Jeff and I flew to the island of St. Croix (STX) to the YWAM Missions base (Youth With a Mission) there to teach their Discipleship Training School (DTS) Students for a week on Prayer and Worship. This was our second trip there and we had a grand time!!! I will attempt to summarize our entire week there, but I know you will enjoy the pictures that speak louder than words.
We arrived on February 2nd, Sunday evening after a long day of traveling. It was pleasantly an 80 degree weather difference from cold Kansas City! We got there in time to eat some leftovers before meeting some new faces and also getting to see some friends that we had made last year. The next morning, we met the 9 DTS students (2 from Canada, 1 from Sweden, 1 from Ohio, and the rest were from Pennsylvania!) and jumped right into teaching. The students are on STX for a 3 month lecture portion before they headed to a different island for their 2 month outreach. We were blessed to meet and get to teach these fiery students!
Here were our general teaching topics for each day that we taught the students:
Monday: Jeff taught on Bridal Partnership, how God created us for partnership through prayer as His Bride, and how God wants to reveal Himself to us.
Tuesday: I spoke on the life of Mary of Bethany, how her life of devotion to Jesus shows us how to live radically in worship Him, and then I practically taught them how to meditate on the Word.
Wednesday: Jeff spoke on the Revelation of Intercession, the power yet the simplicity of it. Then we ministered to the students and prayed for them.
Thursday: Jeff taught on the power of fasting, and then I went through with them practicals to build their prayer lives.
Friday: Jeff spoke on David’s vow in Psalm 132 to build a dwelling place for the Lord, and then I taught on how to persevere in prayer, and went through the many enemies that seek to knock us off course of prevailing prayer.
Over the week of teaching on Prayer and Worship, we got to see many of the student’s paradigms change regarding how they relate to God, but also the dignity and honor of being able to partner with God in prayer and worship. It was fun to see!
A few fun stories: Every week, the director of the missions base leads all the staff and students in something called “Prayer and Worship Connecting the World”. They head to an outdoor location, and pray and worship for an hour, declaring the Lordship of Jesus over the island and praying for breakthrough. We were honored to take part in that.
One night we were free we went to a local festival in one of the two cities of St. Croix called “Jump Up”… Many food vendors were out, as well as bands and all the shops were open late. Jeff and I LOVED the steel drum bands they had, we could have watched them for hours. (I am going to see if there is any possible way to post a video of them on our blog!) They were mostly middle and high school age kids making beautiful sounds on these drums. They were selling a cd, and I wish we would have bought it!
We had one cold and rainy night that the students talked us into jumping into the base’s pool and playing a game with them. It was sooo cold but we had a blast trying to beat each other in this silly pool game. After it started lightening and we had to get out, the students came over to our apartment and we got to talk to them about how to hear God’s voice, and we practiced prophesying over each other.
We had many fun afternoons at the beach or sitting beside the pool trying to work on our tans. We also had many great times of fellowship with the YWAM staff and the friends we made while there. Jeff got to borrow someone’s snorkel gear, so many times at the beach he could be seen just snooping around looking for coral reefs or fish, while I sat out of the water, and looked for shells. I am not a huge fan of the beach (the sand gets everywhere, the fish scare me, and I don’t like the salty water) but Jeff loves it. I got in a few times to have fun with him! One time for lunch a couple took us to “Chicken Shack” a side of the road stop where you can eat rotisserie chicken and “Johnny Cakes” (sweet fried dough). The chicken was SO good, they told us they cook it over the fire all morning, and if the restaurant runs out of chicken, they run out. What a great cultural experience.
A lot of food items are 3-4 times as expensive there on the island than in the states, especially fruits and veggies. We also got a chance to get check out K-Mart and Office Max, the only 2 stores we recognized our whole stay there. (OH! and they have Little Caesar’s too!)
The weekend after we taught, a missionary friend of the YWAM missions base had a private condo that wasn’t being used at the time, so they graciously let us stay two evenings there for free! It was located on a golf course in the rainforest, and it was a very relaxing time for Jeff and I to debrief from our week, but also to invite some friends over and have fun.
All in all, we had such a great time in St. Croix. We were quite exhausted when we arrived home, (and hopefully a little more tan!) but we loved ministering in St. Croix and loved the people there… and hope to go back next year!
-bethany
Glad you had an amazing time! Xoxoxo