| "It is for freedom that Chist has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" Galations 5 : 1 |
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| Prayer Update - December 2009 "My sheep listen to my voice: I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand" John 10:27-28 |
| Chicho started working at Totai at the beginning of October and is working with the administration team in the mornings and in the football school as an assistant coach in the afternoons. He’s enjoying being part of the Totai team and as you can imagine, loves being on a football pitch every day! He’s been on a couple of trips to nearby towns with the health team to help with a population based study on hearing deficiciency. He’s playing the guitar at church and we’re both on the newly set up youth group committee, working the teenagers at El Jireh church. Chicho’s law studies start up again in February and he’ ll start his third year of studies at university |
| Greetings from Trinidad! It seems like ages since we were at home in Scotland with you all. We miss being at Cartsbridge and seeing friends and family on a regular basis, but we’ve settled back into work, ministry, church and family life here. The last 3 months seem to have passed really quickly and it I can’t believe we’re now preparing special numbers for the Christmas service with the youth group!. The weather has been really hot recently and we’d really like some Scottish wintry weather to give us a wee break from the constant sun and heat!! I’m sure you’d like some of our sun instead of the wind and rain!! |
| I’m back working with the children who live with their parents in both of the local prison, and also children and young people in the local community. Laura and I currently have 3 classes a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. On Mondays, the children come from the local neighbourhood and the woman’s prison. On Wednesdays we work with a group from the men’s prison and the neighbourhood near the men’s prison, and on Fridays, we have a pre-school group, from both prisons and a few neighbourhood children too. The children come on a hired bus each day to class. We’ve just started a children’s Bible study book called “Keys of Gold” which is one of the Emmaus Bible correspondence studies. The children complete an exam at the end of each lesson and each day they arrive asking about the books and are keen to do their lessons and exams! |
| Some of the teenagers from the church youth group |
| I’ve recently found out that one of the girls whom I’ve known since she was little has been involved in prostitution, along with three of her cousins, two of whom are just 14 years old. It just broke my heart to talk to these girls and hear their stories, and all three girls have taken abortion pills in the last few months to end unwanted pregnancies, none of whom understood the danger of these pills or the consequences of what they were doing. Each one has said separately to me that this isn’t the life they want to live, but they don’t know what to do, and they need the money. Please pray for God’s strength to help me know how to help them and be someone they can trust and talk to, and that they will come to know how precious they are to God and that he has a plan for them, to give them hope and a future, a life that’s so different to what they’re living now. |
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| There is now a group of 7 young people on the youth group committee, and Chicho and I are involved in that group. The youth group meets every Saturday from 7-8pm for worship and Bible study for teenagers. We’re currently practicing choreographies and Christmas carols with the youth group to present at a special Christmas service on the 20th December, and have been encouraged to see a group of around 30 teenagers coming along each Saturday. From 8pm-9.30pm, there is a youth club/games night for kids from 10 years old + where they can come to the church and play foosball, table tennis and board games. This has proved to be very popular with the local neighbourhood kids and it’s great to see them in a safe environment, playing, chatting and having fun, and not hanging out on the streets at the weekend. There’s a five minute Christian message in the middle of the games night, and it was a real joy to hear that one of the teenage girls, who has just started coming with her cousin, accepted the Lord on Saturday night during the short message the pastor gave. Please pray for this ministry and that children and teenagers will come along to play and have fun, and that those who may otherwise never come to church, will have the chance to hear the gospel message. |
| At the beginning of November 53 teenagers from the community and basketball ministry, and El Jireh church went to a 3 day youth camp about 80 kilometers from Trinidad. Last year 30 teenagers went from Totai and El Jireh and it was amazing to see so many of our young folk participating again this year, and also a new group who had never been to camp before. Chicho went as a leader, and I visited for the day to see how they were all doing (I can’t handle 3 days in the jungle!) The theme of the camp was “More than Conquerers” with the key verse being Romans 8:37. A few weeks ago, we had a special service at church for the campers and their parents, where we had a time of worship, testimonies from the teenagers, puppets , an evangelistic message and a photo presentation from the camp. It was really encouraging to see a lot of parents at the service and almost all the teenagers who went to camp came along too. Please pray that they will continue to be involved in the youth group, and Bible studies and keep building on what they learnt about the Lord at camp, and apply it to their lives. |
| One of the groups of girls I've been meeting with |
| Christian message at the games night |
| Singing and Snack time |
| Friday afternoon class for pre-school age group |
| A group of the teenagers getting ready to leave for camp |
| In the last few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to meet up with some of the teenage girls who went to camp to encourage them to study the Bible, do the Emmaus courses, come to the youth group and just spend time with them. There are two groups of girls, who meet with me in one of their houses, to chat, pray and read the Bible together. It’s been so encouraging to have discussions with them about what they think about life and death, who God is, what they believe, and how their faith is shown through their daily lives. They’ve been so open to share, chat and discuss and the girls who are Christians are a great witness to those who aren’t and it makes for some really interesting discussions about what is true, and what they believe, and why they believe what they do. Please keep these girls in your prayers as we read the Bible together and talk through issues that are relevant to them in their everyday lives. Please pray for me, for guidance and wisdom, as I get to know them better and spend time with them |
| Thank you all for your prayers and support and we hope you all have a great Christmas with family and friends, celebrating the birthday of our Lord Jesus. Love Rachel and Chicho xx |
| We have an average of 50 different children coming to class each week at the moment. Please pray for the classes with the children, and that they would learn more about God and his plan for salvation through the Bible study. Classes will finish on the 18th December for the holidays (and rainy season!) and will start back up again near the end of February, God wiling. Laura is leaving at the end of this year to teach in a boarding school where her mum works, so she will be greatly missed by both the children, and everyone at Totai. Please pray for Laura as she starts this new chapter in her life, and also that we can find a classroom assistant with a real heart for these children, before classes are due to start next year. |