“Abaco is home.” Read the touching stories that the Newton Church of The Way IMPACT Team heard from community members as they experienced another day on the island. They remind us that we can all be grateful for the goodness of God.
We began our morning with an inspirational word from CJ, encouraging us all to use our gifts from God as part of the divine body to be helpful and impactful on the island of Abaco. Part of the Impact team spent the morning at CAPS helping Ms. Celekah Mills, who is teaching the ARK (Academic Recovery for Kids) program. They worked one-on-one with the children while they practiced their reading skills.
The team was blessed with this, and as an added blessing, it was Career Day, where children dressed for their dream career. The smiles were contagious all around as the students shared their costume fun with the team. The smiles continued later when the team members shared stories of the growing youth of Abaco with the rest of our team.
The rest of the Impact team went to Tracy’s house, where they utilized their skills to insulate the walls of her home and caulk and paint the exterior with a beautiful sea foam green color. The importance of this task was not taken lightly, as we all knew this would be the family’s forever home.
Our team is made up of many different skill sets, but together we made the place look and feel more like a home for Tracy and her family. Every team member understood their task, whether it was holding a ladder, hanging sheet rock, holding a door open, or being the person on the ladder leaning over the edge to paint the home. No matter how big or small the task may have seemed, every team member completed it with love.
After lunch, part of the team went to Tamara’s house to relocate specific items around her property. We knew we were being a blessing, but we didn’t expect to be as blessed as we were when we got the honor of hearing Tamara’s story. Her story was a roller coaster of events, from Hurricane Dorian destroying her home by ripping it off its foundation to her living in Nassau. Eventually, her home was rebuilt, and she was left to care for an infant whose parent was unable to care for their child, thus adding to her beautiful and complex story.
As our day soon closed, one last adventure occurred for a portion of our team. We met Randy at Maxwell’s grocery, who is a prime example of the Bahamian way of life: friendly, welcoming, and grateful for what God provides. He shared his story of having to leave the island after the hurricane, only to return a month later to help get the grocery store back in order, and living there at the same time. He feels blessed to be back because “Abaco is home”.
“God is good,” he said with a gentle smile. Never complaining, always thankful. We could all be more like Randy.
– Carrie, Kelly, and Shae
