This will be the last post from me on the blog. We made it home safely at 1:30 am on Sunday morning. All flights went well until the last one from Atlanta to Pittsburgh. We were delayed quite a while there. Sara reminded me that our delay in Atlanta was "nothing compared to what we did last weekend." She was right.
It was so good to be back in our country. As much as we enjoyed our time in St. Vincent, those American flags were beautiful! This is the first time I have experienced the feeling of coming home to America. It is a great feeling!
Thank you so much for all your prayers and encouragement along the way. We fell in love with the ministry going on in St. Vincent and God's people who work so hard day after day to serve Him there. It is definitely not easy for the missionaries and Pastors there, but His hand is on everything. It was an experience that we will NEVER forget! I am still trying to "wrap my mind around" what God did and why He chose us for this trip. But I may never be able to do that here on earth. I know He will continue to use what He taught me there as I press on in the ministries He has entrusted me with here. Again, thank you to all who had a part in sharing this with us.
To God be the Glory!
Susan
Monday, June 20, 2011
Made it home!
This will be the last post from me on the blog. We made it home safely at 1:30 am on Sunday morning. All flights went well until the last one from Atlanta to Pittsburgh. We were delayed quite a while there. Sara reminded me that our delay in Atlanta was "nothing compared to what we did last weekend." She was right.
It was so good to be back in our country. As much as we enjoyed our time in St. Vincent, those American flags were beautiful! This is the first time I have experienced the feeling of coming home to America. It is a great feeling!
Thank you so much for all your prayers and encouragement along the way. We fell in love with the ministry going on in St. Vincent and God's people who work so hard day after day to serve Him there. It is definitely not easy for the missionaries and Pastors there, but His hand is on everything. It was an experience that we will NEVER forget! I am still trying to "wrap my mind around" what God did and why He chose us for this trip. But I may never be able to do that here on earth. I know He will continue to use what He taught me there as I press on in the ministries He has entrusted me with here. Again, thank you to all who had a part in sharing this with us.
To God be the Glory!
Susan
It was so good to be back in our country. As much as we enjoyed our time in St. Vincent, those American flags were beautiful! This is the first time I have experienced the feeling of coming home to America. It is a great feeling!
Thank you so much for all your prayers and encouragement along the way. We fell in love with the ministry going on in St. Vincent and God's people who work so hard day after day to serve Him there. It is definitely not easy for the missionaries and Pastors there, but His hand is on everything. It was an experience that we will NEVER forget! I am still trying to "wrap my mind around" what God did and why He chose us for this trip. But I may never be able to do that here on earth. I know He will continue to use what He taught me there as I press on in the ministries He has entrusted me with here. Again, thank you to all who had a part in sharing this with us.
To God be the Glory!
Susan
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Iowa Update
We are at the end of the working portion of our week. We have painted indoors & out, landscaped, moved rocks, cleaned, filled parking lot cracks, and hung doors. We are tired and sore, a little sunburned and finding tar & paint in the strangest places. But, we are filled with peace and a deep gratefulness that God led us here to Iowa in spite of our best laid plans. We ended the day swimming in a 10-acre private lake, and JR & Bret even got to fish! Then, Pastor John Janke & his family hosted us for amazing hamburgers & hotdogs & birthday cake for Jeff! We keep teasing Jeff that he keeps planning missions trips around his birthday so he can have a big party. :)
Tomorrow, we are looking forward to a day of sightseeing in Des Moines, and then packing up to head home on Saturday. What a week - all we can say is "To God be the Glory, great things He has done!"
-Michelle
Tomorrow, we are looking forward to a day of sightseeing in Des Moines, and then packing up to head home on Saturday. What a week - all we can say is "To God be the Glory, great things He has done!"
-Michelle
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Wednesday in St. Vincent
Well this morning we were trying our hardest to finish up the jobs that we have been working on so that we can see some of the sights of the Carribean. I am not sure if we succeeded though.... I had a great time though, painting with Ken while we listened to a few Louis L'amore books.
