Hello My Friends
Well summer on Andros is in full swing right now. Every day it is in the mid 90's and for Ginni and I it is a challenge. Remember the old saying "It's not the heat, its the humidity", well here we have both! This is particularly challenging when you have some physical labor to do.
Last week, for example, our groundskeeper rang our doorbell at 7:30AM to get the key to the garage. He wanted to mow the grass before the day got too hot (and before his other job started at the local lumber yard). Fortunately, 7:30 is about the time I'm up, the coffee is dripping and I am lighting my candle for Morning Prayer - so I was up.
He takes the key and happily heads off to the garage. A few minutes later the lawn mower is roaring around the yard and Ginni pokes her sleepy head out of the bedroom door "Is
that the lawn mower?" (Ginni is not a morning person). I nod and she shakes her head and goes back into the bedroom.
Ten minutes later (remember I started this describing the heat), the doorbell rings again. I open the door and Peter is standing there drenched in sweat, but in his hand he is holding our water meter, or what used to be our water meter until the lawn mower sliced it in half. On Andros the island is pretty much one big limestone rock. This means that everything usually underground back in Massachusetts is above ground here (like the water line from the street to your house).
Every house here has a white PVC pipe running from the street to the house, that's your water line. It is above ground and, at the very end, near the street, is a blue ball about the size of a tennis ball, with a tiny window on one side and the meter clicking away in that window. That's the water meter and our lawnmower pretty much destroyed it.
While Peter was indeed covered with sweat at 7:30 in the morning from the effort of mowing the grass, he was also pretty wet from the geiser now rising up into the air in a rather impressive arc and landing out into the street from what used to be our water line. So before Morning Prayer, before my toast and peanut butter, before the coffee has finished dripping, I'm working with Peter to try to shut the water off to all of the Church property - find a way to cap the geiser, then find someone from the water department to figure out where we go from here.
Fortunately for me, the main man at the water department also plays the organ at our church in Cargill Creek. Bottom line, Peter and I were able to figure out how to plug the broken pipe until help arrived. When it did, he was able to restore the connection to the water main without a meter (we need to wait for a new one to be shipped by boat from Nassau - ahh, island life). So for now, we have free water until the new meter arrives.
By the way - the geiser did help cool off my sweaty groundskeeper and I did get back to Morning Prayer (an interesting prayer time that day to be sure), as well as my coffee, toast and peanut butter - God is good.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Summer School
Hello again -
One of our parishioners works for the Bahama National Trust. This is a group that works to set aside land as part of a National Parks System, among other things. During the summer there is not too much for the children to do on Andros so she runs a summer camp to introduce the kids to the different eco-systems here on Andros. They do a class, then a field trip, usually each day on a different type of ecosystem.
Well, they were going to show the kids 'blue holes' and needed a van to carry them to the northern part of the island and they asked us! Were we glad they did!
A blue hole is a naturally occuring geological phenomenon and Andros has more than any other place in the world. I've mentioned before that this island is basically a rock - very little surface dirt on most of the island. There are literal 'holes' in the rock, some as big as football fields, that are very very very very very deep, and filled with water.
We had found one about 20 minutes from us and have gone swimming in it. What we learned at summer camp was that, not only are there land-based blue holes, there are ocean-based blue holes. We drove to Conche Sound, a nice little beach we would never have found on our own. Peter, our guide, pointed out to the sea and said, "Do you see that area of water that's a shade darker than the rest, where the water isn't quite as rough?" No if he hadn't pointed it out I wouldn't have noticed, but there was this area where the surface of the water was actually calmer than the sea that surrounded it, and it was a darker shade of blue.
Well, that was a blue hole about 30 yards off shore - and it was one we were about to lead 12 primary school kids with snorkles to explore (yikes!). Peter explained that this particular blue hole was particularly dangerous in that off the side walls of the hole were caves that went under the sea bed for great distances. When the tide changes the hole can act like a suction hose and a funnel will form sucking surface water down into the hole - or if the tides coming in the water can be forced out of the hole and water will bubble up on the surface. So, taking 12 little cherubs to snorkle over this blue hole had its challenges.
