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Mission Trip Reports Trip Reports Home
Jamaica, Caribbean
Youth Group
| Trip Dates: | 7/4/2009 to 7/13/2009 |
| Age Group: | Senior high school students |
| Status: | Completed |
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| Reports for Jamaica Trip |
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Maple Ridge Youth Update
5
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7/10/2009
By: Todd Dinius, Youth Pastor
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Maple Ridge Community Church- West Lafayette, IN
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The following are updates from the team on Friday night.
Todd – Thank you so much for your prayers. God is moving in very significant ways both within and through the youth. Some of the youth are being impacted by it in significant ways, though others of them are blind to it. Pray for eyes to see and hearts willing to respond and surrender.
Pray particularly for two of the youth who do not know Christ personally – one who this week is deeply aware of God’s love and pursuit and the other who is still quite hardened – may both be given the grace to surrender their lives to Him. Pray for many of the others that they would not keep looking for something miraculous to occur, but rather that they would truly encounter Jesus in the daily life of serving and extending His kingdom through their faithful seeking and following.
Nate M – Since Monday I have seen God work in amazing ways that I would’ve never thought imaginable. This has really been a great week.
Kevin – The other day we got to do VBS with the kids from around the community. We had 50 or 60 kids there and it was a lot of fun and one of the most tiring experiences ever.
Braden – Hey, it is still really hot here. Things are going well. I’m looking forward to getting back.
Alec – This trip is really fun. We have done a lot since the last time we wrote, so I can’t name them all. But I’ll tell you all everything about it when we get back.
Paul – We got to watch people play cricket. I gave people bags of flour today at the homeless shelter. I’m looking forward to going to the market tomorrow. Pray for God to be with us.
Laura – This week is different than I expected, but I’m learning that that’s okay. Also, now I’m 18!
Claire – I’ve learned a lot of things this week and it’s very different than what I thought it would be. I am looking forward to coming home and I MISS AMERICAN FOOD!
Jordan – It’s been a good week so far and hopefully there is still more to come. So far my group has been able to paint rooms, prayer walk, and do an Ask The Lord time in which we were able to listen to God, who led us to go worship at a park. Continue to pray for our safety and for us to know more what God wants us to do.
Briton – Hey Mom. I’m doing great. God is still working and moving which is great. Our trip has done amazing things for me and the rest of the group.
Nathan K – I’ve been helping out with leading worship because our worship leader failed to show up. We could feel God’s presence a few nights ago and it was really cool.
Joelle – I’m learning to seek God and find Him in the little things rather than always expecting big things. He is always good. Love to all!
Emily – This trip has been interesting. It is not what I expected, but it is still good. And I really like Jamaican people.
Jen – God is at work in our hearts and still has some things to do before we come home. Yet, I do look forward to getting home.
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Chicken Beheadings and Wedding Proposals
4
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7/8/2009
By: Emma Barker/ Annie Rutherford, Students
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Immanuel Bible ChurchVirginia
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Chicken Beheadings and Wedding Proposals
By Emma Barker and Annie Rutherford
Today, we started with some AWESOME peanut butter and jelly on AMAZING Jamaican bread and finished it off with SPLENDIFEROUS tambourine juice (which kind of tasted like pineapple).
We then set off on our prayer walk around Kingston. We were greeted in the streets by some, while other just stared at our hair…blonde is very uncommon! We waved to our friend Dave. Well, actually his name is Alexander Blackwell, but his friends call him Dave, who knows why!
We walked around the neighborhoods and met people and prayed with some who needed some guidance. We walked around for about three hours and when we returned, we again ate our TERRIFIC pb&j.
Now for the unusual….Chicken Death Sentences!
We set off to the back off the compound where the chickens (our dinner) were kept in coups. A wire was hanging in the middle of the yard with little nooses hanging from them! The men there, one of whom is my (Emma’s) “fiancé” (He said that I could marry him so I could live in Jamaica…but don’t worry Mom and Dad, I didn’t accept!) and about seven other guys from our team had to chase the chickens and hang them from their feet. The chickens then proceeded to squawk until they were silenced… I won’t go into the details, but I think you get the picture!
After that once in a lifetime experience, we then split up into our groups. Our group went to begin our ATL (Ask The Lord). We asked God to show us what He wanted us to do for our ministry today. God worked in amazing ways, more than anything that we could have imagined. Just as much as we ministered to others, they ministered to us.
