Saint Croix Ministry
Once the full team joined us in St. Croix a large portion of our time was spent running various children's ministry programs. The base we partnered with is deeply involved in the local community, and has been working with the same housing project for eight years. Although Crucian culture is known for being very distrusting of Americans we were quickly welcomed into work on the island and entrusted with the hearts and minds of many children. The steady and intentional work of the staff there paved the way for us to begin making an impact day one, and we are so grateful for the necessary foundation they laid. We spent a lot of time tutoring children there who have not received consistent schooling in three years due to the 2017 hurricanes which destroyed schools and now Covid. The children were so smart and capable, but many of them have not been well empowered in their schoolwork. Teachers on the island are extremely underpaid and undervalued, and parents often have a dozen children which makes it difficult to give any of them individual attention. Sitting down with them one on one and guiding them made such a difference even during our short time there. One student Andrew worked with often, Amarion, looked to Google as a default teacher when he didn't understand something, just seeking the answer that the teacher wanted. Through Andrew's encouragement of his ability to think critically and form his own opinions Amarion grew drastically in his ability to express himself and hold his work to a higher standard. Before the end of Outreach Amarion let us know he had made the honor roll! We were so proud of not only that accomplishment but his new desire to learn well and continue growing. We know we can expect great things from him moving forward!
One of our other favorite ministries was running youth group for a local church. Due to some quick changes in leadership the church was left without a youth pastor. That coupled with Covid meant the church's youth had not been able to meet in a year. We were able to run a youth program for them complete with worship, sermons, small groups, and games. Throughout the weeks students were able to open up and share struggles in their personal lives and find safe people to hear and champion them. They were encouraged weekly with ways they could develop a deeper relationship with God, and really took ownership of the discussions during small group times. On the last night of youth group our sweet friend Amarion made the decision to dedicate his life to Christ! We are so grateful our team was able to witness this commitment, and know he is in amazing hands moving forward. The base in St. Croix will undoubtedly continue to disciple him and shape his journey as a young man of God.
Along with these programs we spent our time running two P.E. classes for different age homeschool students and cleaning up the property for the St. Croix base. One of the P.E. students went home after the first week and told her mom playing freeze tag with us was as fun as visiting Disney World! Being cooped up by Covid for a year might have lowered her standards a little bit, but we were still honored by the comparison. Working on the property was a gift as well, despite all the termites, stinging centipedes, spiders, and various other critters present. All plants in the Caribbean grow at an unbelievable rate (for our friends in the South imagine if every plant were kudzu). A tree can grow taller than us in a matter of three months! A large, unused section of the property had become completely overrun by trees, vines, human size weeds, and critters. Our team was able to completely clear the area which can now be maintained and eventually built upon. The staff hopes to build more housing so they can host larger teams and expand their summer kids camps. We loved getting to play a small role in their dreams.
Our time in St. Croix achieved exactly what we had hoped it would: we were able to gain a deeper understanding of what sustainable, long-term missions looks like as a family. The base directors and their daughters were a wonderful example of every member in the family truly owning their part in a ministry. The entire staff was wholly dedicated to the day in and day out grind that is required to invest in community for a prolonged time. There are far more days in missions spent taking a machete to weeds or helping a child with long division than there are seeing someone say their first "yes" to Christ, but one cannot happen without the other. All of these things are seen and treasured by God. In Luke 16 Jesus told His disciples, "Whoever can be trusted with little can also be trusted with much." As we move forward in Colorado and wherever else God leads we will strive every day to be committedly faithful in the small things. We can't wait to see what God is able to build on that foundation!