So one of the volunteers starts passing out snorkles and masks and Peter takes one of the more experienced boys with him to the hole, after about 5 minutes the boy swims back and I take the 2nd child out to Peter then swim back half-way while Ginni sends the next child out to me. In short order we had a conveyor system of kids swimming to me, where they wait for Peter to finish with the child he has at the hole, then they go out for their turn. Meanwhile Ginni and the other ladies with us kept the kids occupied that were waiting their turn (a job I was glad was not mine).
When all the children were done I swam out to Peter and finally saw the hole myself. It was amazing. You swim out over sand and turtle grass and then all of a sudden there is this shear drop. You could see 60' down and, on one side of the hole, there was an old fishing boat that had sunk into the hole years ago. There were lots of fish, amazing color, and quite the experience.
Once back on shore Peter told us that National Geographic had done a special on Blue Holes and this particular hole was a feature part of the article. They sent a scuba team to dive the caves off the side walls of the hole and one of those dives set a worlds record for the longest cave dive. It turns out the caves go miles under the surface of Andros. We actually drove over the caves on the way to the beach!
After the dive we had lunch - the summer school includes breakfast, which they ate at the classroom before we arrived to pick them up, and lunch. Lunch was peanut butter sandwiches and I was surprised at them providing breakfast and lunch since I knew this program had a very small budget. Later I learned that they provide breakfast and lunch because if they didn't, these kids wouldn't have breakfast or lunch, and once again the reality of island life here hits home.
Over the course of the week we had 3 excursions like this, and I realized if we were tourists this type of experience was worth a pretty penny. The environmental groups we worked with, the fishing lodges that let us use there boats, the tourism office who loaned a guide, were all provided at no cost to the Bahama National Trust folks to help the children learn about what a precious place Andros is. We were very thankful our offer to drive the kids exposed us to this too!
Till next time
One of our parishioners works for the Bahama National Trust. This is a group that works to set aside land as part of a National Parks System, among other things. During the summer there is not too much for the children to do on Andros so she runs a summer camp to introduce the kids to the different eco-systems here on Andros. They do a class, then a field trip, usually each day on a different type of ecosystem.
Well, they were going to show the kids 'blue holes' and needed a van to carry them to the northern part of the island and they asked us! Were we glad they did!
A blue hole is a naturally occuring geological phenomenon and Andros has more than any other place in the world. I've mentioned before that this island is basically a rock - very little surface dirt on most of the island. There are literal 'holes' in the rock, some as big as football fields, that are very very very very very deep, and filled with water.
We had found one about 20 minutes from us and have gone swimming in it. What we learned at summer camp was that, not only are there land-based blue holes, there are ocean-based blue holes. We drove to Conche Sound, a nice little beach we would never have found on our own. Peter, our guide, pointed out to the sea and said, "Do you see that area of water that's a shade darker than the rest, where the water isn't quite as rough?" No if he hadn't pointed it out I wouldn't have noticed, but there was this area where the surface of the water was actually calmer than the sea that surrounded it, and it was a darker shade of blue.
Well, that was a blue hole about 30 yards off shore - and it was one we were about to lead 12 primary school kids with snorkles to explore (yikes!). Peter explained that this particular blue hole was particularly dangerous in that off the side walls of the hole were caves that went under the sea bed for great distances. When the tide changes the hole can act like a suction hose and a funnel will form sucking surface water down into the hole - or if the tides coming in the water can be forced out of the hole and water will bubble up on the surface. So, taking 12 little cherubs to snorkle over this blue hole had its challenges.
So one of the volunteers starts passing out snorkles and masks and Peter takes one of the more experienced boys with him to the hole, after about 5 minutes the boy swims back and I take the 2nd child out to Peter then swim back half-way while Ginni sends the next child out to me. In short order we had a conveyor system of kids swimming to me, where they wait for Peter to finish with the child he has at the hole, then they go out for their turn. Meanwhile Ginni and the other ladies with us kept the kids occupied that were waiting their turn (a job I was glad was not mine).
