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More than 350 team members + 15 houses built + countless hours of lost sleep + 7 super fantastic awesome summer staff members + 2 incredible bosses + the support of hundreds + Caribbean sun + the thousands of gallons of sweat sweated + ONE AMAZING GOD = one priceless summer than I shall never forget.

This summer has had its ups and downs, its laughs and its tears, its hardships and its fun times but most importantly its memories. This summer has been like nothing I have experienced before. The memories I have made and the friendships I have formed is unlike anything I could have imagined going into this summer. It is hard to believe that this summer is coming to a close and that tomorrow I will be on a plane back to America.

It is amazing when you get seven children of God together under one roof for 11 weeks what all we can accomplish. I can honestly say I love my fellow staff members like my brothers and sisters. Being that they are my brothers and sisters we have fought and gotten mad at each other but in the end we still all loved each other and with that we were able to get through just about anything. I am truly going to miss them and what they have taught me this summer. We all had our quirks but because of it, we are who we are. I know God called each one of us by name to this community. It is my hope that this community will remember us.

I cannot wait to see all my friends and family back home. I have missed them a lot this summer and I know that they are excited to see me. I think the most challenging part of this summer will be trying to explain this summer in a way that people will understand what I experienced.

I just want to say one last thank you to all those who have supported this staff this summer. Without you, none of this would be possible; y’all are just as much apart of this as we were. Thank you for all your prayers and for everything that you have done and do for us. 

Austin

You'd Better Have a Game Plan!

Holy Cow, Words cannot express how much I am going to miss this place! We just returned to Harmons from our last weekend of the summer in Ochie. I can't believe I'm about to say this but I'm even going to miss the good 'ol Silver Seas! That little contraption you see there was my enhancement to our not so, well maybe, somewhat cool air conditioning during our stay last night. On a serious note, on the way home I think some things finally started to sink in... 1.) I've just spent an entire summer in a forging country serving my Beloved Savior (What an awesome feeling!) 2.) In just five short days I'm going to be leaving this forging country where I not only got to serve my Beloved Savior but some pretty amazing people as well. The great thing though is that those five days we have hardly any responsibility. Therefore we have MASS amounts of time to spend out with our mentos and the rest of the Harmons community. I'm so thankful for a little time to step back and let these people know how much they mean to me. It's hard for me to believe that I've just spent  2 1/2 months here but It'd be even harder to imagine my life without this experience now. I'm beyond grateful that God chose me to come here and I have no doubt in my mind I made the right decision making the commitment. As most of you probably know, the Won by One slogan is "changing lives by changing lives."  I'm certain that my life has been changed and I could guarantee you that several Jamaican's as well as American team members (and non-team members) have been touched by the very hands of Christ Himself. I cannot wait to come home and share with my family and friends all the stories and once in a lifetime experiences I have had throughout. One thing I am not completely prepared for are all the questions right away. I've heard several times this week alone in referring to going home, "You'd better have a game plan." It's gonna be a whole new ball game when I get back. God has done some serious transforming in me already and I know He will continue to reveal things to me for a long while to come. I'll be starting a new chapter in my life when I get home as a more mature Christian . I actually saw some great friends at the airport starting their own new chapter. Congratulations to Chris and Brittain Bright! I'm sad that I had to miss the wedding but so thankful I got to see them at the airport! They did however give me a little taste of home which made me all the more eager to get there! At this point Satan is attacking me with the fear of it all but God keeps kicking back with all the excitement I can't help but feel about sharing my story and reuniting with everyone! I just pray that this week takes its time! I'm going to miss alot of people! Love you all dearly! One more time....a HUGE thanks to each and every one of you that have supported me in any way! You are just as much a part of this as me!

Be Blessed

Mel  :)

A Piece of Cake!

Baking adventures!

For those of you who are not up-to-date on your Jamaican holidays, Saturday marks Jamaica's forty ninth birthday. Yep, forty nine years of this wonderful island being its own little territory, free from British rule. And for those of you who aren't aware, Jamaicans are extremely proud of their heritage. Extremely proud, as in ex-patriots flying home to visit family and throwing parties for the last week and a half. So I decided it would be awesome to have a small celebration at the Infirmary, where I have been spending much of my time this summer. The residents are not always aware of what day or even month it is, but nevertheless, I figured they would at least appreciate something small for this treasured holiday. So, with the help of my other staff ladies, I set out to make enough cake for 150 people. Together we made two giant cakes! They didn't necessarily look like something from Food Network, but I was confident that they tasted delightful. Today (we don't go to the Infirmary on Saturdays so the celebration had to be a few days early) we had the privilege of sharing the cake with all the residents. Some of them showed a lot of excitement while others were still groggy from their interrupted nap. I found myself having a growing sense of satisfaction as I fed these people just a tiny piece of cake. It took a few minutes for me to get past the fact that they were licking the icing off my fingers, but, in the end, I was honored to be a foreigner bringing them even just a little bit of joy at their country's holiday. I mean, who am I, a random white girl that comes to visit for 3 months of the summer and knows very little about being born and raised in Jamaica. Yet, as I was passing out a small, insignificant dessert to the residents, I found myself swelling with pride at having the chance to take part in a holiday that I will never truly be able to be a part of. The cake wasn't much, but if I was able to remind the residents of their heritage and renew the pride that they feel to be Jamaican, it was much more than what I was hoping for...

