Jamaica Journal Part 3

Thursday, Nov 12th
This morning I finished up some things for Pastor J.R. Hopefully, it will help him and the coffee business portion of City of Refuge.

Then Jen, Morgan, Jaycee and I worked on the snack I brought. We made dirt cake for the kids. This is one of the highlights of my trip. It gave me such joy to watch them eat it; it was entirely too much fun. At first I thought they might not like it; I thought it might be too sweet. But they loved it! Loved it to much I am afraid....they used their hands to scope out every last drip, licked any drips off the table, off the floor, the dirty spoon bowl, other kids cups...you name it they try to lick every last bit. Then they asked if they could have it tomorrow. I wished I had more. Who knew there could be such joy in pudding?

In the afternoon, I helped Morgan (Missionary Kid) with her homework. I actually enjoyed it. She had to write an essay on 3 Jewish festivals and how they are fulfilled in the New Testament. The funny thing is that she is only 12; but she did it and did a great job. However, her one mistake was letting my sister edit it. It was funny watching Morgan roll her eyes at my sister turning her paper into a college level essay. LOL

Then Laura, Jaycee and sorta me (probably much to Laura's dismay LOL) made an apple pie and leftover pie crust cookies. The apple pie turned out perfect much to Laura's doing and my pie crust cookies turned out good and I have proof...the very picky Levi loved them. It was fun because Jaycee had to learn to make a pie for her home economics class. It was probably interesting watching precise Laura and the not so precise me teach her, very funny. Hopefully, I didn't drive Laura too crazy.

For dinner there was fried chicken, French fries, baked beans (made with ketchup and mustard), salad and cake (they really like to make cake...cake everyday!) Apparently, their very yummy fries have a secret that I found out. They roll them in butter first and then fry them in a cast iron pan. Oh my goodness fries from heaven (or maybe not)....but they are a coronary waiting to happen. I told Slater the cook, "They are very good, but in so many ways terribly sinful." He laughed. We are going to bring him some apple pie we made. (Found out later most of the Jamaicans don't like cooked fruit and didn't care for our pie. LOL)

I then went and painted the mural wall white. Maybe, I can convince a friend of mine....Peter...to do something for those wonderful children.

We then stayed up late and talked with Yasmine. We tried to convince her to come to Michigan. We decided to take her Wal-Mart, Starbucks, bowling, roller skating and lazar tag. I hope she can come someday; it would really be a fun visit.

Friday, Nov. 13th
Jen and I woke up at 5:30, the sun wasn't even up. What is wrong with us? At 6:30 we decided to go for a walk. Of course we took more pictures and I think our picture count is near 1,000.

At 9 am we went with the team from Lancaster, PA on their fun day. We went down the mountain, through Kingston and to a boat place on the coast. We then took a very interesting boat ride over to a private island. Interesting because I didn't think the boat was going to make it. Living in Michigan and being on a lot of boats in my lifetime caused me great concern when I heard some of the noises coming from the boats engine. Somehow, I think by God's great mercy, we got to the island.

It was so much fun on the island. Our group was the only ones there. Everybody had a blast snorkeling, exploring, relaxing, sunning and swimming. Pastor Paul, one of the other missionaries, found about 30 star fish and brought them up on the shore. That was very cool!

We then went to a fantastic restaurant, Cuddy's. I had very yummy BBQ ribs and fries. Cuddy's was attached to a very small mall (5-6 stores). While we were waiting for our food, I was able to do a little souvenir shopping.

We then began our trip back up the mountain. I took some time to do some reflecting. Then at Laura's we ended the day looking at our 1,000 pictures.


Saturday, Nov. 14th
Once again Jen and I woke up early, so we decided to take one last walk. I think my soul just needed to drink in the mountain and its beauty one more time.

I watched her scale the mountain to get a photo of this one beautiful flower. That was entertaining; but, anything like that with my sister is no doubt going to be entertaining.

We said goodbye to the Bushhorn Family (missionaries). Then we journeyed down the many steps to say goodbye to the children and Yasmine. That was very hard and we only had been there a week.

