Week 1 (July 29 - August 6, 2010) is below starting at the bottom of the page.
Click here if you would like to read week 2 (August 7 - August 14, 2010)
Friday August 6, 2010
Our morning devotional was from Pastor Glen Weber from New Hope Christian Fellowship in Eagle Rock, Ca. (Alex's Pastor) It was about following Jesus the Greatest Missionary.
We took a mosquito bite count at our morning meeting:
Steven 6
Melinda 1/2 (? !)
Larry 2
Deanna 13
Brigina 40+
Alex 1
Megan 1
David 7
Milton 3
Ashley 25
Jessica 30
Dwight 1
Kristi 3 sandfly bites
Jasmine 40+
Jenniffer 0 (She is inside most of the time)
Dana 1
As usual there were a bunch of kids waiting outside the Ministry Center at 7:30 / 8 am (We start at 9 am.) The Haitian kids from the Village get up early to come. Coming here is like Christmas for them. We had 103 kids today and there are 111 registered. We had to turn some away saying we are full. We learned from last year that it can get too chaotic if we accept more than we can handle. But having to turn kids away is a good thing as it means they will be sure to register early next year. There are a lot of improvements since last year. Many pre-registered, most kids now come on time and their behavior is better. The Bahamian staff has a more prepared group.
Jessica working with her kids to make bracelets. Kristi helping her kids put beads on pipe cleaners to make
bracelets. 
Dana playing volleyball with her girls. Jenniffer helping "Turbo" with a puzzle. 
Steven leading 4 groups at Relays. Melinda and David at Team Building 
Deanna debriefing with her girls after the DVD. Alex working with his guys at basketball.
Dwight leading his guys in a debrief after the DVD. Alex with his guys making the Jesus book.
Jessica gave all the 4-5 yr olds a turn in the fun roller. Kristi watching the kids as they waited for their turn.
Steven debriefs with his guys after the DVD. Jasmine debriefs with her girls after the DVD.
Brigina taught her girls to Bump and Set. Larry with one of his guys. The kids there love
to do puzzles - probably because they can't
afford to buy them themselves.
Yesterday Dwight said that he would run and sweat today.
This craft class was after basketball and he had been sweating. PROOF!!!
These older guys wanted to make themselves necklaces with the beads.
They can't afford to buy themselves a gold chain so this was something they liked.
Jennifer tying this guy's necklace on him.
Megan and Brigina talking with their girls after volleyball. It's hard to get a photo of Milton because he's always moving.
David giving his guys a cup each for water. Ashley debriefing with her girls after the DVD.
Deanna made a shield for her girls and gave them a list of scriptures to look up.
She taught them how to look them up using the index.
They were to use the scripture they like most and write it on their shield. Many chose Psalm 70 :
1 Hasten, O God, to save me;
O LORD, come quickly to help me.
2 May those who seek my life
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.
3 May those who say to me, "Aha! Aha!"
turn back because of their shame.
4 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation always say,
"Let God be exalted!"
5 Yet I am poor and needy;
come quickly to me, O God.
You are my help and my deliverer;
O LORD, do not delay.
After the VBS, Gillian, Becky & Heather Curling led several of our group to walk home with the Haitian kids to their village: Larry, Deanna, Jenniffer, Dana, Ashley & Jessica went. We didn't want to send too many as we would overwhelm them. I'll let those who went describe it to you.
This photo was taken last year in the Haitian Village.
Ashley: Today was the most impacting day of the trip so far. My girls were difficult today & it was just a hard day, but I know their situations. I know what they’ve been through & it’s something I could never imagine happening to me. I never imagined meeting anyone in this situation. Yet I feel them reaching out in small ways & I see our love converting into God’s love. Today some of the people from the group walked to the Haitian village with some of the Haitian kids that live in the village. The kids were so excited that their teachers were walking with them to their humble homes. One kid in specific, Mikendi, was holding my hand almost the whole way & he had been excited the whole day since I told him I was walking him home. When we reached the village, he was even trying to stray me from the group to go with him to his house, he was so excited. We all walked in a group around the village. The village consisted of some tiny colorful shacks built of wood with metal roofs. Some people just stared and some were very friendly, and some were not so friendly. One lady was nice enough to let us into her house so we were able to see what the homes were like. The most fulfilling part of our trip was the biggest smile across one of my girls’ face when we walked into her house & met her mom. That brought so much joy to me to see one of my girls so happy and unashamed of her house. It was such a great experience yet a humbling & depressing experience as well.
