The Celebrate Church IMPACT team shares how they stretched out their hands in worship and service in their latest team update, written by Becky and Tara. Read it for more!
We started our morning stretching out our hands in worship at Kirk of The Pines where Pastor Barrett led us in beautiful song and praise and then long-term missionary, Justin, gave an impactful message from Ephesians 5 on modeling & reflecting Jesus in your family.
After snapping a quick picture, we drove to Maxwell’s Grocery Store, which is like the Walmart of Abaco – they have a little bit of everything. The prices at the store were very eye-opening, i.e. the original Terry’s Chocolate Orange slice candy was $10.25… not for a case, but for one 5.53 ounce package. Whoa!
Once we were finished browsing the store shelves and snagging a few treats to share, our crew headed to lunch at the waterfront restaurant aptly named “Colors” for its brightly colored walls and vibrant theme. We chowed down on crack conch and other delicious seafood entrees and traditional Bahamian fruit punch.
In the afternoon, we took a van ride down the finger of Marsh Harbor where we did some sightseeing, admiring the different stages of several high-end homes being rebuilt. There was a stunning white castle that towered above the community, high on the hill. It was a stark contrast to many of the buildings still in total disrepair along the island.
Our team then broke-out into two groups to join in the Stretch Out Your Hands model — distributing food bags as a way of bringing Christ’s blessing in the name of Jesus.
One vanload headed to Spring City, a small town not far from Camp Abaco where our amazing leaders, Uriel & Mason, were deeply involved in community relations. They led us to different houses where they greeted the men & women with heartfelt hugs and were received warmly, inviting our crew to step-in and meet our new friends.
Our first stop was to bless Mr. Dave, a wonderfully kind blind gentleman who radiated joy. We then got to meet Auntie Dell and her beautiful daughter. Our next greeting was at sweet UnaMay’s, followed by a joy-filled encounter with Angela, a grandmother of 15. We wrapped up our food distribution meeting Uriel’s wonderful brother & sister, Roger & Leslie.
The 2nd van was blessed to serve several Haitian community members with their leader, Brother Ode, where food and diapers were distributed to friends and neighbors, some of whom humbly lived in a shanty town located down a rough gravel road. It was a true joy to pray over each individual after hearing their story and leaning in to show the love of Jesus at every home. We all had the beautiful opportunity to glorify God by singing Amazing Grace, Jesus Loves Me, This Little Light of Mine (and other great songs) together with each new friend that we met.
It filled our cups to see them smile and praise alongside us.
“Today challenged us to lean in and get out of our comfort zone. We prayed boldly. We loved fearlessly. We stretched out our hands in many ways and the Lord so faithfully led us on each encounter here in Abaco. Thank You, Jesus!”
– Becky and Tara
