Bahama Mission Update
June 9, 2008

Time has been moving so fast lately that I have considered using the clock over my desk as a fan. Hurricane Season is with us again and I got a year older. Gas went up for the plane to $7.26 a gallon. From the looks of the price of oil, higher prices on gas will be with us for a long time. Our hearts and prayers go out to those in the Mid-West who have been flooded.

I just talked to Dick Parker again. Most of you will remember the Parkers (Dick and Beverly). They spent more than a quarter of a century as missionaries in the Islands. They worked in Freeport where he built the building and reached many of those who are in positions of leadership today. They moved to Rock Sound, Eleuthera and secured and revamped a building there. They had recruited Lincoln Young who became the preacher when they left almost 17 years ago. Then they moved and labored in Marsh Harbour, Abaco. Dinah and I had a great visit with them last November at Mission Day in Freeport. Beverly was coughing at that time, but the doctors Ihad not found her problem. A few weeks ago they found a rare type of cancer in her lungs. It was so far gone that they told her that treatment might only prolong her life a month or so. She chose not to face Chemo and radiation. When she got out of hospital she and Dick moved into a Christian Home where they could get care. Dick had just faced surgery and had a slight stroke on the table.He is much improved! They stayed there a few days and then she was moved into the hospital again for a few days, and is now in a home where they can keep her comfortable in these last days. Her sister Joann was buried last week. She was a micro-biologist and taught in a University for 37 years. She had a brain tumor and died the next day after it was removed. Beverly is 82 and Dick had his 84th birthday a week or so ago. Today they have been married 63 years. Dick told a touching story of their lunch. The Home provided a private room, their daughter Peggy brought in a nice table cloth and decorations, and went to the Olive Garden for some special food. When she told them about her parents anniversary and that her mother was dying of cancer, they donated the food. There are still a lot of nice people in the world. We of the Bahamas miss Dick and Beverly and are thankful for the years of service that brought so many souls to the Lord.I talked to Beverly the other day and she assured me that she had accepted her plight and had prepared for her reward. Please join us in praying for them in this difficult period.

Dinah and I were delighted and honored to be with the West Broward congregation in Ft.Lauderdale on the day of their annual Mission Contribution. They had set a goal of $50,000. By the end of the day, they had counted $51,300 with more expected. We are thankful to have fellowship with this fine church. We recently discovered that the Hopewell Church in Hopewell, Virginia has been sending money for the Bahama Mission Program for a number of years through the West Broward Church. We are thankful for their support and just sent them some new pictures of the work for their bulletin board. We are hopeful that we can visit with them later in the year.

Dinah recently made a trip to St. Louis to visit with her mother and I went back to the Islands. In Abaco, I changed the oil in the plane and gave it a good check up, visited with members and ran a clinic. I am glad to be able to report that Lilla Strachan was able to attend services for the first time since her stroke. I also visited with several families who have recently lost loved ones. Two of the faithful young adults told us of their engagement and plans to marry in September. Having families build Christian Homes stabilizes the work for the future. Dinah and I will be back in Abaco after our trip to Detroit this week-end to speak for two congregations who have been helping the work for many years. I am thankful that a number of the young men in Abaco are now preaching on Sunday nights. This is also true in Freeport and Nassau. Jason and Katrinka Quashie will be in Oklahoma for a wedding while we are there to fill in. Allie Clark from Nassau had been stationed in Abaco for 4 moths with the Defense Force and has now returned to be with his family. On his last Sunday in Abaco, he brought 7 of the men under his command to worship.

On Saturday I flew to Freeport to be there for the installation of their first Elders. All of the Elders from the Highbury Park church in Nassau came for the occasion. Brother William Miller had spent 7 week-ends teaching on Elders as a close out of more than a year of study and preparation. It was a thrilling and exciting day and a real milestone in the history of that congregation. I presented Bibles to each of the two Elders and their wives. The new Elders are Ellison Delva and James Miller. I can remember when both of these men and their wives where students in the Harding School of Biblical Studies in the mid '80's. The School is no longer in operation, but the foundation laid is still providing rich rewards. The service concluded with a special prayer for the new Elders led by Brother Hastie as all of these Island elders stood together and held hands. The Freeport Church is very excited. They have recently redone their building and it really looks nice. Rudy and Paula Stuart will be in Long Island this week-end to visit and encourage. Rudy is doing well following his cancer treatments. We are thankful! Joyce Bent is a travel agent in Freeport and a faithful member of the Church. She always makes our visits to Freeport smooth and pleasant. Thank you Joyce for the rides to and from the airport. If you plan to travel in the Islands, Joyce is a great choice for a travel agent. She can arrange flights, and places to stay all over the Islands. exoticvacations@coralwave.com.

Lincoln has been having computer problems again and the lack of power in Eleuthera has not helped the internet interruptions. He took his laptop to Nassau when he went in to attend the graduation of Tessa, one of the Rock Sound members, and Frankie Simmons worked on his computer. Hopefully he is up an running and you will be hearing from him again soon. We were also having power outages in Abaco. I was told that one of our generators had been sent to Eleuthera to help them out. So everyone is doing power sharing. The power will be out for several hours each day in various sectors of the Island.

Thank you so much for your support and prayers over the years. Checks can be made to:

Att: David Caskey-Mission, c/o Gulf Coast Church of Christ
9550 Ben C. Pratt/Six Mile Cypress Parkway
Ft. Myers, Florida 33966.

Please note the new address. They have recently moved into their new building.

david

Bahama Mission Home Page
http://www.flyingpreacher.com/
Mission Contact: David Caskey

Webmaster: Jerry Pickup
http://www.jpickup.com/