Pictures of our trip

The first day we toured two Hindu temples. The flags you see here are Hindu prayer flags and you see these everywhere in Trinidad. The Hindus believe that when the wind blows the flags, their prayers are being answered.



This is a temple for the Hindu god Hanuman, the monkey god. This statue is 85 feet tall.
This bus was our transportation for the trip. Actually it was a bus much newer and nicer than this one. I don't think this bus has transported anything for a long long time.


Trinidad is the birthplace of the steel pan. This is a unique and fun instrument not only to play but to hear. TTUM has a steel pan band that put on a little concert for us one evening. Then we all got to try them out ourselves. We are hoping to have the band visit WHBC this fall when they come on their annual tour to the US. Here is a short video so you can get an idea of what a steel drum sounds like and how it is played.



On our missions trips we love to move dirt! We worked one morning moving dirt on to a construction site using a couple wheelbarrows and a bunch of buckets.
We also spent one morning painting doors in a new children's home that TTUM will be opening soon.
We visited 2 public primary schools and did short programs. This school had over 600 students that sat outside their classrooms around a courtyard where we stood. It was a difficult setting and we wondered if we were effective, but only God knows. This picture shows one side of the courtyard, there was a whole other side that isn't captured in the picture. The situation got more frustrating as it started to rain when we started with the Bible lesson/gospel presentation. We trust God was able to use the few minutes we had to share His love. At the other primary school we visited, two little Hindu girls told some our group that they had trusted Christ during the invitation of our program!

We also spent time in 2 pre-schools, 2 other children's homes and 2 homes for mentally handicapped children. But our highlight of the week I think was VBS. We held it in a small community on top of a huge hill. We had about 20-25 kids each day. It was a real joy to see our students give of themselves as they played, did puppets, taught lessons, and interacted in small groups with crafts and review questions. On the 4th day of VBS, many of the children responded to the invitation, and the greatest reward for team was the 8 children who trusted Christ for their salvation. After VBS was done on Friday, we were invited to stay as the families fed us dinner and then we shared in a time of Bible study and prayer with the adults. I know that many of our team members left a little bit of their hearts up on the mountain when we left on Friday night. Praise God for that! Below are pictures from VBS.


Thank you so much for your part in our missions trip. We know we couldn't have done it without all the financial and prayer support from all our friends and family. There were many decisions made on this trip and God did some much needed work in many or our hearts. Time alone will tell the eternal impact that this trip had on our team and the people of Trinidad. Thank you once again.

Sunday, June 28

Thankfully we had an uneventful trip home, arriving back at WHBC around 1:30am (Monday). We have many memories that will serve as a powerful bond among the team for years to come. I'm not sure if and when we will do a report in church, but I hope to have a lot of pictures here on the blog in the next day or two. Thank you to all who prayed, gave and helped in any way to make this trip a success.

Saturday June 27

Saturday was our fun day. After breakfast we went to the capital city, Port of Spain, for a few hours of shopping. Then we headed over the mountains down to Maracas Bay, considered by the locals to be the best beach in Trinidad. Lunch was another Trinidad staple, bake 'n' shark, which is basically a shark sandwich. I think everyone enjoyed them, and most said it tasted like chicken. After lunch, we all headed to the beach to enjoy the warm waters of the Caribbean for a few hours. This was a great way to finish up our time in Trinidad. We headed back tired but happy. After dinner back at the compound, we met with Pastor Ashoke, the founder of TTUM, for a time of devotions. He gave us a great challenge about going back home not being satisfied with the level of commitment in our walk with God.

After that we had a great time as a team wrapping up our trip. We all shared together the things that impacted us and what God was doing in our hearts. I think for many, this was the climax of our trip. As a youth pastor, the things I heard during this time of sharing are what make all the planning and hard work worth it all. I thank God for the privilege of being able to be present when so many teens are making big-time life decisions. Please pray that these decisions will stick. There is so much potential individually and as a group, and Satan would love to get us to forget about what God has done this week and go back to the way we were before we left.

