Greetings, friends, supporters, and brothers and sisters in
Christ!
This
year, I chose to spend my spring break in Jamaica. Thanks to your support, prayers
and God's direction, that choice became a reality! Here's a brief overview of
what we did and how God used us.
Our
time in Jamaica was preceded by a day of preparation at Minneola Alliance
Church in Orlando where we practiced songs, shared testimonies, and reflected
on/studied the Bible. We arrived at Montego Bay, Jamaica Sunday afternoon, and
met the local missionary, Radcliffe Braham. A native Jamaican and the Awana
missionary for all of Jamaica, he graciously coordinated our week ministering
to six schools in the Santa Cruz area.
At
each school we did at least one 25-minute presentation. School was still in
session in Jamaica, so we weren't able to offer a longer presentation or host a
VBS. In total, we shared eight presentations. We performed a song with motions,
acted out a pantomime, shared a testimony, and told a Bible story. The most
exciting part of this for me was the pantomime. In our pantomime, we showed the
creation of the world, the fall of man and need of a Savior, and death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. We acted this out without words alongside an
instrumental soundtrack which fit perfectly with the scenes in our pantomime. My
part was to play God and Jesus, and I loved showing these important roles in
our skit.
Three
of our schools were high schools, and at these it was difficult to present to
such a large group of students. We estimated over 800 students at each of these
presentations. I remember at Black River High School and St. Elizabeth
Technical High School how the balconies and walkways were full of teenaged kids;
many of these have never heard of Jesus despite the presence of evangelism
there. It was very encouraging to hear a few students tell us they identified
with the testimony shared. It was also encouraging to hear the vice principal
of each school support and reiterate what we shared, which is something that
sadly doesn't happen in American public schools.
Besides
the time spent at these schools, we were given time to visit the area, by
touring Black River, visiting Negril, and going to a Fred Meyer-like Jamaican store.
We attended a prayer meeting at the Missionary's church on Wednesday where we
shared our testimonies. Our downtime was not lifeless, of course. We spent this
time encouraging one another as we read the Bible and prayed with our daily
prayer partners. I'm so thankful that the insights shared and discussions of First
Thessalonians and Colossians strengthened the unity of our team. I wouldn't
trade anything for the friends that we've become on this trip. Praise the Lord!
To see pictures from the trip of my team and the schools, go
here.
-John Micah
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