Jenniffer
Today we took a walk, not a normal walk, it was hot. It’s Friday so we promised the kids in the day camp that a few of us would walk them home. ….. WOW… wow… I could not believe what the kids, adults lived with and in. The first thing we saw was the garbage heap outside the Haitian village. The garbage was burning and all through the camp garbage was randomly strewn everywhere. Broken glass, plastic bottles, car parts, paper of all kinds and sizes, plastic caps, white flat rocks with holes (makes the ground uneven)…. Everywhere. The houses, no more than multi colored shacks, sometimes they were so close that I had to turn sideways to pass between two “houses”. Carpets of all lengths, sizes and colors lined the dirt walkways between the shacks (carpet no one wanted). The smell was incredible, moldy carpet, urine, burning garbage, marijuana and close quarters for everyone. Doors that have no handles, sometimes no doors at all and cast out odds and ends not good enough for their previous owners. I worry about the Haitian girls that attend the day camp, so does Gillian (Gill-e-yan), our leader who is really amazing. She is a true pillar of her church and loves these children and their parents. She shared with me that there is a high incidence of molestation and other things too horrific to share that happens in these refugee camps. I worry. These are refugees, people displaced, and of one race but with only one thing on their minds – day to day survival in oppressive heat with no hope. The men stood around in groups and met a few of us. The children were excited to have us come to their home and not only see where they lived but to meet their “mummys”. It truly amazed me that they were not ashamed of where they lived, they were welcoming and tried to pull us everywhere down the narrow walkways between the shacks. About a hundred people live on an acre of land and the shacks are barely 18 inches apart. I felt uncomfortable. But if that is the worst I ever feel I am ashamed… ashamed that I have ever complained that it took 5 minutes longer to get a coffee and now I am late for work. Ashamed that I go to grab a paper towel and the rack is empty, irritated that no one bothered to put another roll on it. Ashamed that I have to walk in the other room to put my clothes in the washer or the dryer. Today I walked past a woman who was washing her clothes by hand in a tub of dirty water. She smiled at me. I feel ashamed.
Dana:
The Beating of My Heart
The beating of my heart
Fire burning
Smoke drifting
Waste smelling
The beating of my heart
Unsteady walking
Glass glistening
Garbage surrounding
The beating of my heart
Dogs barking
Creole speaking
Children crying
The beating of my heart
Men staring
Sun beating
Fly swatting
The beating of my heart
Walkways tightening
Carpet draping
Protection lacking
The beating of my heart
Eyes widening
Heart sobbing
Soul hoping
The beating of my heart
Thanks for your prayers,
Janet
Message from Brian Spurgeon.
I really want to express my appreciation to all the staff that are at the Bahamas. I read through the blog and have seen all the pictures. I am praying for you all. I miss being with you there in the Bahamas. Larry, I remember Mackenson and I loved your comments about loving even if you are not loved in return. I feel the wind of the Holy Spirit with you and it is great to see the unity and love that the staff has with each other and the children. I pray for the miracle of the gospel to pierce the hearts of the children.Thanks so much for your service of love.
Brian SpurgeonHello JanetPlease extend my greetings to Kristi and everybody. Janet thanks so much for making it possible to show what she and the other team members do there. It is so inspiring to see the youth serving the young children, I see the real joy in their faces. Very sincerelyKim Hancock.
Happy Birthday to Steven! From all of us at NewLife Fellowship. May the Lord bless you with many more years of joy, success and lots of friends.
bermie
From Alberta Ecker
Tom and have enjoyed the daily updates and especially the pictures. It looks like everythng is going very well for everyone, including the little guy with the "turbo and off switch" pictured with Jenniffer. We pray for the whole group everyday and look forward to hearing and seeing more exciting news.
With much love and prayers,
Alberta and Tom
Hi Missionaries!!!
