I always procrastinate as long as possible to write the last blog of a trip; it makes it seem like it hasn't ended. I think it's about that time or it'll never happen. (Haiti's blog is still processing........)
Thursday had some definite potential to take a turn for the worst. The team finished all of their work for the week and I scrambled to make a plan of action for Thursday while not entirely sure everything would work out. We were fortunate enough to have received boxes and boxes of gifts from previous teams. Thursday morning, we went to Cynthia's school to deliver the gifts and spend time with the kids. Miss Williams and Cynthia were teaching and as soon as we showed up the kids were distracted by the white people. I walked in the school and asked if they'd sing us some songs- they were beyond excited and each of them sang at the top of their lungs trying to make more noise the child next to them. Our team was pretty impressed when they heard the kids singing, counting and spelling in both english as well as spanish. I adore those babies!
Cynthia let the kids take a break so we could play with them outside. I stayed in and talked with Cynthia about the school and different possibilities for the future while the team went out with the kids. It was another one of those moments (like the food basket) where the kids, similar to the Jamaican market, were completely foreign to some of the guys. I could have put a physical barrier between the team and the kids playing on the see-saw and it would have looked more natural. It didn't take long before the scene changed and everybody was covered from head to toe with kids. Brett was on one end of the see-saw while 30 kids were on the other, my dad had at least 8 girls playing with his hair at any given time and everybody found their place to jump in. One of the reason I love kids so much is their natural purity- there's no insecurities, no judgment and in most cases they haven't been altered by the evil in the world. All you see is their raw, unconditional love that's so strong you can almost see it. They run up to you with a smile and don't think twice about giving you a hug or sitting on your lap. We have sooo much to learn from these kids- imagine if we were half as secure as them and just learned how to love without holding back. As I was thinking about this, I looked over and saw a little boy chasing the girls with a deadly banana spider on the end of a stick and realized that some things are learned with age...
We finished our morning with hugs and "see you next time's" and loaded back in the bus. My dad really wanted to go to Keith to visit Sandra & see the house that they built a couple of summers ago. What we hadn't quite remembered was how far away it was on unfinished roads. It took about 45 minutes and a few sick team members to get there but it was definitely worth the trip. When we got there, it was the same countryside. Roosters, vegetation and dirt everywhere! All of Jamaica is beautiful but this area is so unpopulated that it has a way of looking like the people are living in nature versus having nature live around the people's houses. I'm not sure if that makes sense but Keith is beautiful and there isn't a direction you can look without seeing bright green with tropical flowers and animals. The house they built was amazing. Sandra's daughter was there with her 18 month old baby that she was pregnant with while they were building. They repainted the house, put in a driveway and planted a garden in the "yard." I know how special it was for them to be able to come back and see that they planted a seed a couple of years ago and it's continuing to grow.
Thursday afternoon I stayed back to make sure everything was set for the free day and crossed my fingers while the team took off for the community center. Typically, all of Steertown knows if there's a team in town and ALL of the kids will rush to the community center to play after school. I wasn't so sure how it'd work out with 6 of them but everything went great. The boys got to do some (deadly guard-free) weed-wacking and everybody was able to to spend some more time with the kiddos. They came back to get me around 3 when we went to Harmony Hall. After looking through a little bit of artwork, I ended up down by the bus with the guys. Per usual, we were all a little loopy at the end of the week and somehow began yelling about FULL joying Jamaica instead of EN joying Jamaica. Apparently, if you're ENjoying Jamaica, you're ending your joy. If you're FULL joying Jamaica... well, you get the point. I can't tell you how good it felt to just laugh. One of those genuine, I almost wish I could stop so these tears would stop running down my face and my abs would stop hurting kind of laughs. I stood there looking at my brother and the guys and really felt irie. There is no reason to worry about anything...ever.
We left Harmony Hall and decided to stop by on the way back to show the team the cottage and to meet Peter and Annabella. Just pulling into the driveway feels like returning home after a long trip away. Looking at Pam & Koz's place and envisioning all of us dancing in the kitchen and then seeing the picnic table where we've eaten so many delicious meals brought back so many memories. Hearing Annabella's British accent brought on another load of memories and then there was Peter. That hour at the cottage was fantastic. Heather and I walked down through the cave to the dock... the most peaceful place on earth. We all sat and talked until it was time for us to take off for dinner.
I'm going to drag this one out a little further...Friday will have to be separate. Sorry :)
Grateful.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Tuesday/Wednesday
A happy heart makes the face cheerful. - Proverbs 15:13
I always reach a point in these blogs where I feel like I'm listing off the details of what we did throughout the day while trying to decide if I'm talking to those of you who have been here, those of you who haven't been here, those of you that I've never met and anybody else that may find themselves reading these blogs. The idea of not knowing which audience to write to makes it hard to explain anything without losing the passion behind it. As a result, from now on, I'll be writing as a journal. I'll write about the things I saw, heard and felt while trying to give a little background information on people and places for those of you that haven't experienced it for yourself.
