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Copts in the West Indies 2005

This travelogue and blog outlines the missionary journey of several Copts from Boston to the West Indies to serve Christ and declare His name to the people. Follow the steps of the missionaries at every step of the way through this blog.

DAY 02

by Servants in the Caribbean

After many tribulations in our first day (airport problems, immigrations issues, missed flights), the Lord helped us overcome all these spiritual obstacles sent by the devil to make us stumble. We arrived safely and gave thanks for being able to serve the Lord in this wonderful island of St. Kitts.

Today (day 2), we took the blessing of visiting the church of St. Mark and St. Bishoy here in St. Kitts. The church is a room adjoining the house of Abouna Shenouda, where... [read more]

DAY 03

by Servants in the Caribbean

Forgive me for missing yesterday internet access is infrequent on this trip.

"So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all people." (Acts 2:46)

This verse has definitely been the theme of the day. Most of us came on this trip as good friends, former classmates, people we have grown up with. Yet truly,... [read more]

DAY 04

by Servants in the Caribbean

Ah, the rains have cleared up. Thank you, Lord! The forecasters predicted rain for 3 days, but apparently the storm has moved past us, which is good, for there is much work to be done!

Today is the feast of St. Bishoy, which is truly a blessing for us, because the church of St. Kitts is in the name of St. Mark and St. Bishoy. We celebrated a liturgy this morning in our makeshift church downstairs in the house. Abouna explained that the church of St. Kitts was named for... [read more]

DAY 05

by Servants in the Caribbean

The Lord has blessed us with a beautiful sunny day. Today we took the blessing of helping with the construction of the new church building. We arrived at the site of the new church building early in the morning (we have to work early because the heat and sun are very strong here). However, upon arriving there, we discovered that the cement, which had been left out last night, had been stolen.

We did not let that dampen our spirits, though. As we waited for Abouna... [read more]

DAY 06

by Servants in the Caribbean

We are all marveling at how quickly this week has gone by! For those of us leaving on Tuesday, we are saddened to leave this spiritual paradise of service and blessing and return to the world, with all its problems and troubles. May He bless our remaining days here in St. Kitts.

This morning, we took the blessing of attending the divine liturgy at the current church of St. Mark and St. Bishoy. The church was so full that many of us stood on Abouna Shenouda's front porch... [read more]

DAY 07

by Servants in the Caribbean

This morning, we went to the construction site of the new church to begin setting up a meeting place for a general meeting with the public, to introduce them to the Coptic Orthodox Church. Although the meeting was initially scheduled for this evening, it was postponed until later in the week, after half the group will have left.

This news came as a surprise to a few of us, and for a few moments, we felt disappointed that we would get the chance to meet the people of... [read more]

DAY 08

by Servants in the Caribbean

This morning it was a little hard to get the day started with more than half of our group gone, especially since it was the half that took care of us for a week. Slowly, our morning started off with breakfast and prayers at St. Mark's and St. Bishoy's church.

After the morning prayers we went down the mountain to paint the rafters for the new church. We painted for a couple hours before we were joined by Abouna Shenouda who shared with us the story of his miraculous... [read more]

DAY 12

by Servants in the Virgin Islands

Today is Sunday and there was a liturgy with all the kids of the church. They were very excited for church; it is amazing to see these 20 children come to church every week, even though they are not all baptized yet. They were also very excited to see each other. The fellowship they have with one another is very nice- they help each other during the liturgy, to find where Abouna is in the book and they also help each other during Communion. They take the place of their parents... [read more]