Project Trinidad
June 6-13 2009
Saturday, June 6 a team of 9 NCCers will be heading to Trinidad. Sarah Shapack, Thomas Vigessa, Geoff Yeowell, Amy Wall, Brad Meyer, Synina Pugh, Jen Charron, Jason Greenawalt, and Chris Jarrell will be serving the wonderful people of Trinidad from June 6 to June 13. Our team will be doing construction work and repairs on the Teen Challenge Drug Rehabilitation and Treatment Center, ministering in some of the local churches and sharing the Good News with several of the national churches through various practical outreaches. We will also be hanging with some of the youth playing soccer and volleyball with them.
Latest From the Journal
The Top 10 Moments and Takeaway from The Trinidad Trip
Chris Jarrell · June 16, 2009 · 4:48 PM
1. The fresh perspective I now have on life and my faith- a need to simplify and focus on what really matters.
2. Meeting the guys at the TC center and being able to be encouraging to them.
3. Meeting the guys at the TC center and being encouraged by them.
4. Having an appreciation for how easily the name of Jesus rolls off the tongues of the believers in Trinidad- and knowing I need to be more like that.
5. Being full of God-given joy for the week!
6. Working hard and sweating a ton.
7. Hanging out with my 8 new great friends (my fellow team-mates).
8. Being in Trinidad- seeing the beautiful country and beautiful people.
9. Praise and worship- Trini style!
10. Lots of laughing!
This trip was a great opportunity to renew the joy of my salvation. It has re-centered me to focus on the things that really matter in life- not work, not stuff… just loving people, serving, and investing in others’ life so that they can experience God’s love. There are so many ways that this trip stretched me, helped me grow and many ways that God spoke to me. I am so thankful for this opportunity.
Jen Charron
1. Chris’ sermons, he was on fire
2. Witnessing to Teen Challenge students
3. Street ministry
4. Devotional and prayer time in mornings and evenings
5. Sharing testimonies
6. van rides, especially when ian was driving! :)
7. Where’s Tom? :)
8. It should take about 2 hours to build the chicken coop :)
9. Get the Neosporin, Jason’s bleeding again :)
10. play day
This past week was by far, the most powerful week of my life. We certainly went with every intention of trying to help, and bless the students at the Teen Challenge Center, and people in Trinidad. Instead, upon returning I find that it was me who was blessed, in so many ways. My love for Christ, my desire to live for Him has been reignited…there is a fire burning inside of me. I can’t wait to see all of the ways that God continues to use this trip through each of us. We left a lot of sweat in Trinidad, in return, we brought back so much more than any of could have ever imagined. So blessed to be part of such an amazing team!
Amy Wall
1. Being around an amazing team that I can totally trust.
2. Preaching in several churches in Trinidad
3. Meeting the incredible students and leaders at the Teen Challenge Center
4. Learning some new construction skills…you need me to mix concrete give me a call
5. Morning and evening devotionals and win sharing with the team…very inspirational
6. Hearing the testimonies of the team at the church services
7. Being around the Trini people..some of the most precious people
8. Sweating a lot for God…no seriously!
9. Working hard together as a team and playing hard together.
10. Hearing the testimonies of several of the Teen Challenge Students
I was definitely stretched this past week. I did think things outside of my comfort zone, I did things I have never done before and I absolutely loved it. The team that I served with was so unified and so tight, I could could not ask for a better team of nine individuals who made missions trip one of the greatest experiences in my life. I feel like I was blessed more than I should have been by the hospitality and love of the Trini people and I feel I got more out of the trip than I invested and put in to it. My life will never be the same…Thank you God!
Chris Jarrell
1. Serving the Lord and seeing the fruits of our labor firsthand
2. Traveling overseas for the first time
3. Praying for total strangers; speaking into people’s lives and seeing them visibly moved
4. Witnessing the true joy of salvation
5. Seeing Pastor Chris’ love for people through his amazing messages
6. Our amazing team
7. The FOOD! and the hospitality
8. The amazing scenery
9. Mauby! (The best thing ever. In the history of the world.)
10. Jason, for taking the title of Mr. Accident-prone, so I didn’t have to
What an amazing week it was! It was something special for me to know I was with the right group of people in a place where God called me to be. I’m so thankful that I was even able to go, considering my obligation to the military. As I’m processing the whole thing, I’m realizing that even though it was such a blessing for each of us to be a part of this trip, that is such a small part of God’s plan for His Kingdom. This was my first missions trip and, Lord willing, not my last! Being pulled out of my comfort zone and committing to deliberately acting out my faith this way was the best thing that could have happened to me. Thank God for putting me where I am and giving me this opportunity, and thank God for the freedom that comes through serving the Most High.
