Creatively Reaching Children in the Cayman Islands!

Today we have a guest post from another one of the amazing CEF staff we get to serve on a daily basis as missionaries, this time from Caris Bramwell who is the national leader in the Cayman Islands.


The last meeting of Good News Club was held on March 10. All schools were closed as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic. However, as the children were home and doing virtual learning, this opened the much sought-after opportunity for us to relate to them,

Having received some highly creative and engaging materials, these were forwarded to all club leaders, some teachers, parents and children. Some team leaders have established different platforms to keep in touch with the children. These include Whatsapp groups with children and parents, Zoom and Teams GNCs. In these clubs the CEF resources are utilized.

However, some are using the resources quite appropriately and are receiving particularly good results. The following brief reports come from parents, students, and team leaders.

PARENTS  One parent uses them for ‘break time’ activity, from schoolwork, for her self and the children. She calls it “Church Time”. As they go through the school day and arrive at a certain time she would call out “Church Time!” the children shift  from school work and get ready for church. They watch the videos, read and discuss the devotionals and enjoy the hands on activities together. Her children are loving the information they learn and are being encouraged to trust God more. The children are twins. They say they enjoy the videos and would encourage every child to spend some time watching the programs because they are helpful to know more about the Bible. 

Another parent shared with her friends and reported that all the children like the activities and along with parents find them remarkably interesting.

A single mother said that she and her nine year old daughter started watching the videos, which have been of great interest to them. She said as they watched them, they discuss the story which helps them to understand more about Jesus. Her daughter pointed out to her, something very important, that in the story where a father did not believe in the miracles that Jesus did, her daughter asked her, “ Why don’t the father go and see for himself”.

They both say the activities are all so very interactive and full of fun.

TEAM LEADERS I have managed to set up WhatsApp groups for the clubs I co-ordinate so I can make regular contacts with club members. Relevant CEF resources are shared with them. Some children are good at confirming that they receive the materials and watched them by placing a “thumbs up” as requested.

A very crucial milestone has just recently been reached. Virtual GNCs via Teams are being facilitated by a Principal onto the school’s Teams platform. This will enable more club members and other children from other schools to join. The first virtual meeting was a success with 23 children on. The Bible story, Memory verse and songs were all from CEF videos. Zoom club meetings will also be continued using the materials from CEF. Two children in the second virtual club have indicated that they believe in Jesus. Another team leader wrote, “The Lord has been good and has drawn many children to His Son Jesus Christ, at her school. The children are overly excited as they study the series “God cares”. One student was so touched he believed in Jesus as His Savior and asked to be baptized.

 COVID 19 has caused everyone to be home. In spite of this unprecedented situation, the children are still being contacted and are receiving the GNC links and materials. Team leaders have also been sharing the materials with other teachers, who use them as devotionals or as part of their Religious Education lessons. Children are aware that their teachers are available for Zoom conferencing to clarify and support them in their learning and discipling them to trust in Jesus.

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Praise the Lord with us! He gets all the glory. Will you pray for Caris Bramwell and the CEF National Board of the Cayman Islands as they lead the ministry there?

What’s Going On in the North Caribbean During COVID-19?

So many people are concerned about COVID-19 (aka the coronavirus), and so Mandi and I thought it would be good to update our missionary blog with what has been taking place in the area that we serve.

First and foremost as of the time of this blog post writing (March 26, 2020), our family is healthy and the many staff we serve across the North Caribbean & Bermuda are healthy. There are thankfully no known cases among the CEF staff in the North Caribbean & Bermuda area at this time.

In most all of the nations we serve, the staff are under lockdown alongside the rest of the population of each of the countries. Most all of the airline and ship borders are closed to the outside world. Due to many countries in the Caribbean being largely economically dependent on North American and European tourism, it is a very dangerous predicament for these relatively small nations to be in. Thankfully, peak season for Caribbean tourism is naturally largely in the wintertime, so this lockdown is coming at the end of the November-March tourism season. But I ask you to pray for God to sustain these nations through this.

The upcoming May international conference for CEF has been postponed to May 2021, and so therefore the April 2021 regional conference that Mandi and I were working behind the scenes on has been postponed until at least 2022.

