DOMs, Team Leaders and Secretaries,
Just wanted to give you a quick update from our state directors’ phone call this afternoon about the Bahamas.
David and Jo Brown (BGR Missionaries for the Americas and Caribbean) were on the phone call along with two other men that had been with them on the DART assessment team.
They were all impressed with the way the Bahamian people were showing resiliency in the face of all that has happened. The Bahamians are not waiting for others but are taking the initiative to begin to pick up the pieces. The Bahamian Baptist churches are also very strong throughout the country and are already active to try and meet the needs of their people.
The damage they saw was extremely hard to describe. Abaco, the part most photographed, was totally destroyed. Because of the massive debris fields with no machinery to move it or a place to haul it, they figure it will be some time until it is attended to.
On Grand Bahama Island progress is being made very quickly. Stores are opening and the electrical grid is coming back on line.
They discovered, in talking to the Baptist Leadership in the country, that on Grand Bahama, 13 Baptist Churches were affected. The plan is for a State Convention or combination of State Conventions to adopt a church. In adopting the church, we will work with the local congregation to: 1. Help to rebuild the church facility (it serves a center of activity for the community) 2. Work alongside Bahamian brothers and sisters to assist in evaluating and meeting the needs of the community. 3. Possibly do roof tarping and helping mitigate flood damage (tear out and mold remediation).
I have offered to have TN partner with one of the churches in need. I need to get your thoughts on this. It may look somewhat like the work in Dominica has looked like for the last two years. It would involve both DR teams, Associations and Churches that would like to partner in this endeavor.
If you think your teams, your association and/or churches would be interested in this, please send me your feedback.
As it stands now, it would be pay as you go. We do not have any funds designated for this response.
Have a blessed weekend.
In Christ Serving Together,
Wes Jones