Greetings!  

Marcus is thirty four years old but has not taken a step in four years. Ever since he was shot four times in a drug deal gone bad, he's been living at the invalid home. Most of the residents are elderly and sick but Marcus is young. That's what drew me to his room.

Our teams regularly visit nursing homes on our mission trips to Trinidad. We sing, read Scripture and pray for the residents.

Marcus is paralyzed from his waist down. A bullet is lodged near his spine and is preventing any movement in his lower body. He can't even get into his wheelchair without help. When I peeked in his room, I decided I should pray with him, read some scripture and encourage him. But just the opposite happened.

As I entered his he smiled broadly and waved for me to come and sit down next to his bed. After some small talk, I asked him if I could read some Psalms to him. He smiled and said yes. As I started to read Psalm 23, he began to read along with me, except that he wasn't reading, he was quoting the Psalm from memory. As I read Psalm 100 he did the same thing. Psalm 8, Psalm 22, Psalm 62, all the same. Marcus had memorized nearly the entire book of Psalms! As we talked, he explained that a pastor had come to visit not long after he arrived at the home and he had received Christ as his savior. He was given a Bible and immediately began memorizing Psalms. They brought him peace and assurance during the long nights in his bed.

As we talked, Marcus challenged and encouraged me deeply. Here is a man who could be bitter toward the world and yet he chooses to be joyful in the midst of great difficulty. He asked me how many Psalms I had memorized and I had to confess, just a few. I came away determined to memorize more.

Most of our GO team members had a similar experience that day in the nursing home. We were encouraged and blessed by the very people we went to minister to. That was just one afternoon of our seven-day trip. We also conducted a vacation bible school for 65 children in a poor Hindu neighborhood. Every single child was given the chance to receive Jesus as their savior. We work in partnership with a great ministry that is committed to winning Trinidad for Christ. That is a huge job when you consider that 50% of the residents of Trinidad are Hindu. But we can help!

Please pray about coming with us on a mission to Trinidad or another of the 18 countries we are ministering in. You'll come away encouraged and challenged in your faith.

Thank you and have a blessed weekend!

Ron Houp

Sr. Vice-President & CFO

 P.S. Come with us on a mission adventure in the next 12 months. www.gointernational.org