Not to be forgotten...

Hello, again. This is a sad day for me here in the Cayman Islands. I've been in Cayman Brac for two weeks now, and this is my last day here. I don't have much to say...
I feel a pull to the islands, but I know that God has a plan for me wherever I go. Back to school and back to work. God led me to William Carey University for a purpose, so I return there with that purpose in mind. Seeking His face in all I do is my priority. Bringing glory to His name and finishing strong is my goal. I don't have much time here on this earth, but what I have I give to You. Another adventure for another day. Thank you all.


In love,
Heath Conner

Long time, no see

Wow, it has been an incredibly long time since I last wrote a blog. The last few weeks have been crazy. Four weeks ago I was in the Brac for 9 days, then I came back and worked all week preparing for VBS, the next week was VBS and Kids' Camp, and last week my parents came in and just left yesterday. It's been extremely busy, but I've seen God move the whole time. I got to preach in the Brac and hang out with some cool people in a seminary course. I made some great contacts with two pastors from the state who I'm planning to go see. During VBS, 22 kids came to know Christ! what an incredible story of God's great love. Each child was led to Christ one by one. It was not a group thing, or something done because a friend did it. Each child approached a leader and said they wanted to accept Jesus! I still cannot get over that. The whole week, I played the role of "Dusty," the mascot of the VBS. I was a cowboy by day and Mr. Heath by afternoon. It was quite the workout trying to maintain the composure of my two characters and the kids, but we had a fantastic time worshipping the Lord. God has been showing me many things underwater the past few times I've been. I love seeing His creation, and I believe it is God answering little prayers to better glorify Him. The last three times I've been, I've seen some of the most unique and rare fish in Cayman. I saw 3 French Angelfish, a Yellow-tailed Damselfish, several Stoplight Parrotfish, a Hermit Conk (very rare), and a black Lionfish at Coral Gardens and the Barrier Reef. On my fourth time out to Stingray City, I felt like a pro. I held about 15 stingrays for a few seconds, but I went under and caught 8 stingrays and held them for minutes at a time. It was absolutely beautiful. At Governor's Beach this week, I saw a unique French Angelfish, two Queen Angelfish (very rare), a Queen Triggerfish, a Hogfish, two Midnight Butterflyfish, two Trunkfish, several Stoplight Parrotfish, a Spotted Moray Eel, and the biggest blowfish I've ever seen!! The last time I went, we went to Rumpoint. We stopped at a cay along the way and saw 5 starfish, and I held several Mangrove Jellyfish and saw 4 Box Jellyfish, the deadliest jellyfish in the world...didn't know it until after I left the waters. At Rumpoint, the snorkeling isn't very good, but I enjoy it, so I went anyways. Under the dock, I saw about 30 Pikefish and a huge lobster. When I saw the lobster, it was sleeping, so I decided to wake it up. I went down and touched it, and it wiggled a little. Then, I pushed it a little, still it just wiggled slightly. Then, I went down and picked it up off the sand and dropped it. It was awakened and turned and faced me all sprowled out. I noticed it was missing its right eye and used it for my advantage. I went around the pillar where it couldn't see me and waited for it to turn just enough to be directly in front of me. When it was, I went down and picked it up by the tail and brought it to the surface. An older couple was walking along the dock and saw it, so I showed them my catch and told them how I got it. Then, I set him back down and watched it for a minute. After they left, I went back down, picked him up, and swam about 150 yards to show my mom and dad. My mom waded out to where I was, and we took some pictures of it. After we were done, I set him back out so it could go on its way. My next stop will be Cemetary Beach in search of the great Eagle Ray.
Yesterday, I was meeting with Pastor Randy, and he was explaining the last few weeks in Cayman for me. An opportunity has come up for me to go back to the Brac and preach again. They have been asking if I could come back since I left, and it has worked out that I will leave for there this Monday. It was either stay in Grand Cayman with nothing to do ministry-wise or go to the Brac and preach 9 times in two weeks...or I could go home. The night before, I was praying and didn't really know what to do for the rest of the time here. All the youth were gone and the retreat idea is just that, an idea. My primary ministry while I am here is youth, and now they were gone. So, I prayed that God would give me opportunities to reach out and minister to others in these last two weeks. Here I am, about to head to the Brac with 9 opportunities! God has opened up another door in the Brac as well. The last few weeks, I've been trying to find out how to get certified to dive. I love snorkeling the surface so much, I know I would love diving. The only thing I really found out is that it will cost too much money and take too much time. I found out yesterday that Brac Reef has a dive certification course that lasts no more than two weeks, and we know a lady that can get me a discount! I love my God. If we are just obedient to Him and drive for His will, He will provide for us and give us the desires of our hearts.

