As all of you know, on June 3rd I had the opportunity to go on a mission trip to the island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean Ocean. The following is a short recap of what we did and how things went. It was a great trip and it was very encouraging to see our God working in such a powerful way with the people of St. Vincent.
We arrived on Saturday night and attended the church that we would be working with on Sunday. After worship, we had lunch with Wofford Thompson who is the founder of Ministries in Action. He and his wife Jen are from St. Vincent and had our team over for lunch at their home. After lunch we spent the afternoon relaxing at the Thompson house which has a beautiful view of the island and the ocean with other islands off in the distance. Later that evening we had the opportunity to go and hear Larnell Harris sing a concert for the Ministries in Action men’s conference that was going on. What a treat to be front row for that. Besides being the only Americans in the group we stood out as some of the “frozen chosen” tried to clap and sway to music. It really was a special way to start the week.
We were able to spend the week working beside the Vincentions that the church had hired to help us on the construction projects. We chipped out a concrete column so that the plaster would stick to it and we also laid block walls and plastered the inside of the rooms. In St. Vincent, everything is made from concrete because of the salt water and wind. Wood just isn’t a good building material like it is in the states. We spent all week mixing mortar in the ever daunting “volcano” and spreading it on the block walls. We were able to plaster 12 walls and lay one more block wall. We also made a few openings for some windows to be put in later.
Another exciting thing that we had the opportunity to do on the trip was to use soccer balls as a tool to share the good news of Christ. The soccer balls were made using the colors of the wordless book. Each color represents a different thing in our life: Dark is the Sin in our Hearts, Red is the Blood of Christ which covers our sin, Clean represents the purity of our heart after we receive Christ into our lives, Green represents how we are to grow as a Christian and the Gold is the color of Heaven. We were able to give the balls to kids in the neighborhood and tell them what the colors meant and share the gospel with them. They were great tools.
We also had the opportunity to attend their youth meeting on Friday evening before we left. This was encouraging as they had around 50 “yoots” attend. This group has grown over time and they are actively searching for a “yoot pasta” to come in full time and work with the church and the kids in the area.
The people of St. Vincent are such a joy to be around. They make the open air house, the bugs that kept us company in the night and the food that you did ask about you just ate, do able. They are so happy and express such a joy and zeal for the Lord that it was contagious and you didn’t think about the other things. The air was hot and sticky all the time. I slept with a 3 foot window right beside me wide open with no screen because that was the only way to keep the room cool. I woke up the sound of a hammer nailing a stake into the ground about 5:45 every morning so that the sheep that ate the field across from the house wouldn’t run away. The food wasn’t bad but you just ate and didn’t ask on some things. For the most part it was “normal” stuff. The fruit was amazing. It was the best pineapple that I have ever had by far. The mangos weren’t too bad either. More bananas then any one would ever want. Bananas are the islands major export with acres and acres of banana plantations. They ship their fruit to Europe and mainly to England who they gained their independence from in the 70’s I believe. We had two women from the church that fixed us every meal while we were there so we could come home from the job at lunch and after words for dinner and enjoy what they had prepared for us that day. We did treat them one night and the five of us said that we would “cook” the day that we went into town and we brought back a bucket of the Colonels original recipe. Yes, the have KFC and it was the only full meal that some of the other men on the trip ate.
I would ask that you keep praying for the people of St. Vincent and the Evangelical Church of the West Indies. The church in Biabou is growing and as I said they are looking for a youth pastor and also a full time senior pastor for the church. There are several men who have stepped up and are leading the church and take turns preaching but they are looking for a full time pastor as well. Please pray for Marcus, Robbie, Brother Thomas, and Linford as they try and lead this congregation.
This trip was a great experience and I learned a lot about myself and I was very thankful for the opportunity to be a part of it. I hope that this is an encouragement to you all and that you will continue to pray for the work of our Lord in and through the people of St. Vincent. Thank you again for your prayers and Support | 
