The Love of an Aunt

The love of an aunt started before you were born, because although she had not met you as yet she loved your parents dearly so anyone so intimately connected to them would be loved as well

The proud parents

The love of an aunt is what causes her phone memory to be filled with pictures and videos of you, which she proudly displays whether her friends ask about you or not

Who can resist those eyes?

The love of an aunt will make her put her personal schedule on hold when you need her to be there

First visit to the Health Center

The love of an aunt will let you get away with things your parents won't

Should be sleeping in the crib...

The love of an aunt will make her jump on a plane for 3 days just so she can meet you in person

Meeting Aunty Kathy for the
first time

The love of an aunt will make her buy things for you that you don't really need, but she gets them anyway because she is thinking of you

She doh even have time to wear all
de clothes she have!

The love of an aunt makes her wish you were living closer so she could see you everyday

Snuggle time!

The love of an aunt does not diminish just because of the arrival of more nieces and nephews - it just gets wider

Ekklesia Camp 2017 - God's Chronometers

You know that lives have been impacted by camp when the same teenagers who told you that they could only come on Monday because they were going into San Fernando to watch mass on Tuesday tell you, at the end of Monday, that they will be coming again on Tuesday.

Singing about our "Amazing God" instead of "jamming still"

One Carnival weekend in 1982, a group of believers from Point Fortin gathered together in the home of Terrence and Carol Pierre to study the Bible while having fun with their children. Thirty-five years later, Ekklesia Camp is still going strong. It is held on Carnival Monday and Tuesday as a community camp that is open to all from Point Fortin and environs free of charge. There are classes for all ages, from infants to adults, and lunch is provided. The majority of those who attend are not from Christian homes, so it is an excellent evangelistic opportunity.

The dedicated duo behind Ekklesia camp

We are never sure how many campers would attend, so we try to recruit as many helpers as possible. This year, my church did not have a camp, so I recruited some of the young adults to come down and help. By the time these new persons joined with those who usually serve at this camp, we had quite a contingent.

Most of the crew from St. Augustine Evangelical Bible Church

Some persons elected to stay down at the school where the camp was being held. The rest were hosted at our home in Dow Village, along with some other friends who usually help us at camp every year. We spent Friday night preparing materials for our various lessons, and on Saturday they got a tour of the Southland - San Fernando Hill, Wild Fowl Trust and the Pitch Lake. On Sunday morning, we woke up early to get a taste of the beach in Guapo before going to camp for devotions and to start preparing our classrooms etc.

Breakfast on the beach

Before going on the sand, I removed my wallet from my handbag and put it in my beach bag, in case anyone needed to pay to use the facilities. After a short but enjoyable beach bath, we went to the school where the camp was being held. I showered and then went into my beach bag to retrieve my wallet, but it was not there. We searched the van and everyone's bag, but it was no where to be found. I was not worried about the money as much as not having my driver's licence for the next two days, especially on the Tuesday evening when my friends needed to be dropped back up north. Deep down inside, I had a feeling that my wallet would turn up - I just didn't know when and how. We prayed and placed it in God's hands and then got to work.

Wiping down 300 chairs

Teachers set up their classrooms, Expo Center (where we use the physical to explain the spiritual) was organised and songs were learnt. The theme this year was God's Chronometers: a chronometer is an instrument used to measure time accurately, and it is not affected by external elements. We are God's Chronometers as we demonstrate to the world God's time: how He existed before the beginning of time, how He stepped into time in the form of Jesus to pay for our sins, and how He will be coming back one day for those who are His own. I had the joy of teaching these lessons to the 3 and 4 year olds.

Showing off their watches

Contrary to what some people who have never taught this age group may think, these children can learn. We taught them the aspects of God's character that they could see by looking at the things He had made, and by the end of that lesson they all understood that God created everything but no one created God. By the end of the two days they were able to repeat their memory verse taken from Psalm 90:2 - "From everlasting to everlasting you are God." A couple days after camp a parent reported that her 2 year old son paused while playing with his toys and recited the verse to her! We thank God for the opportunity we had to plant seeds of God's Word in these children's hearts from a young age.

