with the strength God supplies

All has been quiet on the blog front lately.  That's due simply to the fact that the Buntings are serving in an "all hands on deck" kind of way these days.  Church life slows a bit over the summer as we close off care groups, youth meetings, and ladies' meetings for the summer vacation.  But due to the number of visitors we've personally been hosting lately, our pace has not slowed but rather increased.  Last week the girls and I (Kristin) were serving out at Adventure Learning Camp, making breakfast and dinner each day for the 40 or so mission team campers.  Tim Seeley, a new member of our church here, took over as director of the camp back in January.  When we had their family over for dinner some weeks ago, they mentioned that Mindy (Tim's wife) would be in the U.S. during the first official week of camp season.  I couldn't imagine Tim doing all that cooking, serving, and running the camp alone...so I volunteered our girls and myself to help!  What a blessing it was!  In fact, the girls have all been slightly down since Saturday when we ended our one week serving there.  They are begging to go back asap, and I will try to get us back in the kitchen there next week after our current guest, my brother Neal, is safely back home in Atlanta. 

Each morning, we were on the road by 6:15AM, eagerly anticipating the work of preparing and serving the new people we were meeting, as well as old friends.  My college bestie, roommate and maid of honor, Becca Deming, her husband (also our college friend) Kevin, and their church group from Holly Springs, NC made up 11 of our 40 or so campers last week.  I can't even say how wonderful it was to reconnect with these friends.  When we first saw them at the camp, Becca wrapped me up in a big hug and shed tears, telling her church group, "This is one of my favorite people in the whole world."  I cried along with her.  We enjoyed our week immensely, even though physically we were beat!  Cooking with gas in a hot Bahamian climate is nothing to laugh at, folks!  To cool off, we'd stick our heads in the freezer for a few minutes or joke about hopping into the industrial-sized refrigerator.  On Thursday, my prince on a white horse came as we were preparing dinner, announcing, "I come bearing electrolytes!"  Keith swept in to rescue the girls, Tim and I from dehydration.  I kissed him and said, "This is why I married you!" 

Other highlights to last week at camp were getting to connect with another new addition to the camp and our church here, Jen Rogers.  Jen recently moved back here from Denver, CO, where she was a member of a Sovereign Grace Church.  12 or more years ago, Jen was here in Nassau working in the same place...at Adventure Learning Center, on a short term mission.  Now she's back, creating curriculum for the Adventure Learning Center, in accordance with their mission to educate Bahamian children about the wonders of God's Creation while presenting the gospel.  More info. on the Center can be found here: www.alcbahamas.org

I have some pictures I need to round up...then I will add them to this post.  If you are a young adult interested in a short-term mission project involving children and the outdoors, please consider coming to see us and serving at Adventure Learning Center.  It is such a unique place!

family matters

This past week, from June 3rd-June 11th, Keith's sister Kim, and her three boys; Nathan, Philip, and Jack were here to visit!  It was fun getting to reconnect with this part of our family, whom we rarely get to see.  This was really the biggest chunk of time we've ever been able to spend together.  Nathan and Philip are twins, and we vividly remember Philip attending our wedding 18 1/2 years ago as a little baby with his mama.  Nathan and daddy Duane had to stay back home in Georgia at the time and hold down the fort.  Well here we are nearly 19 years later and these boys are all grown up and graduated from high school.  It was a blessing getting to see all God has worked in their lives over these years.  Seeing the young men they've turned into reminds me to keep chugging along with my own children, knowing God will be faithful to sharpen and hone their skills and abilities, but most importantly that HE will grow their love for Himself as they age and mature.

Our nephew Jack is quite a different boy from his twin big brothers.  While they are creative and intellectual, Jack needs to be moving, running, swimming, or have some kind of ball or bat in hand most of the day.  He is all athlete.  He reminds me a lot of my own brother at the ripe old age of 11.  Though I didn't spend as much time talking with Jack, I know my girls loved spending time with him out in the pool, playing the Wii together, and just being hilarious with him.  It will be fun watching him grow up and seeing what God does in his life.