At home...

This past week has been a little rough. It hasn't been because of anything happening here, I just feel like I've been in a small rut. God has prevailed through all things and will continue to prevail, but that doesn't mean that we always will. Last week, I was a little down for a couple of days, mostly for lack of sleep and a couple late nights. During those couple of days, I noticed that I hadn't been reading like I was. I've been playing catch up, it seems like, since that time. I don't have much to say this time, even though it's been over a week since my last post. One thing that I do have to share is an encounter with a man named Kurtis. It was last Wednesday about 6:30 PM. We've started a new believers' class on Wednesday nights, but none of the youth could come this past time. I had to stick around for band practice when I stuck my head out the door and this man was about to walk in. He's a Caymanian in his 30's and he introduced himself as Kurtis. I invited him to come in, letting him know that Wednesday night services for adults has been postponed until September. He came inside and sat down in my office/nursery, and he began to spill. He was saved in 1997 and has been attending a Pentecostal church since then. The church was very charismatic as he described it...slaying spirits, speaking in tongues, on spot healings, etc. He said that recently there's been some controversial issues come up among the believers in the church. They've seen several times, people with a deadly illness come forward and the elders of the church would lay hands on them, as James says to, and pray for their healing. He said that even still, these people would remain sick and would eventually pass away. He said the people in the church would as the pastor and elders why it was happening, because they prayed for healing and it didn't happen. The way he described it, the answer would always be, "They or you don't have enough faith or trust in God." This created quite a disturbance and caused Kurtis to become angry with the church and he's struggling with his faith now. He asked me what I thought of all that, and I shared with him my beliefs on healing, speaking in tongues, etc. I told him that I believe God can do all things, and we can approach Him with confidence because we know He can do it...but we still abide by His will. We can ask God for healing, but if His perfect will is for them to be called home, then by all means, let them go! If His will is for His name to be glorified through miraculous healing, then let them be healed! This concept of God's will had never been explained to him. They were always caught up in, "Well, this is what the apostles did when someone was sick, so we're going to do it and get the same results." I explained to him that it is nothing that we can do to heal or help people, but it is the Spirit within us that works in miraculous ways. The same Spirit that was in the apostles is in us. We've received the Spirit and now we need to allow Him to move within and through us. We continued to discuss this and many other topics concerning end times, depression, preaching, teaching, church beliefs, Calvinism, Armenianism, etc...We stayed and talked for over an hour. Remember, we had never met before that night, but now we are good friends. He left very encouraged that he could talk with a believer without arguing or disputing over beliefs and faith. This past Sunday, I was playing with the band, and I looked out and saw his face amongst the crowd. He was smiling and seemed very joyful. He looked at home.

