I am midway through our missions trip with Champs Missions in The Bahamas. Weather today was a little cooler – low 80s and breezy. But still a wonderful day!
We start everyday with devotions and prayer. Rick Schuessler shares some great insights into life on the mission field that can be translated into life at home. His emphasis is ‘missions is relationships.’ And we have made some great relationships.
Another Day at School. Our early part of the day was spent at Teleos Christian School. This is our third day in a row that we have had some contact with these children. We are starting to get to know their names and a little about them. Remember, missions is all about relationships. We had lunch at the school. One lady makes hot lunch for everyone. Today the choice was barbecue ribs, fried chicken or curry chicken. Side dishes are rice and cole slaw. I had curry chicken. Hot, spicy and delicious!
Car Trouble. I didn’t spend much time at the school because I drove around the island with Rick trying to get his vehicle inspected. Some things here are the same as in U.S. – like department of motor vehicles and long lines. Here’s what we did: First stop – Vehicle was inspected, passed, but determined that it was a business vehicle so needed to go to the main inspection spot. Second stop – Vehicle inspected, did not pass because of brake lights. Third stop – NAPA auto store to get brake lights, but had no tools to get burned out lights removed. Fourth stop – Rick’s friend, Darren, had tools and we removed burned out lights. Fifth stop – Returned to NAPA and bought brake lights. Sixth stop – Returned to Darren’s and replaced brake lights. They work! All this and the car still needs to pass inspection. Maybe tomorrow?! Just another day in the life of a missionary.
Historical Stops. We visited the ‘Queen’s Staircase’ and Fort Fincastle. The fort was built in 1793 (along with others) in case Napoleon of France attacked Bahamas since it was British. A102-foot staircase was hand carved out of solid rock as an escape from the fort to the ocean by about 600 slaves. It took 16 years to complete. It was later named after Queen Victoria who abolished slavery when she became queen in 1837. They were ready for an attack that never came. Are you ready for the attacks against your life?
Bible Studies. We finished the day going to Bible Study. Rick & Traci Arquette attended New Testament Independent Baptist Church and watched an interesting movie, ‘Ordinary Guy.’ I remember that movie from the 80s. The rest of us (Perry, Eglinsdoerfers, and myself) attended a men’s Bible study at New Maranatha Baptist Church. This is a Haitian-speaking church. Pastor Lukens Sentil invited me to speak. I did a Bible study on the Character Qualities of Joseph, husband of Mary. I spoke and a member of the church interpreted in Creole (form of French). Eleven men attended. All the men were from Haiti.
Joseph. Just as God chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus, He chose Joseph to adopt Jesus and be His father-figure. God did not need a man to birth His Son, but He did place a man in His life to rear His Son. Some of His character qualities: (1) Righteous (just), (2) Faith, (3) Self-control, (4) Hard worker, (5) Worshipped God, (6) Loving, (7) Wise.
Our discussion revealed that men struggle with the same issues: passion, thoughts, jobs, etc. Though our language was somewhat of a barrier, our hearts were knit together. Tonight was a real treat for me. Joining men from two churches, two countries, and two languages. We prayed for the peace of God, love of Jesus, and unity of the Holy Spirit for our lives, family, and churches. Amen!
You can read my other blogs about our missions trip to The Bahamas: Bahamas Missions Trip 2016.