Here’s a little on the island of Trinidad and our trip:
I had never even heard of Trinidad before I heard about the trip (sorry Trinidadians!). Trinidad is actually “Trinidad and Tobago” with 21 other much smaller islands to make up the country. The island is located seven miles north of Venezuela but, surprisingly isn’t part of South America as it is considered a Caribbean island because of its history and location. (Look it up on GoogleEarth, a free download with a really cool interactive map) The climate is hot, hot, and hot. Okay, so it’s not hot to the third power; while it is pretty hot much of the time, the temperature ranges from 73-90 degrees year round with only two seasons in the year: June to December being the rainy season, the other months being the dry. Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad, is the largest city weighing in at around 53,000 in population.
Trinidad is about 50 miles long x 30 miles wide (excluding the top and bottom tips); Tobago is situated 20 miles northeast of Trinidad. The land on Trinidad is overall quite grassy (I thought it would be much sandier), containing a variety of vegetation (like coconuts and mangos), flowers, and tropical trees, as well as a mixture of mountains, plains, and beaches. A wide variety of wildlife can also be found in the air, on ground, or in the ocean in the tropical climate of the area.
Much of the population is from either Indian (India, not Native American) or African decent with a mixture of Chinese, French, and Native American cultures among others. Trinidad has been passed along from different “empires” throughout the years, including the Spanish, French, and English, though now they are a free country. English is the official language of Trinidad and is famous for its incredible invention of steel pan music (also identified as Calypso music). Major religions comprise of Hindu, Muslim, and Christian (though much of what is called “Christian” is actually a mix of other religions mixed in to its beliefs). Overall, we found the people to be very friendly and beautiful.
Of our trip, we had 50 members go, many of which didn’t know or barley knew each other. The mission call was made known by the (solely) listener-supported Christian radio station in St. Louis, 97.7/94.1 Joy FM. We had 2 flights down and 2 back (STL to Houston, TX to Trinidad and the reverse coming back) with the longest flights being about 6 hours each between Trinidad and the States. As you will hear, while we were on the mission, we performed in three days (!):
Three Bible Clubs
The destruction, construction, and completion of the TTUM sanctuary stage
Public School (grades Pre-K to High School), Boy’s Prison, and Elderly Home Programs
I had been debating between a few different mission trips this year, not really sure of which one to go on. I had heard the announcement on the radio from Joy FM and couldn’t find the station when I tried to go to the first informational meeting. I drove around on Manchester about three times and said (out loud, I believe) “I’ll try once more and if I can’t see it, then I’m going home.” Wouldn’t you know it, a sign suddenly sprung up (it wasn’t there before – I know it). And the rest is minor history.
I very much enjoyed the trip and, as you ready the journal, it is my hope that you can see a glimpse of Trinidad and its beautiful people. And if you can’t, you may need to just go down to see for yourself! God bless – Zach
I had never even heard of Trinidad before I heard about the trip (sorry Trinidadians!). Trinidad is actually “Trinidad and Tobago” with 21 other much smaller islands to make up the country. The island is located seven miles north of Venezuela but, surprisingly isn’t part of South America as it is considered a Caribbean island because of its history and location. (Look it up on GoogleEarth, a free download with a really cool interactive map) The climate is hot, hot, and hot. Okay, so it’s not hot to the third power; while it is pretty hot much of the time, the temperature ranges from 73-90 degrees year round with only two seasons in the year: June to December being the rainy season, the other months being the dry. Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad, is the largest city weighing in at around 53,000 in population.
Trinidad is about 50 miles long x 30 miles wide (excluding the top and bottom tips); Tobago is situated 20 miles northeast of Trinidad. The land on Trinidad is overall quite grassy (I thought it would be much sandier), containing a variety of vegetation (like coconuts and mangos), flowers, and tropical trees, as well as a mixture of mountains, plains, and beaches. A wide variety of wildlife can also be found in the air, on ground, or in the ocean in the tropical climate of the area.
Much of the population is from either Indian (India, not Native American) or African decent with a mixture of Chinese, French, and Native American cultures among others. Trinidad has been passed along from different “empires” throughout the years, including the Spanish, French, and English, though now they are a free country. English is the official language of Trinidad and is famous for its incredible invention of steel pan music (also identified as Calypso music). Major religions comprise of Hindu, Muslim, and Christian (though much of what is called “Christian” is actually a mix of other religions mixed in to its beliefs). Overall, we found the people to be very friendly and beautiful.
Of our trip, we had 50 members go, many of which didn’t know or barley knew each other. The mission call was made known by the (solely) listener-supported Christian radio station in St. Louis, 97.7/94.1 Joy FM. We had 2 flights down and 2 back (STL to Houston, TX to Trinidad and the reverse coming back) with the longest flights being about 6 hours each between Trinidad and the States. As you will hear, while we were on the mission, we performed in three days (!):
Three Bible Clubs
The destruction, construction, and completion of the TTUM sanctuary stage
Public School (grades Pre-K to High School), Boy’s Prison, and Elderly Home Programs
I had been debating between a few different mission trips this year, not really sure of which one to go on. I had heard the announcement on the radio from Joy FM and couldn’t find the station when I tried to go to the first informational meeting. I drove around on Manchester about three times and said (out loud, I believe) “I’ll try once more and if I can’t see it, then I’m going home.” Wouldn’t you know it, a sign suddenly sprung up (it wasn’t there before – I know it). And the rest is minor history.
I very much enjoyed the trip and, as you ready the journal, it is my hope that you can see a glimpse of Trinidad and its beautiful people. And if you can’t, you may need to just go down to see for yourself! God bless – Zach
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