When all the children were done I swam out to Peter and finally saw the hole myself. It was amazing. You swim out over sand and turtle grass and then all of a sudden there is this shear drop. You could see 60' down and, on one side of the hole, there was an old fishing boat that had sunk into the hole years ago. There were lots of fish, amazing color, and quite the experience.
Once back on shore Peter told us that National Geographic had done a special on Blue Holes and this particular hole was a feature part of the article. They sent a scuba team to dive the caves off the side walls of the hole and one of those dives set a worlds record for the longest cave dive. It turns out the caves go miles under the surface of Andros. We actually drove over the caves on the way to the beach!
After the dive we had lunch - the summer school includes breakfast, which they ate at the classroom before we arrived to pick them up, and lunch. Lunch was peanut butter sandwiches and I was surprised at them providing breakfast and lunch since I knew this program had a very small budget. Later I learned that they provide breakfast and lunch because if they didn't, these kids wouldn't have breakfast or lunch, and once again the reality of island life here hits home.
Over the course of the week we had 3 excursions like this, and I realized if we were tourists this type of experience was worth a pretty penny. The environmental groups we worked with, the fishing lodges that let us use there boats, the tourism office who loaned a guide, were all provided at no cost to the Bahama National Trust folks to help the children learn about what a precious place Andros is. We were very thankful our offer to drive the kids exposed us to this too!
Till next time
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Pics from Anniversary Liturgy
Back in early July I mentioned that the Archdiocese of Nassau was celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Nassau being made a Diocese (not too shabby if you realize Nassau has only been an independent nation for 37 years).
At the closing liturgy there were bishops and visiting priests present from throughout the Caribbean, as well as the Nuncio here representing the Pope. The entrance procession through a totally packed Cathedral was impressive to say the least.
Archbishop Pinder gave a wonderful homily, walking through the history of the Archdiocese and bringing to mind past Bishops and Archbishops, Benedictines who initially served here, and the many other religious congregations of men and women who have helped make this Archdiocese the unique place that it has become.
For me, it was indeed humbling to hear all this and know that we are now part of that history. That Ginni and I are, in some small way, writing our own pages in the history of this Archdiocese.
One of the things the Archbishop did to celebrate this anniversary was the creation of a special medal, struck for this occasion. The Cordis et Mentis award (Heart and Mind) was created on the occasion of this anniversary to recognize people throughout the Archdiocese of Nassau who, over the years, had served the church in such a way that they deserved special recognition.
We were particularly pleased that two of the honorees we from our parishes on Andros. In this picture the Archbishop poses with all those recipients of this award throughout the Archdiocese. I like this particular picture because in the background you can see not only the old original St. Francis Xavier Cathedral on the right, but also the new St. Francis Xavier Cathedral on the left. St. Francis Xavier was the first Catholic church built in the Bahamas, later elevated to the status of Cathedral.
The following pictures are of Ms. Evelyn Minnis, from St. John Chrysostom in Fresh Creek and Mr. Harold Braynen, from Christ the King in Cargill Creek. These two individuals, during the years when there was no permanent clergy on Andros, were the driving forces behind keeping the people together and continuing to grow the faith on Andros.
The following picture shows Ginni and I with Harold and his wife Charlene after the ceremony. I am pleased to share with you that, after much prayer and discernment, Harold is also beginning his journey in the Deacon Formation Program here in the Bahamas.
If you look closely, Charlene is holding the medal that Harold recieved while he holds the certificate. I told Charlene that although Harold was recognized at this ceremony, she had a major part in him being recognized so she should be the one wearing it!
We are blessed with many good people here and Evelyn and Harold are only the tip of the iceberg. It was a wonderful celebration, affirming that the Church is growing here and if we take the time to look around and see the many gifts of the Holy Spirit that are all around us we have much to be thankful for!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Bye Bye Bonnie
Well Tropical Storm Bonnie blew threw here in the middle of the night and it seems all is well. I was glad I put up the hurricane shutters in the priest's apartment. There no water leakage on the leaky windows I covered - naturally the windows that never leak, which I did not cover, had a lovely puddle waiting for me the next day.
