The first Atlantic Tropical Storm has just been named Arlene. We need your prayers as we face another busy Hurricane Season. We are still aiding families as they prepare for the onslaught of another year. There are many homes with obvious damage that will really face serious destruction when hit again.
We have been busy with our regular evangelistic work and the last of the Hurricane Recovery work. We have not yet received the check, but have a final Hurricane Recovery grant of $10,000 from the Pitts Foundation in Louisiana. This came from funds that accompanied the honoring of Neil Wrights father who died recently. We are thankful to the foundation and to Neil and Becky for their gift. Many people will be helped by this generosity. We thank you all for your sacrifice and compassion last year.
We just bought more than $1000 worth of World Bible School materials to go with another $1000 worth of Bibles. (Thank you Longmire Road Church and Youth). We are using the WBS materials in the Bahamas one on one. Our mail service in many of the Islands is slow to non-existent. The Brethren in Freeport have almost 100 students and continue to enroll family, friends and associates. Abaco and Exuma are both having good success.
I spent the last of the month in Marsh Harbour getting ready for the Hurricanes. We moved the large attic fan from the building above our room and sealed the opening. This has been the source of much damage with Hurricanes. Our floor had to be repaired as much had rotted with the water damage. Our little air conditioner quit, and had to be replaced. As usual the new one was a different size and it took a lot of chiseling of cement walls to get the new one in.
Marsh Harbour is working hard to get the new building closed in before the first storm. The windows are in and money was given by the Highland Church in Lakeland, Florida to buy the two doors we were lacking. I spoke on Wednesday night while in Abaco. Also we have been using some of the young people who are working to earn funds to attend the Youth Forum at Palm Beach Lakes. My plane has never been so shiny and the other pilots are jealous of my having a bunch of pretty girls giving it the dazzle. We have just had a week with three University Interns from the Palm Beach Lakes congregation in West Palm Beach. Cliff Boyd, David Milton and Nathaniel Nelson have worked hard and conducted several studies as well as preached and taught Bible Classes. One lady they were studying with came to class last night with her son. They even spent 8 hours digging onions on the farm of one of our members who was hit hard in the storms.
Our sick are doing better. We are still concerned about Lincoln Young. Dr. Commander from Auburn prescribed a double antibiotic that he is now taking before he goes back to Nassau for additional tests. Last night I heard from Dick Parker about his final surgery to be on the 23rd in California. Katrinka Quashie is having more tests on her liver. William Miller and Frank Sarver are both doing well. Keep all of these in your prayers.
Dinah's mom came down for a week visit and we enjoyed the renewed association. We do not get to see our mothers very often.
We flew to Freeport for a few days to meet a group of 19 who came from Auburn, Alabama. This is the first time that we have had a group of families. Many times we have young people, university students, couples and singles. The family group was great. We were welcomed by the brethren from the Church. The ladies worked long and hard to provide food for us on arrival at our quarters and cooked enough Sunday lunch for us to eat on several days. Marisa Allen from Abaco had baked me a huge Birthday cake so that we could share with the group. Dr. and Julie Commander's youngest daughter Joy (7 years old) was perplexed as to why I had no candles on my birthday cake. I tried to explain that at my age we would have had to call the fire department if we had lit that many candles in one place. I am not sure that she was satisfied by my explanation. (She ate the cake anyway).The group had special leadership, marriage, teacher and song leader training classes. They visited schools, hospitals, homes for the aged, and did a slow effective form of door knocking. They went into homes, prayed with the people, enrolled some in WBS lessons, and even met a family whose daughter is a student at Auburn University. They will meet the young lady after they get home. One interesting evening came at a restaurant near the Church building. The waitress found out that we were a Church group and requested that we sing. So we sang for our supper and paid for it too! Others at the tables joined in. (Only in the Bahamas)
Our schedule has changed a little this week. The Vincent Burrows family in Long Island each lost a brother last week, and the folks in Exuma have all been down sick with ear and throat infections and virus complications. We have worked around Abaco, doing maintenance, getting the cars licensed and visiting with the brethren. We will spend the week-end in Eleuthera. Lincoln has a group coming in from Memphis, (led by Rick Woods) and also told me this morning to bring some clothes to get 'wet'. He believes that at least one of his studies will require a 'visit to the sea'. (We spent the week-end with Lincoln. He had 33 in Bible Class and 43 in Worship. We had one baptism and should have more soon. There was another baptism in Marsh Harbour while we were away.)
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/
