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Standing transfixed for hours
Missionary Mannequin
- the new traffic-stopper in Port of Spain |
| By
GARVIN RON LOPEZ |
| FORTY-FIVE-YEAR-OLD
school principal Judith de Verteuil is a very striking individual;
once you see, meet or talk with her, you will never forget the experience.
Some lives may be forever altered as a result for the engagement.
Dressed in a long-flowing white gown, with a tiara on her head,
elbow-length gloves and her neatly coiffure hair held back with
a ponytail holder, the beauty queen-like Missionary Mannequin completes
her appearance with a blue wrist corsage, earrings and a sash that
proclaims “Jesus is Lord” on the front and a scripture
verse on the reverse.
Beginning in 2001, de Verteuil, of Maraval, has been taking her
unique missionary work to the streets of Trinidad and Tobago.
She has been seen in Port of Spain, St. James, Curepe and Tunapuna
... among other local areas.
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She
stands at a fixed
position for hours in
the sweltering sun
proclaiming her
message: Jesus is Lord. |
The cocoa-coloured Missionary Mannequin beauty has also travelled
to other Caribbean islands such as Barbados and St. Maarten.
Attached to the Holiness Revival Ministries of French Street, Woodbrook,
the Lord’s servant de Verteuil, principal of the Paideuo Learning
Centre, St. Paul Street, East Dry River, Port of Spain, spends her
days attending to the needs of at risk, special education need students.
Then she hits the streets!
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Sister Judith,
as she is known to many friends and fellow faithful, told
TnT Mirror that her objective is “To draw and hold the
attention of the public”.
She prays before, due and after her marathon of the Lord’s
work.
Standing two to three hours in a stationary, mime-like position,
Judith draws constant stares from pedestrians and motorists
alike.
Time permitting, she engages in her unique missionary work
three to four days each week.
Seemingly in a catatonic state, the Missionary Mannequin is
in constant awareness of her surroundings.
She sees the parade of personality, which parades pass her.
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Beauty
queen-like JUDITH DE VERTEUIL ...
at the corner of Henry and Duke Streets,
Port of Spain creating stares from
pedestrians and motorists alike.
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She hears the comments directed towards her. And she prays at all
times!
At any given moment, she will break her stance and engage in conversation
with those that so desire.
And then it’s back to work.
Asked what type of reaction her presence has on the crowds that
she encounters, she said: “I evoke different responses, from
different people.”
And Sister Judith is not afraid of ridicule. She is above that,
after all, she added: “There is no ridicule in the Lord’s
work.”
A US evangelist Pat Robertson’s 700-Club affiliate, group
trained the school principal in mime, dance and drama, in 1995.
The group has trained others, like Sister Judith, in other locations
to use the disciplines “as a tool for street ministry”.
The multi-talented and sunny Missionary Mannequin is also a trained
music teacher and prepares local music students for their music
examinations with Trinity College of Music, London, England.
Sister Judith de Verteuil, the school principal, music teacher and
Missionary Mannequin has only one message for Trinidad and Tobago:
“When the heart of man is turned towards God, we will see
a change in the nation.” |
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