The storm itself was a wind and rain event. The wind was pretty constant at about 30-40 mph all night long and when the rain started it was a monsoon! Around 2AM the lightning and thunder just rocked the place, literally, windows rattled and when I got out of bed I could feel the vibrations from the thunder in the soles of my feet on the tile floor.
What was most surprising the next day was that on the patio between our home and the church were about 100 small white paint chips all over the grey floor - the storm actually blew chips of paint off the walls! As I drove through town and saw a branch here or there I could not help but wonder about our Haitian friends up on the northern part of the island. In that community there is actually 1 house, the rest are the tin roof huts with makeshift walls consisting of whatever planks were around when they were built. Some have dirt floors, some are raised up on cinder blocks and have plywood floors. Needless to say they were not built to endure tropical storms, much less an actual hurricane.
We haven't been able to hold church services for them up north since the schools closed (we had been meeting in the school). I have called my Bahamian contact up there, but she is off the island for the month of June so, since they have no phones, I will have to take the hour drive up there to check up on them, and possibly have church outside next to the fields where they grow cabbages and onions.
We still haven't had a priest for some time. The last priest to join us on Andros was on Easter but I am hoping we will have one with us soon. The first communion class is still waiting to experience their first confession and then first communion, but for now we wait until either a visiting US priest on vacation offers to help, or a priest from Nassau can be sent. I was talking to the Sister who had been on Andros prior to our coming here. She is now on another family island and she's in the same boat, not having had a priest since Easter.
The Archbishop actually does a great job providing coverage throughout the Bahamas with the limited resources he has. In the US a priest may cover multiple churches by driving great distances. When the different churches are on different islands that are miles and miles apart it creates a whole different dynamic.
The Bahamians simply smile and say "Dis be island life faddah" - and smile, recognizing the reality of island life. When you run out of something you just have to wait for the boat, if its not on the boat you wait for the next one. When I had a flat tire once, it took 4 days before I could get another tire - all you can do is wait. In our case, we're waiting for a priest (a limited resource). Until then, everyone has to settle for the Deacon. :)
Till next time.
The storm itself was a wind and rain event. The wind was pretty constant at about 30-40 mph all night long and when the rain started it was a monsoon! Around 2AM the lightning and thunder just rocked the place, literally, windows rattled and when I got out of bed I could feel the vibrations from the thunder in the soles of my feet on the tile floor.
What was most surprising the next day was that on the patio between our home and the church were about 100 small white paint chips all over the grey floor - the storm actually blew chips of paint off the walls! As I drove through town and saw a branch here or there I could not help but wonder about our Haitian friends up on the northern part of the island. In that community there is actually 1 house, the rest are the tin roof huts with makeshift walls consisting of whatever planks were around when they were built. Some have dirt floors, some are raised up on cinder blocks and have plywood floors. Needless to say they were not built to endure tropical storms, much less an actual hurricane.
We haven't been able to hold church services for them up north since the schools closed (we had been meeting in the school). I have called my Bahamian contact up there, but she is off the island for the month of June so, since they have no phones, I will have to take the hour drive up there to check up on them, and possibly have church outside next to the fields where they grow cabbages and onions.
We still haven't had a priest for some time. The last priest to join us on Andros was on Easter but I am hoping we will have one with us soon. The first communion class is still waiting to experience their first confession and then first communion, but for now we wait until either a visiting US priest on vacation offers to help, or a priest from Nassau can be sent. I was talking to the Sister who had been on Andros prior to our coming here. She is now on another family island and she's in the same boat, not having had a priest since Easter.
The Archbishop actually does a great job providing coverage throughout the Bahamas with the limited resources he has. In the US a priest may cover multiple churches by driving great distances. When the different churches are on different islands that are miles and miles apart it creates a whole different dynamic.
