Bahama Mission Update
July 1, 2007

The weather of late has been a blessing to the dry parched land. Both the Bahamas and Florida have been under drought conditions. A lingering tropical wave over the Islands has provided some much needed rain.Our thought and prayers are with those in other areas who have faced floods. Dinah made her trip to St. Louis to spend a few days with her mother and her brothers and families. She had not seen her mother in eight months. She had a great time and arrived home safely.

I had completed a list of things needed from Florida and flew to Abaco. The weather was not as good as predicted, but I slipped into Abaco between deluges.( Some of the Airlines were turning back without landing.) I did some banking for Lincoln so I could carry cash to him. ( The ATM at his bank in Rock Sound is still not working after several weeks). I was in Abaco only about an hour and then off to Eleuthera. The skies to the south looked much better than the black storms rolling into Abaco. Lincoln had left his van for me at the airport and I was soon loaded up and headed into town. A group of singles from Memphis were conducting a VBS and were busy painting a house that belongs to a neighbor of Lincoln's that has cancer. Special permission had to be granted to allow Americans to do this kind of work even "gratis". I changed out the batteries on Lincoln's wheel chair with Tony's help, delivered the new slacks Dinah had gotten for Lincoln, and changed out his phone. The old phone had a short somewhere and Lincoln had licked all the numbers off keyboard. We had finally found a new phone with large keys. Lincoln, Tony and I had lunch and caught up on news. (Tony Smith helps Lincoln) The afternoon was spent visiting with Lincoln and then off to VBS. I did try to get his DSL to work so he had e-mail again, but to no avail. The van needed a new water pump and pully. Recardo got it going in the late evening. The Memphis group is very talented and had a great program for the 65 plus boys and girls who attended. When I left, the congregations had only a couple of days till the group from Wynne, Arkansas would arrive to continue the VBS and spend the week teaching and encouraging. The Church in Rock Sound has had its' share of sick people as all congregations do. One of the new members had to be sent to Nassau for medical attention. The satellite phone is working great these days since 4 news satellites were launched the first part of June. We continue to be thankful for this great tool provided by friends from Pecos, Texas. After visits with the group, I was off to Abaco again.

The weather was much improved. I took Barry Hatcher and Bonita ( A faithful local Christian young lady) to lunch and had a nice visit. Barry will complete 12 weeks of training on three Islands this week in the "Fishers of Men" Program. The work and study has been very well received in Abaco, Freeport, and Nassau. We are all thankful for the assistance. Graduation will be conducted this week in all locations. I spent the afternoon visiting with sick people and checking on others. Lilla Strachen ( The oldst member in Marsh Harbour) was feeling better and even went with me to see some others. Dave and Amy Collins were in Nassau where he was spending time in the Hospital. They drained large amounts of fluid from around his heart and he has now been released pending a trip back this month to see another Doctor. I had the car licensed and got my drivers license renewed for another 3 years. This now means that my Work Permit and Drivers license are both good until June of 2010. The next day was spent cleaning and waxing the airplane. When I do it right, bottom, top and sides, it takes some time and energy. ( It was either that or plant potatoes in the dirt.) This is also an economy measure as a clean plane flies faster and thus uses less fuel. This is important over a year's time with the cost of fuel what it is today.

Sunday was Father's Day. I spoke in Marsh Harbour. Donna Stewart and some of her grandchildren and daughter in law, were down waiting for Jack and others to arrive. We had a good crowd, and the ladies went all out to honor the Fathers. We were given lapel flowers, certificates of encouragement and meal that would make Christmas Dinner look like a snack. The men had really worked to honor the Mothers a few weeks ago. Leslie Rolle said it best, " You not only outdid the men, but you outdid yourselves".

A lot of work has been going on with the new classroom building. It is now closed in and will be much for durable for the Hurricane Season. This building is used constantly in spite of the fact that it is still in an uncompleted condition. Severe Hurricane seasons have slowed down the process. I have had copies of my personal Bible Study "What All Mankind Should Know", reprinted in Spanish. We are seeing more Spanish spoken as some Bahamians are going to Cuba and bringing home wives, who in turn bring their families. Copies are also being sent to Pecos, Texas and Ft. Myers, Florida to be used in the Hispanic congregations.

Last week-end we met Fred and Joanne Atkins in Florida to spend the night with us. Fred is one of the elders with our sponsoring congregation. They went with us on Sunday down to Ft. Lauderdale to speak and report at the West Broward Church. This is always an encouraging treat for us. This congregation will have a special Mission's contribution on July 8th and we will benefit in the Bahamas. We had lunch with Michael Hursey and family, (one of the elders at West Broward).

Dinah and I are thankful to have the support and encouragement and friendship of elders and members from supporting Churches. Dinah and Michael love to get together and rehash "near death experiences from flying with David.") Michael reminds everyone that when we got into a bad storm coming from Cat Island, and he thought he was going to die, his last thoughts were, " I wish I had been nicer to Terri).

Our travel depends a lot now on weather as it always does this time of the year. We are still praying for deliverance from serious Hurricanes and the havoc they bring to the Islands. Most have not fully recovered from the last ones and many will never be the same again.

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/