Nine teams of missionaries from unions across the Inter-America Division traveled to communities throughout the territory of French Guiana to share the hope of the gospel through evangelism and community outreach for the division’s annual VividFaith mission initiative held July 15-26. Representing the Atlantic Caribbean Union were South Bahamas Conference Youth Director Pastor Manasseh Simms and Children's and Adolescent Ministries Director Kenisha Simms.

    Each day from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. the couple and the team they were a part of, which included missionaries from Barbados, Trinidad, Turks & Caicos, French Guiana, Martinique, and Guadeloupe immersed themselves in the impoverished and largely unchurched community of PIDEG with Vacation Bible School activities, food distribution, health screenings, educational presentations, relationship-building activities, and nightly evangelistic meetings, demonstrating Christ's love in both practical and spiritual ways. 

    For South Bahamas Conference Youth Director Pastor Simms, the mission trip was about far more than programs and activities; it was about meeting people where they were and demonstrating the love of Jesus through authentic relationships. 

    Simms said, “We went to French Guyana with the intention to help plant churches. But before God allowed us to plant a congregation, he helped us to plant a relationship. And it's out of the soil of that relationship where a church could grow.”

    “We went into a community just open to connect with people from different backgrounds, different languages, and different cultures so that we can share love in a tangible way. And then we were able to pour out and open up the word of God to them,” Simms shared.

     “It was truly a rewarding experience to meet other like-minded young people from around the Inter-American Division, and we were able to work together. So, we're grateful to God for how he's using young people,” Simms added. By the conclusion of the mission, 53 individuals had been baptized, and nine new churches planted. 

   During the baptismal service, Pastor Samuel Telemaque, Director of Adventist Mission and Possibility Ministries for the Inter-American Division, encouraged the candidates to remain grounded in Christ. As the missionaries were preparing to return to their home territories, inspired by God's transforming work in French Guiana, plans were already underway for the next Inter-

American Division VividFaith mission initiative, scheduled to take place in Belize in 2027.  Serving not only as a missionary but also as a member of the planning committee for the VividFaith initiative, SBC CHAM Kenisha Simms shared her reflections on the mission's impact and the vision for next year's outreach.

     “We're inviting you to our next mission trip [and] we would like to see a strong representation from The Bahamas because we have many youth…who are interested in being the hands and feet of Jesus,” Simms said. 

      “A lot of us are called to mission here within The Bahamas, but also a lot of us are called for mission outside of The Bahamas. This is your opportunity to go and share the good news, to go and share the gospel, to go and teach and reach and preach and build relationships with persons outside of your culture.”

 A supporting service of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, VividFaith is driven by the church’s mission to reflect Jesus through service, compassion, and our faith. VividFaith connects people with service opportunities all over the world—volunteer needs, employment openings, locum tenens, remote jobs, group mission trips.