All Good News Clubs have temporarily ceased as each of the school systems have temporarily ceased. However, some of the various nations are each utilizing technology in different ways (based on their technological ability and context) to engage with the children. They are helping the local church partners continue to reach out to the children they were ministering too.

Some are even using digital versions of Do You Wonder Why? booklet tool to help answer questions the children are asking. I would encourage you to check it out!

Additionally in ministry it is often easy for important but not urgent things to lapse. So I am encouraging each of the workers we serve in the North Caribbean to use this time (like I am!) to catch up on planning, emails, projects and behind the scenes tasks that are important to get done but due to not being urgent haven’t been done. Often in ministry where there are only one or two staff members in an area or even an entire nation the staff feel overwhelmed. This is a chance to breathe, get caught up, and create a new normal for when things open back up.

I also created a guide to working from home that was recently sent out region-wide, and as always I am working daily with each of the staff of the area through this.

This is a great opportunity for each of the nations we serve to relaunch through this afterward and use the time as a springboard for dynamic growth in ministry to children after all this is over! Pray with us as we help these national workers in each of the countries we serve. Pray for the health of the CEF family and pray for God to do mighty things through this!

“The LORD replied, “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.” -Habakkuk 1:5

And remember, CEF was ultimately started because our founder, Jesse Irvin Overholtzer, was in quarantine! God used the time at his house for “Mr. O” to discover grace and later read Charles Spurgeon. That was when he read the famous quote: “A child of five, if properly instructed, can, as truly believe, and be regenerated, as an adult.”

We are praying for you too! Thank you for ‘holding the rope’ and being on our team as missionaries with and alongside the North Caribbean & Bermuda area.

CEF Bahamas Regional Week in Review

Guest post again today by CEF Bahamas Ministry Coordinator Lisa Moss! The Bahamas is a nation that Mandi and I are deeply involved with as missionaries and thus every single person and event listed below is directly a part of what we do. Beltane is my new leader as Regional Director and each of the staff members, board members and volunteers are people we know, love and serve on a regular (if not daily) basis! Enjoy!
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Lisa Moss

Monday, March 9th Pastor Beltane Harrigan, Child Evangelism Fellowship Regional Director of North America and the Caribbean, made his first official visit to Nassau, Bahamas . He was officially appointed Regional Director in December 2019.

Beltane Harrigan

Pastor Harrigan’s visit was three-fold. He was invited to speak at the annual missions conference of Abundant Life Bible Church for two nights. An invitation was also extended to him to be the guest speaker for the missions conference at Victory Baptist Church. Last but not least, he was the special guest for CEF Bahamas’ Regional Week, climaxing with the Regional Day of Prayer on Friday, March,13th 2020.

Monday evening, Pastor Harrigan spoke at Abundant Life Bible Church’s Missions Conference. Their theme was “God’s Mission, Our Mission” which he used as the topic of his messages also.

Early Tuesday morning, Pastor Harrigan and the team visited the Good News Clubs at a local Primary school. There are two clubs in this school, one for Upper Primary and one for Lower Primary. We combined the club session for that morning. Club members listened intently and watched with anticipation as he dramatized the story of Zacchaeus. Pastor Harrigan ran up to the stage and jumped on a chair, depicting Zacchaeus running to climb a tree to see Jesus as he passed.

Through much prayer, the Lord opened the door for the president of the Bahamas Christian Counsel and his team to meet with CEF Bahamas and Pastor Harrigan. The meeting was scheduled for Tuesday morning, and we prepared breakfast for the attendees. The pastors represented a cross-section of various denominations.

We visited the Good News Club at another local Primary School. This was a new club recently started in the Lower Primary School during the lunch break. The story of Zacchaeus to this new group of students was dramatized with more intensity and animation, and the students watched in amazement. Without failing us, the chair and the counter-top became the famous sycamore tree that Zacchaeus climbed up to see Jesus.

Tuesday evening, Pastor Harrigan spoke at the Abundant Life Missions Conference again, the focus being CEF Bahamas. His topic was “An Urgent Call from God to You!” In great support, CEF Bahamas’ staff, volunteers, and national board members were represented.

