At long last we are moving into the edge of Phase Two of our recovery work. The container arrived in Freeport with the 38,000 lbs of food and water last week. They still struggled to get it cleared through Customs and delivered to the building. I will check again this morning to see if that was accomplished. We have about 23 families out of work in Freeport until the hotels open again. Some will open before the end of the year and the rest by February. We will be trying to assist these brethren for a while yet. We have given emergency assistance to people in many Islands. Most of the power in Grand Cayman came back on last week. The Atlantic seems quiet for a change and we are thankful for the time to work on recovery. We have so many, who due to salt water flooding or roof damage, lost all their belongings. We have not had the money to replace everything, but have tried to help each family with the necessities. We have a tendency to think it is all over, but it will be months and sometimes years before things get back where they were, if ever.
The Freeport congregation has done the repairs to their roof and classrooms. The new windows have been installed in the Cat Island building. These were donated by two individuals. Sister Lilla Strachen in Abaco and the Frank Sarvers. The old windows were completely blown away. With the assistance and support of the Palm Beach Lakes congregation in West Palm, the Abaco brethren now have the roof on the classroom building.Several men went to Abaco last week-end and sent a 20 foot container of materials and tools. Another group is going to do mostly spiritual work this next week-end. It has been determined that the roof on the main building is too far gone to repair. Twenty years of Hurricane damage has left the plywood rotten and everything must be replaced. The contact has been signed for the work to begin soon. Lincoln has started the repairs on the Eleuthera building, and we still have to fully access the damage to the building in Long Island. We have also made contributions to the Highbury Park congregation in Nassau for their building and for the roof on the Jamaica School of Preaching in Kingston.
We are thankful to be back to doing more spiritual work. There were two baptisms in Abaco last week. This next week-end in Marsh Harbour will bring the special effort mentioned above. New replacement song books have been sent to Cayman, and new books have been ordered for a number of the congregations in the Bahamas. We are grateful to John Howard of Howard Publishing in West Monroe, La. for the special pricing. World Bible School materials have been shipped along with new replacement Bibles and Bible Study materials. We will be doing a lot of follow-up work with those who have been helped, and others we still hope to help as we move from Island to Island and settlement to settlement. The annual Mission Day for the Bahamas will be hosted again this year by the Freeport Brethren. I have been asked to be the key-note speaker on November 28. The storms have not dampened the enthusiasm for the souls of men.
Last week we visited with the Palm City congregation in Florida.They have assisted the Church in Abaco in the past with a gift of Bibles. They lost their building completely and are meeting for now in a movie theater. We were thrilled that the brethren in Abaco have donated new songs books to replace theirs that were destroyed. Christianity brings out the best in all of us.
We are so thankful to those of you who have prayed fro the victims and for your generous contributions that have allowed us to help so many. The work is far from over, and if you still would like to help we would be very thankful. Checks can be made out to Bahama Mission Church of Christ, and addressed to
David Caskey-Missions, 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/
