Out of a desire to encourage the individuals with whom we'd studied the Bible in St. Vincent in 2002-2003, Russell & Doug travelled to St. Vincent, August 3-13, 2007. We would to like have taken our whole family, but given the resources we had available at this time, we decided two of us would go. This page starts with a brief summary of our trip for those with limited time and continues with a more detailed description of our trip for those who'd like to know and see more. Regardless of how much you read, we trust you'll be encouraged to pray for God's work to continue in the lives of individuals in St Vincent for His honor and for the building of His Church.
As we prepared for this trip, we prayed, as some of you did along with us, that God would give us good opportunities to talk personally to those with whom we'd worked. We felt that God answered that prayer in a number of different ways. One day we were rushing to catch a van in Kingstown as a rain storm was about to break on us. We found a van which had room for us and, right next to me, was Delando Charles (see more on this below by searching for 'Delando'). Another day, as we were walking through Kingstown, a young man called out to us. It was Ekron Delpesche, with whom we'd studied the Bible (see more below). We had good opportunities to talk with Kamara, Jamal, Conroy, CJ, Romaldo, Enrico, Jeronnie, Cusmore & Corey. I had wondered if some of them might not be interested in seeing us or talking with us but it seemed God provided a good opportunity for us to encourage and challenge each one of them in their "walk" with God. With some, the opportunity to talk was rather brief but we trust God may use it nonetheless to bring changes He desires. This included Ashaman, Ekron & Delando. To most of the young men with whom we met, we gave a small Bible study booklet. Since the lessons were review of some of the things we'd studied with them, we encouaged them to use the booklet with another believer so they could help that believer to grow in their knowledge of and obedience to God. Please pray with us that these young men will be motivated to do that. We were blessed by the hospitality of and encouraging fellowship with Pastor Maxwell & Ena Providence who hosted us so graciously. Pastor Wade & Jean Carter were also very kind in having us in their home for meals.
If you are one the those who prayed with us for a specific individual with whom we worked in 2002-2003, we encourage you to search for their name in the remainder of this page so you can learn more details of our visit with them and more importantly, ways in which you could continue to pray for them if you'd be inclined to comitting to that valuable ministry. We continue to pray for each of these individuals on a regular basis and would be thankful to know that you are doing the same. We believe, based on the promises of the Bible (James 5:16, Eph 3:20...), that God will honor our prayers that are offered "in accordance with His will".
The Details
A more detailed summary of our visit follows. We departed St Louis at 6AM on Friday, August 3rd on a Delta flight to Atlanta. We caught another Delta flight to Barbados. The final leg of our trip to St Vincent's E.T. Joshua airport was on a LIAT flight. Our suitcases did not arrive with us but we were able to retrieve them from the airport the next day. This may have been a blessing in that the customs folks didn't seem to want to look through our bags. Though we didn't have anything to hide, we were concerned they might want to charge us a fee for the 50lbs of theological books we had carried down for Pastor Cameron Cato. Pastor Maxwell Providence met us at the airport and drove us home (their home still feels like home as we had rented the lower floor of their house when we lived there). Sister Ena Providence had a great dinner waiting for us to help us settle in.
I woke up Saturday morning to the sound of a weed eater. It was Conroy Harry working for Pastor Providence. It was great to see him and to see that he is working to make his way.
When I woke up, Russell was no where around and I found he had gone to the bakery to buy bread with Sister Providence. On his way back he met his friend Jori with whom he'd studied the Bible. Later we went back to talk further with Jori and to give him a Bible study booklet. We were glad we'd found Jori that day as he told us he was leaving for three weeks on the following day. We road vans into Kingstown to get some money from the ATM and to go to the airport to collect our suitcases. After coming back,we made a short trip to the beach were we met Jori again. Enrico's dad, whom Enrico & I had visited in prison in 2003, was at the beach and came up to introduce himself to me and remind me of the visit. He seemed glad to see us and told us where Enrico was living. As we were leaving the beach we did see Enrico and encouraged him to stop by the Providences to visit us.
Saturday evening we had the privilege of going to the farewell dinner for Clifford & Reathel Gross who have served the Lord in the Caribbean for the last 54 years -- the last 21 in St. Vincent. It was a great encouragement & challenge to us to hear of their faithfulness in helping to build God's Church over these many years. This gathering also allowed us to see friends from around the island whom we might not otherwise have seen such as Pastor Leslie & Leslynn Daize who have served at the Park Hill church for 5 years now.
