an amazing family

It’s been a great summer of growth and organization! The island is finally coming back to life. The ships and tourists are coming and our micro family is breathing a little easier. The greatest growth in our micros is Tropical Wood Works lead by Mindi and managed by Rolando. It is about Rolando and his amazing family that I want brag. Rolando is a 58-year-old master carpenter, our shop manager, our friend, and now, our family. He has a lovely wife Paula(who cooks the best pastelitos and coconut bread on the island) and four beautiful children, Andrea, Mariel, Icar, and Saray.

I met Rolando three years ago when I first came to the island. He is a quiet, unassuming, bilingual man that I instantly liked. Over the years he has built and added onto our shop, made repairs to any number of broken things, translated for us, drove the van, collected bottles for recycling, and the list goes on. He has always done everything asked of him with a quiet pleasantness and small, ever-present smile.

I could not be happier that he now heads the outdoor furniture portion of Tropical Wood Works. Once he started building Adirondack chairs, things really starting moving. People began to see what he could do with a miter saw and suddenly, all kinds of custom requests started coming in. Nearly all of his work has been for island people but we believe we have figured out a way to break down the chairs so they can be taken back to the cruise ship with visiting tourists.

I just wanted to give a shout-out to this lovely man and his amazing family. They have blessed our lives in more ways than I can count. God is good!