Jamaican Fun In The Sun

It's hard to believe that today was our last full day in Jamaica. After a great week of service and activities, we departed early for our cultural/free day in Ocho Rios. The main highway runs parallel to the Caribbean Sea so it was a beautiful drive. About halfway, we stopped at Columbus Park in Discovery Bay. This is the location where Christopher Columbus made landfall in 1494. We also viewed the monument commemorating the opening of the Queen's Highway...named after Queen Elizabeth I of England. There were numerous artifacts, an old ship, and a killer view.

Once we arrived in Ocho, we headed to the Straw Market. This is where tons of Jamaican vendors sell touristy goods and our students can work on their haggling/bargaining skills. They did a great job for the most part! Our 5 boys found a lady who made them hand-woven bracelets that say "Maica 5". We then headed to Mystic Mountain for the Sky Explorer and Jamaican bobsledding experience. The Sky Explorer was a 15 minute scenic ride up the side of the mountain in a chair lift. We had an amazing view of the Ocho Rios port where a Carnival cruise ship was docked. Upon reaching the top, we then did the bobsledding course. This was a THRILLING ride for sure. We took the Sky Explorer back down the mountain and headed back into town for a healthy Burger King lunch. 

Our final stop was the famous Dunn's River Falls. We had unlimited access to the falls and a private beach area. There are over 600 feet of rock and falls to traverse. This was a great way to end our time in Jamaica. The team REALLY enjoyed our time in Ocho Rios, and it is hard to believe our time in Jamaica is coming to a close. 

Thank you for following the blog over the week, and I'll be updating over time and hopefully for more trips to come. Thank you for allowing your son/daughter to be apart of the JAMAICA 2012 family...See everyone at the airport on Friday evening...yeah mon!

Child-Like Faith

Today, we traveled back to the town where we played volleyball and painted the church. We visited the Canaan Primary School and got to hang out with students in Grades 1-5. Upon arrival, the students lined up and walked to the assembly area. The principal welcomed us and we shared a few worship songs with the students. Dave (SCORE rep) shared with the students and then we headed to the field for games and activities. Our students used a giant parachute, frisbees, soccer balls, kites, and rhythm games for entertainment. I've included just a few pictures below...but this was such a memorable experience for our entire team. The kids were incredibly respectful and wanting to give us tours of their classrooms. It was very tough to leave them.

After lunch, we headed back to Deeside to participate in a soccer match and host an Easter egg hunt. A afternoon rain shower hit and made a mess of the field, and it definitely hampered our abilities on the field. The team competed hard, but lost to the host team 3-1. After de-mudding, the students went to hide eggs in the field and then supervised the scavenger hunt. It was a great end to the service opportunities on the trip. Our evening concluded with another amazing meal and some quality team time. We huddled around the pool with the evening sky above us. Most students shared memories/experiences from the trip that impacted them while adults offered words of encouragement. Celine and Zoe led us in some worship songs, and Landon ended our time with a word of prayer. It is amazing to see how the Lord is working in our team. Everyone is resting up for a big final day in Ocho Rios tomorrow!

God's Touch Can Be Felt In Many Ways...

The morning began with us taking a tour of downtown Montego Bay and experiencing the local culture. We visited the Anglican Church of St. James, which has been around since the English controlled the island of Jamaica. After seeing Juicy Patty stores and the National Soccer Stadium, we ventured to the MegaMart for some snacks. The best comparison would be an American Costco/SuperWalmart. The students got good practice at converting their American money into Jamaican dollars. After buying some snacks, we drove along the Caribbean Sea back to the house for lunch.

Our afternoon was packed with more excitement than anticipated. The team headed back into downtown to visit the St. Mary's Parish Infirmary. The island of Jamaica is divided into parishes/districts, and each one has their own infirmary. In America, we have retirement and nursing homes. In Jamaica, the elderly and mentally disabled are dropped off to be taken care of by the government. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of financial support and the nurses are overwhelmed. Our students visited various women's and men's dorms, playing music, singing songs, praying for, and loving on these people. 