Wednesday morning, we visited a small primary school tucked away in the back of a major shopping center in a local community. Pastor Harrigan again brought the lesson and captivated the children with the dramatization of Zacchaeus.

Immediately following club, a special Meet and Greet was hosted by the volunteers with Pastor Harrigan. We were also encouraged by Pastor Harrigan to work as a team. Even though there is a team captain, no one is more important than the other, for each person has a part to play. Working together as a team makes the dream work.

We were also scheduled to be at Government House to meet with the Queen’s representative, the Governor General of The Bahamas, Mr. Cornelius Smith. Pastor Harrigan was presented and introduced to the Governor General by Dr. Willamae Miller, CEF National Director Emeritus. Pastor Geoff Wood, Vice Chairman of the CEF National Board, Mrs. Terry Bain, and I introduced ourselves to the Governor General. The ministry of CEF international was shared, Pastor Harrigan gave a brief history as to how he became involved in CEF for this region, and he also highlighted CEF Bahamas and the difference we are making in the lives of children in The Bahamas.

Thursday we had been given an invitation to be guests on The Darold Miller Live Show, a radio talk show, and we wanted to be “making the most out of every opportunity.” (Ephesians 5:16). We took a short drive to The Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas and waited patiently to join the show that was in progress. During the one-hour radio presentation, we shared the vision of CEF and our purpose, Pastor Harrigan shared the work of CEF international and how this region is connected. We also advertised our special prayer service for Regional Day of Prayer, and encouraged persons across the Islands of The Bahamas, to pray for the children of The Bahamas.

During CEF Regional Week, Dr. Miller invited Pastor Harrigan, to also be a guest on the Children’s Hour radio program. This week’s recording was very different in that children normally host the program, but they were unable to do so. Poems, brain teasers, songs, and a Bible lesson with the gospel are normally shared in the usual line-up for the pre- recorded program. Dr. Miller hosted, two poems on prayer were read by Lisa Moss, and Pastor Harrigan gave the Bible lesson on prayer from the book of Daniel

Friday arrived! This was our Regional Day of Prayer, our grand finale! CEF Bahamas’ staff, volunteers, and invited guests gathered at Discovery Learning Development Center for our special prayer service. Students from the school prayed for the various requests made by the workers in and around the were lifted for The Bahamas, the Corona Virus, and children around the region. Songs were sung in response to the prayers lifted. The Scripture reading and prayer were done by our National Board Chairman, Mrs. Kimberley Minors. Superintendent Mr. Jerome Forbes from the Ministry of Education attended the service and brought greetings. He applauded the principal and the school for setting the example by not just teaching academics but also focusing on instilling Christian values. It was now time for the message, and Dr. Willamae Miller National Director Emeritus, introduced Pastor Harrigan. His topic was “The Importance of Prayer.” Referencing the book of Acts, he showed how vitally important prayer is no matter the situation. Beginning at chapter one, every chapter had a problem or a situation that could only be resolved by prayer. The message was clear, “Prayer to a Christian, is Like Oxygen to the Body.”

At noon we went to another primary school for club that is held during the lunch break. Pastor Harrigan again dramatized the story of Zacchaeus, and this time he spoke as Zacchaeus.

Then, my husband Cornell and I, along with my brother Keith treated Pastor Harrigan to a down home Bahamian meal at another popular Bahamian restaurant, Frankie Gone Bananas, on Arawak Cay. The food was delicious, there was lots of fun and the fellowship all made it a great way to end the day.

Our Regional Week was filled with opportunities to share the ministry of CEF Bahamas and the vision for the region. Our purpose remains the same, ‘To evangelize boys and girls with the gospel of Jesus Christ and to disciple/establish them in a Bible believing church.’ This is done through our primary ministry, the Good News Club. It is also our goal to bring awareness to un-churched children within our communities and to encourage churches to adopt Good News Clubs.

Please continue to pray for CEF® Bahamas and our region at large as we prayerfully trust the Lord to send more labors and continue to provide such opportunities to reach boys and girls with the gospel of Christ.