He loves us

This past week has been very contradictary...earlier in the week, the guys from mobile, Pastor Randy, and his neice and her friend all left the island. The guys and girls went home, with the exception of Ryan who accompanied Pastor Randy to Honduras. Once they were gone, I realized how good of friends we had become and how much time we had been spending together. It's kinda lonely, but God is continuing to move despite how I feel. So really, I have no complaints. After they left on Wednesday, I moved into the apartment and headed back to the church. That night, we had our first new believers' class. Three came and we studied the first and some of the second chapter of 1 John. It was incredible how God was moving and speaking. We had some great conversations and questions asked during the class and even after. Thursday, Ryan and Pastor Randy were leaving for the Bay Islands' Baptist Conference, so after they left, I was told to take the rest of the afternoon off. Mrs. Cindy took me to Foster's Grocery so I could get some groceries for a while. I had a good time with that seeing how I love to cook...the prices are another story...everything's expensive in Cayman. Friday, I went in to the church about 1:30 PM because I was going to be there until 10:00 PM with the youth group. I had some good study time and researched some other things. About 6:30 PM, I grabbed my guitar and went out to the sanctuary. I decided I wanted to plug my guitar in to see how it sounded through an amp because I had never heard it. I rerouted a couple cables to a monitor and set it up behind me because the chord wouldn't quite reach. I started playing, but nothing came out. Oh well, I didn't worry about it because now I was in worship mode and didn't wanna stop. I could feel some disturbances around me, but it happens and I just kind of ignored it. As they got stronger, I just stopped and prayed, and they ceased. Then Mrs. Virginia had to leave to pick up Jykalli and Jonassi for youth night. As she left, the spirits really tried to make their presence known...and they succeeded. I remembered why my guitar wasn't coming through the monitor. The battery had gone out in my tuner. So, I ran upstairs to grab a new one, came back down, took the other out, and put the new one in. As soon as I did, a huge roar of vibration and screams came from the monitor right behind me. I don't even know if my feet hit the ground; I just know my guitar landed, and I was still airborne! I ran to it and shut it off as fast as I could, but my nerves didn't shut off until about 30 minutes later when the youth started to arrive. Quite scary, but also quite funny at the same time. The night with the youth went really well. They behaved and were quiet for the most part, and God definately had a message to listen to.
Saturday, I woke up, cooked some breakfast, and headed to the pool for some laps and a workout. After I finished, I grabbed a book and sat in a chair by the canal. I didn't realize that I was out there for so long. I didn't get any sun while I was in the pool, but after sitting by the canal for two hours with no sunscreen...I'd have to say I looked like a well done crustacean. I had a few good laughs with some of the band members at the church on Sunday.
Sunday morning, I woke up at 7:10 AM and started getting ready. I was preaching this morning, with Pastor Randy out, so I got some breakfast (cheerios) and headed upstairs to finish getting ready. While doing so, I started feeling sick, and it turned from feeling sick into being sick. Afterwards, I was still nervous and antsy, but I continued to get ready. I finished putting on my suit and headed next door to the Von Kanel's apartment to meet Mrs. Cindy. As I arrived at the church, I headed to Pastor Randy's study and continued the morning in prayer. I hardly even looked over anything because I just couldn't stop praying. It was a great time with the Lord, and I knew He had something planned. Worship was awesome; very joyful, had the congregation clapping along and singing. I could already tell the Lord was moving. As I entered the pulpit, I started off with a joke about my suit and tying my tie to kind of break the ice and welcome the guests and members. I never really start off that way, but since it was my first time preaching and I was taking the "pastoral" position this morning, I felt it was somewhat necessary and had assurance from God that it was alright. This next part, you need to understand, this has nothing to do with me or what I said or anything I did...It was only God that played a role in it. During the course of the sermon, I had to stop several times because the whole church was clapping, shouting, and praising Jesus. I had never once experienced this in a baptist church, haha. I felt like we turned charismatic all of the sudden, which I have that feeling a lot in my own life. It was amazing to just experience the Lord move in His Word and in that church. Mrs. Virginia, the church secretary, said this is the liveliest the church has ever been. Many people told me how wonderful it was, and I would immediately direct the comment away from me and to God. He deserves all the glory, and power, and majesty; for He is all Glorious, all Powerful, and all Majestic. May the love of Christ be abundant within us.

At the end of the day...

