Adventure of the Seas

On our free time we try to see something new each week. Since the island is only about 28 miles long it doesn't take much gas to explore and it doesn't cost anything to go to the beach. So even though many might think we are living quite the life of luxury, we are just enjoying some of God's creations. After a very busy last 8 days we headed west to Fredericksted on the island of St. Croix. A cruise ship was set to dock at 8:00 am. We made it just as it came to the pier! 

  

                                                         

Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas is 1020 feet in length, 137,376 tons in weight, holds 3807 passengers, has an ice skating rink, rock climbing wall, inline skating, 9 hole mini golf course, a full size basketball court and tons of restaurants and just about anything else to make a vacation fun! We enjoyed seeing how easily she slid right up to the pier and settled in for the day. Taxi's and buses awaited the passengers who had come to explore St. Croix for the day. We just sat back on the beach, did some snorkeling and sightseeing ourselves. It was a day we needed!

                               

We took these pictures so you would know we were really there!

                                             

                                                      

Beautiful Flowers of the Island

January~February Newsletter

Caribbean Missions

January~February 2011

Greetings from the Island of St. Croix

We are just finishing up our fourth month here yet it feels like we have lived here a long time.  It feels a lot like home! There is no denying that we are enjoying the beautiful weather while many of our family and friends have been shoveling snow. But we do look forward to some rainy weather as it has been very dry here.

Billy continues to work three days a week at the Lighthouse Mission with building and renovation projects. He shares the Word of God with the 25-30 homeless who come in for breakfast. There are four men who take turns with the devotionals and his day is on Mondays with an occasional fill in spot if someone is away. He also is working two days a week at Southgate Baptist Church with some maintenance projects. 

                                       

The big projects he has been working on are the “Liberty Theater,” the exterior of Lighthouse II, and the roof. He has also done some renovations inside, some preparations for a concrete ramp, and lots of painting. A couple of the men who come in for breakfast helped with some of the painting. The upcoming project is the kitchen renovation. The cook is excited about more cabinet space, a new sink and a new exhaust system to be installed in March. Prior to that, another door way was cut through concrete to make room for traffic in and out of the kitchen. It was a dusty mess and it took a team to clean!

                             

Cecilia is enjoying her job as School Nurse at Free Will Baptist Christian School. She just completed the school health manual, just in time for the accreditation process upcoming in April. She was able to do a presentation in the fifth grade class on personal hygiene recently. What a joy to be able to share God’s Word and how to apply it in everyday life.

   


             

We continue to teach a Sunday School class for students in grades K-grade 2. They are energetic but eager to learn. They are bused in from Christiansted and most have never attended church. We play a game where we pretend we are the “parents” and they are our “children”..an interesting adventure keeping them settled in their seats 40 minutes while waiting to be dismissed to Jr. Church! Crayons and color sheets are a life saver.

We are able to do some small work projects at Youth With A Mission. Billy helped install some hurricane shutters in preparation for the summer months.

Praises:

            Opportunities to share God’s Word with the homeless and children

            Faithful prayer and financial supporters

            Good health and a car that runs good (with A/C!)

Prayer Requests:

            That the hearts of those hearing the Word would soften and be receptive

Our house is back on the market at a reduced price..we need to sell it!

Safety on the roads as they are narrow, huge pot holes, and drivers veer to avoid them. Kind of scary at times to meet oncoming cars!

We thank you for your continued prayer and financial support. There are many days we have needed extra strength and grace from the Lord. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

In Christ’s Love,                                                                    

Billy & Cecilia

Follow us on www.CaribbeanMission.blogspot.com 

Learn more about the ministry at http://www.yeservants.org/ or www.CaribbeanMissions.com

Tax exempt financial contributions can be made online at http://www.yeservants.org/ or to YES Ministry,

P.O. Box 700697, St. Cloud, FL  34770 (Designate for Billy & Cecilia Stone Ministry)

My Husband is an Awesome Man of God

My husband, Billy Stone, is quite a unique man. I don't brag on him enough but today I feel like I need to. He has the biggest, most tender heart for people. I believe God has him just where He wants him to be. He is working at the Lighthouse Mission on St. Croix doing maintenance and building projects. Each Monday morning he shares a message from the Bible with the group of 25-30 homeless men and women of the streets. His heart's desire is to see them accept the Lord as their Saviour and to get a new start on life.  He also works with some of the men, trying to get them involved in some type of work projects. He has been known to crawl under an old house, where termintes and centipedes live, to fix a sagging floor for the poor.

