A Kid's Life - Amy Hammond - DAY 11

It's our second Monday in Jamaica and our first day of VBS in Montego Bay. We felt spoiled....no more leaving 2 hours early so we can pick up 200+ kids....no more traveling 20 minutes to the building....no more yelling the bible lesson because we're up against the main road....no more 7:30am breakfasts. We're blessed to meet in the neighborhood of Paradise (don't get any grand ideas) and we assemble in their primary school building. Nursery, Primary, and Middle School each get a classroom while the High School and Ladies Class meet under large shade trees. Before we got started this morning, I met up with Leighton. This familiar face caught my attention two years ago when he had the happiest, most energetic, lively singing face of the entire group. We hugged and were excited to pick up where we left off....what new VBS song will you teach me this year, I asked. Then we started talking about his life and family. He lives in the neighborhood of Granville. Our bus that picks up kids only took two adult men to that part of town this morning. It is a rough area and not always safe, I heard. So I asked Leighton how it had been around home. A lot better, he replied, and peaceful. It used to not be, I asked. He said, no, but now I can walk around at night. He explained that last year he was not able to go outside his house after dark. I asked him why had it gotten better: did people just start acting differently or did some move away. They had moved away. What did these bad people do? They messed around with guns, he said. I asked if he knew anyone who had gotten hurt or killed. Without hesitation, Plenty, he said. And this is his reality. It's not how it should be for a bright, kind, fun-loving 14-year old kid. At night you shouldn't become scared, worried, and a prisoner in your own home. During bible class today, we posed the question, How could you respond if someone hits you. Beat them up, was the first shared answer. Would my 11 year old have had that on his list of possible replies? No, it's a hard life here and these children are overcoming mounds of obstacles. Pray for their hearts and souls, please. We had our 8th evening worship service tonight. Another night filled with Christians from different parts of the globe, sharing in the one true gospel of Jesus Christ. Another perfect day.

God's Presence -Carly Inghram - DAY 13

To see Gods presence in each moment is to have joy and peace abounding. Today, I saw this evidenced. I saw God in the sweet melodies of children singing "my my my my my my my my my my Lord is sweet".  God's presence in provision, keeping us safe and in good health (despite a scare). God in the ignited interest of Hindus to Chrisitanity. God in prayer, that we may rest in his presence at all times. God in thought provoking conversations with my new Jamaican friend Rene. God in the laughter brought on by the antics of Elnel, a girl in the VBS nursery. God in love, shown and received. Thanking God for another blessed day in Jamaica, and that in His presence we can be completely satisfied.

Truly Helping - Holly Baker - DAY 12

Today we had many more students at VBS than our first day in Mobay. I helped in the nursery class, and a middle school student walked in and handed me a one year old baby. The mother wasn't there. Most American children would be uneasy being handed to a stranger, but these children are very used to being shuffled around. This girl was really sweet and complacent, and I held her for most of the morning. It really breaks my heart to see all of the children starving for attention. Fathers are nonexistent, and mothers are too overwhelmed and frustrated in their current situations. My impression of Jamaica is that the situation here is not unlike other situations in the world. I have never been in a third world country, but I have been in poor areas of the US, and it is the same. People need helped, and it is difficult to help them. You cannot hand money to most people in need. They have not been taught humility and gratitude, and it is very very overwhelming. Many Americans have dumped money into programs in the US and elsewhere, and this is an easy way for people to feel that they are doing good. While donating money can make a difference, the recipients of these social programs often do not need to change. Without being taught, they will continue to remain in the same cycle of sin. In order to help someone we must donate our time in order to really get to know the individual. We often avoid spending our time for various reasons--we are too busy or we do not want to get hurt are the most popular excuses. God calls us to love, and we as Americans stay busy "loving" those people who are in a similar social status as us. Everyone on this trip has made a large sacrifice in order to reach outside ourselves and help in Jamaica. It is my prayer that when we go home we will continue to help. We must be workers for the Lord and maybe give up some of the activities that consume our time in order to get to know people and make a difference. Tonight we sang "Our God, He is Alive" at our worship services. I have sung that song in many different venues with many different Christians. It reminds me that all over the world there are groups of Christians striving to do what is right. It is a very powerful reminder. We are all fundamentally the same, and we all need God.

