The cool breeze blowing in from the ocean while I sit at the top of a hill taking in the beauty of tropical trees & flowers feels incredible (y’all are feeling sorry for us missionaries right now, aren’t ya?).  I’m in a folding chair sitting in the middle of a long driveway getting free WiFi from Rev’s house watching the sun set to the West.

Today we went to Dunn’s River Falls – it was incredibly beautiful but more so was the time spent together goofing around in the ocean and climbing the falls as a team.  There was much laughing and encouragement as we defied gravity and the pull of the water and continued upwards to reach the top.

Many churches have their Wednesday night Bible studies together during Lent so tonight we will head to the local Anglican Church to worship and pray together with a variety of local Protestant Churches.

The next few days will be extemely busy and I have no idea how much time we’ll have to blog so here is a brief run-down.  We will serve in the feeding program together on Thursday morning, meet with a local leader to discuss the rebuilding of the dilapidated classrooms that VBC will be raising funds for.  Then, on the way to Steer Town Methodist Church for an evening VBS, we will stop at the Jerk Center for absolutely amazing jerk meat cooked over fire and under metal sheeting.   Friday will bring painting at St. Ann’s Bay Primary with the local PTA and parents.  We will then shower quickly to head back to Steer Town to have a ”cultural night” with their youth.  We will be sharing live jazz and blues and showing them how to make both male & female cross necklaces.  We can’t wait to see what they will share with us, but we do know it will be lively and include moving and clapping.

Yesterday, a local fruit vendor sold me an orange.  Well, really I asked for an orange and he handed me a green-ish, yellow-ish ball.  He then peeled it with his long, somewhat-machete-looking knife and handed it to me (still with most of the white peel on) cut in half.  In Jamaica, you eat it like an apple (but skip the white peel).  It was the best orange I’ve had in years.  Who’d have thought that a yellow-ish, green-ish orange would ever taste so good?

46 children in one classroom, that is what the teachers in Jamaica frequently have.  The love they have for teaching the children is apparent as they smile and joke with them when appropriate, and when not, they are very stern and reprimanding.  There are devotions in the school every morning – God has not been kicked out of the school system in Jamaica – and we pray He never is. 

Perseverance was the word shared with the kids.  There were 3 groups with 37-55 children each.  The team shared situations in which they persevered and in turn we asked the children times they had persevered and what they wanted to be when they grow up.  They said things from soldiers to meterologists, to singers to even a cardiologist.  We encouraged them that if they had a goal that God called them to - NEVER GIVE UP.  They made medals with Hebrews 12:1 on them.  The kids literally adored the colorful ribbons that made up the medals they made.  Ribbon is not something easily come by in Jamaica.

Today we served at the St. Ann’s Bay Methodist Church feeding program.  These are the children caught in the middle between govenment funded food at the school and parents that can’t afford to feed them.  These are the children that wouldn’t eat.  These are the children that would not go to school if they couldn’t eat.  It’s extremely difficult to teach hungry children.  It was an amazing blessing to serve with the volunteers of St. Ann’s Bay Methodist Church.  The people are so warm, kind, encouraging and funny.  It was pure joy to serve alongside them!

Team arrived under cover of darkness.  After an exciting drive, we arrived safely at the Cloisters with warm welcomes from Dell, Des & Donald.  The joy on the children’s faces, our Jamaican friends and our team was contagious.  We praised God with loud voices.  I’m sure they could hear us on the other side of the island.  After a day of skits, crafts, and songs, the sun is setting on the Caribbean with hearts filled with the warm love of the Jamaicans.

What an amazing experience – we love our brothers and sisters at St. Ann’s Bay and Steer Town Methodist churches. Our final day in Jamaica included work projects at the Cloisters Center (where we stayed). “Auntie” Dell, “Auntie” Barbara and “Uncle” Donald guided us as to what would be beneficail to them: painting and cleaning. After working that morning, we visited the local supermarket to purchase the famous Jamaican Jerk Seasoning (can’t wait to make Jerk Chicken or Jerk Pork even though it won’t be as good as Auntie Dell’s). We did more local shopping in St. Ann’s Bay before heading to Ocho Rios to experience the Pineapple Craft Market. No pineapple purchases, but lot’s of “no thanks” to some very aggressive vendors. We then moved to the more sedate local stores to purchase a few items for families back home.