Tuesday morning we woke up and I shared a devotional from Matthew 6:19-34. I briefly mentioned in a previous blog that I've been having a really hard time with all of the need. I realized that this time it's more difficult because I feel like I should be able to help them as the facilitator. As an intern, I felt like there was still a possibility if I just asked Mr. Dusty and could leave it up to him... this time, my hope has been dwindling. Reading this scripture reminded me that there's no reason to worry. Not only is it not up to me, but God's providing for them and will continue to do so whether I'm a part of it or not. The worry I'd had started dwindling and the hope began to rise for these people.
I spent Tuesday morning with Aaron in St. Ann's doing some grocery shopping for our meals the rest of the week. The prices of groceries have gone up drastically and we've been dining on a budget. Lots of inexpensive chicken this week! After shopping in the grocery store and picking up veggies in the market, we stopped by Juicy Patty to grab lunch for everybody. The team came back for lunch and I was still emotional from having so much on my mind so I headed to the beach for some alone time. Words can't really explain how it felt to know that nobody really knew where I was but nobody was looking for me and I had a chance to walk up and down the beach for hours praying about everything that's been happening here this week. I also can't stop thinking about what can be done to make my life in Arizona as fulfilling and joy-filled as my life here. I know it's all a part of my life, and there shouldn't be any "either/or" but it's not as easy as it sounds. I feel like every time I go back I fall into the same routine with the same lack of enthusiasm just waiting to be on my next mission trip... almost as if I'm searching for something that may be right in front of me. When I walked away I felt like I had a clear head and a new heart ready to go on with the week.
Wednesday was hands-down one of the most amazing days of my life.... which is a bold statement. I had nothing to do in town and was able to join the team at the worksite. They initially thought they'd finish the house Tuesday afternoon but there were a few little things left to be done on Wednesday morning. When we arrived at the site, I couldn't believe how great it looked! If you haven't seen the pictures, it's right next to the house she's moving out of and looks like a mansion with it's 10' ceilings. I had a meeting scheduled with Cynthia at the community center so as soon as we arrived I went with my brother & Gregory towards the community center. Along the way, Daphne saw us and joined the walk. Almost as soon as we met up with her she had us wait so she could run inside and grab something. She came out of the house holding two heart-shaped pillows she'd sewn for me! Being here and seeing how people treat the ones they love compared to what I see at home is devastating. Here, people give until it hurts, no matter how much they have. Generally speaking, we in the states have a sense of greed and independence that creates a lack of community. The Jamaican people we work with have such a sense of community and "whats mine is yours, we survive together" attitude.
When we were on our way down to the community center, we went to walk through the graveyard and Cynthia was there. If anybody was following my blog's over the summer, Cynthia's husband was very sick. I never realized how bad it was but her husband passed away in October. She was standing next to his grave when we saw her. Aside from feeling like I wish I knew what to say, it was sooo good to see her. She is one of the most admirable people I've ever known. The love she has for those students is like nothing I've seen. She has always done everything she can to fight for her kids and it's always amazed me. She has never once asked for anything for herself- ONLY for the students or the school and I know that she isn't being paid. Cynthia, one of the teachers, Daphne, Brett, Gregory and I sat and talked for almost an hour. It started with Cynthia telling me about everything that's gone on at the school. After that it was just catching up and talking as friends. It was really neat to have my brother there to get to know these people that I hold so close to my heart. When it was time for us to walk back to the house-building site, we made plans to meet Thursday morning to bring gifts to the school. On the way back up to the site, we stopped at Daphne's house where she let us inside and showed us everything on her shelves. She had trinket after trinket that she's collected over the years as well as shelf after shelf full of beanie babies.
Daphne and I finally had a chance to sit down and talk about the sponsorship program and what we can do to make it more organized so the sponsors will have the picture and biography for the student they're sponsoring. Daphne does all of the sewing of the uniforms and what I didn't realize before is how much she loves children. She was telling me about how she always walks through town before school starts and hands out pencils and school supplies to the kids who don't have any. It's funny how you can know somebody for so long and not know how much you have in common. We've decided that Daphne is going to determine the highest need for the sponsorships (as Uncle does with the need for houses and food), have the teacher's provide pictures and she'll pay the school directly. I'm excited to be in touch with Daphne more frequently as we work together with this program. She's one of the most kind-hearted women I know and I trust her 100% with any decisions that are made while we're away. I walked away from that meeting feeling like my heart was overflowing with excitement.
We made our way back up to the house where everything was completed. Everybody was playing with kids, talking with new friends and enjoying the gorgeous view. It was neat to sit there and spend time with everybody. Gregory and I got into a "poker" match for what seemed like 4 hours. Poker is a game the little kids play where you latch hands with somebody and stick your index finger out. The goal is to poke the other person with your index finger before they poke you. I was allowed to use 2 hands and still had a 0% chance of winning but it was a good workout and kept us laughing for a while. I'm pretty sure Heather was videotaping it so depending on how embarrassing it is, there may be video to follow. I also had the opportunity to spend some time talking to Marlene for a little while. She is a truly amazing woman and I feel blessed to know her. She does domestic work for a family in the area and saves up all of her money to send her kids to boarding school. She has 4 kids (I think I'd said 5 in a previous post) and 2 of them are currently in boarding school while 2 are in primary school. Two of her kids were staying with her aunt because of the conditions of her house and as soon as we finished the house, she'd be getting them back. When my dad was finished painting the second coat in the house, we gathered everybody to give Marlene her finished house. We had a big circle full of our team and the team of Jamaican's that had gathered to help throughout the week. We all prayed for Marlene, the house, the kids and the neighborhood. I don't think anybody walked away with dry eyes. Butch had been asking the team all week if the team would go pray for a sick old woman down by his house so we headed there.
