'i -.

3^
is? 23 "n

CHURCH OF.CHRIST
James & Sar^ Redmon Box:Nl674 . Nassau, Bahamas

Sponsoring Church:
South Side Christian Church

Forwarding Agent:

(ijeprge. C..;.-Me,ador
449 West Lake Drive

2600 S. MacArthur

_Springfield,.,^11. . 62704
January - February - March, 1974
Dear Friends,
il. ' --v. . . i

Springfield,. 111.. 62703

A,ye,9.r,]to build. -That is what 1974 is for us.

1.

We will be buUding in several

Leadership - to sustain the congregations.

2.
3.

Membership - the years of sowing have prepared us for a harvest.

Golden Gates - the group meeting in this fast growing residential area must have a building now.

Because of our plans to-Constru^t a building in Golden Gates we will need,

the assistance of every church, youth group, camp and V.B.S. to raise the
necessary funds.
participation.

A great deal of extra publicity will be distributed to increase

Did you know Sarah and I have now served in the Bahamas for twelve years?

With everyone's cooperation we Ccin make this year the climax of our missionary .work here, .The Bahamian churches must be prepared to continue their growth without outside assistance. Please don't forget to pray for us daily during these
crucial times.

ENERGY CRISIS

That seems to be the news these days. The form may change from country to country but in Nassau it merely means higher prices. Electricity is produced
with fuel so our electric rates have been increased three times since our last

quarterly billing.

We cook with botfcled gas and it rose from $13. 00 per^cylinder

to $21. 00 with another rise due next month. Gasoline prices have risen three times from 60^ to 64^ to 73^ to 85^ per gallon. Not as bad as we had expected
and no sho,rtage except for one weekend when the stations all closed fo,r tiiree days to complain about their profits. The greatest energy crisis remains to be personal. I just wear out before I accomplish half of what I want to do. This has been e.xpecially true when I'rn down at the church lot chopping bush and pine trees. Our pines are so tough that you have to cut through two of them just to
make one fall, or so it seems.

Along with the fuel increases have come other .inflationary costs. Our V. W. bus is five years old now with 67, 000 miles and it's beginning to show the wear. This increases our monthly need to cover the higher repair costs. Of course,
we are thankful to have the bus since it cost $2, 800 when we bought it and costs

over $6, 000 for the same thing now.

was new.

I guess it is worth as much worn out as it '

The government here is trying to begin its system of social security called
National Insurance. The employers will have to pay li% of.the wage rate and

the employee will be required to pay 3%.

before they can start collecting.

With the high rate of inflation, the

government is rneeting with a great deal of resistance so it may be some time

To cope with the need for money a new system is being tried every few
weeks. The fellows steal a car, saw off a shotgun barrel and hold up a bank.

We have no guards where we have two counter, tiirew the the thieves and the them quickly.

nor are the police armed so it is relatively simple, especially or three banks in a block. Recently a man jumped up ori the teller a pillowslip and said, "Fill 'er up". The ,stupidity of smallness of the island work in favor of the police catching

IN THE MAIL

About the only way to keep contact with tiie outside world for missionaries is

the post office. We depend on mail from missionary chairmen to help us co

ordinate our information with their local church program. It would be an im mense help for chairmen to lay out their plans well in advance and let the mis

sionary know how he can help. It's not possible for the missionary to fill spur
of the moment requests even if the request arrives before the dead-line.

A second mailing problem arises in regards to displays. We are working up new display sets that will be.mostly photographs. We have learned that every thing else is stolen, even in churches. We can't afford the expense. Futhermore, it would be a great help if churches would at least place $5. 00 in with the requests to cover the postage and handling. Be sure to send the requests well ahead of
time giving the date needed and then return the materials IMMEDIATELY. Send display requests to; Mrs. J. C. Redmon, 2495 Dodson Drive, East Point, GA.
3Q344.

The new U.S. postal letter rate to the Bahamas is 21^.

Less postage will

cause your mail to be delayed or lost. Also be careful to use the correct box number. Our postman will not bother to correct wrong numbers. Even with the

right number you've no assurance we will receive the mail. It could still go to the wr;Ong country or box. For example, I recently received mail for Brazil and
Australia in my box. There happened to be numbers in the addresses that cor responded with my box number. Then there is the problem of poor sorting. I

have received mail for the Public Library, Police Training School, and a whole
large envelope of applications to the gun licensing authority. I have even received mail addressed to Howard Hughes, c/o Postmaster General. So please don't t^ke it for granted that we hear.from you just because you write. We recently re ceived a whole stack of Bible lessons that came back unclaimed after being sent to the wrong island four years ago.
If you don't receive an answer in a reasonable amount of time, write again.
SPECIAL PRAYER REQUESTS

1.
2.