Our group was in charge of VBS yesterday, which was great. We had Luke, a boy who lives here on the compound teach us some Jamaican songs that the children would know. We sang with them, played games and put on a Daniel and the Lions Den skit. We also had face painting for them to look like lions. It was so much fun hanging out with the kids and giving them the attention and love that they so desperately craved.
This trip has surely been tiring, but when we felt exhausted, it gave us such joy to see the happiness in the kids’ faces and how much they appreciated the time that we spent with them.
Overall, these past couple of days here in Kingston, Jamaica have been AMAZING! We have had such a wonderful time getting to know the kids here, the people in community, and the other members of the teams from Indiana and Canada. We can’t wait to see what God has in store for us the next seven days!
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Hello VA!
3
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7/8/2009
By: Alyssa Girkins, Student
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Immanuel Bible ChurchVirginia
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Hello VA!!!! :D
Hello Immanuel, parents, siblings, and friends. it’s ALYSSA GIRKINS!! It is HOT here in Jamaica but we love our time spent here. We have done so many things and I don’t even know where to begin. Our team is well we all our enjoying ourselves to the fullest. Lol I have been doing with my team A LOT of painting and I am right now covered head to toe, but who cares it was all to help someone else out. I’m also covered in 32 bug bites. 2 of them from spiders and the rest are ants and mosquitoes. :D Fun, right? Lol well yesterday my team (team A- me, mr. Fowler, Christi, Katrina, Lauren, Jessica, Carter, James, and Austin) went on a prayer walk and an ATL (ask the lord) the prayer walk was awesome!! We met some really nice people who openly let us into their home to pray and speak to them. We even had one man pray the prayer with us. One of nicest people I met though on the walk was a man called mr. Brown who is 94 years old. He is deaf in one ear and is also blind. As we were invited in we came to know that the whole house was filled with big believers in Christ. The one man I really talked to though, mr. Brown, really got to me. He told us of his wife and how much he loved her and missed her. He told us of his sister who lived to be 104. He told us of times when God came into his dreams and pushed him to keep moving in life. He was so blessed to have us there and even though he said that I felt more blessed to have met him and heard his story. I got to pray with him at the end and just spend some time praying he will keep living strongly with Christ. Then later on in the day we got to pray and ask God what he wanted us to do. How He wanted us to spend our time. We all made a list of things that God showed us in our prayer and then just left. We ended us walking the streets of the slums. An area called the Gully and the Guls. It is the poorest areas of Jamaica. There we walked, prayed and talked with people we met. All we had to do was keep our eyes open for things we were shown when praying. Like for example I saw a bridge and that’s how we started our walk by finding the bridge. Also, Lauren saw an old lady sitting in a shack with a sad look. As we were walking Lauren just stopped and said, “That’s her! That’s the lady I saw in my prayers!” Through out the whole walk we saw God in everything. It was nerve racking at first but I am glad we went. Monday we had done our VBS and being the first to go we didn’t know exactly how to go about it. Lol In the end though, it all turned out all right and we had fun playing with all the little kids. :D well I need to pass the computer on but hopefully ill be able to write again soon. :D see you all when we get back.
In Him from Jamaica,
Alyssa Girkins
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Maple Ridge Youth Update
2
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7/7/2009
By: Todd Dinius, Youth Pastor
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Maple Ridge Community Church- West Lafayette, IN
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Following are individual updates from the Maple Ridge youth team.
Todd - Sorry that we haven't been able to submit an update until now, as the internet connection here has been down since we got here. We arrived safely on Saturday with no problems with our flights. Everyone is doing well. The weather is hot, but not too bad and actually makes the cold showers refreshing.
There are two other church groups here and the youth have done a great job getting to know and mixing in with the other youth. And they are doing an awesome job in living, serving, and ministering together. We are staying at a Salvation Army base site in Kingston that contains a school for the blind, a home for elderly, a home for foster children, and other residences owned and associated with the Salvation Army. Most of our service and ministry will be here at this base.
Thank you for your prayers. God’s Spirit is present and many of the youth are hearing and responding to His voice. The worship leader from AIM was unable to join us this week as he didn’t realize until he showed up at the airport last week that his passport had expired. However I believe that this was part of God’s plan, as both Briton and Nathan, along with one youth from another church, have stepped up to lead worship for the entire group each evening. It is a great experience for them and they are doing an awesome job.