We walked into the house where we found Melvis wrapped in a blanket waiting. I asked if I could sit next to her and if the team could pray for her and she looked at me in an "are you insane" kind of way and said "I could never have too much prayer!" We all circled around Melvis and prayed for her health and comfort. I don't know her story or even what she is sick with but I know she'd appreciate prayers from anybody.
We decided to walk back from Steertown which is always an adventure. I love walking through the town and seeing everybody look at us like we're aliens from another planet while the kids are all chanting "white people, white people!" I love seeing the culture and interaction between the people on the streets. It's about a 20 minute walk and by the time we reach home, my cheeks hurt from smiling. We stayed home long enough to have lunch and left shortly after for the grocery store to buy food for our food basket. It was hands-down the most entertaining shopping experience of my life. I gave the team the challenge of finding the items on the list without my help. The team split up the list and divided into teams of 3- Dave, Brian, Mike vs Heather, Joey, Brett. They also had the challenge of staying under budget with the raised prices. Watching Dave, Brian and Mike was like watching boys trying to do dishes in a dorm room their freshman year of college. Finding a loaf of bread was like finding a needle in a haystack- I decided to help them by taking the "heavy dough" unsliced bread out of the cart and replacing it with regular sliced bread! After paying and being J1000 under budget, we went to the market to pick up the veggies and stopped by the community center for a chicken- when it was all said and done they stayed J200 under budget. Food baskets are my favorite thing we do throughout the week and it was even more of a blessing after getting to know Marlene this week. We delivered the groceries, prayed with her one last time & headed back to the villas for a relaxing afternoon. Our debrief meetings have been so inspirational in revealing how God's been working on each of us so individually this week and it's been amazing to see the growth within the group.
As promised, I'll include some Daveisms to make Marsha proud:
"Ranch is to salad as sugar is to toast"
"Wait, what's wrong with saying women are supposed to work in the kitchen...?"
"I just realized I have to be packed by Saturday and I don't know how to do it myself."
I always reach a point in these blogs where I feel like I'm listing off the details of what we did throughout the day while trying to decide if I'm talking to those of you who have been here, those of you who haven't been here, those of you that I've never met and anybody else that may find themselves reading these blogs. The idea of not knowing which audience to write to makes it hard to explain anything without losing the passion behind it. As a result, from now on, I'll be writing as a journal. I'll write about the things I saw, heard and felt while trying to give a little background information on people and places for those of you that haven't experienced it for yourself.
Tuesday morning we woke up and I shared a devotional from Matthew 6:19-34. I briefly mentioned in a previous blog that I've been having a really hard time with all of the need. I realized that this time it's more difficult because I feel like I should be able to help them as the facilitator. As an intern, I felt like there was still a possibility if I just asked Mr. Dusty and could leave it up to him... this time, my hope has been dwindling. Reading this scripture reminded me that there's no reason to worry. Not only is it not up to me, but God's providing for them and will continue to do so whether I'm a part of it or not. The worry I'd had started dwindling and the hope began to rise for these people.
I spent Tuesday morning with Aaron in St. Ann's doing some grocery shopping for our meals the rest of the week. The prices of groceries have gone up drastically and we've been dining on a budget. Lots of inexpensive chicken this week! After shopping in the grocery store and picking up veggies in the market, we stopped by Juicy Patty to grab lunch for everybody. The team came back for lunch and I was still emotional from having so much on my mind so I headed to the beach for some alone time. Words can't really explain how it felt to know that nobody really knew where I was but nobody was looking for me and I had a chance to walk up and down the beach for hours praying about everything that's been happening here this week. I also can't stop thinking about what can be done to make my life in Arizona as fulfilling and joy-filled as my life here. I know it's all a part of my life, and there shouldn't be any "either/or" but it's not as easy as it sounds. I feel like every time I go back I fall into the same routine with the same lack of enthusiasm just waiting to be on my next mission trip... almost as if I'm searching for something that may be right in front of me. When I walked away I felt like I had a clear head and a new heart ready to go on with the week.
