It’s been two weeks since I’ve been back from my mission trip to Grenada, and I’ve finally got all 1,500 of my pictures organized and sorted down to tell you my story. If you have a couple minutes, please read on and enjoy!
I signed up for a Kingdom Workers trip after finding a Facebook ad that appealed to me. It was for teaching swimming lessons in the island country of Grenada. It looked like a fun opportunity to help me live outside my box a little bit, and dive into the world of mission work. What I didn’t understand is why Grenada? Why swimming lessons? Why me? And what will be the end result of all of this?
It didn’t take long to figure out the connection between swimming lessons and the Easter for Kids VBS program. A leading cause of death among children here in Grenada is drowning. A very kind woman named Deb moved to Grenada about ten years ago and started swimming lessons. She has built her program up to include a “National Learn to Swim Week” (the week after Easter) to help enhance her purpose. Easter is culturally important here in Grenada. Most of the island is Christian. Children have the weeks before and after Easter off of school so timing is perfect for people wanting to take swimming lessons. (Did I mention they are FREE!) Deb offers lessons at 14 locations around the island. Last year, Grace Lutheran joined up in this public event building an Easter for Kids VBS around the swim lessons. What makes the swimming lessons offered through Grace Lutheran unique is that we offer water safety AND also the saving message of Jesus. It’s a dual purpose camp with both physical and spiritual life saving efforts.
If you think that just Grenadian children and families will benefit from Easter for Kids, think again. Grenada is home to a large medical college. Students come from all over the world come to Grenada to study at this school. Many of the students at Grace Lutheran are international students – not just Grenadians. Rena, one of the teachers at Grace who is helping out with Easter for Kids explained that children from the United States, Germany, China and even Pakistan attend the event. What a melting pot! What an opportunity! What a way to turn Grenada into a hub for global outreach!! Little children from around the world are learning about Jesus and taking the information home… most likely home to their temporary housing here in Grenada and also to their country of origin. How cool is that?!
Kids left the camp on day one saying that their favorite part of the day was swimming. Swimming is so much fun, and it’s so exciting to learn. I was so excited to be here to swim. I had a blast meeting and playing with all of the kids on day one, but the moment that almost brought tears to my eyes is when we wrapped up the day with the story of Jesus hugging the little children. Teach a child to swim and potentially have that child tell the world about Jesus. He hugs little children, and He offers us ways for us to use our talents (even swimming) to connect people to His Word locally, regionally, and globally. That’s what’s going on here.
He hugs the children with two loving arms…. So here’s the only other question to be answered: Are we now ready to jump in with two feet?
Get Grenada Swimming – My First Mission Trip
The Fuchsia Fox 