4th Day of VBS!!

Hello! Kathy Breeden here. We had 40 something kids today and they listened so well toTim's review of what the salvation bracelets they made yesterday represented. Everything was going amazingly well. . .. and then the rains came. We had to juggle teaching/playing spaces while trying to keep out of the torrents and it was challenging, to say the least. However, by the ending session we were dry once again. After lunch, we rode in a bus to a Catholic orphanage housing 30 children.It took us one and half hours to drive there, but it was worth it. The orphanage compound was clean and cheery and the kids were adorable. We had a big time playing and performing some skits for them.

Auntie Pat Pearl (who runs the new orphanage we helped paint this week) came with us to visit with the head Sister about some practical concerns when running an orphanage in Trinidad. Sister was a compassionate, spiritual, and very wise woman who had spent her life loving children in several countries. I listened in on their conversation and was so blessed by these women who have such a big heart for these little ones who have no home.

After supper, we had a free evening, so we decided to "bless" each other with our many and varied talents. We put together skits, crazy operettas, stupid human tricks, and other performances to showcase our "talent". A great time was had by all. We even had judges who were funny in their attempt to prioritize the quality of our acts. We even had entries from our Trinidad friends on the staff here (which, by the way, blew our sorry contributions out of the water!). We met for our nightly meeting to plan for tomorrow and we formed an assembly line and packed up gift bags for our VBS kids. Included were a toothbrush, tooth paste, candy, lotion, stickers, pamphlet, silly bands, etc. Its time for bed! I'm doing the devotional in the morning!

VBS Day 3

Today was Day 3 at VBS. We had more kids, around 51. We are grateful they were there and we continue to develop great relationships. Please pray that they have open hearts for what God has in store for them.

We talked about Jesus dying on the cross and how he rose again three days later. Rick led the group in songs: Here I Am To Worship and Open The Eyes of My Heart. We also created a thunderstorm using our hands. Slimmy Timmy put on his Hungarian accent and led us in a fun song about Swavicland. Hans and Frans (aka JT and Chris) got us warmed up with some exercises. Mia did a great job giving her testimony.

The kids made salvation bracelets in crafts. A salvation bracelet was either a small safety pin or bracelet with six colored beads:
Black - Sin
Red - Blood
White - Forgiveness
Green - Growing
Blue - how high and deep God's love is for us
Yellow - Heaven

In games, the kids played the old Sunday school favorite: Egypt/Promised Land. We also played a game where the kids tried to get rid of their sin in the form of four square balls.

This afternoon we drove to a nursing home outside of a city called Sangre Grande. There were about 20 seniors there. Although it was extremely hot, it was a great blessing our entire team. Some of the women of our group did the nails of some of female residents. There was a man named Harris who worked for the British Government in Trinidad during World War II. There was also a woman named Alberta who was 102 years old! Rick spoke to a woman named Francine Victoria. He asked her when she became a Christian and with no hesitation she said 1939. She talked a lot and the entire conversation was about making God apart of everything we do no matter how small or large. Rick prayed with her and she worshiped during the prayer. Then she started singing a very old hymn. She ministered to Rick, more than he did to her (according to Rick)!

In the evening, Rick, Jay and the young people played a game called Mafia and had a great time bonding. Last night, Hayden brought a dead centipede to dinner and gave the the girls a nice surprise!

Today was also Chuck's 23rd (give or take) birthday and we had cake and ice cream. Thank you for the prayer for Rick's knee. He is feeling better. Also, Grant's ear infection he got the day before we left is completely gone.

It's been an amazing trip so far and we can't wait to see what God has in store for us for the remainder of our time here. We are all missing family and friends and can't wait to see you soon!

Rick, Jay, Grant and Hayden

Hello again from Trinidad :)

We have been hearing about the high temperatures today in Kansas City. No worries, we feel your pain!

We started our morning out with our 2nd VBS for the week. There were about the same number of kids as there was yesterday and they all enjoyed the craft table just as much!


Slimmy Timmy talked to the group about how God loves us and we heard the story of Jesus welcoming and loving the children after the disciples tried to discourage them from talking to Jesus (Luke 18). It has been fun to hear the few "quieter" kids catch on to our "God Rocks" theme and yelling it whenever prompted!

Randa was encouraged by most all of the kids being able to memorize todays bible verse at crafts (John 3:16). We ended our morning with the Cha-Cha slide and gave the kids a snack (hopefully none of them were sneaky enough to get away with 2 treats :))

This afternoon was spent at the Whitfield Children's home painting door frames. Grant and Hayden taught us all how to play the game Ninja while we were waiting for the paint brushes to arrive. It was awesome to be able to see how it looks now! It's beautifully painted all different colors with pictures and scriptures on the walls.





