Andrew Major, the preacher for the Central Church of Christ in Nassau, asked me a few weeks back if I would come down to Nassau and preach on the 25th of the month while he was in the states. He also asked if I would help put together a website for the church during my visit. I agreed and looked forward to helping them. A couple of days later, the Church at Highbury Park in Nassau called me and asked if I could come down a day early and help them with a website as well. I checked back with Brother Major and he agreed to fly me in a day early so I called Highbury Park and informed them I could assist them. Flights were booked and plans were made.
Awh... "The Best Laid Plans of Mice & Men."
The plan was to fly out of Marsh Harbour early on the 25th, spend the day with the Central Church, set up their website and train some techno-oriented people to maintain the website after my departure. On the 26th, I would spend the day at Highbury Park doing the same. THAT was the plan of this/these mice and men...
My flight on Sky Bahamas was scheduled to leave at 7:30 AM. I arrived at the airport at 6:00 AM to collect my boarding pass and check my luggage. By 6:15 AM I was through security and waiting for my boarding call... the problem was, there was no Sky Bahamas plane on the tarmac... it was still in Nassau. When the SB plane had not landed by its scheduled departure time, I sensed there may be a problem. About 7:45 AM, the SB boarding agent informed us the plane was delayed in Nassau due to mechanical issues and we would receive an update by 9:00 AM. 9 O'clock came and went without an update... finally about 10:00 AM the SB boarding agent magically appeared and informed us that the plane was in the air and on its way. The flight from Nassau to Marsh Harbour is only a 30 minute flight... by 10:45 AM I, as well as the other passengers, realized we had been misinformed. At 11:30 AM, the now very nervous and pensive SB boarding agent magically appeared again with a big wad of cash in her hand and apologized for the delay and offered to buy everyone lunch. She also assured us the plane would arrive by 1:00 PM. The plane finally arrived at 1:40 PM and we were quickly rushed aboard and within 20 minutes of its landing we were in the air heading to Nassau.
By the time I landed in Nassau and collected my luggage, it was 2:45 PM. I was picked up by a hard-working brother named Jon from the Central Church and we were off. Before we could go to the church building and begin work on the website, he needed to stop by a radio station to drop off a weekly radio program the church airs locally. By the time we arrived at the building and sat down to work, it was around 3:30 PM. The techno-oriented individuals I was supposed to train had left due to my delayed arrival, but I was able to train a very bright young man by the name of Anwar. We finished the bones of the website that evening between 8:00 - 8:30 PM.
The next morning, I was picked up by one of the elders/ministers of the Highbury Park Church, taken to their building where I was treated to Chicken Souse and Johnny Bread for breakfast (which was delicious). Afterwards, we began work on their website at about 9:00 AM. This day our plans conformed more to reality than the preceding day. There were about six or seven people present who helped in the development of the website and collected training in the use of the online software. By 5:00 PM the Highbury Park Church's website was live, up and running. There are many pages that still need to populated with relevant information over the next few weeks, but good bones are in place.
Saturday evening, I was given a tour of the island, shown some of the sights and treated to dinner (again, Chicken Souse and Johnny Bread... it too was delicious). I retired early and rose early on Sunday morning as I always do when I am preaching. I studied my sermon and prayed regarding its delivery, that it would bring glory to God.
I was picked up and delivered to the church early, found the coffee, and again, looked over my sermon and prayed for the reception of God's word.
After the AM Bible Study, I enjoyed vibrant singing, prayers, communion, and worship with my brothers and sisters of the Central Church. I preached for about 37 minutes and when it was over, I was told they appreciated the sermon even though it was a "Short" sermon. WHAT? LOL... I was then told they are used to sermons that go over an hour. So... Sunday evening I did not disappoint... I preached for over an hour! (Brother you don't tell a preacher his sermon are short and get away with it)! They actually seemed to enjoy the Sunday evening sermon more than the "short" morning sermon. It was refreshing to be with brethren who were not "Clock-eyed."
Thankfully, the return to Marsh Harbour yesterday was uneventful. It was good to go help these sister churches and preach in the capital of the Bahamas, but I was glad to get back home to Abaco. When I arrived back, the busy weekend caught up with me and I rested most of the day. I was more tired than I realized.
Though "the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry," we accomplished much to the benefit of the kingdom and the glory of God this weekend.
Though the sites are not finished, below are links to the websites of both the Central Church and the Highbury Park Church. If you are ever in Nassau, make sure you visit these churches... you will be overwhelmed with hospitality and love, and maybe, if you're lucky, you'll be treated to Chicken Souse and Johnny Bread.
To both the Central Church and the Highbury Park Church, thanks for having me and I look forward to working with you, serving the King in this part of His Kingdom.
https://www.churchofchristhighburypark.com/
https://www.centralchurchofchristnassau.com/
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