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

Congratulations to the All-Camp Kemps Champions of 2012 – Alex Hurst and Kate Weaver!  Alex and Kate rolled through the double-elimination tournament with ease.  “I knew that we would win,” said Hurst after hoisting the Kemps trophy sponsored by Goombay Punch.  “We’ve been working hard all week on our signs, so our non-verbals are pretty solid.” 

Weaver, the more competitive of the two, said the elation from beating the competition is profound.  “I thrive on publicly humiliating my peers in Kemps.  It’s what I live for.”  Other notable competitors were Maci Hurst and Eric Lewis, who tried to use fashion comments as their sign, which resulted in their quick two-loss exit after two rounds.  “I really thought it was a sound strategy,” said Lewis, “because Maci tends to talk about fashion all the time, so I didn’t think anyone would notice.  I guess we should have went with the ‘Songs from the 90’s’ angle.”  Maci added, “Yeah, it was weird to hear Mr. Lewis talk about clothing so much… I had no idea what he was talking about.”

Brandon Groff and Matt Kachel were the surprise team of the night, angrily and spitefully advancing to the consolation finals.  “We didn’t want to be here,” said Kachel.  “I hate this game, too, ” said Groff.  They seemed to be united in the fact that it made people more angry that they kept winning. 

The stakes are high in paradise.  Eric

Editor’s Note: the author may have taken some liberties in the writing of this article.  It’s late.

Well, today was a washout.  The rain has been steady all day and at times, very heavy.  So, we took an hour or two to finish the painting project in the gym, a few did some cleaning in the dining hall and cabins, but the rain has stifled our plans.   We had hoped to go to the elementary school in Tarpum Bay during their recess, but they even closed early due to the heavy rains!   About half the group went to Berts to buy more machetes and food and some tried to do some kayaking out in the bay (you’re wet anyway, so what’s it matter???), but then there was some thunder and lightning so we had to come back.  Of course, we wanted to get more done around the Camp and spend more time with the local children, but God has other things for us.  Maybe the class bonding time during these rain delays is exactly what He wanted for us.

I have been very proud of the seniors and how they have entertained themselves without technology.  A lot of card-playing and talking and opening coconuts with machetes.  We are planning a Kemps tourney tonight and ice cream sundaes after dinner (Kemps will be forced family fun!). 

Pray for a break in the rain tomorrow as we hope to go to Tippy’s (a local restaurant) for lunch.  Tippy’s is right on the beach (real pink sand!) with some decent snorkelling.  So, you can eat, swim, snorkel all at the same place!  Pretty cool, but it won’t happen if we have another rainy day like today.  If that happens, then we may load up the bus and play tourist at a few spots around the island.  Tomorrow night is our final evening together and I have some things planned with the entire group.  More on that later.

From a rainy paradise.  Eric

Dave climbing a coconut palm tree today.

When you are trying to break open a coconut with a machete, you have to slowly pick away at the outer skin, which takes time.  Then, after you peel away the outer skin, you have to work on the hard coconut shell.  This, again, takes time.  But, you finally get to the white flesh inside and the coconut water.  Coconut water and actual coconut flesh is not that sweet.  Of course, we are used to the sweetened coconut products back home, but a real coconut, just cut down from a tree in a nearby park (our chaperone Dave Glerum has amazing tree climbing abilities – up to 20 feet!) isn’t all that sweet.  But, it is still very good!  And, just to give a few parents a “heads up” that their son may be bringing home a machete in their check bag.  Just felt like I wanted to let you know…  =)

As with coconuts, sometimes we can be difficult nuts to crack sometimes – teenagers too.  But, by God’s grace, the Spirit slowly works His way into our hears, like only He can and begins to make life-change.  I do believe that life-change is slowly occurring in the lives of our seniors.  Trips like this tend to lower everyone’s guard, so the real ministry can begin.  Sometimes, with a group of Christian school students, it is difficult to make any progress while at school.  The right words to say and the right way to act in the bubble is well-rehearsed at times and creates a veneer of Christianity.  Here, away from the lockers and classrooms and the “bubble”, all of us are more open, more transparent with each other and with God.  It’s good.  This week has been very good.  I am proud of how the students have worked hard and how they respected each other and the leaders.  They have rarely complained about the tasks given them and have done it to the best of their abilities. 

a coconut

As far as our schedule today, we finally saw the sun again!  Yay.  It rained a bit this morning, but nothing like yesterday.  We had two work groups during the day – one did trash clean-up at the paintball field and the majority were in the gym painting.  We will probably finish our step of the painting process tomorrow.  (By the way, the five-gallon can of paint that we are using cost the Camp – $250!!!  Welcome to the Bahamas where there are no Home Depots or Walmarts and everything has to be shipped in.  This explains why no one throws anything away down here… they cannot afford to!)  We then loaded up the bus and went to a park in Tarpum Bay, but no local kids came.  It was drizzling a little, so we played volleyball and basketball with our own group and then headed back to camp.  Coming back early did give us more time to play in the water.  A large group went kayaking out to Wooster Island (yep, we named it) and went snorkelling.  There’s not much to see.  There is some coral and fish, but not much.  The water was cold (relatively speaking), so we all came back.  Now, we are about to eat dinner and have some group time tonight. 