We are thankful for your prayers and definitely are thankful for the many blessings our team has experienced so far! Please continue to pray for the unity of our team (it has been fun getting to know everyone so far), our health and saftey (especially Rick's knee, what a trooper he has been!), our time and the kids at VBS (we know that the Lord has these precious kids here with us this week for a specific purpose), and most importantly that every thing we are doing and will continue to do will glorify Christ!

-Mia, Darcie, Keri, Randa & Camrie

VBS - Day 1

VBS was scheduled to start at 9 am - we arrived just a little after that. Children were already congregating! This VBS is happening at "Auntie Pearl's" house. When we arrived there was already a big canopy with around 50 chairs set up. Auntie Pearl was there waiting for us along with several members of her family. We spent about 20 minutes orienting ourselves - getting out supplies, designating areas for the various stations, and getting nametags on everybody - staff and children, too. Yvonne Nixon estimated that we had around 40 children - not bad for the first day! First we were visited by Hans and Frans who came to "Pump Us Up!" with some streneuous finger stretches and some jumping jacks. Lead Teacher "Slimmy Timmy" Nixon then told a Bible story about David and Goliath, complete with appearance by both stars! All the children helped David slay Goliath by hurtling stones (don't worry - it was really crumpled paper), and just like in the story, the giant fell dead!

After the story, we divided the children into groups by gender and age. Group leaders took the children to a station for crafts with Randa Witmer, where they decorated a rock (because God Rocks!) and a Bible Journal. They also spent some time with Jay West and his sons doing some physical activities designed to teach them that everybody needs help some time, and our God wants to help us. The group leaders also had a Bible study time with their children, and had them write the verse for today in their journal - Ps 121:2 "My help comes the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth." We sent them home with a snack and the encouragement to come back tomorrow and bring friends! All in all it was a successful day at VBS. Thank you for all your prayers - we're sure that's why everything went so smoothly.

After lunch, Jennifer Bachew took us sightseeing - we visited two Hindu temples. The first one is called "The Temple in the Sea" because it is actually in the sea. When the man who built it asked to build a Hindu temple, he was told "Not on the Queen's land!" So this guy used a shovel and buckets, dumping trash and whatever else he could find to build an extension out into the bay, and then build the temple at the end of the extension.

Then we visited a second Hindu temple, complete with an 84 ft statue of the god Hanuman. He is in the form of a monkey. There is an ashram at that shrine, and a man was there at the time who some Hindus believe is a god. We didn't get to see him because he was taking a nap. Personally, I'd rather have a God who "never sleeps nor slumbers!"One big prayer request: Rick Woods injured his knee while he was walking with some of the team. As he was walking, he says he heard a "pop". Some of the TTUM staff got him some crutches, and various moms on the team gave many suggestions. He's putting ice on it, and taking pain meds, but it's pretty painful and restrictive. Please pray that God would move in this situation and do whatever Rick needs to complete the week as easily as possible.

Another prayer request: We know we will have more kids each day. Please pray that we have as many kids as possible, but not more than we can handle and still minister effectively.

Mary Lee for Team Trinidad 2011 - God Rocks!

First day in Trini

Made it to Trinidad successfully last night and were greeted with a warm welcome from TTUM. We found out we would be staying in the rooms that we laid the concrete for 4 years ago. The rooms look great and are very spacious. There is a large retreat group staying at the compound now and another large group will be here when they leave, so there will be no shortage of festivities going on throughout the week. This morning we had an orientation led by Jennifer where we learned all about the culture of Trinidad, customs, religions, etc. Then, this afternoon we went out to Five Rivers and recruited kids to come to VBS this week. The amount of space we will have for VBS seems pretty small, but I'm sure we will figure it out. Nonetheless, we talked to a lot of folks and expect a great turnout. Tonight, we will have church led by Pastor Bachew, founder of TTUM, and then we will prepare for the first day of VBS tomorrow. We look forward to what God has in store for us this week!

Countdown

Our 2011 Team is busy preparing for our trip tomorrow. Last night we met to pray and pack supplies that we would be taking with us. Thanks to all who donated items and for the prayers and good wishes for our trip. That means a lot to all of us.

We have 16 on our team. We have 10 people who have never been there before so we are excited about what God will do through our team! Please pray for us - that we would be healthy to serve, team unity, and that God would be glorified.

Our team includes: Kathy & Mia Breeden, Chuck & Mary Lee Trnka, Jay, Grant, & Hayden West, Randa Wittmer, Rick Woods, Chris Odehnal,Keri Tyler, Tim, Yvonne, Camrie, JT and Darcie Nixon.

We will be doing a VBS as well as work with orphans and anything else that our hosts need us to do. We plan on posting nightly about our daily experiences so check back over the weekend.


Yvonne for Team Trinidad