For Our Family -- We have been slowed down by numerous and repeated
small illnesses.

Bahamian Church Leaders.^- We are trying to train and Satan is trying to

destroy.
victories.

It's a daily battle with very few lasting

3.

Bahamian Young People -- My training classes with the youth are growing. A good number of youth who have been in our services for -years are approaching the time of decision. So much can happen at this stage so please pray as .you've never prayed before. The use of drugs is sweeping the
island like a storm.

4.

Golden Gates -- We are searching for a way to build the most building for the
least money. We need your gifts but we also need your prayers for wisdom and strength.
Jim Redmon

Atlanta Christian College

2605 Ben Hill Road

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID

East Point, Georgia 30344

East Point, GA
Permit No. 10

02An?:--3rsLE college
111! UAVA

Bahama Mission News Jim &; Sarah Redmon

JOPLIN, MO;

64301

iAy^5 ^ ^
CHURCH OF CHRIST

(ojfc 3 Jo
JUN 2 0 '7-1

James & Sarah Redmon

'
Sponsoring Church:

Box N1674
Nassau, Bahamas

'

;
Forwarding Agent:

South Side Christiain Church '

2600 S. 'MacArthur

George C. Meador
449 West Lake Drive

Sprihgfield, 111.

62704
April - May, 1974

Springfield, 111. 62703

Dear Friends in Christ,"

'rhiere is ho shortage of news lately.

In fact, we have a shoi^tage of

water. Oirer half of our water is supplied by a salt water desalination plant. For over'a month now it has "been shut down for its yeWl'ly maintenance. This has'come at the end of our dry season so level in the well fields was low and the water considerably salty. So at 3:00 P, M. each afternoon the water pres sure is cut back to a trickle or off altogether. The pressure is increased again

at 6:00 A. M. the next morning.

With day time temperatures averaging a humid

85 this 'makes baths' a bit difficult. Sarah fills up a buiich of jugs and bottles
and wfe have been using a lot of paper plates. I rigged up a pTimp on an old well
in our yard so that we could manage alright. We have gotten along fine but Wduld sure appreciate a drink of really fresh water. Even our ice is salty and spoils the flavor of any kind of drink it's in. We are reminded of the little rhyme, "Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink". Perhaps we can appreciate our water supply more and the plight of those who thrist for the
watef of life. '
SAD NEWS

God has blessed personally in many ways but events around us make us sad. One of the largest airlines flying to the Bahamas was Pan Americcin who had 18 flights a week. They announced cutbacks to 8 flights and then stopped all scTieduled flights. Tourism is no longer showing great gains at a time when

inflation is straining the pocketbooks of everyone.

been the alarming increase of dangerous crime.

Adding to the problem has

In fact, while I was writing

this paragraph a bank just two blocks away was robbed by two masked gunmen.
That's the third time recently that this bank has been robbed. Lastmontii on ^o consecutive weekends there were titiree murders. Tourist are molested all over and even killed. In a trial last week a 19 year old wAmerican youth was sentenced to haing for killing three tourists. These activities are all the worse for such a small place. Finally, we have had two ship wrecks. A Haitian sail boat bringing illegal immigrants hit a reef as it was coming in tiie harbor and .32 people were rescued while 18 drowned. Just a few days later the mail boat from Cat Island hit a reef eind sank with 45 people. U.S. Coast Guard helicopters
rescued all the people.

GOOD

NEWS

While the world around us may have its despair, we have, joys and pleasure in the service of Christ. The Easter season came with its special events. Our
children were out of school for two weeks and our church folk had their annual
picnic. They really enjoy a day of games, eats, and relaxation.

Sars^ was invited to speak for the Women's Retreat at Lake Wales, Fla..

At &e s^^^ time she flew up to Georgia to visit her family for a few days .1
guess Sherry and Chris got tired of my cooking before, the we.^k was oyer-.but Sarah came back enthused and enriched by the experience.
The first week in May we had a worlhop type meeting in the Grove church. The theme we developed was on stewardship of the whole life. Brother Richard McDole from Cocoa Beach, Fla. was the main speaker. Dividing into groups we had Jean McDole with the youngest group, Ann Junker with the teens and
Larry Junker with the adults. . The Junkers are members of the Cocoa Beach

church. We have learned that this type of concentrated teaching has a lasting value; and certainly appreciate the vol\intary assisteuace .of these two couples. ..
A new set of slides is available.
best way we can, our life here.