I went to see baby Kamar to pray with him. I asked God to heal his heart, to bless him with a long life and full of future and a hope in Christ. I know that God will keep His promises.

We loaded up our luggage into Pastor J.R's vehicle and headed over to their home. Their house was adorable. We also saw his neighbors home which was amazing. She is a professor of architecture down in Kingston. So many more amazing flowers over at their homes too.

We then traveled down the mountain and I got a little car sick. I am glad I won't have to travel that mountain any time in the near future. We stopped at "Juicy Patties" for lunch. Their version of fast food and one I don't ever intend to try again, Blah!

We stopped at the market for some quick shopping. I was so happy to find a little steel drum for my son. Yeah!

Then came the hard part of the trip....saying goodbye. It was really hard on Jen. If she could have stayed I would be on this plane alone tonight.

Thank you Lord for this most amazing opportunity; bless the City of Refuge, its missionaries, its workers and its children. Help me to always remember them and to pray for them. I live and breath for you alone, sweet Jesus and I will...


Please, check out the City of Refuge website. You can do many things to help them. You can even sponsor a child there. Or maybe you and your church can send a team to work at the City of Refuge Content Gap, Jamaica!

Jamaica Journal Part 2

Monday, Nov 9th

My internal clock is apparently all off, I woke up at 6am and could not go back to sleep. So I got up and got ready. Jen and Laura went to school. I took a brief walk and picked a bouquet of tropical flowers. I spent most of the morning waiting for sandpaper, primer and praise God sky blue acrylic paint. While waiting, I did help Laura with her class. The class was somewhat chaotic; not because of Laura though. The children have a really hard time being in a classroom situation. Laura is doing a really good job at teaching them this, even in not the best of situations logistically. Laura is a really great kindergarten teacher. The children really love her.
It rained after lunch which means school is over. I guess the kids are really are afraid of rain, so they cancel school for it.

At 1pm, I went and sanded the wall I will be painting the mural on. Once that was done, I went for a walk down to the gate with the MK's, it was for there homeschooling gym class. There are so many beautiful flowers here. I will post a blog on just the flowers later. We then took a break, ate snacks and watched a little more Pride and Prejudice.

For dinner, we had fried fish, fried chicken, rice, baked beans, cabbage salad and cake.

Later that evening, I went and primed the wall. It has been a very full day. Oh, and I nearly fell off the mountain picking a coffee berry for Jennifer, that was pretty funny; considering they told me a few moments before to not fall off the mountain.


Tuesday, Nov. 10th

We started the day off with a morning walk. Jen and I picked a bouquet for Stephanie Rudy one of the missionary wives here. She really liked the one we picked the day before. Jen and I then went over to the toddler/baby house to check on the primer. While we were there we decided to stick around and play with the babies. Jen and I were working with one of them with their walking. He is so close and is just about ready to take off. He really likes to walk.

Jen cleaned Laura's room while I taught an art class for Laura. We have discovered that the kids behave better if we come in and just teach a lesson for Laura then to be in there all day helping. They seem to want to show off for the new people.

In the afternoon, we went to paint the blue sky of the mural. We had to stop because some of the older kids kept coming in and wanting to touch the wall. We then hung out with the MK's and had a long talk with Pastor J.R about the coffee business they do there.

After dinner, we cleaned the coffee room for him. I then went to check out the paint for the mural. I came to the conclusion the mural wasn't going to work. I am ok with it. God has other things for me to do here. My ways are not always God's ways. Besides a mural, although is nice, isn't what this place needs me to do....there is so much other work that I can now give my time to.

Yasmine came over in the evening. She made some Jamaican food for us. We had a wonderful time of laughing, sharing and talking. We then also had her do a flip flop fashion show since we brought her 7 pairs. LOL

On a side note, we saw the most beautiful rainbow I had ever seen today and I saw a shooting star. Fun!





Wednesday, Nov 11th
Jen and I spent most of the day cleaning the coffee room. We scrubbed for hours. We were finally done around 1:30pm, we started at 8am. We then watched Cassandra (aka~Jackie said with attitude) roast the coffee. Jennifer is totally into this coffee thing.