Tom Vigessa
We Were Able To Bless Above And Beyond
Chris Jarrell · June 15, 2009 · 3:05 PM
The Trinidad Team arrived back to Washington, DC late Saturday night. We were all impacted in one or another. We will share our stories in the next few days of what God did in us and through us. We were all so blessed to serve and work alongside the Teen Challenge Crew in Trinidad as well as some incredible churches. God stretched and I know none of us will be the same again after this amazing trip.
God also enabled to give above and beyond financially to the work of the Teen Challenge Ministry in Trinidad, we were able to not only to give the students and staff the blessing of purchasing all the material for the work that we did, we were also able to go beyond to bless the Teen Challenge Center so they can purchase a new stove, a new refrigerator, a new gas powered weed whacker (they had their other one stolen) as well as being able to provide a little extra for more upgrades. Beyond those things we gave out 80 personal hygene kits to Teen Challenge Students and to Children at the Bridge of Hope orphanage. We were also able to give to give away 15 soccer balls and 10 volley balls to children. We were able to do this because of the giving support and kindness of so many people who gave and invested in this work. In total, we were able to do about $9000 worth of investment into the work that God is doing, each one who gave are shareholders in that work. We couldn’t do it without so many people willing to give.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
Blood Sweat and Tears
Chris Jarrell · June 12, 2009 · 5:25 AM
This past week, I had the honor to serve shoulder to shoulder with 8 other NCCers. This past week we worked hard together, we sweated together, we stunk together, we got dirty together, we bled together, and we cried together. We also laughed a lot together. I could not have asked for a better team to do this trip with and to lead for the last 7 days. Not only has the mission been accomplished, I also believe it was a job well done.
All on this team were stretched, we all experienced new things, we were push out of our comfort zones, and I believe none of us will leave this country of Trinidad without being change or affected. I mission trip is indeed better than 52 sermons. This past week was off the charts. I am so grateful for what has done in me and through me personally. It is my prayer as we spend this last day in Trinidad, that we would continue to allow what God started in us this week to carry over into our neighborhoods, at our workplaces and the places where we play. That we would all have a greater perspective and a greater appreciation for every blessing that God has given us, Thank You Lord for what you have done.
Today, the team will get to play hard together as we travel throughout Trinidad and spend a few hours at the beach. Looking forward to kicking back and relaxing and hanging with this awesome team.
Chris
Mission Accomplished
Chris Jarrell · June 11, 2009 · 9:06 PM
We all came to Trinidad expecting to see God to do some amazing things - mission accomplished! As we sit in our apartment on the last official night of working with the Teen Challenge Center, we are overwhelmed at what God has done in our hearts and those that we have come into contact with over the last week. As we wrapped up our last full day of serving, the entire team wishes we could stay longer. These are our top highlights from the week:
1) Saying good bye to our new friends at the Teen Challenge Center was really hard - we had the opportunity to sweat, break bread, and shares our stories for the last 4 days. It was an experience that will definitely leave us changed forever. We finished all assigned tasks - poured a lot of concrete, built a wall, and designed and constructed a world-class chicken coup (all thanks to Amy, our chief engineer). Nevertheless, this was a small piece of we we were able to be a part of this week. We got to connect to some amazing people whose lives have been transformed by a faith in Christ. Listening to their stories and testimonies of renewal and transformation created a greater desire for God within our entire team. We were blessed by these awesome men far more than we were able to bless them. Our prayers will be with each one of these men as they continue on their journey towards righteousness through faith.
2) We had the opportunity to minister to or do outreach with three awesome churches. The warmth and hospitality with which these communities of believers welcomed us was amazing. Having the opportunity to go into an incredibly impoverished area in Sande Grande to simply do some community outreach was life altering. It was eye opening to see people that were gracious and warm despite have very few material possessions. Open Bible Church at Sande Grande offered true hope in these communities and were truly putting their faith into action. They set a high benchmark for how to love our neighbors as ourselves.
3) We had the opportunity to visit Bridge of Hope group home - WOW! All of the 30 children in this facility were placed in there by court order because of abuse or neglect. The facility was incredibly well maintained and the staff was nothing short of remarkable. The kids entertained us with a steel drum performance and gave us a chance to test out our musical abilities (Jason should never be allowed to come within 5 feet of a steel drum ever again - seriously, it was truly terrible). These children were simply beautiful, and we were blessed to be able to spend time with them.