We are anxious to share with you, in Ihe

Please write well in advsince to; Mrs. J. C.

Redmon, 2495 Dodson Drive, East Point, GA 30344, to schedule these pictures. Our last set was handled very carelessly and msuiy of the slides simply lost. Other times the sets were kept a long time. Please help us by being as careful and prompt as you can. Xwginted to have a script on tape but my Cassette re
corder decided to break down.

Please remember us.in your prayers.

Pray for alJL of our missionaries.

We need strength and wisdom against many problems. cheer us albng.

Your concern helps to

Yours in Him,
Jim Redmon

Atlanta Christian College

2605 Ben Hill Road

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID

East Point, Georgia 30344

(Return Requested)

East Point, GA
Permit No, 10

oza:^?: iiiBLic. tollilG! nil N. MAIN . ;

Bahama Mission News

Jim & Sarah Redmon

JOPLirj, MO.

64S01

bUL"^

.'^)h

CHURCH OF CHRIST

James

& Sarah Redmon Box N1674

Nassau, Bahamas

Sponsoring Church
Southside Christian Church

Forwarding Agent George C. Header

449 West iLake.\ Prive

2600 S, MacArthi^r

Springfield, 1X1

62704
June July, 1974

Springfield,^111

62703

Dear Friends iii Christ;

Hooray! The water is on again!

Cut offs mentioned last month

ended after eight~weeks . The^ pr^sisure^fill^^ts low at night but we always have enough to get along now. Better news than that is

the fact that we have finally received our building plans and now . ,,

are waiting the minimum eight weeks for them to be approved. In . the meanwhile, our ground breaking date is tentatively set for August 11th. We praise the Lord for times like this when progress becomes more disCernable. Included with this newsletter should
fund raising activities to assist the church in Golden Gates.';

be a diagr^ of our proposed building and some ideas of how ybu: can help. Already several camps and churches have held special ... .
\

enthusiasm is very encouraging.

has graduated from her school with highest honors I guess'''''^e . has her mother's, brains. We'ha^e also been notified that sh'e.jtoij..
a government schblarship to pay for her schooling for .the next: \ , send her where we want her to go.
in due time.
VARIETY

Furtl^e^,good news is that our eleven.'year old daughter. Sherry,

five years, , So far we haven't convinced them that they want to

Hopefully this will work-out.

in by the U.S. Farm Project? Biggest things those kids have (ever, seen! Now they have brought in 50 cows for the "cowboys" to ride'' herd on. They have even announced on the news that a man was sent
away to take a special course in horseshoeing. I'm not sure Uncle
dollars.

what it was like on North Andros'this month when horses wer^e brought

That's the kind of news we have this time.

Can you imagine

Sam has learned a whole lot about how easy it is to spend $10 million period by -^e government. Claiming that there are about 40,000 illegal Haitians in the Bahamas, they were given this time either to leave or register with the government for voluntary return to
was added and even so the immigration department has been unable
Amnesty for illegal immigrants was announced for a two week

^^^^oroeland. Such huge crowds turned up that a two week extention

^ght now but its a sure thing these folk can't swim 500 miles. The Haitian government is the only one I know of that requires its own citizens to have a visa to come to their own country. They
further gouge their own people by charging an exorbitant $72.00 for their passport for one year. We'll have to wait and see how
things work out.

with Bahamian registry.

to keep up with the crowd. Its kind of interesting because Haitians nave been pouring into the Bahamas for fifeteen years but were expected to leave in that many days. To complicate matters the Haitian government decided not to allow any boats to come there '*
The whole situation seems a bit muddled

i i {Rpber^Vesco is wanted in several countries and the U.S. because of several hundred million dollars in missing money. The. Bahamas refused an extradition writ of a few months ago but now the ' /V
government has closed the largest bank in Nassau which had been

in financial circles. Having seen Mr. Vesco face to face several times, I can say that I'm much more content with Christ

men ^at have given the Bahamas a little questionable publicity

than he has been with money, planes and fancy boats.

taken over and operated by Vesco.

It has had dealings with some


-2-

at night using sawed off shotguns.

killed.

Several times recently, robbers have forced cars off the road

fleeing robbers when their car overturned and the young lady was
We have requested your prayers many times.

This month friends of mine were

The alarming increase of armed robberies shows that the

Bahamas needs the influence of Christ.

for your help.

