It is hard to believe that we are this far into 2005 already. We have been busy and I also came down with a cold of flu or whatever was going around. I got sick enough to ground myself for several days. This caused me to miss the Commonwealth of the Bahamas Lectureship in Nassau and put me a little behind in delivering Bibles, Bible Study materials and tracts to several places. We hope to catch up in the next few weeks after we have made our reports to the "Seven Churches of Texas". This will be the end of our reporting and visits with distant supporting congregations for this year. These visits are important to Dinah and me and also to the relationships we have with the supporters of the work in the Islands. Acts 14 sets the example for missionaries visiting and reporting to those who send them.
We continue to work with Hurricane Recovery. There are still many of our brethren who are struggling to get back to some form of normality. We will keep helping as long as the money lasts. We have a little left and are using it to help in the most damaged areas. We sent money to Freeport and have given to Abaco and Eleuthera this last week. We continue to be thankful for your generosity to those in need.
Frank Sarver is doing better. He got out of the hospital but had to return for a few days. The lab reports did not indicate cancer cells in the lymph nodes around the area of the colon that was removed. He is to visit with an Oncologist at some time in the near future to determine what additional treatment will be needed. Continue to remember this family in your prayers. If you would like to send Frank and Bea a card, their address is:
We have also been very concerned about Lincoln Young. Dinah discovered when she was visiting with him last week,(while I was working on the wheel chair again), that he had a kidney blockage for several days and when it finally broke loose he had a massive amount of bleeding. He had not seen a doctor, but had been given some antibiotics by the nurse at the clinic in Rock Sound. I could only guess that he had a kidney stone! ( Doctor Caskey??) I have instructed him to get an appointment with a urologist in Nassau. I told him that somehow we would see that the Dr. got paid. I have a great concern about uremic poisoning with people in wheelchairs. I am awaiting word now on when he can get to Nassau. Keep him in your prayers also. His e-mail is up again blessed222000@yahoo.com
The Church in Marsh Harbour has experienced a number of good things lately. The Palm Beach Lakes congregation in West Palm Beach, Fl. has joined forces with them as a sister congregation and will be sending groups to help with training, Vacation Bible Schools, Men's and Women's retreats etc. They are also contributing $500 a month toward the support of Jason and Katrinka Quashie. In addition they are supporting a weekly 15 minute local radio program in Abaco.This will air at 5:00 p.m. on Sundays. They also had special cards printed and we are seeing them all over town as the congregation invites the local people to tune it. We are very thankful for their involvement and believe that it will be a great benifit to both congregations. Two weeks ago, Marsh Harbour had a "bring your friend day", and invited James Miller from Freeport to be the speaker. They broke their previous record by having 77 present for the service. We are also excited that the classroom building is moving along well now. There was a big delay because of the Hurricanes. The brethren in West Palm have at long last found the right color shingles to complete the roof on the regular building.(Building supplies in Florida are still hard to get). They are to be shipped soon. We hope at some point in the future to be able to construct and replace the steeple that is an intregal part of the unique design of the building. They continue to work with the new converts with follow up studies. A number of visitors are attending regularly. Donna Steward is down for a few days and is doing some special work with the ladies. Jack is to join her soon. If you would like to get the weekly report from Marsh Harbour, contact Jason/Katrinka Quashie and make that request. quashie@coralwave.com Several groups are coming to Marsh Harbour this summer from different congregations for special efforts.
The new wheel chair for Lincoln has begun its journey. Ron Hasten and his wife donated the chair and bought new batteries in Lakeland Fl., and Jerry Smith borrowed a pick-up and drove to Lakeland and brought it back to Palm City, Florida. It is in a warehouse at this time. We will take it apart and load in the plane when we return from our trip to Texas. This is going to give Lincoln a great deal of comfort. When his chair breaks down, he is stuck in a room until we can get it going again. This sometimes is a long drawn out process, as parts have to be flown in from the States. With this second chair to back up his aging one, he will not have to interrupt his busy schedule. We were also delighted to visit with Lincoln's Mom and Dad along with two Sisters and a host of nephews and nieces who had come over for the holiday period. Lincoln has a number of Bible Studies going at this time. We really enjoyed meeting some of these folks. One is a school teacher, and another is the head customs agent at the Port. Ann came and gave us a ride to the airport the other day.
I will be working today and tomorrow with my aircraft mechanic to replace the left oleostrut on the main landing gear of the plane. I have been nursing this situation for a couple of years. The chrome has rusted and chipped and has nicked the "O" ring enough now to cause a slow leak in fluid and nitrogen. I wanted it repaired before any more flights. Dinah and I look a little different now when we fly. We are sporting two new Helicopter Crew Constant Wear Life Vests as we fly over the water. We realized after the engine failure last year, that if that happened over water that we would be too busy to get our jackets out of the sealed packages and get them on, get our raft out and prepare for ditching. Our good friend Louis Key of Zig Zag Airways in Marsh Harbour had started wearing one after our mishap and insisted that we do the same. This is very good advice! He also told us that at his age he can not afford to lose anymore friends.We have gotten used to the extra bulk and look pretty neat in our matching blue.
Our trips to Ft. Myers and Clewiston Fl. and Chattanooga TN. were delightful. We are so thankful to the Elders and Staff and congregation in Ft. Myers (Gulf Coast) for their sponsorship and encouragement. We were touched by the efforts of Sister Olive Williams and her sister in law. The congregation had received 10,000 communion cups that were faulty. They sent a new case and told them just to throw the others away. Olive discovered that only every fifth cup was leaking. So she and her sister in law sat by the bedside of her husband who was dying from cancer ( he passed away two weeks ago) and counted the cups and threw away every fifth one. She wanted to do something to help the brethren in the Bahamas. When I told this story to the congregations where we shared the cups, they too were touched and I doubt that any of us will take a cup in the future without thinking that this dear lady "did what she could".
We flew into Chattanooga TN, but spoke and met with brethren from Rossville and Ringgold Ga. These towns are about 10 miles apart and just across the border. We are so thankful for the great work they do in supporting the efforts of Steve and Suzette McQueen in Exuma. Steve reports the second baptism in Exuma. We continue to pray for this family. The brethren in Georgia will be in Exuma in May and then later in the summer as well.
We continue to thank you for your concern and prayers. Checks can be made to Bahama Mission Church of Christ, and sent:
Att: David Caskey-Mission, c/o Gulf Coast Church of Christ
3825 McGregor Blvd.
Ft. Myers, Florida 33901.
david
Bahama Mission Home Page
http://www.flyingpreacher.com/
Mission Contact
David Caskey
Webmaster
Jerry Pickup
http://www.jpickup.com/
