Day 3- Easter Sunday

"Don't be a wimp; be a warrior." This was the brilliant teaching of Pastor Williams of Hopewell Baptist Church, one of the two churches we attended today. Throughout the week, acting as servants of God in Jamaica, every student and leader is displaying the true qualities of a warrior- spreading hope and Christianity.

This Easter Sunday, we arose early to eat breakfast and change into the best looking shirts, dress pants, dresses, or skirts we had crammed into our suitcases. After breakfast we traveled a short distance to First Baptist Church, led by Pastor Campbell. We arrived early to help with Sunday school for younger and teenage children. The plastic chairs and single piano that accompanied the light, breezy atmosphere of the church was completely dissimilar compared to our conditions at Oak Pointe. Despite the lack of large sound systems and technology, the love from the locals and the spirit of God was bigger and more alive than ever. Our whole group sang "Prince of Peace" and Perry Dunlap was able to share his testimony. The local hymns along with Pastor Campbell's message about the Resurrection of Jesus created an unforgettable, uniquely Jamaican service.

Next up we travelled about 45 minutes down the coast to Hopewell Baptist Church. This church was located within the center of a slightly underprivileged town, where stray dogs were roaming about and houses were poorly built. Nevertheless, most of the people were willing to participate in conversation with us. Conversation was indeed part of our mission during this time because we split into groups led by leaders to walk around the town and not only invite people to attend church, but also spread the word of God. We met with people young and old, and spoke with both believers and non-believers. In the group that I was in, we approached two little boys who looked to be under 10 years old. When we first went up to them, one of the little boys seemed really interested in going to church, however the other boy told him that there was no way they would be attending. We continued to speak with them about God, and kept reminding them about church at Hopewell Baptist. No one in our group knew whether or not they would show up. After Pastor Williams spoke, Derek shared his amazing testimony, songs were sung, and students performed their "Everything" skit (which shows how Jesus can save anyone from the grip of sin), the young boys that our group talked to earlier finally showed up. Only God knows what the future holds for the little boys, but the spirit of the church and just being surrounded by the love of the people tonight brought a light to their eyes that was not previously present. After the sermon, the one boy who did not want to attend church in the first place thanked me for bringing him and seemed extremely excited when we mentioned we would be returning. Gabby held the boys' hands as she prayed that they would accept Jesus as their Savior. We were all able to see the impact that our ministry had on the local people of Jamaica. It was an eye-opening experience and really pushed students to break out of their comfort zones.

Today we were all "warriors" of God. We were pushed to instill the hope of Jesus and were introduced to a different world of church that was unlike anything than most of us had ever experienced. We were able to share the love of God with locals at two churches during this incredible Easter Sunday. -Lindsey Pehrson