In the afternoon Ken, Dawn,Charity, Matt, and I went into Kingstown to do the public school Bible club. It was quite an experience! We all piled into one of the public busses, which is a van smaller than our church van that they cram at least 20 people into.... But the club went great! Some of the kids heard the Gospel for possibly the first time.
This evening my group went to Fellowship Baptist Church where Ken preached a fantastic message from Philipians 1. We had a chance to pray in groups with people from the church and it was awesome!
thank you for all of your prayers!
Caleb
In the afternoon Ken, Dawn,Charity, Matt, and I went into Kingstown to do the public school Bible club. It was quite an experience! We all piled into one of the public busses, which is a van smaller than our church van that they cram at least 20 people into.... But the club went great! Some of the kids heard the Gospel for possibly the first time.
This evening my group went to Fellowship Baptist Church where Ken preached a fantastic message from Philipians 1. We had a chance to pray in groups with people from the church and it was awesome!
thank you for all of your prayers!
Caleb
I had the privilege of going to the public school to do the Bible club today. To get there, we had to ride a bus into Kingstown and then walk further. The busses down here are actually vans that they somehow manage to squeeze 20 people into. That was interesting. Today, we had to be at the school an hour early to do a club with 5th and 6th graders. These kids were very crazy and didn't listen very well. During one of the games, a boy saw a girl that wasn't playing it correctly, and he jumped up screaming "She cheated! She cheated!" After that, a riot broke out. Boys were screaming at girls, and girls were screaming at guys. But even through the chaos, Dawn and I both had he opportunity to share the Gospel with our group of kids. Almost every single one said that they went to church but my guess is that only a few of them truly know Christ as their Savior. I pray that the unsaved ones heard the Gospel today and will come to know Jesus.
During the actual Bible club, I had another chance to present the Gospel to the kids. This week we have been teaching the kids verses from the Romans Road. This makes the gospel very clear and easy to present. Many of the kids already knew the verse and were jumping up and down at the chance to recite it. It is very encouraging that so many people down here love God and are trying to serve Him. I am also amazed that the public school is allowed to run a Bible club. In our country, the name of God is hardly allowed to be spoken in a public place. Here, the whole class prayed before they were dismissed from school.
Tonight, Ken, Dawn, Caleb and I went to Fellowship Baptist Church, which is right up the road from the college. Ken preaches on Philippians 1 which talks about how Paul was so passionate about preaching God's Word that he would die for it. I was convicted that even though I am on a mission trip right now, I am not anywhere close to being as passionate and bold about preaching the Gospel as I should be. Please pray that God will give ALL of us the boldness and passion for the Gospel that we should have.
During the actual Bible club, I had another chance to present the Gospel to the kids. This week we have been teaching the kids verses from the Romans Road. This makes the gospel very clear and easy to present. Many of the kids already knew the verse and were jumping up and down at the chance to recite it. It is very encouraging that so many people down here love God and are trying to serve Him. I am also amazed that the public school is allowed to run a Bible club. In our country, the name of God is hardly allowed to be spoken in a public place. Here, the whole class prayed before they were dismissed from school.
Tonight, Ken, Dawn, Caleb and I went to Fellowship Baptist Church, which is right up the road from the college. Ken preaches on Philippians 1 which talks about how Paul was so passionate about preaching God's Word that he would die for it. I was convicted that even though I am on a mission trip right now, I am not anywhere close to being as passionate and bold about preaching the Gospel as I should be. Please pray that God will give ALL of us the boldness and passion for the Gospel that we should have.
Matt
Half way through...
