Jamaica!
Yeah mon! (Hey/ yes/ great/ bye)
Wagaan? (What is going on/ howsit)
Everytin idle.. (everything is good)
Phathwa is the local language developed from english by the slaves.
Jamaica is one of the countries I have dreamed about coming to since I watched good old cool runnings back in the day!
Off to a rough start with chickv fever I slept for 4 days nursed back to health on a dusty mattress on the floor of a church in one of the most dangerous suburbs in Kingston Jamaica.
As the theme song of cool runnings goes... rise above it... the 5 of us who had the tropical fever still participated in visiting the homeless shelter, team activities and sharing in church. After all, when we are weak God is strong .....
Our team split into two smaller teams like we did in Brazil and so the yellow team that I am part of made our way north to St Anne's bay.
This is where the fun began.
90% recovered from the fever we arrived in St Annes bay where Christopher Colombus first discovered Jamaica.
We were living across the road from the beach, in a small church situated in a poor community. We were living in the community experiencing true Jamaican life!
The reason why it was so great is that nobody in the community knew who we were, what we were doing or why we were there. The people accepted us into their community and saw us as people... Not missionaries, not tourists but people. We had to earn their respect and were not placed on any pedestal. We got to know their stories and experience real Jamaican culture.
We met many people of influence in the community and believe we were sent to encourage and serve them.
We connected with a fisherman who took us snorkeling and diving for shells.
He caught fish and cooked it for us in gourmet style complete with salad, fresh carrot and ginger juice on the beach.
We were treated by the shop owner who became a great friend.. the kind of guy who you could call if you came back to Jamaica 20 years later and he would recieve you with open arms.
We connected with a youth centre, played basketball and soccer with the community, visited schools in the area and did an outreach for homeless people giving them a bath, new clothes, a good meal and health check-up.
We were prompted by God and did what he was pressing in each of our hearts. God used us in really cool ways and it did not feel like effort because He was doing everything and we just had the great privelege of being part of it.
We had a great time exploring the bible, praying and worshiping God together as a team (sometimes on the beach across the road). We had a fun time hitch hiking to explore the area, culture and people.
My favorite country so far by far.
And really because it felt as if we were literally following Jesus through each day.
Golden nuggets
-Follow Jesus he is the winner man.
-Loving people looks like something, it is not only thought/feeling but action.
-God used previous ministry points on the trip to prepare me to make the most of Jamaica and beyond!