Happy New Year. May we all dedicate ourselves to greater spiritual growth and more active service in the months ahead!
Dinah and I have been working now for weeks with Hurricane Recovery and the special Evangelistic Thrust that goes along with our work. We give to those in need without any strings attached, but are at the same time aware of the fact that hardship often awaken an awareness of our need for God. We use this opportunity to reach out with the message of Hope. We have been giving new Bibles to those who had theirs destroyed, or who did not have one.With these Bibles we give also personal evangelism studies and World Bible School lessons. The Young People at Longmire Road in Conroe, Texas continue to collect soda cans and have already donated $3000 for Bibles. This is an inspiring story. We seldom read in the papers of all of the great things that our young people are doing.This is a small group with a big heart. They have set a goal of raising a total of $5000 for Bibles.
The scale of destruction wrought by the Tsunami has staggered our minds. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones and to the hundreds of thousands who are struggling to survive. Suffering is a universal fact. The scale of Hurricane damage seems small compared to the wide spread activities of the Tsunami, but that is hard to explain to someone who lost everything they have in Francis, Jeanne, Charley, and Ivan. The damage to the Islands of the Bahamas was 200 million dollars. Grand Cayman is just a small Island with about 40,000 people and had 2.8 Billion dollars in damage. Granada suffered much of the same damage. Many of these brethren still have no power, or water or phones. They are camping in the remains of their places of abode. Keep them in your prayers!
We spent much of the holiday period sharing with those recovering, doing some repairs and clean up and painting to our own place. Jack and Donna Stewart, Katrinka Quashie, Dinah and I cleaned up damage in the Church building in Marsh Harbour. We salvaged 41 boxes of study materials, Bible School booklets,World Bible School Studies, Bibles and tracts. These were sent to several Islands who were waiting for replacements. We also, with the help of Greta Culmer and a forklift, sent a huge truck load to the dump. Some of the boxes were sent on mail boats and some were delivered by plane. Jerry and Connie Smith of Palm City, Florida made one trip with us to two Islands. They used their "Merlin" for a trip to Long Island and Eleuthera from Marsh Harbour.This really saved in time and the number of loads we would have carried in our little plane. This turbo-prop small airliner moves along at more than 300 miles an hour. Getting into the small 4000 foot runway at Dead Man's Cay in strong cross winds tested the skill of the pilot. Jerry did a great job, but I doubt he would want to try it again.
The Long Island trip was a delight. We were privileged to "go to the sea" for two baptisms during our short stay. These were the 7th and 8th baptisms since the storms. One was a 75 year old man who had been attending services in Long Island for about 2 years and the other was a 55 year old friend who was visiting from Nassau and who along with his family go to the Central congregation where Andrew Major preaches. The winter temperatures of the ocean water was numbing to my legs and took their breath as they were immersed, but did not dampen their spirits or the spirits of the group gathered on the beach.
Dinah and I had made one earlier trip to Eleuthera and spent the night. Dinah had a two hour session with the kids who gathered at the building for the Mid-week Bible Study. The enthusiasm of the children was encouraging. Some of their stories are heart breaking. One little 6 year old girl who is so bright comes from an abusive home. Her father is in prison and the mother curses and abuses her constantly. She clung to Dinah as we walked over to "Sammy's" after class so Uncle Lincoln could treat them to a rare ice cream cone. Dinah said she kept calling her "mom". The thought crossed our minds that we could take and raise her, but common sense says that "Old Homeless People" like us could not handle the challenge. Early the next morning, some of the kids stopped me on the street and asked "Where is that lady that was with you last night? The kids fell in love with Dinah. I was able to run a phone line to Lincoln's office and connect his computer. I had already repaired the phone line in Marsh Harbour so that I no longer have to go to the pole on the street to get my e-mail. I may become a phone repair man as my next "hat to wear". (ha) We also delivered replacement song books, Bibles and tracts.
If you have not heard from Lincoln for some time, there is a reason. His old computer is about given up the ghost. Dinah and I have decided that he must have a new one. We have it ordered, but it has not arrived. If any of you would like to assist with this project we would be appreciative. I have also ordered him new batteries for his wheel chair and running as much as he does on the roads wear his tires out pretty often. So that will be next. Jerry and Connie Smith brought Eleuthera a new communion tray set. Their old one had rusted, and I had sanded and spray painted it to give them something to use. They were able to present this as we stopped back by Eleuthera on the way back to Marsh Harbour from Long Island. Lincoln had great success with his spiritual approach to "Junkanoo". His group handed out hundreds of tracts and my drug education books to the large crowd. They won the competition again this year!
Back in Marsh Harbour I preached a couple of Sundays for Jason Quashie while he went to be with his brother during surgery and as he and Katrinka took a short much need vacation. I did finally get one of the vans running so that the Frank Sarvers can use it when they arrive January 11th-March 15 th to assist the Marsh Harbour congregation. I ran my daily clinic, did some work on the plane, and we visited with shut-ins and members during the week. We had a holiday meal with Jerry and Connie Smith at their home along with some of the local members and Jack and Donna Stewart. Several of us were invited up to the Stewarts also where Donna cooked a great meal. So we made it fine with our extended family and the storm victims. I am really encouraged by Anthony Noles whom Jason baptized recently. He has a thirst for Bible knowledge and a good basic understanding. He is the Dock Master at one of the local marinas. Hurricane repairs have moved pretty well in most of our Islands. We are still waiting for a roofer to get to us in Marsh Harbour. We have had the money and the supplies for some weeks. We are thankful to the Palm Beach Lakes congregation in West Palm Beach for their generosity with this project.
Our next trip will be to take supplies to Abaco, Nassau, Freeport, Exuma, Long Island, Cat Island, and Eleuthera. We have invited my mother to come down and fly with us, and celebrate her 85th birthday. Flying has changed a good deal since her days as an active pilot! The brethren in the Islands are looking forward to meeting her. We will most likely have a number of cakes and birthday celebrations. The "Mission Printing" project started by my Dad and Mother has reached all over the world with the gospel in printed form. Mother still works daily with this ministry in Arlington, Texas. Over the years most of the brethren in the Bahamas have studied from books that Dad wrote, so my mother will not be a complete stranger though she has not met them personally.
Some checks are still trickling in to help with recovery as well as some help for our evangelistic work We are very thankful. Checks can be made to Bahama Mission Church of Christ, and sent:
David Caskey-Missions c/o Gulf Coast Church of Christ
3825 McGregor Blvd.
Ft. Myers, Florida 33901.
We are continuing to help buy groceries and provide emergency assistance to many. The storms are past, but the recovery work will continue for many months and into next year.
david
Bahama Mission Home Page
http://www.flyingpreacher.com/
Mission Contact
David Caskey
Webmaster
Jerry Pickup
http://www.jpickup.com/