It is early Wednesday morning and I am getting ready to begin our 4th day on the island. I realized as I woke this morning that there are only 2 more days left after today. The week is quickly slipping away. It is hard to believe all that has happened this week. It is hard to think that we have to leave this beautiful place. I have to say, I am getting a bit homesick at the same time. But, there is so much work to be done here! The missionaries who live and work here are precious people. They stay day after day, week after week working to serve and love the people here. Pastor and Mrs. Bonadie, the Pastor of Choppins Fundamental Baptist Church where we have been doing a Bible club, have been bringing us back to the College every evening after club is over. They are a wonderful couple in their 60's and they have worked all their lives in this community. As we drove the one lane, "pot holed" road, I noticed that as we passed the homes Pastor would honk the horn and one of them would "shout out" a greeting to the people who lived there. This happened whether someone was standing outside or whether there was no one to be seen. They never would pass by a person walking on the road with out a greeting as well. I am guessing that most everyone in the community has somehow been touched by this sweet Pastor and his wife at some point. They just love the people and can't even pass by thier home without saying hello.
Yesterday Jeff and Josh traveled to the the city with Ken and Dawn for the public school club. Josh had made this trip before when he was here, but it was Jeff's first experience. They kept talking about the "bus" and how crowded and uncomfortable it would be. In my American mind, a picture of a public transportation bus popped up. But, not here. Jeff said it was a 15 passenger (at the most) VAN and there were 20 people packed into it. There was quite abit of walking involved in the trip, he was guessing at least 2 1/2 - 3 miles all in all. I'm not going to go there because of the walking, but today 2 of the other kids will go so that they can experience it and see what God is doing there through the Christians who teach and work in the schools on this Island. It will be a great day!
Today, please pray specifically for the 2 clubs, for Jeff and Ken as they preach at 2 different Wednesday services this evening, and for continued strength, physically and spiritually, for all of us. My body is beginning to feel and show signs of the heat. Love to you all! We appreciate your prayers and encouragement!
Susan
Yesterday Jeff and Josh traveled to the the city with Ken and Dawn for the public school club. Josh had made this trip before when he was here, but it was Jeff's first experience. They kept talking about the "bus" and how crowded and uncomfortable it would be. In my American mind, a picture of a public transportation bus popped up. But, not here. Jeff said it was a 15 passenger (at the most) VAN and there were 20 people packed into it. There was quite abit of walking involved in the trip, he was guessing at least 2 1/2 - 3 miles all in all. I'm not going to go there because of the walking, but today 2 of the other kids will go so that they can experience it and see what God is doing there through the Christians who teach and work in the schools on this Island. It will be a great day!
Today, please pray specifically for the 2 clubs, for Jeff and Ken as they preach at 2 different Wednesday services this evening, and for continued strength, physically and spiritually, for all of us. My body is beginning to feel and show signs of the heat. Love to you all! We appreciate your prayers and encouragement!
Susan
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
It's a jungle out here...
9:30 PM. It was completely dark outside. The breeze coming off the ocean was the most refreshing thing they had ever felt in their lives. The crickets and frogs were soothing them with their sweet evening songs. They all could hear the waves crashing on the shore down below them. It was the perfect night.
"Well, guys, I am going to head to bed." Ken announced as he began the short journey down the grass covered hill.
"Yeah, me too. Goodnight!" Dawn echoed as she also strolled to her room.
The Cumberland family continued to sit in the still night for a few moments. Soon, Caleb decided that he would also head in and do some catching up on the computer.
"Sara, could you get the charger out of your room for me?"
Sara turned her head to see that Caleb had walked back, with the computer in hand, to ask this simple request.
"Yep. Let me go get it for you." She replied.
The two teenagers walked towards the girl's dorm room together, until Caleb stopped a safe distance away. Sara continued to enter the room when she heard Dawn's casual, soft words.
"There's a spider, but I cannot reach it." She simply said.
"No big deal", Sara thought, "I am a little taller than Dawn, I can smoosh this thing easily." She was always the girl that laughed at other girls who were afraid of bugs. Spiders were not her favorite, but she was not extremely afraid to kill them for other girls. She thought of herself as "The Bug Hero" when it came to girls in America.
She walked into the bathroom, and turned to the left to help Dawn out, when something black the size of her thumb came into her sight on the wall.
"Oh, there's a huge cockroach, too!" Sara exclaimed as she continued turning to where Dawn was intently gazing at.
