Stop Reading this right now!
There is an order... Here is the link to the Summer Family Post, start there... then come back and find this post... it comes second in the order... DO IT... please :)
Well that was easy... I hope you enjoyed my post... you may go back to reading the Summer Family Post now...
Just kidding... I have more to say about Jamaica... but wasn't that song awesome!? And didn't you love all the pictures?
First... here is a testimony written by Josephine Sellers... the girl whose arm I broke with my very small and perfectly formed butt. Yeah she still trusts me :). Any way... I was very moved by this and think it's a great example of just one of the amazing things that God did through this trip.
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| Josephine |
This past year, some of my closest relationships fell apart in front of my eyes, leaving me devastated and struggling to find hope. I feared that all friendships were a lie and that, therefore, they were no longer worth investing in. I believed I might never find joy in being with others again. I thought I shouldn't pursue deep relationships again because I risked getting hurt again due to the broken nature of myself and others.
And then... I went to Jamaica with a portion of the MK group. I cannot even begin to describe how beautifully God worked in that time. He gave me love. He gave me hope. He gave me laughter. But most of all, He gave me a community. I was able to experience the kind of connections I had given up hope of ever having again. Every single person treated me with love and respect, like they really cared about me. I was blessed to spend so much time living life with them in such a gloriously difficult situation where we were all outside of our comfort zones and yet still found love for each other.
I was afraid I would never truly laugh again, and instead I laughed so hard I cried. I was afraid I would never feel like I belonged again, and by the end of the trip I felt like I was a part of a family. I was afraid I would never see other people as anything more than betrayals, and instead I saw God's beauty shining through my teammates.
God gave me hope for my future and present community. He showed me He had more for me after I had given up on myself and others. He demonstrated His love by giving me a beautiful gift: brand new friendship and brand new joy.
So grateful for this awesome testimony!
It was so great getting to see old friends again, and that testimony blows me away, but secretly... one of the great joys of this trip for me was getting to bring Creed along! This was his first time out of the U.S. and it was so special to have him there with me! It made being away from my family a lot easier... cause I wasn't :).
I love seeing the group grow closer. I really was proud of them stepping up and being flexible with the island time and all the changes. I loved seeing Faith share her testimony at the camp, I loved singing I'm a Little Teapot and cutting the ribbon to open the new building. It was great seeing Josh and his team prepare an entire kids program in 15 minutes. There is so much to share, so let's get together sometime and I'll share the rest... but for now...
The work continues in Jamaica, but it has changed a lot. I remember on my first time going, Joel was just a kid and Shen wasn't even there. Now they are organizing trips for us, married (to each other) and she was about 3 weeks from her due date while we were there. It's amazing how the work continues in the next generation. They have a heart for youth ministry in Jamaica, and although we helped with a youth camp, I think that the next trip I take to Jamaica will be to do training in the hopes of building something great for the future. Once we have laid a solid foundation I can see us going back again to keep the work advancing. This was a great and necessary finale to the trip that was planned the year COVID disrupted all such things. It's nice to close that chapter and wait eagerly for what God wants to do next.
We painted a church! We did a youth camp! We bonded and we built and strengthened relationships! God gets the glory and we share the joy! Thanks for supporting this trip and so many like it and for faithfully supporting the work God is doing! Aslan is always on the move, mon!
Here is the church service that we attended while there... you may recognize the preacher if you skip ahead to the sermon that starts at 1:22:25... It's me guys... it's me!
NOW you can head back to the Family Post...
Blessings,
Caleb
If you want to support what I do a little or a lot, on a one time basis or with recurring gifts, the easiest was is to use Zelle. You can follow this link zellepay or scan the code below. That will start the process of getting you set up to use Zelle with your bank or If you already use Zelle it will direct you to the banking app you use and give you instructions from there. To send me money use my email caleb_robbins@sil.org. If you would like any help setting that up feel free to contact me directly! 214 558 8431.
Another way to donate to the ministry if Zelle isn't an option is via check. If you write a check to "Holy Cross Lutheran Church" and put "Caleb Robbins Ministry" in the memo line, it will get deposited into my ministry account. If you would rather set up a bill pay or have any other questions you can call the Church at 817-451-7561. Let them know you want to Support Caleb Robbins and his ministry serving Missionary Kids.
