I have known Donnie and Bonnie Floyd since my young adult years. Even though our lives have had different trajectories, over the years I followed the story God began weaving together for the two of them. As I have watched it unfold, I saw God use their powerful story of forgiveness to bring about an incredible ministry to serve a little island of people that needed to know who Jesus is.
When I heard that they were trying to put together a mission team to start ministry work on Barbuda by rebuilding the homes of the displaced people of the island after hurricane Irma, God began speaking loudly to me about being a part of it. The Holy Spirit literally compelled me one morning to call Bonnie and tell her that I was supposed to be part of the inaugural mission trip. She literally screamed, “Yes, yes, yes!” into the phone! And before I knew it, I was on an airplane on my way to Barbuda all the way from California. It was a very small team of just five that first year. I was unsure of where we were going to be staying while we were on the island, and I certainly was not completely aware of all that we were going to be doing either! Some of the things Bonnie mentioned included construction work, clean-up, a lot of painting and maybe even making curtains!
As our little team worked day after day, I realized that what we were doing was not just bringing renewal to the island, it was also bringing love and causing change in the lives of the people that had been devastated by the hurricane. I also saw that there were things happening in me that would change me forever. The work was hard, the days long, the weather hot, but at the end of each day, as we washed the paint and the grime off of our tired bodies, we would sit and talk about all we had experienced and laugh and even cry together. Even now, thinking about all of that still makes me smile. The many stories we shared each evening of the families being so excited about new walls and ceilings, new paint, new windows and doors and so much more, are just as memorable as the afternoon I prayed with a 12-year-old girl to receive Christ as we painted a bathroom together in her new home. To be honest, when my time in Barbuda was over, and I headed back to California, my only thought was, “When can I go back?” and God provided a way for me to do just that at the end of the following year! Much had changed on the island since then. A house was procured that would become the team home…it just needed major renovating. So, my second trip included helping to finish up the team home so it would be able to be used by future mission teams. Again, we were another small team of five, and we were painting and cleaning, hanging blinds and renovating bathrooms. Beds were being built in all the rooms and room air conditioners were being installed. The renovation of the team home was almost completed by the time I left for home, and it was a good feeling to know that now there would be a place for larger teams to come and continue the Lord’s work and also have the ability to establish other facets of the ministry.
I have such a longing to return… back to Barbuda where God changed my heart…honestly, the memories of being there continue to change me.
If you have a heart for ministry and are thinking about mission work, I urge you and encourage you to make a way to be part of this wonderful ministry in some way. God has blessed Bonnie Floyd Ministries and I know He will continue to do so.