Having returned from Antigua I thought you might be interested to know exactly what we did whilst we were there so I have written you a little update.

  

First of all I would like to thank you again for your support, especially in prayer. I had the most amazing time and I can’t explain the awesome feeling knowing I had so such support in prayer from home. We stayed in a house in the village of All Saints in the centre of the island & throughout our time there we were working with the YFC Antigua team who were absolutely fantastic, they really looked after us and gave us a flavour of Antiguan life and were such an encouragement to me spiritually. The standard of living in Antigua is not poverty but it is not at all like the luxuries we have. I love the culture out there, the people are so friendly and generous, family like in a way. They are so laidback, we would start sessions at 9am but no one would turn up until 9.45am, brilliant!

 

We visited a number of churches on the island and as a team we spoke, shared our testimonies, led worship and performed dance’s and drama’s in various services. I was really blessed to be a part of these services and in the first week we were also part of a week of youth revival meetings in which God was really moving; it was fantastic to see so many young people whole heartedly worshipping God. The worship was brilliant, so free, passionate and spirit led. There were a few things that really challenged me. In one church the first thing they did was begin by passionately thanking God for all he’s done, they were genuinely grateful. We can so easily come along to church feeling like we can’t be bothered but we need to remember the almighty God we have come to worship and he deserves our honour and praise. There was also was no time limit to these meeting’s, it was so exciting to just worship God and not worry about what time the service should finish. Our first priority should be spending time with the King and everything else should come secondary to that. If we can’t make time for our Almighty God then how do we expect our lives to change? It’s in His presence that things start to change. I was also challenged at how they know the word of God, it is deeply written in their hearts and I think we often forget the awesome power and authority we have in the word of God.

 

In the first week half of the team ran a ‘Pure’ course with about 20 young people at a local secondary school. This was a series of 3 workshops in which we practically discussed how we can live a ‘pure’ and distinctive Christian life in the area of sex and relationships. We also ran this course in the second week at another church and I was able to be teach one of the sessions. We had a really good response and had some really good chats with them. It was great to be able to talk with them about areas that we all struggle with and encourage each other. In the first week myself and two other members of the team who were drama students were supposed to be running dance and drama workshops alongside the pure course however last minute we were taking to another school that was running a sort of summer school for kids, we were very much put on the spot with kids who had never really done drama or dance before. It was a bit difficult at the start as some of the kids were very reluctant to join in. We played lots of silly games and we did some basic dance and drama. We made up a dance routine together, I taught them some basic steps and they taught me their favourite moves. We had a really great time in the end, lots of fun and it was so rewarding to see the kid’s really come out of themselves and get really involved in all the activities in the end.

 

We were able to work with a couple of youth groups on the island, we ran a youth club and had lots of fun with them. We were able to built some really great relationships with the young people and they came along to loads of the events we were running. The girl’s braided our hair, some of them took us shopping in St. John’s and stopped us from being charged ridiculous tourist prices, and they also took us for some amazing ice cream one evening and had a UK vs. Antigua dance off in town which was great fun—guess who won?! It was just fantastic to be able to spend time with such amazing young people, being able to share in their lives and see the challenges they face in their culture and encourage them in their faith.

 

I was able to see the two extremes of the island. We were able to visit a couple of beaches and have a tour of the Island, the awesome beauty of God’s creation. However I was also able to see the very dark side of the Island.

 

We joined with a Street Pastor’s team from churches across the island who go out on the streets from 10pm to 3am working with the likes of drunks and prostitutes providing practical help and talking to them about the gospel. They have a centre in St. John’s (the capital & only town) to continue their work and provide councilling. This was a real eye opener for me. We began working outside of St. John’s in a small village with a little nightclub talking to some of the younger boys outside the club and a couple of older guys who we actually had a really great chat about God with. It was also fascinating to talk to them in general about their culture and country.

