Greetings to you from the Caribbean!
I trust you all are enjoying the last summer days. Here we are experiencing rainy days with no threat of floods. The Covid 19 virus though, is proving to be a great challenge. The island was on lockdown since March 2020, but, the borders are now selectively opened since July. Praise the Lord for His guidance in leading us through these times of massive change.
All our church services continue to be held virtually. The 20-21 academic school year saw our Schools’ program delivered online. Our facilitators with their creative effort engaged a considerable number of students who were able to access online classes. I attended a Principals’ meeting yesterday and I was overwhelmed with the great task ahead in rolling out the action plan for safely re-opening school in September 2021.
A Testimony That Will Warm Your Heart…
During last Sunday’s service, one of our dear sisters in the Lord related a God experience she had three days before. It was the 36th anniversary of her husband’s passing which was caused by a vehicular accident. Here is a little bit of our dear sister’s history—giving us great insight to the Lord’s love and care for her.
A couple of months after her husband’s passing the only bank on our island engaged her as a trainee teller. After her teller’s training, she was hired. Her salary had to meet the expense of raising five children (from 2 – 12 years old)—knowing that in order to avoid poverty on the island she had to make every effort to have her children well educated.
After supper each day she spent time sitting with her children to make sure their school work was done properly (and at times) sitting down to teach them. With only one High School on the island and limited space for students, an entrance exam was required.
The journey was rough in meeting financial expenses and attending to the demands of her children. All her children eventually completed high school with excellent grades and received scholarships from universities abroad. They all are university graduates working in various fields from medicine to art.
But, on that night she was up at 4:30 am, thinking about her husband and praying. Bitter and sweet memories flooded over her and with tears, she raised her voice in thanksgiving for she knows that the Lord was always there even though she did know Him back then. In the midst of her prayer time, there was a knock on her backdoor. She did not attend to it—since the birds would often bang into the glass.
At 5:15 am she was dressed and ready for her morning exercise out in her back yard. As she opened the door there was a fresh fish lying on the doormat. This was very strange since her vicious Doberman watchdogs were out of their kennel and no one could enter her premises without her knowing.
She sat pondering what this was all about—reflecting on her journey during the years without her husband. Her husband worked in the oil industry and did fishing as a hobby. Many days they would have fish on the table from his catch.
She immediately felt the Lord was telling and showing her: “I was your husband then and I am now, I am the father to the fatherless—I provided manna from heaven for the Israelites so too, I provided for you.”
She scaled and cleaned the fish and froze it as a memorial to the Lord’s faithfulness. She said she would use it to celebrate and remind her children about the miraculous faithfulness of a good Father in Heaven.
Today she enjoys her five children, eleven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Our dear sister received Christ as her savior six years ago. Three of her children and seven grandchildren also did the same. Yesterday one of her daughters asked me to send her the Zoom link for church service. She said she would like to attend.
Pray for the rest of her family that they too, would be saved. Let us name them -The Abrahams family. 😀
This is certainly a story for your celebration. You prayed and sent!
Good News
Eight persons are prepared to be baptized when the beaches are re-opened!
Prayer Points
- For our Health Division—God’s wisdom to manage this pandemic of Covid 19, including the Delta Variant.
- Our School Ministry—guidance and strategy to adjust to the new environment, adequate finances, protection of facilitators and their families.
- Students & Families, many families are struggling due to unemployment.
- Our Church plant—new converts, outreach programs, Godly & equipped leaders, a building and training centre.
- For my safety, and wisdom to lead with God’s vision.
May the Lord bless you and continue to increase you in your calling for such a time!
With tons of Love…
“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for: it is the evidence of things we cannot see.”
Hebrews 11:1