Our final activity for the afternoon/evening consisted on heading to a small community for a basketball game. It was an amazing outreach experience because many members of the town came out to watch the games. We played a girl's team with our co-ed group, and lost a close game. Our 5 boys though played hard in the nightcap and tied the Jamaican men 37-37. For those who didn't play in the actual games, they had their hands full with the children...and did a great job of loving on them. 

The weather has been wonderful down here. Praying for a great last few days...will update later tonight about today's activities. You don't want to miss out!

We Do It Better Than Michelangelo...

It wasn't the Sistine Chapel...but we returned to Bethel Baptist Church today to paint the walls of the church, which is also used as school classrooms. Special thanks to donations from Home Depot in Lawrenceville, we brought paint trays, brushes, rollers, and mats down to Jamaica for this task. SCORE International provided 2 5-gallon buckets of paint, and the mission began. In approximately 3 hours, our team painted the inside of the sanctuary altar, 4 outside walls of the church, and the inside of the top floor of the school. The walls were transformed from a pale blue to a clean tan. Brother Jerry kept complimenting our team for their efforts in getting the job completed.

We headed back to the villa for lunch and then soon departed for Doctor's Cove beach in downtown Montego Bay. There was a nice, overcast sun...but the Jamaican sun still shone through. As of now, no one got sunburnt (that will be saved for Thursday in Ocho Rios). The team enjoyed 2 hours at the beach, full of sand, clear water, and water apparatuses. It was a great afternoon, as the next few days will be full of more work and sporting events in various towns.

Thanks to all our family and supporters following the blog. I've enjoyed sharing with you the experiences we have had so far. Now, a few students will briefly share some thoughts from the trip so far...

Andy Irwin, 11th: "We have room for improvement with volleyball against the Jamaicans...but we found some Asians to whoop up on on the beach, never mind, we lost to them also."

Mayla McCray, 10th: "Being in church with the kids really made me feel good helping them learn more about Jesus though our Sunday school class."

Niah Humphrey, 10th: "Painting the church was a memorable experience. I felt a sense of accomplishment after seeing the finished product."

Sunday is the Lord's Day

This is the day that the Lord has made...

After a long day of travel on Saturday, I think everyone was ready for a good night's sleep. The sun rises early here, and our team was ready to get our first full day underway. We traveled roughly 1 hour to Harvest Church in Deeside (15 miles away) and got to see the geographical difference between the coastline and the countryside. A group of our team led some worship songs with the congregation, and another group of students led a children's Sunday school class on Salvation. I was very proud of our students for being great mentors to the 25 children from the community. Pastor Vernon gave a memorable Palm Sunday sermon about Welcoming the King, in which we should do this through faith, obedience, gifts, and praise. After some final songs of worship, we departed the community of Deeside. We will return here later in the week for a soccer match.

We then drove through the countryside to Bethel Baptist Church located in Dumfrees. Eating lunch along the way, our team was ready for an afternoon of volleyball. Thanks to Jay Foxworthy, the sleeveless jerseys looked sharp in the mid-80 weather. After several strategy talks, practice drills, and an intense cheer...the team was ready to take the court. The community brought out some tough competition, and let's just say that next year we will be doing some more practice games before coming to Jamaica. The final game count was 3-1 Jamaica home team...but everyone was a winner today because we shared love with all those in the church community. Everyone played a special role today, from volleyball to cheering section to kid patrol to photography. We returned to the house for dinner, and the kids enjoyed a nice evening at the pool after a long day in the sun.

Some of the students wanted to pull some April's Fools Jokes on their parents/families, but that didn't sound like a good idea since we are a plane flight away and in a different country. They can save those for when we return. It has been a successful Day #1...looking forward to starting the week out strong tomorrow. Yeah mon!