The most challenging part for me was returning to St. John’s as we were working on one of the red light streets. We went into one of the strip clubs, “Wendy’s Bar and Snackette” cleverly named as such clubs are illegal out there. It was so horrible to see these girls dancing, wearing barely anything for men who just stood there staring. It was so angering as the girl’s were completely dehumanized in the way the men were looking at them. I can’t imagine how these women must feel to have such low self-esteem and self worth to allow themselves to be treated in such a way. These are real and desperate situations and this was a real reminder of the reality we live in for me. This sort of thing happens everywhere, it’s on our doorsteps and it is so easy to turn a blind eye to these people who need Jesus’ love just as much as me and you. I was quite nervous about going into these environments as the spiritual atmosphere is so dark and heavy but I was then reminded of the awesome power of our Saviour. The blood of Jesus that conquered death has overcome every spiritual stronghold and I had no need to fear because of the blood. We are called to be the light and salt on this earth, besides these were the people and places that Jesus ministered to in His time on earth. He befriended the prostitutes and the tax collectors; no one is too far for Jesus’ redemptive, unconditional love.

 

The highlight for me was being able to visit the prison both weeks whilst we were there. The prison is small although it houses quite a number of inmates and it is situated right in the middle of St. John’s, you could drive past it without realising. We worked alongside a team who visit the prison weekly, run a short service and spend time talking to the inmates, we had to be there at 6.30am and in the first week I visited the women’s prison, there were only three women and three minors. I was nervous as I didn’t know how I could possibly minister to these people, what words could I possibly say to help them? I felt God give me the word’s as I was asked to share a word of encouragement. The second week I visited the men’s prison, this completely broke me. I hated walking into the prison and seeing the inmates in lockdown in the top of these hot concrete buildings with the hands and faces pressed against the barred windows waving at us. The men’s prison was much bigger, we led a service in their small wooden chapel. Our team led worship, gave their testimony and Brother Bynoe (Head of YFC Antigua) spoke of there being greatness in all of us created by God. The inmates were then invited to share their stories. This was just incredible! There were three guys there who had made a decision to really follow Christ. One explained how he had been struggling with smoking, fighting & disrespecting the officers but he prayed and with God’s help he has not smoked since and been able to stop fighting etc! Amazing, here is someone living a distinctive Christian life, following Christ in one of the hardest environments—and I think I’ve got it bad at times. Another explained how he was thankful for being in prison as he has come to know God as before he was blinded by a lifestyle of cars, drugs and money. You could see such a calm in their spirits, compared to anger and resentment in so many of them, one of them prayed for us at the end, simply not that we can do big things but small things starting by loving each other. Their faith was so humbling. It was fantastic to be able to worship with these guys, share with them and hear their stories. One of the inmates came up to me before we left to say how much of an encouragement we had been by being there and that he had been really blessed by the Lord. Fantastic! But I was blessed so much by the people who society has written off as no good; people who we forget about but God doesn’t. God really challenged me not to forget these people, His love and grace goes beyond all things. They are precious and dearly loved individuals just like you and me.

 

In the second week half the team ran a kids club with drama and music workshops and lots of fun and games. I was able to teach three days of dance workshops to about 30 teenagers, most of whom already dance which was really exciting, we had lots of fun and it was a really great experience. I taught a contemporary technique class which was new to most of them and then we did some creative work and made a piece together. It was fantastic to see them get so involved & worship God with their gifts. On the last evening I was also able to dance in the “Dancing for His Glory” festival along with a lot of the young people we had be working with in their various dance groups from across the island. The venue was absolutely packed and it was amazing to be part of an evening in which everyone was using their gifts in dance to whole heartedly glorify and honour God. It was a very powerful evening and I had a really positive response toward my dancing, although it was something very different to what they are used to I had been able to minister to them. I definitely hope to be able to return, there are quite a lot of dance opportunities that have opened up for me for the future since being there. I would love to be able to go back and train these dancers who so passionately want to use their gifts to glorify God.

 

I could talk forever about what God has done whilst we were in Antigua but I think I have said quite enough. Thank you again for all your support for making it possible to for me to go and for all your prayers, I cannot tell you how important that was to me. It was just amazing to be able to see God working in the lives of the people in Antigua and to be able to bless and serve them as team with the gifting’s God has given us. I was blessed so much too & my faith really challenged, I would certainly recommend a mission trip to anyone.

Thank you

God Bless

Zanna.