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

Time's a Wastin'

Ok so I'm just going to be honest. I've been here for going on 9 weeks, with teams each week and little time to rest. I'm tired. I miss people. I want to be home. Why am I telling y'all this? I'm on a mission trip, life should be perfect; right?  Well after such an amazing and energized first half of the summer that's what I began to think. Here recently I've been getting really homesick and annoyed by silly little things; why in the world is this happening after 9 weeks ...of living (closely) with the same six people, working with youth, and not getting enough sleep? Well here's what God has been slapping me in the face with over the past 12 hours.... 1.) No matter where you're at you will still have moments in the valley. Just because your serving doesn't mean you're any less surrounded by sin and heartache.  2.) It's not about you Melissa. This gospel you are living isn't about your wants, it's about THIER needs. Thankfully this little selfish pity party only lasted a few hours and Glory to God in knowing exactly when and how we as His children need discipline. I've only got 18 days left here in the Harmons. I've got no time to waste in wishing I was back home, I'll be there soon enough. To you I ask for prayer that my patience will grow longer and the amount of grace I give to people become greater. I love you all and as I previously stated I miss you! Thank you so much for the support, encouragement, love, and keeping in contact along the way!

                                  My friend O.J. He loves the Rangers too! 

Be Blessed,

Mel 

My Little Giggle Box

Oh the sweet resounding sound of a three year old giggle! I have grown to LOVE my mento this summer! She has been a joy to be around! In getting to know her I have been blessed with getting to know her family as well! There are four kids in all and I get to see them all the time! They live right next door so all I do is pop my head out and there they are! My ultimate FAVORITE greeting of all time is her 3 year old sister! Nothing brings joy to my life like she does!  It doesn't matter how far I am... if she happens to see me no matter near or far she screams at the top of her baby tiny lungs "RAUREN COME HERE NOW! HUG ME UP!" It is the cutest thing ever. She sprints toward me and jumps in my arms... and then the little giggle box within her just bursts! She is quite the little ball of energy and I love it! My little cousin at home is just like her! All her sillyness, sass, pizzazz, preciousness, wildness, and sheer cuteness reminds me of my cousin Zoey! There is never a day that I don't have a Neesy story. I can always come home and share something that she did that was hilarious! I do believe that one of my favorites is the time she pooted on Sarah's head and thought it was the funniest thing ever, or the time when she  got out of her bath and was chasing me around her yard naked, or just anything and everything she does! It is all adorable! I only wish that I could bottle half the joy and energy she has and take it for myself. When I see her all I think about is how God calls us to walk as children of light. She breaths life! I am blessed to get to love on her and watch her grow. Through all her love, joy, and energy God has taught me so much about what it means to simply love and be a light in the darkness. Thank you God for my sweet Neesy and all her innocent childish ways!

Lauren

One Love

My brother, Demar

One of my favorite things to do when I get a free moment is to play with the Jamaican kids outside. I don't care if we are running around, playing a card game, or "romping" around as they call it. Actually, I have been told many a times that I romp too much...oops. Anyway, it has become a matter of me, Sarah, and them, Demar, Kiaeem, Jordeen, Asanya, etc. hanging out and having a good time. It is not the awkward American on one side and the Jamaican on the other.  No, I would like to think I am now a part of their group. Some of the best memories I have are ones of going over to their houses and simply sitting on a bed talking about trivial things or making jokes. I call some of my closest friends here my "brothers" (which is interesting because they are eleven, just like my real brother). I can honestly say that I have grown to love my Jamaican brothers just as if they were a part of my family. I couldn't imagine life without them.

