God uses them to speak to me in so many ways. I don't even know where to begin in sharing the experience of All Saints with you. I guess I'll just share a couple specific stories that reveal just how special it is to be a small part of this place.
Liquid Sunshine
During our first week of trips it rained a lot. Tropical rain storms come and go frequently, but that week they happened every day and lasted for hours. I was getting a little bit frustrated because I didn't understand why God would bring a bunch of people here to do construction work if He was just going to let it rain. I could tell that people weren't happy about the situation and I was feeling a little stressed.
I decided to walk down the hill to talk to Brother Vince. Vince is blind, but you would never be able to tell by the joy he has and the smile on his face. I believe Vince sees so much more than we do with our sight, though. He sees your heart, and oh how he loves to sing and praise our King! The first time I met him he asked me, "what are we?" I wasn't sure what he meant and said, "friends?" He scolded me and said, "we ain't friends, Emily! You are my sista in Christ." Amen, Vince.
That rainy day I walked down the hill and started talking to him about the rain and how we couldn't work. A couple of the girls from my team were with me and he started telling us how rain here in the Bahamas is called liquid sunshine and he pretty much forbid us from saying 'rain.' He proceeded to lead us in a bunch of different worship songs. We all sat under his porch, praising Jesus, and singing our hearts out. In the midst of our song the rain let up and sunshine began to beam through the dark clouds.
I exclaimed to Vince, "The rain stopped and the sun is shining!" He replied to me, "Why are you so surprised? When the praises go up, the blessings come down." Here I was getting stressed out and cranky about rain because it was getting in the way of 'our' work. All Vince ever does is praise God, rain or shine, with sight and without. What a testiment to how we are supposed to respond to the things life throws at us. His perspective is inspiring and I felt so blessed to have gotten a small taste of it.
I realized that 'our work' doesn't always align with God's work and the lessons he taught through the rain were so much more important than anything we could have accomplished.
You Ain't That Great, Mon
Another resident, Robert, doesn't get too close with any of our team or students, but I have been obnoxious enough to him that I feel that we've made a pretty special bond. I always walk up to him and ask him a million questions. He likes to hide out, but I always find him and pester him. At first I truly think I annoyed him, but now he waits for my arrival every day. He also says 'mon' as in 'man' at the end of everything he says so I say it back to him. Yeah, Mon! Robert and I have good laughs and tell stories to each other, but we've never gotten too deep about faith. I wasn't entirely sure if he is even a believer or not.
Oneweek I had some moments of doubt in myself. I didn't think I had the ability to lead because I kept messing up in little ways. That day I had lost some keys and it really frazzled me. I was telling myself that if I couldn't even keep track of a key, how could I lead a bunch of people on site? After the keys were found I wandered down the path to find comfort in my friend, Robert. He asked me what was wrong and I told him that I am a failure, I lose keys, I'm unorganized, and that I'm not equipped for this job. He said one of the most profound things that I've ever been told, "you ain't that great, mon. Only Jesus is." It was like God spoke directly into my heart at that moment and humbled me right back to my human self. Of course I'm going to lose keys and be inadequate, Jesus was the only perfect leader and I will never be. Tears filled my eyes and I thanked him for speaking truth to me. Needless to say, Robert loves Jesus too.
There's so many stories like this that I could tell, and I will try to remember to share, but if you can at all or ever in your life..come to this camp. Meet these people. They are remarkable. It's even more than the profound conversations; it's the small moments that you can see God everywhere...In Paulette's hugs, in Patrick's laugh as he says "Amen! Amen!" no matter what you say to him, in Delvin's sassy looks when you can't give him another sandwich for lunch, in miss Lillian's comittment to feeding her pigeons 3 times a day, in Garvin's smile that erupts when you walk into his room, in the way Miss Smith shakes her head at you with a confused look on her face, in the way Perry whispers to me every day not to forget to sneak him some potato chips...the list goes on. I will never be able to describe how special it is to be here.
God is so good and I will forever be greatful for this experience!
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