Today was filled with many interesting
experiences for our group. This morning we woke up and headed to the first
church service, which was held outside of the home of one of the church members.
The setup was simple. A tarp for the ceiling, benches and lawn chairs for seats,
and a small group of intruments to
provide the music. About 50 or 60 people from the community gathered for a
prayer service to come against attacks from the devil. Specifically, one of the
daughters of this family is involved in a lesbian relationship and her parents
and family asked the church to stand with them in prayer against Satan. Even
though we didn’t understand many of the words to the worship songs or any of
the testimonies given, we still fully participated because we prayed in English
as they prayed in Spanish and Creole. We know God can understand all of those
languages! We had a wonderful experience and we believe that prayer changes
things. This is one part of our trip where there are no pictures, out of respect for the family.
After the service ended we went back to the
hotel to change and eat some lunch. We gathered our water shoes and towels and
made our way to the waterfall! When we got there we walked up a stone trail
which led us to the waterfall. Once we reached the top we went straight into
the water, the water was nice and cold and the view was absolutely beautiful! Before
we left we had some time to climb up into the water and take a ton of pictures
too. We made our way back down the trail, loaded up into the bus and headed to
the beach. When we got out of the bus we were all so surprised to see the beach
completely covered in pebble stones instead of sand, and the water was so blue! Some
people in the group ran right into the water and started swimming while others
stayed on the beach and looked for unique rocks to keep. We spent some time
there and then drove back to the hotel to get ready for the evening service.
When we got to the school we all took our seats
in the church and waited for it to begin. It was much easier to understand this
service, because they supplied each of us with a headset to wear so that Patti could translate what Moise and the others were saying. Watching how the people
worshipped was something we will never forget! It is clear that the members
of Ebenezer church have a true passion and
joy in Christ. With every song that played everyone raised their voices and
praise rang out. Each person there was so on fire for God, it was contagious! Our
group put together a song to sing during the church service. Even though it was
in English, most of the church body caught on and sang along. There was also some
clapping and dancing. Teresa and Randy also shared their testimony to the
congregation about perserverance and how God has blessed their lives. We are so
thankful to have this experience and have the opportunity not only for us to
bless these people but for them to bless us as well. Adios amigos!
