Oh, No, Not Already!

Most of you (if you faithfully read my blog) realize that my sister moved to Grand Cayman 2 weeks ago tomorrow. If I'm not mistaken, 2 weeks ago today we were having our last Sunday dinner together at mom and dad's place when the subject of hurricanes arose. We were questioning the accommodations and precautions that were in place specifically for the compound on which they would live, especially since much of it was destroyed a couple of years ago during Ivan. After listening to their confident description of the new structures that were built even better than hurricane specifications required, I really figured it wouldn't be a huge deal if it happened. They didn't seem to worried about it anyway, and when you move to a coastal or island area, this just happens to be something you plan to deal with on a yearly basis. Kind of like buying Christmas gifts or going away on your anniversary - it's routine, I guess - yikes!
Well, Friday evening as the rest of us sat at Eric and Megan's, the phone began to ring. Relatives in Indiana were worried about the hurricane headed straight for Grand Cayman. Not having internet access for a couple of days, we didn't even realize there was such a thing as "Dean!" We ended up talking to Valerie for a little over 20 minutes on mom's cell phone (I'm glad I'm not getting that bill!), and she assured us that they were preparing. I have not really been worrying myself sick, basically because to us in the Midwest this is probably way bigger since we have never dealt with it, and there was a chance it could change course. As of today, it doesn't appear to be on track to hit them straight on. They will probably get tons of rain and some wind (which would be enough to scare me to death!) but the devastation may not occur. Of course, this could change at any time given the way storms move. So, please pray for my sister's nerves! She's had a few annoying things happen all in the last 2 weeks (washer leak, dead hot water heater, etc.), but nothing of this proportion! Even if it doesn't hit them, the amount of prep work that had to be done was enormous and that will all have to be cleaned up, as well.
Our mission island of Dominica has already been hit by Dean. I don't know the extent of the damage that our churches may have received, but some of the pics of the capitol city were pretty ravaged. From what I understand, Dominica is a poor island in many, many ways, and unlike the island of Grand Cayman (which the weather reporter called the rich island), places like Dominica would seem to have more difficulty recovering from something of this nature. So, pray for our pastors and churches there. They have very humble structures, and it wouldn't take much to destroy everything for which they work so hard.