Bahamas 2009 Mission Thoughts Continued

What I've recently learned about the Bahamas:

• It's a commonwealth


• People drive on the left side of the road


• It's an archipelago consisting of 2000 cays and 700 islands


• They say "If the U.S. sneezes the Bahamas gets a cold."


• There are significant numbers of Haitian refugees


• It's a very beautiful place and some of the friendliest people I've ever met!

In addition to the work next summer in Nassau there are also options throughout the year on the various islands through Mission Encounter and through the Bahamas Methodist Habitat. This would be ideal for college or adult teams as there are needs in construction, children's ministry, and general community ministries. Abe and his team with Bahamas Methodist Habitat are well prepared for groups interested in both construction and other ministries. See http://methodisthabitat.org/ for contact information and team application packets.

Summer Mission in Nassau, Bahamas

I just returned from a 1 1/2 day visit to Nassau, Bahamas with a team of conference youth coordinators. Terry Carty of the Youth Workers Movement http://youthworkermovement.org/ and Mike Shinn of Mission Encounter are facilitating the effort in conjunction with United Methodist Church leaders from across the United States. The scout team included conference youth leaders from Rocky Mountain, Virginia, Wisconsin, Delaware, Western North Carolina, North Georgia , & Arkansas. This is a really large effort with hundreds of youth and adults participating in a variety of projects including construction, vacation Bible school, recreation, and other opportunities. Some of the group will work in July, but I'll be involved in the June 21-27 camp and encouraging groups to talk it up and register in the next couple of months. We hope North GA might have 75 youth & adults involved. This will be a great entry level international mission for groups or youth ministers/counselors/churches who have always wanted their youth to experience such a mission but haven't had the opportunity. Look for more details soon here or find more information in mid November at http://www.missionencounter.com/location_nassau.htm

In addition to the entry level mission for youth or college students they also offer some good options on the other islands of the Bahamas through www.methodisthabitat.org

I'll share more pictures and stories in the days ahead.