He is a wonderful husband and makes sure I feel secure in his love and committment. He also has a heart for children...which brings us to this picture with his puppet Kenya. His 6ft 1in height strikes quite a picture with the children and the homeless.  He is not afraid to humble himself to touch someone's life.

The Lord has blessed me with this man and I want people to know what an Awesome Man of God he is!

The Desires of Your Heart

"Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life." Proverbs 13:12

A couple years ago my desire was to be a school nurse in a Christian school in the Chattanooga area. I filled out an application, talked to administration, and though they knew they needed a nurse, they chose to wait til a later time. Needless to say I was disappointed...but now I understand God's delays and timing. Today I work part time in a Christian school as their school nurse. This school happens to be on a tropical island in the Caribbean. I love the ocean and the beach. God had a plan and it was far better than anything I could ever imagine. Recently I had the privilege of talking to a group of 5th graders about personal hygiene. It was such a blessing to share the Word of God with them and how to apply it in their lives...even if it was something as simple as good personal hygiene. Their thank you letters made my Valentine's Day a little brighter. Thank you Lord for answering NO to the prayer I had for the school in Chattanooga and for YES here on St. Croix. I am excited about what the Lord has ahead for me here. I want to be open to His leading and to reach children and the youth with His love.

School Nurses DO Make a Difference

My former nursing supervisor, Sheryl Rogers RN, from Chattanooga has this school motto...School Nurses Make A Difference. This week it was extended all the way to St. Croix. She and her nurses have decided to take our school on as a mission project. When I came home the other day this huge box of medical supplies, books, puppets, etc was sitting at my door. I felt like a little child at Christmas! Things I needed to work as a school nurse were tucked away in every corner of the box and even some surprises I didn't expect, but had prayed for. Probably the biggest blessing was the love that was shown from my former supervisor and nurses I had worked with, some for ten years. School Nurses DO make a Difference. Their generosity and prayers are touching lives of children thousands of miles away. THANK YOU!!!!!

Animals & Birds On St. Croix

There are a variety of wildlife on the island...some even surprising. An interesting creature is the Mongoose which looks like a ferret. Apparently they are quite the hunters. They are very cute but quickly scurry away when you come near. There are no squirrels, chipmunks or rabbits to be seen.There are also deer on the island, but we have noticed they are much smaller than on the mainland US. As you drive along country roads it is not surprising to see a herd of goats grazing along the side of the road.

Chickens and roosters are everywhere. It is nothing to see a mother hen with her baby chicks crossing the street. They are the Lighthouse Mission looking for food scraps, at Youth With A Mission crowing all hours of the day, downtown, on the waterfront, just about anywhere you go they are there. There are lots of hummingbirds, doves and pigeons. I am surprised there are no beautiful tropical birds. There are peacocks in some areas but we haven't seen them yet...but their call is beautiful!                                                

There are no snakes here but the one critter you don't want around is the Centipede. They have a nasty bite and have been known to get in people's homes and bite them at night. My nightly prayer is "Lord, please don't let a Centipede come in our house." There are Geckos everywhere so you might as well not worry about them. They do well to keep bugs away so they are a blessing to have around. At night there are many bats flying around. During the day they stay in an old sugar mill tower and are quite noisy and packed together. They are great for keeping the mosquitoes away.

      

 The Iguana is an ugly looking "lizard." There are many of these and when you first see them you are quite startled. The good news is that they are afraid of us and run away. And run they do. They climb trees and there are actually two of them where we are staying. Billy captured a picture of this guy just a few days ago.

Skunks can not be found, or moose or elk! You have to travel to the mainland for these animals. But we don't mind sharing this island with the creatures God has made!

Grocery Shopping on the Island

One of the "scariest" experiences on the island of St. Croix is checking out at the grocery store! This happens on a weekly basis so it requires a lot of planning and prayer :) There are several stores, Pueblo, Plaza and Cost-U-Less which many people call Cost-U-More. You can buy most anything that you would in the states but at much higher prices. There are times that it's hard to find our favorite bar soap so I have learned to stock up. Most of the time I go to Plaza early in the morning when it is less crowded. They have a good selection of food and also bulk sizes. Cost-U-Less is alot like Sam's Club but you don't have to have a membership. I will give you some prices on some of our favorite things. A gallon of milk is $5.99, chocolate syrup to go with it is also $5.99. A package of butter is $5.99, bath tissue $11.99 for 12 double rolls, and a loaf of bread is $3.59. The food tastes good and the Lord has provided jobs and the money to buy it, but nonetheless it is a "scary" event!