Day 9 - The Youth are on Fire for God

 

“Hear, my child, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.” - Proverbs 1:8-9

Sunday July 21 - Sunday Worship Service: This morning our team split up and attended 3 different churches across Roatan. We covered the island as one group was in the east, one in the center, and the other in the west. 

Some of us had the opportunity to attend Iglesia Bautista Luz del Puerto in French Harbour. Starting off the morning with worship, the church’s team led us in powerful praise. It was beautiful to sing the lyrics in both languages, uniting multiple churches and peoples to give glory to our God. During the service we also celebrated a birthday and praised God through dance and song from some of the members of the church. One special moment was gifting certificates to Tia Darla and Sister Haydee for all the work with the Roatan Alive team and the partnership they’ve had for 13 years. It’s amazing to see the impact this ministry has had throughout Roatan for so long. The RAM worship team then led the church in powerful worship, followed by Pastor Paolo preaching a message on how following Jesus is the hardest thing to do, but also the most worth it. Ending off with more worship and prayer, it was a powerful service with all nations coming together to focus on God and praise Him.

The day started with thunderstorms, but God answered our prayers and the weather improved by the time the conference started. 110 youth attended the event! Despite the power going out right at the start, we had a beautiful space for youth to grow in their relationship with Jesus. Even without working microphones, we had a passionate circle of youth clapping and praising all that God does. Pastor Paolo preached a message on the great commission, and then the youth split off into 10 different creative workshops around the school. I led a workshop called “prayer in your pocket”, where the youth learned how to create breath prayers and wrote some down to place in small drawstring pouches that they painted and decorated. A main message we emphasized is that praying and talking to God should be just as normal as breathing. It was so impactful to hear the stories of the youth and the reasoning behind some of the prayers they created. Some youth wrote things like “Lord, give me strength” and “Father I know you are with me”. It was a great space to share, to be creative, and to grow together. After the workshops we gathered back as a big group for dinner. It was so special to share a meal and get to know some of the youth my age. Finally, the night ended off with lots of prizes given out and a time of worship. The spirit was moving in many hearts of the youth as some gave their lives to Jesus, and members of the team were able to pray for them. It was a beautiful ending to the night to see how God works in the lives of the youth in Roatan. - Abby

Today was the Youth on Fire event for teenagers 12-18. There were over a hundred kids who attended and they all had a great time learning about Jesus with each other. The workshops were amazing and many of the kids left the event with some sort of craft. During worship, some of the kids started to use a table as a drum, and soon, more and more kids joined in to create awesome and complex beats. It was a blessing to see so many kids having fun during worship. Overall, the Youth on Fire event was a fun and powerful time that both the kids and the RAM team will never forget! - Gaby