The Haven Christian Reformed Church IMPACT Team witnessed Pastor Knowles’ unwavering faith and desire for the restoration of his garden, despite the devastation from Hurricane Dorian.
Prior to Hurricane Dorian, Pastor Knowles had a big garden behind his home. In the garden, there were animals, ponds, trees, and plants. Some of the animals were ducks, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, peacocks, and a donkey. He also had numerous trees in the garden that he pointed out for their medicinal value.
People would come from all over to visit and tour his garden; people even came from different Abaco islands. In the process of showing students through the Garden of Eden, he would gather them around, give them corn, and yell, “Come! Come! Come!” Animals would come from all over the farm, and the kids could feed them.
On September 1, 2019, Hurricane Dorian came through and destroyed everything. His house was totally destroyed. No animals could be found. Countless trees were damaged and killed due to saltwater because his entire property was under two feet of water. To this day, due to issues with the hurricane, his home is still in the process of rebuilding, and the garden is completely overgrown. He still hasn’t been able to return home and live in his house.
After hearing his story the night before, listening to all the tragedies he witnessed and had to go through is truly incredible, because he was still praising God and telling stories of the good things he had done even in the tragedy. So when we worked, we worked hard and got a lot of work done in little time. We were able to clear two pathways that were completely overgrown by chest-high weeds.
We concluded the visit by laying hands on Pastor Knowles and his home, praying over him. We prayed for the work to be completed and for him to be back in his home. He can then continue to rebuild his garden and have people come back into the garden so he can give them tours and tell them about God’s creation story.
– Dave, Kurt, Will, and Steve
