The View from the Top

From time to time, for one reason or another, the door of the Willemstoren lighthouse, at the south end of Bonaire is open. Right now is one of those times. The stairs inside are in great shape, much better than those of the Spelonk Lighthouse. (which is almost always open)

The sky was pretty clear, but not clear enough to see Curacao or Venezuela. (I'm assuming that would be possible if it was clear enough - they saw both from our radio towers recently)

Here is the view looking to the East. You can tell from the sea that the trade winds are finally coming back. You can click on the picture to make it bigger.


I usually ride by here on my Saturday morning bike rides. There is an all too brief downwind leg just to the west of the lighthouse.

Here we are looking a little south of west. As you can see, this end of the island is really flat and not much above sea leval. A number of ships and boats have crashed into Bonaire over the years that I've been here.


The view pretty much due west, looking towards red slave. The friendly flamingos featured in a recent post were right where the green water to the right seems to meet the road and the sea at the horizon.

Friendly Flamingoes

I've been fighting a cold all week and have either been home in bed, or slouched in front of my audio workstation at the office. Haven't been up to blogging. But I'm feeling pretty good today, not good enough for a bike ride, but up to posting a couple friendly flamingos.
You can click on the pix to make them bigger.

Freddy is nosing around in the muck looking for yummy critters to eat.


Freddy and Flossie Flamingo feeling brave. Usually one only gets pictures of the hindquarters of flamingos, because they tend to start walking away as soon as they spot you.

Tower Painting is Underway

We've got five guys on the tower each day. Rich hopes that the first tower will be finished by the end of February. Right now we are expeniencing great tower painting weather.

Thru the Bible Program talks about TWR

I just finished auditioning the TTB program for Friday, January 21. Thru The Bible is a Bible study / survey that covers the entire Bible over a five year period. They are just starting to look at Hosea, an easy to read book with a powerful message, found in the Old Testament.

At the start of the Friday program, the annoucer spends some time talking about TTB's partnership with Trans World Radio in broadcasting to the Indian sub-continent. I thought it was a pretty good overview, so be sure to catch it if you can.
Here is a link to a list of the stations and times that TTB is on the air.
You can also listen to the program online at at the TTB web site.

One of the key components in the ministry to India is the TWR station on Sri Lanka. As you know, Sri Lanka recently got hammered by the tsunami. Friends and contacts there say it will take many months and even years to get things back to "normal."

We are very thankful to the Lord that the TWR studio and transmitter facilities weren't damaged by the tsunami and that none of the TWR staff was killed. This is not to say that they weren't affected. For example, one of the guys working at the transmitter site lost 20 family members. So do remember to pray for them in their time of personal loss and as they help with relief efforts.

TWR is also working towards coordinating long term relief care for people in this region. You can learn more about that on the TWR web site.

New Kids Missions Materials

TWR has produced a great new Kids Missions Curriculum. It's designed to fit a variety of Christian education contexts, including Sunday school, church missions emphases, Bible clubs, VBS and home school. TWR plans to release new curriculum supplements annually, focusing on children in a different country or region each year.

Bonaire Medical School Graduation

Back on Dec. 17, one of the medical schools here on Bonaire held a graduation service at the Activities Building. The class president and the Lt. Governor presented a great Christian witness / challenge to the students and the many guests.

Lt. Governor Domacasse addressed the class and also gave the benediction.


Here's a group shot of the graduating class. Click on the pix to see them bigger.


We enjoyed lots of good food after the ceremony. The activities building was packed.

Long Time no Blog

Whew, I haven't posted anything for a week. We've been enjoying having our son, Richard here.

I'm still keeping up with my bike rides, having logged about 190 miles so far this year. I don't normally keep track of my mileage, but this year I'm trying something new and logging my rides at www.bikejournal.com.

It still rains every day and sometimes it rains quite hard. Some days are overcast all day, which is quite rare for Bonaire. It is also quite cool at night, for Bonaire anyway.

We still go out in the evening and look for the comet Machholtz. It is pretty easy to see with the naked eye if you know about where to look. We don't see much of a tail, even in binoculars.

Happy New Year

Bonaire again greeted the new year with the sounds of exploding fireworks ringing in our ears. This is something that has to be experienced to be believed.

We're enjoying having our son, Richard, here for two weeks. He's jelling out and enjoying the fact that he has a good job lined up after he graduates from Bucknell in May.

We've been observing comet Machholz most every evening, clouds permitting. It is pretty bright as comets go, that is one can see it with the naked eye if one knows about where to look. It has just passed a little to the west of Orion and Taurus, and will be near the Pleiades on the 7th. That night it will be pretty easy to find, if you know anything about the stars at all. Sky and Telescope has a easy to use chart. On Saturday and Sunday night, the horns of the bull (Taurus) were pointing right at the comet.

We've been watching satellites like the International Space Station and Iridium flares do their thing in the early evening sky as well.