The Bahamians simply smile and say "Dis be island life faddah" - and smile, recognizing the reality of island life. When you run out of something you just have to wait for the boat, if its not on the boat you wait for the next one. When I had a flat tire once, it took 4 days before I could get another tire - all you can do is wait. In our case, we're waiting for a priest (a limited resource). Until then, everyone has to settle for the Deacon. :)
Till next time.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Tropical Storm threatens oil spill - what about us!
Well if you watch CNN or the Weather Channel you've been hearing about this tropical storm that is brewing that could cause all kinds of caos in the Gulf of Mexico and disrupt the oil spill cleanup. You might also have heard that this storm is forming IN THE BAHAMAS!!!
You got it folks, lets forget for a minute where it 'might' go, and talk about where it IS!
Actually, as far as storms go, its not that big a deal compared to an actual hurricane, but the point is, this storm is right now chewing up the south eastern islands of the Bahamas and is on track to just follow the entire Bahamaian chain and pass over the tip of Florida.
This means Andros, and Fresh Creek in particular, is the bulls eye of this storm's projected track. So - the good Deacon needs to get ready. The storm is headed on a NW track and we sit on the east coast of Andros so we'll get it from the SE. The sky right now is dark dark grey in that direction and the wind is about 20-30 mph.
Our church as a small apartment for visiting priests on the south end of the church that will get the full force of this thing so I went into the garage and pulled out hurricane shutters and covered all the windows on that end of the church and the window in the sacristy that faces due east. Usually we don't need the shutters for a big wind/rain event, only for hurricanes, but these windows all face the sea and the years have taken their toll. We know that several of these windows leak and some of them, being the crank-out style, no longer close tightly. So I sorted through piles of tin shutters until I found the right ones, gathered up the metal clips that hold them in place, and my ball-pean hammer (actually my only hammer) and the shutters went up not only to protect the windows, but to help keep the rain out as well.
Rainstorms here are an amazing example of natures power. The wind is so strong here that the rain falls sideways, literally, sideways, parallel to the earth.
As I write this its about 4PM, we have already lost power once around 2:30, and I am sure we'll lose it again a few times before this passes on by and creates problems in the Gulf. All we can do is sit and wait - after all its not a hurricane, its not even a tropical storm, its a tropical depression, basically a big windy rainstorm (OK since the Weather Channel shows it as all red and orange its a really really big rainstorm).
So we will just sit tight and see what happens. Both here, and in the Gulf - but for now, its OUR storm and the Gulf will have to wait their turn. Bye for now.
You got it folks, lets forget for a minute where it 'might' go, and talk about where it IS!
Actually, as far as storms go, its not that big a deal compared to an actual hurricane, but the point is, this storm is right now chewing up the south eastern islands of the Bahamas and is on track to just follow the entire Bahamaian chain and pass over the tip of Florida.
This means Andros, and Fresh Creek in particular, is the bulls eye of this storm's projected track. So - the good Deacon needs to get ready. The storm is headed on a NW track and we sit on the east coast of Andros so we'll get it from the SE. The sky right now is dark dark grey in that direction and the wind is about 20-30 mph.
Our church as a small apartment for visiting priests on the south end of the church that will get the full force of this thing so I went into the garage and pulled out hurricane shutters and covered all the windows on that end of the church and the window in the sacristy that faces due east. Usually we don't need the shutters for a big wind/rain event, only for hurricanes, but these windows all face the sea and the years have taken their toll. We know that several of these windows leak and some of them, being the crank-out style, no longer close tightly. So I sorted through piles of tin shutters until I found the right ones, gathered up the metal clips that hold them in place, and my ball-pean hammer (actually my only hammer) and the shutters went up not only to protect the windows, but to help keep the rain out as well.
Rainstorms here are an amazing example of natures power. The wind is so strong here that the rain falls sideways, literally, sideways, parallel to the earth.
