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The Pellman Cheesecake sale lasts from December 3 – 17! Delivery will be by December 20. ALL money is due at time of delivery!

Sorry for the delay in getting all of these photo albums loaded.  Each person that gave me pictures is in a different album and they all have the SAME password (bahamas).  I password protected each of them because I didn’t want them out for anyone to see, but please forward to any family who may be interested.

Beth – http://s1049.photobucket.com/albums/s392/jenlewis04/Beths%20Pictures/

Brandon – http://s1049.photobucket.com/albums/s392/jenlewis04/Brandons%20Pictures/

Diane – http://s1049.photobucket.com/albums/s392/jenlewis04/Dianes%20Pictures/

Eric & Jen – http://s1049.photobucket.com/albums/s392/jenlewis04/Jens%20Pictures/

Kate – http://s1049.photobucket.com/albums/s392/jenlewis04/Kates%20Pictures/

Katie Sue – http://s1049.photobucket.com/albums/s392/jenlewis04/Katie%20Ms%20Pictures/

Katie Swigs – http://s1049.photobucket.com/albums/s392/jenlewis04/Swigs/

Madelyn – http://s1049.photobucket.com/albums/s392/jenlewis04/Madelyn%20Pictures/

RJ – http://s1049.photobucket.com/albums/s392/jenlewis04/Rachel%20Jordan/

Rachel P – http://s1049.photobucket.com/albums/s392/jenlewis04/Rachel%20Peters%20Pictures/

Sandy – http://s1049.photobucket.com/albums/s392/jenlewis04/Sandy%20Pictures/

Enjoy!!!

Jen

The first-ever Senior Go! mission trip has come to an end.  After arriving at the LC campus last night around 1:00 a.m., we saw every senior head home safely with family.  We, ourselves, were able to finally reunite with Ray and sleep in our own beds.

It was a wonderful week with this class.  I am so thankful for the chaperones.  They were a perfect fit for this team!  The Lord knew we needed Diane along with all of the bug bites and “baracuda” teeth in the sole of our feet!  Thank you Sandy, for your spiritual wisdom and planning expertise.  It was a privilege serving next to you.  To Megan and Dave, thank you for your devotional series and your time investment with these seniors.  I know that many were impacted by your love for God and for others this week.  To Jen, my amazing and beautiful wife.  So, now we know that we can serve alongside each other, not just here but in more challenging conditions elsewhere.  I had so much fun serving with you and want to do this again!

I also want to thank the Camp Bahamas staff and director, Richard Albury.  They truly “walk the walk”.  Their love for us and the Bahamian people is my new standard for love within Christianity (apart from Christ, of course).  I have yet to meet a group of believers who were this sincere in their faith.

I am also so very proud of this team.  The seniors handled change very well and treated each other with a high level of respect and love.  It wasn’t perfect, but no trip ever is.  They worked hard with every task given them and were flexible when the weather conditions made it impossible to do anything productive.  It was such a privilege to work with this team and to see these seniors grow and be challenged.  I know that the lessons learned on this trip will remain with them for a long time.

Thanks, again, to each of you for your prayers and support.  This trip would not have been possible without each of you!  Also, a big thanks to Cindy Layton and Rick Bernhardt who did so much behind the scenes in the shaping and detailing of this trip.  And to the many parents who organized transportation, fundraisers, sent out support letters and prayed a TON for this week – Thank you!!!

A special thanks to Jen Felty, who was co-advisor of this class during their time in high school.  Even though she was not able to travel with us, we know that her prayers and love were with us.  She has poured so much of herself into this class and the fruit of that labor was very evident in the attitudes of the seniors during this week.  Thanks Mrs. Felty!  This trip would have been lacking without your input, commitment and love for this team.

Finally, to the Class of 2012 – may you recognize that you have been so richly blessed with the love and support of so many and by the opportunity to do something as special as this past week.  Never stop thanking God for what He has done.  I pray that these lessons last a lifetime and forever change your perspective on God, ministry and the world outside our borders.  I love you all.

No longer in paradise.  Home.  – Eric

Eric just texted that they’ve left BWI (11pm).

Parents – Estimated time for us to pick up our kids is 12:45am.

We are scheduled to board in an hour for our 4:30 p.m. flight from Nassau to Charlotte.

We have safely arrived in Nassau, checked our bags all the way to Baltimore (Lord willing), gone through Customs and Immigration and are waiting near our gate.  Several students are catching some Z’s, while others are exploring the shops and food courts.  It’s kind’ve funny that the Nassau Airport is the only “touristy” place we’ve been to this week, so some are getting their souvenirs here.  =)

I’ll try to post again to confirm our flight time from Nassau to Charlotte.  Once in Charlotte, we will need to move fairly quick to get our connecting flight to BWI, so I’ll call Betsy to let everyone know our status.  Thanks!

We’re still in paradise!  Eric

Alex diving into the Ocean Hole while Brandon awaits his turn.

Praise the Lord!  The sun came out today and it brought an elevated sense of joy with the class.  Dave and I paddled out with a number of the boys (Nate, Zach;, Drew, Alex and Jordan) to Windermere Island to watch the sunrise around 6:00 a.m.  The sunrise wasn’t much, but it was a great morning to paddle.  After breakfast, Nicholas (Camp staff and our bus driver) took us to three very cool places.  The first was the Ocean Hole, which is truly a wonder of the world.  It is a salt water lake in the middle of the island (near Rock Sound) and is full of fish, turtles and ocean life, but has no bottom.  Evidently, Jacques Cousteau was a resident of Eleuthera and dove to 280+ feet, but did not reach the floor.  They know that it is connected to the ocean (they poured a dye into the hole and it later was visible off shore, but no one knows the connection.  Anyway, there are 15-25 foot ledges around the outside, so you can jump into the water with no fear of hitting bottom… pretty cool!  We had a blast and I got some great video of your fearless seniors.

Maci and Matt strolling through the Banyan Tree.

After the Ocean Hole, we visited the Banyan Tree, which was amazing.  I’ll try to upload a photo very soon.  Lots of Biblical lessons from this one, particularly from John 15 and abiding in Christ.  Following a short visit to the Banyan Tree, we went to North Palmetto Point to eat lunch at Tippy’s Restaurant.  Located right on the beach, you can have a wonderful lunch, then walk right into the water to snorkel at some very cool coral reefs just off-shore.  The pink sands were subtle in the partly cloudy conditions, but visible nonetheless.  A number of students were able to snorkel and see some pretty neat fish and a lobster.  After spending a couple hours at Tippy’s, we ventured back to Camp to enjoy the sun for a little while longer. 

Rachel getting ready to snorkel at Tippy’s. When the sun came out the sand looked light pink!

Before dinner, Sandy went through the Immigration and Customs paperwork with the entire group and reviewed our flight plan for tomorrow.  After dinner, I had a wrap-up devotional (kind’ve) and then we went to finish packing tonight.  As I type this, I believe some people are being thrown into the ocean.  End of week chaos.  Where are my chaperones???  =)

Our flight leaves Rock Sound around 8:00 a.m. tomorrow, so we are loading up the bus and leaving Camp around 6;15 a.m.  We have a longer layover in Nassau, but we have proven that we can handle delays with quality fun and conversation.  I hope to keep you all posted as much as possible for our journey home.  Hopefully, I’ll regain cell phone coverage once we land in Charlotte.

Love you all and thank you so much for your prayers and support!  This has been an amazing week with an amazing class and it wouldn’t have been possible without each of you.  See you tomorrow!

One last time from paradise.  Eric