Special Report: Disciples Today Bears Fruit in Grenada ^Featured

 The story began when our "story," our regular quarterly update, was posted last July on the Disciples Today website. In a few days, we were contacted by a couple from the church in Reno, Nevada, who had read about our relaunch, and the work we have been doing to build a solid foundation for our small congregation here in Grenada! That couple was Guy and Loretta Berndt. Although we didn’t know it at the time, they are stalwarts in our fellowship, well-known for their tireless commitment to the ministry for many years, and their passion for building strong marriages and families. They simply wanted us to know they had read about us on Disciples Today, that they were praying for us, and, since family commitments had made them decide to return to Jacksonville, Florida, they were looking forward to connecting with the smaller churches in our close-by Caribbean region, to help in any way they could. They even offered to visit us, as volunteers, to serve and encourage us, if even for a short time.

We responded with much gratitude, and reached out to our new friends. Over the next few months, Romania and I emailed and Skyped with Guy and Loretta, as we got to know each other, talked about our families, shared our dreams and visions for the church, and prayed together across the miles. We soon learned that this amazing couple are dedicated students of John and Karen Louis. Not only do they facilitate church and community workshops in “I Choose Us,” “Good Enough Parenting,” and “Family Dynamics,” their desire to see healthy families and communities had inspired them to become a part of a select group of “Trainers” of presenters for these dynamic workshops!
      
It was soon clear that God had intended for this connection to be made. The seed was planted in our hearts for them to visit our church, to encourage, inspire and help build up our disciples. Through the amazing love, sacrifice and freewill gifts of disciples in the Jacksonville Church of Christ -- most of whom we have never met -- Guy and Loretta were able to visit the church in Grenada for 10 days at the beginning of the 2015! Their example even encouraged two amazing single sisters from Jacksonville, Sandra and Petoria, to pay their own way just to come along to serve and encourage the church! 

From January 2-12, 2015, the Berndts gave tirelessly and unreservedly, even after enduring unexpected delays and an unplanned overnight in a Miami airport on the way to Grenada. Undaunted, from the moment they landed, Guy and Loretta began their missionary journey to strengthen, train, teach and encourage. They met with and encouraged disciples individually, and hosted separate men’s and women’s devotionals for our church. They attended radio and TV interviews, met with government and other group representatives, who were inspired by this opportunity to help and heal families within the community. And, having offered free Good Enough Parenting (GEP) training to members of our church -- which they extended to churches in our fellowship around the region -- they conducted a two-day GEP Workshop for the community. They spent their final weekend with us training 12 new facilitators in GEP, six from our church in Grenada, and two each from the churches in Barbados, Trinidad and St Vincent! Most of all, Guy & Loretta endeared themselves to us, to our children and to the brothers and sisters in our church!
   
We are so inspired by the wonderful fellowship and partnership we can have with brothers and sisters from churches around the world, connections that are championed by the commitment and sacrifices of the Disciples Today team! We are equally amazed by the humility and examples of our wonderful new friends, Guy & Loretta Berndt. We thank our God for allowing them serve the churches in the Caribbean in this way, and look forward to their continued work with us in building healthy families and churches in our region. Many of our friends who attended our Good Enough Parenting Workshops were encouraged, and seeds were planted for continued work in the community, with government agencies, NGOs and individuals. How awesome to have brothers and sisters who set an example, and call us to use our gifts to imitate the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ! Thank you Guy and Loretta, Sandra, Petoria, the disciples in the Jacksonville church, and everyone who played a part in making this possible... and thank you, Disciples Today! To God be the glory!

Click to check out more pics of our amazing Good Enough Parenting Weekend!