Listen to how Paul describe this peace in Romans 15:13 (NLT), "I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit." How rich and powerful these words are!
This Christmas, as you spend time in the stable by the manger, remember that the Christmas story does not end when the Wise Men leave the baby...the Christmas story ends on Calvary...when the Savior born in that manger, bled and died for each one of us...that we may experience Peace with God, Peace with Ourselves and Peace with Others.
Today was a busy day as we started early preparing for the first Christmas program at one of our new locations, Tin Pan Alley...yes, this is a real place (I guess I should have taken a picture of the street sign)! Here are few shots from the day:
Suresh and the eye doctor
Christmas came early for Pastor Suresh...we stopped by the eye doctor to get him setup with new glasses! He had to go with bi-focals this time! I told him he was getting old like me! As you can see Christie is smiling...why, because she hates going to the eye doctor and is making Suresh nervous telling about the tests they do!
Christie, Suresh, Amanda and Alicia
Christie (with her shopping bag), Amanda and Alicia
Of course, girls have to shop, and Trinidad is a great place to do some last minute Christmas shopping!
Best Priced Toy Store - Debe
Shopping for our Christmas at Tin Pan Alley...I saw all kind of things I wanted for Christmas...but did not find any Franklin turtles! Hey, Caleb and Mason, you need to come see this!
Zach - one of our newest ministry staff - he says Hi to everyone back home!
Leah, Zach and Cloe, newest ministry staff, getting ready to take the stage! These guys have been a great hit...the kids love them!
Leah and Zach - Zach is trying to explain all the rules he has made up for life...the problem is, they all revolve around him! Leah explains that God makes the "rules for life"...and He does it because He loves us and wants us to obey His commandments!
This was our first ever meeting at this location...we had 35+ kids and 25+ adults attend the Christmas Treat! It was amazing how God showed up. We arrived early to get setup and we saw kids already starting to walk to the home of Jennifer and Carlton. And when we arrived at the house there were 15 kids already there! AWESOME!
We had a very special treat...a group of youth from the school in the village came by to sing Christmas carols to the kids...this was truly amazing! God has His hand on this village!
Tin Pan Alley Ministry Team - Tony, Samson, Jennifer and Carlton (awesome believers who have gladly opened their home, and have been praying to start a ministry like this in their village...they know everyone), Senior Pastor Suresh Seebalack.
And I had to save the best for last...this is Kayla. Isn't she the cutest little girl. After the program, she kept singing Feliz Navidad and dancing. Most of the kids in this area are her age and a little older, so we have many years to work in this area.
WOW...what an amazing day!
The next two days are going to be the hardest for us as we prepare for the Christmas Treat at the second of our newest locations. We do not have a permanent place (as in a home that will allow us to use their covered areas of their homes) as of yet! Also, due to the rainy weather in the last couple of weeks, getting into this village has been hard. But we do have a home where the lady will allow us to put up a tent beside her home. Tomorrow we are going to spend time in the village walking and letting people know about the Christmas treat. We are trusting God because He lead us to this village!
Until tomorrow night...
Christie and Mike
No comments:
Post a Comment