I haven't posted anything in several days, mostly because I didn't know how to approach it anymore. Friday night was a struggle with the youth. They were very rowdy, and it seemed like they just wanted to hang out and talk. So, that's what they did. The whole night, there was probably five minutes of silence...out of the hour and a half we were there. A study that could have taken 45 minutes with two exegetical pieces, two discussions, and small groups took over an hour and a half. I know that they aren't used to any of this, at the least, but it seems like much of the chaos is coming from the leaders. Most of them are running around getting snacks ready, out on the field, or just not in there. If the leaders aren't sitting down listening or helping, then why in all the world would the kids do so? This matter needs to be approached and handled with much care. I went home after the youth night and had to relax, so I went and just sat in the pool in view of the clouds and stars. It's unlike anything else. The beauty of the clouds and radiance of the stars are somehow overlooked or overcast anywhere else, but here, they are brilliant. It was very peaceful. As I returned to my study, I realized the real root of the issue with the youth. I began to write in my journal, and within just the first few sentences, I found "I" over five times. "I need to do....","I have to go....", "I've got to plan...". Catch my drift? I've been so self-centered and worried about how "I" am supposed to do things, I forgot that we serve a God that rules all things, and He alone can save. I'm not cut out for this, I do not have His grace, I do not have the strength, I do not have the will...God created for this purpose, God is abounding in grace, God is all powerful, and God's will is perfect. In view of this, I desparately opened myself to Him. I spent much needed time in His Word and in prayer. At the end of the day, Christ was victorious even through my own efforts.
Saturday, we went to the movies with a few of the youth and really had a great time. We got home and all jumped in the pool and again, had a great time. I was totally wiped when they left and I went to my room. I spent some time with God, and after, I laid down to sleep...but nothing happened. I found myself totally exhausted, but unable to sleep! I laid there for what seemed like days just trying to fall asleep, but still, nothing! At this, I became irritated and prayed for rest, but it was not apart of God's will that I just sleep. Instead, He told me to sit up. As I tried to reason with God, I finally gave in and sat up. I expected a word from Him or a vision of some sort, but after many moments of a clear head and a quiet heart, nothing...I didn't really know what was going on, but still, I obeyed because, well, He is God. After a long time, I felt God giving me rest. It was now in the wee hours of the morning, and Sunday baptisms and service were just ahead. After a couple hours of sleep, I woke up and started getting ready. As I was doing so, The Lord spoke to me in some sort of a parable. He said to me:

There was once a king, holy and righteous before the Lord,

God reached down in view of His goodness and placed Him at the throne to His right hand,

But the king tried to overtake God with His own power,

So, God threw the king back down into a perverse land

so he could see his fault and come back to Him.

Immediately God revealed to me the meaning of this. I am the king! God moves in marvelous ways and can move through me to do great things for His name, but as I try to lead, I resort to my own strength and knowledge. So, God humbles me so I may come back to Him. Incredible!! This issue has set the pace for this summer. It is not my ideas, my strength, my leadership, or my will that will determine this summer, but it is all God's! He is the only one cut out for this, so why not let Him be God?!

It is truly marvelous to be apart of the Lord's work, but cannot be in part but of the whole, meaning we cannot partly devote ourselves to the leadership of God. We must fully devote ourselves to His teachings and leadership if He is to ever move in our lives.

The Spiritual Realm...

