We have had a busy few days, but most enjoyable. We were overwhelmed after our last report with offers to help Lincoln Young with new batteries and tires for his wheelchair. The Young People in Auburn, Alabama directed by Joel Farrell were first in line. We were able to get the needed items and load them in the plane for the last trip. Lincoln was really excited. He went out for a test run, to see if the batteries were holding the charge, and we had to go and look for him. He was blocks away visiting and inviting people to services. As a spin off, the young people at Gulf Coast in Ft. Myers, Florida took on the project of furnishing the paint for the outside of the Marsh Harbour building. We are happy to report that both projects are complete. Thank you also to others who offered to help.
The Steel for the new classroom building has been sent by truck to West Palm Beach to be loaded on a ship for Abaco. Hopefully this will be in place within the next few days. We have the money for the shipping and the duty to be paid to the Bahamas Government arriving today. Our thanks to John Amyx and Ragina Jacobson for their consideration in cutting the cost of both the steel and the overland shipping to a minimum. We are anxious to get started in erecting this needed addition.
We have made some changes in our Bible distribution programs. Due in large part to a very generous contribution for Bibles from an anonymous source, we are buying a better grade of Bibles and giving them to teachers and leaders in the congregations of the Bahamas. Also Lincoln Young has started a new program of having a Bible Contest for young people in the Rock Sound community. They will meet at our building on Wednesday evenings and be tested in a number of categories. We will furnish 25 nice Bibles to the winners of the contests on a quarterly basis. We will share this idea with other congregations and hope to use it as a real evangelistic opportunity. Up until now we have been buying thousands of paper back testaments and Bibles to give to the students in the schools. We may go back to this at some time in the future, but for now will focus on this new opportunity.
On our last trip to the States we picked up a large load of materials. We had 800 lbs of freight in addition to two people and fuel. We were within about a 100 lbs of being maxed out for weight.Sometimes I wish we had a DC 3! I slept good that night, after loading and unloading that 800 lbs several times. I was helped after we got to Marsh Harbour by Frank Sarver and Benny Morton. We still have two or three loads of Bible Class material waiting to be loaded on other trips. The brethren at West Broward in Ft. Lauderdale have been providing materials for the Friday night youth programs in the various congregations. I have about two more loads on hand, and they are holding another 135 lbs for me to get later. We are thankful for all of this help.
We are excited to have 9 boxes of World Bible School materials in the Islands. We have already begun the distribution. These material have come from much hard work by Sandy Haney of Lewisville, Texas. We have not been successful in getting WBS students to mail in lessons, due to the fact that postal service is non existent in many Islands, and slow and expensive in a lot of others. Sandy accepted the challenge to raise funds and ship materials to us. These are handed out personally and then collected, graded, and efforts to set personal studies are the follow up. It is exciting to see large numbers of students in some of the small settlements in the Islands. Please pray for this effort, and for Sandy as he continues to raise money to help with this vital project. We are also thankful to the brethren at Longmire Road in Conroe, Texas for grading the lessons that have been returned by mail.
We are constantly reminded of the passing of time and aging. This week a very dear friend and supporter for more than a quarter of century passed quietly to her reward in her sleep. Exa Clark of San Augustine, Texas was just 6 weeks short of her 100th birthday!
I always enjoy our work, but there are times when it is really special. Last week I hosted Benny Morton from Detroit on an 8 day sojourn in the Islands. Benny traces his ancestors back to the Island of Eleuthera. He and his family were the first to preach in these Islands, and among his success stories was the baptizing of William Miller in the early 1950's. This was the start of the Church in the Bahamas. That first congregation now has elders and deacons and is self supporting and evangelistic. Benny is a delightful and talented man. We were able to carry him to Eleuthera and trace the steps of his grandfather and father. We took pictures of him standing on the rubble of his grandfather's home in Governor's Harbour. He met again Sam Pinder,(88) a denominational preacher who had allowed him to preach in his building more than 50 years ago. Benny was preaching on the streets when the invitation came. Benny accepted the invitation with the warning that he would be preaching from the Bible! Sam told him he would not have it any other way. We found distant relatives, and even visited a church building that he been built in Benny's honor! Sunday afternoon we flew back to Abaco for him to preach in Marsh Harbour. We also visited with two people in Marsh Harbour whom Benny had baptized when they were 14 years old. Two ladies in Long Island are strong and active in the Faith because of what Benny and his family did. We are reminded that some plant and others water, but that God gives the increase. Thank you Benny for your love of truth and your past sacrifices.
We continue to thank you for your prayers and support. This week we will host John and Gay Meury from Rockport, Texas. John serves as an elder in this congregation that has been actively in supporting us for many years. Both John and Gay have recently retired and we are praying that they will start spending some time each year in one of our congregations doing personal work and teaching. Our purpose on this trip is to give them a choice of locations, let the brethren meet them and give them a personal invitation. They will also be working with Frank and Bea Sarver in Marsh Harbour in door knocking and teaching. We had one baptism last week due to a study the Sarvers conducted, and Frank said they expect another today.
Sometimes we still have to laugh. There is a cafe in Spanish Wells, Eleuthera that puts a closed sign on the door from 12 noon to 1 p.m. so the owners can go home for lunch! This is a true story.
david
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