Tomorrow is our last work day and Saturday is our free day.  Pray that we continue to have good attitudes and finish well. 

From paradise.  Eric.

Yes, He does.  So, we prayed for relief from the mosquitoes and hot temps and God gave us a day of heavy rains!  We cannot complain.  We were able to get some work done this morning indoors – painting in the dining hall and gym and when the rain was light, we worked on trash clean-up from Hurricane Irene.  We ate lunch then took the rest of the day off.  We kayaked out in the bay, but some dark clouds were looming on the horizon, so we paddled back before the heavy rains hit.  We decided to hop into the bus and head back to Rock Sound to go to a grocery store that took credit cards (not many places do down here!).  The seniors wanted some Bahamian snacks/drinks and I needed to resupply our med kit, since all of our bug-bite and first aid ointment stash was also depleted.  (Ask the students about my head first dive across the parking lot while running from the Bank ATM to the store… quite entertaining and completely unintentional).  The store was actually closed (who closes at 2:00 p.m.???), but the manager was gracious enough to allow me in to buy medical supplies while the store was doing inventory.  Nicholas (CB staff and today’s bus driver) then took us back to Tarpum Bay and the local “Walmart”, called Berts.  Very small store that had a little of everything – from machetes to medical supplies to Goombay Punch (yes, I bought a 2-liter).

Tonight’s devotional was amazing!  Just know that God is doing some pretty cool things in the hearts of these young men and young women.  Dave and Megan’s devotionals have been transparent and solid spiritually, which is what led to, what I blelieve, is a transformational night for most.  Megan and the ladies talked about insecurity and finding their worth in Christ.  Dave addressed the topic of integrity as a man, particularly in the realm of sexual purity.  We were in separate cabins, by the way.  Both devotionals and the ensuing conversations/questions from the seniors lasted about 2 hours.  It was a very open time of honest questions and answers.  I was extremely encouraged as the overall leader. 

We are now lightening the mood by playing some Kemps (the game of choice this week).  Why do they have to scream about everything?  =)

Good night from paradise. – Eric

We have been loving our time here in the Bahamas! I’m so glad it’s not over yet! =)

We have had a lot of hard work going on everyday. So far we have moved a ton of bushes, painted-a lot! we have also been sweeping out a big gym, sorting a lot of things into really big containers- these containers are as big as an 18 wheeler truck.  Some of us even had to paint a zipline tower.

But we haven’t only been working hard, there has been plenty of laughs, taking pictures, sun rises on the beach, bug bites, hugging, bible studys, snorkelling, exploring an island, and so on. 

Our class has been growing stronger together. We need you to pray for our class. Pray that we will continue to get closer to each other. Pray that we will be able to finish the week strong and that we will get a lot done at the camp. and when the time comes to come home, pray that we will have a safe trip home. =)

Written by Kate Weaver

Welcome to the Tropics!  A storm moved in last night and is pretty much sitting on the Bahamas for today and possibly tomorrow.  High winds, pelting rain, loss of power every so often – this will be a good test of our team’s ability to adjust and make the most of our time here (for the Camp and with each other).  There are some indoor projects that we will probably tackle this morning and then we’ll go from there.  Looks like quality time with the seniors and Camp staff in the dining hall today.  I think a Kemps tournament could be on the schedule…

Last night, Megan and Dave shared their 3rd devotional in their series this week.  It was on making a decision now to follow Christ alone, no matter the cost.  They shared a couple stories of Christians from North Korea and China who had to face the ultimate decision of abandoning Christ or dying.  Meg and Dave have both been very transparent about struggles and how they sought the world for different seasons in life, but have always come back to Jesus.  Now, more convinced than ever that the world has nothing of substance to truly offer one’s soul, they have settled on a pursuit of Jesus and encouraged the seniors to do the same.  I think Megan’s experience as an LCS graduate has been particularly meaningful for the seniors. 

Well, time to eat!  Baked oatmeal today – yum!  The coffee down here is strong and with some local evaporated milk and real sugar, it makes a fine jump start to the day.

Be faithful.

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.