Trying to stop the tears from streaming down my cheeks as we said goodbye to miss Erna Jane, I realised what God wanted me to learn during our time in Cayman Islands. For God, nothing is impossible. He gives freely. He blesses abundantly and when He provides, He provides in excess. Our God is an awesome God!
The people we met
Miss Erna Jane (the lady who gave us her house for 2 weeks) is responsible for the missions of their church and she looked after us as if we were her own children. She introduced us to so many inspiring individuals that really touched my life. And that's when the blessings really began. We were blessed with not one, not two but multiple dinners. What followed were movie nights, a birthday party, a Braai, food supplies, a lady even came over to cook food for us, pineapple cake, sodas, hot cross buns Jamaican buns, and even toothpaste! And that's not even all of it. ? So when looking at my photo's, keep in mind that we did not spend a lot of personal money, we were just blessed abundantly.
At first I did not know what God wants
us to do in Grand Cayman as it looked like these people have everything and live happy, Jesus filled lives. (They live on an Island, what more could you want? – just kidding.) But towards the end of our visit I realised that God definitely wanted us to be here, and He had big plans for us. We must not forget that we are not doing this year to see fruit, but to plant seeds, and we are able to plant seeds because God has already prepared the ground. I must remind myself constantly of this to not get discouraged as it sometimes looks like nothing is 'working'. But God is almighty and powerful, bigger than any mountain, and His gospel is stronger than we sometimes think.
During our visit, something troubled me greatly. I stood in awe of the fact that people WANTED to be with us, they kept inviting us for dinners, just spending time with us, having a bit of fellowship. But why? We can't offer them anything, we are younger than almost all the people we met there and a lot of them are strong
believers and radical for Jesus. So what can we offer? But God works in mysterious ways. The big plan was this, to make a difference in our new friends' lives, even if it is just small differences.
We helped Miss Fadey, a lady who's house was badly damaged during Hurricane Ivan, to clear some of the things out of her house and to break out some damaged cupboards, so that she can start restoring her house after 8 years. To us it was no trouble at all, but she appreciated it so much. We listened to people's life stories and just appreciated them. We shared testimonies with some friends and encouraged a few others, sharing God's love to the Caymanians, not knowing the impact it will have. Not only on their lives, but on mine.
The biggest blessing
The biggest blessing was certainly miss Erna Jane. She is just a lovely lady with so much to teach. She has so much knowledge and skills and a heart of gold. She became like a mother to us during those 2 weeks and I
really treasure the time she spent with us. It was such a privilege to know that she WANTED to spend time with us, and when saying goodbye to her, she told us how big a blessing it was for her to spend time with us. Every time we thanked her for the blessings, she would just say that we are a blessing to her, much more than she can bless us. She told us that she really prayed about what to do with her house and what God's will is, and she received God's confirmation through our visit. She really needed some fellowship and God provided. Wow, how intricate and perfect are God's plans! Thank you Lord for Miss Erna Jane.
We had many great ministry opportunities, like attending the assembly of a High School and a Primary School, where we could do drama skits for the kids and assist in devotions.
We also presented an entire Easter Sunday evening program. There were even flyers (with a photo of us) printed out to advertise the 'event'. And an hour long radio interview was organised. The
program consisted of a new drama, a dance, a work of art, a video and some preaching. I enjoyed the creativity a lot. ;)
Grand Cayman is a beautiful, relaxing and incredible island. Highly recommended to vacationers, honeymooners or just normal people like you and me, looking for a good time with white sandy beaches and bright blue seas. I had an amazing time and learnt and experienced so much of God's love. He truly surprises me all the time!
Please pray
Thank you for your support in prayer. Prayer is so powerful and I would appreciate your prayers in the following areas: Creativity and God's guidance in programs and sermons, the Caymanians and their culture (that it won't be lost in the big tourist culture), team dynamics, listening for God's voice and Him guiding us every step of the way, renewing our perspective time and time again, health, Miss Erna Jane in charge of the missions organisation,
and lastly, please pray for dependency on God.
Here in Grand Cayman it was quite evident that the rich sometimes start to depend on themselves and think that they do not need God, or need Him only a little bit. We then start living RELIGION and not by FAITH through GRACE. We then only add Jesus where He is 'needed' and where we cannot do it ourselves. But in reality, Jesus must be our life, not only part of our life.
Thank you for your financial support, it is much appreciated. If I don't thank you personally, it is probably that there were no name with the donation. So God really do work in 'mysterious' ways ;), and I appreciate the support dearly.
Be blessed and may Jesus be your life.
Kim Geldenhuys