FROM  THE PRESIDENT’S DESK

“This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps. 118: 24-RSV).

Today, I embrace this opportunity to greet you in the precious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to wish you a blessed and Spirit-filled Sabbath. Truly, we can declare with the songwriter: “Safely through another week, God has brought us on our way.” And what a propitious moment this is! It affords us another opportunity to worship God, and to share fellowship and communion with brothers and sisters of like-precious faith.

However, as we contemplate and consider the troubling events that are transpiring in our world today, both on the local and international fronts, and with particular focus on the Middle East Crisis  (the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel), we immediately realize that there are many others in various places around the world, men, women and children, many of whom may very well be our brothers and sisters in the Lord, who are not able to share our joys. As a result of wars, strife and conflicts, they have met their untimely demise, and many others will undoubtedly suffer a similar fate.

In addition to destroying the lives of innocent individuals, these troubling activities should also serve as an important signpost to us as Seventh-day Adventist Christians. In Matthew 24, Jesus included them as part of a group of happenings that would immediately precede his second advent. He declared,: “So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the door” (v.33). My brothers and sisters, I’m sure you will agree with me that, “Signs of the times are everywhere,” and I’m convinced, more than ever before, that Jesus is coming soon. In fact, “He’s even at the door.” The question is, “Are you ready for Jesus to come? Are you faithful in all that you do? Have you fought a good fight? Have you stood for the right? Have others seen Jesus in you? Are you ready to stand in your place? Are you ready to look on his face? Can you look up and say: ‘This is my Lord?’ Are you ready for Jesus to come?” My sincere and fervent prayer is, that God will help us all to get ready and stay ready, so that we can be found waiting and watching for him.

Let me also take this opportunity to celebrate the fervor and commitment of our Youth Director, Pastor Ricardo V. Bain, and the entire youth department of the North Bahamas Mission, for their corporate and collective efforts, and for the great work that they continue to do in moving this Mission forward for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Those of you who have attended “Youth Extravaganza, 2006-Its All About Him,” will agree that we have had a Spirit-filled and explosive first week. In this regard, we wish to express sincere and heartfelt gratitude to Pastor Vandeon Griffin for accepting the invitation to be our guest speaker, and for the powerful manner in which he has allowed the Holy Spirit to use him. We welcome Pastor Griffin and his family to the beautiful island of Grand Bahama, to our Mission, and, indeed, to our hearts, and it is our earnest prayer that God will continue to bless them in their ministry

On Monday, August 7, the Officers and Departmental Directors of the Mission will be traveling to Montego Bay, Jamaica for a special Officers and Departmental Advisory Council. The session concludes on August 10. Please remember us in your prayers as we travel, and as we seek to further equip ourselves for the advancement of the work in North Bahamas Mission.

Our heartiest congratulations to West Indies Union Conference, to our spiritual leader, Dr. Patrick L. Allen, and to the entire Union family who, this year, celebrate 100 years of growth and development (1906-2006).As the Union celebrates this significant accomplishment in its history, August 1, 2006, also marked an important milestone in the life and work of its membership. It was the day when the Union gave birth to its newest Field, the North East Jamaica Mission.

We give thanks to God for his faithfulness towards us through the years, and for his enabling grace that has helped us to “come this far by faith.”

May God grant us renewed commitment, and may he revive us again, as we seek to do our best to finish the Work so that Jesus can come.

HAVE A BLESSED AND SPIRIT-FILLED SABBATH!!

Youth Ministries
UPCOMING EVENTS 

v      August 7  Sports day 

v      Sabbath, August 12, 2006 Bible Bowl 

v      Youth Summer Splash 2006! 

v      The first Pathfinder March and Rally will be on Sabbath, September 16, 2006.

Help Wanted

Housekeeper needed to take care of infant and do general house work.  Interested persons are asked to contact Mario or Linda Williams at 5338412 or 559-6111. 

Condolences

• Condolences are extended to Sis. Maggie Turner and the entire Burrows family on the death of their father.  The funeral service will be conducted in Nassau tomorrow.
   
• Condolences are extended to Sis. Sharon Baillou and Tanya Hyppolite on the death of their mother and grandmother respectively. 

Pastor T. Basil Sturrup Accepts Call

Pastor T. Basil Sturrup, a departmental director and pastor in the Bahamas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, has accepted a call to serve as Pastor of the NCU Church, Mandeville, Jamaica. As pastor of the church at Northern Caribbean University, Pastor Sturrup will be responsible for the pastoral care of the faculty, students and community members of the church. We wish Pastor Sturrup and his family great success and God's blessings as they leave the Bahamas to take up this new assignment. 

West Indies Union Conference

Happy Sabbath!

Sun sets today at 7:59 p.m.
Sun sets next Sabbath at 7:55 p.m.