"Oh my goodness. Ummm, let me go get Caleb really quick..." Sara said as she gingerly walked backwards. She soon began to jog briskly as she was yelling throw the screen windows.
"Caleb! We really need your help!" She called out.
"Why?" He impatiently replied as he slowly walked toward her.
"HURRY! There is a massive spider that we need you to kill!" Sara explained, trying to be as calm as possible.
He grunted, but walked in to come to the rescue.
"Oh, and there is a roach, too..." Sara told him once they were in the room with Dawn.
Being extremely wise, Caleb went for the murder of the monster spider first.
"Here is my flip-flop." Sara offered as she handed it to him.
"That thing is too big for a flip-flop!" He replied as he slowly grabbed his shoe, not wanting to frighten the horrid creature. He gently reached up to whack the day lights out of this thing as he quietly said, "I hope I get it...these things are really fast..."
"WHAM!!" was the sound the trio heard as the first attack was launched. But, the spider had not lost. He scrambled his long, fuzzy legs across the wall and hid himself in the sanctuary of a corner that only Goliath could have reached. The entire time, Sara was losing her composure. She was squealing and running quickly away from the spider, but she was still close enough to be apart of the action. Meanwhile, Dawn is laughing hysterically...almost to the point of her being doubled over in laughter.
"What are you going to do???" Sara asked in a very concerned, very high-pitched voice.
"I can't reach it!" He replied as he walked towards the massive cockroach. Once again, he slowly raised the shoe to the destination.
"WHAM!" they all heard again. The crunchy creature fell to the ground, miraculously rolled over and began to scramble away. Have no fear, Caleb used his incredible stomping technique to finish the giant off. Still squealing and doing a little dance with her feet, Sara moved to the door and hollered to Matt.
"Hey, Matt! We need your awesome flip-flop-flinging-skills!" She announced trying to make the request as intriguing as possible.
"Oh, you mean my flippin-flip-flop skills?" He replied.
"Yes. We need your 'flippin-flip-flop skills..." She answered as he made his way towards the dorm. She lead him to the spot of the angered monster in the corner.
"Yeah, we need you to help us kill this spider..." She explained to Matt.
"Yeah right. I can't reach that thing! You are just going to have to leave it for the night." Matt impatiently told the girls.
"OH NO. You ARE going to kill that thing tonight because I sleep on the TOP bunk RIGHT BESIDE it!!!" Sara commanded as only a sister could do.
"Fine..." He reluctantly mumbled as the two boys examined the situation and how they could take care of it. "I need a flip-flop, but I don't think I will be able to get it." Matt finally said.
"Wait! I know what to do!" Sara excitedly exclaimed as she grabbed a can of bug spray that Mr. Edward had given them earlier. She handed it to Caleb and stepped back toward Dawn. Now, Dawn was still laughing at that point.
Caleb unloaded what seemed like half the can of bug repellent on the spider. It was furious. It scrambled back to it's starting point, ready for battle. A battle was what it recieved. Caleb sprayed it again, and everyone thought that they had won when it fell onto the countertop. bBut, they were mistaken. The monstrous spider began to sqirm and get up. More spray. more squeals. more laughter. They thought for SURE it was dead by now! They were once again mistaken. It began to crawl toward them when Matt whipped a flip-flop around, and beat the monster until it's body was in three pieces. Humans: 2, Monster Bugs: 0.
It is finished was our cry.
-Sara-
"Well, guys, I am going to head to bed." Ken announced as he began the short journey down the grass covered hill.
"Yeah, me too. Goodnight!" Dawn echoed as she also strolled to her room.
The Cumberland family continued to sit in the still night for a few moments. Soon, Caleb decided that he would also head in and do some catching up on the computer.
"Sara, could you get the charger out of your room for me?"
Sara turned her head to see that Caleb had walked back, with the computer in hand, to ask this simple request.
"Yep. Let me go get it for you." She replied.
The two teenagers walked towards the girl's dorm room together, until Caleb stopped a safe distance away. Sara continued to enter the room when she heard Dawn's casual, soft words.