As I write this its about 4PM, we have already lost power once around 2:30, and I am sure we'll lose it again a few times before this passes on by and creates problems in the Gulf. All we can do is sit and wait - after all its not a hurricane, its not even a tropical storm, its a tropical depression, basically a big windy rainstorm (OK since the Weather Channel shows it as all red and orange its a really really big rainstorm).
So we will just sit tight and see what happens. Both here, and in the Gulf - but for now, its OUR storm and the Gulf will have to wait their turn. Bye for now.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Vacation Bible School - Bahamian Style!
Hello again - Well let me tell you what's been keeping us busy this week - Vacation Bible School.
For the past 25 years the AUTEC Navy Base has been hosting a Vacation Bible School (VBS) for all the grade 1-6 Bahamian children. This has been done in collaboration with an evangelican church from the US who has been planning the entire program, gathering up volunteers, equipment, supplies ... Then coming to Andros to lead the Bible Study. On the Bahamian side there is a complex network of volunteers to register kids, and coordinate transportation.
Historically, the volunteers have conducted fundraisers in their local churches to fund this mission trip which includes them chartering 2 planes to get here and AUTEC has provided housing and food for the team of volunteers once they are here. This year, however, with Navy budget cuts and economic stress, the policies have changed and this year the volunteers have to pay AUTEC for on-base housing and food, which may mean this is the last year for this program.
Later on tonight I will be talking with some of the other ministers, and possibly a government official, to see if we can continue the program using the Crabfest Fairgrounds. Clearly the team that comes from the US wants to keep coming, they just can't afford the added expense and there isn't anything the Navy can do with current Navy budget constraints. If we can pull this off using Bahamian resources we just might keep this program alive. Keep this one in your prayers because this program is a winner!
Last year Ginni and I were travelling off island and missed VBS, this year we made a point of being here and you cannot believe how valuable this program is for the local children. During the school year the kids are all in school doing what you do in the school year. In the summer there is NOTHING for them to do. There is no mall, no movie house, no bowling alley, no youth center, not a thing - until Vacation Bible School. So the kids come in droves, from everywhere. This year there were over 200!
Ginni and I get to the gate at the Base a little before 8AM where there are already a crowd of kids waiting to get signed in. Signing the kids in is a MAJOR project. This is, after all, a secure US Navy Base. Every day Security requires each child is signed in, gets a guest badge, and is chaperoned while on Base. So I drop Ginni off on one side of the gate, where she works with the Chapel Staff to sign in kids and pass them off to the Security Guards. The Guards sign in the kids and give them their Navy badges, then they are passed through the gate in blocks of 10-12 and given to me. They pile into our Church van and we drive off through the Base to the beach where the volunteers are waiting. They climb out of the van and the guitars and song time begin to kick off the day as I shuttle back to the gate to get another load.
After 4 or 5 van loads of those kids that have been dropped off early, the buses begin to arrive. Two school buses of kids from the far reaches of the island arrive and the check in process continues until they are all done and the bus loads of kids hit the beach where Ginni and I are now traffic cops directing the kids towards bleachers that had been set up under a pavilion the Navy has at the beach. 
One thing that happens to me since I let the beard go longer is that the Bahamians want to know if I am really Santa Claus. So of course I say I am and explain that I always come to the Bahamas for the summer and tell them all about my riendeer and the elves working away at the North Pole. These two just couldn't get enough of it.
Camp songs from my youth are still in vogue, we used to get our kids out of bed with "Rise and Shine and Give God Your Glory Glory", and here it was again - complete with hand motions and weaving back and forth in your seats. A guitarist that was just fantastic with the kids, and a crew of 20-something volunteers that were the most energenic, positive, upbeat crew you can imagine. The kids ate it up. Older songs like "Amazing Grace" become new when sung to the tune of "The Gilligan's Island Theme Song". The song leader was an incredibly talented guy, he had the kids in the palm of his hand in no time - singing, clapping, and making all the hand motions to each song, including the Deacon!
