Encouragement: Seeing the Lord Work Through Our Team in Many Ways

Today was our final day here in Jamaica and we had a chance to see how beautiful the Lord's creation truly is. We departed the house and drove to Cornwall Beach in downtown Montego Bay. We lathered up with sunscreen and boarded the Island Dreamer catamaran for our boat tour. The boat ride took us out into the Caribbean Sea and we watched planes fly in overhead. The water got to depths of 200feet and higher!! The boat then turned and headed back towards the shore, and we reached the prime snorkeling spot 900 yards out. We all put on our masks, gear, and fins, and got into the water. There were 4 waterproof cameras and so those pictures will be developed upon our return. It was amazing how we could see coral reefs below us followed by schools of colorful fish. The coral would be a few feet below us then drop off to very deep areas. Each kid kept their life vest attached as a safety precaution. After getting back onto the boat, we cruised the Bay and stopped at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville aqua park. The students had a great time with all the floatation devices. We finally headed back to Cornwall Beach and spent the rest of the afternoon on that beach with the iceberg.

The Jamaican sun is a tad stronger than what we are used to, so we all got PLENTY of it. We cleaned up at the beach and headed to Margaritaville for dinner. They pieced together tables on the rooftop overlooking the water and we had a great final meal on our trip. It was nice to sit back and reflect on how blessed we were to be able to come here. Upon returning to the house, several bottles of aloe were used and we are hoping to be in less pain to travel home.

Tonight's Devotional Group: Caity Barker, Andy Irwin, Ethan Langston, and Landon Tabor

Our theme for the devo tonight was encouragement. We read verses regarding different forms of encouragement throughout the Bible. (Proverbs 12:25, Acts 20:35, Ephesians 4:29) We then went around the room and all said something encouraging about every member of our team. It was interesting to hear everything our team has done this week and how much we have impacted each other.

Andy Irwin: “Tonight was a night filled with Aloe, burns, and bonding.”

Caity Barker: “Throughout the course of the week, we have gone from a mission team to a family.”

Ethan Langston: “Being within feet of the Jamaican coral reefs was an experience I’ll never forget.”

Reminder that our flight time is 1 hour earlier, so we will be landing at approximately 6pm. We hope to be through security and customs in 30 minutes. We will turn phones on once landing. Thank you for your prayers during our trip and keeping up with our travels. See everyone Friday evening in the International Terminal in Atlanta!