Pastor Clifford Gross, Sister Ena Providence, Sister Reathel Gross,
and Pastor Maxell Providence
Pastor Leslie & Leslynn Daize who work for Gibson's Hardware all
week and then pastor the
Park Hill church as well. Pray someone to come along side them
to ease their load.
Sunday we enjoyed seeing many of our brothers & sisters in Christ at the Questelles church were we'd attended during our time in St Vincent.
.....
Jeronnie Richardson, Pastor Wade Carter, Corey Keil, and Brother David
Phillips
Shallana, Sister Jean Carter (Wade's wife) & Amanda Foy
We also found Chemroy Rogers (CJ) for the first time on Sunday and had fun playing some card games with him. CJ has grown a lot and is just about as tall as me.
Monday, Russell & I set out, in the vans, to go about 5 miles south to Ratho Mill where our friend, Ashaman Charles, works at a welding shop. We found him there and talked with him briefly encouraging him to stop by the Providence's house so we could talk further. For some reason, we only saw Ashaman at the Questelles church the following Sunday. We didn't get to talk to him as much as we'd have liked to. Ashaman acknowledged that some areas of his walk with God aren't what he knows they should be, so we're praying God will challenge him to change that.
After visiting Ashaman we enjoyed a nearby beach. The following picture was one of our "postcards" from the trip.
On our way home we looked for and found Raydon, a young man with whom William had done Bible studies. We were sorry to hear that he and his mother are attending a Mormon gathering. We spent a half hour explaining the errors in the Mormon belief system. We gave him a Bible study booklet and prayed with him.
Raydon & Doug near Raydon's house
Tuesday was our trip to the nearby Grenadine island of Bequia where Pastor Cameron Cato now ministers.
As you probably recall, Cameron was the pastor of the Questelles church during our time in St Vincent. We had a great visit with Cameron, his wife of three years, Andine, and their one and half year old son, Andron. They shared the blessings and the challenges of the ministry in Bequia. We enjoyed a great lunch which Andine made for us and a couple of hours at the "Lower Bay" beach before catching the 4:30PM ferry back to St Vincent.
Cameron shared the following prayer concerns with us:
1. that God spiritually strengthen men to lead in the
Padgett Farm & Port Elizabeth churches
2. strength to disciple the young people - Andine is
working particularly with
the Padgett Farm youth
3. that God would draw in young people - one young man
in particular, Garnett,
has professed faith but struggled
to attend
4. that God would build healthy families - one couple,
Mozart & Sabrina, are preparing to marry
Cameron desires wisdom in counseling
them
5. wisdom in counseling church members who work in tourism
with regard to serving
alcoholic beverages
6. perseverance in eating wisely & exercising diligently
to move toward better health
with which to serve the Lord
Cameron & Andine also took us to see the location of the land they are desiring to buy on which to build a house. The following picture shows the beautiful view from this area. In the coming months we will have the opportunity to help the Catos in this area so we're praying for God to raise up the necessary resources.
When we arrived back in St Vincent after a rolling ferry ride (there was a good rain storm going on our way back) we had to walk a half mile to catch a van back to the Providences. We saw another rain storm coming down the mountain and prayed for a van so we wouldn't get soaked. God answered that prayer and added a bonus. As we got in the van, there, right next to an open seat was Delando Charles, a young man with whom I'd studied the Bible for 13 weeks. We had a good conversation and were encouraged to hear of how he is leading the youth ministry in the church he attends. That was the only time we saw him so it was great that God provided the opportunity.
Wednesday was a great day for seeing and talking to several of the young men with whom we'd worked. Before we'd even had breakfast, Enrico showed up at the Providence's house to say hi. I talked with him for nearly an hour. Enrico has made some bad choices in things he has been doing. As I talked he admitted to those choices and acknowledged the need to change. I encouraged him to remember the verses he'd memorized and to put them into practice. It was encouraging to hear him still be able to sing the Bible verse songs he'd learned (even at age 17 where that sort of thing isn't very "cool"). I tried to graciously but directly challenge him to change and he seemed to be open. Please pray that he'll choose to make changes for God's honor as well as for his own benefit.
Wednesday was laundry day but the rains kept us from drying things the way we wanted to so we decided to try to visit some folks under our umbrellas (yes the song was playing all the time down there also). Though we missed Recandar due to his being away at camp, we met his mom and were able to pass a Bible study book on to him via her. Had we been a minute later, we'd not have seen her so we thanked God for that. We walked up to Romaldo's house and were glad to find him home. He told us that on most days he would have been at his grandmother's house. We were able to talk with him for a half hour or more. He admitted he had not been attending church so we encouraged him to commit himself to that as well as reading the Bible.
