Away
From Home...
The Beebe Family:
Bon dia from the Caribbean!
It is Monday morning and a rain squall is
blowing across the island. This is the last week before
our first break -- Regatta Break! It is also the
end of the longest stretch of teaching without a break.
I have a great intern and this is her last week of
teaching before she heads back to Texas. Emily did
a great job but I will be glad to get back on the horse!
The days are much longer when I am just watching.
Not much new here this year. It is
still very hot and not much wind yet. I am
coaching a baseball team out in the boonies. Most
kids don't have father figures. Some don't have
shoes. A boy couldn't play because he only had
flip-flops. I put out the word and got a pair of
decent New ?Balance? Balance shoes and brought them to
practice. The boy was a bit of a piece of work and
only showed up at practice once in awhile.
Well, he was major jazzed when I gave him
the shoes and practiced well. I was packing up my
car when a little boy walked up with the shoebox and
said, "Uncle Keith (that's what they call me) you left
this out here." In the box, wrapped in tissues were
the shoes. Fortunately the other boy was within
shouting distance and I called him back -- in my best
Papamientu/Spanish mix I asked him if he was going to
keep coming. He said yes, and I said "well then
these shoes were meant as a gift." His eyes lit up
and off he went.
He
has been to every practice since and brings the shoes in
a backpack. He changes into the shoes for practice and
then takes them off afterwards and wears his flip flops
home.
The next project is getting a backstop.
The field is a rock pile with a few lines. We lose
a lot of balls in the thorn bushes (everything down here
has thorns). We also lose a lot to theft -- these
guys aren't choir boys.
It is a good experience for me and gives
me some real perspective when I come back to the kids at
my school.
Keyla and Anna are active as always.
Anna is into guitar and everything else. Sissy is
doing dance, guitar and has started the flute.
They are doing well in school and make us very proud of
what good people they seem to be. We haven't been
diving much as Anna is just finishing her whooping cough
phase. We'll probably ramp up when we get back as
the water is very calm this time of year -- and 82
degrees.
We head to Ohio this Saturday for a week
and are looking for long sleeve shirts and jackets that
we haven't had out since we got here July, 2005.
All is well down here and we keep you all
in our thoughts.
Bon Pasa,
Keith
Rev. Dr. Sandy Bochonok volunteering with the Red
Cross in Texas.
Email from Lisa Barfield:
Several of you have asked for information
on Sandy and her experiences with the Red Cross. I've
been able to talk to her somewhat frequently, and put
together the info below. I'm sure she will have plenty
of stories to tell once she returns home. Right now,
she is not expected until 23 October. Hope all is well
with all of you.
Lisa
Sandy
reported to the Red Cross processing center in Houston
last Saturday and spent a day and a half processing
until she got an assignment to “deploy." She loaded
into a truck with 30 other people to go to a shelter in
Longview, TX (close to the Louisiana border) to provide
assistance to Hurricane victims.
She is living in the shelter, sleeping on
cots, and said she is experiencing many "God moments"
helping others. She originally went as a shelter
worker, but once people there realized that she was a
Chaplain, her services have been in high
demand, providing assistance to Hurricane victims, as
well as volunteer relief workers. She has been amazed
at the resilience of the human spirit, for many of
those affected by the Hurricane are determined to
reclaim their lives and start over.
Yesterday, she found herself unexpectedly
thrust into a leadership role as a team leader for 20
Red Cross volunteers. She is now responsible for their
care, logistics, sleeping arrangements, transportation,
etc. The shelter that she has been providing support to
is closing today and she and her team will be moving to
set up another shelter, possibly closer to Beaumont, TX,
which is closer to where Hurricane Rita struck land.
She asks for your prayers as she provides
comfort and care to victims and caregivers alike. She
asks for prayers for wisdom, strength to know what to do
and when to do it. She is scheduled to continue this
work for two more weeks before rotating out of the area
and coming home.
She sends her love to you all.