Although we still have three more weeks, my mind has been slipping to the awful, terrible, disgusting subject of...going home. I miss my American family so much, but I have grown to be so comfortable here in this beautiful community and don't want to think about going back to my old life in the USA. Which brings me to my next point... Our spiritual leader, Jim Newberry, actually prayed an amazing prayer during our retreat week that has stuck with me ever since. It went something like, "And be with our friends back in Harmons, whom we love so much. Friends who are no different from us, except they were born on the other side of the ocean". Hearing these words struck me. It made me really think about the fact that I could have just as easily been born here in Jamaica, like my new brothers. Only by God's wisdom and divine plan was I chosen to be born in Pennsylvania instead of a little village here in Jamaica. Some would say I was lucky to be born in the States. I wouldn't. I would say God had a purpose for me to be born in one country and fall in love with people in another country. He has a purpose for me spending my summer in Harmons.  I would say I am lucky to have two families; my biological family in the States and my other family here, 1500 miles from home.

With love, 

Sarah 

Murphy's Law

I have been calling this summer the summer of Murphy's Law due to all the surprises and curve balls thrown at us. It all started Saturday morning while we were on our way to Ocho Rios. We were happily on our way, some were sleeping, some were reading, some were just enjoying the ride and BOOM flop flop flop flop flop.... The bus had blown a tire. After we pulled over, our driver (aka Creamy) and some of the team changed the tire. It took about 45 minutes before we got back on the road. After that adventure everyone on the bus was wide awake and ready to get to Ochie. However there were two major detours we have to take because of road closures. We were traveling down the first one and traffic was pretty heavy because it was brand new, and the road that was closed was a major road. It didn't help that we had two tanker trucks slowly leading the way. We were crawling along at a slower and slower pace when we finally came to a complete stop. So we sat and waited for about half an hour before we saw all the drivers that had left their car to see what the holdup was sprinting down the hill to get back in their cars before traffic started to move again. The holdup ended up being the tankers blocking the road in order to make a turn. Finally we were on the move again! The rest of the day went on without any problems.

Sunday we dropped the team off said our goodbyes and drove down to get the first group of the next team. The summer staff jumped off and we waited for the first group of the next team ........................................(if the dots don't give it away, we waited for quite some time) Finally Loyd Jackson made a phone call and found out that the flight got cancelled and our group from California was still in California. The next group from Pennsylvania had a very rare holdup in customs so it took them just a bit longer to get out. We were on our way back to Harmons when all of a sudden a flash of lightning and then a giant................ Just playing, the rest of the trip went very smoothly and the team got here safely. The team from Cali got here this afternoon and the forecast the week includes rain, sunshine, and 100% chance of some changed lives.  This weekend has kept the staff on our toes constantly reminding us that none of our plans are set in stone. Part of the job is being quick on your feet and making light of bad situations. God has given us the abilities and gifts in order to do this. When problems arise we need to remember to have a God sized perspective, and trust that he knows best.

On a side note, it was exactly 1 year ago as of Sunday that I came down here for the first time. I had no idea what was coming :)

David

Jamaican Dance Lessons (Bustin' a Move)

Hello Again Everyone,

                Tonight was our Send Off night for the team, or for me my last chance each week to see the Jamaican's dance. I have made it an unsaid goal of mine to learn a Jamaican dance by the time I leave. So far this goal seems to be getting further and further from actually being achieved since I am a white boy from a small town in Texas with two left feet. I am starting to pick up bits and pieces of their style of dance, but to actually have a full dance down by the time I have left seems impossible. My friend Shakir, who I spend a lot of my time with, is a really good dancer and he is trying to teach me. Dancing is such a large part of this culture that I have found the ability to dance and dance well is an easy way to break barriers. So whether or not I get the dance down or not I will continue to try and fail because it helps me have an easy way to break through and converse with the people I spend time with.

                Once again I can't believe how fast this week has gone by. Tomorrow we leave for Ocho Rios and Sunday we pick up another team. The groups from FBC Orlando and Loudon Valley High School have been the perfect remedy to help the summer staff out of retreat week mode and back into life in Harmons.  These groups have been great about getting out and helping in the community and interacting with the Jamaican people. The summer staff has been here for a total of 48 days which feels like a long time when you look at the number, but I can't believe that we only have four weeks left here. Just thinking about that is a crazy concept to me because I still feel like I have so much more that I want to accomplish.

