The Peace of Christ.

Last week's Mission services ended on a memorable note of Friday.  A boat full crossed from Current Island and we joined a group from Current.  We all drove over to 3 Island Dock to cross to Harbour Island for the final service of the week.  We crossed as the rain blew in, and it was quite a storm.  The roof in the church leaked.  The power went out.  The generator wouldn't start.  But the gathered faithful were undeterred.  We sang, and we prayed.  The generator finally got started and all was well.

All of the congregations reported on their mission contributions.  This is done with a lot of detail in names and numbers.  Quite a bit differently that the anonymity that we prefer.  Each of the congregations of the region also made a musical offering.  This amounted to all the representatives of the particular church singing a preselected hymn.  And literally everyone participated.  The only two members from Bluff made their offering just as unselfconsciously as the dozen from Current Island. The worship lasted for close to three hours over all, and everyone was blessed and pleased with the evening.

The rain had stopped by the time worship was over, as the confident ones had readily predicted.  I had a bit of a slip on 3 Island Dock on the passage home.  I stepped where there was neither dock nor landing.  I fell pretty hard against the concrete with one foot on the dock and the other in the water up to my knee.  I suffered a couple of scrapes, a badly bruised back, and a brief dislocation of my knee.  But I was still mobile, if awkward.  The bruise is the only injury that has lingered.  I haven't sept soundly, and it kept me from working a couple of days this week.  But all is better, and getting better still.

I have been invited to a special Father's Day dinner at the church social hall this Saturday.  I received my printed invitation as I sat on the porch of the manse Monday evening.  One of the girls walked down the road and hand-delivered each invitation to the home of each invited guest.

It was just like I received news that Sunday was Pat's (the ferryman) birthday.  His nieces walked down the road and delivered pieces of his birthday cake to each home in the settlement.  I am looking forward to Saturday evening.  There is no end to the creativity of the Current Islanders.

I have also been invited to preach on the 24th at Spanish Wells Methodist Church.  The invitation to preach involves Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and a Tuesday Bible study/prayer meeting.  Needless to say, I am busy with preparation.  And I am not only eager, but also a bit anxious.  I will be preaching to a congregation of life-long fishermen and their families on the story of Jesus calming the storm!  O my . . . .

Work at Zion Home proceeds apace.  We have opened the trench for the electrical service.  Half of the pipe is on the island and the other half will get there tomorrow.  I hope we will have the pipe laid and the wire pulled by the end of the week.  Then we will be ready to get the power connected from the utility.  There will be a work team at the Home on Saturday from the Eleuthera Rotary Club.  And on Sunday a work team from Florida will arrive on island to work for the week.  That will help get things well along on the last touches of the first cottage.  And we hope the second cottage will be completed within a couple of weeks.

If you have questions or comments, please post them here or email me a eleutheramission@gmail.com.

Grace and peace,  Bing