The following updates were gathered from the youth on Monday evening.
Kevin – It is really hot here. But it’s also lots of fun. Today we got to put up mosquito netting and also we got to visit a group of elderly people. I believe we were a nice blessing to them.
Nathan K – I’ve been here 3 days, broken 2 strings already and none of them are on my guitar. There are 2 other Nathans here.
Nate M – Today I had the job of being a stripper of floors. Also God has really been working on my heart to trust Him more with my whole life and to put my future in His hands.
Claire – Today was a day of hard labor. Stripping floors and painting for 6 hours wore me out! But worship tonight was awesome! We sang for at least an hour in an open room, singing over the rain. I really feel God is here. P.S. Happy early Birthday Daddy!
Laura – It’s been a good week so far – full of stripping floors, intense chicken fights in the pool, cold showers, and good times with God. I’m excited to see what God has in store for us this week. P.S. Hi Mike!
Joelle – I’ve never come so close to killing an animal before, as I’ve almost strangled the roosters that wake me up every morning. Keep praying that I will encounter God, as so far nothing truly life-altering has occurred.
Briton – Hello, today was our first hard day of work. It was very tiring but God showed up though and I am so wrapped up in so many emotions. God is at work and is definitely up to something good.
Paul – Yesterday we went to a Salvation Army church service that was over 3 hours long. It was very exciting.
Jordan – Today was a good day. My group first went to a home for the elderly and we helped them take a walk and give them water. My group also sang songs and read the Bible to them. I also helped the person in charge of the house by typing out documents that she needed typed. Our group also put up mosquito netting for the windows. Continue to pray for our safety here in Jamaica.
Braden – It’s really hot here. Today we went to an elderly home and it was great to bless them, and to see their faces. I’m doing fine and the food is decent. P.S. Tell Chris I said hi.
Alec – It was really hot today, but it was still a great day. My group’s job today was stripping floors and painting. It took some time but the room looks great now.
Emily – It is very hot and I was feeling sick from it and had to step outside during the very long church service yesterday, but the Jamaican people were so caring towards me and literally about a third of the church came outside to help me however they could. They are so very sweet! We are spending 7 hours at a homeless shelter tomorrow, so please pray for that!
Jen – I learned that the heat can be hard to take during the 3 hour church service, but there was a good message. Time with the youth has been great. Pray for continued connection with each other and God.
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More Than Alive
1
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7/7/2009
By: Melissa Ehrhardt, Project Leader
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Pathways Community Church- Largo, FL
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More Than Alive
I have been trying to get on the Internet for over 3 days now but Jamaica is a third world country and Internet isn’t the greatest! I want you to know that all the teams arrived safely without losing any people OR luggage. At this point though, I want you to know that your loved ones are more than just alive. God is alive in them! As you probably know, there are three different churches that have formed this team here in Jamaica and it has been so sweet to see the unity that has been formed between everyone. Here, we are not three separate churches but one body of Christ! I have been so encouraged watching them minister to the locals here as well as serving each other. I have seen Christ in them in their joy and passion. I have seen Christ in them in the way they tackle ANY project. I have seen Christ in them as they hunger to know more of Him and glorify Him in everything that is said and done. We still have a whole week left of this project and yet it seems as if so much has already been accomplished.
Thank you for supporting the team here, either through financial help or through prayers. Honestly, without you, this trip would not be possible. Please continue to pray for us as we attempt to bring glory to Christ serving Him in Jamaica. Pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen us with power through His Spirit in our inner beings so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith (Eph.3: 16-17).
It is an honor and a privilege to be here leading this team. I am here attempting to minister to them and hopefully guide them into a deeper intimacy with the Lord but I am being ministered to more than I could possibly minister. Praise God for the way He moves! Praise God because He alone is worthy!
In Christ,
Melissa Ehrhardt
AIM Project Leader
* I do have a cell phone down here if you NEED to reach someone. The number is 1-876-889-7253. Remember we are one hour behind!
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The Art of Listening Prayer - by Seth Barnes
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This interactive devotional is for the person who isn't satisfied with a dry faith. If you're dying to hear God's voice, the good news is that you can! Jesus is the door, and He has opened it up to you.
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The Art of Listening Prayer |
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