Thanks for Reading,

Evan Smith 

Well Hey There,

Yes it is about 1 AM here in Jamaica I am still up. As much as I wish I could go to bed right now part of my job is computer maintenance. Part of computer maintenance is updating computers. The only way we can have internet here in Harmons is via satellite. While I am very thankful we have internet satellite internet is a pain in the rear. There is a limit on how we can download in 24 hours. So we have to be extremely careful of what we look at and stuff like that. Well in order to do updates the satellite company offers a download zone between the hours of 1 AM and 6 AM. With me being the computer guy I get the fun job of staying up. I really do not mind it. I do it about once a week or so and it gives me time to reflect and look  back on the week and what all God is doing in my life.

This week team has been a great team so far. This team half of them are public high school students from VA and the other group is a group of college students from a church in Orlando FL. I love the dynamics of the college group working with the high schoolers. God has truly been in and among this team. It is so cool to see different relationships forming between the college students and high school students. The college students are able to provide a very different view point to a lot of the other students. They really work well together.

Today was a lot of fun though. This morning I went to the foundation work site. I got to work with the team which was a great time. They were really hard workers and really had a great work spirit. At lunch time I went and hung out with my mento for the afternoon. Nick is such a cool person. This afternoon we played a game called flinger? maybe... anyways it is basically extreme monkey in the middle where there is a tennis ball and two flingers throwing it back and forth. There is also 2 people in the middle. The object of the game is to hit the people in the middle with the tennis ball. After that we just hung out and talked. Overall it was a really good day.

Well that is about it for tonight until next time

Austin

Letting Go

Hey y'all!

I can't believe that retreat week is over and we are already working with our first group of the 2nd half of summer! Taking that week off was definitely needed. It was a great time to just relax, sleep, and spend some amazing quiet time with Jesus!

One of our retreat events was to go cliff jumping at Rick's Cafe in Negril. There are different planks/cliffs to jump off of all ranging from different heights. There are Jamaicans all around watching us "whities" take the plunge into the beautiful blue ocean below. Before I actually saw one of the high cliffs, I was planning on jumping off regardless of what the mature adult in me was saying, haha. However, as I stepped up onto the platform overlooking the 45 ft fall, (right after reading the sign warning us of injury and death...) I started to get that weird feeling in my stomach as I clutched the hand bars. I have been in these situations before and my normal response was to just step back and laugh it off. However, this time I wanted it to be different. So, I let go and jumped... Wow, that had to be one of the most exhilarating feelings. Just letting go of the ledge and free-falling into the ocean. The only problem was, I didn't land straight in the water.My body bent just a little bit so when I actually hit the water, it turned into a painful experience.

Despite the landing, God taught me a lesson at Rick's that day. Fear can cripple a person. It can keep us from trying new things and it can keep us locked up in this thing we call our "comfort zone". However, fear is not from God. He calls us to let go of the ledge and free fall into the unknown sometimes. We may not know what happens after we let go but we can trust that He will catch us. Sometimes we will get bruises (and won't be able to sit down in a chair), but the bruises are what helps shape us. Our story is sometimes embedded in the scars and we become stronger people because of them.

So even though I will probably NEVER go cliff jumping again, I can honestly say that this experience has helped me a little bit with overcoming the fear of just letting go and trusting that my Maker has my back.