I'm so proud of you all for going out there in the intense heat and serving God's people!! I know that's God's even more proud of you than I am for doing it. =]
I'm praying for you all everyday, and I really feel like God's moving things with the people you're working with. SO EXCITING!!! Be encouraged knowing that you have a lot of people praying for you, you're not alone out there. Keep up the amazing work and don't give up, because you're making a big differences in these people's lives!
Love,
Holli
Thursday August 5, 2010
This morning our devotional was from Mike Swagerty in the Sacramento, CA church. He mentioned Mother Teresa and how when she looked at the suffering people in India she imagined looking into the face of Jesus and ministering to Him. He quoted Matthew 25:40 "When you have done it to the least of these my brethren, you have done it to me." He encouraged us to see each child we serve today as serving Jesus Himself.
There was a lot of excitement when I announced that, thanks to Maryann Stevens, our GC Trips secretary, they all had mail. We videotaped them opening their mail. Thank you to all of you who wrote. You really did make a difference!
We haven't decided which color t-shirts we want a picture of for the history page on the gctrips website so we are taking a picture each morning. This one looks pretty good. :)
We now have 106 kids registered and 100 of them were here today. The amazing thing was that 80 of them were here before
9 am - the starting time - so they qualified to be in the draw to win the backpack today. Prizes are motivating! We have now closed our registration and will not take any more new kids unless they prepaid - there a a few that did that but haven't come yet.
Amealeo and Chaz are on guitar and keyboard and Mike is on powerpoint and DVD's.
This is one of the crafts the kids did. It's about prayer. The boy on the right is Gillian Curling's son, Mathew. Gillian is the Program Director here and some of you met her at SEP So. Cal last month.
The kids are proud of their crafts and like their picture taken with them.
Jennifer has been hanging them up on the wall. They colored and put together a book about Jesus.
Brigina's girls taught her a song where they form a circle and walk around the girl in the middle.
"There's a brown girl in the rain sha, la la, (repeat 3 times)
and she looks like a sugar in a plum, plum, plum"
So show me your motions sha, la, la (repeat 3 times)
and she looks like a sugar in a plum, plum, plum.
So show me a loved one sha la la (repeat 3 times)
and she looks like a sugar in a plum, plum, plum
So skip around the ocean sha la la (repeat three times)
And she looks like a sugar in a plum, plum, plum."
Megan's girls all wanted to play with her hair.
Milton and Melinda don't have a group of kids because they are activity leaders so at the closing song time they stand in the back and are given the misbehaving kids. Here they are singing and doing the motions to "Making Melodies."
This afternoon was laundry time. We all went by car and hung out at the laundromat for 1 1/2 hours.
One of the girls (in red) who was in the VBS last year was at the laundromat. She was in Carmel's group. She is 19 years now and too old for the VBS. In the picture with her is Becky Curling, Gillian's oldest daughter.
Here's a picture taken yesterday. No, they didn't have anyone dump water on them. They had been out playing basketball and came in for their Gatorade. I brought 9 large containers of powdered Gatorade for everyone - to replenish their electrolytes while here. Larry said he actually did wring sweat out of his shirt. Hmmm....perhaps we won't have light gray shirts next year :)
Larry talking with his group after the DVD about stealing and adultery.
The power went out twice today, first when the youngest kids were watching the DVD on stealing and adultery. It went out just after the stealing part was finished so they had enough to continue with a discussion. That also affected the ladies making grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids lunch - so lunch ran a bit late. The second time it went out was after dinner so everyone went outside and played volleyball for an hour until it came back on.
David with one of his boys in crafts.
I asked the group if they would like to share anything on the blog so here are some of their comments:
Larry:
Yesterday was the first difficult day I have had during the VBS. There was a young man named Mackenson who I was just so frustrated with because he was just acting up all day. It caught me a bit off guard since the day before he was one of the most well behaved of all the kids. I talked to Mrs. Curling about it in the evening and she said if there is anyone she doesn’t want to kick out of the camp it’s him, and she wanted him in my group. Then she began to tell me how hard this young mans life is and just how poor his family is. She also told me that she knows he never hears positive words from anyone. Everyone is always telling him that he is worthless and good for nothing. So today I prayed that God would give me patience and compassion for this little guy. And I did have a few moments that I could tell him he was doing a good job at playing volleyball and I tried to find the good things I could tell him all day. And there was such a difference in his attitude and everything. I am really learning that when we come into another culture we cannot expect all things to just go smoothly. We have to be willing to deal with some of the mess that the sin of this world causes and have compassion on people even if they don’t treat us with very much respect at first. Like this young man who just wants to hear so badly that he is a good boy and that he is wanted and valuable. I don’t think I came here to teach these boys how to know Jesus as much as I think God brought me out here to learn how to love like Jesus.
