by Delroy Nesta Williams
Late yesterday afternoon, I got a call inviting me to a “lecture”
just as I was about to take a nap. It was at 7:30 at the Dominica State College
(DSC). My friend said something about “fire” so I figured it would be
interesting to attend. I dragged myself up and after taking a quick shower,
opened my eyes and made my way up to Stockfarm.
I was early, a big shocker since I had picked up the habit
of strolling in late, not fashionably though, to these types of activities. My
friend had said lecture and fire but what she should have said was a Holy Ghost
awakening.
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| God Sent warming up the crowd |
I was greeted by the sounds of God Sent as I made my
way to my chair; that was after wandering around the grounds of the Dominica
State College and taking in the view of Roseau. God Sent performed a few of my
favourite songs, Heaven to me, Pressing On and of course, I Know Who I Am by
Sinach, which happens to be a crowd favourite and literal anthem for Christians
on the island.
What I met at the DSC was a melting pot of Caribbean and American
youth, all gathered to praise the Lord. There were young people there from Dominica (obviously), the United States of America, St. Lucia, Barbados, Trinidad and
Tobago, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Grenada, Jamaica and a lone representative from the
Turks and Caicos Islands who did more than just represent her country, she
roared into action when she was called upon by lead singer of God Sent - Carlvin
Deravaliere.
The night featured a personal testimony by Emanuel “Manny”
Onhome, who spoke of his African upbringing and his encounter with an American missionary, that brought him to the United States through a basketball scholarship. He excelled
academically and in his personal business while in the US, eventually getting
married and raising a family. It wasn’t until his alcoholic father died though,
that he had an awakening and after the Lord put a few angels in his path to
guide him, that he founded Samaritan’s Feet.
Since inception Samaritan’s Feet has distributed shoes to
more than 4.5 million people, including Dominicans (the festival participants
had done a distribution drive across Dominica that very day). Basically, his
story involved a full circle experience that started from receiving a pair of
sneakers from the missionary to now providing shoes to millions, complimented
by his message of hope and betterment in the Lord.
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| Fully Ignited crowd reacts to God Sent |
As Manny said at end his testimony, “sometimes all it takes
is a little spark to create a raging inferno” and he proved it with his
demonstrative words and charisma across the stage. I particularly enjoyed how
he mingled with the French translator.
For more information on Samaritan’s feet and to read more
about Manny’s story, go to www.samaritan’s feet.org
The Caribbean Baptist Youth Fellowship, Youth Festival 2014
continues all week long with visits to the Princess Margaret Hospital, Chances
Children Home and Operation Youth Quake, a health fair, a sports day and a
gospel show, featuring His Excellency, a Barbadian-based Dominican gospel artist
(I am looking forward to seeing my schoolmate perform). The gospel show takes
place at the Newtown Savannah from 7:00pm
After being skeptical about the “lecture” and “fire” I must
admit that I left the “Fully Ignited, Radically Engaged.”
Thank you to my friend for the invite.
