We Made it To Guadeloupe!

This week has been so busy and exciting. My last week of class was focused on spiritual warfare and relationships. I spent some time with the other team on Friday night, just as a small farewell until graduation. The whole team spent Saturday packing and relaxing. Tam was baptized in the pool. It was so cool to be apart of the experience I helped her research being baptized because she wanted to be, but she didn’t really understand the concept. We looked up some scriptures and prayed about it. She decided she wanted to express the physical representation of how she believed in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and how he’s changed her life. It was so touching to be apart of her experience and support her. The school of the performing arts doesn’t leave for another two weeks for their outreach so on Saturday they cooked us a lovely meal to send us off.

We said our goodbyes and headed off for the Kingston airport on Sunday morning. We got to see so much of the island; the ocean, rivers, fields; it was incredible how much of Jamaica we hadn’t seen until then. The Kingston airport was really big and I had a frappicinno for the first time in three months, which was truly comforting. Our whole DTS flew to Antigua and spent the night there. On Monday we saw the downtown area and got really close to a curse ship. In Mo bay we just see the ships from afar; I had no idea how gigantic they actually are. It’s like a city on the water. Antigua’s culture was very calm. It was a lot less aggressive than being in public in Mo Bay. People didn’t hassle us for a cab ride they only asked once then left us alone. I saw a building called, “The Patrick A Michael Building.” How crazy is it that a random small island my brothers first and middle names were on a building. It reminded me of just how much I miss him.

Our team said goodbye to the other students and left for the airport. It was so hard to go through yet another farewell. Well, actually it wasn’t that hard I think I was ready to leave them and get outreach rollin’. I will really miss Larissa she’s my DTS B.F.F, for sure. I laugh so much with her and we always get yelled at. I am sorry were not on the same team, but I’m going to visit her in Canada later so it’s all good. We flew out of Antigua had a connecting flight in Dominica and then landed in Guadeloupe at around 7:30. The leader of the base here is Samuel which in French is pronounced “Sam-Well” he’s our tour guide/director here. We made it to the base in about 45 minutes from the airport. It was so weird to drive here because in Jamaica the steering wheel is on the right so I’ve gotten really used to driving on the opposite side of the road, but in Guadeloupe they drive the same way as North Americans so I felt a little more at home. The Y.W.A.M. team here is still in the pioneer stage, they don’t have there own base yet so they rent bungalows from a hotel here. It’s like a tiny paradise get away. I had my first hot shower in 3 months yesterday. Praise Jesus!!! I actually felt squeaky clean! Meaghan prayed I would get a hot shower about a month ago and God answered. It’s funny because all the girls have hot water but the boy rooms are still icy cold like in Jamaica. Thank you Lord!

We’ve been somewhat stuck on our base and limited to what ministry work we can do here because Guadeloupe is in the middle of a large oil strike. When we arrived in the airport we saw a bunch of baggage carts that had been destroyed and were blocking the bus park entrance. This happened during a riot, we’ve been asked to remain close to the base until the strike ends. Samuel traveled home the other evening and got stuck there because the roads we closed due to the rioting. It’s just safer to shut down for a week than try and risk getting caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Please pray for peace and a safe and speedy journey for Samuel. We can’t do a lot of our ministry because of this situation. I think my team is feeling a little useless and stranded. I know God has a purpose for us and we are trying to enjoy the rest and down time God has given us. I was able to take two hour naps two days in a row. I’m thankful for the rest, but I’m ready to see the nation and experience the culture.

We have done a couple things so far. We have been helping maintain the base with yard work and cleaning. We are helping the DTS with work duties. This base is only 20 people including us so we don’t mind doing dishes, it’s so much easier than washing after 60 people like back in Mo Bay. We are also helping with a youth night the team is hosting here. The theme is Hope. Some of us are learning worship songs in French, I’m helping decorate and Tam is giving a devotional. The staff and students are very helpful and kind here. They are really enjoying seeing new people and making new friends. There are so many different languages spoken and interpreted on this base. Some people from Guadeloupe can only speak the French Creole and some English. There are many people from Switzerland who know French and English. There’s a girl from Finland who knows French and English I’m learning the most random parts of different languages. Learning Spanish in high school has really hindered me from reading French I can’t seem to grasp the pronunciation and grammar, I am however realizing I retained a lot of Spanish, so now I want to go to South America, just one more thing on my list of places to go and serve.

This Sunday our team is leading the service at Samuel’s house church. We are doing worship, a message, and performing a drama. It’s crazy that I’m running the service. In outreach everyone has specific rolls. Tam is the accountant she handles our budget and spending. Sandra is in charge of intercession she looks through our notes and creates categories of what God has been speaking to us. Josiah is in charge of Worship (music and creative) Xavier is our meal guy, He makes sure we’re feed and finds cheap places for us to eat when we’re on the road. I am the ministry prep lady. I run all the meetings to prepare us for the upcoming events. I make sure we practice our skits and organize our programs. Our team has been working really well together. We planned a whole Church service in about 25 minutes! It’s been great! Only 8 weeks until I’m home…wow I can’t believe it.
Psalm 145