BUGZZZ…

Casey playing 4 vs 1

Whenever you have the opportunity to go overseas, there are many cool, new experiences to be had.  For us, we have very much enjoyed Bahamian culture and the people.  The locals on staff at the Camp and the children we have had the privilege to spend time with at Palmetto Point have been so much fun to get to know.  They are so laid back and so welcoming, but they do have a skeptical side.  The white people show up, have fun with them for a few days, then leave.  So, it is the same vicious cycle with every missions team that visits.  The cool part about Camp Bahamas is that it is Bahamian.  We can represent Christ through the local Camp, which builds a long-term relationship with the children.  So many of these children are fatherless and are in poverty.  The Camp, quite simply put, has an amazing impact on the local community.  I remember many questioning the Bahamas as a missions trip, but the people here are oppressed by so many things.  Poverty, single-parent homes, religious syncretism are just a few of the issues the local people face.  The American view is that of the touristy parts of the islands, but the real Bahamas is in desperate need of Jesus. 

We’ve been working hard again in the humid heat of the tropics.  The Camp recently built a new gym, but they had to use it for storage temporarily over the winter.  So, we’ve been clearing everything out of the gym and organizing it in storage sheds.  Lots of lifting, loading onto trucks, unloading, organizing, taking junk to the dump and sweeping.  My plan to lose weight on this trip is working, I think.  =)

Can you guess the leg? Or count the bites?

As noted in the title, another of the new experiences are the bugs and mosquitoes.  Yes, we have them back in PA, but these, I swear, are mutated and our Deep Woods OFF has no effect.  Some of our seniors have, literally, 100 bites on them.  Diane has been handing out Benadryl at night and the Calamine lotion has been used generously, but the itching is pretty intense for some.  Pray for relief as a couple have had trouble sleeping.

One last cultural aspect that I love – Goombay Punch!  It is now an addiction!  It is pineapple soda and I cannot get enought of it… so much for my weight loss program!  =) 

Love you all and I’ll hand the laptop over to Madelyn to figure out how to upload more photos while there are two tables of screaming Kemps players going on.