off to the races (or, time is flying)

Weeks have passed here at "life on 21/7" and no blogging to speak of.  Well, if you check out Kristin's personal blog, www.buntingnest.blogspot.com you will find some tidbits.  Ministry life at a small church is running at top-speed, it would seem.  Currently we are involved in planning/attending several things including:

• Alternatives...every Tuesday morning from 10am---? (Last week the last attendee left at 3pm)  This is an outreach to the community for those who are unemployed and need help with applying for jobs/filling out resumes, advice on how to interview, etc.  Last Tuesday, our first week, we had 15 in attendance...all of whom were complete strangers to Kingdom Life.  We had people who are literally living in their vehicles at the beach (including children) as well as people who were recently laid off from high--paying jobs in the off-shore banking industry.  This week we may have perhaps as many as 25.  Please pray for us as we are seriously outnumbered and want to help each person as much as possible!
• The Ladies' Brunch ...this is our Mother's Day activity, taking place on Sat. May11th.  Kristin is helping with planning/decorating and a tribute to one specific mother in our church while Keith is rehearsing a group of young ladies to present a song for the mothers.
• Weekly Care Group at our home...each Wednesday we meet, always beginning with a meal.  We currently have 7 adults and 6 children who attend.
• Monthly hosting of students from College of the Bahamas...every 4-6 weeks we host the group of college students for a Sunday meal, followed by a care-group-like discussion and prayer, then we transport them back to their dorms.
• Weekly worship team rehearsals...Thursday nights 7:30-9ish. 
• Counter-culture meetings each Friday night (Youth Group) 7:30-9:30 ish.
• Monthly Prayer meeting...First Monday night of the month 7:30-9ish.
• Sunday mornings...beginning with prayer at 9am, usually home by 1 or 1:30pm. 
• August VBS/Music Camp...To be held August 5-9th.  Pray that we find the curriculum best suited to the children who will attend.  Pray for hearts to be softened and fertile even now, a few months ahead.  Pray for all the many details, logistics, and necessities of the camp that still need worked out.  Mostly...Pray that Jesus Christ will be Glorified!

So, there are a few tidbits of our current involvement and planning.  This week, Keith will also be preaching as Cedric is away for his daughter's college graduation at Duquense.  We also have friends coming from Frederick, MD, who will be staying with us Friday through Monday! 

Warm Caribbean Greetings coming your way.....

our life enlarges, even as the world shrinks

In our course through life we shall meet the people who are coming to meet us, from many strange places and by many strange roads, and what is set to us to do to them, and what is set to them to do to us, will all be done.”
 
This somewhat dark quote is said by the character Miss Wade in the novel Little Dorritt by Charles Dickens.  (I highhhhhhly recommend this book and movie!)  This quote has captured my attention several times as I think about the way life seams together over the years.  Now Miss Wade's intention in saying these words was to somewhat strike a chord of fear and threat to her hearers, but I see the truth that Mr. Charles Dickens was aiming at....life is simply full of providential moments where people we never would dream of come across our paths.  In the 9 months of life we've had here in Nassau, the "world" has definitely become smaller.... Let me explain.....

Yesterday, we had the very sweet privilege of meeting Tanya Lester and her daughters Natalie and Christy.  They came for Sunday lunch.  Now who is Tanya Lester?  Well....she is the sister-in-law of Alan Lester, one of the pastors at Heather and Donovan Drew's church in South Africa.  Tanya lives here in Nassau with her two daughters.  Tanya was in South Africa visiting family in August and met Donovan and Heather Drew.  They passed along the word to us that Tanya lived here and would be glad to meet us.  Small world?  I think so.

A month or so ago, I was chatting with Alissa Finley, half of the new Canadian/American couple that are attending our church here.  She mentioned that her sister lived in Culpeper, VA and had recently started attending a good church there.  I said, "Oh, my cousin lives in Culpeper and is very involved in a good church too...What's the name of your sister's church?"  Well, you might guess the rest...not only do her sister and my cousin attend the same church, but they already know one another and have been forming a friendship.  Small world?  I think so.

Also yesterday we had a few more surprises in this small world of ours.  Ian McConnell and Bo Beck were here from Grace Bible Church in Philly.  Ian stood at the pulpit wishing us greetings from none other than SARA RANKIN!!!  and then preached a wonderful sermon on seeking Christ in all of scripture, based on the conversation between Jesus and the two men on the road to Emmaus, found in Luke 24.  Dan and Jodi Birkholz, who were at the PC last year, just had their first Sunday meeting in their new church plant last night, which was birthed out of Ian's church in Philly.  Small World?   Bo Beck shared his passion for coming alongside missions in local churches and around the world.  I told him about the Drews and the orphanage in South Africa.  Smiles!

And finally, another American couple and their sons attended our church yesterday for the first time.  The Seeleys, a family who just relocated here for ministry purposes, run the Adventure Learning Camp, where the mission team coming in August will be predominately staying.  This family hails from Minnesota and, as the Lord would have it, are looking for a reformed church with many of the characteristics they found at Kingdom Life.  Mindy homeschools her sons Logan and Zach (both teens), which is also a great connection for us.  There is nothing necessarily "small world-ish" about the Seeleys coming except that we've been curious about the Adventure Learning Camp for some time now, have driven out to see it...and now BOOM!  Here are the people who run it...from the U.S. who just moved here in January and are looking for a church home.  God is definitely working many things we cannot see.

