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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
Kecia Rahming receives Rahming Brothers CDs as a gift.
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A family reunion hit all the right notes recently when Joseph Rahming Jr. of Delaware became acquainted with long-lost family members, who included the Rahming Brothers a cappella group.
Mr. Rahming’s grandfather, George Lorenzo Rahming, was born in The Bahamas but lost contact with family members in the islands since he moved to Boynton Beach, Florida in the 1920s. After almost a century of separations, the two Rahming families were re-acquainted when Joseph’s wife, Kecia Wilder-Rahming, arranged a reunion through the Ministry of Tourism’s People to People program.
Joseph Rahming learns about the recordings of the Rahming Brothers.
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“I’ve always been very interested in my husband’s heritage because his grandfather was from The Bahamas,” she said. “I decided what I wanted to do on my 50th birthday was travel, and what better place to do it than to The Bahamas?”
The trip also was in celebration of Mr. Rahming’s 53rd birthday and the couple’s 19th wedding anniversary. It marked the first time they had traveled in celebration of their wedding anniversary.
“I wanted to celebrate it here and also to find his heritage so I could pass it down to my children,” she said.
Mrs. Rahming’s search led her to the People to People program, which led her to The Rahming Brothers, who are known for their arrangements of traditional songs and the harmonizing of originals. Shortly afterward, Mr. and Mrs. Rahming met the musical brothers in Nassau, and the siblings gave them their own private concert as part of the event.
Hosts Lynden and Yvette Johnson with Rahming family members assembled at their home.
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The meeting took place in the home of Lynden and Yvette Johnson, who have been People to People ambassadors for 16 years.
“As a Bahamian, you want visitors to come here and you want them to have a good experience,” Mrs. Johnson said. “I put myself in their shoes. Sometimes we travel and we want to have an experience outside of the shopping. We want to experience the culture, and that’s very difficult to find. So what we have here is very unique. So my husband and I and our family, we pride ourselves on hosting visitors when they come here.”
Mr. Johnson added that although the Rahmings’ visit was the first time that his family hosted visitors who had extended family in The Bahamas, his family was always excited to welcome guests.
“Today, we have the Rahmings.” he said. “They are from Delaware, and his grandfather was actually from The Bahamas but we love hosting visitors from the United States or anywhere else.”
After finally making it to Nassau and experiencing the Johnson’s hospitality, the Rahmings said they were happy they made the decision to visit.
“The Bahamas, I think, is the most awesome,” said Mrs. Rahming. “The people are so relaxed and laid back. Everybody seems so nice.
“I want to thank Bernadette Bastian for just going above and beyond to bring this whole thing together. She did a wonderful job of just keeping in contact with me. She let me know that she meant business and jumped right on it. I had no idea of where to turn to for help in looking for any of the Rahmings. So she was a big key to this.”
Mrs. Rahming also thanked the Johnsons for warmly receiving her and her husband. The couple concluded their visit with stops in the Fox Hill area. In Fox Hill, they attended a Sunday morning church service at St. Paul’s Church, pastored by Rev. J. Carl Rahming. They also met other members of the Rahming family in their tour of Fox Hill.
Mrs. Rahming said she hopes to return to Nassau some day. Next time, she and her husband plan to bring their children so that the children can discover everything about The Bahamas that they experienced in their first visit.
© Copyright 2015 by thebahamasweekly.com
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