After a rough night sleep because of intermittent power and a stuffy room with 11 people in it, we set off for Dame Marie. We had four trucks, 18 people and a ton of stuff.
There is only one road to Dame Marie and there is only pavement occasionally. It is mostly very rocky and dusty. The truck I was in was a Toyota Hilux. I am guessing that most of you have never heard of that model. That's because it's not available in the US - it wouldn't pass emissions. But, its the only truck to have ever made it to North Pole! So it's fine here.
The truck carrying all the supplies has four tires on the rear axle. About half way to Dame Marie, at the top of a mountain, the two tires on the passenger side went flat - no spare of course!
It was fixed by taking one tire from the left side and putting it on the right. That took over an hour. Just going to prove that God never gives you more than you can handle.
The rest of the trip had so many things to see - beautiful green forests, Caribbean Sea views from the mountains, the mountains themselves, random goats and cows tied up on the sides of the road and naked people bathing in the river.
It took over 6 hours to get to Dame Marie but it was worth the wait. When we finally arrived in town we were greeted by, well, the town! The children's brigade was in full uniform with a color guard and drum line. The ladies from the church were all dressed up and each greeted us with a "Bonsoi" (good evening) and a hug and kiss, all 50-something of them.
It was truly overwhelming! All of us were almost in tears with the amount of love that was pouring out of the residents of Dame Marie! We all walked a mile back into town together lead by the youth brigade and ladies of the church, singing the whole way!
We all piled into the church for a greeting from the pastor and the deacons. Even though there is a cultural difference and a language barrier, we all worship the same God and believe the same things and THAT is awesome and all you need.
We then sat down to a fantastic meal that consisted of (all homemade from scratch) rice and beans, fried plantains, lobster, conch, cabbage, this amazing fish and a scalloped potato-like dish. All in all it was a fantastic day.
Kris
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kris@evideoproductions.net
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Kris also texted me today something that I wanted to share. He said "a parade for the upcoming Carnival just went by the church. It was pretty awesome. After it went by, I turned to Ryan (another Forked River Baptist Church member on the trip) and said 'and that is why the camera is always in my hands!' He was joking earlier that he hadn't seen me when I wasn't shooting with either the NX5 or my cell." Now, that's the Kris we all know & love! :) Just further proof that he will have some AMAZING footage when he gets back! Below is a collection of some of the stuff he's sent me.
Before he left, he asked our son, Ryan, to make a video about himself to show to the kids down there. Ryan asked for Kris to get a video of someone down there for him to see. Here it is:
Kris and the team also got some down time to sing together. You can see Jeremy playing guitar, Elyssa singing and you can hear Kris in the background singing.
Darcie King
www.Evideoproductions.net
darcie@evideoproductions.net
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