So continue to pray that God will build Kingdom Life Church.  Pray that the gospel will take shape...with bones, and sinews, and flesh, and the breath of the Spirit of God pouring out of it.  All things are possible for him who believes.  And we say, "I believe, help my unbelief!"

reflections on Easter and looking forward

Happy reports are coming in from our church here in Nassau.  It seems people, both members and visitors, were greatly blessed in our presentation of "Jesus, Rock of Ages" this past weekend.  I am overwhelmed with gratitude to the Lord for helping us in the writing, arranging, and producing of this piece.  Here are some of the emails we've been getting:

"God surely answered our prayers...Praise Him!"

"My mom, sister, 2 nieces and a friend were in the audience...they said, "Man, that was just excellent!!!"  .....(niece) said her husband had to convince her the music was not a soundtrack...Yay to the band!"

"Keith, they say you are 'turning us into professionals!'....Thanks for patiently serving us."

"Hear, hear!...My family also sang praises of this production.  To God be the glory great things he hath done."

"I praise and thank God for you and your wife, Keith.  You both are allowing Him to use your gift, talents, and abilites mightily in our church.  With his strength continue to do so..."

Overwhelmed!!!  When we first conceived of doing something "in house" (aka, not buying a score from a publishing house), we knew it could be alot of work, or turn out goofy, or simply not be good.  Yet God overcame all those possibilities and answered our prayers far above what we could ask or imagine.  In this little church of under 100 people, many of whom were IN the program, we were able to have a choir, worship band and singers, narrators, and tech crew.  

What's next?  Well next up on our agenda is.....drumroll....a Music Camp/VBS in August.  We are going to host a day camp (very big on this island) where local children must pre-register, but freely come to learn musical skills, hear the gospel, and then perform in concert for their parents and the community at the end of the week (with another gospel message being given).  Currently, Metro Life Church in Orlando is arranging a mission team to come and serve alongside us in this.   How can you be praying?

1) Pray for the children who God will bring.  Most likely, they will come from the immediate community around our church, which is a low-income fairly "at-risk" area.  Pray that their hearts will even now begin to soften toward the things of God and that many would receive Christ.

2)Pray for the parents of the children God will bring.  Pray that they too will hear and receive the gospel through their contact with our church and that many true disciples will be born of this.

3)Pray for funds, strength, creativity, rapport with the incoming kids, ideas, safety, no sickness in the workers, travelling mercies, import/customs issues as the Florida team attempts to bring things into the country for this endeavor. 

4)Pray for long-term fruit from this.  We would love to see a children's community choir develop out of this music camp.  Our heart would be to see at-risk kids given a place to do something worthwhile (singing) that will give them a sense of ownership and productivity, and ultimately to hear the gospel. Along with the children themselves, we pray that parents and families will then be affected too.

None of these requests is beyond our Heavenly Father, who gives generously to all without reproach.  He is the giver of all good things.  He cares for children.  He cares for families.  He cares for His own people who seek to make His name great in all the earth.  Pray with us!

looking for rest in a busy week

Tonight is gloriously unpacked for the Buntings.  At the start of this week, we were expecting 5 nights and 2 mornings for our family to be involved at church.  But much to my happy surprise, tonight's Care Group meeting was cancelled.  (Not that I don't love Care Group...but...)  With this being Easter week, we will present two nights of "Jesus, Rock of Ages," the musical Keith and I have compiled over the last few months.  Years ago, back in another land far, far away, we used to present yearly Christmas and Easter productions, sometimes involving full scale sets, hired-out extra lighting, t-shirts with our production logo and massive amounts of rehearsing.  Well, gone are those days.  No, this musical is simple.  It is built around quotes on the life, death, and resurrection of Christ made by men much smarter than ourselves: Calvin, Spurgeon, Apostle Paul. I did write narration to seam these quotes together with the musical selections, but it was easy with such great material to work around.  Last night was our first full run-through with everybody.  It was rewarding to see it come together...and difficult to see so late in the game how it could have been better.  We will do our best to tweak things before the first presentation this Friday night, but we know God will be praised in our efforts.

Thursday (tomorrow) night, we will have our dress rehearsal.  Friday morning we have a "Good Friday" service, followed by our first presentation of the musical that night.  Saturday is off, other than Keith playing for a wedding, then Sunday we meet morning and evening, with our second musical presentation at 7:30 pm.  Again, we are so thankful for a night off tonight!

