Welcome to Paradise

   Our team had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas in the Carribean! We spent the holidays passing out cookies and Christmas cards in an elderly home called Flambouyant Gardens. We were able to pray for many people, and were so blessed to be able to bring some love and cheer to this Christmas season. Christmas Eve our team spent the morning at the beach. We had a total blast!! Later that night we had a team celebration because Christmas Day we invited people to the YWAM base who didnt have any family to spend Christmas with and had a delicious Christmas dinner. :)

   In the past week our team went to two different projects here on the island. Projects are the government funded housing. In many cases one home in the project will have up to 10 or 15 people living in them. So they are very crowded. Monday we first visited the project called Paradise Mills. And it didnt take long for the kids to come out and play with us. We brought differnt balls to play with, frisbees, and jump-ropes. The kids were so eager to jump right in! Some were a little shy at first but after some dancing in the rain and jumping around there was non stop laughter and dancing. The whole day was filled with amazing experiences. We went back to Paradise Mills the next day and the kids, were so excited to see us again! We had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back and continue relationships with the children.

Leah with Quashen, they made fast friends!

Solveig with Quadiva and Mikia :)

   The other project community we have been going to is called Kennedy. This project has a lot more kids and as soon as we got there everyone was curious why we were there. So we got to share with some teens and adults why we were there and that we will be coming back. Everyone was so excited! Our team has had such a great time with the kids. Every time the kids see us again they open up and are more comfortable around us. All of our hearts are breaking over the family issues that go on here in St. Croix. We are thanking God daily for this open mission field to love on children and reach the community by bringing Gods Glory to these places! 

 Mindy playing some baseball

Malene loving on little girls

   We have also been helping the Lighthouse ministry about three times a week. As relationships are builiding, so is our teams confidence. We have stepped out in faith, leaving our comforts behind. It has been a wonderful experience so far! We have students preaching at the Lighthouse once a week and it has been so great to see how our willingness to say yes to the Lord has brought so much freedom in our team. After meeting with the leaders of the Lighthouse we were told of many things we could to do bless them as long term missionaries, and projects we will be able to help them pioneer. Our team is excstatic to see God opening so many doors to us!

Lighthouse Logo

Here is what our team has to say:
Mindy: The names sharty, I am a white chick but I am black at heart. ( Told this by some local homeless friends)
Hanna: I am falling more in love with this place and the people every day!
Jared:  They call me Captain Black Foot.
Leah: I started aerobics class with children in the projects, the LOVE it.
Joo: Holding Jesus' hand.
Solveig: I taught the Americans to not mix our Norwegian Rice Pudding.
Malene: I love the kids here so much.
Melissa B: Totally blown away by the opportunities God has given us!
Melissa J: "I've never been more aware of my skin color!"
Josh: The help of the kids here is improving my bball skills!

                                                                With all our love!!

Please Do Not Feed the Iguanas

 Team St. Croix arrived on this beautiful Carribean Island Thursday night around 10 pm. We are staying at the YWAM base which is in the town of Christiansted. One of the two "official' cities on the ilsand. The base is an old sugar plantation with all the original bulidings. Our first weekend here was spent with the Kings Kids Ministry run out of the ywam base. It had a mini camp feel where the kids stayed the night, we played games, had worship, dance and drama time, devotionals and a lot of laughs! We absolutely fell in love with the kids over the weekend, and are so excited to work with them over the next few months. On saturday we went out into town and picked up garbage with the kids...

Melissa B. with Kings Kids

We picked up over 30 trash bags full of garbage off the streets. The team had a great time helping the kids and interacting with some locals who were very appreciative of our efforts to bring Gods Glory to the island. We finished the weekend going to the St. Croix Christian Church with the Kings Kids and enjoyed every second!

On Monday we started our week off with morning devotional time as a team. This is something we do every morning to invite God into our day and focus our attention on him. We spent time seeking Gods heart for St. Croix and contending in prayer over the island. We had a time of worship and have one student give a word. Afterwards we spent the rest of the day making Christmas cards and cookies for the homeless people here. We made over 200 cookies and 50 cards. Each card had a bible verse and joyful holiday wishes inside. Our goal was to make every card a card full of hope. After we made the cards and cookies we assembled them into care packages that also included; deoterant, soap, and a bible. The Lighthouse ministry here passed them out at their morning gathering on Tuesday morning, and later that  day we saw a man walking down the street with one of the care packages we put together. It was so fun for the team to see that we had done something to help the homeless here on the island.

Jared and Joo :)

The girls!

Tuesday and Wednesday we drove around the island and did a prayer tour. Our team spent time praying into the different speheres of society and discovered how Gods heart is breaking over the issues in each one. As we drove around we saw things we never really expected to see. Since St. Croix is a part of the US it has housing provided by the government called the projects. In these small houses multiple families will live together. As we drove through the island, the team had an overwhelming feeling of abandonment and deterioration over the people and land of St. Croix. There was a strong sense of a forgotton people; the Cruzans.

A house in ruins, yet people still live here

And there are really large iguanas here. And lots of them. Hence the title of this blog. Josh found it very amusing that there would be a sign asking the public not to feed the iguanas!

 So he took a picture, and laughed about it the rest of the day! We love our leaders!! :)

Here is what our team has to say.....

  Melissa B: We are growing as a team who is dependent on the Lords leading. We are constantly having times of worship, listening to his voice, digging into his word, and seeking His heart for St. Croix.

Leah: I'm not sweating here!!

Josh: Fire in St. Croix!

Mindy: Dying to the flesh and saying yes to the spirit

Joo: I'm sleepy but I love the kitchen

Jared: Joo fell down from his bunkbed

Hanna: It is so beautiful here!! I can't wait to see how God uses our team on the island

Solveig: Lots of BUGSSSSS, but I love it here

Malene: I love my new roomies :)

Melissa J: Flavored by God

Good Afternoon from St. Croix!! :D