FACeTS of Madeira

News and Views related to the work of Ed and Abbie Potter, Baptist missionaries on the island of Madeira, Portugal since 1976.


 


Funchal Baptist Church
Rua Silvestre Quintino de Freitas, 126
9050-097 FUNCHAL
Portugal
Tel: 291 234 484

Sunday Services
English 11:00 a.m.
Russian 4:00 p.m.
Portuguese 6:00 p.m.
Ask the Tourist Office or Hotel Reception for map or directions.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

One year ago today

It was on this day last year, February 20, 2010, that Madeira was hit by a storm that left the island in a state of shock.(See the archives for postings from that time.) As I said at the time, life did return to "normal", but this normalcy is not the same as that of February 19, 2010. Time passes; the marks and scars do not.

At least today was sunny and warm. Heavy rains today would have been too strong a reminder of a year ago, especially for those who still have not recovered psychologically from the loss of family members and houses a year ago.

Sometime in the future, Feb. 20, 2010, will become just another in a series of important dates in the 600-year history of Madeira. But while there are persons still living who saw and experienced the storm, it will never be "just another date in history."