Coming off of a full weekend with the Metro Life ministry team being here, we are feeling the crunch of the busy life, but know God will meet us in it!

a visit by Metro Life

Good morning friends and family.  It is 9 am.   As I sit here listening to the birds chirp, I am reminded that it is spring in the northern hemisphere...so Happy Spring! I didn't plan on being here in the house typing up a blog post this morning.  Right now, the rest of our church is meeting for a special time with the prophecy team of Metro Life Church from Orlando.  Pastors Aron Osborne, Mike Nash, and Chris Jessee are here along with a few couples and one teen to share with us on the gift of prophecy this weekend.  Last night we had our first session, ending around 10pm.  We are hosting Chris Jessee in our home and thanks to Skype, we were able to chat with his sweet wife Stephanie as well late last night.  We went to bed at about 1 am, and then were woken up at 4:30am by a sick girlie.  Poor girl.  None of us got much sleep last night, so I am praying for God to strengthen both Keith and Chris and my other girls as they encounter the morning session today. 

As I enjoyed the worship time, listened to Aron's message, and engaged in the follow-up prayer time for many in our church last night, I was excited to "taste" what the Lord would do this weekend.  And now, here I am...home caring for my girl instead of engaging in today's meeting.  I know God has a purpose in this.  To be sure, I will be praying for this group and the meeting today as I stay at home, making sure my daughter is cared for. 

Last night Aron preached on Ezekiel 37, the story of the Valley of Dry Bones.  He likened us, in a spiritual way, to the dry bones Ezekiel prophesied to.  One particular concept that affected me was the fact that although at one point the bones had sinews and flesh back on them, they still were not alive until they were given breath.  And this is a picture of us without the Spirit of God.  Without the life of the Spirit in us, we may look like God's people, yet be very much like dead men.  "So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army."  Ez. 34:10  Later, God tells Ezekiel to prophesy more to them, including this phrase, "And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live..."  v.14.  This was so amazing at the time for many reasons, but especially because Israel was used to only experiencing the presence of God inside the Temple, not inside of themselves!  A new day was going to dawn for them, and this is the day in which we live...where the Holy Spirit of God indwells us, filling and empowering us.  This is where Aron "left us hanging" last night...stirring us up to want a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit so that this morning, we could talk about the use of the spiritual gifts that result from being filled with the Spirit.  I am thankful these meetings will be recorded so I can benefit from them later.  May God do "exceedingly and abundantly more than we could ask or think" this weekend and in the following days.  Thank you for your prayers for Kingdom Life Church!

a week in the life

March 15.  One month 'til tax day!  Yes, we still have to fill out U.S. tax forms, even though we live in another country.  But along with tax season comes two of our girls' birthdays, preparation for Easter, and many other activities on our church calendar.  Next weekend, a team from Metro Life Church in Orlando will come and lead us through a seminar on spiritual gifts.  Friday night, Saturday morning and Sunday morning will be spent gleaning from this helpful group.

In the last 6 weeks, our church has been hosting Christianity Explored, a class similar to Alpha.  Each Wednesday night we arrive about 7pm to set up the food we've brought and prepare to serve the 30 or so people who will be on site that night.  Of those 30, about 15 are attendees for the course, including some of our own church young people and their parents, and some guests.  According to Keith, this last week was particularly meaningful as many in his group were affected by the statement "What we learn in Mark's account is that we are far more sinful than we know, yet we are far more loved than we could possibly imagine." 

Alongside this course, we continue to prepare for our Easter Musical, Jesus, Rock of Ages.  Last night at rehearsal, the worship band was sounding particularly good!  Please pray for our rehearsals and for all to come together by Good Friday evening, when we present it for the first time.  With the Metro Life group coming next weekend, we are a bit more strapped for time than we originally planned.

  We are also excited to be hosting four sets of visitors over the next months.  This keeps us busy as tour guides...which we love.  It's amazing how suddenly people we haven't seen in years are coming to see us!  Wonder why?   Well, it might be that the Bahamas is just a tad more exciting than Lancaster, PA or Gaithersburg, MD.  Just maybe. 

so this is winter!

March came in like a lion here.  Yes, winter finally arrived in Nassau.  Now you sturdy Lancaster County folk will laugh, no doubt, as we would have a year ago, when we tell you the actual weather.  Remember though, as your blood is adjusted to cooler temps through the fall, leading up to harsh winter cold, we went from 83 degrees with sun and no wind one day to 60 degrees with no sun, lots of rain, and 12 mph winds the next!  Yep.  That was winter.  It was 63 in the house, with the oven on.  We did not think it possible, but we were cold!  No warm blankets, no heaters, no sweaters, and worst of all...no warm water.  The down-side to having a solar water heater is that no sun =  no hot water.   Showering in our home between October and April must happen between the hours of 2 and 5 pm if you want warm water! This doesn't work so well for Keith, who is always at the church office during those hours.  In the summer of course, there is never a shortage of hot water, even though in the heat of those days, a cool shower would be appreciated.  A bit mixed up.

One weather site I keep on my favorites list described our arrival of winter as "refreshingly cool." Ha!  I think it might have been very "refreshing" in the summer.  So it has happened.  We are Bahamian in our body temperatures.  Winter is now a 60 degree sunless day.  I believe that was called "April" in Lancaster. 

The result of this sudden change in the weather is that Keith, along with several others in our church, are now sick with colds.  We are happy to see the sun again today, though the temperatures are still in the 60's.  The land of endless summer has had its winter.  No doubt we will be missing these cool days come July!