Then there's Kim, my dear sister in law.  She and I have a lot in common.  Like Keith and me, Kim and husband Duane were also involved in full-time ministry for many years, with Duane serving as a worship minister.  They've moved around LOTS!  In fact, we compared stories, and to be SURE...THEY WIN for the most moves.  Kim is a teacher, though she does her job in the public system while I am at home.  Kim loves recipes as do I.  Kim loves to decorate...as do I!  And we have very similar tastes in clothing and jewelry.  But the most important thing we have in common is our love for God.  Nearly two years ago, Kim was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 44.  This was in the midst of her own mom already struggling in a 5 year battle with ovarian cancer at the time.  It would have been tempting to give in to self-pity or bitterness toward God in the days, weeks, and months when Kim was walking through her surgeries and chemo treatments.  But instead, she found Christ to be her all in all, her "closer than a brother" friend.  Today, Kim will say she wouldn't trade her experience with cancer for what she gained in that time.  As we talked, we shared our common experience of Christ being more than enough for the deepest trials we have walked through.  And conversely, how we often have more difficulty trusting Him in the little day-to-day things than in the life-altering moments.  Kim was kind enough to re-cover the throw pillows on my couch with some material I had been wanting to use.  THANKS KIM!!  She and the boys also brought us lots of goodies: coffee, chocolate chips, Doritos, Nutella, granola bars, fruit snacks, Dasani water flavoring drops, cake mixes, peanut butter...  We are SO GRATEFUL!!  And Duane, who was unable to join his family, was the one who did all the shopping for our numerous treats...so a hearty THANK YOU DUANE!! 

Since Mom B. died in December, we have to work a little harder to stay connected with family.  She was the heartbeat of the Bunting Family, to be sure.  We  are soooo grateful that Kim and her family took the time and money to invest in coming to see us.  It is no small thing!!  WE LOVE YOU!!

what they see/ what we see

Recently the topic of our new country and its current rate of unemployment/homelessness/poverty came up again.  Usually when we have visitors or sometimes friends from the states who inquire, we are reminded that the world at large doesn't see the what The Bahamas looks like, once you get past West/East Bay Street or Paradise Island (Atlantis).  Yes there is a good-sized middle class here.  This is a sign of hope and stability for this nation.  But there is also a vast dichotomy between the rich and the poor here.  And unfortunately, many of "the rich" are white foreigners who buy up million dollar real estate, turn it into billion dollar resorts, and cycle the money back to their foreign countries.  The Bahamas doesn't get the benefit of massive enterprises like Atlantis or the up and coming Baha Mar.  Giving the locals "thousands of jobs" as housekeepers, maintenance men, and counter clerks at these resorts doesn't exactly repay the vast amount of wealth these foreign investors are making.  It's the Bahamian's land.  But they aren't pocketing the lion's share of what is being generated from it's beauty.  And more and more local beaches stand in danger of being bought up by out-of-country investors to be turned into money-making real estate.  Beaches that locals have fond childhood memories of no longer are accessible to them...unless they can come up with the million dollars to buy a condo that now stands upon it.

Well...for us as Americans it was quite eye-opening when we came for our first visit nearly 3 years ago.  At this point, our eyes have adjusted.  We no longer are shocked to see the heaps of garbage, stray mangy dogs, decrepit buildings, and homes that are nothing more than wooden shacks where the many poor live.  And when we leave "Paradise Island" and drive back to Nassau proper, we heave a sigh, feeling the distance...and I don't mean the literal short arched bridge that exists between the two.

 What most people think of when they hear "The Bahamas"  is Sun, Water, Beaches, Resorts, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.  And to be sure, these things exist.  And that is what the government wants you to see. This is what tourists want to see. What they want you to avoid begins about one block up from "Tourist Row," where real inner-city Nassau begins.  We have difficulty taking pictures of this side of Nassau because we don't want to offend people.  We look like tourists already with our white skin and sunglasses...if we whip out our cameras, we will look as though we're gawking, and we don't want to do that.  So I've pulled some accurate pictures from google images...both sides.  In our everyday lives, we are in the thick of it, the city streets, the backroads, all of the "real Nassau."  This is what we see, this is what we carry on our hearts.  Last night, Keith received a phone call from a lady who's been attending our job-placement help course, offered on Tuesday mornings.  She was desperate...out of money, nothing to eat, and a 5 year old depending on her.  That morning her roommate told her to get out by nightfall.  She was grief-stricken when she called.  Keith wisely counseled her that sometimes just curing one piece of the need helps the other needs not look so large...he asked her if she'd eaten that day.  Not really.  He said, "Alright.  I'm coming and bringing you a meal.  That's step one."  And so he did, with the help of another man in our church and my 19 year old nephew who was here visiting.  Step one.  Feed the Hungry.  Yeah, I can do something about that.  I can cook.  I can "drive thru" Wendy's.  I can pack a bag of food.  Step one.  And the other needs begin to fall in line.  Oh help us God.  Help us to feed the hungry, care for the poor, and shine your light where darkness wants to swallow all the brightness.  We know you will.



