Bahama Mission
May 1999
The past month has been most encouraging. We have had the opportunity to
travel and speak with most of the supporting congregations. We believe that
this is good in several ways. It allows the members and leadership of
congregations a more personal understanding of the work in which we are
jointly engaged. Dinah and I are refreshed and edified by the fellowship
and association. A Biblical precedent is followed from Acts 15:27. Paul and
Barnabas returned to Antioch, "And when they were come and had gathered the
church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he
had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles".
To save time and expense, we flew the new aircraft, and were most pleased
with the way it performed. We visited: Auburn, Al., Memphis Tn., Wynne Ar.,
Monroe La., Arlington ., Kennedale , Pecos, Desdemona , Lufkin, San
Augustine, Crosby, Crockett, Weldon, Grapeland, Baytown, Rockport, Conroe,
and Rosenburg Tx. In addition to speaking and visiting with individual
supporters and family, we assisted with a wedding for my nephew, and
attended the graduation of our son Jason. We had already spoken in Ft.
Myers, Ft. Lauderdale, and Clewiston, Florida.
We are now faced with an annual inspection for the aircraft in June, the
installation of the new navigational radio and Global Position System this
week, and getting to Abaco for a special Father's Day week-end with the
Church there. We were also invited by the young people of the Highbury Park
Church in Nassau to be with them for a banquet and program, but had to
decline because of the previous commitment.
We plan then to visit with other Churches in the Bahamas, and deliver the
new wheel chair to Lincoln Young. His old chair was used when we got it for
him about 12 years ago. The new one was obtained at cost from Tim Culp in
Crockett and folds up to go in the luggage compartment of the plane. This
is a great help as Lincoln is no longer allowed to fly Bahamas Air
unaccompanied.
Work in the Bahamas is encouraging. 9 Baptisms were reported last week. We
have not yet heard from all of the churches. A large group of 53 came from
Colombia Tn. This is the home congregation of Lori, the fiance of our son
Jason. They worked with the church in Freeport and saw 5 baptisms before
they left. Dr. William Miller reported 4 baptisms in Nassau.
Work continues among the churches in Bahamas in the Mission outreach to San
Salvador. We are trying to get the donated car shipped in the next few
days. This car will cut the expenses by $80 a day in car rental for those
flying in to help. Plans are being made to locate a family with this young
church. Another car has been donated, and will either be sent to Abaco, or
to Eleuthera. We are talking with the brethren in both places to see which
has the greatest need. We recently placed a car in Cat Island, and the
church in Long Island has a van. We have to pay shipping, customs duty,
licenses, and insurance on these cars, but in the long run it gives us a
financial break and insures that a car will be available when we need it.
We are thankful to the brethren who made these donations.
We are so very thankful for the response to the need for funds to pay off
the loan on the new plane. I have not yet seen the financial sheet which
will be mailed with this report, and thus do not know the total. If by
chance we exceed the needed amount, our plan is to place this money in a
fund for aircraft maintenance, so that our regular income can be used for
evangelism. We have been doing our best to trim expenses to meet the
regular committed income. We are still running several hundred dollars a
month short. This is being made up with special individual contributions,
and out of our salary in the form of unreimbursed expenses. We are hopeful
that several other congregations will join with us soon to secure the
budget. We are most thankful to you as individuals for your support which
has allowed us to continue. If additional funds become available in the
future we will be able to expand the work by that amount. Right now we
receive more invitations to speak in schools and churches than we can
accept.
The larger aircraft burns more fuel. We are anxious to know what the
difference in cost will be when we get back on a regular schedule. We made
a lot of extra trips after the crash, catching up, and more before the trip
to make reports, making sure that each church had testaments, bible
studies, tracts, and song books. We believe that in the long run we can
make fewer trips with more supplies and the faster speed will help to
balance the cost.
The Church in Auburn, Alabama, gave us 8 more boxes of Song books and
Bibles. This is the last of a large supply that they have furnished. They
also gave a check for the plane. These were almost new song books and they
were new Bibles. The salt air is very hard on books, and they do not hold
up well in the damp climate. We now have a good supply of song books, and
unless someone else has new Bibles, it is cheaper to buy them wholesale
than to ship by UPS or mail.
If you are on the internet, we encourage you to check our web page from
time to time. The monthly report goes on line long before it arrives in the
mail. We are going to add some more information about our Memorials/Honors
fund, and will be putting some new pictures on each month also. The
internet address is:
http://www.mindspring.com/~flyingpreacher/
Thank you again for your deep concern for lost souls. Without you this
great work could not continue. Checks can be written to Bahama
Mission Church of Christ and sent:
Attn: David Caskey Missions
Gulf Coast
Church of Christ
3825 McGregor Blvd.
Ft. Myers, Florida 33901
David Caskey