As we all know, the spiritual world is very real rather you choose to believe it or not. I can share with you story after story of the spiritual world making its presence known here on this earth. This word I am about to share with you is completely true and is in no way exaggerated, but it is completely necessary. You see, we spend too much time trying to justify the demons and angels of the Bible as being Old Testament or New Testament beings, but I tell you the God of all time is still reigning and the devil of this world is steadily trying to take over.
Last night after we got in from visiting and ministering to some of our youth, I withdrew into my room where I worshipped and praised God for quite some time. During this time, I left my door open for the ever-neglected cat, Angel, to enter and stay for some time. Angel is deaf, and because of this sometimes she will howl and make all kinds of noises. She cannot hear herself, but she can feel the vibrations of her voice, so she meows quite often and quite loud. On several occasions, I have not been able to sleep because of her excessive attempts to hear herself. After several days in this new house, Mrs. Kathy revealed to me that her daughter has been attacked on numerous occasions by an evil spirit. She said that she has been spoken to and its voice would run through her head at night. I have come to believe in the spirits through testimonies of my own life, so I agreed to test the spirits. That night, I withdrew to my room and began to worship until all things were still and quiet, and then I listened. Even as I write this, I am chilled. Angel, such an ironic name, began to howl and moan...sounds that I never knew a cat could or would ever want to make. I knew something was disturbing the area...if you didn't know, animals have a strong connection with the spiritual world for they remain neutral in it. From this point on I can only try to describe to you what happened. Chills covered my body and tears welled in my eyes. I felt like a little child, fearing a monster would come and take me at any time. I became well aware of all the shadows in my room and felt them growing and closing the gap between them and me. But someone stands in the gap for us; His name is Jesus Christ, and no force can overtake Him. I began to pray and speak with the Lord, and the spirits fled at the sound of His holy and powerful name. I tell you that to tell you this...
Last night, I knew satan would try to overtake me, but I know that God will never allow that to happen and I stand firm in Him. The cat was playing and roaming around the room while I worshipped and praised the Father for all He had done. When it was time for bed, I sent the cat out and shut the door behind her. Satan knew that Angel was a witness to my worship, and I feel like he decided to use her against me. As I lay quietly in my bed, I could hear the wails from Angel in the hallway and next room. They began to become more and more distorted through the next minutes, and I knew what was to come next. I heard her footsteps in the next room running and circling and turning down the hallway...BAM! She ran headfirst into my bedroom door. I heard her moan, and then she ran back down the hallway to repeat this several times. I was terrified at this and began to tremble. Then, I heard her come down the hall and begin to scratch at my door and continue to make distorted sounds. All the sudden, like I had somehow forgotten, I remembered that no matter what powers come against me in this life, I have one that stands for me. He holds me up and has promised to never let me go. I began to seek the Lord at this time, and Angel returned to normal and fell asleep.
I tell you this to inform you of the spiritual realm and to remind you that Satan is ever-trying to reach us. The power of God remains with in us, we remain within the power of God. Nothing can ever come against us come away victorious. God will never leave us nor forsake us. Stay strong.

God is moving...