As the sky filled with heavy clouds, we hopped in Pettell’s van to head into the hills (mountains for us Kansas folks) to visit three historic Methodist churches. These were beautiful old buildings in a very scenic Jamaica. As the sun lowered below the stormy clouds, bright shots of orange and pink highlighted the sky as the sun sank into the sea.
As we careened down the hills (driving is very interesting in Jamaica), we ended at Steer Town Methodist Church for a huge blessing from some incredible youth leaders. They sang and clapped for us and then ended with some fabulous refreshments. It was a wonderful time of chatting with their youth leaders about what a potential future partnership with Rez Life would look like to them.
Today we had to say goodbye to our very warm and friendly brothers and sisters in Christ, but we look forward to one day having our paths cross again.

St. Ann's Bay, Jamaica

Day 3: We experienced a wonderful prayer, worship and Bible service last night at St. Ann’s Bay Church. This was a needed time of reflection and release after a day full of meetings and a trip to beautiful Dunn’s River Falls. Jamaica is a wonderful country with unbelievable sights, sounds and people, and sometimes it’s hard to remember that our trip is more business than pleasure — We’re here for only a few days to meet with local church officials and families, to present a short Vacation Bible School and to see how God wants us to proceed. But, it doesn’t hurt to have a great time while we’re “working.”  

Today, we were up bright and early to cook dumplings, franks and tea to serve to children at the church’s feeding program. Later this day, we presented an abbreviated Vacation Bible School with MORE THAN 50 KIDS! We were truly blessed by the participation, support from the local church and smiling faces of our new young friends.

Jamaica Assessment Team: (L to R) Sheree, Mark, Julie, Michelle and Lisa. Not in photo, Cayce.

Day 4: We’re working around the Cloisters (a centuries old hacienda) painting, cleaning, etc., and more meetings in Steertown UM Church. Learned another lesson last night: Close windows at night. We discovered some uninvited small guests (a few bats and lizards – cute, harmless, but uninvited.)
Then, it’s back home. A flight from beautiful Montego Bay to Charlotte to Kansas City. We can’t wait to see our families but we also feel a loss from leaving our new friends and families in Jamaica. God Bless St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica, and we look forward to returning Spring Break 2012 (anyone interested in Joining our Mission team can log on to www.cor.org/jamaica) 

– Mark, Sheree, Michelle, Lisa, Julie and Cayce.

Day 1 (Nov. 1): Travel from Kansas City to Charlotte to Montego Bay, Jamaica. After a one-hour drive from Montego Bay to St. Ann’s Bay, a beautiful route that hugs the sea, we arrived at the Cloisters, a centuries-old facility owned by the Jamaica United Methodist Church. We were immediately greeted by Dell, a warm, friendly lady who serves guests as part mother, part over-seer, part cruise director and part sergeant. We also were met by Donald, the grounds keeper, who serenaded our group upon arrival. Later, we met with a few local Methodist leaders and discussed the celebrations and challenges in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica, and surrounding towns.

Lisa and Friends

Day 2 (Nov. 2): We awoke to the lively sounds of tropical birds, the feel of a cool breeze and beautiful sights of clear skies above and warm, gentle waves in the distance below our hilltop perch above St. Ann’s Bay. Today, we will meet with the principal of a local school, a leader from the church’s feeding program (where local school children are provided what may be their only meal of the day) and others. Our goal is to discover what God has in store for a relationship between Church of the Resurrection and St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica. The possibilities include family-oriented mission trips (with individuals, couples and families with children) who will partner with the gracious locals to develop and participate in Vacation Bible Schools, small construction projects, a feeding program for disadvantaged school children and even a little sun and fun. For now, bye from the Church of the Resurrection Team in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica.

– Mark, Sheree, Michelle, Lisa, Julie and Cayce.

A team of 6 people will be headed to Jamaica on Nov. 1 to discuss future family mission trips. The team will be working with the pastors in the Methodist Churches in St. Anne’s Bay, Steertown, and President Galbraith who leads all of the Jamaican Methodist Pastors.