                

This week we have had the privilege of having 3 past summer staffers down here visiting their own Jamaican friends and family. It has been great getting to hang out with them and talk to them. One of the guys was talking with me about how I planned to debrief and say goodbye to all my friends at the Infirmary. My original plan was to not think about saying goodbye until the last minute and then to keep my emotions to myself and not talk about what I was going through...not a good plan. Thanks to him, I have changed my plan and have begun to prepare myself mentally for saying goodbye. Yes, it is hard to say goodbye to all of my friends here in Harmons, but I know I will see them again when I come back to visit. I cannot be so sure for my friends at the Infirmary; I might see them when I come back or I might not see them again until we are both rejoicing in Heaven. I am reminded of a verse in Jeremiah (29:11) that says "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". Even though I would like to see the people I love when I come back down to visit, I know God has a much bigger and better plan for their lives. Whether it is here on earth or in Heaven, God will be taking care of them and we will be reunited some day! 

With love,

Sarah 

Lifelong Memories

Hey Guys,

                The summer staff has entered their last work week here in Harmons, Jamaica and there is only ten days until we leave. All of this seems to be completely bittersweet. I think we all miss our families and friends back in America, but we all share a love for the place that we have called home for the past ten weeks, a small village in the Manchester Parish of Jamaica known as Harmons. It is coming into all of our realizations that next Friday will be the last time we will see all of our friends here for quite a while. Everyone that we have shared our summer's with, growing closer and making lifetime friendships with will have to stay here while we travel back to the States. There is so much that I will miss when I leave here like dancing in the playfield behind the Harmony House, playing soccer every week with all of my Jamaican friends, and watching some of the Jamaicans interact with their own people at the infirmary. I have seen some incredible things while I have been here and I have been able to watch some of my teenage friends grow into men before my eyes. This has been such a great experience that I myself have been able to grow from and I cannot wait for the chance to come back and visit everyone here and continue developing our relationships.

Until Next Time,

Evan Smith

A slice of paradise

In any location around the world the best places seem to be kept secret by locals and hidden from visitors. Being in Harmon's for as long as I have been you get the privilege of visiting some of these hidden treasures. One of the favorites is a river about 20 minutes away from the Harmony House. After being out on the work sites working under the hot sun all day, swimming in the river is like a slice of heaven. The water is crystal clear, ice cold, the only sound you hear is the jungle and the occasional outburst of laughter from up the river. Not to mention it comes with a tropical canopy keeping the sun at bay. It's also one of Junior's (my mento) favorite places to go. Since this isn't an all inclusive resort you have to deal with the occasional whiff of ganja or a naked Jamaican swimming by, but it's all part of the experience. There's really only two spots to swim, one down below with a few rocks to jump off of or if you walk up the river there's a spot to float around and a runoff that can be used as a cold Jacuzzi. It's also a great place to meet Jamaicans that never come by the Harmony House or even Harmons for the matter. With things winding down the memories from the river will be one of the many things I will take from here, I just wish I could take the river back with me too!

David

Stinky & Tired makes for a good summer!

Hey y'all!

I just hit my three week mark as of yesterday! I can't believe how fast the second half of summer is flying by! Pretty soon I will be landing in the beautiful city of Pittsburgh ready to move on with life, hopefully with a changed heart, mindset, and lifestyle. Even though the end is coming near, I need to remember that God is still working in my life and I need to be open and obedient to listen and respond to what He wants to show me.
I have spent the  majority of this summer sweaty, stinky, and tired. It's been awesome and I wouldn't change a thing about it (other than cliff jumping). And even though most of the staff have hit that mark of being tired and wanting to go home, we have really been challenging and encouraging each other to push on. We need to have as much energy and excitement as we did on the first week of the summer. Somehow through everything, God has given us the strength to keep going on with our work and loving the Americans and Jamaicans that we interact with everyday. It's going to be an amazing three weeks and I"m so excited to see what God is going to do through all of us!!
Thanks to everyone who has prayed for us and supported us throughout this whole process.
Remember, without Jesus in it, it's all in vain. Pray that there will be many opportunities presented in the time left to share about Him and to love like He does.

Kells

Coming to an end...

Two weeks from today I will be getting ready to get on a plane and fly home. It is hard to believe that this summer is almost over... 

I have learned a lot about myself and who I am. But as David put it we won't know how much we changed until we are back in our "normal" world. We have been hear for so long immerse in this culture with the Jamaicans, it is hard to tell how we have changed. I know how that I have changed but by how much or exactly how I have changed it will be sometime before I know that. 

This week has been a busy week for me. I have been working on the security camera system with one of the team members trying to make sure everything will work fine when I leave. I have been updating computers, trying to make easy step-by-step guides on how to do things and just trying to turn up lose ends. I feel like I have so much to do in so little time. But I know that all things are possible if you put your trust in God. 

Well that is all I have for today, Kelly should be posting another, hopefully longer, blog later today! 

Austin