(This was an e·mail update)

Dear Friends of the Robinsons,

Tuesday night, 11:30 PM, we left Beckley, West Virginia and I drove to Dulles/Washington International airport with a U-haul in tow. We arrived at 4:30 AM and immediately moved our baggage into the terminal to check in. We said our tearful good-byes to Tabitha and also my brother-in-law and sister, Jerrod and Sarah Davis. We cleared security at around 5:40 and boarded the plane around an hour later. At 7:07 we were airborne on our way to Puerto Rica. We landed a little after 10:00 AM and took off on another plane a little after 3:00 PM after an hour delay to bring in another plane.

We arrived on the mainland of Grenada at about 4:30 PM. We were blessed to have every piece of baggage (all 7 pieces of luggage, 3 carry-ons, and 7 large boxes) to arrive with us. Grenada Customs retained three of the boxes until we can get a customs broker to bring some items through, but all the rest came through with no duties at all! We then raced to the Caranage in Grenada to board a large high speed fairy that left at 6:00 PM. We arrived on Carriacou at 7:15. We collected our bags and luggage and arrived home around 8:00 PM. We were beyond weary and bleary eyed, but thankful to have the trip behind us.

We were promptly and properly thrust back into the culture shortly after we arrived home as about 9:30 PM the power suddenly went off! Not remembering were our lanterns were, and not knowing if they were ready to make light, I headed toward our old 30-40 year old Onan RV generator to push the start button. I knew that it had not ran in over a year and expected its battery to be dead. But, low and behold, it not only cranked, it started after being coaxed for a little over thirty seconds! It ran flawlessly for about an hour and a half until the local power came back on line.

Wednesday afternoon I had Linda to take Jeshua’s temperature because he had been acting sluggish and uncharacteristically quiet. Tuesday morning on the plane he had began to develop a little cough that gradually increased in frequency depth, but we had attributed that to a mere cold due to his not getting enough sleep. All of us had needed a lot of rest because we had been pushing our limits for the last two to three weeks, so I had initially thought that Jeshua was just weary and missing his relatives and friends back in the US. But after he fell asleep in the mid afternoon, I became more concerned. A quick thermometer check revealed that he had a temperature that was a little over 104 degrees Fahrenheit! Talk about an alarm call! We immediately began pumping him full of Tylenol and Penicillin. We now suspect that he could have been going into the early stages of pneumonia. As of today (Friday) he seems to be doing much, much better. His temperature is staying down and his normal ‘gusto’ is returning. We are thankful for the Lord’s revealing the problem early and working to return Jeshua’s health.

Thursday, Linda went to our 1964 model washing machine that my mother gave me some fifteen years ago. After placing a load in it it began to act as though it too was going to work flawlessly. But it kicked the breaker as it moved into the rinse cycle. After a quick disassembly, I noticed that a part in the timer had ‘given up the ghost.’ I pulled out my trusty Dremmel high speed rotary tool, located an old discarded printed circuit board for raw material to fabricate another part (with the Lords gracious help), and the washer came to life once again! It appears that most of the appliances in our home are the ‘Lazarus’ brand. I recommend ‘em highly. J

This also applies to our 1987 Dodge Colt Vista. It not only cranked (with the same battery that we put in it way back in 1996, it also started. I quickly noticed that the brakes were out completely, but managed to coax it out of the garage where it had been stored, and then park it in front of the house. Yesterday I replaced the distributor cap, rotor button, and ignition wires. Earlier today I replaced the ignition coil and then very carefully backed the car upon my service ramps and bled the brakes. They began working and the fluid is staying in place! I then got in contact with an insurance company to get coverage for it. We then headed to town to get our Grenadian drivers licenses reinstated. Next, I paid the vehicle inspection fee, found an officer to inspect the Vista (it passed!), then paid the registration fee. By God’s marvelous grace, were are street legal again! This is nothing short of a miracle because they normally do not inspect vehicles except at specific 4 to 6 week intervals, and the next period was not due until the end of this month or the middle of May! Praise the Lord!

We then headed for Mt. Pleasant to see 6 year old Dawnlyn Charles, who is the dear little girl that usually stays with us on the weekends. She was as glad to see us as we were to see her! In fact, she asked her grandmother if she could "go ‘ome" with us. We hope to have her with us again in a week or two.

Next, we then headed to Bogles were our church building is located. We were told that our sound system (some 15-20 years old) and electronic keyboard had stopped working, so I braced myself for the worst. But as soon as I walked through the door I was immediately encouraged because the keyboard and sound system components were still there! I was then blessed out of my socks when I found that someone had only gotten a button or two set wrong, and after I got then set correctly, the system came back to life. (Lazarus strikes again!)

Besides all the material blessings and accomplishments we have had an almost continual string of visitors and people stopping to greet us back to the island. All have expressed real joy at seeing us, and we are also happy to see each of them. We did even know many of these nice people by name, but we are learning them now. We have also seen a number of our folk from Windward Bible Church and each encounter has been heart warming for us all.

Once we get a ‘bus’ (15-19 passenger mini-van) hired, or locate something used that we can afford to buy with the money the Lord provided from an insurance settlement, we hope to began holding all weekly services as we did up until I suffered the stroke on April 22. I also have a few suspension parts to replace on the Vista. It needs inner tie road ends (I have them on hand, but I suspect that they will likely be a royal pain to replace). I also have to replace one drive axle and repair another two because the CV-boots are split open. It is making a lot of noise on turns, but actually runs pretty goods, especially since I replace the ignition parts. That’s not to bad for an import with 129,000 plus miles on it (the last 40,000 being horrendous Carriacou miles!).

In a word, we are ‘blessed.’ We are also thankful and happy to be back home and in the place of service the Lord has chosen for us. Serving Him makes live worth living (and exciting)! Thanks for your prayers, supports, and notes of encouragement.

Still looking up,
Walter for all the Robinsons on the Carriacou.