Trinidad, Day One: Being with Extended Family
After a good night's sleep and a nice breakfast, Ken, Dana, Roddie Taylor (the pastor of the church that heads up the missions work here), and I drove over to St. Mary's to meet with the principal of the Fifth Company Primary School. The goal was to get a gameplan together to come into some of the classrooms and share about who we are (including who Jesus and the gospel are) along with some cultural exchange (in all likelihood, baseball).
As we were waiting for him, some children came up to us--why?--because they remembered Dana and myself from last September. While I understand that few Caucasians cross their paths and that helped distinguish us, they were so excited when they found out we would be at the school next week. Then we commenced in the universal language of the 'high-five' (about 25-30 of them in all) before we went in to talk with the Vice Principal.
Road problems and construction were at Olympian levels due to the heavy rains over the past few months. As a result, it took us extra long to make to St. Mary's, making us opt for another way back. We were treated to some beautiful Trinidadian countryside filled with a lot of trees (palms and otherwise) and green, two commodities very scarce in Colorado.
We arrived back at Mt. Beulah Church in Point Fortin and were met with some long faces. In the process of installing some nice wall units that would provide air conditioning in the sanctuary, they encountered some electrical problems that, as I write this at 10:55 pm AST (Atlantic Standard Time), they are still working on this to get the church ready for their building dedication on Sunday.
[Which reminds me: Roddie told me something that brought me to tears. He says that when he announces that I am bringing a team to Trinidad to help the cause of Christ there, the congregation cheers. I told him that I don't understand that, but we are happy to help. Then, he said this:
"Matthew Perry, you are a member of Mt. Beulah Evangelical Baptist Church." That did it. My eyes welled up as I read that. To know that there is such a mutual love between us makes these last 23 years of connecting with the people of Trinidad like being with my extended family.]
The countryside, the reunion with friends, the colleagues who have joined me--I cannot wait to see what tomorrow will bring. But know this: my heart is full, my body is healthy, and I know I'm in God's hands.
Jesus is enough.