Our Last Full Day :(

Today is the last full day we have in Trinidad :( While the team is very sad at the thought of leaving, we are enjoying ourselves and remembering all we have done here.

We went to two schools this morning, and both were very rewarding. The first school we went to was an integration school for both the handicapped and non handicapped children. Personally, I had a great time talking to a few kids in particular: Faith, who had Downs Syndrome, DeAndrew, who suffered from seizures, and Katishma, who had cerebral palsy. What a blessing this time was! The kids all enjoyed our singing and our skits.

We went on to another school nearby. It was a preschool run in what looked to be a house. The children there were all so sweet, and had fun getting to ride on Micah and Nate's shoulders :)

After returning to TTUM we enjoyed lunch together (especially enjoying the juicy watermelon we don't have at home this time of year) and then washed the 'Maxi-Taxi' we have been riding in these last two weeks (if you don't know what a Maxi-Taxi is yet, it's a type of shuttle or bus). After that we enjoyed ourselves in the sun by the pool, talking and swimming and reading. Oh, yes, and throwing Nate into the pool (twice!). That was fun :) (there has been a bit of a war going on here. The other night, the boys threw myself, Charissa, Liz, and Melanie into the pool and then last night locked us out of the building where our rooms are).

Dinner will be coming up soon, and I hear we are to enjoy home-made Trini pizza :) Yum. Another team is arriving tonight around 11:30 or so, which is right around when we are planning on making a KFC run :)

Well, we will be seeing most of you very soon. Thank you all so much for your prayers, your support has meant so much to our team!!

God bless, Krista Thoman

from John (TTUM)

Hi, this is John and I just want you to know how much I loved and enjoy working with the N W C Team it was such a blessing seeing them work with all the kids bringing a lot of love to them and seeing the joy on there faces you are a bless group of young people and I enjoy working with all of you I felt like one of the team members. God Bless! Bye.~John Sylvester (from TTUM)

Another Wonderful Day!

Hello once again from the Sunny Side. Today we returned to the TTUM compound via an extremely enjoyable bus ride and hiking, swimming, waterfall diving, and goofing around adventures. We got back just in time to get ready for church and eat supper before going to (and leading) Bible study tonight.

All is going very well. Each member of the group would agree that we have had just an all around wonderful day. The sun was shining today, after a day of rain yesterday, which made everything all the better.

Tomorrow starts at a bright and early 6:30 am for breakfast... (We figure we might as well get up to watch the sun rise at 6). Which means this Bird should be in bed! It is now after two o'clock in the morning, and we have at least a few school to visit tomorrow.

Overall, everything is going well. Everyone is still in good health and high spirits. Praise God for such a wonderful group of people and a wonderful trip! That's all for now. Goodnight from the Sunny Side ~Liz Bird

Greetings from the Caribbean!

Let me start by mentioning that the team is doing well, but we all miss our beautiful MN weather (just kidding) Seriously, every morning here is an inspiring occasion for all of us to look out at the magnificent beauty of God’s green creation . We have had a little bit of rain, but we are trying not to let that hinder our progress.

In our two full days in Toco we have been able to visit three different schools. In this post I just want to mention the skits/dramas we have been performing in these schools.

First, in a pre-school here in Trinidad part of the team performed a puppet show. The puppet show involved farm animal puppets and a farmer. One of the team members functioned as the narrator and sought to get the kids involved in the puppet show by having them make the animal noises along with the puppets. The kids really loved it. The puppet show was based upon the parable of the last sheep. Thus, at the end the narrator explained to the children that in the same way the farmer was willing to leave his farm for one lost animal, Jesus is concerned over every individual lost child.

The next two schools we visited were both public primary schools. The age range of the children in these two schools was five to twelve. In both schools we did a skit called the “catch all” that involves one person who continues to catch the habits/problems of other individuals. For instance, a person may come out sneezing, touch the “catch all” and then the “catch all” will begin sneezing. This was just a fun skit we could use to get the kids laughing and comfortable with us. We also were able to perform a more serious drama in both schools. This was a silent drama that involved a paralytic, a wailing woman, and a blind man who are eventually healed and saved by Jesus. The drama is a powerful visual representation of Jesus taking on our infirmities upon Him. The drama shows the death and resurrection of Jesus which we were able to talk about before the drama, and then a personal testimony was given after the drama. We did the drama to the Skillet song “You Are My Hope.” (if you are reading this and get a chance, you should take a few minutes to listen to this song if you have it available and imagine us performing the skit you will soon see pictures of) Anyway, that is my prayer and our team’s prayer that the children and teachers in these schools would come to know the power of the hope found only in Jesus Christ.

