Already August

 My 9 days in Jamaica seemed to fly by.  They were days filled with hard work, heat, laughter, long van rides, lots of food, good conversation, smiles from adorable dark faces, long walks to bathrooms and a wonderfully air conditioned room to lay my head down at the end.

 Our team of 10, 5 adults and 5 teens, arrived at Mitchell Town Methodist church ready to serve.  We were ready to build but first we needed to pick up rocks while we waited for the supplies to arrive.

 It didn't take the kids of Mitchell Town to enter into our hearts.  They were hungry for our attention, our time, our hugs, and our candy.  We were blessed to spend 3 afternoons with them during VBS.  For a church with a membership of only 12, we faithfully had around 30 kids every afternoon.  Even when it wasn't time for VBS or even when VBS was over, as we always greeted by these wonderful children.

I was struck by the simple beauty of Jamaica.  It seemed as if lots of the teens and adults had cell phones with internet access but yet their broom was a simple one made of straw.  A sweet woman from the church cut the grass of the church yard with a machetii while the young people gathered around a laptop to watch a video.

 

 We worked under the direction of a local foreman and his work crew to complete this cinder block structure.  We worked until we ran out of money to buy supplies.  The work we started will someday be completed.  Someday soon, the members of Mitchell Town will have bathrooms to use when they fellowship. 

It didn't take long for this young man to gain access to all of our hearts.  It was obvious that he had a severe lazy eye.  It was apparent that he didn't have the confidence that we saw in the other children; it was apparent that his pants didn't fit.  It was most obvious that he didn't own any shoes and therefore couldn't participate in VBS until he found some.  It was a no brainer for my team mate to offer him her pink flip flops so that he could join the rest of his peers in side the sanctuary.

 Jamaica is a beautiful country with beautiful people. My time there will not soon be forgotten.