Rejoicing in What God Has Done for Me
in the Bahamas
by Abby Fisher
I just recently returned (3/31) from an eye opening trip to Nassau, Bahamas. 
While there, the Trinity Church team of twelve high schoolers was able to scrape, paint, and refurbish the All Saints Camp along with talking to some of the people there. The Camp is a place where HIV/AIDS infected or disabled Bahamians can be cared for.
During the morning the team set off to scrape then paint the chapel and the office building located in the center of the white washed and rundown facilities. Most the buildings are in decay due to the termite infestation. We were able to encourage the people just by helping reinforce and embellish their camp.
Then in the afternoon we went out in pairs to talk to people and hear their stories. Joel and I had the privilege of talking to a man named Arthur who had been in the camp for a long time. His wife of 19 years left him there because of his extensive arthritis that prohibited him from walking. 
Despite the fact that he is confined to his room and wheelchair and no one visits him, he exhibited an overwhelming joy and passion when he spoke to us. We found out through his story that he is a Christian and it is only by God’s grace that he has joy to face what lies before him. This gave me a whole new perspective on what it means to be a joyful person, and convicted me to live my life with that same joy.
On Friday of that week, we were able to bring most of the people out for a little party. Arthur once again showed me his joy in all circumstances when he volunteered to sing the Bahamian national anthem for everyone. (Click here to hear the national anthem, "March on, Bahamaland").
All in all God was able to use our team to be an encouragement to the people at the camp, but also he used the people at the camp to be a larger encouragement to our team.
Rejoicing in what He has done for me,
