We are once again back in Matthew’s Ridge, although the trip back didn’t go as planned. We flew into Port Kaituma Friday morning as planned. When we got there, I started walking around letting people know that we were looking for transportation back to Matthew’s Ridge. I realized we might have trouble when I saw all the luggage that Sis. Garner had brought with her. We decided to take all our things over by Caroline’s shop and then we would have our transportation pick us up there.
The agent for the air service we flew in on had a nice new extended cab cruiser so I asked him if he would drop our things by Caroline’s, it was maybe an eighth of a mile from the airstrip. Granted the box on the cruiser was short, but our things pretty well filled the truck. I also was planning on picking up a new mattress in Kaituma, so that would add to the load.
While I was walking around, I checked out mattresses. They only ones they had were double mattresses and they wanted $17,000GD. I also looked at sheets of bare foam which were about six inched longer and wider than the mattresses and were $4500. I made arrangements to pick up two pieces of foam. I also went by a shop where the man who lives next to us in the Ridge works and asked him to keep an eye out for vehicles coming from Matthew’s Ridge. He said he had recently seen a cruiser pass by. I walked around and found it, but he said he was on a private hire. He said he might be making a second trip later in the day. I told him if he did to check by Caroline’s.
Shortly after I got back by Caroline’s, a man came by with a bus and said he had heard we were looking to get to the Ridge. Since it was looking like rain, I thought a bus would be much better than a cruiser. It was still early, but I knew that both Ellie and Terri were quite tired, so I decided that I best seize the opportunity while it presented itself. I asked Stephan if he would be upset if we left him to do the study and then drive back on his bike. He gave me a funny look, so I said I would be willing to stay as well if he would ride me back on the bike. He asked if I would be willing to stay and drive his bike home. He had hurt his foot while swimming in Tobago and it was hurting him so much he was getting a headache. I told him that would be fine. I gave him the receipt for the foam and told him where to pick it up.
We ended up having a small group for the study, just Juliet, Sharon, and Caroline. I later told Terri that I didn’t know if the smaller group made it feel like a personal bible study, or if it had just been so long since I had had the joy of doing a study, but I really enjoyed the study, in spite of the fact that it wasn’t what I had been hoping for. It rained quite heavy during the study, but it had stopped by the time we finished. I drove back to Matthew’s Ridge on wet road, but kept dry and didn’t have any mishaps on the way home.
When I got back to the Ridge, I learned that the house we had hoped to get for Sis, Garner was not going to be available. Andrew and Eugene had gone around and found another possibility. Terri went with Andrew to look at it because Sis. Garner was not feeling well. Terri said the place needed a little work but she thought it would turn out nice.
Sister Garner ended up being sick all night long. When she was still vomiting in the morning, Terri had me take her on the bike to the hospital. The medix gave her three different kinds of tablets to take, but she chose not to take any thinking instead it would pass and it did. Sunday afternoon I walked with her to look at the apartment and also the hotel since the woman who owns the apartment is the mother of the woman who runs the hotel and they had said that she could stay at the hotel until the apartment was ready. It turned out that they were asking as much for the apartment as had been asked for the four bedroom house ($150US), plus they wanted an additional $50US for current.
Everyone here thought that was way too much, so we told Ellie we would try to find something else. The next morning a couple came by the Kingdom Hall because they had heard we were looking for a place to rent. They said they had a place they would rent for $75US and that would have current from 6 PM until 11 PM. I said we would come by to look at it later. I had studies to go on so I asked Andrew if he could take her around to look. He said he would. As I was walking to my first study, I saw Eugene and mentioned that Andrew and Ellie were going to look at the other place. He said he would go with them. When I got back in the afternoon I learned that after seeing the other place, Ellie had gone back to the first place and got them to agree to include the current in the $150 so she agreed to take that place. Now it’s just a matter of them getting it ready.
There is a bit of a push though because the Circuit Overseer and his wife are scheduled to arrive Monday morning for their visit. I think Ellie has decided that if the place is not ready, she will take the offer to stay in the hotel.
Andrew went out Wednesday. He is flying to Barbados on Friday to spend a week with his father.
School is closed for the holidays so we had a nice group for service Wednesday. All of the locals were out and Sis. Garner joined the group for the first time.
For this week’s pictures I’ve included one from the convention in Trinidad, this was our hosts, Tony and Donna DeGale. The other one is of Ellie Garner so her friends can see she really came to Matthew’s Ridge.