Friday June 26

Friday morning after breakfast we headed to another public primary school. We were thinking that we would only have a one or two classrooms of kids with which to share, but we learned that they were going to do an assembly with the ENTIRE school, around 600 kids! We stood in a courtyard and all the kids sat outside their classrooms while we attempted to do some sort of program. We sang a few songs, then did a quick review of our VBS stories, the "I am" statements of Christ. About halfway through our 30 minute program it stated to rain, and we felt like there was no way that anyone would have been able to grasp the message, but we trust God was able to still use us there. After the program, the principle invited our whole group to the teachers lounge and treated us to hot doubles, a common Trini breakfast. They were very spicy but very good.

After the school visit, we visited another school for mentally disabled teens and young adults. We sang a few songs, shared a Bible story and did a craft with them. They treated us with a few group songs, and one of the guys recited a poem for us. It was very special treat.

After our afternoon lime time, we headed out for a final day of VBS on the mountain! One very exciting detail unfortunately got left out of yesterday's report: we had 9 kids pray to trust Jesus as their Savior. At the end of the lesson, I gave an invitation and asked anyone interested in knowing more about believing in Jesus to raise their hands...well pretty much every hand went up. Knowing there were some very young kids who might have just been doing it because everyone else was, I decided to try to narrow it down by then inviting those who were interested to get up and go the back. Again, all the kids stood up! So we made an unexpected change in our schedule, and I told our team to take one child and go counsel them right then. Many of our teens got the privilege of leading someone to Christ for the very first time! Several of the children seemed to have already trusted Christ, and so they were able to be reassured of their salvation. It was a powerful and exciting time for our team.

Earlier in the week, we had been asked if we would be willing to stay after our last day of VBS and participate in their adult prayer meeting. So after VBS was done, they fed the whole team and then about 7pm we started the service. They had actually asked us to run the service. So we opened with some songs, then Robert and Haley shared testimonies and Travis and Tyler presented their drama again. Nan, Lauren C, Gwen and Jamie sang "How Deep the Father's Love for Us" and did a really wonderful job. Our team sang a couple of our favorite songs, then I brought a short message that came from our team devotions about being the salt of the earth. After the service, they thanked us many times, and as we were packing up and saying good byes it was evident that a real bond between our team and the Trini believers had been formed. There were many tears as we said goodbye and began our final descent down the mountain. We thank God for such an incredible week with those people.

One of those people who really got attached to was Tori, a 14 year old girl with sickle cell disease. This girl's testimony, outlook on life, and joy in the Lord was contagious, moving, and challenging as we saw some real faith being put to the test. Please pray that the Lord would heal her body and that she would continue to live our her faith even if he doesn't.

Thursday June 25

Day 8 of our trip has come and gone. Our time is quickly coming to an end. Today we went to another public school. I'd say the children's ages ranged from 8-13. We sang a few songs and Dan shared a summary of our 5 VBS Bible stories. He shared the gospel and then prayed with the children. We had a brief time to mingle with some of the children and get to know them and ask what they thought about what they had just heard. 2 girls accepted Jesus as their personal Savior!!!!! Please pray for these 2 sweet girls as they come from a Hindu background and will continue to be instructed in those ways. We believe many seeds were planted this morning. Praise God!!

We jumped back in the maxi-taxi and were off to a school for disabled children. There were about 10-12 children who were either physically or mentally handicapped or both. We helped them with a small project and then "limed" with them for awhile playing tag, duck duck goose, catch, kicking the soccer ball around, etc. We shared our program with them and Dan spoke about the Good Shepherd and the lost sheep. We ended with a small craft and it was a neat time together.

We got to go out to lunch today and had pizza!! i think we all enjoyed our "American" food and time at the restaurant. After lunch we had some down time in which many of us took naps and got some much-needed rest or went to the store. I personally chose the napping option. :) As far as our ear ache situation goes, some are doing better and some new people now have ear aches. We are hanging in there and everyone has been able to attend all of the VBS evenings so far.