Learning about how clocks work in the
Expo Center

In the next lesson they learnt how sin came into the world through Adam and Eve and along with sin, the consequence of death. We then looked at Jesus's coming into the world as a baby, His life, death, resurrection and return for those who believe in Him. At the end of the lesson when I asked why did Jesus have to die, one 3 year old shouted out, "Because Adam ate the apple!" I was amazed that he understood the link between Adam's sin and Jesus' death. The final lesson taught them about the Holy Spirit who lives in us, and helps us to live in a way that makes God happy. There were songs, worksheets, craft and games to help make the lessons enjoyable to all.

Making their craft illustrating Jesus bridging the gap
that sin created between God and man

At the end of the first day of camp, we were pretty exhausted. Everyone at home was relaxing on a bed or a couch as we tried to regain our energy for the next day. I decided to check our snack bag to see what remained and needed to be used before everyone left on Tuesday. I pulled out a container of potato chips and then saw my wallet! This was truly amazing because I had been in that bag multiple times on Sunday getting snacks while we spent the day down on camp and there was no sign of it, even though I had searched that bag while we were looking. I was especially grateful to God that I had found it in time to allow me to transport my friends back up north after camp was finished on Tuesday afternoon. God's time is never late!

Rejoicing that my wallet which was
lost had now been found

Apart from an 11 year old girl who twisted her ankle when she slipped in the mud [God sent two registered nurses to visit camp at that exact time so they were able to tend to her] there were no other injuries on camp. God's Word was eagerly received by campers of all ages. We were especially thrilled for the male teenagers who came to camp and participated actively in their class discussions. One Christian girl shared afterwards that she learnt how to be more comfortable interacting with non-believers, as most of her previous camping experiences had been with other Christians. We thank God for all who served, and all who prayed and all who gave to make this camp the success that it was.

New Friends

Going into a new environment

With people I had never met before

From all over the world

To serve alongside them in ministry

My plan was not to make any friends

I felt like I had enough already

And I was struggling to stay in touch

With people I had met before

With whom I had built relationships

With whom I shared unforgettable experiences

So I went about my daily duties

Not making any efforts

To get to know these new people

But God had other plans

Who would have thought

That a casual conversation

Would turn into an invitation

Exploring Trinidad and Tobago

Experiencing natural beauty

Exchanging life stories

Exposing heart matters

Expressing future desires

Exhibiting genuine care

I realise now there is no limit

On the people God can use

To impact your life significantly

Or allow you to be a blessing to

Enjoying the view from San Fernando Hill

Visiting the world famous Pitch Lake

Some of the thank you gifts from my new friends

Sunday morning stroll on the port in Scarborough

Taking in the sunset on Fort King George

To my precious new friends
Until we meet again
If not here on earth
Then definitely in heaven
For all eternity

My Logos Experience

I first heard that the Logos was coming to Trinidad sometime late last year when I was serving at an ITNAC booth at a missions conference. Operation Mobilization, the parent organization of the Logos ship, had a booth right next to us. They were asking for volunteers, but I figured I was already a part of so many groups I didn’t need to add to my already full plate. I consoled myself with the thought that there were many others who would volunteer, so I would not need to. However, at the beginning of this year God started talking to me about signing up, even after the deadline had passed. Before I could contact them to find out if they still needed persons, one of my ITNAC friends forwarded me an email from the recruiters saying that they were still many vacancies and if they knew anyone who was free to encourage them to apply. My only hesitation was if I would have the time to do it, but I really felt God’s hand in this one, so I decided to make the time.

Steering the ship ;) LOL

Working on the Logos was a wonderful experience of being able to demonstrate the love of God to difficult people: from the persons who refused to listen to the 2 minute mandatory orientation for first time visitors, to those who skipped the orientation and got upset when they got to the cashiers and realised that they could not pay with a debit card – we managed them with smiling faces and kind words. On reflecting on his visit to the book fair, one young man commented on how light the atmosphere was - not heavy like in some other places he had visited – and how much he appreciated the smiles and kindness that was evident from all the workers.  A young lady who visited with her family told me that what she loved about the ship was that it was more than just about books; it was about bringing people closer to God. I was really moved that she said that, because in the training sessions we had, they encouraged us to look for opportunities to bring people one step closer to Jesus.