Brother John Rolle is the leader of the Grantstown

As a result he lost his mind. He is home now

Now we ask again

Church.

and the sugar is under control again but his mind still is only improving very gradually. The churches here need every leader
so pray with us for John.

it out of control.

He is a diabetic and was recently in the hospital with

Jack Fawley, his wife Jean and daughter Caroline, jugt Sf^ent
a week with us. We conducted nightly evangelistic meetings at
"

Grantstown. We want to thank the.Lakeview Church inrApopka, FL^r for sharing, their preacher with, us for this week of fellowship
in the Lord.'s work.

On the same day the Fawleys left we began our first V.B.Sf.;:

for the summer.

manage.

This school was held in Golden Gates and we

'/?

averaged 72 per day.

We are using all local teachers and helpers

So until next time. Good-bye

again this year so will try to keep our schools pmall enough to,,
We now have two more schools for .-die summer and will

report on them in our next newsletter.

Yours in Him,
Jim & Sarah Redmon
P.S. NOTICE: We could use some more outdated issues of Junior

p-

Life or Weekly Reader for our Sunday Schools.

;
.T

:l
J t

; i

Atlanta Christian College

2605 Ben Hill Road

Non-profit Org,

U.S.!Postage

East Point, GA

30344

J?ilD '

(Return Request)

East Point, GA Permit No. 10

'OPLIM,

64801

GOLDEN GA

S CHAPr

30 BY so
ClaSSRCOftK
I CHOIR I

a // E3
A
U

tm
f 1

-MJNfMfJM

fr
i! i I
'
SIATING

P
f

I
;
i
ARSA

COST

i T 1 sEfJine,
0
!

I i

;i

R !
U i
' /n
I
T

1!
iI
i

I
'

$18,000.00

I
n ResTP^r-^
ciRssr<^^^
I.

U ferrn^rr

<

NASSAU

BA HAMA S

GOXxDEN GATES CHAPEL BUILDING FUND

geared'to :ever,y group's size and everyone's ability. Th:e church

,T

A i A ?

-'"v

in Golden Gates needs your assistance! The estimated basic cost of this vinit is

$36,000. With volunteer labor this cost can be greatly reduced. Already
$15, 00 has been paid for the church lot and nearly $5, 000 is in the church
"J.

savings account to begin construction: 'gince the (irinstrucHon wi^ take the

better part of this coming -yeiif, your chu r ch or group. c^.plaj}^4hVad,|pr a

special time to help. Every little bit will help, especially with th fast rising
cost of building materials.
' :

.1
Vi

1 . You may write and request progress photos to follow our cons true t-kmV"Our ojA will y..:: ..v.vX... newsI^^eT give you up to the minute news reports. Volunteers ccSuld even

: ^

arrange to visit us and lend a hand in the labor. Groups could choose some

particular portion of the building .O^lobject, like^ windows, c^ors^ shingles,

blocks, or steel to stimulate greater participation, H.so, write to'us" and-let
us supply you with cost figures. , ;

The community is building up rapidly and the Assemblies of God already

have their^'buiiding: dom^pleted and their second phaise is Under way. The
f

*< *

..

* "

Apostolic Church of the Lord Jesus is building now and the Anglicans have i
cleared up their land and will start soon. Up until now our "churches'hkve-been

started after -eVeryone else. We want so much to begin in time. If thejre is

. "i ' : ;

any possible way we can help you with additional information or publici'ty, '
please let us know. We have sc new set of slides available now and."wish foi. ^.ery. grp.up .to see them. Mr,. V. G. Gilbert has consented to give us extra
V, j .j

assistance in tHe Florida churches. He now has a set of slides and additional
I ' I

information. Other areas should contact Mrs. J. C. Redmon, 2495 Dodsqn

Drive, East Point, GA. 30344.

Our greatest desire is to quickly build so we can fill the building and
. ? . . . . .

develop and train leaders to caLrry on the work.

* *-N C."^\ A \

^CT 14 74
. " -i.

CHURCH OF CHRIST James c Sarah Redmon Box N1674

Nassau, Bahamas

Sponsoring Church:
South Side Christian Church

Forwarding Agent: George C. Meador

449 West Lake Drive

2600 S MacArthur Blvd.

Springfield, 111. 62704

August - September, 1974

Springfield, 111. 62703

It won't be possible to elaborate on the news this time because too many

things have happened.

