Bahamas Habitat

John Armstrong (left) and Gary London (right)

Gary London decided to learn to fly. He knew if he had a plane that would motivate him so he bought one on Ebay! He then began learning to fly and decided to upgrade to a DA-40 through the services of John Armstrong,  Bahamas Habitat’s President and Premier Aircraft Sales representative. Gary and John’s relationship developed to more than a business deal when John invited Gary to take part in Bahamas Habitat.

Gary was unable to come for the last Fly-In and Help Out but soon developed a new plan to come by boat since he has not yet completed his private pilot training. They departed from Stuart Florida and made the run over to Eleuthera taking their time in two days.

Gary and his wife, Marleta, docked their boat in Hatchet Bay with materials on board on November 22.  They brought to us everything from step ladders, to bathroom mirrors, fixtures, and even some new toilets. It was an amazingly generous delivery!

Gary decided after visiting the camp to not only get involved in the Christmas at Camp Campaign with further generous donations but even has a plan to come back in February to rewire the camp facilities!

Thank you Gary and Marleta for all your generous support!!!

We are pleased to report that as of the end of December we were gifted another major collection of Dental equipment.

Click here for slide show of equipment if show does not automatically start in your browser.

This gift was from Dr. Jeff Horowitz of Conway South Carolina. Dr. Horowitz is a pilot and owner of a Diamond DA40 aircraft. He is excited about the dental mission work being launched by Bahamas Habitat and he is looking forward to flying down to participate in the missions this year.

We continue to be amazed at the work God is doing through our teams and are very blessed to have the support of so many. Thank you Dr. Horowitz!

December 19, 2008

Dear Dental Committee,

Since our last conference call, there has been substantial progress made in the direction and scope of the project.

John Armstrong, Sam Arbes, Alex Touchstone and Rosemary Ward spoke on December 3 and discussed the impressions and discoveries made by John and Sam on their visit to Eleuthera, November 7-9. John and Sam talked at length with Abe McIntyre, director of Bahamas Methodist Habitat at Camp Symonette and with Nurse Sherrin Cooper at the Governor’s Harbour Clinic. (more…)

We have gained strong support from the Bahamian government for our proposal to provide volunteer dental teams, equipment and supplies to the Islands as a new program of the Habitat operations there.

We are currently organizing dentist, dental hygienists, pilots and related volunteers for 4 different one week long missions in 2009. Volunteers will be providing screenings, exams, dental education and services in the field at schools and at government clinics. The program is new and we look forward to involvement by volunteers that feel called to help develop this program. Dates are not set and will be based on volunteer requests so this is a perfect time to plan your 2009 calendar!

“Flying Dentists” are particularly encouraged to get involved to help facilitate the transportation of team members and supplies. Pilots with aircraft that would be willing to provide transportation and general volunteer support during the weeks are encouraged to join in. Pilots that have not already registered with us should do so at: http://www.bahamashabitat.org/wordpress/?page_id=69

Our goal is to have our 2009 dental volunteer teams licensed well in advance of setting dates for the mission weeks. Rosemary Ward has developed the process for licensure and coordination with our government partners there. She along with Sam Arbes and Alex Touchstone will be traveling to Nassau to meet the government health officials in late January and they wish to hand deliver the volunteer application packages for approval.

If you are interested in being involved in the Dental Mission Program please email us at: info@bahamashabitat.org.  Specify your professional specialty and advise if you have access to an aircraft, potential donations of supplies or equipment, or other means you may have to help in this mission field.

On Sunday July 20th, 2008 Dr. Herbert Rust and his lovely wife Louise officially donated their entire dental office to Bahamas Habitat.

We are extremely grateful to Dr. Rust for his generous donation and his enthusiasm to be a part of this project. He is looking forward to a trip to visit the island and scope out the location.

The first task was to move the equipment from his office because he sold the building. Steve Merritt, Randy Redding and Drew Baird flew from Raleigh NC in Randy’s Twin Comanche to meet up with John Armstrong to help move the equipment to a temporary storage hangar at Manassas airport in Northern Virgina.

