Oct. 11

Melissa was very perturbed that yet again those in charge of planning the church service neglected to find anyone to do special music until church was starting. (they have a bad habit of doing that) They asked if she would do it. She agreed and asked if I would sing with her. I didn't mind, so after a quick practice session under the trees, we went in and sang He Leadeth Me. It went fine and I felt honored that she had asked me.

After a nice walk home from church and a hearty lunch of home made tortillas, veggies, rice, and a delicious garlic sauce, Michael and I relaxed at home for a bit. It had been overcast most of the day and that's when the rain started. It didn't rain for too long, but it brought over some nice thunder clouds. Without much warning at all there was the electric snap of lightning striking somewhere near by, followed almost instantly by a tremendous clap of thunder that shook the whole house. We were baffled at how quickly the storm had moved from a few miles away to just over our heads. It was so sudden that it really got my heart beating hard! This is the second time this has happened on campus, and I expect it won't be the last. Rainy season is just around the corner.

Later that afternoon Michael and I decided to go for a little walk. We were on our way to the air strip when we were met by Tom and Derrick. Walking the opposite direction.

OH! I forgot to tell you. At the end of the week we got some new missionaries. They arrived on very short notice from Michigan. Tom is a dentist, pilot, mason, and many other things. His wife, Gerri (Tom and Gerri, isn't that great?!) is a speech pathologist, and currently a home school teacher for her three kids, Rachel (15), Bryce (14), and Derrick (11). They are here, staying at the pilot's house by the air strip, for a little while. They have been joining our school for meals and worships so we are getting to know them quickly. Nice family.

Anyway, Michael and I met up with Tom and Derrick as they were coming to our campus to share some interesting news. The lightning that had struck apparently hit a tall, lanky tree just opposite the air strip from their house. They told us that they could see where the bark had shattered off the tree and scattered all over the ground for several yards around it.

They took us to go see the damage, and sure enough, it was a war zone. There was tree shrapnel strewn all over. Big, jagged chunks of bark had been thrown farther than you could imagine. There were noticeable dents in the sand and weeds leading back towards the tree where you could easily guess these chunks had hit and ricocheted off to their final resting spot, several feet away. The tree itself was not charred as I was expecting. Rather, it looked like a hundred foot bear had come along and slashed at the bark with huge claws. The remaining bark was jagged, and very fresh looking, not like the weather worn bark on the other side. It was pretty amazing to think that a single bolt of lightning had caused all that damage.