For dinner, it was Jamaican night. We had jerk chicken, festival bread, callaloo (sp?). The festival bread was my favorite. It taste like funnel cake without the powder sugar.

We then had church. The kids are so amazing. We sang some new songs that were fun to watch and sing. I posted the JOY song two posts ago; but here are some others.

Me dig a hole
Me dig a hole
Me dig a hole and put the devil in (Repeat)

God made man, man made money
He made the bees and the bees made honey
He made the devil and the devil comes in
Me dig a hole and put the devil in

(this song was very Jamaican sounding and I am still trying to figure out the theology...but it is fun)

Here is another one...

I looked down the road and I wondered
I wondered
I wondered
I looked down the road and I wondered
How far I am from God

Then I buckled up me shoes and I started to run
started to run
Then I buckled up me shoes and I started to run
and journeyed up to God

Looking down at Kingston, the lights just twinkled!

Jamaica Journal Part 1

I kept a journal while I was in Jamaica and my mom wanted me to post them here with the pictures...so here it is mom!

Friday, Nov 6th
We woke up very early, 4:30am, and started our journey to Jamaica. We had all our luggage packed in the van the night before and Jen's friend, Nicole, drove us to the airport. I was tired but yet very excited about the trip.

At the airport we checked in our large suitcases. We weighed them very well at the house, 230lbs. I was very proud of our packing skills. I didn't want to pay extra for any of them. While waiting we met two girls, Lisa and Renee. We found out that they were on their way to the Dominican Republic to do a mission trip there. It was very nice talking with them. They will also be on our plane on the way back.
We had a lay over in Miami. It was long and boring.



It was so cool flying into Jamaica! The airport is of the coast line. Laura and the one of the missionaries, Pastor J.R. were there waiting for us. They took us to the grocery store, where we got our food for the week. J.R was so gracious for waiting for us women. LOL Then began the drive up the mountain. It was scary!!



I mean really SCARY, SCARY, SCARY! I am glad to stay up here until we leave and was pleased that it was dark. I think on the way down I will just close my eyes.


That night we watched Laura get all the things we brought her. It was so much fun and a little like Christmas!


Saturday, Nov 7th
I woke up anxious to see outside, but took a shower and got ready before venturing out on the mountain. We had yummy papaya scones, which I would like to have again someday.
We went outside and sat on the lovely red garden chairs and ate our breakfast. We were engulfed by the gorgeous Blue Mountains and a fresh breeze unlike any smell I have ever experienced. What a wonderful start to the day.

Laura then took us on a tour of the grounds. She took us to the girl’s home where we found them doing their chores. They wanted us to take their picture of them washing their socks. It was very funny! We then went over to the toddlers and baby home. They were playing in the yard and the girls were getting their hair done.

I saw a little baby boy falling asleep in his walker and could not resist the urge to pick him up and hold him. He is 10 months old; but about the size of a 2 month old. I fought back many tears as we went through the home. There were so many children. I wanted to hold and hug all of them. They loved showing us around and were very interested in us. I am so thankful for the missionaries Steve and Kim Puffpaff and the blessing they are to these children.

After making a few paper airplanes with the children, we pulled away and toured the rest of the City of Refuge. We checked out the coffee drying tables. We visited the many chickens. I liked making chicken sounds that made all the roosters upset. It was pretty funny listening to their distress of my noises.

We took a long way back up to Laura's apartment. We enjoyed all the beautiful flowers and gorgeous scenery. We had a delightful lunch and then settled in for a quite time watching Pride and Prejudice, but it didn't last too long because soon all the missionary kids (MK's) showed up. Which we didn't mind the interruption because they are just about the best kids ever.

We then went on a hike with the MK's. We then headed up to the cafeteria were we had dinner and met the team that came in today from PA. For dinner we had curry chicken, rice, cabbage and cucumber salad and cake. We then checked our facebooks, watched lightening in the distance and went to bed.

