Saturday afternoon, we landed at Dulles happy
to be safely home, sad to have left Trinidad, tired, and completely
satisfied. God is good!
Our goal, like our first trip two years ago, was to leave
the local ministry, Trinidad and Tobago Urban Ministries (TTUM), stronger than
when we arrived. Only God knows the full
impact of our visit, but from our perspective, it was accomplished. Not only was each visit (2013 and 2015) fruitful,
but one built on the other, continuing to build up TTUM and the local town of
Kernaham. It boils down to relationships
– with TTUM, the people of Kernaham, our team, family units, and our response
as individuals.
TTUM (including the Faith and Fellowship Bible Church on
their compound) relies on the Word of God and has a similar missions
perspective to IBC. They have an active
ministry to build believers through bible teaching and hosting retreats and conferences.
We were struck by how quickly we became attached to Pastor Bachew and our
fellow believers in Trinidad. Any cultural
differences fade to insignificance in the light of our shared love for Christ
and those who do not yet know Him. We
traveled to participate in their outreach ministry, which actively plants
churches around Trinidad and seeks to build up the communities nearby. This year, we were blessed to learn upon
arrival that we would be serving in the same community as in 2013.
Kernaham Trace is a special village to us. TTUM sends a bus every Sunday to pick up
villagers for church. Clearly God has
been continuing to work in Kernaham since our 2013 trip and our timing to
return was completely in His hands! We
almost doubled the number of kids in bible club Mon – Thu mornings (over 70
total) and saw almost a dozen people make commitments to Christ by the end of
the week, which included three evening evangelical tent meetings. We saw children from our last visit who are
hungry for God. We are confident in
TTUM’s long term commitment to the village through the prayers, personal
interaction, and of course their weekly bus!
Our Team Trinidad was particularly special, with about half
the team returning from 2013. We brought 33 people, ages 8 to 64, families and
singles, musicians, dancers, actors, photographers, a magician, a yoyo-er (I think
I made up a new word), and a backwards speller—from a variety of backgrounds! With such a diverse group, the team worked
seamlessly, providing music, testimonies, skits, and other talents to share the
gospel in Kernaham as well as in two orphanages, a boys home, and an elderly
home. This year, we added a group that
also provided construction help around the compound. Our kids did a lot more than just play with
the local kids at bible club. They
worked hard all week, whether sharing the gospel or shoveling concrete. By the end of the Wed night crusade, the team
was pretty tired, so we shifted Thursday’s afternoon schedule to provide
options to rest, visit an orphanage, or do construction. The standard response was, “send me where I’m
needed most”—even the kids. God blessed
their faithfulness and no one was too tired for the final crusade Thu night!
The entire team was wonderful, but of course a few people
did some particularly amazing planning and ministry that I (Lisa) can’t help
but call out. Many thanks to Andrea C.,
who organized the entire bible club and ensured we had 300 bibles to donate to
Kernaham and TTUM. Marsha and Gretchen
served on a leadership team to help with planning, team shirts, and organizing
special talents. Ariel did...well...just
about anything we needed! And Clint’s
leadership, both strategically and spiritually kept us all focused on God’s
tasks.
The week was not without some challenges, such as Neal’s
late night visit to the Emergency Room and Morgan’s sickness, but both are
healthy and were back to ministering quickly!
On the other hand, we did have a chance to visit a beach and had a
surprise performance by steel pan artist Isreal. What a treat to relax with our team—no, our
family!
On a personal note, I (Lisa) brought Daniel (age 10) again
and was particularly blessed to have Dave join us this year as well. I (Dave) can now understand the impact that
the 2013 trip had on Lisa and Daniel – the joy of serving with our IBC family
and our TTUM family and the joy of seeing what God is doing is indescribable
and leaves us forever changed.
While this specific trip is over, I (Dave) don’t really see
anything as ending; there is so much to think and pray about moving
forward. How can I bring the boldness
that I had for sharing Christ in Trinidad to Virginia? (Credit to Jim for planting that thought in
my mind.) How can I bring what God did
in me to IBC, my family, my work? How
can I continue to help TTUM? Most of
all, how can I bring honor and glory to Christ?
Dave and Lisa Hess
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