“It has been amazing the way this entire project has developed. Every time we need something God provides and this time was no exception.” stated John

The move day was a beautiful but warm July Sunday. We worked from about 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM to get the equipment disassembled, loaded, moved and unloaded. The load filled two pickup trucks and the large trailer.

The way the project is getting off the ground is creating alot of excitement. The Flying Dentist Association is eager to

support the effort and several of their members are expected to me on the committee for development. At every turn God is putting people in our paths that are eager to help and support our goal of a dental clinic in the Bahamas.

Our next task will be to move the equipment to Florida for shipping. If you have connections that could possibly donate this service please contact Steve Merritt at 919-280-5510..

We want to again thank Dr. Herbert Rust and his wife Louise for making this all possilbe. Ben Bowan is a young fellow that deserves great credit. He has been Dr. Rust’s helper to disassemble the gear before we arrived and to help us move the lot. He has been invaluable to Herb and we could not have done it with out him.

We want to express another special thanks to our friends at American Aviation and American Helicopters. Their support has made our first phase efforts a success.
We look forward to pilots coming down this fall to volunteer and get involved. Put November 6-9 on your calendars for our next “Fly-In and Help Out Event”.

During this Fly-In and Help Out Event we are planning to invite flying dentist to join us to see the facilities and be a part of the team that helps setup and establish the new dental ministry.

Make sure you register on this site to receive all the info and updates for the trip.

go to: http://www.bahamashabitat.org/wordpress/?page_id=7

The plan to pick up the complete three chair dental clinic donated by Dr. Herbert Rust of Alexandria Virginia are coming together. Plans for the transportation of the almost container load of equipment are underway and the pick up date from Dr. Rust is set for July 20th, 2008.

Dr. Rust’s donation opens the way for a major advancement in the impact our ministry will make on the lives of the Bahamians we seek to help. It is clear God is blessing our initial steps of faith.

I also want you to know a bit more about Dr. Rust as he is an amazing fellow. Herb Rust is a septuagenarian husband, father and pilot who grew up in the Big Apple. He is an avid aviation enthusiast who remembers Bill Odom’s round the world flight in his Bonanza and himself dreams of a solo circumnavigation. He is a practicing dentist, educator and preventive dental pioneer for fifty years who became a transplant to the Mid Atlantic region following graduation from the University of Maryland. Herb is a lover of the Caribbean scene who in recent years has developed a keen interest in all things digital.

When I called the Flying Dentist Association to discuss this opportunity, they were immediately interested in helping to support our efforts and they said of Herbert Rust, “Everyone knows Herb Rust!”.

The Flying Dentist already conduct missions to many far away places such as the Dominican Republic. See a recent article.

They are eager to support the efforts of establishing a clinic and the cooperation of Bahamas Habitat and the Flying Dentist organization should prove to be very productive.

On behalf of everyone involved in Bahamas Habitat we express our deepest gratitude for your generous gift. We look forward to making it a gift that will keep on giving and create many happy smiles.

Bahamas Habitat

God truly works in wonderful ways! This story will make you smile and likely many others in the future.
Our group has been working to renovate a two story “Caretakers Cottage” on the Camp Symonette to house long term volunteers and possibly for other uses that had been discussed by the board including a possible clinic.

So you won’t believe the timing. As we near completion of this renovation a one Dr. Herbert Rust of Alexandria Virginia contacted us to donate his entire office of dental equipment. He is a dentist that is selling his dental office and retiring and saw what we were doing and felt moved to donate this equipment.

So, stay tuned for news updates on this project. If you are in the dental profession and fly please contact us right away as we will be collecting volunteers to help with the installation, setup and staffing of the dental clinic. Opportunities exist for dentist to visit the Bahamas and provide their services while also enjoying some time in the islands.

The goal will be to establish scheduled clinic operation for a week every quarter to start to serve the needs of the people of Eleuthera for dental care.

To volunteer or offer related equipment, supplies or services please email flypremier@gmail.com.