Kristi: Random quotes from 4-5 year olds –
Tell me about your mummy and daddy.
“Mummy loves Daddy. Daddy loves Mummy. And Mummy and Daddy love JENA!!!”
“My mummy and daddy like white bread, and I like white bread. I don’t like the edges!!!”
What does God want?
“Don’t fight. SHARE!!! Love our FRIENDS!!!”
Why shouldn’t you steal?
“Don’t steal or you’ll go to JAIL. And they make your hands look like this.” (All four kids put their hands behind their backs)
Most days, I break up fights, am tired & sweating. Today I had three kids sit down quietly and four more jumped up ready to cause problems. I don’t know how to teach them to be kind to each other yet, but I’m trying especially as one of the most energetic ones comes crying into my arms. These kids know how to watch over their little siblings and operate cameras – certainly a level of maturity I wasn’t required of at that age.
So, we can let them see Jesus’s face in us. “No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.” –1 John 5:12
Dw!ght:
Today it became clear to me why some animals eat their young.
Today was the first day that I was a counselor by myself with my group of boys.
Today I learned to sympathize with single parents.
Today I almost cried.
Today I realized that I was actually expected to experience some Growth. I assure you I came God in prayer with a loud and whiny “WHY?” upon this discovery.
Today I learned that different cultures have different ways of connecting with people. And if I want to be effective in ministry I have to adapt to those ways.
Today I learned that one of the best ways to connect with these boys was through the sport basketball. This presented a slight challenge as I do not participate in running. Today I learned that tomorrow I will run, and therefore sweat.
Today I was frustrated.
Today I asked to be given sight. Sight from the point of view of a Haitian refugee who is angry at the world because he is hungry.
Today I asked for sight.
Sight from the point of view of a fatherless Bahamian boy, beaten by his mother, scorned by the community, broken by his family and determined to get validation, if not for being great…then for being terrible.
Today I asked for sight.
Sight as God sees these kids. As he has an unconditional, undeniable, irrefutable, sustainable, fierce and unapologetic love for these kids in their entirety. In their im-perfectness. In their anger. In their hurt.
Today I asked for wisdom and I pouted.
Tomorrow will be different. Tomorrow will be better. Tomorrow will be sweaty.
Today I learned why some animals eat their young.
Jenniffer
Hi everyone!! What I have learned…to appreciate the little things, like my husband who makes me breakfast in the morning. To appreciate a hug from a child who loves you just because you are there. To appreciate the hard outer shell some children have, sometimes their only defense. To appreciate the effort a child puts forth to get your attention, sometimes you are the only adult that day that smiles at them. To appreciate all my children and the love they have for me. And to be grateful for another day God has given me so I can be here.
Message from: Deborah O'Bryan
Thanks for all the info and the pictures. It is very enjoyable to see, and also helps us know more what to pray for. May the Holy Spirit be with you in abundance. I will pray that you all get sufficient sleep.
Wednesday August 4th, 2010
Hello Parents, Pastors & friends;
We received news last night that Dwight's grandfather (96 yrs) is dying. He has been moved home from the hospital and will be in hospice care. Once he's home he won't get dialysis anymore and that usually means a quick and painless death. Please pray for comfort for Dwight and his family in Sacramento.
This mornings devotional was from Fred Stevens - Alex's dad and associate pastor for New Hope Christian Fellowship.
He sent some Butterfinger candy for everyone to eat and explained that "Butterfingers" was an idiom used to describe clumsy people. He cited the scripture Psalm 33:13 - 22 saying God can come to our rescue. Fred wrote that "No lack of effort or ability on our part embarrasses Him (God) or ruins His game plan". That was encouraging.
