Dear friends,
We had a wonderful time with the children of Jamaica! First,
we want to thank all the churches and individuals who supported
us in prayers and finances. We did quite a bit of ministry
to the students in public schools, as well as visited and
encouraged children in orphanages. We averaged two, and sometimes
three, school assemblies a day. Some were grade schools and
some were high schools, and there was even one technical trade
school. Every assembly had from 1100 to 1500 children. We
were pleasantly surprised to hear all the schools pray 'in
Jesus name'. It was also good to know that they were excited
about the 'True Love Waits' program. This program challenges
the children to keep themselves pure before marriage. One
example we used was ripping a piece of paper many, many times,
then asking the children what had this sheet of paper become.
And they replied, "trash", and that's what happens to our
lives if we don't keep ourselves sexually pure. They understand
this more fully than most, because many of them have lost
parents to diseases caused by sexual impurity.
As we were giving prizes and gifts, some of the kids blessed
us with mementos to remember them by. We were humbled and
blessed by their generosity. Our group leader told us that
most of the children had one pair of shoes that were for school
only. Some of them walk barefoot until they get to school,
so they won't wear out their good school shoes.
The young people in the schools of Jamaica are excited about
their future! When asked if they thought Jamaica was a poor
country, they responded happily and in unison "NO"!
In the orphanages some of the children were very sad. We did
our best to love on them, sing songs with them, and played
games to bring a few smiles. It was nice to see them forget
their troubles for a while and just have some fun. Many of
the children crowded around Birgit, as she became somewhat
of a science project for them. Younger children wanted to
touch and braid her hair. They were fascinated by how soft
Birgit's hair was. And of course we remember, "may I
have another kiss Miss, please"? As any child longs for
affection, they were very happy to get kisses from Birgit!
They loved Vincent's music and wanted us to come back as
soon as possible. One little girl said, "Mister Vincent,
when you sing you sound like a young man, (while glancing
at his bald spot) but you an old man! Ha, ha, ha ... Many
of them wanted to buy our CD's. We were only able to bring
in 60 units. We gave these as gifts to mostly teachers, but
some students did get some. We had to pay a tax on the CD's
we brought in, which were almost confiscated by their customs.
At the end of the trip Vincent was also asked to go to Trinidad
& Barbados this summer. There are many invitations to
go to many places all over the world. We are willing to go!
We need a larger support group. We are asking if you can support
us in prayer, we would like to know who you are and what God
is laying on your hearts to pray for us. If you want to be
a vital part of this ministry, we ask if you would prayerfully
support us financially on a monthly basis.
Love,
Vincent and Birgit |
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