After "song time" there was a skit the volunteers put on depicting a bible story such as Daniel in the Lion's Den, or the birth of Christ, or Noah. Hillarious stuff and very well done. Then the kids would go to small groups. On the first day each block of about 10 kids were given a colored sticker and they had picnic tables with the same colored flag. When in was time to break the volunteers would shout, "OK, purple team come with me". "Green team, over here", "Yellow team, follow me" and in minutes all 200 kids were off doing their individual projects with 2 team leaders. The organization was amazing.
Once they broke up into small groups it was time for us to head back to Fresh Creek and get back to work on our own programs. We haven't had a priest since Easter (does that give you a new perspective on the priest shortage) and we have lots to do. Last week Ginni led "A Ladies Renewal Night" for the women of all 3 churches. We had a great turn out and Ginni's reflection was as big a hit as my barbequed chicken fresh off the grill. We hope that this might become a monthly event and help bring our 3 churches closer together.
Well there is always more to tell, but I need to go meet one of the contractors about restoring the church in Calabash Bay we want to re-open, so until next time - Peace.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Independence Day - True Freedom
Well a few weeks have passed since my last post and we've celebrated the US Independence Day as well as the Bahamian Independence Day a week later.
Whenever we attend a Bahamian holiday, the difference between the US and the Bahamas always strikes me as amazing. The difference is that the Bahamas is an explicitly Christian nation. Unlike the US that tries to be tolerant of all cultures and religions, the Bahamas is Christian and has no fear about making that plain.
Here, on Independence Day, the stage at fairgrounds is full of priests and ministers, as well as government officials. Whoever speaks, be it the Town Administrator or the Baptist Minister, they all praise Jesus, and thank God that because of Jesus Christ we are free, and an independent nation because Jesus Christ died for us. True freedom only comes from Jesus, without Jesus we're not free - thank God we are a free independent nation!
To have this as part of the Minister's presentation is one thing. To have it also be from the Town Administrator, or the Member of Parliament is radically new for us Americans. In the Bahamas Christianity is in the Constitution and everyone here it totally comfortable with Christianity being proclaimed publicly.
This time of year is also the time for the daily downpour. We have blue sky sunshine all day long and then - BOOM - torential rain and thunder and lightning and power outages and rain coming at you sideways - then its done and the sun is out again. A few days ago we drove from Cargill Creek back to Fresh Creek and mid-way had about 3 minutes of a downpour. Then we realized it was a strip of rain that we basically, drove through. There was no rain north of that downpour, nor any south of it, but if you lived in that strip of rain you probably had your 3 hour rainstorm.
A few days ago it was a terrific storm, that actually ripped a strip of flashing off the roof of the church. A 10' strip of copper strapping was now held on by 1 nail as it rapped against the side of the church. I had loaned our ladder to a parishioner and it took 2 days to get it back and, when he returned it and saw the flashing he said, "Deac, You're not going up there are you?" I said that sure I was, it was only about 10 nails to put the flashing back in place, and he said, "Oh no, Deac, I don't want you up on the roof of the church. You call Leonard and if he can't do it, I will, you're not going up there" (Leonard is a parishioner who does roofing). I thought to myself, 'this is what Ginni would say', but held my tongue.
Anyway, I tried calling Leonard but his phone was out of commission so I drove to work sites where I expected to find him and still couldn't find him, but while trying to reach him I remembered another parishioner who is a carpenter that recently lost his job (this economy is a killer here) and drove by his house. "Sure Deac, I can fix that, want me to come over now?" So he came back, and in 10 minutes all was well. I gave him $20 and it was like I'd saved his life. With that $20 he'll get some rice and a few other things to get his family though the week.
I guess the last thing I should mention with this post is our work to restore the church in Calabash Bay. St. Gabriel's has been closed for quite some time, the windows and doors were all smashed in and termites had begun to take their pound of flesh. Ginni and I would really like to restore it and so, last year, I put money in the budget to restore it. Well the contractors who have looked at it have come in with bids well in excess of what I put aside. So now we are trying to figure out how we can change what we 'want' to what we 'need' and come up with other sources of support to get the job done.