Tonight is Day 4 of VBS and I'd say the size of our group has remained about the same. Over these days we have connected with both children and adults. Today's lesson was "Jesus is the Light of the World" given by Lauren C. Both the children and our team enjoyed our time together playing, singing, doing crafts, and learning about Jesus. I think both the Trinidadians and our team look forward to each evening together from 4-6 PM.

Tonight all of the American teams at the Trinidad & Tobago Urban Ministries compound had a treat as we attended a steel drum concert right here at the base. The music was so different - unlike anything I've heard before. The 3 musicians were amazing as they drummed a variety of sacred songs mixed with some fun songs too. It was an exciting and uplifting way to end the evening.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

We are now more than half way through our time here in Trinidad. We have accomplished many of the tasks on the back of our group T-shirts, with a few yet to experience. Yesterday morning, after devotions and breakfast, our team got busy working here on the compound. Seems like almost every overseas missions trip, there is dirt to be moved and it proved true for here as well. They are currently working on a new structure and they had a huge dirt pile for us to create a floor with. We all took turns shoveling, carrying buckets of dirt (and we did have 2 wheelbarrows), and leveling the dirt once it was moved. It was hard work in the intense sun but everyone kept at it and we were able to finish it. Afterward, many of us took a quick dip in the pool before lunch. Later that day, we left for Day 2 of VBS. We had a good turn out of kids. We played some games, sang some songs, had a puppet show, Tyler did a good job sharing the Bible lesson, and then we worked on our craft! One of the cultural things we got to try was a type of fruit that grows right there on the trees. They were good, but you did have to get used to the texture. You break it open and then suck on the slippery fruit around the seed. They are round in shape and I believe it was Travis who said they tasted like slimy eyeballs.

Today, we did have a few sick kids. A couple of them stayed inside during our work time as they were complaining of not feeling well. As the day went on, we learned that more of them were not feeling the greatest. The Lord, in his providence, just so happened to let us come to Trinidad the same week that a big group of doctors was here. Nurse Jamie and Gwen took our patients to see Dr. Hutch. After peering into lots of sore ears and throats, he diagnosed three of our kids with middle ear infections, and one with strep throat. Thankfully, the medical team was able to provide the neccesary antibiotics and ear drops to jump start their recovery. We gave Dr. Hutch a few more patients the following morning. He confirmed another ear infection, and a case of sinusitis.

Today after breakfast we went to two preschools and did a short VBS-type program. Our group is loving the interaction with all the Trinidadian kids and keep commenting about how they wish we could stay longer at each place we visit. This afternoon we held our first day of VBS. We were a bit late getting there because our maxi taxi was late, and then it poured right as we were starting, so our numbers were a bit low, probably around 20 kids. But they really seemed to enjoy the games, songs, lesson and craft. Tomorrow and the other days we will also be having a puppet show. After VBS this afternoon several of the parents who live in the neighborhood asked us if we would be in charge of their Friday night prayer service for the adults. So when VBS is over, they are going to serve us dinner, and then we will do some singing, a skit and a short message. We are excited about this opportunity.

We have been having a great time of fellowship and worship as a group. Tonight many of the group shared new things they have learned about others in the group. We talked a lot about the poverty we have seen and what our response and attitude before the Lord should be.

Yesterday, we went to an orphanage and did a shortened version of day 1 of our VBS. That went great as well. Last night we attended church here at the compound. Tyler and Travis did a short drama and did a great job.

For those who went on the last trip to Trinidad, there are a few things that are different that you'll be interested to know. First all the guys are staying in what was the youth room, and the girls are staying in a room that was built in the back of the church "sanctuary". Second, our maxi taxi is almost brand new and air-conditioned! Third, the weather isn't as hot nor humid as we remember from last time. And the new dining room where we worked last time is really nice!

Tomorrow we'll be doing some construction here at the compound in the morning, then VBS in the afternoon again. It seems like the time is flying. Things are going well. Thanks for praying.