Wednesday was hands-down one of the most amazing days of my life.... which is a bold statement. I had nothing to do in town and was able to join the team at the worksite. They initially thought they'd finish the house Tuesday afternoon but there were a few little things left to be done on Wednesday morning. When we arrived at the site, I couldn't believe how great it looked! If you haven't seen the pictures, it's right next to the house she's moving out of and looks like a mansion with it's 10' ceilings. I had a meeting scheduled with Cynthia at the community center so as soon as we arrived I went with my brother & Gregory towards the community center. Along the way, Daphne saw us and joined the walk. Almost as soon as we met up with her she had us wait so she could run inside and grab something. She came out of the house holding two heart-shaped pillows she'd sewn for me! Being here and seeing how people treat the ones they love compared to what I see at home is devastating. Here, people give until it hurts, no matter how much they have. Generally speaking, we in the states have a sense of greed and independence that creates a lack of community. The Jamaican people we work with have such a sense of community and "whats mine is yours, we survive together" attitude.
When we were on our way down to the community center, we went to walk through the graveyard and Cynthia was there. If anybody was following my blog's over the summer, Cynthia's husband was very sick. I never realized how bad it was but her husband passed away in October. She was standing next to his grave when we saw her. Aside from feeling like I wish I knew what to say, it was sooo good to see her. She is one of the most admirable people I've ever known. The love she has for those students is like nothing I've seen. She has always done everything she can to fight for her kids and it's always amazed me. She has never once asked for anything for herself- ONLY for the students or the school and I know that she isn't being paid. Cynthia, one of the teachers, Daphne, Brett, Gregory and I sat and talked for almost an hour. It started with Cynthia telling me about everything that's gone on at the school. After that it was just catching up and talking as friends. It was really neat to have my brother there to get to know these people that I hold so close to my heart. When it was time for us to walk back to the house-building site, we made plans to meet Thursday morning to bring gifts to the school. On the way back up to the site, we stopped at Daphne's house where she let us inside and showed us everything on her shelves. She had trinket after trinket that she's collected over the years as well as shelf after shelf full of beanie babies.
Daphne and I finally had a chance to sit down and talk about the sponsorship program and what we can do to make it more organized so the sponsors will have the picture and biography for the student they're sponsoring. Daphne does all of the sewing of the uniforms and what I didn't realize before is how much she loves children. She was telling me about how she always walks through town before school starts and hands out pencils and school supplies to the kids who don't have any. It's funny how you can know somebody for so long and not know how much you have in common. We've decided that Daphne is going to determine the highest need for the sponsorships (as Uncle does with the need for houses and food), have the teacher's provide pictures and she'll pay the school directly. I'm excited to be in touch with Daphne more frequently as we work together with this program. She's one of the most kind-hearted women I know and I trust her 100% with any decisions that are made while we're away. I walked away from that meeting feeling like my heart was overflowing with excitement.
We made our way back up to the house where everything was completed. Everybody was playing with kids, talking with new friends and enjoying the gorgeous view. It was neat to sit there and spend time with everybody. Gregory and I got into a "poker" match for what seemed like 4 hours. Poker is a game the little kids play where you latch hands with somebody and stick your index finger out. The goal is to poke the other person with your index finger before they poke you. I was allowed to use 2 hands and still had a 0% chance of winning but it was a good workout and kept us laughing for a while. I'm pretty sure Heather was videotaping it so depending on how embarrassing it is, there may be video to follow. I also had the opportunity to spend some time talking to Marlene for a little while. She is a truly amazing woman and I feel blessed to know her. She does domestic work for a family in the area and saves up all of her money to send her kids to boarding school. She has 4 kids (I think I'd said 5 in a previous post) and 2 of them are currently in boarding school while 2 are in primary school. Two of her kids were staying with her aunt because of the conditions of her house and as soon as we finished the house, she'd be getting them back. When my dad was finished painting the second coat in the house, we gathered everybody to give Marlene her finished house. We had a big circle full of our team and the team of Jamaican's that had gathered to help throughout the week. We all prayed for Marlene, the house, the kids and the neighborhood. I don't think anybody walked away with dry eyes. Butch had been asking the team all week if the team would go pray for a sick old woman down by his house so we headed there.
We walked into the house where we found Melvis wrapped in a blanket waiting. I asked if I could sit next to her and if the team could pray for her and she looked at me in an "are you insane" kind of way and said "I could never have too much prayer!" We all circled around Melvis and prayed for her health and comfort. I don't know her story or even what she is sick with but I know she'd appreciate prayers from anybody.
We decided to walk back from Steertown which is always an adventure. I love walking through the town and seeing everybody look at us like we're aliens from another planet while the kids are all chanting "white people, white people!" I love seeing the culture and interaction between the people on the streets. It's about a 20 minute walk and by the time we reach home, my cheeks hurt from smiling. We stayed home long enough to have lunch and left shortly after for the grocery store to buy food for our food basket. It was hands-down the most entertaining shopping experience of my life. I gave the team the challenge of finding the items on the list without my help. The team split up the list and divided into teams of 3- Dave, Brian, Mike vs Heather, Joey, Brett. They also had the challenge of staying under budget with the raised prices. Watching Dave, Brian and Mike was like watching boys trying to do dishes in a dorm room their freshman year of college. Finding a loaf of bread was like finding a needle in a haystack- I decided to help them by taking the "heavy dough" unsliced bread out of the cart and replacing it with regular sliced bread! After paying and being J1000 under budget, we went to the market to pick up the veggies and stopped by the community center for a chicken- when it was all said and done they stayed J200 under budget. Food baskets are my favorite thing we do throughout the week and it was even more of a blessing after getting to know Marlene this week. We delivered the groceries, prayed with her one last time & headed back to the villas for a relaxing afternoon. Our debrief meetings have been so inspirational in revealing how God's been working on each of us so individually this week and it's been amazing to see the growth within the group.
