Since 2006, the community on the Plateau has been putting money aside to construct a church building. Year after year, step by step, we saw the foundation laid, the walls go up, the roof raised, the porch poured, and the doors put on. On February 10, the Plateau church, hosted a special concert. This event served two purposes. Primarily, it was to be the occasion for a very special offering to go towards installing the church windows. Secondly, it kicked off the annual youth retreat organized by NOVA (the church youth committee) over the period of Mardi Gras. As an added bonus, it served as a special service in which to receive and thank our visitors from Forest Baptist Church.
Judy led the service, reminding all of us that while we strive to construct a beautiful building in which to worship God, the dwelling place He desires above all others is our hearts.
Several people shared their singing talents with us during the concert. The audience participated with the performers by clapping or singing along as we enjoyed songs in English, Creole, and German.
Manis has been working since last summer with a group of four girls in singing and performing. They were able to present several songs that they have learned. They did so well! It is a privilege to see how they have grown and improved over the past year.
Ready and waiting (aren't they cute?)
Woohoo! We even were able to load a short video so you can hear a bit for yourself!
Wilson Cupidon, who started out with Lemuel in its early years as one of its young leaders, gave a short message using the example of how we would clean our house for the visit of the president to emphasize the importance of having our hearts prepared for the presence of the King of Kings.
Manis shared a few words of exhortation and encouragement for the church. They have invested and sacrificed to make this building possible, and we praise God for all He has provided. We thank God too for all of our partners from the US and Canada who have come alongside to give a helping hand when the people of the Plateau could not take the next step alone. And once again, we pray that the work God is doing on our behalf to raise up the church building would be a mere reflection of what He is doing in our hearts to build us into "a dwelling place for God by the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:22).
Then came the moment for which all the people had been preparing. Each had received an envelope in which to put a special offering for the church windows. The aisle was so full, there were traffic jams!
Even the children of the church had a special contribution to make. A unique work day was held on Saturday in which all the kids could come and participate in jobs around the campus. They then were given their very own offering to deposit in the box on Sunday.
The church raised around $500 US for the next steps in the construction of the building! Don't worry, we will have pictures and an update for you soon!
2 comments:
Looks great...that is an amazing amount of money to raise...so nice to see some pictures of the church and people on the plateau.
Looks like a fun celebration! Thanks for the update, this is exciting news.
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