Reflections on my 44th birthday

If it's one thing I have learnt over my 44 years of existence is that life consists of seasons. A season is a temporary, finite amount of time in which God uses you for a particular purpose, or allows you to undergo an experience in order to accomplish a specific objective in your life. In each season of your life, He equips you with the resources you need to accomplish His purposes in that season. Since seasons are finite, they come to an end. Having this perspective gives us the grace we need to persevere through the trying seasons, and to treasure the pleasant ones.

When I was a child, I remember always wanting a best friend. Even though I had 3 siblings, we fought a lot, so I decided I was going to have imaginary friends. I remember making a list with the names of my imaginary friends, and getting upset with my siblings when they sat on one of my imaginary friends when we got into the car. In primary school I had a best friend, but she migrated after a few years. Since then, there were others who could have had that title, but they did not remain close to me indefinitely. I remember getting upset every time the ones I considered my nearest and dearest no longer had that role in my life. I did not realize at the time that, for every one who became less active, God provided another one or ones to take their place. 

It was only when I got to be a young adult that I understood that the reason those close to me drifted away was because their season in my life had ended, and it was time for me to move on. I am still very good friends with those from past seasons, and the love I have for them is as real now as it was then, but the reality is that after they have served God's purpose, there is no need for us to be as close as we were before, and I have learnt to be OK with that. Because of this understanding, I now more fully appreciate the ones who are in my life in this current season, choosing to value the time we have together instead of being apprehensive about the time when they will no longer be around.

I no longer desire to have a 'best friend'. Placing that much pressure on one person to be everything you need them to be in your life can lead to major disappointments when they fall short. I have learnt that Jesus is the only one who can fully satisfy every desire and need I have. He has also placed me in a loving community who provided all the support I need in this life He has called me to, in every season. Some of them are older than me, some are younger, and some are in between but it doesn't matter - they are all being used as iron to sharpen iron.

I know exactly who to call on when I need someone to:

* Release my frustrations to

* Get advice from

* Make me laugh

* Go on an adventure with

* Visit the beach

* Get up early to exercise

* Pray for me

* Encourage me to do something I am hesitating to do, especially when it is a God-thing

* Push me out of my comfort zone

* Refresh my soul

* Give me a hug

* Listen to my stories and really get me

* Cook for me

* Go shopping for me

* Redecorate my house

* Hold me accountable to my commitment to read through entire Bible

* Do ministry with

* Understand my life story so I don't have to give context because they know it already

* Develop a graphic for me

* Provide decor for an event I am hosting

* Advise me about technology

* Remind me of how loved I am

* Keep me company when I can't sleep

* Give a dramatic response to my stories

* Hold me accountable 

* Respond to my WhatsApp messages

When I look back over my life, I truly thank God for every person who has served a role through every season of my life, and for supplying me with me all that I needed to endure each season. I have no doubt that as I move forward into whatever is the next season that He is preparing me for, He has already equipped me with everything that I need exceedingly and abundantly above all I could ask or even imagine.

Wayumi Trini Edition

 In October 2022 a small contingent from Trinidad and Tobago journeyed to the middle of Pennsylvania to experience firsthand a program entitled 'Wayumi' - an immersive experience in cross-cultural missions, where participants would be able to learn about what is involved in taking the gospel to another culture that has never heard about Jesus. Our goal in attending was to learn as much as we could so we could offer a similar experience to persons from Trinidad and Tobago, without them having to leave the country. Our target date was April 2023, so from January this year, work began in earnest. Subcommittees were formed and meetings were held as we commenced planning for our first ever local Wayumi experience. I had the privilege of serving on the both the Programming and Administration subcommittees.

Last time we were together was in the USA in cold autumn
- now we were sweltering in the Trini dry season heat

In the weeks leading up to Wayumi, the dry season in Trinidad was brutal. There were numerous bush fires, resulting in a numerous homes being destroyed all over the country. In fact, just the week before Wayumi, there was a severe bush fire in the hills surrounding Victory Heights, and the fire services had to be called in to extinguish the blaze. Thankfully none of the structures were damaged. There were also water issues at the campsite the week before Wayumi, but thankfully these shortages were resolved by the time we started our programmes so everything was able to flow smoothly.

The fire got as close as the grounds for the main building 
we were using for the meetings

The team of missionaries from the States who were serving as the main facilitators were due to be in Trinidad for one week, so we planned two events for the time they were here: a one-day event for church leaders, and a weekend event for everyone else. The Promotions committee worked hard to get the invitations and promotional videos out, but it was only when they started visiting churches and sharing the vision for the event in person, that people understood the purpose behind the event and started responding. In the meantime, the Construction committee worked diligently to prepare the site and construct the huts we needed for the village experience. The Finance committee sourced donations and managed the funds wisely, while the Communications committee ensured that we had all the technical equipment we needed for a successful event.

The decor team did a phenomenal job in bringing
the indigenous flavour to the venue

The Programming committee followed the schedule that was used for Wayumi retreats in the States to ensure that participants would benefit from as much information and training as possible during the time frame we had. We made a few modifications to give a local flavour (corn soup for dinner, steel pan during Sunday morning worship). We also included a traditional African meal along with indigenous snacks to aid with the cultural immersion experience of the participants. Apart from the US-based missionaries, we were blessed to have three local missionaries (Ronald Yearwood, Heather Yearwood and Leah Joslyn) who are currently serving in West Africa with us for our inaugural Wayumi locally. They were able to lend expertise in sharing informally with the participants, helping to construct an African hut for our 'Village' experience, and played the part of tribal people when it was time for participants to visit the village. They did this so well that some persons who knew him did not even recognize Ron in the village!

For the participants, the visit to the Village made all
the information that was shared come alive

As part of the Administration committee, we handled registration, catering and hospitality. The overseas team was high in their commendation for how both events were executed - they were impressed with the logistics, the efforts put into the decor, the construction of the huts for the village, and the turnout. At the Leader's event, we had 37 participants and 25 for the weekend event (including 3 from Tobago!); these participants came from 9 different denominations and 4 separate para-church organizations. Those who attended were fully engaged in all the sessions which were presented, and thoroughly enjoyed their visit to the village where they were able to interact with 'tribal people'. They also benefited from informal conversations with the on-site missionaries. 

Browsing items available for sale at the Information table

We included a session on the last day of the weekend event where participants shared in small groups about how the sessions impacted them, and persons who had been quiet all weekend opened up, sharing how God had been speaking to them about their role in cross-cultural missions. Participants recognized that the harvest field for souls is full, but the workers were few, and committed to sharing this reality in their spheres. They shared how the experience changed their perspective of missions, and they now felt better equipped to pray for those on the field. They left with a greater understanding of the support needed for missionaries to accomplish their roles effectively. In evaluating their experience at Wayumi, they used words such as thought-provoking, enlightening, impactful, impressive and all agreed that they would recommend it to others.

Participants engaging in one of the sessions

We give God all the glory that, at the end of the weekend event, 9 persons responded to the call to become involved in cross cultural missions! One of these persons shared what she had learnt with a friend from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and they too said "Yes" to God's call to go into all nations and preach the gospel! We are beyond grateful to God that we had the privilege of seeing the fruit from all that went into the planning and execution of these two events so soon afterwards. We pray that as these ten persons proceed with the next steps leading to their service cross culturally, they would experience God's abundant provision of all the resources they need, and that many others from the Caribbean would consider their role in the great commission.

Celebrating those who heeded the call to "Go"