Some funny changes in words there...
we say...
candy they say sweeties
buddy they don't say it is a bad word to them
snowmen one kid in Laura's class called him a snow boy
pastries they say baking’s
flip flops they say slippers

Sunday, Nov 8th
Today, we had church. We spent most of the morning getting ready and eating breakfast outside. Church was amazing. We had worship and it was fun to see the kids dancing around, clapping and lifting their hands in praise to God! They then had testimony time. One little boy's testimony was that he was thankful that he had a future and a hope. That really touched my heart. I am feeling like I am holding back tears all the time here.

We had dinner with the team from PA and the missionaries. It was so good. We had BBQ beef and chicken, brown rice, cabbage salad and cake. The cooks BBQ sauce was so good. She said she made it with the drippings of the meat, Ketchup, soy sauce and honey. Oooooooh so good!

I helped finish up some bags we made for the children. They are going to use them for stockings for Christmas. I did some art things for Laura's class tomorrow and started the mural. I had some trouble with the mural. It looks like I have to sand it and then prime it tomorrow because it is oil base. I got some work ahead of me.

We finished the day with hot dogs and some computer time. LOL

JOY

Here is a song I learned from the kids at the City of Refuge sang. I loved it so much I thought I would share it here....

J-O-Y, Joy
Joy in the Holy Ghost!
J-O-Y, Joy
Joy in the Lord!

Don't let nobody steal your Joy!
Don't let nobody steal your Joy!
Don't let nobody steal your Joy!
Joy in the Lord!

Reflections from the Mountian

All week, I have been asking God to speak to me. He has shown me so many things here that it is hard to narrow it down to one thing here.



However, this morning God showed me something through the coffee that is growing in abudance all around the City of Refuge. Not only are the missionaries running a children's home but they are also building a coffee business. Apparently, Blue Mountian coffee is pretty good stuff and pretty rare. I had a sip and it taste like regular old coffee to me. I do not drink coffee so what do I know.

The coffee berry goes through an amazing process before it ends up in a fancy coffee mug. It is picked, de-berried (there is a better word for it but I can't think of it at the moment), dried, raked, carried up to the roasting room, roasted, sealed, shipped and brewed before it hits the mouth of the drinker. The Lord began to show me that our lives are much like the process....



When we come to Christ we are plucked out of sin. The old flesh is removed and the process of becoming like the expensive bean begins. He dries up and rakes out all the things that are not of Him. Then he uses others to help us on the journey to place that when we are tested by fire we are not destroyed. When we go through those testing times, being tried by fire, God is purifying us even further. He removes even more that is not glorifying to Him. When we leave this earth, we are sealed and we are sent to be with Him where our lives become a sweet aroma to Him.



Thank you Lord for the process, because as I go through the process I know that I am becoming pleasing and valuable to Him. Sometimes, it can be hard and very unpleasant....but it is all to glorify Him.



I have enjoyed my time up here so much. I am truly having an "Up on the Mountian" time spiritually. But I know I can not stay up here forever. But for these last few moments, I am going to drink in this mountian one more time and....

City of Refuge!

Who knew they would have wireless up here on the mountian?!

We flew into Jamaica on Friday. Laura was at the airport to greet us with Pastor JR. Then we began the drive up the mountian. Let's just say it was very frightening. I think MDOT should come up here. I would be thankful to see yellow cones on this road. I am not really looking forward to the trip back down. Yikes!

We are on the top of a mountian and it is so beautiful. The smell up here is like nothing I have ever expierenced before in my life. All I can say is that it smells so fresh. I have to take my allergy meds. here though. I am glad I bought them at the last minute.

The kids are amazing. I really just want to hug them all. I don't know how Laura doesn't cry for them everyday. The children are truly blessed to have such a wonderful and beautiful place to live. But they are even more blessed because of the great love of the missionaries and workers here. All I can say is that it is simply amazing.

Pastor J. R. said, "If you can't hear God up here then you are deaf"! There is nothing more true than that! For this week I am up on the mountian and letting God just speak to me and bless me. How cool is that!