What it means to bring people one step closer to Jesus

Working in the book fair was an exercise in the game of Memory, as we tried to put back books in their rightful place after visitors did not return unwanted books where they belonged. Additionally, it was a great physical workout, as we changed positions every 45 minutes to one hour, and this involved lots of walking up and down and all around. It was very encouraging to interact with the crew members as we worked alongside them, hearing them share their life stories and the lessons God had taught them while they worked on the ship. Finally, it was a tremendous opportunity to see people that I knew, including someone who I had not seen since 2003!

Wendy Fitzwilliams was one of the
local celebrities who passed through

The experiences which I valued the most, however, were the one on one conversations that I was able to have during my time there. There were so many opportunities to have God centered conversations with the visitors, who were very open to sharing where they were in their relationship with God, and listening to what we had to share.

An added bonus were the spectacular sunsets we were treated to!

 The crew put on a theatrical production of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe which was really excellently done. Afterwards we had an opportunity to interact with members of the public who came to the show. I approached a family with two children and asked if they understood why Aslan represented Jesus and they said no. When I told them it was because Jesus died for our sins, just like Aslan died for Edmund, the little girl asked, “What is sin?” It turned out that they were from India so they were not familiar with the gospel message. I was so grateful that the mother gave me permission to share the good news with them.

Some of the local volunteers I spent most of my time with

One of the book fair visitors I spoke to was a lady from China who was visiting her Chinese friend working in Trinidad. She wanted to know how does a person deal with bad thoughts which are in their mind. After I explained to her where these thoughts come from and what Jesus had done to take away our sin, she responded, “But that isn’t fair! Jesus never did anything wrong. Why should he have to die for our sin?” It was a good stretch for me to explain the gospel message to someone whose first language was not English. At the end, she understood what I shared with her, but said she wanted to think about it first before making a commitment, so I prayed with her and then pointed her to a Chinese crew member and left them to talk in their native tongue.

Crew members interacting with members
of the public by writing their names in Mandarin

I also met a Christian school teacher who shared her struggles with her form 1 class who were stressing her out with having to deal with issues from alcohol to drugs to prostitution in the classroom. I shared with her an experience I had over the Christmas vacation where I reconnected with a young lady who had been progressing well at school until she was molested by a family friend, which ended up with her failing all her exams and pursuing relationships instead of her studies. After a series of bad choices, she has now, more than 5 years later, decided to get her life back on track. I encouraged the school teacher not to give up on her students, but to continue building relationships with them and imparting whatever knowledge and fear of God she could, because she would never know the impact it could have on them in the future.

All volunteers received training in sharing our faith and other relevant topics

We were joined by a crew member who shared her experience of when they were coming to dock in Port of Spain and they were praying for the country, seeing a dark cloud over the nation with a ray of sunshine peeking through. By the time they were finished praying, the dark cloud had dissipated and the sun came shining brightly through. She felt that this was a metaphor for the darkness that is presently over our land, and the power of prayer to dispel the darkness. We encouraged the teacher to commit with other Christian teachers to pray over the school on a weekly basis, and also for her to pray in her classroom before the students arrive. We also reminded her to recognise that she was not fighting a physical battle but a spiritual one, so she needed to stop stressing about what she could not change in the physical and focus on how she could impact the spiritual. She was tremendously encouraged, because these were the same things which her Christian co-worker was encouraging her to do, so for her it was confirmation of her need to act.

People waited in lines for hours to
board the ship

Before leaving the ship, everyone had to walk through the “Journey of Life”, which was actually the story of the Prodigal Son illustrated with pictures, in a modern day setting. It was incredible for me to see people of all faiths, including entire families, taking time to listen as the volunteers shared the story and challenged them to consider the consequences of the choices they were making in life.

Bring knowledge, help and hope

After taking one lady through this section, she shared with me that things were very bad for her at home, and she knew that she needed to rededicate her life to Christ. Her husband was not a Christian, and was treating her very badly, but she knew that she needed to fix her life first before praying for her husband to be saved. On enquiring I found out that she did not own a bible, and did not have the funds to purchase one, so I was very happy to be able to go back into the book fair and help her choose one she could read and buy it for her. She prayed a prayer of repentance, asking God to forgive her and cleanse her from her sins. She also committed to finding a church in her area where she could continue to get the spiritual food she needed to grow in her relationship with God.

