Where to start, where to start...? I'll begin with a huge THANK YOU to those who supported us prayerfully and financially. This trip could not have happened without you. This was a life-changing trip. I posted as often as I could, and when the wifi happened to be working. This was at the request of people who wanted to know how we were doing, and how they could pray for us. Some posts contained only a brief summary, and hopefully this post (book, lol) will tie up some of the loose ends. I know I won't be able to include every detail, but I'll do my best, and try to make it interesting.
We drove to KC on the afternoon of the 12th. A church in KC allowed us to sleep there so that we could make our 6am flight. We had to be up at 2am in order to get to the airport and get checked in. The flight was uneventful except for the mad dash we had to make in Atlanta. Atlanta is a very busy airport, and we had mere minutes to make our connection to St. Maarten. Thankfully, that connecting flight was delayed, so we were able to get there with a few minutes to spare. Arriving in St. Maarten, we were aware that the airport was actually a tent. The permanent structure had been so badly damaged during September's Hurricane Irma, that they are going to have to tear the building down and rebuild a new airport building. We passed through customs easily, and met with our team leaders, Rick and Tom (great guys!). We all piled (21 of us plus luggage) into 2 vans. We were literally sitting on top of each other! As we made our way to the hotel, we were aware of much devastation around us. Large boats were smashed and lying on the shoreline of the bay near the airport. Buildings with sections missing, houses that were battered and damaged. 10 months after the hurricane, people are still struggling to pick up the pieces. Our hotel was on the beach. Literally, going out of the back door of the hotel, the beach was right there. Many of the hotels in St. Maarten are right on the coast, and this hotel was one of the safer ones in the area. We were able to utilize this quiet beach for swimming during our down times, and we had morning and evening devotion times here. It's a neat thing to sit out there, spending time with God, while you hear the waves nearby.
Each morning we had an activity to take part in. On Thursday and Friday morning, were able to go into a local elementary school to love on the kids and help the teachers out. I was able to spend both days in a Grade 4 classroom. I instantly became attached to the kids and enjoyed helping them with their schoolwork. They loved my hat and sunglasses, so the boys wanted to model them for my camera. At recess time, the whole courtyard exploded with soccer games, tossing the football, and their school has a recess-time snack bar with all kinds of goodies. The time we spent with them simply flew by, and we hated to leave. On Monday morning, we went into the neighborhoods to share to Gospel with people we met. Many of them were very open to the message we were sharing, and only a few told us to keep moving. On Tuesday morning, we took a break and went snorkeling in the ocean. I was able to go for a while, but I quickly tired out, and kept swallowing the ocean. By the time I got out, I was ready to puke. Several others became ill as well. I guess us Kansas folks aren't built for deep-sea diving! Lol.
Thursday through Sunday we hosted youth rallies. Our rallies consisted of music, games, snacks, and the Gospel presentation. Our biggest night was Friday, when over 200 people packed the church building, and nearly 1/3 of them came forward at the end for prayer and salvation. That was simply awesome to see. My teammate Dakota and I were able to pray with 2 boys, Brandon and Jeremy, who gave their lives to Christ. Neat kids!
We were able to enjoy a nice variety of local cuisine, prepared for us by a great group of ladies from our partner church, Bible Baptist Church (woot, woot!). We enjoyed patties, which is a pocket of seasoned ground hamburger or chicken baked into a flaky crust. So good! There was a lot of chicken and rice, and some days we ate right on the boardwalk outside the hotel, eating the catch of the day. I ate conch (a type of fish) for the first time, and loved it! St. Maarten also has a KFC, Burger King, Domino's, Quiznos, and of course, an international icon, McDonalds.
People in St. Maarten are very friendly. People say hello to you as you pass them on the sidewalk, and some want to make conversation. They call St. Maarten 'The Friendly Island," and they live up to their name. Just be careful about talking to the vendors, though. They'll talk you to death trying to sell you something! Lol. Many of them have a Jamaican accent, and it's neat to hear them talk.
On our final night, Tuesday, we had a meal with the good people of Bible Baptist Church. Many of them gave testimonies about their experiences with the hurricane, and how God had worked in their lives. We had to say goodbye to these people who had become like family to us, and we exchanged emails, and whipped out our phones to friend each other on Facebook.
Other than some sunburn, some heat exhaustion, and fatigue, everyone stayed pretty healthy. No major injuries or sickness to report. Our trip home went very well, and there were no problems. All in all, God has been very good to us. For those of you who were on the trip and are reading this, you well know that there is a lot of info that didn't make the cut, due to the fact that there just isn't time or space to fit it all in. I'd encourage you to comment on the Facebook link about just what this mission trip meant to you. I'm sure the readers would like to get your input as well.
What's next for me? I really have a strong desire to visit the Philippines. Many of our church members who have gone there on mission trips now serve there as missionaries. I feel God's pull to explore this possibility. Right now, God has not pointed me in any particular direction. As I have shared with you before, God has me waiting on Him. In His time, He will direct me in the way that I should go. In the meantime, I will jump back into the workforce tomorrow, and start saving my money for the next mission trip, wherever that will be.
I apologize if this post has seemed long, has typos, or doesn't make sense. I am so tired, and a long rest is calling me. Thanks for understanding, thanks for reading, and God bless you.
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