Wow, God is amazing. Day after day He reveals Himself more and more. I pray I do not grow used to veiwing God in this life, but that I am awestruck every single time He reveals Himself. Over the past few days, I've really become antsy. I really want and need to get outside and minister to the people of Grand Cayman, but as students are still meeting and parents are at full-time jobs, I still find myself stuck inside behind this computer! I've prayed over and over for God to open opportunities for me to minister outside of this church, and He has been gracious enough to give me two guys I can meet with that are not in school. One really has no interest in church, and the other has just recently rededicated his life to Christ but haven't heard anything from him since. These are two guys I know that God has placed there for me to hang out with and be intentional with, and I pray I am not too fearful to make the step to doing so.
Last night, Mrs. Kathy Scott and I were able to go and visit three of the youth from CIBC. I'm so thankful that I've walked into this place where this is already established and I can just join right in. Mrs. Kathy makes it a point each week to reach out to several of the youth and just see really what's going on with them. She asked me to pick out the youth we would go see for this week, so I got to work praying and reviewing the youth cards we had them fill out on my first friday night. There were five that stated they want a relationship with Christ, and there were seven that had nothing written on them. Eleven of the youth have proclaimed that they have received Christ. As I prayed, God revealed six youth to me, and we were able to visit three of them last night. The first was Ashley. She is a young girl who has stated that she does not have a relationship with God, but she wants one. As we pulled up to her house, we knocked on the door and a man answered revealing to us that she had been asleep since earlier that evening. I was disappointed that I would not get to see her, but her sister said that she just woke up. They said she woke up when she heard there was someone at the door and came downstairs. She was very happy to see us, and very surprised it seemed. She had only visited CIBC one time, and that was my first night there. We sat down and began to discuss what was going on in her life, and I was able to share my testimony with her. She seemed very intrigued through everything, but when the question, "Are you ready to accept Christ as your Savior?" she sadly declined. She has been going to church at another church for a while and has been studying God, but she just doesn't feel like she's ready to make that committment yet. I assured her that it was ok, that God will continue to reveal Himself to her, and that, of course, we would still welcome her as a friend into our homes and church. Although, I did remind her that as humans we cannot fortell the future and when our lives and hope of a decision will come to an end. I told her, when God reveals Himself to you, do not wait but openly accept Him. She asked me something about my testimony, and we discussed it a little more. Then, I shared what we were going to be doing this Friday night and next Wednesday night before we left. Ashley is a precious girl, I pray that she is moved to acceptance by the hand of God.
The next person we went to see is a thirteen year old guy named Jykalli. Jykalli and his brother Jonassi were the first youth that I met here at the church last Friday. I was just getting the ping pong table set up when he and his brother walked in. Jykalli picked up the paddle and was ready to go. He's my buddy. Jykalli has recently been added into the fold of believers in Christ, and it blessed my heart when I heard he made that decision. Jykalli, although, does not quite understand the decision he has made. When the act of baptism was talked about on his behalf, he acted very apprehensive towards it. I asked him why he didn't want to be baptized, and he said that there is no turning back from the decision he has made after that. I kind of laughed, knowing that he is already in God's hands and knowing exactly what he is thinking since I made that decision about the same time he did, and talked to him about it a little more. He doesn't think he will be able to hang out with his friends, or go to the movies, or go to his friends' "parties" after he is baptized. I asked him what kind of parties are they throwing, and he told me that his friends would invite people over to have fun, listen to music, dance a little, and just hang out (mind you that it's all under the parents' and adults' supervision). This I thought was quite funny, and even laughed about after he said it. That really broke the ice, and we got to have a good talk about what being a Christian means, and that it's not taking away your fun or your friends. I talked to him about love for Christ and the love that He has for us. We talked about a daily quiet time, and I encouraged him to come to our new believers class that is starting next Wednesday. By the time we were done, he was a little more assured knowing that he will learn more within this month before he is baptized.
The last girl we visited was Alex. Alex has been coming to the Friday night youth meetings for a while now, and has really been through some tough struggles in her life. Her life at home wasn't the greatest, and it carried over into her school life and even her church life. After a long talk with Mrs. Kathy a while back, she made a change for a better life. She started making friends and learning more and more about God. She experienced the love of God through this church and through her friends at church. On her youth card, she told a short testimony of what's been going on and ended it with the statement, "I think I'm going to get saved." When I read that, I was overwhelmed by God and His great love for us. I was able to meet her dad and her step-mom, as well as her sister and step-sister...and the chihuahua, diago. We sat down and began to discuss God and all the things that she's heard spoken of many times at CIBC. We talked about God's love, grace, mercy, power, and majesty. Then, I was able to share with her part of my story. I told her that before I was saved, I lived in a world of sin and rebellion. I told her about my rebellion against my parents, family, and church and how I completely turned away from God. Then, God moved me to say something that hit her hard. I told her of the gaping hole that I had within me; I tried to fill that whole with sex, alcohol, parties, and popularity...I could see in her eyes and slight change of expression that she has been there too, and know all too well the picture I'm painting. Then, I made clear to her that nothing except the saving power of Jesus Christ could ever fill that hole, and her face gladdened. As we continued our discussion, I asked her if she was ready to accept Christ as her Savior. She simply said, "I think so." Right then, she prayed to receive God into her life. After, we discussed what the next step is, and then we shared with her parents what just happened. It was one amazing night. I can in no way express to you my joy and compassion that God has given me for this place. It is not because of its beautiful beaches, stingrays, starfish, dolphins, or people...it is simply because God is moving...