God’s blessings – don’t forget to dress warm back in MN! ~Micah McQueen

Hello to all from the sunny side!

Our team is now in the process of taking a walk on the rugged side of the sunny Caribbean. On Sunday night after church at TTUM, we took the two hour drive up to Toco Trinidad which is a small town in the north eastern corner of the island. We are staying at a wonderfully rustic boarding house that has turned out to be an adventure for all. I am personally astounded that I get to have such an opportunity. I often feel like I’m staying in a cement block tent in the jungle. We are indeed in a house, but it seems that there are more open windows or spaces in the cement block walls than solid walls in any given room. All such “adventurous” opportunities continue to unify our team and impress me more every day. I’m basking in the wonderful differences of another culture.

We have been able to visit three schools since coming here to Toco. Yesterday we visited a small, Catholic nursery school, where most kids were around 2-4, and today we visited two other primary schools. All three visits were very enjoyable. I especially liked the last school we visited today which is just up the road from where we are staying where I was able connect with several girls and boys. Trinidadian children especially love to touch soft hair or look at/ touch your skin. As a result, let’s just say I got my hair “styled” today by a few “helpful hands” as other children gathered around hoping to be able to touch my hair. – As this was happening, I looked across the room to my fellow teammate Melissa who was having her hair “styled” by more than 5 children at one time!!! – I never knew that taking a hair binder out of your hair could be so “dangerous” J

While we have been in Toco, I have been Immensely enjoying spending time with John Sylvester, our guide from TTUM who lives at the center with his wife and kids and is the caretaker of the TTUM compound. He is a wonderful man of God who loves to show us all his favorite parts about his country. John is always ready and willing to be asked any question about anything, which is so wonderful when you are in a different place. John also loves to serve the team by getting us special things that grow here. He knows of my love of fruits and trying new things, so whenever possible, he finds new things for us to try. I just tried some spicy green “mango chow” that was AMAZING. He never ceases to amaze he with the new fruits, leaves, plants, peppers, etc. that he pulls out of the woods for us to eat.

Our team also visited “the point” where the waters of the Atlantic and the Caribbean meet. The whole experience of visiting the point left in awe of who God. The point is very rocky, so when the waves come in, they break on the rocks and water shoots in the air… it’s just magnificent. It’s a wonderful little tiny picture of God’s greatness and majesty. We visited the point last night and we were able to climb to the top of the light house to watch the sun set over the water. Gorgeous isn’t even a good word to describe it. It was glorious.

Everyone has been in relatively well health in the last few days. We’ve had a few iffy stomachs, but as a whole, everyone is on the up and up! To everyone I have e-mailed a few times, please know that we don’t have internet here, so I won’t be able to e-mail till I get back to TTUM on Wednesday night. Brian will be sending this message via an internet café down the street.

And one last note to a special someone -- I’m rightly considering my inconveniences and having wonderful adventures in the process! Miss you and can’t wait to see you! -- p.s. No apple trees here. From the sunny side ~Liz Bird

You Are My Hope...

Liz is playing a powerful song that she wrote as I write, and the presence of God is in the room...

Cody, Krista, and Charissa brought the Word of God through their personal testimonies, their sincere passion for the Lord shining forth from their eyes and conviction filling their mouths as they spoke forth the words of hope...

A few of us performed a drama portraying Jesus in all of his redemptive power as he rescues the wounded and the broken and physically takes their pain and their burdens to the cross...

The Lord is teaching us to look expectantly for Him each and every day, in every nook and cranny, in every eye and touch...

As we go into the mountains tonight, as we travel beneath the stars, our hearts will be brimming with anticipation to see all that He has for us in the days to come. ~Nate Gazelka

Sunday, January 6th

The day began early... breakfast at TTUM (today it was French Toast) and then to Campoo, a predominantly Hindu village where TTUM has an active church plant. Leading worship we could look out through the main windows and see a large open field with goats grazing in the distance. We sang, shared testimonies, Pastor Ashoke preached and we all had communion together. Afterwards they served a snack which included one of my favorite Trinidadian treats... Banana flavored soda pop! This afternoon we rested, packed for Toco, washed clothes, and prepared for the evening worship service at Faith Community Church--at this moment Charissa is sharing her testimony. Later tonight (it is now 7:35pm) we have a 2-1/2 hour drive to Toco where we will be for the next three nights. Tomorrow morning we will be ministering in schools but the pace of life there is much slower so it will be a whole different type of ministry. We will not have internet access while there so we will not be able to update the weblog until Wednesday night. Keep us in your prayers--God is not finished with us yet! ~Brian Tanning