Weekend With

Now it's been quite some time since I've written something with a light and happy spirit. Truth be told it's been some time since I've written anything at all. I don't know, but for some reason there isn't much time in my schedule for blogging these days, but I suppose that when I do in fact have the time, I can shoot a few words up to ye old internetz.

So what's this one about? Nothing earth shaking, just an account of weekend past.

The agenda was fairly simple - attend a special youth service at the Redemption Worship Center in Chaguanas. Now executing the one task on the agenda would have been a quick, clean cut operation had it not been for my own little personal On-Star navigation system packaged in the form of my mother, bubblingly overconfident with her geographical and navigational prowess. You see, had she been more modest in saying that she knew where the church was, we wouldn't have spent nearly an hour driving around Chaguanas pulling up on people asking for directions; I could have just asked for directions when directions were being offered. *grr!!*

There were two things that I learned from Chaguanas people on that day:

1. Apparently everybody is blissfully unaware of their surroundings, so much so that you can get away with holding a kidnapped person hostage in a shack ten meters away from their place of residence. By this I mean nobody in Chaguanas knows where anything in Chaguanas is.

2. People in Chaguanas are very suspicious of drive-by shooters. And here I was thinking that growing up in La Puerta was bad. People would literally jump or clutch their possessions, mate or child closer when they see the car pulling up. I mean sure the tint is a bit heavy on the windows, but through the windshield I'm pretty sure you could see a middle-aged woman in the driver seat and two *very well dressed* but not devious looking young people in the back seat. I mean come on, when was the last time someone was killed by a mom and her "two children" in a stationwagon? Better than that, people of Chaguanas.

Aside from the driving, there was some walking around to be had. This part I was not particularly fond of since my girlfriend wanted to hold hands. Now on a regular day in a regular part of Trinidad this would have been fine, but on this hell-strip of activity and potential murder suspects I preferred not to have a "soff-man" appearance in case anybody felt like trying on a coffin and attempted to snatch my "bling". I'm telling you, most of the dudes I came across looked like they would mug you and demand your teeth because they look shiny when they're slick with saliva. My face stoned harder than usual in attempt to ward off potential trouble-makers but my efforts were COMPLETELY nullified by the fact that I had a sweet little Indian girl clutching on to my hand, and to make things worse, she would occasionally stop to look at dresses... and I would have to accompany her. I'm sorry but my current level of "gangsta" doesn't permit me to look gangster in a dress shop... or in a shop selling guns, knives and bitches for that matter. Oh well...

After much ado (and painful jaw clenching) we finally found the church. Gladly we weren't given the stink eye for traipsing in about an hour late; the audience was too engrossed with the testimonies given by the youths that have volunteered to do so. But as I sat down and listened to what those individuals had to share, my eyes lost their interest in their surroundings, my vision was tunneled and my heart began to overflow with love and compassion. The experiences that were shared shadowed mine in an eclipse of misfortune. My past issues and trials seemed small and frivolous compared to the battles and tribulations that others of my age have fought.

At that point in time, I came to realize two things:

1. Just how blessed I am and how much Jesus has protected me from
2. Just how powerful Jesus is, and His ability to save any soul and anybody who is willing to be saved.

He has gone down to the pits of personal hell, braved the fires of their mental torment, broken the chains of their spiritual bindings, unveiled their eyes to the truth of His love and brought deliverance and salvation to resuscitate their dying souls. He is truly an awesome God whose power far greater than anything I have ever known and ever will.

Sitting there, listening, I felt great pity and sadness in my heart for my friends and those who I love who still do not know Him, for those who reject offers of salvation, for those who have grown cold towards Him. Knowing that there is nothing you can do but pray, wait and hope can be frustrating sometimes, but keeping the faith is important in knowing that if he could have saved those young people, he can do the same for the ones who are still in need of it.

After the sharing and a brief yet powerful prayer and fellowship session, we were treated to an exceptionally well-portrayed and perfectly executed play/skit. I must say that along with being deeply entertained I was truly inspired. I think my next big film project is going to follow that storyline (if not one similar). I think it's time I write something that's both entertaining to watch and spiritually uplifting; something that everyone could relate to that has a positive element of enlightenment. We'll see how that goes.

Well my faithful reader, I don't know exactly how I've reached here. I was really going to write about the humour I caught during the dinner and socialization session but I guess God wanted me to share something a little more substantial and meaningful, maybe even reach a special someone... oh well... I guess a laugh lost is love learned ;)