Greetings from the middle of Isaias, 2020’s first tropical cyclonic activity in the Atlantic Basin that’s posed any threat to the DR. 

Firstly, thanks be to the God, all LAC missionaries are safe. 

If you’ve been following the LAC Facebook page, you know that Puerto Rico, the DR’s neighbor to the west, bore the brunt of the storm. Flooding is widespread, and one missionary family is on day two of generator power. Disaster response is part of the team’s DNA, though; they’re eager to head to the CARD mercy houses in Mayagüez and Ponce, respectively, and put a well-rehearsed plan for addressing their communities’ physical and spiritual needs into motion as soon as it’s safe to do so. 

We’ve had hurricane prep on the brain in the DR, too. A committee of deaconesses is working through the phased roll-out of a multi-level plan. This Midwestern girl is no poster child, but I did spontaneously buy candles a few weeks ago. Yesterday, I charged my portable phone chargers and replaced my one empty botellón of water when normally I’d wait until I accumulated two.  

The rain started in the wee hours of day 142, which meant no botanical garden…sigh. In the end, though, it’s been a surprisingly tolerable day. I was psyching myself up for a torrential downpour, gale force winds, and intermittently mopping up rainwater (my least favorite chore) while enduring a lengthy power outage. Instead, we’ve had bands of light rain, a cooling breeze, and steady power, which isn’t always true even when there’s not a tropical storm.

The sights and sounds of Isaias from my balcony (I preemptively took my hammock down).