January 17-20 was spent serving the national board and staff for CEF of The Bahamas!
As you might remember, the previous National Director served faithfully for 25+ years. Dr. Willamae Miller is a wonderful servant of the Lord and she led the ministry well until her retirement last year.
Eunice Perpall now takes her role as national leader for CEF of The Bahamas, and she is presently taking her 12-week leadership training at the Children’s Ministries Institute. CMI is a requirement for all full time CEF staff.
It was wonderful to be back in The Bahamas, the first country other than St. Kitts & Nevis that Mandi and I served in as missionaries back in 2012! I was picked up at the airport by Lisa and RaMona (below) and we were able to have a meeting and discuss the CEF ministry they were each involved with. RaMona is a new staff member and I helped answer onboarding questions as I am temporarily both Lisa & RaMona’s day-to-day supervisor as Eunice is off island at CMI. We then went on to the CEF Bahamas office to meet with Dr. Miller, the national director emeritus. Dr. Miller still volunteers and helps around the office, sharing her wisdom with those who presently serve.
After all of these many times in The Bahamas, I drove by myself! Come to find out Google Maps works quite well there, so I had no issues getting around. Except for not anticipating rush hour traffic on a tiny island, that was time consuming!
The national board is entering a new season of opportunity at this same time. They, alongside the regional leadership team are looking to train over 15 volunteers in April. There are big plans for CEF of The Bahamas as they now will have three full-time staff members, active ministry in the Family Islands, and ministry to Hurricane Dorian-affected children! This large-scale ministry will require a large-scale national board, so this weekend was a preparation trip for that upcoming April training.
One thing that I was sure to do with the national board was spend much time praying together. Our regional director, Beltane Harrigan, often says: “If it can’t be done by prayer, it can’t be done.” I believe that as well, and so we spent time praying for the entire national ministry there in The Bahamas
We also discussed the upcoming April training, creating an action plan together on how best to recruit the new members. I am glad to say they are already working effectively at doing this!
The next day (Sunday), we went to a church that has been a part of CEF Bahamas ministry for many years: New Bethlehem Baptist Church. The pastor was the very first male Teaching Children Effectively Level 1 graduate for The Bahamas back many years ago and they have been a faithful part of the ministry locally.
CEF Ministry Coordinator Lisa Moss did a fantastic job putting together a presentation table and interacting with the congregation after the service!
After the service we had the opportunity to all gather together and share a meal again together, the national board and two of the national staff.
Thankful for the Lord working throughout this trip and giving wisdom to everyone in the direction for CEF of The Bahamas! Please pray for the ministry as they enter a new season this year.
P.S.
I got to be on the plane back home with Montgomery, AL’s new mayor Steven Reed!
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