It will be a struggle, but hopefully some of you reading this blog might be willing to help restore St. Gabriel's so our CCD classes might actually have tables and chairs instead of sitting on the floor and using the pews in church as desks. We need to replace 13 windows, 4 doors, install water and electricity, repaint the interior and exterior, plus add a septic system for the toilet. (The Anglican Church had a fair and I won $100 of plumbing supplies in the raffle, so with that, I bought a toilet!) Anyway, we are about $4,000 short so that's our next challenge.
Feeling generous? Let me know.
Love Ya - till next time.
Deacon Frank and Ginni
Whenever we attend a Bahamian holiday, the difference between the US and the Bahamas always strikes me as amazing. The difference is that the Bahamas is an explicitly Christian nation. Unlike the US that tries to be tolerant of all cultures and religions, the Bahamas is Christian and has no fear about making that plain.
Here, on Independence Day, the stage at fairgrounds is full of priests and ministers, as well as government officials. Whoever speaks, be it the Town Administrator or the Baptist Minister, they all praise Jesus, and thank God that because of Jesus Christ we are free, and an independent nation because Jesus Christ died for us. True freedom only comes from Jesus, without Jesus we're not free - thank God we are a free independent nation!
To have this as part of the Minister's presentation is one thing. To have it also be from the Town Administrator, or the Member of Parliament is radically new for us Americans. In the Bahamas Christianity is in the Constitution and everyone here it totally comfortable with Christianity being proclaimed publicly.
This time of year is also the time for the daily downpour. We have blue sky sunshine all day long and then - BOOM - torential rain and thunder and lightning and power outages and rain coming at you sideways - then its done and the sun is out again. A few days ago we drove from Cargill Creek back to Fresh Creek and mid-way had about 3 minutes of a downpour. Then we realized it was a strip of rain that we basically, drove through. There was no rain north of that downpour, nor any south of it, but if you lived in that strip of rain you probably had your 3 hour rainstorm.
A few days ago it was a terrific storm, that actually ripped a strip of flashing off the roof of the church. A 10' strip of copper strapping was now held on by 1 nail as it rapped against the side of the church. I had loaned our ladder to a parishioner and it took 2 days to get it back and, when he returned it and saw the flashing he said, "Deac, You're not going up there are you?" I said that sure I was, it was only about 10 nails to put the flashing back in place, and he said, "Oh no, Deac, I don't want you up on the roof of the church. You call Leonard and if he can't do it, I will, you're not going up there" (Leonard is a parishioner who does roofing). I thought to myself, 'this is what Ginni would say', but held my tongue.
Anyway, I tried calling Leonard but his phone was out of commission so I drove to work sites where I expected to find him and still couldn't find him, but while trying to reach him I remembered another parishioner who is a carpenter that recently lost his job (this economy is a killer here) and drove by his house. "Sure Deac, I can fix that, want me to come over now?" So he came back, and in 10 minutes all was well. I gave him $20 and it was like I'd saved his life. With that $20 he'll get some rice and a few other things to get his family though the week.
I guess the last thing I should mention with this post is our work to restore the church in Calabash Bay. St. Gabriel's has been closed for quite some time, the windows and doors were all smashed in and termites had begun to take their pound of flesh. Ginni and I would really like to restore it and so, last year, I put money in the budget to restore it. Well the contractors who have looked at it have come in with bids well in excess of what I put aside. So now we are trying to figure out how we can change what we 'want' to what we 'need' and come up with other sources of support to get the job done.
It will be a struggle, but hopefully some of you reading this blog might be willing to help restore St. Gabriel's so our CCD classes might actually have tables and chairs instead of sitting on the floor and using the pews in church as desks. We need to replace 13 windows, 4 doors, install water and electricity, repaint the interior and exterior, plus add a septic system for the toilet. (The Anglican Church had a fair and I won $100 of plumbing supplies in the raffle, so with that, I bought a toilet!) Anyway, we are about $4,000 short so that's our next challenge.
Feeling generous? Let me know.
Love Ya - till next time.
Deacon Frank and Ginni
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