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