Kells

Complete Forgiveness

Dearest followers,

Incase you haven't heard from the last two blogs, were back in "Da Bush!" aka, Harmons! This two days has probably been my favorite out of the six weeks we've been here. Being able to just go out into the community without any sense of responsibility is pretty amazing. It's what really sets this experience apart from the regular weeklong visit. Just tonight we had an amazing dinner cooked for us by a dear local Jamaican family. Getting to fellowship with the young couple and their children, seeing the smile on their baby boys face, assures me that I am right where I belong. This same moment (along with so many others this past week) made me think to myself... why me Father? Why in the heck did You choose me to come here? You created this beautiful island and paint this breathtaking sky for me every day. You, the God that made the ENTIRE UNIVERSE! Why did You choose a sinner like me? Thankfully instead of just leaving me here to wonder, my Creator let me in on a little secret a long time ago. GRACE! COMPLETE FORGIVENESS! Not only did He forgive me but then He turns around and trusts me in His mission to Jamaica!? It's crazy how this grace thing works, but its beautiful! So my principle in sharing this with you is that the next time you find yourself awestruck by where the Father has taken you, remember to shed a little grace on those around you. Well that's the next step in what God has been showing me throughout this past week. I've been given so much grace at times I didn't know what to do with it. Now I'm starting to understand....we can shed that same grace, complete forgiveness, on one another that the Father has poured out over us. To my loved ones at home, I love you and I miss you! Thank you to everyone for the love and support! :)

Be Blessed
Mel

whirlpool of DOOM

Well Ello,
Sarah already touched a bit on what we have been up to the past few days, but I wanted to share a specific story with y'all. So on Wednesday the summer staff ventured up to YS Falls. It is a beautiful waterfall with various entities to offer. At the falls you can simply marvel at the beauty, jump off a rope swing into the frigid waters below, zip line, and so on. We chose to climb them a bit and visit what I would like to call the funnel pool of doom. The staff walked along the edge of what was seeming to be a friendly little fall towards a nice looking whirl pool... This being my second summer on staff and revisiting these falls I knew it was a bit of a doozy, but little did others know this whirl pool wasn't so nice... As we approach the little pool the sheer force of the water swept me right in. I have never been so frightened in the water before. Around and around I went in the water under the not so friendly fall. I was trying to grab for anything I could. I finally made it back up for air and a good laugh! Now let me just say while I was under the water I was not enjoying it at all, but when I finally made it out it was quite the rush. I did find myself making it toward the more friendly waters afterwards. It was so fun sharing the experience of climbing on the waterfalls with the staff and jumping off. Like Sarah said this break came at a perfect time and YS Falls was the perfect ending to the break before we came back home. Later gaters!
Lauren

Our Holiday!

Well hello there! Long time, no blog! In case you were wondering why we haven't updated our blog recently, it is because we have been on a short vacation, or as the Jamaicans say, "holiday." And let me tell you, we were very ready for a break! The first 4 weeks of the summer were so awesome but we were all beginning to experience the mid-summer fatigue and frustration that comes with spending 24/7 of your summer living in community in a foreign country. So, needless to say, we were all so very thankful that Josh and Loyd had arranged for a week of retreat in a nice little hotel on the beach. We spent 3 days in Negril getting rest physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I had the chance to catch up on some lost sleep as well as meet with our spiritual director, Jim Newberry, who really helped me think about what God is showing me this summer. I loved being able to really just have 20 minutes completely to myself where I could talk to God or just simply think about the last 5 weeks. Although I was somewhat sad to leave our beach front hotel, I was so pleasantly surprised at the feeling of contentment as we finally crested the hill back into Harmons valley...Home sweet home :)

Sarah

a unique sense of community...

There have been some truly unique experiences down here this summer. Today was one of them, and one that will not soon be forgotten. On the work sites the Jamaicans will break out in song randomly throughout the day to help make a long day under the sun go by a little faster. Today they were singing Bob Marley. You might think that this is a common occurrence but NO! This was the first time that Bob had been sung at the work sites all summer so I was excited, and wanted them to sing my personal favorite "Three Little Birds." The Jamaicans started singing and I was singing along when someone at the house next door (by next door I mean 100 yards away) starting singing (by singing I mean screaming) along with them. Then the house up the hill joined in as well. Now at this time I've stopped singing, and pretty much stopped working just to take in the moment. It illustrated the sense of community down here in one beautiful instant, and one that I will never forget,"Don't worry, about a thing, cause every little thing, is going to be alright...."


David

PS- The staff will be on a retreat this week in Negril, so there will be no posts for awhile. If you don't see any posts don't worry, we are still alive. We will be back after this quick break :)