This morning when I went into the bathroom, Ashley was sitting there checking out her mosquito bites. Apparently she has quite a few. Jessica does also. It seems that Ticas blood tastes good to mosquitoes. Many of us haven't even seen a mosquito yet.
Milton working with the boys on basketball. He had to send the boys out of the game a lot today for bad mouthing each other and bad language.
Jasmine & Ashley watching their girls at Team Building. Kristi playing ball with her kids in the parking lot
Jessica cleaning a child's nose. Our three activity leaders: Melinda for Team Building,
Milton for Basketball and Jennifer on Crafts.
Melinda and Milton work outside in the heat and humidity so
they are drinking Gatorade.
Jennifer said this little boy has two speeds: Turbo and Off.
One of the crafts for the older kids was making this woven cross.
Lunch today was a tuna or cheese sandwich. Steven's boys were still hungry so we got them a second one.
The closing song time. Kristi's kids were dancing. We had 85 kids today.
People here operate on "Bahamian time" so having the kids all arrive on time is a real problem. Each day we write down the names of the kids who arrive by 9 am. At the end of the day we draw one name and give them a backpack. I am hoping this will encourage the kids to come on time.
Here we are with the Bahamian staff.
Right after this, we sang Happy Birthday to Steven - his 22nd birthday. Then the Bahamians sang it Bahamian style. We all had cake and ice cream. Cheri McKinney asked me later what we would be doing for fun tomorrow (she's one of the teen Bahamian staff). On Monday afternoon we did Team Building games, on Tuesday afternoon we taught them the Barnyard dance, and this afternoon we had cake & ice cream. I didn't tell her that tomorrow afternoon we would be going to a laundromat! The Bahamian teens that are helping are really enjoying the socializing.
They are feeding us well! This is the afternoon snack.
Deanna & Kristi trying to take a nap in the hallway.
We are all starting to get tired. Mike is giving the Bible Study tonight so he also took a nap before dinner.
I'm finishing the blog early tonight so that hopefully I can get to bed earlier.
Janet
Thanks for update #6. I commend Larry for cooking breakfast and standing in line last. Whoa, he is showing a great example. I hope he cooked enough.
You have such a great group.
bermie
Howdy, Janet, Mike and Great Commission Trips Team,
Thanks for the update. Your efforts are magnificent and we appreciate your many selfless acts of service. Thinking of you often and praying for you and wishing you all many memorable blessings and. Thank you for your love for God, your love for each other, your love for your families back home and your love for your new found friends in the Bahamas. May God bless and keep you in the loving palms of His hands.
Your bro and sis,
Tom and Alberta
Tuesday August 3rd, 2010
Hello Parents, Pastors and friends,
I've tried to take pictures of each of the important people in your lives.
We finally took our group picture this morning. We'll have to get a more casual one :)
Back left: Mike, Janet, David, Jenniffer, Milton, Deanna, Larry, Megan, Dwight, Brigina, Alex, Steven.
Front left: Kristi, Melinda, Dana, Ashley, Jasmine, Jessica.
Larry made pancakes for breakfast so he is going through the line last. This is me reading the devotional from Pastor Heber Ticas from Mathew 20:17-23 "Can you drink the cup?" He encouraged us to Embrace the cup and drink from it with joy" using it to form us in Jesus' image.
Milton is coaching Larry and Dwight's group of boys in basketball. Milton and Larry are wearing navy t-shirts.
Melinda is leading Deanna's group of girls in Team Building. Alex is talking to his boys about the DVD they watched -
about honoring your parents and not stealing.
Brigina is talking to her girls about the DVD. Jessica is helping one of the kids wash their hands after
using the port-a potties. We have tubs of water and liquid
soap and pour the water over their hands using a cup.
Kristi is standing on the right.
David is talking to his boys about the DVD. Dana talking to her girls about the DVD.
Plunkindoodle (Jasmine) leading the girls to the next activity. Megan talking to her girls about the DVD.
Gillian, the director, is on the right with Ashley behind her.
Jennifer leading crafts. The kids are coloring stained glass windows with cosses on them.
