On June 20, 2019 I (Sean) went to the Turks and Caicos Islands to serve, train and equip the brand new national board for Child Evangelism Fellowship TCI! As usual, I took the early morning flight out of Montgomery, AL’s regional airport (MGM). Since the city of Montgomery is relatively small and many people seem to feel in their minds that BHM and ATL are worth the time, effort, city traffic, potential road work, potential accident slowdowns, mileage on their vehicles, extra gas, parking fees, extra meals, and hotel stays (cough cough I have strong feelings about this š cough cough), I at times will see people that I know flying in out of MGM! There are only so many planes per day in and out of MGM after all. And this trip was no different, on my exact morning flight was one of our long-time friends from Heritage Baptist Church – Prattville!
This was a short trip (three nights/four days total, inclusive of travel time) but by God’s grace and for His glory it was by far one of the most fruitful and productive times of ministry in Turks and Caicos ever. Praise the Lord!
First, we had a great surprise a few weeks before the training to be given the gift of free access to use the Ocean Club Resort Conference Room for the CEF TCI national board training! This gave us a very professional environment to conduct the training that was also in a neutral location (vs doing the training in a specific church). The first night fifteen people came out to be a part of re-launching CEF in the TCI!
A major first task for the newly trained board is that CEF in TCI needs to be registered with the government of Turks and Caicos, so please pray that this will happen quickly. There is a large amount of paperwork that has to be done to ensure all of the non-profit organizational laws are followed for the country. This of course is no issue for CEF, but this process simply takes time. But until CEF is officially registered, the ministry will be limited.
Aside from the board training, it was a blessing to be back in Turks and Caicos where we have lived as a family, have friends and where we know the island so well.
Construction of a major new resort in Grace Bay (The Ritz-Carlton) is well underway.
However, on a personal note, my main takeaway from the trip (separate from the board training of course!) was quite contemplative. A dear brother & friend always tells me: āWelcome homeā whenever I see him in Turks & Caicos. He told me that again when I saw him in church on that Sunday of the trip.
This multi-island country has been a part of our lives for six years if you count from when we stepped out in faith with the calling to go help set up CEF there. We may have only actually lived there on island a year, but TCI is fully intertwined with the story of our lives. We have a strong church home, lifelong friends, a great community and we know nearly every square inch, back road and local spots of each of the main inhabited islands. We have positive relationships with each of the primary schools in TCI and some of the children first reached through CEF TCI are in high school now.
We are grateful for Godās perfect plan and timing. Some of the results and fruit we are now beginning to see with the national board re-established we wish we could have seen when we lived there but His ways are higher than our ways. There were lessons we needed to learn so that we would fully depend on Him. Thankful for the fact that we have these multiple āhomes,ā and so grateful for all the wonderful people and friends in TCI that we wish we could see more often and spend more time with. It is hard to only see these folks for a few moments for these short trips. I am so grateful for this local friend who always tells me this, as it is more life-giving to my heart and soul than he probably realizes.
Praise the Lord with us for this new national board, pray for them as they register CEF with the TCI government, and pray for these local leaders as they help reach every child on every island of the great nation of Turks & Caicos!
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