As promised, I'll include some Daveisms to make Marsha proud:
"Ranch is to salad as sugar is to toast"
"Wait, what's wrong with saying women are supposed to work in the kitchen...?"
"I just realized I have to be packed by Saturday and I don't know how to do it myself."
Monday, January 3, 2011
Monday
I don't even know where to begin. Today was the first day of work and it was incredible. This team is more proactive & motivated than ever! They have been impressing me more and more each day which is unusual since I knew 5 of them before this trip.
This morning started with the blessing of the hands. We went down towards the water and as much as the wind was blowing & the waves were roaring there was an underlying sense of peace. We went through the blessing and listened to "Hands and Feet" by Audio Adrenaline. It was an inspiring way to start the day as everybody was going out to start building a house for this family. Jeffery took the team to the site and we headed into town to exchange money and pick some things up from Ochie. There was a cruise ship in today so downtown was crazy with Jamaicans & people from the ship. After everything was done in town, I went back to the villa to get organized and prepare for the afternoon. When the bus pulled up outside the villa all I could hear was their enthusiasm and you could hear the smiles on their faces. We talked over lunch about their morning and how much they accomplished both with building relationships as well as with building the house. Although this house is different and they didn't have to put any floorboards in, the amount of work they finished in one morning was unbelievable! They had all four walls up (without the plywood which was already painted) and were starting on the roof. Nobody on this team was hesitant in stepping in and doing anything they could to help get the house built.
The original plan for the afternoon was to pay the hardware bill and go to the worksite with the team but Dave's been sick and we all decided that he needed antibiotics- but he wanted to work on the house. We tried to go to the pharmacy the other day and have them write us a prescription but apparently you have to see a doctor to get medication around here. After paying the hardware bill, I went on a mission to find some antibiotics. We don't need to go into details but after a couple of hours, Aaron and I returned to the worksite with not only antibiotics but allergy medicine and headache medicine! Nothing is impossible.
Once I arrived at the worksite I was in even more disbelief at what they'd accomplished. I pulled up and saw Joey and Heather playing with the kids, my dad and brother holding down plywood that was having the middle cut out of it for a window, Mike hammering nail after nail after nail and of course Dave was on the roof with Gregory! Not only that but Daphne and Uncle were both there working, Butch was working harder than I'd ever seen, Chris was directing the group that was fixing a wall up to the window and there were kids everywhere trying to get their hands on a hammer and nails. Nicole lives right across the street and since she had an IsleGo house built for her last summer, she wanted to come help in any way she could. It. Was. Awesome. I had several moments where I just had to sit back and look at all of these people who are so close to my heart working together to finish this house.
As much as there's such raw joy in a day like today, there's also a deep sadness when you realize the amount of need. I've talked about it before and I'm sure I'll talk about it again but no matter how much you are capable of doing, it's like there's never enough. Just today, I had a close friend ask for materials so she could make pillows to sell, a close friend had a brother pass away and needs money for the funeral and we're constantly surrounded by people that are homeless, starving and looking for any help they can find... just to survive. I need to keep reminding myself that it's God's plan, not mine and he'll provide. I just wish it was possible to help everybody and I didn't ever have to say "I'm sorry, I wish I could". I wish I could go to bed every night knowing that everybody else had a bed to sleep in and that everybody knew where their next meal was coming from. One starfish at a time I suppose...
When the day was done, the house is done with the exception of the last tedious details. The windows need to be screwed in, the doors need to be put on and the inside needs to be painted. It may take all day but they'll definitely finish it and help the family move in tomorrow! We came home to a deeelicious beef stew with rice and veggies. Dorette is the ultimate best, I want to bring her home with me and/or live in this villa forever. She also has a way of making me smile every morning when I ask her how she's doing and her answer is "abundantly blessed." Absolutely love her.
I think one of the coolest parts about today was starting the day knowing that Dave, Gregory and Aaron were all sick. I was worried about all of them working and the possibility of them getting more sick and wearing themselves out for tomorrow. When I showed up this afternoon and saw Gregory and Dave smiling ear to ear hammering nails on the roof I couldn't help but smile myself. These people are amazing.
It's been a great few days here and I can't wait to see what else God reveals throughout the week. Thank you for your prayers- we're all feeling the blessings pouring down!
