coptichymns.net - Sharing the Joy of Coptic Hymns Around the World

We are all marveling at how quickly this week has gone by! For those of us leaving on Tuesday, we are saddened to leave this spiritual paradise of service and blessing and return to the world, with all its problems and troubles. May He bless our remaining days here in St. Kitts.

This morning, we took the blessing of attending the divine liturgy at the current church of St. Mark and St. Bishoy. The church was so full that many of us stood on Abouna Shenouda's front porch to pray. God has truly blessed us and poured His grace upon this church! After the liturgy, we shared an Agape meal with the congregation, prepared for us by Tasoni. We played with the kids and sang hymns, and had a wonderful time. It will be very sad to leave the children when we return home.

As Sunday is the day of the Lord, we took the day off from physical work and did some sightseeing to take in the beautiful sights all over the island. We drove to a fortress on one of the high points of the island, where we saw the entire island and some of the surrounding islands. Praise God in the heavens for making this wondrous earth, full of beauty and majesty, from the ocean to the hills and mountains, from the volcanoes to the clouds in the sky. We spent hours walking around, meditating and basking in the works of God's hands.

This evening, many of us called our families. We learned that our families and friends have been coming to the website and viewing the pictures and journal entries from our trip. We thank you for your interest in the Church here in St. Kitts, and ask that you continue to pray for this church, its growth, ministry and service.

There is one important thing we must ask, however, one thing Abouna mentioned to us tonight. As people learn about this ministry, there is a tendency to praise the work we do. The devil will use this praise to take away our blessings, by feeding our egos and puffing up our pride. We are in a battle of spiritual warfare against Satan, and we can easily lose our heavenly reward. We must always remember with St. Paul, "It is not I, but Christ, who works in me." To those of you reading at home, we ask that you refrain from praising the individuals and our work on this trip, but rather keep the focus on the church of St. Mark and St. Bishoy here in St. Kitts. If you see anything good in what is done here, it is completely by the grace of God; we are happy enough to be tools in His hand. Please do not take pride in what we do, but instead GIVE GOD THE GLORY. God's work will be completed here regardless of any one of us.

We thank God for the blessing of being able to witness the works of His Hand. To Him be all glory, honor and praise forever. Amen.