Doug & Romaldo near his home in "Maho" above Campden Park
We searched for Jamal on our way home but did not find him (just as we had not when we looked for him earlier); however, we did ask several people near his home to let him know we were looking for him. We got home just as the skies poured down rain. In the afternoon, as we put our laundry out to dry again, Jamal showed up! He had changed a lot from two years ago but seemed glad to see us. I had a good opportunity to talk with him and gave him very similar encouragement as we had to Romaldo. He said he'd improved his reading skills with his sister's help. That was encouraging to hear as you may recall we'd spent a good deal of time trying to help him with that when we were there. This turned out to be the only time we saw Jamal. Just as he was about to leave, CJ & Conroy showed up so that it seemed like "old times" when they'd often all be at our home.
Russell, Conroy, CJ & Jamal at the Providences home
After Jamal left, I had a good conversation with Conroy and CJ. From what we understand, Conroy has been attending church fairly regularly but CJ has not. Conroy will be starting his last year of high school, so we're praying God will help him to finish well to be better able to have a means of income and to serve in a church. I gave both of them Bible study booklets and encouraged them to realize that, if they would seek to obey the Bible's commands, they could become leaders in the church in the days ahead. I reminded them that even though that might seem impossible from their perspective and their current position, God would do the work in them if they would submit themselves to Him. We had a good time of prayer before moving on to playing some games with them as we had in the past. It was good to spend some fun time with them and we hope they felt as though we are genuinely interested in being their friends as well as brothers in Christ.
Later Wednesday evening we stopped in at Corey Keil's home which is on a very steep hill near the Questelles Church. Corey was home so we had a good opportunity to talk with him and his dad, Lenny. It was a bit more challenging to speak directly to Corey with his father being present, but I tried to encourage him in his involvement in church, Bible reading and other aspects of his relationship with God. It had been encouraging to see Corey at the Questelles Church the 1st Sunday we were there.
Corey Keil
Wednesday night we enjoyed eating dinner with Pastor Wade Carter, his wife Jean, and their children Walt & Jade as well as two of their nephews. We had a good time with them and are always encouraged by their perseverance in a difficult ministry. Wade shared, with us, ideas he has for improving the Questelles Church facility and helping the congregation more actively reach out to the community with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Thursday morning we received a phone call from Kamara Jerome asking if he could come down to the Providences to visit. It was great to have Kamara show that interest. We had learned that he is attending a local Catholic church with his Grandmother. I spent time explaining that the Bible does not allow for adding good works as a requirement for salvation in hopes that Kamara would not be led astray in that regard. I encouraged Kamara to consider attending the Questelles Evangelical Church after he comes back from the Catholic church. I talked with Kamara about being faithful in the basics of his relationship with God so he can be qualified to be a leader in the church in the future. After prayer with Kamara we agreed to meet him for a hike to the hill above Questelles later in the day. The hike turned out to be quite an adventure but the view as shown below was beautiful.
Kamara Jerome & Doug
Russell, some of Karama's friends, Kamara (with the cutlass for clearing
the path) with Questelles
and Campden Park far below.
View of hill above Questelles which we climbed. The Questelles
church is just a bit further to the
left of this picture and a bit further down the hill.
Friday, Russell & I went to town (Kingstown) to get all the food items necessary for a Saturday picnic lunch at the Questelles beach to which we had invited all the friends with whom we'd had contact. As I mentioned at the beginning of this page, we believe God brought about a "chance" meeting with Ekron. Ekron said he is attending a church near Kingstown so that was encouaging to hear. Using the Bible study book, I encouraged to review the basics of his relationship with God and to teach them to a younger believer. Since he was on lunch break, our time was somewhat brief, but we were able to pray together before parting ways.
Ekron & Doug in front of the store in Kingstown where Ekron works
Russell helped the Providences in the afternoon by picking guavas in their backyard tree, while Doug made a second unsuccessful attempt to find Cusmore Ryan who lives near the Questelles church.
Russell picking guavas
Saturday morning we were helped by Sister Providence in preparing a big pot of rice for the picnic. In addition, we prepared hotdogs and some other things. A number of the young people from the Questelles church came down and we had a good time in the water and playing soccer on the beach. We had hoped for more to come, but we had some good conversations with those who did.
