof of their home but then unexpectedly passed away shortly after, and the project had never been started, but the materials were all still in her home. We hoped that we would be able to complete all this project for her, but it was simply too big of a task for our team to complete in that short of time. Carlos, who host us and coordinates the projects and builds relationships on the island is going to work with other teams to try to get this project completed for her.
She also told us that she needed a new roof over her laundry shed in the backyard, new handrails for her front and back staircases, a handrail for the steps leading from her house up to the street, and a fresh coat of paint on her house. After getting acquainted and hearing Elva’s story, we were all very eager to arrive the next morning and get started.
That evening we went to a popular tourist destination for dinner to soak in a little bit of the tourist culture and had a great meal together – crab races and fire dancers included.
Written by Natalie Morgan and Hannah Lambert
