Jamaica Mission Trip

Wagwan Mon!!

Just say coona mon if everything's going all right in your life as I hope it is. Jamaica.....wow... two personal events verified for me that I was intended to be there. The first, and most important to me was meeting the night watchman for the camp that we stayed at "Bethel Christian Mission" www.bethelmission.org/. He and I had coffee together my first morning in Jamaica. We sat atop a mountain surrounded by tropical rain forests by a beautiful bush that was the morning stop for a young hummingbird. Even more amazing and compelling than the tropical experience was meeting a new friend and brother in Christ that shared so many of the same beliefs and principles that it seems we were cut from the same cloth so to speak. I am old enough to be his father and yet we talked as if the best of friends after only a couple of mornings together. I was able to give him one of the three NIV study bibles I felt compelled to pack for the trip and hope that it will be a blessing to my brother and his walk with God. He has been on my mind and heart many times after returning home at 1:00 am yesterday. He called me today just to quickly say hi and make sure I was home safe and sound. What a good son, it warmed my heart to hear his voice already.
The other two bibles verified that my trip was intended. On the last day of the Vacation Bible School I talked with brother Adrian at the church we were at and asked him what translation he used. He said he had a King James Version. I asked if he had heard of the New King James Version. He said he had and added that he was a little embarrassed to ask, but he had been praying for the past several months that God would provide the nearly $100.00 US (that would be over $1,000.00 Jamaican I think) so that he could get a New International Version and he was wondering if we might be able to help him out. What a smile I had as I reached into my briefcase I had brought that morning to give him the other 2 New International Version study bibles I had brought. What an awesome and forgiving God we serve.
Aside from the "little" side missions that God had in store for me there were the other big ones we were there for.
First we were able to haul a massive amount of concrete up the side of a mountain (steep hill to the locals) for the foundation of a new water storage system for the mission complex we were staying at. I had hoped to get in on the engineering aspect of the project before construction had begun but apparently that was not His plan. Regardless, I always enjoy the challenge of good old physical labor and the joy and fellowship that it brought out of everyone was truly fulfilling as the young bucks showed off to the girls by running buckets of cement up the hill and then the girls had to show they could match the boys and do the same. People had concrete splashed in their faces , eyes, up their nose and nearly every other exposed surfaces of our uniquely pungent bodies. Down and dirty and you can't get much more personal. Yeah...what an experience?!?!?!?!
The Vacation Bible School was the highlight of our experience. The church in Alligator Pond was essentially about 6 adults and about 20 kids in what appears to be a makeshift block foundation with a doorway and 3 windows cut into one side and a dirt floor on nearly a fourth of their 30' x 20' floor. The worship leader sat on an overturned 5 gallon bucket to play his keyboard as the singers stood atop the wobbly 6' x 4' plywood stage. Humbling.
Day one started out with about 70 kids and ended with 100 after the music wound it's way up the mountain and enticed the local children to see what was going on. Day two brought in around 140 kids and then days 3 and 4 maxed out at 150+.
The small fishing community had only one large business that we could tell. The Little Ochie Restaurant and Bar. We were right across the street so we had the children's games in their empty lot (after we cleaned up the trash and large rocks) and the teens took to inhabiting one of their dining boats that they had on stilts on the beach and ordered sodas from the bar.(Awesome!!)
Yeah, the tears will come if I write too much about the kids we danced and sang with. Hoisted up on sweaty shoulders, they truly exhibited a pure joy that I see myself struggling to find (because the music it too loud and I think Ben intentionally turns up the smoke machine to upset my sinusitus. Yeah, I'm a whiner... and it's always someone else's fault so beware..)
Then there was the local infirmary (nursing home). We were truly blessed to be able to take the residents some snacks, candy and neckerchiefs as small gifts. We were able to sit and talk with them right in their bedroom. (about 80' x 20' and about 100 beds) We did the best we could to get the gifts to the residents themselves but the nursing staff was all too ready to grab whatever they could. It was very sad to see my fellow man treated in such ways, nevertheless I was able to meet and get to know two gentlemen in a very personal way and I could tell it brought out such pride for them to tell me their stories of their lives and their country. What strong men they are to endure such hardship with such perseverance.

I know we didn't solve any of the problems in Jamaica, but I truly believe that it was a two way avenue for everyone involved as we all experienced God, Christ and the holy Spirit in a very special way. I offer a special thanks to both my new Jamaican friends and my church family at the Crossing. God's love and peace to all.