Day 6 – St. Elizabeth (Santa Cruz, Brompton, & Black River)
Feeling better, Brother Richardson got up early and cut down some jelly for us to have coconut water. Sisters Richardson and Medley made up salt fish and fried dumpling with bacon. We were feeling really blessed and full.
On the now familiar morning drive down Spur Tree Hill, we had an additional member to our rescue party with Brother Richardson joining the efforts. He was very quiet in the seat behind mine, so Johnson asked how he was doing with my driving. In a relatively calm tone, he said, “I’m feeling stressed”. I had promised to be on my best behavior, but it only lasted till the first traffic backup, then it was off to the races.
The night before at the seminary meeting, we left equipment at the chapel and needed to pick up a mattress to take to Black River. We met Sister Morrison at the Santa Cruz chapel and added two more to the party, Taj and Walker. Just up the road was a brother who had several large downed trees, so we took the chainsaw and set to work. Is there a manlier thing than using a chainsaw? If there is, I haven’t found it. Several of the others loaded up the truck with the equipment and a mattress, and, with Anderson driving the Morrison’s truck, we set off for Brompton.
Johnson and Anderson wanted to shore up the zinc roof; they bolted it together the night before. Walker, Taj, and I worked to cut through the rebar attached to chunks of the collapsed part of the wall to relieve some pressure on the remaining wall. Then we fashioned a tarp door to keep everything inside dry. We rolled the tarp up on a 2×4 and screwed it to the roof, and took some paracord and tied it to some cinder blocks. It all worked reasonably well.
The rest of the team had been engineering a structure to support a tarpaulin cover for Mrs. Baker to do some washing and pluck chickens. They had set a salvaged telephone pole into the ground and fastened it to the house with a 1×6. The whole group joined in the finishing efforts, as we repeated the wrapping and fastening technique from the shed upfront and ensured the tarp stayed tight (say that five times fast). Our biggest test was moving a giant heavy dresser over the wreckage, through the yard, and into the shed without being crushed or scratching it. We got the job done with minimal chiropractic distress.
Of course, we had to stop again at the Juici Patties at the crossroads, before heading down to Black River. The day before, we saw a man with one arm in the parking lot, and I failed to follow the impression to speak with him. Our God is a God of second chances, so naturally, when I saw him again, I went to talk with him. His name is Rocklin, and he’s a very cool and humble guy. I left him a Nanny to buy a patty & box drink, and he was grateful.
Sister Morrison got a call that there was a need back in Brompton. I was anxious to go deliver the mattress in Black River, but when the call comes, we answered, so it was back to Brompton. We had met this family the night before at the seminary social. Their little baby boy, named Jacob, has a permanent sour face. He was hilarious. There was an older guy trying to tarp what was essentially this entire roof by himself with donated tarps, so we got out our biggest tarp and our equipment to help. Jamaican men are no different than men in general when it comes to pride and direction. We’ve got plenty of the former and don’t appreciate the latter. I don’t think he was too keen to accept our help, but we’re a pretty irresistible force.
Rolling back into Black River, we drove right to Gillette’s home. She came out to greet us, and I told her we had brought a mattress for Louise. We were invited in, and she got her mother from the bathroom. I’m not sure who was more grateful, me or them. It was a wonderful blessing to be able to help with that most basic of needs and deliver her from sleeping on a chair next to the toilet. We left a priesthood blessing with both of them and a water filter. On my way out, I couldn’t help but see two Bibles lying open, outside on a bench, to dry in the sun. With all they had to worry about, including a home that still needed shoring up of the roof, it was important to them to take care of their scriptures and get them in a state where they could read from them once more. Is my love for the word so strong?
We rolled around with Auntie P again, checking on some people she knew could use some help and uplifting. Her friend Clover had a large home that was hit really hard; she lost much of her roof and a large water tank. She took us around, and we surveyed the damage and left her with a water filter. Johnson & Anderson, our resident water filter experts by this time, showed her how to use it.
While driving back to drop off Auntie P, Johnson spotted an old woman sitting outside on a chair and said, “She needs help.” So we stopped and called out to her. The woman’s daughter came running out from the back, saying that they did need help. They had lost their roof and were still without power. We left her with some tarps, ropes, and water tablets. Brother Richardson and Anderson surveyed the roof and took some measurements, and Sister Morrison got her information and added them to a list.
Just up the street and around the corner, we stopped at another home, and while Johnson was showing them how to use the water filter and the others administered blessings, I handed out sweeties to a group of neighborhood kids who had gathered. We had a fun time with them. Johnson asked this feisty little girl if my patois was good, and she said her old sister’s was better. That began a hilarious exchange where I tried to convince her and her friends that I was Jamaican. She said, “You’re not Jamaican, you’re white, I’m fully Jamaican!” Then she proceeded to quiz me are Jamaican music, and I started to sing the national anthem; she and her friends couldn’t help but join in. After which she sang a song I was unfamiliar with, and I sang an old Jamaican folk song that they hadn’t heard. She quizzed me on the national dish, national bird, and naming all the parishes. Even after answering all her questions correctly, she still said, “You’re not Jamaican, you’re from England, I’m fully Jamaican!” When we told them we had to go, she asked if we were going to come back tomorrow. We told her that more people needed our help elsewhere. She hugged Johnson and told him that he was a Jamaican, and then gave me a big squeeze and said, “A true you’re a Jamaican.” It was very sweet.
Leaving Black River, we took the long way down the coast to see the breadth of the damage from the hurricane and the storm surge. It was catastrophic. In reverence, we all sat in silence as we passed by. This was our last night in Mandeville, which meant the last time up Spur Tree Hill in the dark. It was no different than our other rides, matter of fact, we didn’t even pass two dump trucks on a blind corner while following a police officer, which may or may not have happened earlier in the week. What did happen was we got our second flat tire. From the same pothole! I kid you not, the same pothole as before, just as we were coming into Mandeville. Pop!
This group of men did not curse me or chide me; they did not complain or criticize. They immediately set to work on changing the tire for the spare we had replaced earlier in the week on the cracked and welded rim. Brother Richardson did say I had lost my driving privileges and needed to give up the keys. We’re pretty sure he was joking, but not totally sure. He got the biggest laugh of the day when we pulled into his driveway at the end of a long day and night, and he said to the heavens, “Thank you, Lord,” as I put the car in park. His comedic timing (or sincerity) was impeccable.
After enjoying another amazing meal of curry chicken and boiled yam, we hustled down to OMG Ice Cream Shop to get our last Crunchy Munchie. Heavenly.
Mandeville has been very good to us, and the Richardsons had been so generous, not only to let us invade their home but to treat us like their sons. It was hard to say goodbye, but we needed to reach those further west, only we didn’t know how badly they needed to be reached.