Bahama Mission Update
August 18, 2007

The slow start to the Hurricane Season is over. Erin as a tropical storm hit south Texas and flooded many areas and several died. Hurricane Dean is still getting stronger as it passed over the Windward Islands and takes aim at Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, and then is forecast for Cancun and the coast of Texas. I have been in touch with brethren in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Our hope and prayers are that it will not be as bad as forecast and that lives will be spared. A storm this big is going to do a lot of damage.

The last few days has brought a number of baptisms. Jason Quashie baptized his mother in Abaco while they were visiting. They are due to go home to St. Vincent via Jamaica on Monday. Dinah and I delivered the paint to Abaco for the regular building and it is almost painted. The new color matches the roof put on after the last Hurricanes. We were blessed by Customs officials when they let us bring in the paint duty free. This saved a bill that usually adds 75%. Marsh Harbour is awaiting a group coming from Richardson, Texas to do personal evangelism and a VBS. Another group from Tennessee is already setting up for next Summer in Abaco. The Quashies and some others from Abaco returned from a Mission Day in Richardson. Dinah and I were there during their absence. I was so very impressed with the Wednesday night class taught by Leslie Rolle a recent convert. You would think he had been preaching for years. We also had a nice visit with Canadian Bob Hewitt who was baptized a few months ago. He is a farmer who spends two weeks in Abaco 11 times a year.

The funeral for Lilla Strachan's son was attended by a large crowd. Andrew Major even offered an invitation to obey the Gospel. One Government Minister who was there, told me that he usually wears out after 30 minutes, but could have listened to the preaching for another hour. The digging of graves in the Islands is a huge job. They are cut into the coral rock and shored up with blocks. Cement is poured around the grave and it is filled with sand at the burial. This explains the statement of people who are sick; "If I do not get better soon, they will have to order up a load of sand for me". Dinah and I spent some time at the airport waiting for, and returning people who flew in from other Islands. We visited with a number of Government Officials who are friends we have know for years. I guess we are still amazed at the relaxed atmosphere in which Members of Parliament and even the Prime Minister interact with the people. No massive Secret Service details.

Our next trip will include a stop in Eleuthera. We have a spare set of batteries for Lincoln's wheelchair and a hydraulic jack for his van. Dinah has also made him a nice flower arrangement for his house. He will celebrate his 40th Birthday on September 19. Lincoln was given a "Dragon Speaking" program some months back by friends in Ft. Myers, Florida. His computers did not have enough memory to install the program. Dinah and I have gotten a laptop for him and will bring the program back to the States after this trip and get Jerry Pickup (The Web Master) to help us get it all set for him. With this program he will no longer have to type with his tongue. Take a look at the Web Page also. Jerry has a new format and has added pictures and an update on information.

We will spend the week-end with the Central Church in Nassau. We have not been with Andrew and Bonnie Major at Central in some time. We were able to give Andrew a few Bibles after the funeral and some tracts. We will carry several cases of Bibles and a lot of tracts for the Central and Highbury Park congregations. These are the new Bibles furnished by the youth group from Longmire Road in Conroe, Texas. This group is also looking into making a VBS trip to Central in Nassau for next summer. They are counting the cost.

We hear some interesting stories when we visit with people in the Islands. Dave Collins has an uncle "Percy", who builds houses for a living, but all of his life has been a treasure hunter. Years ago he was building a house for Burl Ives (the actor) on Grand Cay in the northern Abaco chain of islands. There was a huge rock in front of the house where he ate his lunch every day for months. Burl sold the house to the Nixon family (as in President), and they later sold it to another family. The new family wanted to move the massive rock as it blocked some of the view to the beach. Dynamite did the trick and revealed a pirates chest full of gold coins. This reminds me of the story of the Pearl of Great Price.

We had a short opportunity to meet with our children in St. Augustine, Florida last week. We see family pretty seldom. We also spent time with Brother Les Bittings Sr. who is in a nursing home. He and his wife Kay were great supporters of our work. He was an elder at West Broward in Ft. Lauderdale, and the man who introduced us to this congregation after Hurricane Andrew in the early 1990's. Kay passed away almost two years ago. Brother Les is 86 and laments the fact that he can not be active in the service of the Master. He is an inspiration to us.

Keep all in your prayers as Hurricane Dean and those that will follow do their damage.

We are thankful for your support 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/