There is so much beauty here, but also so much disparity.  This post is dedicated to setting the record straight.  Next weekend, my college roommate (also my maid of honor), her husband (a youth pastor), and their youth group will be traveling here from Holly Springs, North Carolina to do a weeklong missions trip.  They chose the Bahamas because of the need, not because of the beauty...at least, not the obvious beauty.  Jesus is here.  And the need that He can fill will be beautiful.

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Meet the Seeleys

Back in the winter, we began praying that in growing Kingdom Life Church, God might send strong families to us.  What God did was so much more than that...He sent the Seeleys.  Tim and Mindy and their boys Zach (second from left) and Logan (far right) visited our church in their quest to find reformed, gospel-centered church with expository preaching.  They found Kingdom Life and haven't turned back.  "The best kept secret on the island" is what they call our church.   Tim and Mindy and two of their four sons moved here in January to take on the job of running Adventure Learning Camp.  Though technically this is Tim's position, such a job really pulls at every member of the family.  Hailing from the twin cities originally, Tim was a journeyman, then master plumber.  Mindy continued to work part time as a nurse at night while homeschooling their boys during the day.  They were fully involved in their church.  After reading Randy Alcorn's Money, Possessions, and Eternity, they began to consider full-time mission living.  And a few years later, here they are in Nassau, directing a camp that hosts missions teams from all over the world.  They've given up homes with double the bedrooms and baths for a small two-bedroom, one bath home on the camp property.  They've spent their own savings to move themselves a few thousand miles from home, never looking back. 

Last night we had the privilege of having the Seeleys here for dinner.  As we feasted, we discussed how each family found their way here to Nassau and to Kingdom Life.  It was such an easy connection to be with them, and the night sped by as we talked of God, His ways, and our experiences so far in the Bahamas.  Tomorrow the Seeleys head back to the U.S. to raise support, give reports on their ministry, visit family, and then head back to Nassau in early July.  We shall miss them, but look forward to the months ahead!  We will hopefully connect with them early in July as they bring one of their older sons, Garrett, back for a visit during his college break.  Then we head to the U.S. on July 8th.  You can follow the Seeleys and check out their work at Adventure Learning Camp here:    seeleyfamily87.wordpress.com

Flood 2013 Nassau, Bahamas 2

 One week ago last night, we received a very unexpected monsoon.  People simply weren't prepared.  The weather forecasted a 60% chance of rain, but in fact, the rains and winds were much worse than most hurricanes the Bahamas has sustained.  Several of our neighbors lost furniture, even cars.  Their homes are still being purged of flooring, mattresses, and everything the floodwaters damaged.  In this video, you'll see the neighborhood which received the worst of the flooding...Pinewood.  Here in the east we received the majority of rain...12 to 15 inches of rain, plus upsurges of springs from underneath the ground.

Please continue to pray for Nassau as we are expected to have another 72 hour period of monsoon-like rains today through Saturday morning.  So far it is not nearly as intense as last weeks' storm, but if even one day mirrors last Tuesday night, many will suffer.   We're so thankful we only saw light water flooding our bedroom and did not have any property damage.

our packet of seeds

Of the two of us, Keith is the gardener.  And I am thankful.  Gardening (weeding) was a form of punishment when I was growing up and I still look at it that way!  But I appreciate the beauty of God's earth and all that comes from the careful stewardship of it.