No two sunsets were the same :)

I was also able to pray with a lady who had a friend who is experiencing some terrible domestic challenges, a man whose family is in a dispute over land, a man who is recovering from a 2 year long tabanca, and a man who was trying to turn away from a sinful lifestyle, but was not yet willing to totally submit to God. I trust that God would be faithful to complete the work that He started in the lives of these people who we were privileged to minister to.

With some of the crew at the Pitch Lake

With my Latino hermanas - they made me speak in Spanish!

One of the highlights for the crew when they go to different countries is the opportunities they get to explore different parts of the country. I had the privilege of taking two sets of foreigners on the “Tour of South”. They all thoroughly enjoyed their time in the south land, visiting the beach, the Pitch Lake, San Fernando Hill and the Wild Fowl Trust. Some of them said that it was one of the best experiences they have had on their off days since they have been on the ship. I really loved seeing how much they enjoyed themselves, and I now have friends who will be happy to host me if ever my travels take me to Kenya, Zimbabwe, Australia, Indonesia, Colombia or Bolivia!

Facilitating workshop at Next Step Missions Conference

Finally, I had the pleasure of being a part of the Next Steps Missions Conference on board the ship. This was a conference designed to help persons who were interested in missions to know what are possible next steps they could take. I facilitated a workshop entitled Using Technology with Partnership Development and there were other workshops covering topics which would help prepare persons for life on the mission field. I was also part of a panel discussion covering issues affecting persons on the mission field. It was a wonderful time of sharing lessons learnt, and many persons who attended responded positively to the call to missions.

Showcasing Trini culture at our farewell function

I thank God for speaking to me about volunteering on the Logos while they were in Port of Spain, and I am very glad that I was obedient. It was an experience that has implications, not just for the future, but for the rest of eternity.

The least of these

Over the past couple years, the refugee crisis in the Middle East has weighed heavily on my heart. I felt so helpless reading stories about these innocent people who had to leave everything behind and flee for their lives, and the hardships they experience in the countries they take refuge in. So I jumped at the opportunity I had to visit my friend who is part of a team in Jordan that works with refugees from Syria and Iraq.

Baby clothes which were donated
by friends before I left

The families which my friend works with live in apartments in their village. When new families come to the village, they are registered and included on the schedules of visits from the team. The home visits help to establish relationships with the families, and also to assess their needs - food, clothing, mattresses, etc. Once the needs are registered and the team receives donations, they know exactly which families these donations should go to.

This lady was so grateful for the bag
of vegetables we dropped off

One of the sources of donations comes from a guy who saw the work that the team does with the refugee families and was moved to support them. Every week, he sends a truck load of produce from his farm, full of crates of whichever vegetables are in season. I was able to help transfer the vegetables from 200 crates to bags, and journey with the team to deliver these goodies to families which were very appreciative of them.

Crates of melongene, corn and zucchini

Apart from the trauma of having to leave almost everything behind in their home country, which many of them have no hope of ever returning to, refugees have the additional challenge of being unable to work in the country where they have settled. This is understandable to an extent, because the host country has to put priority on providing jobs for their own citizens. But it makes it difficult and almost impossible for the refugees to survive, unless they have an external source of income.

Knitted hats and cross stitched bookmark

There is a program that is run for women to help them through this crisis. Twice a week, they gather at a community center to make craft items which are then sold to visitors; the women get all the profits. This program gives them a sense of purpose as they have an opportunity to work with their hands to provide for their families. It also provides an outlet for them to share their experiences, joys and struggles with one another as they work, and to build meaningful friendships with women who would have otherwise been strangers.

Focused on their work

At the community center there is another program - this time for children 12 and under. They learn to read and write in both Arabic and English. They also get to sing, play and do crafts, giving them a couple hours of "normal childhood" experiences that so many of us take for granted. The smiles on their faces and the excitement when they arrive at class is evidence that they are benefiting from this program.

Getting to know the students on my first day with them

 One day their regular teacher was not feeling well, so she asked if me and another girl who was visiting could take the class and we were elated! It was lots of fun, because we did not have a translator to work with, and their English was very limited. However, we used games to help them review their letters and numbers, and then we played a version of Basket Turnover using the colors of the chairs they were sitting on. Finally, they had to act out verbs which we gave them like jump, sit and cry. We all had lots of fun.