Ashley talks to her girls after the DVD.
Mike, Steven & Quinton talk to a group of boys about the DVD.
Deanna talks to her girls after the DVD Dwight & Larry talk with their boys.
Kristi with her boys at craft time. Jessica with her boys at craft time.
For the youngest kids we had a large cross with biblical stickers of the story of Jesus on them. The kids really enjoyed putting the stickers on and around the cross.
About 11:30 it started pouring with rain so everyone ran inside and all the leaders came up with an activity to keep their kids occupied inside. It went surprisingly well. Actually today was a good day and everyone felt good about it. Nothing like last year where the first day was chaos and the behavior of the kids was not good. This year each person is responsible for only a small number of kids, so that ensures that the kids behave. We learned from last year.
Here we are with all the kids at the end of the day - 65 kids today. A lot who had registered ahead of time didn't come. Perhaps they will show up tomorrow.
By 1 pm after the kids had gone home, Dwight was ready for a nap.
We spent a couple of hours in the afternoon preparing for tomorrow. We watched tomorrow's DVD and discussed what they could talk to the kids about. Then we made plans in case of rain - a dance we learned at SEP So. Cal called "The Barnyard". So everyone circled up and had a great time dancing - American and Bahamian staff together.
After that they did the Electric Slide. Then they learned the songs that the kids will be singing tomorrow.
Thanks for sharing some vignettes of what the missionaries are doing. It is so inspiring to know that the girls didn’t have to wait for someone to fix the toilet! … and the worship team is so resourceful and flexible. I think it shows that missions work is that way. You can never know in details what the future holds. Yet, with a people whose hearts are motivated by love, it opens doors for the Holy Spirit to work through them. Praise God!
Our prayers are with you daily.
bermie
Howdy, Janet, Mike and Great Commission Trips Team,
Thanks for the update. Alberta and I agree with Bermie. Your efforts are magnificent and we appreciate your many selfless acts of service. Thinking of you often and praying for you and wishing you all many memorable blessings and. Thank you for your love for God, your love for each other, your love for your families back home and your love for your new found friends in the Bahamas. May God bless and keep you in the loving palms of His hands.
Your bro and sis,
Tom and Alberta
Monday August 2, 2010
There is a young boy, Chadlin Joseph, that I wrote about in "Stories from the field" at http://gctrips.org/BAHAMASTRIP.aspx He and his brother Benjamin were sitting with Larry in church yesterday. I looked over at him and he gave me a big smile of recognition.
He's the one with the biggest smile. After church I gave him and his brother some trail mix we brought, left over from SEP So. Cal. (Thanks Mark & Anne).
This next part shows a servant's heart. I walked into the ladies bathroom this morning and Ashley, assisted by Brigina, were unclogging a blocked toilet. It had been that way since the night before. They could have left it but they chose to be proactive. Yes!
In the mornings we have a worship song time and I suggested we needed to liven up our music - Bahamian style. Our slow songs "put Bahamians to sleep." So with Larry on the guitar, Alex on the piano doing all kinds of trills, and David & Milton on the drums, we were able to liven it up a bit - we're not up to Bahamian standard yet :)
The devotional this morning was from Pastor Fred Moore - Jasmine's dad. He wrote about how as a child he wondered about Exodus 20:4 "visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the 3rd and 4th generation" and as time went by he began to see that bad behavior stayed in a family from generation to generation. Many children of alcoholics have a high incidence of alcoholism, the sons of wife abusers are more likely to abuse their wives also. He also sent a greeting to "Plunkindoodle" (his daughter Jasmine), and the group got a kick out of that.
This morning we had more preparations for the day camp. We will be covering loving God and your neighbor in devotional time with the kids. This related to Fred Moore's devotional and showed us that we need to tell the kids how they can break the cycle of sin and the results of it. Many of them are caught in the same cycles that Fred described.
Gillian & I lead a training meeting.
We played some Team Building games. This one is human knot.
We prepared for the day camp tomorrow by....
Deanna, Brigina, and Jessica set out the rope lines for the volley
ball....
Inflated balls
Dana & Larry made name tags for the kids. Jenniffer made "girls" & "boys" signs for the port-a-potties.
