It seems that when most people think of Nassau, their thoughts are geared towards tourists and cruise ships. These are the more “popular” areas of Nassau, but there is also a lot of poverty and need. Thankfully, a group of college students from Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC wanted to serve this specific community in a real way. St. Michael’s Methodist Church housed the group, and along with a few key members of their church body were able make the group feel instantly at home with a welcome dinner, only to be followed the rest of the week with helpers at the work sites every day, wonderfully prepared meals, and a dinner and Bible study their last night in town. We couldn’t have asked for a more gracious set of hosts.
There were two different homes that were in desperate need of attention that housed more children than there were beds. The group was able to close in a hole in the front of one of the homes, work on both roofs, re-frame and replace windows, build cabinets, and redo a floor and ceiling! What a blessing! Along with these projects, they also worked at the Fort Charlotte Urban Renewal Center. They were able to remove old tile and paint the floor, redo the work space around the perimeter of some of the rooms, and scrape and paint the outside of the building.
As a ministry, we try and stress that the work done during a week is important, but relationships that are built are just as important if not more. Thankfully, at the end of the week, the team had developed strong bonds with the families, and found it very difficult to leave them. I know that the relationships that were built will have a long lasting effect in both the team and the families’ lives. Thank you for coming to serve Wofford!
What happens when a group of 10 excited volunteers from Bluff Park UMC make their way from Hoover, Alabama all the way to Staniard Creek, Andros… hearts and lives are changed! This group stayed at Camp Makepeace, and was welcomed with open arms by the community. On Saturday and Sunday, playing Frisbee and snorkeling at the beach was in order before their hard week of work began. Once we got to the work sites on Monday, the forward progress was incredible. Their energy and willingness to serve during their week of Spring Break allowed them to impact the lives of 3 different families. Social Services informed us of the most urgent cases in the areas where we were working, and in turn we were able to repair 2 roofs, some foundational and siding issues, along with building a small home! God is good! After being on the work sites all day, evenings were filled with good food, intense games of Shanghai (I-EEE-I), Frisbee, and Fellowship. Thank you Bluff Park UMC for coming to serve the people of the Bahamas. It’s amazing what God can do when we give Him the chance.
The whole thing started with what was thought to be a “random” wedding reception conversation between Steve Merritt of Raleigh, North Carolina, and a little lady from Kalamazoo, Michigan. However, we now know that God had been orchestrating it for quite a while and look where it has brought us.
What has it turned into? None other than the Fifth Biannual Bahamas Methodist Habitat Fly-In & Help Out Event. An event that has brought over 95 private pilots, volunteers and planes to Camp Symonette, James’ Cistern, Eleuthera over the past two years to not only serve persons that are in need of emergency home repair but also to experience a new way of living and sharing life. This year volunteers shared God’s love through physical acts such as framing a roof, weather proofing a home by hanging siding and painting, remodeling a bathroom, building kitchen cabinets, tiling floors and even building some new furniture for Camp Symonette. More importantly though the volunteers were able to interact with the families they were serving, community members that joined them for dinner, during an excursion trip to Current and Harbour Island and at the Saturday night concert held at James Cistern Wesley Methodist Church. Cameron King, a recent graduate of Auburn University, shared that, “A major way that I am able to see the Kingdom is when cultures cross (socially, economically, racially, etc.) and watching the interactions among the [Fly-In] group and the community was one beautiful aspect of the weekend.” Read the rest of this entry »
BMH was mentioned in theTurks and Caicos On-Line Journal on Feb. 23rd 2009 after our trip down to serve those that were still in need of hurricane repair.
“Lastly, another tidbit with a much better “feel good” rating, that never showed up in the news is the work being done on Grand Turk by the Bahamas Methodist Habitat. Since our own government is at a loss for how to help their own people, Bahamas Habitat has come to the rescue with their own limited resources. Bahamas Habitat acts as a network of support for donations, fund raising, volunteer recruitment, project management and promotion for the mission work of the Bahamas Methodist Habitat.You can donate money or you can donate your time to help rebuild homes on Grand Turk. I urge anyone reading this to go to www.MethodistHabitat.org and read up on what this great organization is doing for hurricane victims today and then participate. This is one way for people to set an example for others and send the message that the victims of the hurricanes are not forgotten.”
