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.