We set up a registration table. Jennifer and Dana were a big help in getting the regisatration table organized.
We made signs for where each age group would sit and set out lots of chairs.
There has been no rain or mosquitoes, although there is a chance of rain all this week - and thunderstorms.
We plan one day's activities at a time and have a back-up plan in case of rain.
Tomorrow is when the kids come.
Janet
Message from Bermie Dizon
Thank you also for introducing the missionaries by name and what they do…. Such personalizing helps us think more of them and helps in our prayers for each of you. Great to know that Dwight has got humor. We all need comedians (hahaha!) ….or good humored people in any group.
bermie
Written Sunday evening August 1st, 2010
We haven't had any rain so far which means that the mosquitoes are all in hiding. As far as I know no one has any bites. Thanks for your prayers on that point.
This morning at our GC Trips meeting, I read a devotional message from Alberta Ecker (Jenniffer's mother) about how God answered her prayer with an act of Congress for her children to get college scholarships.
There was church this morning and a training meeting this afternoon - mainly discussing how to work with the kids and their behavior. A much firmer approach is needed than would be recommended in American schools. For some that is a cultural adjustment.
This afternoon there was a basketball tournament on the church property. A WCG member, Sydney Thompson (the white haired man), has about 60 boys 13 - 17yrs from the neighborhood playing every Sunday afternoon. They have their team practices during the week. It was quite exciting.
The Pastor was on the microphone throughout the game giving a play-by-play commentary. He knows all their names and they are all boys from the local community. So far not many of them have signed up for the Day Camp although we went and recruited some more as they were playing. We have 83 kids registered now (it starts on Tuesday).
The Bahamian team we are working with all eat lunch and dinner with us and leave around 8 pm so we can get settled for the night - showers, inflating mattresses, etc. Tonight after they left, David, Milton, Steven & Larry all started playing the drums and bongos, Alex was on the piano and Dwight, Melinda, Jessica, Megan, Jasmine & I all started singing Bahamian worship songs, "dancin" and "clappin". It was a lot of fun. Bahamian music makes you want to clap and dance and enjoy it. Mike videotaped it - so you might see it later.
Dwight can be quite a character when he gets going. He has a great sense of humor. The photo above shows him on the drums after David stopped playing) Many of the girls were showering at the time and missed most of the fun.
I forgot to mention Kristi yesterday. She befriended one of the quiet Bahamian girls who doesn't talk much and Kristi spent about 2 hours talking to her. I thought that was great.
Jennifer is going to be doing the crafts and so it is nice to have someone take that over.
Megan is going to assign secret prayer partners for us tomorrow. We will each be assigned another team member (American or Bahamian) to pray for for the two weeks and at the end of the two weeks we'll say who we prayed for and what we noticed. It's something I got from the "Crossing Borders" mission camp I went to last month.
Message from Pastor Bermie Dizon
Thank you Janet!
We had church today and prayed for you all. We are just so proud of you all. Your labor is truly a labor of love and inspires us.
You take care and please give our love to everyone. I enjoy the regular updates. ........ Thanks for using your giftedness in serving the disadvantaged poor.
May the Lord watch over you. May miracles happen in the lives of the Haitians and Bahamians whose lives you touch with the love of our Lord Jesus.
Bermie Dizon
Written Sunday morning August 1, 2010 but it is about Saturday 31st.
We're sleeping in the ministry center - girls in the worship hall
Dana & Jennifer were up early. The guys sleep in the dining area / childrens classroom.
They installed some new showers here for us!
The guys showers are outside behind the ministry center. Those who were here last year may remember that there was one shower here before. So they have added another and put a dividing wall between them. (Photo on left)
They built two new outdoor showers for the girls right outside the house where we store our stuff in. (photo below) This was a really nice surprise as we thought we would have one shower for 11 ladies. Now we all prefer the outdoor showers. Cold water is very refreshing in the heat and humidity.
Saturday morning we had a meeting with our GC Trips team, sang some songs, and had a devotional written by the NewLife Pastor Bermie Dizon about taking time out from the business of our lives and spending some quiet time with God. Then we went on a prayer walk / tour of the church facility. At each room or outdoor area we talked about what would happen there and one person volunteered to pray.
