A new year of service is well underway. We are all hoping that the disasters in the coming months will be less in number and severity. Hurricanes, fires, snow storms, floods have all displaced thousands of families all over the world and hopefully caused all of us to realize the brevity of life and the need for preparation for the future. Friends and supporters in Desdemona, Texas suffered from fires and one of the members in Nassau had a brother murdered. We always want to keep in mind and prayers those who are struggling.
We have finished the Annual Inspection on the plane and are waiting for the avionics people to correct a 400 foot discrepancy in the radar altitude encoder. The Sarvers have arrived in Marsh Harbour and are going full speed ahead in Bible Studies and teaching public classes. Frank said that their schedule is pretty full with 10 studies on going. Katrinka Quashie went to Oklahoma City to have gall bladder surgery (her brother lives there) and is doing well and back home. Jason made a quick trip to be with her and then took part in a week-end retreat with brethren from the Palm Beach Lakes congregation in Florida. This congregation is very involved in helping Abaco, and will be working to assist in finishing the class room building in the near future. The Hurricanes put a stop to that work. There was another baptism in Abaco Sunday. The goal for this year set by this little congregation is 15 precious souls. The way things are going, they should reach more than that. The Wednesday classes with both women and men are going well. I preached in Abaco in Jason's absence. Attendance last Sunday Morning was 55.
Dinah and I made a trip down to Rock Sound to deliver batteries for Lincoln's wheelchair. His main chair had dead batteries. They were back ordered from the States due to a shut down of the factory over the holidays. His back-up chair had developed a problem with the computer, and we brought the arm and computer back to see if it can be repaired. While driving Lincoln around in his "ramp" van I noticed the brakes were bad. Somehow we found the master cylinder in Eleuthera (87 Dodge Ram Van) and by 10 p.m. had the brakes repaired and bled. We were met at the airport by a new Christian who works for Bahamas Customs. Ann was bubbling over as her husband had come with her to worship the previous Sunday.She took us to meet him and he has promised to keep coming with her. Lincoln at long last has his computer up and running again. So those of you on his report list should have gotten a brief note and will be getting his reports again. Dinah and I also worked with Lincoln in getting his computer table screwed to the wall. This is a table that Dinah and I made. It has no legs so that his chair fits underneath, and is high enough for him to use it to type with his tongue. Lincoln receives support from several congregations in both the Bahamas and the United States. He is doing a great job with young people on the Island. One lady told Dinah and me that if they had two more like Lincoln in Eleuthera, they would not have any problem young people.
We attended a funeral back in Abaco for an old friend who was known in the Bahamas as a Nation Builder. Stewart Stratton was responsible for building many of the airports that we still use. He was a very generous man and was loved by all. The Prime Minister sent an envoy to express his regrets for not being able to attend. He was tied up on the Island of Exuma. The next day I heard from Steve McQueen and he had seen the Prime Minister in Exuma and had the opportunity to present him with a copy of his book, "You Can I Know You Can". He has been invited by the Prime Minister to come to Nassau and make another presentation to a member of the Ministry. Steve was so excited about the attendance a couple of weeks ago. They had 49 on Sunday Morning. We are still very much in need of a place to worship of our own. It is hard to get the people of the Islands to believe you are there to stay when you are meeting in a borrowed or rented room. We are still working with Lincoln Young to see about some family property, some of which might be available to us, on that Island.They have a number of activities planned for this year with brethren from the Ringgold, Georgia area. Mike Gurganus expends a lot of effort as the Ringgold congregation oversees the work done by the McQueens.
Dinah and I will be making a trip to Freeport to check out the colors for painting the inside of their building. It has taken a beating with several Hurricanes. Kevin Wooten will be bringing a group of college students down in March (11th-18th) for Spring Break to work with the congregation and also do some manual labor in painting. My sister who is a Interior Designer has worked with pictures of the building and between she and Dinah they will get it worked out. We want to try and get the paint sent over from the States as it will save a lot of money.
Dinah and I were very blessed to spend some time in Abaco. Several in the congregation saw to it that we were overfed. Dinah says they treat us better than we deserve.It is hard to stay on your diet when someone is making a freezer of homemade coconut ice cream! Dinah has us on a strict exercise program. The only problem is that I workout until I am about ready to drop and notice that I have burned up 200 calories, then eat ice cream and take in 2000?
We just received 20 cases of Bibles for distribution in the Islands. We give these to our new members and also to key people with whom we are studying. Often we make presentations to government officials. We are so thankful for the hard work and dedication of the Young People at the Longmire Road Congregation in Conroe, Texas for the thousands of dollars they have raised for this project.People can not know what is right unless they have a copy of the Word. Many have lost Bibles in the Hurricanes. The requests that we receive are for water, food, and then Bibles.We as members of the Church in the Islands are known as the "People Who Give Away Bibles".!
Erik Tryggestad of the Christian Chronicle is doing a feature next month on the Bahamas. If you get this paper, you will enjoy his perspective. He has had input from a number of our local preachers in the various Islands.
The phone service in the family Islands of the Bahamas is often unreliable due to many reasons including storms. When a Hurricane hits, we are often without means of communication for a long time. I just talked with Randy Taylor out in Pecos, Texas. He and his family are sending us a satellite phone to be used for emergency calls, and when we are in areas that have no phone service.This will be a great comfort and a great tool. We are thankful for their consideration and gift.
Plans are now being made and a schedule assembled for us to be with many of the supporting congregations during the month of April. Hopefully we will see many of you.
We are thankful to all of you for your sacrifice, prayers, and encouragement as we labor together in the service of the Master. 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/