This morning started with the blessing of the hands. We went down towards the water and as much as the wind was blowing & the waves were roaring there was an underlying sense of peace. We went through the blessing and listened to "Hands and Feet" by Audio Adrenaline. It was an inspiring way to start the day as everybody was going out to start building a house for this family. Jeffery took the team to the site and we headed into town to exchange money and pick some things up from Ochie. There was a cruise ship in today so downtown was crazy with Jamaicans & people from the ship. After everything was done in town, I went back to the villa to get organized and prepare for the afternoon. When the bus pulled up outside the villa all I could hear was their enthusiasm and you could hear the smiles on their faces. We talked over lunch about their morning and how much they accomplished both with building relationships as well as with building the house. Although this house is different and they didn't have to put any floorboards in, the amount of work they finished in one morning was unbelievable! They had all four walls up (without the plywood which was already painted) and were starting on the roof. Nobody on this team was hesitant in stepping in and doing anything they could to help get the house built.
The original plan for the afternoon was to pay the hardware bill and go to the worksite with the team but Dave's been sick and we all decided that he needed antibiotics- but he wanted to work on the house. We tried to go to the pharmacy the other day and have them write us a prescription but apparently you have to see a doctor to get medication around here. After paying the hardware bill, I went on a mission to find some antibiotics. We don't need to go into details but after a couple of hours, Aaron and I returned to the worksite with not only antibiotics but allergy medicine and headache medicine! Nothing is impossible.
Once I arrived at the worksite I was in even more disbelief at what they'd accomplished. I pulled up and saw Joey and Heather playing with the kids, my dad and brother holding down plywood that was having the middle cut out of it for a window, Mike hammering nail after nail after nail and of course Dave was on the roof with Gregory! Not only that but Daphne and Uncle were both there working, Butch was working harder than I'd ever seen, Chris was directing the group that was fixing a wall up to the window and there were kids everywhere trying to get their hands on a hammer and nails. Nicole lives right across the street and since she had an IsleGo house built for her last summer, she wanted to come help in any way she could. It. Was. Awesome. I had several moments where I just had to sit back and look at all of these people who are so close to my heart working together to finish this house.
As much as there's such raw joy in a day like today, there's also a deep sadness when you realize the amount of need. I've talked about it before and I'm sure I'll talk about it again but no matter how much you are capable of doing, it's like there's never enough. Just today, I had a close friend ask for materials so she could make pillows to sell, a close friend had a brother pass away and needs money for the funeral and we're constantly surrounded by people that are homeless, starving and looking for any help they can find... just to survive. I need to keep reminding myself that it's God's plan, not mine and he'll provide. I just wish it was possible to help everybody and I didn't ever have to say "I'm sorry, I wish I could". I wish I could go to bed every night knowing that everybody else had a bed to sleep in and that everybody knew where their next meal was coming from. One starfish at a time I suppose...
When the day was done, the house is done with the exception of the last tedious details. The windows need to be screwed in, the doors need to be put on and the inside needs to be painted. It may take all day but they'll definitely finish it and help the family move in tomorrow! We came home to a deeelicious beef stew with rice and veggies. Dorette is the ultimate best, I want to bring her home with me and/or live in this villa forever. She also has a way of making me smile every morning when I ask her how she's doing and her answer is "abundantly blessed." Absolutely love her.
I think one of the coolest parts about today was starting the day knowing that Dave, Gregory and Aaron were all sick. I was worried about all of them working and the possibility of them getting more sick and wearing themselves out for tomorrow. When I showed up this afternoon and saw Gregory and Dave smiling ear to ear hammering nails on the roof I couldn't help but smile myself. These people are amazing.
It's been a great few days here and I can't wait to see what else God reveals throughout the week. Thank you for your prayers- we're all feeling the blessings pouring down!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Sunday
What an awesome day! We woke up and Heather shared a devotional discussing our different gifts and we had ackee and salt fish for breakfast. We went to St Ann's for church and it was beyond powerful. I warned a few of the team members how long the services can be but most of them are used to a 1 hour service and I was nervous about how they'd handle it. We walked in and were walked up to the second row and all squeezed onto one bench. For anybody who hasn't been there, the seats aren't exactly lazy-boy's. The seat back's are at a 90 degree angle and the next row up is about 2 inches too close for comfort. I'm not saying any of this to complain- I'm painting a picture as to how bad this could have been with a non-flexible team, especially when the service ended up being 3 hours!
The message was from Jeremiah 29:11. Not-so-coincidentally, we've been talking a lot about this verse over the past few days. We talked about apprehension in following what God wants you to do and how that apprehension is okay as long as you're still following the path God has set for you. The church was packed to the seams and on FIRE. It still brings tears to my eyes to see the way the people here surrender in worship. The women in the choir were sobbing, people were brought to their knees and shouting to God. There is such passion and desperation and it makes me truly sad to know that it's so rare to see this in an American church. We have a way of "clocking in" to church on Sundays and even going days without prayer. Why is that? Why is faith an option to some people while it's a priority to others? I've been thinking about this a lot lately and have been questioning my own faith. What does it take to bring us to constant conversation with God? Why is it that a lot of us have to be at rock-bottom in a valley to cry out to God? Just food for thought. I also got to see Richard at church! It's always amazing to run into friends and realize that no matter how much time goes by, you can always pick up right where you left off.
