December 2015
Christmas Greetings to Each and Every One! As global tensions mount and morality declines, we rejoice as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ., the only eternal, unchangeable truth, way, and life for mankind.
This year, we are spending Christmas here in Red Bays, but our hearts and prayers and thoughts will also be with each of you! There’s been all sorts of seasonal events, from Santa’s debut at the B.A. Newton Primary School to Christmas Lights at Renewal Bible Church; then a spectacular Christmas Story presentation at Adventure Learning Center in Nassau, where we spent a few days resting and fellowshipping. Thursday the 17th, Santa will be back in Red Bays for a photo shoot, as many kids missed visiting with him at the school.
These last few months have been challenging for us on every front, to say the least! The Lord encourages us to learn to cling to Him ever the tighter and trust His direction of every circumstance touching us. Every day we ask that we be able to praise Him with our words, our attitudes, our faces. The house in Maine is empty, progress renovating the shop is much slower than expected, the car needed new brakes (done) and shocks (not done). And of course finances march to a beat of their own!!!
As the year draws to a close, many of us will pause and remind ourselves of all the blessings the Lord has given us this year. We are so thankful for our many blessings, such as being able to fill the gas tank for $40 every two weeks, (NOT $200); for the abundance and variety of foods grown here; for great health, and Dave’s A1C dropping steadily; for continual contacts with kids and adults alike every day; for space and technology to do homework; for academic interest and progress on all fronts. There are three girls already enrolled in college courses, and another working on 
such; a 12th grader is scheduled to take her SAT in Nassau. (This is a BIG deal–pray for her!) We are thankful every day for God’s amazing grace to us and His Holy Spirit in us; and for you, our family and friends who love, pray for, and support us faithfully. We so appreciate all the friends and “family” here in the Bahamas who encourage us, bring us food, open their homes, repair our machines, entertain us, and make us laugh. Most of all, they hug us, love us, and help us along our life’s path.
Just to let you know upcoming plans: a construction team will be here starting January 9 for a week to help with renovations; our youngest daughter and family will spend a week beginning the 30th; another construction team is expected to come in March. Each of these visits give us–and Red Bays–a tremendous boost, and we are excited they’re coming. Btw, if any of you want a mini-vacation in a quiet little settlement with lots of warm sunshine and white-sand beaches nearby, contact us! We love sharing our world with everyone. Conversely, if you have prayer needs you want to share, let us know. We are here to help!
May each of you have a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year!
Love and hugs,
Dave and Sue
Email:
(Dave) grampsbryant@gmail.com
(Sue) flynfa@gmail.com
Phone:
(MJ) 1.207.956.8164
(cell) 813.713.6224.(USA)
(Bahamas Home) 1.242.329.7770
Mission Address:
EBM International
P.O. Box 189
Summerfield, FL 34491.
U.S.A. Mail Address:
P.O. Box 254
Buckfield, ME 04220
September 2015
We arrived to discover that all the people we worked so hard to get ready for Passports were still waiting for the Mobile Team from the Nassau office to come to Andros, and more requests from other Red Bayans to continue working to secure all their legal documents needed so they, too, can be ready when the Team arrives.
Through a series of events and a generous Christian couple from Maine, God provided a 2005 Chevy Silverado which we brought back (by request) to pay off the balance due on the building that we are purchasing. When the truck arrived, the man requesting it didn’t have the money to pay for its shipping and customs duties. Yes, we had to do some scrambling to find money to pay those bills as there was a crucial time frame per Customs to claim it. At present, we are waiting for him to come repay us those fees and sign off on the building. In the meantime, that put a hold on purchasing a vehicle of our own. Please pray that this will be resolved soon.
I just wanted to introduce this wonderful couple to you because Elder Robert Evans and his wife, Rose, are our local Church Sponsors for us to remain on Andros as Missionaries. They are a wonderful, dedicated, loving couple, who believe as we do, and are supporting us in every way they can to keep this ministry moving for the Lord.
One of our construction teams is expected to come in January to help with the renovations, and a second group is trying to put together a trip for March. Getting this building renovated and completely operational looks to be a monumental task and I expect it will be a year or more before all is completed. I have been working to clear out the main area of the building so that we can fix it up, get electricity installed as well as a bathroom, and then be able to start Bible Clubs again. It has been over a year now since we had clubs and we don’t want our Red Bays children to forget or lose out on the opportunity for spiritual growth in the biblical values we’ve been trying to instill in them. Once we get the building in shape, we will also be ready to begin Sunday services.
Pumpkins, Pumpkins everywhere! We returned to find our farm overrun with pumpkins. Pumpkin vines climbing over everything else that we had set out: pineapples,banana trees, coconuts, and sweet potato vines…anything and everything! Happily, Sue has been bringing home a great variety of sizes and colors of pumpkins as a result, which will be cut up and shared around town or made into cookies or dried and made into “flour”. Guess we will have to do something to keep them contained on the next round. Our boys did the best they could while we were gone to keep the weeds in check, and we rewarded them as promised when we got here.
(As of yet, we have not had our land surveyed, but I will be checking on that in the next few days.)
Keep praying for Red Bays and Andros Island in the Bahamas, that lives would be changed forever by coming to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, and for us as we serve Him here. We love you!