Questelles Evangelical Church youth at Questelles beach (notice Russell
just left of center)
Sunday we enjoyed a second gathering with the believers at the Questelles Evangelical Church. Pastor Wade gave another challenging message regarding the importance of the body meeting together more than just on Sundays to encourage each other and build each other up. The Carters had us in for dinner again along with some other brothers from the Questelles church (Nathaniel Sandy, David Phillips, and Conroy ?). I was very much encouraged by the ideas and enthusiasm that existed among them for seeing the church have a greater impact on the direction of the life of St Vincent as a nation. I look forward to the things God will do through these men as they seek to serve the Lord together in the days ahead.
Doug and Brother Nathaniel Sandy, a leader at the Questelles Evangelical
Church
Brother Joseph Primus, one of the brothers from the Questelles Evangelical
Church
After leaving the Carters, I made a third attempt to visit Cusmore Ryan who is now attending a church in Kingstown rather than the Questelles church as he did in the past. God allowed me to catch him at home and to have a good conversation. He seems to desire to serve the Lord and was open to being encouraged to be a leader in the church. He has one more year of school before he chooses a direction for his life. We prayed together before I headed out.
Sunday night was time to pack our bags for our Monday morning departure. We said good-bye to the Providences who, as in the past, were wonderful and gracious hosts. They allowed us to come and go freely for all of our journeys and provided us with one wonderful meal after another. Pastor Maxwell has recently stepped down from being Superintendent of the Southeast Caribbean Evangelical Churches and is now leading the missions outreach of this same organization. He has a heart to see the missions "arm" strengthened and focused on new endeavors. While we were in St Vincent Maxwell & Ena went each morning to Barrouallie, a town about 20 minutes up the island, to hold a VBS for the youth of that area. They did this in spite of a number of health challenges they've been facing. We certainly would appreciate your prayers for wisdom for the doctors they'll be seeing regarding these matters. Maxwell has been struggling with an irregular heart while Ena is having eye problems (possibly cataracts) and a lack of appetite. In spite of these things, they continue to exhibit joyful hearts before the Lord and faithfulness in seeking to build His Church in St Vincent and the surrounding islands. On our last two days there, we had the joy of seeing their son, Max, arrive home from his work on cruise ships. We had some good uplifting spiritual conversations with him.
Sister Ena & Pastor Maxwell Providence in their kitchen where they
spent a great deal of time
serving us in the midst of serving others as well.
Our trip home went smoothly until we found out that LIAT had added a stop to our trip (in St Kitts -- our route ended up being St Vincent-Antigua-St Kitts-St Maarten-Atlanta-St Louis) thus making us arrive in St. Maarten 30 minutes later than expected. Our transfer time was now cut to 1 hour 15 minutes and that wouldn't have been enough had it not been for what appeared, to us, as God's gracious help. We made it through passport control fairly quickly, but our bags refused to show up at the LIAT baggage carousel. With 45 minutes left to go I decided we should give up on our bags and try to catch the Delta flight without them. As we scanned all the check-in counters, none had a Delta sign above them. I asked the information counter where Delta's check-in was. They pointed me in a direction where some agents were standing. When I asked if they were Delta, they shrugged their shoulders. I returned to the information counter and asked again only to be pointed to the same spot. When I asked the second time they said, yes, this was Delta but they were closed. I asked how they could be closed when I had a Delta flight to catch in 45 minutes. They said they close 1 hour before the flight and that it wasn't their fault I was late. With my blood near the boiling point God somehow motivated me to say that I had no bags to check and would they please help us. At that point it seemed the agent decided to help us (I think God changed his mind). He reloaded the boarding pass printer, made a phone call in which he said "please" on our behalf twice, printed our boarding passes, escorted us to the front of passport control, escorted us to the front of security, took us straight to the boarding gate, and got us on the plane! Just before we got on the plane this Delta agent asked if we'd filed a baggage report on our missing bags. I said no and gave him my baggage tags. I later realized that was foolish since I now had no proof the bags were mine. In spite of that foolishness, our bags showed up in St Louis two days after we arrived! With a sigh of relief and a prayer of thanks to God, Russell & I settled into our Delta seats for the remainder of our trip which provided great scenery and an 11PM arrival in St Louis.
As we reflect on this trip we are thankful for the opportunity God gave us, the ways in which we believe He directed our paths, and the opportunities He gave us to have input into the lives of people in St Vincent. We pray that God will use this trip to help us be better prepared for future service and to accomplish His purposes in His Church in St Vincent. We encourage you, again, to join us in praying for these things to be so.
Sincerely,
Doug & Russell for our whole family