As we wind down our week, we can’t help but to feel that God has done something new in each of our hearts. We can honestly say that our team has been in total unity from the day we left for Trinidad. We have been forced to get out of our comfort zone and do something new - sharing our testimonies in front of a large audience, praying for worshipers during an alter call, doing street evangelism, etc. No matter what we were doing during the week, we had an awesome team that continued to encourage each other and spur each other on to take risks and put ourselves in uncomfortable situations.
Out - Synina, Sarah, & Jason
Day 4: God at work
Chris Jarrell · June 10, 2009 · 9:12 PM
Today, God officially blew my mind. The day started back at the Teen Challenge Center, continuing the projects from yesterday and enjoying getting to further know the students and their excitement for Christ. This was displayed in the ways varying from a 45 year-old man climbing into a half-constructed chicken coup and acting like a caged animal to the same man sharing his past from the depths of his heart. The man I’m referring to is named David Emmanuel Gonzalez. I’m not sure if anyone in a church in America has heard a testimony quite like his: the things he shared ranged from committing adultery, being hopelessly enslaved to a myriad of drugs and the endless pursuit of getting high(even as desperate as trying to get high off pepper sauce), to sacrificing and drinking the blood of goats and other animals in the name of the Hindu god Kali. Watching him break down into tears at the thought of his past actions, and then witnessing his joy in nearly everything he did throughout the day, was truly something that God provided each of us to see and be part of. After informing us that he has not yet learned to read, he went on to preach a message on Psalm 23 in the driveway to whomever was listening, all from memory. This is just part of one story of deliverance and renewal that we have come to know in our few days here on the island. The students at Teen Challenge are so real and transparent, willing to share their lives. After a full day sweating at the Center and sharing the day with the guys, we showered up and headed to Cunuma Pentecostal Church where a traditional meal of “roti” awaited us. The congregation was incredibly hospitable. Pastor Chris preached a great message from the book of James; Sarah, Jason, and Amy gave their testimonies; and we had the opportunity to pray not only with the students from the Center but also with members of the congregation—a powerful time. Getting to share this week with each other, seeing God’s work in people’s lives, and experiencing the local culture are making all of us wish we had several more days ahead. Unfortunately, only one work day remains. We plan to finish strong!
Signing Off,
Tom And Geoff
Trini Randoms (AKA, Day 3)
Chris Jarrell · June 09, 2009 · 8:46 PM
Tonight officially marks the half way point of the trip so far. We had a great day today building (mostly) a chicken coop, laying the foundation for a 500 gallon water storage tank, and shoveling a lot of dirt (really, it was really heavy clay). The best thing about digging holes is that after we are done with the dirt, we get to move it somewhere else! For all of you who have easy access to giant cement mixers, Trinidad does not. The mixing of concrete consists of wheel barrows full of gravel transported across a busy road and dumped out and spread out into a flat, circular shape. Then, we cover that with cement mix and dig holes in the surrounding. Brad and Tom think it looks like a cracker… or maybe the moon. Jen disagrees. She thinks it looks like dirt with little holes in it. Regardless of any of this nonsense…. the holes are for water. After the water soaks in, we grab shovels and begin the ‘human cement mixer’ moves, somehow without letting all the water run out. After it is nice and mixed, we fill buckets with the cement mix and take it over to the foundation pour (for the 500 gallon water storage tank). This process is usually interrupted by: 1) Lunchtime, 2) Too much cement, 3) David from the Teen Challenge Center dancing around with a black plastic bag on his head (Nacho Libre Style), 4) David’s crazy Trini arithmetic (1, 2, 3, 6… good).
No really, it has been great getting to know a lot of the guys who are living and working at the Teen Challenge Center. Many of them have really incredible testimonies and will need lots of prayer as they leave the center and go back to ‘real life’ and the challenges that await them there. It is so evident that God has a hold on this Center and the work that they are doing really impacts all of the young men that come through the program. Please keep these guys and the ministry in your prayers.
Ok, so some little take-aways that you may not know about Trinidad:
1) They drive on the ‘wrong’ side of the road
2) There are cute little stray doggies everywhere (direct quote from Brad)
3) Tom thinks all of the crazy looking bushes, trees, buildings, wart-covered lemons, pirate booty, his new puma flippy-floppies, strange Trini X-Bars, and the fact that they do not use high fructose corn syrup… only real sugar is “SOOOOOOO COOOL!” (or Awesome!, he alternates phrases)
4) They serve ‘Shark and Bake’ at the beach- which really is shark on coco bread.
5) Everything here is spicy.
6) You typically will drink 5 bottles of water before lunch time and still not use the rest-room (it is that hot and humid here)
7) Recommend closing your eyes when passing into on-coming traffic on a 2 lane highway (especially if your really accomplished #6). The car coming at you somehow has the right-a-way even when he is on your side of the street.
We are having a great time here.