Two weeks ago Sarah fell at a church picnic and hurt

her arm.. She has not been able to, do a lot of her favorite activities (like type the newsletter). We had a very good summer. All three Vacation Bible

Schools went smoothly. The Grove school averaged over 90 a day and was our first attempt at an evening school. The Grantstown school fell on a rainy week but still averaged over 50 a day. That's all we had space for inside any way. The Golden Gates school averaged 72 a day.
This summer several people have visited the Bahamas and I know some

of them did not find us. Once again let me say no one could find where we live and the phone listing is for a phone I have at the Coconut Grove Church.
To reach us you must call the telephone company's paging service which is

24591.

They will pass the message on to me and then I can find you. Most

visitors do not understand how a city of over 100, 000 can get along with no street addresses and such poor phone service. As I have often said, write

ahead of time and let us know your plans. Remember to use 21^ postage. We
have received no surface mail since June, Besides that a lot of our air mail

letters are missing.

On August 11th we had a special groundbreaking service to commemorate

the start of the Chapel in Golden Gates. Even getting ready for that was a lot of work. We have been waiting a month now on papers so we can have our building permit. The chief inspector hasn't gotten aroimd to signing it yet. I
will send photographs on request showing our progress to date.
Several of the major hotels in the western area of our island were talking

of closing due to insufficient bookings. The Bahamas government has pur chased three hotels and plans to build a convention center and a casino. With its own airline and hotels it will be interesting to see how the government gets along in the travel industry.
For the first time our family took a vacation. We spent a week on the island of Eleuthera which is like a 100 mile long green bean. Where we stayed is called Hatchet Bay Plantation. It is one of the primary milk producers for

,r.
t'V

3(11^#^^

%mmm^f wmn sUE ^ v!

y :-^

PI4ANA

4'-;; ;

.s-r. -"''

^'-

-- '

^ '''

''
'1''lFS'-:a

^v Chiloffe a

.. .'^ ;
:. 'i^ ^

;/...: ^4jiy^r v '

; V' - -\.f.v'

Nc>i|t^3^iQfit Org,

:r
3'-.i.'>

' j< '"i'i

vivs
3a 13 7%

f
CHURCH OF CHRIST James & Sarah Redmon

Box N1674 Nassau, Bahamas

Sponsoring Church:
South Side Christian Church 2600 S. MacArthur

Forwarding Agent: George C. Meador

449 West Lake Drive

Springfield, 111.

62704

Springfield, 111.

62703

October - November, 1974

Dear Friends:

Things are growing and time is filled with activities. Sherry has hit that period of life where she outgrows a pair of shoes every other month.
Our Sunday School is growing too. We have a lot of children that come

by turns. Recently too many picked the same Sunday and we broke our attendance record with 6l packed into our small building. We have had
several parents attend which is especially encouraging.

BUILDING PROGRESS

Following our August 11th groundbreaking service I was ready to begin our building. Each week I called the Building Control Section and
was told our permit wasn't ready yet. This continued until October 9th. I went in person prepared to stay all day until some decision was made. After a couple of hours of run around they discovered our permit had

been approved in August. "Why didn't you come for it sooner?-" they asked. Volunteer help was scarce but I could get boys to help me on
Saturdays. We cut out trench for footings in the rock and covered'the floor area with boulders and leveled over with fill. In the meanwhile,

I made forms at home and prepared the steel.

our steel in July.
items.

Fortunately, we bought

The prices have risen from 20% to 100% on various

More than that there was no steel on the island when we were

ready to use it. Because of the danger of hurricanes, buildings here have lots of re-inforced concrete areas. In the case of our chapel the steel cost us over $1, 000. On November 9th everything was ready and
we poured 35 years of concrete for our footings and floor. All of our money is gone. We have bought the shingles and sheeting for the roof
while it was available. As wierd as it sounds we have a floor and roof

witih nothing between. Block went up from 39^ to 44^ each but we do have some money coming in for that. The big need we have is for the 30 trusses we have to have. A $75. 00 Christmas gift to Golden Gates Chapel would pay for a truss if prices don't jump even more. God has blessed us in great ways. We appreciate all who have sent

gifts to the Chapel Fund.

If we can get the roof on we could start using

die building and have room for growth. Four other churches are now building in our area. It is the greatest area of growth in the Bahamas. These are thrilling days of service.

Atlanta Christian College

2605 Ben Hill Road

Non-Profit Org. U. S. Postage

PAID

East Point, Georgia 30344

(Return Requested)
Bahama Mission News
Jim & Sarah Kedmon

East Point. Ga.

Permit No. 10

1111 IK

>

>

Ui,

i &

DON BREAKING GROUND

.AT-

Mrs. Dorsette at Groundbreaking

BOYS LEVELING FILL

'{aW ,

V'iS

*"<