An Answered Prayer

The storm was not forecast to be as big as it was. An ominous feeling went over the islands as Dorian approached and gained in strength. Islanders who have weathered countless storms soon realized that this was no ordinary hurricane. 

As the winds started to pick up, the power went out and communications were lost. Only text messages to the US would give any update on what was happening. The reality became evident that Dorian would be a direct hit and exceed the power of a category 5 hurricane. The sky began to darken as the storm started to hit and people started to hunker down in the safest place they could find. 

Just before the maximum intensity of the storm hit, a final call went out on the VHF radio. It was by Eddie Bodie, a local fisherman. The voice on the radio was a prayer to God that He would spare the lives of everyone on Eddie’s island. As he finished his plea with “in Jesus name, Amen!” the VHF went silent and the roar of wind and waves increased to deafening levels. 

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Roofs ripped off, homes were wiped from their foundations, windows blew out and flying debris was blowing at over 200 miles per hour. Trees and telephone poles were snapped in two, boats in the harbor either sank or ended up in the middle of town. The next few days were terrifying for all who were on the island. 

Once the waters subsided and winds died down enough for it to be safe to crawl out of hiding places, the people started to search for others who had survived the storm. One by one people were accounted for on the island. 

Even though large numbers of people had died on surrounding islands, God had heard and answered the prayers of this fisherman. Not one life was lost on Green Turtle Cay! After looking at the devastation firsthand, and hearing the stories, it truly is a miracle that everyone survived. 

For example, I talked with Freddie, a restaurant owner in town. He told of how his brother was standing next to the door of their home trying to keep the door closed. For some reason he moved to another part of the house. Seconds later, a long 2×4 pierced through the door right where his brother had been standing. “He would have died if he had not moved”. I heard a multitude of similar stories of escapes from death by seconds as walls fell in, roofs crashed down and waters rose. God had heard Eddie’s prayer.