Usually I have to repeat my name a few times before the locals can kind of pronounce it, but in Jamaica I could just introduce myself as "Marli, like Bob Marley". The rasta man would laugh and say "ya mon" and conversation would easily flow from there.
On this layed back Caribbean island we were introduced to many local dishes like Ackee and salt fish (Jamaica's national dish), jerk chicken (uniquely prepared to give a smoky, spicy taste to it), breadfruit, festivals, spicy buns, Devon House ice cream and Blue Mountain coffee (among the world's most famous coffee).
While half of our team stayed behind in Kingston, the rest of us travelled to St Anne's Bay on the north side of the island, where tropical fish live in warm Caribbean water and waterfalls run into the bright, turquoise sea. Here we met Pastor Jerry, a woman with a big heart for children and the poor. She also never left after a day of ministry without prayer and giving each team member a big hug.
On this particular Sunday, instead of having a church service, pastor Jerry needed our help with an outreach to give 8 homeless people a make over. They received a shower, shave, hair cut, nail cut, new pair of clothes, a hearty lunch and a medical check up at the local hospital. Now that is church in practice on a Sunday morning!
As we were doing children's ministry at different schools and playing basketball with them in the evenings, we picked up a spirit of hostility and hopelessness.
The one day we were doing a program at a Primary School. A fight broke out between two street vendors. The children ran to the gates uncontrollably and started cheering them on. We had no choice but to stop our program and go home.
With Jamaica being the country with the most churches per square kilometre in the world, everybody knows about Jesus and the Bible here, but only a few people's lives reflect that they have a personal relationship with Him.
This is where we realized the importance of stepping in for them in prayer to ask God to change their hearts from the inside out.
We met Donavan, from the nearby fisherman village who invited us for fresh Snapper lunch at his humble house on the beach. He caught this delicious fish on the reef the previous night until 4am. Later we got to do Bible study with him and answer some questions he had about what happens to people after they die.
Ryan, the local supermarket owner, blew us away with his generosity, handing out ice creams, dinners and lifts to town, while in turn we blew him away with our fearless Global Challenge way of life and testimonies of faith.
Back in Kingston we were doing Bible study with pastor Neville and his church one night. I got a new revelation of God's sovereignty when the question came up: "Why can't God give us audible instructions of what He wants us to do on earth?". Pastor Neville explained that God wants us to get to know Him personally in order for us to know what His will is. If He just gave us instructions, it would be a dictatorship without relationship with Him.
As our time in Jamaica drew to a close, pastor Neville took all 15 of us to the top of the Blue Mountain hills in his blue "bakkie" to look out over the Kingston city lights. That's where I remembered the song we use to sing every Friday in Primary School assembly: Jamaican farewell. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be looking out over the city I was singing about 20 years ago.