After leaving church I was almost anticipating complaints about the comfort and length of the service. That is the exact opposite of what we had. I heard anything from "I think I fell in love with her, she was on fire!" to "I had chills the entire service...like God was talking directly to me." It was AWESOME. Every person left feeling like the message was directed right at them and the intensity and passion made it that much better! Again, not-so-coincidentally, we went to the infirmary this afternoon and everybody was apprehensive. My dad and brother had been there in the past and had no real excitement in going back. The other four felt like they were stepping way out of their comfort zone. I've never really seen a team skipping with smiles all the way to the infirmary but this group was especially apprehensive in going.
After having bun & cheese for lunch, we got ready to go to the infirmary. Most of the team playing sick (or dead) and it took extra time to get everybody loaded in the bus. When we arrived we prayed and went to see everybody. For anybody that's read my blogs from last summer, the infirmary has gone from my least favorite place in the world to the place that brings me more joy than you can imagine. I walked in and saw Wendy and Lauren and was immediately greeted with hugs. We walked over to the men's ward and Dolores spotted me before I found her and ran across the room for a hug. Donovan was almost in tears and words can't explain how I felt. As strange as it sounds, it was just one more piece of my heart that I got back and it gave me a sense of feeling home. Seeing these people that I love brings tears to my eyes. As we were walking through, "Drinking from my Saucer" started playing and I couldn't help but cry. I'm drinking from my saucer 'cause my cup has overflown was exactly how I was feeling. As I continued to say hello to old friends and make new ones, the team was having an experience of their own. Joey was unbelievable in connecting with the people. Everybody really did an amazing job! After walking around for 10 minutes I could not find Ryan anywhere! I walked around twice and finally heard my name from the courtyard. It was SO good to see him. We talked for a long time and he was more interested than ever in the Bible. I would read and he would ask questions. Dave was awesome in answering Ryan's historical questions and it was really just inspiring to see him continue to grow in faith. Ryan shared more about his family and I realize more and more everyday that he should not be in there. It breaks my heart to walk away knowing that his family lets him stay there- I can't imagine what that does to his self worth.
After the infirmary we had a meeting for everybody to talk about their experience. As usual everybody had a life-changing experience and a blog can't explain how they felt. There was a mix of overwhelming joy, sadness and a desire to do more. We sat on the porch and talked for hours. One of my (many) favorite parts about missions is the relationships that are formed from the conversation that happens when there aren't cell phone's, computers and tv's as distractions. As we were talking we looked out over the ocean and saw a double rainbow. It was another moment sitting here realizing I wish I could stay forever.
We came back to the villa to have an early dinner and I took a long nap. Tomorrow's their first day of work on the house. It's been pouring down rain so we're hoping for some sunshine. It's weird being here and wearing a sweatshirt outside... not quite June & July weather! Gregory's had a bad migraine all day and both Aaron & Gregory have been sick for a few days. They went to bed early and we're hoping they're better tomorrow for work! Please keep them and the team in your prayers.
The message was from Jeremiah 29:11. Not-so-coincidentally, we've been talking a lot about this verse over the past few days. We talked about apprehension in following what God wants you to do and how that apprehension is okay as long as you're still following the path God has set for you. The church was packed to the seams and on FIRE. It still brings tears to my eyes to see the way the people here surrender in worship. The women in the choir were sobbing, people were brought to their knees and shouting to God. There is such passion and desperation and it makes me truly sad to know that it's so rare to see this in an American church. We have a way of "clocking in" to church on Sundays and even going days without prayer. Why is that? Why is faith an option to some people while it's a priority to others? I've been thinking about this a lot lately and have been questioning my own faith. What does it take to bring us to constant conversation with God? Why is it that a lot of us have to be at rock-bottom in a valley to cry out to God? Just food for thought. I also got to see Richard at church! It's always amazing to run into friends and realize that no matter how much time goes by, you can always pick up right where you left off.
After leaving church I was almost anticipating complaints about the comfort and length of the service. That is the exact opposite of what we had. I heard anything from "I think I fell in love with her, she was on fire!" to "I had chills the entire service...like God was talking directly to me." It was AWESOME. Every person left feeling like the message was directed right at them and the intensity and passion made it that much better! Again, not-so-coincidentally, we went to the infirmary this afternoon and everybody was apprehensive. My dad and brother had been there in the past and had no real excitement in going back. The other four felt like they were stepping way out of their comfort zone. I've never really seen a team skipping with smiles all the way to the infirmary but this group was especially apprehensive in going.
