And is pace!

When I accepted an invitation to minister at my friend Lenetta's church in Tobago 4 months ago, I thought I would have lots of time to prepare. But before I blinked twice we were in July and I hadn't started serious preparations for it as yet. It took me about 4 days to hear from God exactly how the message would flow, and I started putting together the lesson aids as I was preparing to share on the topic of missions with children ranging in age from 5 years to teenagers. Thankfully my Grenbagonian sister was visiting for a wedding so she stayed up late with me to help put all the lesson aids together, even though she had just come off of a camp and was very tired and we had to get up early the next morning for the wedding.

We still managed to look cute after
all that late night cutting and stapling

But before I got to the wedding I made an appearance at our last training session for ISCF campworkers where I presented a session on the importance of follow up with our campers to ensure that the seeds of God's Word which were deposited during camp get maximum opportunity to take root and grow so they bear good fruit. I am very grateful for the other members of the Camps Committee who were there to oversee the proceedings of the day so I was able to leave after my session to celebrate with my friends who got married.

The next morning bright and early I was on my way to Tobago to share at Canaan Nazarene Church. I had met Lenetta 20 years ago during my time on Trinity Hall while I was at UWI. I had not seen her since then, but thanks to facebook she had kept abreast of my adventures so when she needed a speaker to address the children in her church on missions she felt I had the right blend of expertise for that preaching assignment.

Reunited after close to 20 years!

I shared with the church (although primarily the children) about the need for persons who have the gospel message to leave where they live so they can share it with people who have never heard it before. I used the wordless book to explain to them the important elements of the gospel message, and challenged them to be missionaries in their homes, communities and schools instead of waiting to go to another country.

The message was very interactive and enjoyed
by both adults and children alike

At the end I invited all the children who were willing to be missionaries for God to stand for prayer and they all responded. After the pastor prayed for them, he made an altar call for those who had never accepted Christ before, and 4 boys responded. I pray that the seeds of the Word which were planted in the lives of all those in attendance would be watered and cared for so they can result in transformed lives.

Pastor and his wife praying for the
children who responded to the altar call

I had all intentions of relaxing and enjoying the sun, sea and sand after my ministry responsibilities. While I did get in some of this, I also had to spend some time preparing for my messages for ISCF camp. Earlier that week when I had planned to do start the preparations, I found out about a seminar that was being held which would address teaching methods for children with learning disabilities, and would also teach how to recognize signs of depression and suicide in children and give strategies for supporting these children. I felt this was critical information to have given the ministries I am currently involved in, so I was willing to sacrifice the time to attend. I don't think I got more than 5 hours of sleep anytime that week.

Needless to say by the time I got to Tobago I was well and thoroughly exhausted. I took a nap after church that Sunday and it lasted for 4 hours! Thankfully I was able to get some time during that week to start planning my lessons for camp, and also enjoy some good times of fellowship with my friends there.

Exploring the mangrove

Beach is ah must!

Since my return to Trinidad, the pace has continued, finalising details for ISCF camps which start this Tuesday, finishing up preparations on my messages for Junior camp, and starting to think about VBS in church which starts the week after camp finishes. One of the things on my list of things to do was to organize the jerseys for camp. Registrations were really really slow in coming in this year, so it was difficult to decide when to place the jersey orders to ensure that we didn't over or under order. When I contacted the printing company two weeks ago, they were not certain that they would be able to get it done in time for camp but they were willing to try. They confirmed on Wednesday that they would be able to get the jerseys from the supplier. On Friday we got a phone call from them - the jerseys were ready! We thank God for such wonderful partners who are willing to go the extra mile so we could get our order in time, despite the last minute order :)

Yes we will be selling them but
only after the campers get theirs ;)

Please keep us in prayer for all these outreach activities that are coming up. Many of the young people who attend are not regularly exposed to Bible teaching, so this is a great opportunity to sow the seeds of God's Word into their hearts and minds. Pray for the endurance for the workers because the harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few. However we are confident that, since this is God's work, He will provide. We take comfort in knowing that His grace is sufficient for us, as His power is made perfect even in our weakness.

God brought me through

A couple weeks ago Mummy went to visit my sister and her family in Baltimore, leaving me with the full responsibility to care for Daddy. Three months ago, this would have been a big problem, but I thank God that over the past two months there has been a miraculous transformation. He has calmed down significantly and been very good about taking his medication, so it was not half as challenging as it could have been. I thank God for this answer to prayer, especially for this season when Mummy was not around.

Getting ready to go to ITNAC's
fundraiser on my birthday

God in His foreknowledge also brought into our family the mother of one of our children from Bible Club, Lisa. She and her husband had come to our home one day to pick sour cherries and upon observing Daddy's behaviour she expressed shock at how aggressive he was, and shared about her challenges in caring for her elderly father. When we realized the level of support Daddy would need after his last hospitalization, we contacted her and she was most willing to come on the days neither me nor Mummy could stay with him. She has truly been a blessing.

She cuts his hair and shaves him too!

On the Tuesday before Mummy was due to return home, I found myself with a sore throat. I knew I could not afford to get the cold, because if I was down there would be no one to take care of me LOL On top of that we had the retreat for ISCF campworkers that weekend, plus preparations for Bible Club Closing Program the following week, so I had no time to be sick in bed. I prayed and took my immune system boosters and was able to shield off the worst of the symptoms, gracias a Dios. I also thank God that for that week, we got food from three different sources so I did not have to cook for the rest of that week! Isn't God good?

Mummy was due to return on Friday night, so I asked some close friends to spend the night with Daddy while I headed up north for campworkers retreat. It was while I was in Maracas, St. Joseph that I got the call that Mummy's flight was cancelled and she had no idea when she would be returning. We were already short-staffed for the retreat, so going back home was not an option for me. Very early the next morning I called Lisa and she agreed to stay with him for that entire day until I could have gotten home later in the evening. 

Shalom and his daddy took good care of Daddy Friday night
into Saturday morning

The retreat was very effective. New campworkers were able to spend time bonding and learning to work together as a team with those who had served before. Camp speakers were able to challenge workers about areas in their lives that they needed to yield fully to the control of the Holy Spirit in preparation for camp. Campworkers were introduced to the devotional material, and also exposed to various scenarios they may encounter on camp, and discussed strategies for dealing with these. There was also time for fun and relaxation so it was a great success.

Ready to take on ISCF Camp 2018!

Mummy was able to get on a flight to return home by Sunday night, which was a blessing because I had a graduation I wanted to attend on Monday.The youths from the Teens class offered to come early on Friday to help clean and organize the place for the Closing Program. At the time it was scheduled to start, two out of the three classes who were due to perform items seemed like they were not going to be able to because of how the children were acting up. However with the perseverance of their teachers and some divine intervention, all the classes were able to do a presentation based on the Beatitudes, which was the focus of Bible Club this term. 

Six and under class acting out the
story of the Good Samaritan

Middlers trying to unscramble the Beatitudes

Uncle Garryn using object lessons to preach a powerful
Word about the importance of being salt and light

The greatest joy for me was seeing Antonio in the finals of the Memory verse competition, where he placed second. Antonio has been one of our more active students for over 8 years, and while he has calmed down a bit, his name is still one that I have to call on a regular basis. The fact that he made an effort to sit down this week and learn enough verses that he was a challenge in the competition was a huge encouragement to me that our labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Teens class doing their skit. The biggest teens class in the
history of Bible Club

I really have to give God a high note of praise for taking me through this past month. There were times when I felt overwhelmed, but there were persons I was able to call and the support they rendered, even at the 99th hour, was truly a God send. Once again, He has proven his great faithfulness.