Mission Accomplished
For this year’s mission trip, we headed for St. Christopher Children’s Home located on the Island of St. Kitts British West Indies (BWI). St. Kitts is formally known as St. Christopher and is about 1300 miles southeast of Miami Florida.
Mrs. Margret Stevens oversees the Children’s home. She has been at the helm for about 5 years and is supported by her assistant Shanniqua James who has been employed there for the past two years. While Mrs. Stevens takes care of the staffing and financial part of the home; Shanniqua is responsible for the immediate needs of the children, overseeing the duties of the volunteers and the daily operation of the home. There is 24 hour staffing which helps with the cooking, cleaning and they too help with the daily needs of the children. Normally St. Christopher Children’s Home houses children from age 5 to 18. During our visit there were seven children ages 6 to 23. The week before there were 11 children. Four children were blessed to returned to their families.
Typically, if a child is not safe at home, they are placed in the Children’s Home until they can either return home with their parents or with a family member. If the first two options are not available, the child can stay at the Children’s Home until they finish high school, college or trade school. He or she must be actively engaged in an educational program. Once they are done with their education the Children’s Home helps the young adult (by this time) find housing and employment. If continuing education is not an option for them the Children’s Home assist them in getting job training and housing.
Most of the children have foster parents whom they visit primarily on the weekends and holidays. Just like the USA, the foster parents must go through a process to become certified as a foster parent(s), including, the application process and home visits to ensure the home is suitable. Foster parenting gives the children the opportunity to get away from the Children’s Home for a short time and it periodically eases the work load for the staff. For the most part, the children have a home to go to on Christmas. I think this is awesome. Every child likes to be home for the holidays.
Shanniqua James, the assistant, gave us a tour of the home and explained that some of the children are taking music, dance and hand sewing lessons. Their massive library doubles as a safe room in the event of a hurricane. There were a few projects going on. Recently they had new kitchen equipment installed which meets the health department requirements. A new closet with poles for hanging cloths was installed. Prior to the newly renovated closet, once the donated cloths were cleaned and folded, they were not organized for easy access. This made looking for needed items a chore. Therefore, our mission was to sort the cloths by gender and style and to hang up all items until the hangers ran out. Mission Accomplished 
. The smaller closet is now used for linen.
As we walked around the outside of the property, we can see where some of the land was cleared to make way for a green house. The green house will be a great step towards self-sufficiency. This clearing also made way for a wonderful view of the ocean.
There were mango trees which the children love to climb and eat the fruit. This is the best time of the year to visit if you like mangos. You can smell them throughout the island. The children will be going back to school by the end of August. Like all children around the world they are counting down the days to the first day of school (not in excitement). However, they do look forward to attending a local church regularly. The children asked if we were Christians. Once they heard the word yes, questions flowed about the bible and about Jacob’s schooling
This was a good visit. I have been visiting St. Christopher’s Children’s Home on and off for the past 8 years or more. It is nice to see the changes and progression the home has made. The improvement under the new leadership is heart warming. Mrs. Margret Stevens is working hard, and it shows. It is no easy task to run a home solely on fundraisers, donations and volunteers. My hat comes off to her and all the staff at the home.
Thank you, Mrs. Stevens and staff of St. Christopher for your warm hospitality and allowing us to know more about you and to give a helping hand. www.stchristopherchildrenshome.org
Thank you, Walter’s Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church family for your continued support. You provided the well needed 40 ink cartridges for the printer. www.waltersmemorial.com
A last-minute thought I packed coloring books, crayons and chalk.
Thank you, Allan, Susan and Ian, my farming Christian family who also has a heart for mission work. You provided ten (10) packets of seeds for the green house. www.headwatersfarmct.com
I would also like to thank my family for their support. Especially my son Jacob Henry -Parks who took the time to meet me in St. Kitts and help accomplish the mission.
Most of all I thank God for giving me the desire to do mission ministry and providing all the needs of those in need.
So, where in the Caribbean is the next mission trip? I hear the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Barbuda are still struggling after hurricanes Irma and Maria. Maybe one of our sister churches in the Bahamas, Trinidad or Barbados wouldn’t mind a helping hand.
Oh, the options are many.
Respectfully Submitted
Tanaya Henry
Supply Secretary