Reaching 200,000+ Children in Jamaica!

February 9-12, 2020 I (Sean) went to Kingston, Jamaica to meet with the national staff and national board of CEF Jamaica. They have been actively working a five year plan to reach over 200,000 children by the year 2022!

Arrival into KIN

And they are well on their way to reaching that goal. To give comparison, in all of 2018 their local staff, church partners and volunteers reached over 86,000 children. However, just in this past quarter alone they reached over 65,000 children!

Downtown Kingston

Over the few days, I worked with them to analyze where they are in the process, attend a national board meeting, and reverse engineer the 200,000 figure with them to see which areas of ministry need to be strengthened and which areas have the most long-term fruit. Myron Tschetter, the CEF director of leadership development for the region, joined me for this time in Jamaica.

Myron Tschetter (L), Michael Scott (Jamaica National Director-center), Sean (R)

Jamaica and Belize have been recently added (as of January 1) to my North Caribbean area of oversight (the specific countries fluctuate periodically), so this also gave me the opportunity to meet the national board in person which is helpful for our communication. They (CEF Jamaica) also have 15 full time staff members!

Sunday was a travel day, and I overnighted in Miami, FL. All the more reason why we were moving to Pensacola, FL! I could have arrived same day and came home same day if I had flown out of PNS.

Monday I arrived in Jamaica and went immediately into meetings with the national director! Due to different calendar requirements, Myron Tschetter had arrived into Jamaica earlier so he and Michael Scott had already spent the morning meeting.

Headed to our meeting spot
All day meeting together

As previously stated, CEF Jamaica has a bold five year plan to reach over 200,00 children. As their Area Director, my role as a missionary is to do everything within my power to serve them through that plan and to help them make it happen. They have been a thriving and sustainable national chapter for decades, in fact Jamaica was one of the very first nations that started with CEF way back in 1946!

It was encouraging to see one of the files I created being used and on the wall!

That evening we made our way to where I would be staying over the next few evenings, couldn’t help but notice the price of gas!

This is actually only about $1.20 USD per litre with an exchange rate of 135/1

On a personal note, it was deeply encouraging to stay with friends that I haven’t seen in a few years, the Lewis family. Neil & Jan are Jamaican and the parents of a past member of our church in Montgomery, and their family became extremely close friends of ours while they lived in town. They live in a different city now but Mandi and I had the privilege of meeting Neil and Jan and two of their other children a couple of times when they visited their daughter and son-in-law. So it was amazing to see them again! Unfortunately with all the busyness and the late arrivals/early departures we all forgot to take pictures together, but I took some pictures of their beautiful home in the mountains that was built in 1774! They do weddings there, so if you ever want to do a destination wedding in Jamaica, be sure to check them out!

Horatio Nelson even stayed there!

As the next day began, I was able to spend one-on-one time meeting with Michael Scott. He was a banker for many years and the former national board chairman for CEF Jamaica. When the position of national director opened up after he retired from banking, this proven and capable leader stepped up to the plate!

Afterwards, we started off our set of meetings with the Kingston parish supervisor. This position is similar to a local director position in the USA, the position I held when I led the Central Alabama chapter for over five years.

Sharon (L) has served for over 35 years with CEF!

As you know, our home church in Turks & Caicos is Harvest Bible Chapel TCI. When I was in TCI last, Pastor Kenyatta and others were in Spanish Town, Jamaica to celebrate the one-year anniversary of a new HBC church plant there! We prayed during that Sunday service for the church there in Spanish Town. What a joy to just a few months later in God’s timing to help connect the new church and CEF Jamaica together!

As Michael prepared for the evening national board meeting, I was able to meet, pray, and plan with the national and local Spanish Town staff there.

As we then met with the national board, the evening became very late but it was a productive and enriching time of discussion and decision making as CEF Jamaica is a large-scale operation. As I serve national boards throughout the Caribbean, it was deeply encouraging to see such a healthy board. We are praying for more board members to lead CEF Jamaica, will you join us in praying for this to take place!

The next day we had time in the morning to meet with another CEF parish chapter, so we made our way to the St. Ann parish.

