Bahama Mission Update
June 7, 2009

Time has gotten away from us, and I have not gotten an update to you for some time. Dinah and I made the trip to Texas to visit with our supporting congregations. The price of fuel was down some, so we flew the plane. We flew more than 3700 miles and drove more than 2000. The reunion with friends and supporters is always a joy. We also believe that it is important for us to visit with and report to those who share in this great work. Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch and reported to the brethren all that the Lord had done through them on their missionary journey. Acts 14:26-28. We are so thankful for the support and the relationships that we enjoy with these congregations and individuals. We concluded the trip with a brief meeting in Pecos, Texas. We arrived a day early in Pecos, and Dinah got to dress like a cowboy and spend the day on a real working ranch. She was awed by the size of the country, the animals, the cattle,and the cowboys, She even rode a horse. We got to visit with my 89 year old mother a little and she went with us to speak at 4 different Churches.

When we returned, Dinah made a trip to visit with her mom, who will soon turn 85. She had not seen her in a long time. One of the things we miss so much in being in the Mission Field is association with family and friends. Our mothers and we, are not getting any younger and we miss seeing our granddaughter and our kids. I had a birthday this past week, and got almost too close to the three score and ten. ha

Hurricane Season has started again and so far we have had only a lot of tropical moisture. The rains have brought a lot of flooding to many areas. In Abaco this past week, I finally gave up and wore sandals and shorts for a while. Water was standing ankle to calf deep everywhere after hard rains and thunder storms. I had some work to do on the plane and Terrence Baker, the aircraft mechanic who is a member in Abaco worked with me between storms. The experts are predicting the return of "El Nino", which is supposed to keep the storms down. I hope and pray that they are right.

The congregations in the Islands are doing well. They continue programs of evangelism, and studies and baptisms are ongoing. Lincoln has been asked to be the speaker at the High School Graduation in Rock Sound. The economy in the United States has a strong effect on the economy in the Islands. The groups coming down to help the congregations this summer are much smaller than in the past. One group that always comes to Eleuthera will have only two people, and a group that brought almost 30 last year to Nassau will be only two couples. The Vacation Bible Schools that have been done by American groups are now being taken over by the local Churches. Those who come to help are there to assist. This is progress, but the local congregations miss the extra fellowship with the groups. The elders at Highbury Park in Nassau continue to go to the various smaller congregations and hold leadership training classes, and encourage the family Island Churches. The Church in Freeport is in full swing with preparations for the Caribbean Lectureship July 19-23. For information and travel arrangements, contact: Joyce <exoticavacationsbahamas@yahoo.com> Or Doug <doug@travelpeople1.com>. I am to be the final speaker on Wednesday evening.. This is a great opportunity to meet brethren from the Bahamas and from all over the Caribbean.

We are continuing to work on our "Bibles for the Schools" Program. Bible is taught in the School in the Islands. We are free to share Bible Studies and often speak on Bible topics as well as our Drug Education work. We are still doing a check Island by Island to get the exact numbers of students in each school. Our plan is to start with Abaco. In many of the schools, they have only one of two Bibles to share with all of the students. This makes it hard for them to study and do assignments. Most do not have Bibles in the home either. Our original plan was to give each student two Bibles. One that will stay at School, and then a second Bible with a Personal Evangelism Study and information about the Church on that Island for them to take home. Some of the larger contributions we were expecting did not come to fruition and so we may have to trim our original plans. We are thankful to those of you who have given special contributions for the Bible Fund. Some of these have come from individuals, some from congregations and some from Bible classes. It may take longer than we thought to do each school on each Island, but we will continue to chip away. Brother Leslies Rolle in Abaco is now a consultant with the School system and is getting the numbers firmed for us. We will start ordering Bibles as soon as he gives us the updated list of students and teachers.

Thank you again for your support and prayers. Checks can be made out to Bahama Mission Church of Christ and sent:

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

david

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

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