After having bun & cheese for lunch, we got ready to go to the infirmary. Most of the team playing sick (or dead) and it took extra time to get everybody loaded in the bus. When we arrived we prayed and went to see everybody. For anybody that's read my blogs from last summer, the infirmary has gone from my least favorite place in the world to the place that brings me more joy than you can imagine. I walked in and saw Wendy and Lauren and was immediately greeted with hugs. We walked over to the men's ward and Dolores spotted me before I found her and ran across the room for a hug. Donovan was almost in tears and words can't explain how I felt. As strange as it sounds, it was just one more piece of my heart that I got back and it gave me a sense of feeling home. Seeing these people that I love brings tears to my eyes. As we were walking through, "Drinking from my Saucer" started playing and I couldn't help but cry. I'm drinking from my saucer 'cause my cup has overflown was exactly how I was feeling. As I continued to say hello to old friends and make new ones, the team was having an experience of their own. Joey was unbelievable in connecting with the people. Everybody really did an amazing job! After walking around for 10 minutes I could not find Ryan anywhere! I walked around twice and finally heard my name from the courtyard. It was SO good to see him. We talked for a long time and he was more interested than ever in the Bible. I would read and he would ask questions. Dave was awesome in answering Ryan's historical questions and it was really just inspiring to see him continue to grow in faith. Ryan shared more about his family and I realize more and more everyday that he should not be in there. It breaks my heart to walk away knowing that his family lets him stay there- I can't imagine what that does to his self worth.
After the infirmary we had a meeting for everybody to talk about their experience. As usual everybody had a life-changing experience and a blog can't explain how they felt. There was a mix of overwhelming joy, sadness and a desire to do more. We sat on the porch and talked for hours. One of my (many) favorite parts about missions is the relationships that are formed from the conversation that happens when there aren't cell phone's, computers and tv's as distractions. As we were talking we looked out over the ocean and saw a double rainbow. It was another moment sitting here realizing I wish I could stay forever.
We came back to the villa to have an early dinner and I took a long nap. Tomorrow's their first day of work on the house. It's been pouring down rain so we're hoping for some sunshine. It's weird being here and wearing a sweatshirt outside... not quite June & July weather! Gregory's had a bad migraine all day and both Aaron & Gregory have been sick for a few days. They went to bed early and we're hoping they're better tomorrow for work! Please keep them and the team in your prayers.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Home sweet home
Happy New Year!! Words can't describe how great it is to be back on this island. It feels like little pieces of my heart are missing and as soon as I get back here it's whole again. There's no better feeling than coming here and being able to see my Jamaican family- the running, jumping, tear-filled hugs and kisses upon arrival fill me with a joy greater than any other.
We arrived on Friday morning and not only landed early but walked through customs without a problem! Weed-wacker, wrapped presents and all. Jeffery picked us up and we went straight to Scotchie's for some jerk chicken and festival for lunch. We spent the afternoon down at the beach and relaxing before our NYE celebration. The ladies made us a delicious feast and we ended up unexpectedly going to Aaron's church at 10pm which was AWESOME! One of the Jamaican traditions is to go to church on New Year's Eve and it was packed. We weren't entirely sure what to expect when Aaron said it wasn't a service but more of a celebration but I am so glad we went! We ended up surrounded by kids singing and dancing for hours! After church we headed to Margaritaville where we were greeted with hats, noise-makers, necklaces and people ready to bring 2011. I can say that it was one of the best NYE celebrations of my life.
This morning was spent laying by the pool and reading until Mikey and Barbara showed up with the grandbabies! We spent time catching up with them and eventually took the team on a walk-about through Steertown so they could see the community center and houses IsleGo's built in the past. We met up with Uncle & Daphne to see the site for the house they'll be building this week. The family has 5 kids, one is very sick and they're living in a house that's barely bigger than the one bed they share inside. I can't wait to see them move into the house at the end of the week. We had an awesome debriefing tonight and it's unbelievable to see how God's already molding us after just one day of walking through town. I'm especially excited to have my brother here- not only for the experiences we'll be able to have together but to see what God's able to show him as a new believer.
Tomorrow we're going to St. Mary's for church and going to the infirmary in the afternoon. I can't wait to see everybody!
Good night :)
We arrived on Friday morning and not only landed early but walked through customs without a problem! Weed-wacker, wrapped presents and all. Jeffery picked us up and we went straight to Scotchie's for some jerk chicken and festival for lunch. We spent the afternoon down at the beach and relaxing before our NYE celebration. The ladies made us a delicious feast and we ended up unexpectedly going to Aaron's church at 10pm which was AWESOME! One of the Jamaican traditions is to go to church on New Year's Eve and it was packed. We weren't entirely sure what to expect when Aaron said it wasn't a service but more of a celebration but I am so glad we went! We ended up surrounded by kids singing and dancing for hours! After church we headed to Margaritaville where we were greeted with hats, noise-makers, necklaces and people ready to bring 2011. I can say that it was one of the best NYE celebrations of my life.
This morning was spent laying by the pool and reading until Mikey and Barbara showed up with the grandbabies! We spent time catching up with them and eventually took the team on a walk-about through Steertown so they could see the community center and houses IsleGo's built in the past. We met up with Uncle & Daphne to see the site for the house they'll be building this week. The family has 5 kids, one is very sick and they're living in a house that's barely bigger than the one bed they share inside. I can't wait to see them move into the house at the end of the week. We had an awesome debriefing tonight and it's unbelievable to see how God's already molding us after just one day of walking through town. I'm especially excited to have my brother here- not only for the experiences we'll be able to have together but to see what God's able to show him as a new believer.
Tomorrow we're going to St. Mary's for church and going to the infirmary in the afternoon. I can't wait to see everybody!
Good night :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)