Ahhhh, de beach!!

One week after arriving in Trinidad, we finally got to see the ocean!! We drove all the way up the island, from Gasparillo (deep south) to Maracas Bay (northern coast). It took a few hours, and we went up some seriously steep and windy (wine-dee, not windy as in much wind, lol) roads. In a bus, mind you. About 5km from the beach there was an amazing lookout point where we got to pull over and take photographs. It was soooo beautiful.

We pulled into Maracas Bay and were immediately overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the place. Sandy beaches, ocean for miles, palm trees, and mountains!! All in one place!

We had lunch at one of the many stands, and I believe all of us (or at least a large # of us) got the Bake & Shark. Yep, you read that right, shark! Its the other, other, other white meat! And delicious too, by the way.

We had lots of fun swimming in the ocean and trying to ride the waves. I caught my fair share and was also totally demolished by a few as well. All kinds of fun. I also bought a few souvenirs from some local Trinis selling jewelry and handmade leather bags that were in the shape of coconuts.

We stopped at the mall by way of Port-of-Spain (which also has some majestic views of its own) so we could do a little shopping and eat dinner. Because we'd spent all day at the beach, many of us were quite sunburned, myself included. Apparently being so close to the equator pretty much renders even 70 SPF useless to a fair-skinned gal like me. I'm a lobster! One of the locals asked if all Americans were pink like us! Haha!!

We had a wonderful time relaxing and seeing God's beautiful creation. And I've decided that it is necessary for my soul that I visit the ocean at least once a year.

Worship & Intercession

We're not just here to go door-to-door, while half of our team is out on the streets, the other half is worshiping and interceding for them in prayer. This was our job on Tuesday evening. We spent four hours in prayer and song to the Lord, and it was glorious! When the outreach team arrived back at the hotel, we had a time of testimony. Several of the encounters that our outreach team had - we had prayed for specifically. Often using the exact words and phrases!! I was completely amazed, but God is faithful, so it shouldn't surprise me! He gave us those words and phrases to pray for, because He knew that our brothers and sisters would need encouragement and God's covering over them as they shared the Gospel in Trinidad.

Oh one more thing, I totally want a djembe. That's going on my Christmas list!

Outreach, the 1st and 2nd

On Sunday we woke up bright and early and headed back to the church we helped on Saturday. Our specific team was asked to lead worship for their first service, which started at 6:45. In the morning. Whaaaaa? We made the 40-minute trek to the church and they were already praying and singing when we got there. The energy was amazing, the Spirit was really moving. I am so grateful to have experienced it firsthand!

After church, we picked up another team and got back to the hotel and were able to rest for awhile. After lunch we trained with Every Home for Christ (EHC) and then headed to our assigned churches to do door-to-door evangelism. We had one local on our team, Davica. Initially she had us do all the talking, but by the end she was really taking the role (which is the idea!).

One family we encountered was really a special one for me. I felt led to one woman in particular, and when we asked if she needed prayer for anything, she told us that her husband had died 9 days ago. She invited us to come in and sit, bringing out chairs for each of us. Most of the homes here are built either on stilts or above a carport/garage area, so the locals can often be found hanging out downstairs, outside. After we sat down, my hands started to feel warm and I really felt the Holy Spirit telling me to lay hands on her and pray for comfort. I was a bit hesitant, because you can't just put your hands on a total stranger and pray for them! Or can you? I politely asked if it would be OK, and she was quite wary at first. She even left for a few minutes and I was afraid I'd scared her away. She returned, however, with another family member and then we prayed. I was able to pray peace and comfort and love into Homa's (coincidence? no way!) life and I truly believe that God will do amazing things in her home. Which, by the way, had Hindu gods outside and one of the men had a Muslim tattoo. Go God go!!

We had several other encounters with the Trinidad people that night, and I can feel God moving in this place!

We had supper at the pastor's home, and we're finally able to have the famous 'doubles' we'd been hearing about since we got here. They were delicious! We also had potato pies and Busta sodas to drink. Authentically Trinidad!

Today, Monday the 25th, we spent the morning in worship and prayer. We also shared testimonies of what God did the night before, and I was absolutely amazed at the things God is doing here. This afternoon we drove to our team's church and got to go out door-to-door again with the locals. We were able to pray for several people and their families. On the bus ride home we sang old hymns and it was wonderful. That's how I imagine Heaven will be!

I'm here!!

We made it to Trinidad last night around 11:30 local time. It was a long day of traveling, starting with a 3 hour drive to DFW at 6:30am. Because we got in so late we didn't get a chance to really see the island.

Today, however, we've seen a lot! We drove to a church about 40 miles away and helped them pass out the Every Home for Christ information. We'll be going back tonight for some training.

For more info and photos, check out mission-Trinidad.blogspot.com!