This morning during my quiet time with the Lord tears began streaming down my face as I prayed about our work here in the Bahamas.  In just a few weeks we will mark our 1 year anniversary of moving to Nassau.  And yet, most of the time I look around at the landscape of our life and think, "Are we really doing any good here?"  The needs on this island are so great, and we are so small.  Just 5 people.  One small church in the midst of over a thousand on this island.  Is our being here really making any difference?  The tears were coming because I long to see God work through us in obvious, measurable ways, but reality seems far from that.  So much effort, so much investment has gone into our being here...all the giving of God's people, all the time spent training and preparing....I could go on and on.  Is it all really worth it?

 

"A packet of seeds Lord...that's all we are.  A packet of seeds in a Lancaster County-sized field here.  What we need is an industrial sized spreader and bushels of seed."  These were some of my thoughts and cries to the Lord.  And in that moment it seemed as if the Lord replied, "Yes, a packet of seeds.  Go out and see what a packet of seeds has turned into." 







About 4-6 weeks ago, Keith and the girls bought a packet of zinnia seeds and planted them on the edge of our little landscape in front of the house.  We've been watching them carefully over the last weeks, noting their growth with hopeful expectation.  On Sunday we noted that they looked almost ready to burst into blossom.  So when I felt the Lord remind me of what was growing just outside my front door....from a packet of seeds...I got right up and went outside.  Blooms! 







There they were.  And I would wager that later today, when the sun hits them, there will be dozens of blooms.  The Lord dealt gently with my heart, reminding me that although most of the people on this island will never see these zinnias in bloom, they are here, on the edge of my home's landscape, in one corner, making it beautiful and displaying God's glory in their zinnia-way.

The zinnias at the front of our landscape create a little border

Just a packet of seeds.  But one that until it was bought, ripped open, put into the ground, covered, watered, and nursed by the sun, would never have grown in this yard.  Which is more beautiful?  A a packet of seeds sitting on the shelf in the garden store, or one spilled down into the earth, planted and blooming?  That's easy, right?  And so we are here.  Our "packet of seeds" has been bought and torn open, and sewn into the ground here.  God will produce blossoms.  He promises.  "Truly, truly I tell you.  Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit."  John 12:24.

death strikes again

I would be lying if I said the crime here was not affecting my fear factor.  Yesterday the story of an American tourist's murder here on East Bay Street, or "tourist row," where I walked with my kids the other day, reached the papers.  He was a 34 year old former teacher and current sailor, hailing from the Chicago area.  And how was he killed?  He was trying to fight off 3 men who were mugging a woman...attempting to steal the jewelry she was wearing.   He was a hero, falling victim to a crime while trying to prevent one.

Normally we do not hear of tourist's murders.  We've been told that most criminal activity is due to drugs and gang involvement or domestic squabbles.  But in this case, tourists were attacked and one was murdered...in a place I drive by several times a week.  One of the identified murderers lives off of Kemp Road, the road we travel every day to get to church and back.  It is our church neighborhood, of which I've written on my family blog in a post entitled "oh think twice, it's just another day in paradise."  Here's a snippet of that post:
 
"Every time we drive to church, we must drive down Kemp Road. I've told you the name of it so that if you're praying for Nassau, you can pray quite specifically. Kemp Road has everything happening on it. Churches meeting, homeless people wandering, prostitutes sauntering, children running loose with no supervision, stray dogs decaying in the heat. At night, I'm afraid to drive it. So I've stopped. I go a different way at night, if at all possible. Kemp Road intersects with the street our church is on. By the time I arrive at church Sunday mornings, I've already been praying for the people I've passed. My heart is heavy. The need here seems so great. And literally, all these people, so lost, so empty, are just steps away from my church.".........that's what I wrote back in the fall.

As it turned out, I didn't stop driving that road at night.  It's just the fastest route by far.  But maybe I'll rethink that.  It is one thing to say "The need here seems so great.  And literally, all these people, so lost, so empty, are just steps away from my church."  But when you realize that the very people you're wanting to help could very likely kill you just because they wanted something you had...it is hard to keep the same perspective.  By nature I am a trusting person.  I never locked my door back in Lancaster!  In fact, even here I am not as careful as I should be.  But lately, I'm seeing that wisdom would tell me to be much more guarded. 

Pray that we will not become shaken by the potential crime.  Pray that we will continue to have compassion on those who need the gospel.  Pray for protection for us and our church.  God has called us here and we know He will be faithful to complete all that He's going to do.