"There's a spider, but I cannot reach it." She simply said.
"No big deal", Sara thought, "I am a little taller than Dawn, I can smoosh this thing easily." She was always the girl that laughed at other girls who were afraid of bugs. Spiders were not her favorite, but she was not extremely afraid to kill them for other girls. She thought of herself as "The Bug Hero" when it came to girls in America.
She walked into the bathroom, and turned to the left to help Dawn out, when something black the size of her thumb came into her sight on the wall.
"Oh, there's a huge cockroach, too!" Sara exclaimed as she continued turning to where Dawn was intently gazing at.
"Oh my goodness. Ummm, let me go get Caleb really quick..." Sara said as she gingerly walked backwards. She soon began to jog briskly as she was yelling throw the screen windows.
"Caleb! We really need your help!" She called out.
"Why?" He impatiently replied as he slowly walked toward her.
"HURRY! There is a massive spider that we need you to kill!" Sara explained, trying to be as calm as possible.
He grunted, but walked in to come to the rescue.
"Oh, and there is a roach, too..." Sara told him once they were in the room with Dawn.
Being extremely wise, Caleb went for the murder of the monster spider first.
"Here is my flip-flop." Sara offered as she handed it to him.
"That thing is too big for a flip-flop!" He replied as he slowly grabbed his shoe, not wanting to frighten the horrid creature. He gently reached up to whack the day lights out of this thing as he quietly said, "I hope I get it...these things are really fast..."
"WHAM!!" was the sound the trio heard as the first attack was launched. But, the spider had not lost. He scrambled his long, fuzzy legs across the wall and hid himself in the sanctuary of a corner that only Goliath could have reached. The entire time, Sara was losing her composure. She was squealing and running quickly away from the spider, but she was still close enough to be apart of the action. Meanwhile, Dawn is laughing hysterically...almost to the point of her being doubled over in laughter.
"What are you going to do???" Sara asked in a very concerned, very high-pitched voice.
"I can't reach it!" He replied as he walked towards the massive cockroach. Once again, he slowly raised the shoe to the destination.
"WHAM!" they all heard again. The crunchy creature fell to the ground, miraculously rolled over and began to scramble away. Have no fear, Caleb used his incredible stomping technique to finish the giant off. Still squealing and doing a little dance with her feet, Sara moved to the door and hollered to Matt.
"Hey, Matt! We need your awesome flip-flop-flinging-skills!" She announced trying to make the request as intriguing as possible.
"Oh, you mean my flippin-flip-flop skills?" He replied.
"Yes. We need your 'flippin-flip-flop skills..." She answered as he made his way towards the dorm. She lead him to the spot of the angered monster in the corner.
"Yeah, we need you to help us kill this spider..." She explained to Matt.
"Yeah right. I can't reach that thing! You are just going to have to leave it for the night." Matt impatiently told the girls.
"OH NO. You ARE going to kill that thing tonight because I sleep on the TOP bunk RIGHT BESIDE it!!!" Sara commanded as only a sister could do.
"Fine..." He reluctantly mumbled as the two boys examined the situation and how they could take care of it. "I need a flip-flop, but I don't think I will be able to get it." Matt finally said.
"Wait! I know what to do!" Sara excitedly exclaimed as she grabbed a can of bug spray that Mr. Edward had given them earlier. She handed it to Caleb and stepped back toward Dawn. Now, Dawn was still laughing at that point.
Caleb unloaded what seemed like half the can of bug repellent on the spider. It was furious. It scrambled back to it's starting point, ready for battle. A battle was what it recieved. Caleb sprayed it again, and everyone thought that they had won when it fell onto the countertop. bBut, they were mistaken. The monstrous spider began to sqirm and get up. More spray. more squeals. more laughter. They thought for SURE it was dead by now! They were once again mistaken. It began to crawl toward them when Matt whipped a flip-flop around, and beat the monster until it's body was in three pieces. Humans: 2, Monster Bugs: 0.
It is finished was our cry.
-Sara-
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