Nassau, Bahamas….[Libna Stevens/IAD]
Hundreds of homes and businesses were destroyed or flooded and thousands left without electricity and water as a slow moving Hurricane Frances smothered the Bahamas for three days earlier this month. Fortunately, no deaths were reported among the church membership, according to Pastor Leonard Johnson, president of the church in the Bahamas Conference.
Government officials are still assessing the damages that devastated all the islands in the Bahamas.
“The difference between this hurricane and any other storm is that never before had all the islands of the Bahamas been affected of national proportion and consequences,” explained Johnson, who was on the prime minister’s damage assessment team that toured several islands on Sunday, Sep. 5.
“It was a touching experience to see the widespread devastation of Hurricane Frances. The most devastated southeast island was San Salvador, where some people lost their entire homes, roof tops were ripped off, churches were affected and flooding was everywhere,” he added.
In Grand Bahama, which is on the northern part on the west end of the islands, was where Frances hit the hardest.
“Homes were damaged beyond repair and power has not been completely restored, as miles and miles of powerlines were down,” Johnson said.
The airport in Freeport, Grand Bahama, suffered significant damage and was forced to close an entire section.
Johnson met with other Seventh-day Adventist leaders and pastors in Nassau on Saturday afternoon before the hurricane warning was lifted to coordinate local response efforts in the community. Johnson said the church will commit all its resources to unite with the government to help the people in the Bahamas affected by the hurricane.
Pathfinders, community services personnel, Adventist Men, and Volunteer Bahamian Adventists participated in the church’s initial response approach in Nassau to help children who were frightened, clean up homes, offer counseling and restore a sense of hope in the community.
Johnson said that the church has ordered over 300 cases of water from a local water company which will be available in a few days. The church will partner with the National Emergency Management Agency of the Bahamas to distribute water and food to the affected church members and communities.
Johnson said the islands’ Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) office is organizing to coordinate funds to aid victims in the coming days.
“We are committed to bringing restoration, relief and hope to the people of the Bahamas,” said Johnson, who is scheduled to travel with church leaders to visit church members in Cat Island, Eleuthera and Exuma by the end of this week.
There are more than 12,000 Seventh-day Adventists worshiping in 41 churches throughout the Bahamas Conference and the North Bahamas Mission.
