We got to Old Bight Mission Home via numerous nauseating flights and car rides, but it would be a trip well worthwhile. Upon arrival, we immediately received a warm welcome from the 14 children and the staff members. Following a hearty Bahamian meal, we found ourselves outsmarted in games of Connect Four, lectured on the life and times of the Chico the dog, and shown the double-, triple- and elusive quadruple-back flip on the newly installed trampoline. Those first hours aptly set the tone for the rest of the trip. Every day we were enjoyed indulging the children’s cravings for attention with crafts, games and readings. It was an unforgettable experience that we couldn’t do justice in a single blog post. But to get the idea across, we’ll elaborate on a few of our favorite parts.
A typical day at Old Bight Mission Home would consist of us waking up early, removing any frogs and setting new ant traps in the staff house, and then making our way up to the main house to do restorative painting jobs. We decided that a feasible project for the three of us to tackle was painting the door in the kitchen and the shelves in the room holding the children’s clothing. Much of the paint in the Old Bight Mission Home is peeling severely; for next year’s trip to Cat Island, we plan to bring more students to the home to perform the much more rigorous and time consuming task of sanding and repainting the girl’s dorm, which is in the worst shape of the home’s rooms. After repainting just the main shelves and doors, the ambiance in the orphanage was brightened.
Every day, we would do some kind of craft with the kids after they got home from school. We made bracelets, colored Easter-themed coloring books, made a handprint mural for their wall, and drew with chalk outside. It was so much fun to watch the kids get incredibly excited about the little things we brought, like a new box of crayons or sparkly beads. Throughout the activities, kids would run up to us and say things like, “come see the picture I drew for you!” We all ended up with armfuls of bracelets from the kids and tons of drawings of airplanes and churches and Chico the dog. It meant so much that the kids would give us gifts when they had so little themselves.
In keeping with their routine, we were asked to lead the children in nightly devotions. We put a few things together and they seemed to enjoy them. However, once we had done our part in the service, the kids would eagerly go in front of the little church in groups and sing son gs they knew. Accompanied by drums and piano (which several of them played impressively well for their ages), the ensemble was a high point of every day. We tried our best to lead them in a few new songs, but it was most fun was when everyone got up and sang together. We may not have sounded too good, but it was a great experience every time.
