Join the Pella Christian IMPACT team on their week of IMPACT in Abaco! Their second day, they experienced the profound impact of prayer, witnessed the resilience of a community recovering from Hurricane Dorian, and discovered the true meaning of service. Read from Blake, Thomas, and Hunter to be inspired.

Today is the second full day since we landed at the Abaco International Airport, in Abaco, Bahamas. Today we went to Kirk of the Pines Church and it was a life changing experience, we came to the conclusion later at dinner that no matter the place or the denomination we all worship the same God. 

We then ate at a restaurant called Colors where we had a choice between traditional American food and Bahamian Cuisine. We were able to compare and contrast the differences in the menu items in the Bahamas versus the Americas. This provided insight on the cultural norms of the Bahamas.

After lunch, we decided to take a driving car tour around some of the close towns from camp. We saw a vast variety of living spaces, going from small dome houses, to larger houses that haven’t been completely finished. Seeing piles of garbage, rubble, and pure destruction from hurricane Dorian was quite the site to see on the tour. While on the tour, we also saw lots of houses in the process of being built, some close to being fully structurally built, to some with only a foundation and piles of building materials. Seeing all of the destruction of the hurricane was a heartbreaking sight, but also seeing houses being rebuilt and repaired was very hopeful to see as well. 

In the afternoon soon after our tour, we went back to the church and split up into 2 groups to distribute groceries and pray over individuals who were chosen by the First Assemblies of God to be blessed with food, water, and other supplies along with prayer for these individuals. Each group was given 4 houses to bless and pray over, giving each and every member of the groups a chance to pray over those who were blessed with the items given to them. This experience was very eye-opening for us as seeing the joy and the amount of gratefulness that came from the people that we prayed over. Seeing how much prayer does for those who need it is so impactful for us as members of the prayer groups today, and that just shows how important prayer is and how much it means to people to pray for them. 

–Blake Six, Thomas Kern, and Hunter Vander Linden