A Little Girl Named Sabrina... by Sarah Lyon

Sabrina Beckford is a little girl I've known since before she was born. At 8 years old, she is an endless bundle of energy with an insatiable vigor for life. Sabrina's mother abandoned her when she was but 5 1/2 months old, and she has been raised by her father, Jude, and his family. Wednesday afternoon Sabrina came back to our room after VBS to spend time with us and play with my little girl, Sophie. She complained of a headache, and within less than 5 minutes, she was crying and shivering on the bed. Her temperature had skyrocketed and it looked as if she was coming down with the flu. Amy packed up her belongings and carried her downstairs into Burt's van so that I could help get her home. I cradled her barefoot, feverish body in my lap as we maneuvered the potholes that occupy the streets here. Not half a mile down the road and we had to pull over because she was sick. When I carried her back into the bus the tears were streaming down her face and she was mumbling something I couldn't quite understand, so I asked her to speak up. 'I won't get to go to church tonight.' In the midst of a spiked fever, stomach virus, and the chills, the only thing on her mind was missing church that evening and VBS the following day. As we pulled up to her grandparents' house and I carried her into the room she shares with her cousin and grandfather, I laid her limp body down and kissed her forehead. The day was scorching hot. There is no a/c, and there were no fans. The air was stale, stagnant and suffocatingly hot in there, and again all she mumbled was 'I want to go to church tonight'. Oh, to have the perspective of that 8 year old girl. I fought the tears as I quietly stepped back into the van. She cared nothing about herself or her current state of physical misery. She focused not on the simple accommodations where she stays most of the time. There were no popsicles to cool her off, no pedialyte, gatorade, or saltine crackers, no movies to get her mind off of her discomfort or mother nearby to feed her ice chips - and still all she cared about was being around God's people. Moments like these are abundant here. Moments that jolt me and keep me grounded. Moments that urge me to take the focus off myself in the midst of a world that is obsessed with itself. Friends are often surprised and speak of how committed we must be for going to more than one church service each week. In truth it is hardly a commitment. I give a few hours out of my week - Christ was committed to the point of death. There are also those who speak of how uncomfortable it must be to spend two weeks here each summer laboring in the heat; and while these days are long and the work is challenging, it is hardly a sacrifice. Christ endured more discomfort than I will ever know in order for me to have the chance of Heaven. My life is not about me. It is not about how many material possessions I can collect, or my perpetual happiness. My life is about serving others just as Christ did. I pray that even when life gets rocky or my present situation is not ideal, that I will hold the same attitude that sweet Sabrina did and remember that there are far more important things to focus on than the wellbeing of Sarah Lyon. There are a million reasons I make the journey to Jamaica each summer. Yes, I come to teach the children, but as is the case each year, the children always teach me far more.

Reflections from Esther C. - DAY 8

Friday was a super busy day. Planning to get up at 6:30 for an early morning walk to the market and to see the ocean can be rough when you stayed up till 2:00am packing for the move from Sav to Mo Bay. Fortunately (or not ) I was woken up by some tapping noise at 5:50 AM. So getting up and wandering downstairs at 6:15 to see if anyone else was around I went in to the lobby of the hotel to try and find internet access. When I opened the door, I saw 3 of the hotel workers we had all come to know praying as they had a morning devotion. Before I could sneak out quietly, the grounds keeper Jeremiah invited me to join them in prayer. After we finished praying we spoke for a few moments before the others going out joined us in the lobby and we headed out for our outing. The trip to the market was pretty uneventful until some strange wild-haired Jamaican on a bike with a rubber glove on his hand was trying to converse with us as one of the vendors at the market told him to leave us alone. He started to curse and hexed us and hoped that all the Americans would get a blood clot in their brain and die. (I wasn't too concerned about it till I was ready to go to sleep with a little bit of a headache but I'm okay) After rushing through breakfast once again, we packed up and piled into the vans to start our journey across the island to Alligator Pond (no there are no alligators in Jamaica) to visit Mahlon. He is a quadriplegic whose wife left him three years ago, and there is no church or Christians close to where he lives. After driving two hours and then procuring KFC which just so happens to be Mahlon's favorite, we continued on our journey. When we arrived at Mahlon's house, we visited with him, had lunch, then gathered around his bed to sing and have a devotion. Mahlon is so happy to see us and seems very at peace with his situation which for many of us is difficult to see and even comprehend the life he has lost and now leads. I have a good friend who is 46 that is in the final stages of MS and is now preparing his family for his death. I have spoken with him several times about the anger and bitterness that he has dealt with. So, seeing Mahlon dealing with the same types of issues that keep you from having the life you thought you were going to have and that sometimes you ask God 'why is this happening to me' really hit me during our visit and I had to leave the room so that I could hide the sadness that hit me. As the van was loading to leave, I went to tell Mahlon good-bye and let him know how his spirit of peace that he shows encourages me and helps me to remember that this is not our final home and we have a much better destiny awaiting us. After almost a 3 hour drive over the mountains and thru the woods (or bamboo forest) we finally arrived at the YMCA for our worship meeting at 7 pm in Mo Bay then another late dinner. We finally made it to our final destination and the squeezing in of 33 people into a 25 person accommodations...but truly this is one definite way of promoting the Christian closeness we all try to have (big smile). I will be leaving on Sunday morning to return to my normal life and will definitely miss this group of amazing people, some of whom I may never see in this life again-But I am truly looking forward to an eternal life with God and the people I have met here and come to love deeply.