The peace of Christ.

The past week has been good and full here at Camp Symonette.  I did some repair work on one of the buses.  And I prepared a list of materials needed to ventilate the attic crawl spaces in the three wings of the main building and improve room ventilation in the dorm areas.  A supporter in Manassas, VA, is a mechanical contractor and is getting  information on cost and availability for these materials so that we can schedule this project.  But most of my work has been preparing for the electrical service change here.  The design work for the service change has been a bit of a moving target, but the corrections and adjustments tend to be relatively minor.  One larger change, and bit of good news, is that the kitchen is going to be completely remodeled.  That recent bit of information has to be figured into my plans.  But still no major problem.

We are also planning the service change to accommodate a renewable energy system using solar modules and wind power.  Renewable energy systems are not as prevalent as you might imagine in this climate.  There are many details that will need to be considered to make this project happen successfully.  Abraham McIntyre is the executive director of Bahamas Methodist Habitat.  He and I went to the south end of the island yesterday to visit The Island School and the Cape Eleuthera Institute.  These adjacent campuses are excellent examples of sustainable and renewable energy installations in the Bahamas.

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The facilities manager Geoff Walton gave me a tour of their campuses and provided a wealth of information about installing and maintaining solar and wind power systems on Eleuthera.  The photo shows both a pole mounted solar array and a roof mounted array on the boat house of The Island School.  The school also has a wind generator mounted on a 100 foot tower in the middle of the campus.  There are numerous practical reasons for using renewable energy sources such as energy costs and reliability.  The larger concern for BMH is faithful stewardship.  We are praying that with the use of renewable energy, BMH will be able to operate with more responsible stewardship, both financially and ecologically.  The financial side of this is familiar work for all ministries -- to reduce recurring overhead costs in order to increase the money available for direct ministry.  We are also hoping to create a campus environment that honors God's creation and exists in cooperation with the natural order.

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A mission team from Wake Forest, NC, arrives tomorrow for a week of service work here at BMH.  I will be working along side one work crew on a house that I first worked on in February.  The week ahead will include that project in addition to the camp projects I have mentioned already.

I covet your prayers as I pray for all of you who are supporting this work.  Grace and peace in this celebration of Christ's ascension: "Why are you staring into the sky?  There is work to be done!"