Lornalee (below) is an incredible new worker for CEF Jamaica. She has a big vision and has cast that vision before the churches of St. Ann. There are 53 Good News Clubs now taking place there due to the Lord blessing her leadership! I was honored to meet with her, pray with her and discuss with Michael and her how we can take these ‘best practices’ and scale them nationwide and region-wide.

Later that day, I headed to the airport back home. But not before I had my hands on $1,000! 😉 (remember that is only about $8USD!)

Will you pray for CEF Jamaica as they seek to reach over 200,000 children by the year 2022? Please join Mandi and I in praying for Jamaica and all the needs of the country in light of the next generation. CEF Jamaica reaching 200,000 children means 50% of the primary-aged children will be reached. What could happen to the future of Jamaica with 50% of the children being reached with the Gospel, being discipled in the Word of God, and established into local churches? I am excited that this is not just an idea or a dream, it is an action plan that is taking place!

A New Season of Ministry in The Bahamas!

January 17-20 was spent serving the national board and staff for CEF of The Bahamas!

As you might remember, the previous National Director served faithfully for 25+ years. Dr. Willamae Miller is a wonderful servant of the Lord and she led the ministry well until her retirement last year.

Sean & Dr. Willamae Miller at the CEF Bahamas national office

Eunice Perpall now takes her role as national leader for CEF of The Bahamas, and she is presently taking her 12-week leadership training at the Children’s Ministries Institute. CMI is a requirement for all full time CEF staff.

It was wonderful to be back in The Bahamas, the first country other than St. Kitts & Nevis that Mandi and I served in as missionaries back in 2012! I was picked up at the airport by Lisa and RaMona (below) and we were able to have a meeting and discuss the CEF ministry they were each involved with. RaMona is a new staff member and I helped answer onboarding questions as I am temporarily both Lisa & RaMona’s day-to-day supervisor as Eunice is off island at CMI. We then went on to the CEF Bahamas office to meet with Dr. Miller, the national director emeritus. Dr. Miller still volunteers and helps around the office, sharing her wisdom with those who presently serve.

L-R: Lisa Moss (GNC ministry coordinator), RaMona Bethell (5DC/Prayer ministry coordinator), Sean, Dr. Willamae Miller, National Director Emeritus (retired)

After all of these many times in The Bahamas, I drove by myself! Come to find out Google Maps works quite well there, so I had no issues getting around. Except for not anticipating rush hour traffic on a tiny island, that was time consuming!

CEF Bahamas coordinated a rental car for me, a RHD Nissan Square

The national board is entering a new season of opportunity at this same time. They, alongside the regional leadership team are looking to train over 15 volunteers in April. There are big plans for CEF of The Bahamas as they now will have three full-time staff members, active ministry in the Family Islands, and ministry to Hurricane Dorian-affected children! This large-scale ministry will require a large-scale national board, so this weekend was a preparation trip for that upcoming April training.

One thing that I was sure to do with the national board was spend much time praying together. Our regional director, Beltane Harrigan, often says: “If it can’t be done by prayer, it can’t be done.” I believe that as well, and so we spent time praying for the entire national ministry there in The Bahamas

We also spent time sharing a meal together, which is incredibly important in building strong relationships

We also discussed the upcoming April training, creating an action plan together on how best to recruit the new members. I am glad to say they are already working effectively at doing this!

The location of the April board training, will you pray for this room and for those who will be present?

The next day (Sunday), we went to a church that has been a part of CEF Bahamas ministry for many years: New Bethlehem Baptist Church. The pastor was the very first male Teaching Children Effectively Level 1 graduate for The Bahamas back many years ago and they have been a faithful part of the ministry locally.

CEF Ministry Coordinator Lisa Moss did a fantastic job putting together a presentation table and interacting with the congregation after the service!

After the service we had the opportunity to all gather together and share a meal again together, the national board and two of the national staff.

Thankful for the Lord working throughout this trip and giving wisdom to everyone in the direction for CEF of The Bahamas! Please pray for the ministry as they enter a new season this year.

P.S.

I got to be on the plane back home with Montgomery, AL’s new mayor Steven Reed!