Reviewing letters on the board

During the winter months, life gets even more difficult for the refugees as they have to survive the drop in temperature. For many of them, the places where they live do not come with heating, and it is very expensive for them to get heaters. Thanks to those of you who gave so generously before my trip, and those who sent funds while I was there, we were able to purchase gas heaters for 67 families, and gas bottles for 50 families who needed them. They were so grateful to have one less thing to worry about.

Team members delivering a heater and
gas tank to a family

Apart from working with the refugees, we had an opportunity to spend a few days in a village to support a local church there. It was a beautiful 3 hour drive along the Dead Sea to get there. The team helped to repaint an outdoor court for football and basketball, and to preach at a couple of meetings. There was a children's program where I was able to share a message based on the story of Noah and it was really well received. The pastor was very grateful for our help, because the labourers in his area are few.

Sharing the message through a translator

It was hard to say goodbye to the people whom I had grown so close to in just under 2 weeks. It was a wonderful opportunity to partner with this team and see firsthand the great work they were doing to reach out to those in need. I am tremendously grateful for those who supported me in all the various ways to enable me to serve in this capacity.

Bonding with a Syrian baby :)

Matthew 25:37, 38, 40 - Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'

Doing good to all people

I am not, by definition, a Christmas person. However, there is a certain level of generosity that is shown at this time of the year, so I follow Paul's encouragement in Galatians 6:10 to use every opportunity to "do good to all people".

My serving started two weeks before Christmas, at the Christmas Village hosted by Open Bible. It provided an opportunity for small businesses to set up booths and sell items to those who visited to do their Christmas shopping, and listen to the gospel artistes who sang every night. ITNAC had a table and many people who stopped by learnt about the ministry, and some persons signed up as volunteers. We were able to sell some items and the funds used were sent to Haiti. These helped cover expenses for the team who went over there for Christmas to share God's love with the Haitians, especially those who were affected by Hurricane Matthew.

ITNAC booth at Christmas Village

One week before Christmas, a team from ITNAC joined with partners from Maritime to bless the community of Sobo Village in Palo Seco. This is an annual tradition that is eagerly anticipated by both the villagers and our volunteers. We are encouraged when we see the joy on the faces of the children who receive gifts, and the parents who receive hampers. We were also able to serve a hot meal to all who turned out, and it was a great time of fellowship for all.

The children got snack bags too

Very excited to receive her present

Time to eat!

Distribution of hampers

On Christmas morning, I woke up bright and early to meet with other ITNAC volunteers to pack breakfast boxes for the families we were going to visit. Thanks to our generous donors, each box contained a ham sandwich, a pastelle, an apple and some grapes. We also had hampers and presents for the children in each family. We decided to split up, with one team visiting families along the East/West corridor, and another team heading South.

Delicious breakfast lovingly made by our supporters 

The first house we visited was in Chase Village where a disabled woman lives with her friend and her brother. Her friend is currently unemployed and has a 9 month old baby, and her brother is losing his eyesight so it is difficult for him to work. The lady really enjoyed the Christmas carols we sang for her, and she even joined us in singing. She was very grateful and much cheered by our visit. Please pray for her friend to get a job. She is an excellent cook so she wants to start selling food; she hopes to get her food badge in January God willing.

Teaching the next generation that it is better to give than to receive

Our second stop was in Palo Seco where a couple live so close to a river that their house is almost situated in the river. Due to heavy rainfall in south on Christmas Eve, their clothes which were soaking in a tub outside, the baby's playpen and stroller and their gas tank washed away down the river. The water got into the house as well so when we visited the mother was in the process of cleaning again, because she had already cleaned for Christmas. They was very encouraged by our visit, and the hamper which they received.

One of our youngest volunteers sharing joy on Christmas morning

The last family we blessed lived in Gonzales Village, Point Fortin. The mother had not been working for over a year, because she broke her ankle really badly and had only just started back walking without crutches. She has 5 children that she takes care of on her own. The gifts we gave to her children were the first gifts they got for the season, so they were very happy to receive them. Please pray that she will find a job early in January 2017.

Praying with one of the families we visited

My prayer is that this spirit of generosity would not lie dormant until Christmas 2017, but that we would continue to look out for opportunities to be a blessing to those around us who are not as fortunate every day of the year.

Galatians 6:10 - Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.