Check out pictures from the trip at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=89067149347
Signing off -Brad, Tom and Jen
Update from the last 2 days on the ground in Trinidad
Chris Jarrell · June 09, 2009 · 6:48 AM
Whew! It’s only been two days and already God has moved in so many ways.
Sunday we were able to go to the Gathering Place, which is a church here in Trinidad. We were able to worship and share in the service with the people there. Pastor Chris preached an extremely powerful message and 3 of our team members shared their testimony. Three people, responded by raising their hands, to the message and crossed the line of faith. After the service we were able to fellowship with the people their and get to know a little bit about them while enjoying some Trinidad cuisine.
After church, Paster Sam Mayeski (Our Missionary) took us out to check out some of the beautiful landscape here. This is a very beautiful place. We stopped at one of the beach’s one of the local must haves: shark and bake, let’s just say….breathing fire. One of our team members, Tom, decided that he was going to drench his sandwich in the “pepper sauce” aka - the hot stuff…very funny to see! The pictures will be uploaded soon!
Monday, we were able to go to the Teen Challenge Center . Here, we were able to meet some of the students from the center. We were able to here their amazing testimonies and work side by side with them. Nothing builds a bond like sweating together…and we were definitely sweating! We dug some footers, laid block and poured some concrete…which we mixed by hand by the way. Again, can’t wait for you to see the pictures!
It’s great to be used by God, but already I feel like we are the ones being blessed by this trip! Can’t wait to see all of the ways that God will use us the rest of this week.
Keep us in your prayers as we work in the heat and humidity of Trinidad.
Amy Wall
Sweat, Sweat, Sweat and Oh Yeah Concrete Laid
Chris Jarrell · June 08, 2009 · 8:54 PM
Hopefully the title says it all. :-) Today we did a lot sweating and drinking water. We start our work with the Teen Challenge Center here in Trinidad this morning at 8:30 and went to 6:00. We laid a concrete foundation down for them that we mixed by hand and poured in by hand. I have to admit this is the first time that I have ever laid concrete. Of course before you do that you have to dig it out and box it in with boards. So this amazing team of time got our hands dirty, for that matter our legs our faces, shoes and what ever the concrete could have gotten.
We also worked should to should with several of the Teen Challenge student and personal. Definitely a great team of people. David , a Teen Challenge Student, who was running lead on the “concrete” crew shared his amazing story about how was Hindu and was one of the top Hindu leaders. He did the coal walking and all the other weird stuff (think Indiana Jones), that Hindu leaders do. God has totally transformed his life. He loves Jesus and he has so much fire within him. What an encouragement and inspiration to us all, as well as all the other students who worked beside.
Tomorrow we head back out to the center to continue concrete work, kitchen repairs and upgrade, I am sure we will sweat and get dirty again tomorrow, God does like the smell of our sweat.
The Team Is On the Ground in Trinidad
Chris Jarrell · June 06, 2009 · 10:39 PM
We got into Port Of Spain at 8:15PM. After going through customs and immigrations and grabbing Church Fired Chicken or Subway to go from the Airport, we head to our home for the next week. Asaposis Guest House Retreat Center, We arrived here at 10:45, did a brief touch point to prepare us for the week ahead to talk morning logistics. I shared a quick devotional from 2 Peter 1:16-21.
So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.
We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
I encouraged the team to allow God to use them and speak into lives of those we will be serving with a prophetic voice. Looking forward to seeing how God will use us as a united to speak into lives with actions and words.
It is late and I am tired so time for bed. We are out in Trinidad…Good night!
Heading to Trinidad
Chris Jarrell · June 05, 2009 · 7:51 PM
Here are some of our prayers as we approach our time in Trinidad. Will you partner with us as we seek God for this trip?
- We would make the Lord known through our serving. Isaiah 26:8
- People we share God’s love with would be in awe of who God is.
- That as we minister and serve, we would be guided by the Spirit of God to do uncontainable and uncontrollable things
- That we would be totally joined together and unified as a team
- That not only the lives we are serving will be transformed, but all nine of us would be transformed by this week long trip.
- We would all be open to the work that God wants to do in us and through us.
- We would be uncomfortable on this trip, in other words that we would step out our routines and comforts and allow God to put us in places and situations where we need to totally trust and be guided by Him.
- We would be stretched in ways unimaginable
- Let us embrace uncertainties
- That we would experience a modern day Acts in Trinidad.
- We would be conduits of God’s love, grace, mercy and hope.
Simply we want to do amazing things for the Kingdom of God and we are so grateful for the opportunity to spend a week among the people of Trinidad. We are looking forward to share what God is going to do during this trip.
Chris