Church was at 11 am. This year I suggested we all sit in the back and follow the Bahamians as to when to stand and sit. Over here they sit for the first few songs but last year our group sat in the front and stood up as soon as the songs began. This meant that the whole congregation was forced to stand because they couldn't see the words with the people in front of them blocking the screen. Having a big group visit a congregation can have an impact on the dynamics.
We had lunch with many of the Bahamians who we will be working with. But our group started getting tired and by 2 pm there were 11 of them napping in the ministry center. Getting up early for flights on Friday morning put everyone behind in their sleep.
I had heard there would be a Junkanoo Saturday afternoon so the Bahamians offered to drive us to it. But we got there on Bahamian time, (the traffic was bad) and missed it.
However the Police marching band was performing and we got to see someone removing conch from their shells. He also pulled the conch worms from them and handed it some men in the audience to eat saying it was Bahamian Viagra.
We skipped meetings today because people were tired and settled for an early night instead. Training will start tomorrow.
So far we have 74 kids registered for the summer school which is a huge improvement over last year when hardly anyone registered ahead of time. More will come on the day we start - Tuesday.
6 am Saturday morning July 31, 2010
We all arrived safely in Nassau... but only just. There were some adventures to be had along the way. As our flight from L.A. pulled into the airport we were met by 4 police cars and two fire engines and they started hosing the plane. I looked out the window it looked like smoke drifting by us. This photo was taken by Megan so she could tell it was water.
So it seems that when an airline pilot is retiring, this is the way he is greeted upon arriving from his last flight. The police cars and a hosing down are the final salute to a job well done. We were actually warned this would happen. And in case you are wondering the fine mist from the hosing down actually did look like smoke!
Milton arrived in Miami an hour before us and I'm not sure of all the details but at some point there was a lady that walked out of the secured area with her friends but without her bag. Milton looked around and no one was doing anything about it. He chased after her with her bag and she was very thankful because she wouldn't have been able to get back in to get it! He then had to return through security to get back for his next flight (and to meet up with us). What a guy! Don't you love it when people are proactive. Everyone else just sat and looked at her leaving her bag behind but Milton showed initiative. He'll be a valuable employee.
After we met up with David and Milton in Miami I received a phone call from Dwight saying they had missed their connecting flight and would be on a later flight - 3 hours later. He and Kristi only had a 1 hour layover in Charlotte, NC and they had been directed to the US Airways area only to find out their connecting flight was code shared with Bahamas Air so they were in the wrong place. They had their new flight all sorted out by the time they called me so all was well.
Meanwhile Jennifer, Dana and Jasmine had all arrived safely and had been taken to the church property here.
We were met at the airport by Pastor Robert McKinney, Jennifer, Dana and several others and taken back to the church. Jasmine had stayed back to socialize with her new friends from Bahamas. Dinner was at 9:30 pm and Dwight and Kristi arrived with Pastor Robert and Mike at 10:15pm - still in time for dinner. Lights out at midnight.
Thursday July 29, 2010
Tomorrow morning we all leave for Bahamas.
Jennifer and Dana are flying from Pittsburgh, PA.
Jasmine is flying from Memphis, TN and she will connect with Jennifer and Dana in Charlotte, NC and they'll take a flight together to Nassau arriving about 3:30pm.
Dwight & Kristi are flying from Sacramento, CA and will arrive at Nassau at 6:20pm
Mike, Janet, Steven, Melinda, Alex, Megan, Larry, Deanna, Brigina, Ashley & Jessica are flying from L.A. and meet up with David and Milton in Miami. David & Milton are from L.A. but are not on the same flight for various reasons. We'll then fly together to Nassau arriving at 6:35pm just after the two from Sacramento get there.
We'll probably get to the church about 8 pm - and take our first group picture.
This weekend will be training and church. Monday is a public holiday in Bahamas so we will have training that day and start the camp on Tuesday.
We've been told there are a LOT of mosquitoes at present. That may force us to keep the kids inside.
I will update when I can. Sometimes there are brown outs and the power is out. Other times the dial-up internet may not work. And other times we just may be too busy.
Janet
Click here if you would like to read week 2