We had an amazing week serving our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ here in Jamaica. Feeling the effects, somewhat exhausted and spiritually excited, we’re ready to get back to our loved ones. We leave Jamaica at 2:55 pm and land in Detroit at 10:14 pm. See you at the airport.
Today was our final full day. We headed out at 9 am for Ocho Rios to climb the falls at Dunn’s River Falls. It was an amazing refreshing adventure. Many ascended the falls numerous times and explored different routes to the top. After the falls we headed down the road a few kilometers to the city; we grabbed lunch (seeing many run to Burger King) and shoped at the local open air market. After a two hour bus ride home we watched the sun set and had pizza for dinner. Group devotions are at 9 pm followed by what will surely be a late night of reminiscing.
We spent our last day of ministry at SOS Children’s Home. We led a group of students through worship songs and performed our devotional skits for them before heading out into the sun for some futball (soccer) and “NFL” (American Football). It was a blast to hang out with the kids, and some current and former cheerleaders taught the girls a couple of SCS favorite cheers. All the Jamaican girls loved learning them and taught our students some Jamaican cheers in return.
The coolest part of the visit happened when our students presented the gospel to the kids with whom they spent time. We encouraged our students to make the most of this last ministry day by stepping out boldly to share their faith, and our students responded to the challenge without hesitation. It was amazing to look all over the play area and see SCS students sharing the gospel, answering questions about faith, and inviting kids to place their faith in Jesus.
What’s BC? No, not Before Christ…these initials represent what we did today and where we served.
BC 1: Baby Care! Half of our team returned to Blossom Gardens orphanage to share Christ’s love with the children and provide support to the orphanage staff. We got to lead games with the older kids, helped serve lunch, and were able to take the infants for walks around the grounds. Even though it was tough to leave the kids at the end of our time, it was such a blessing to us for God to use us as messengers of Christ’s joy and love.
BC 2: Bible College! After lunch we went to Fairview Baptist Bible College where we helped with a few construction projects and sampled some local Jamaican delicacies with a few college students. The college is in an expansion phase, so it was great to help them increase their capacity to train up biblical leadership. We finished our time at Fairview by supporting the SCS soccer mission team with prayers and encouraging words as they began their final day of camp. It was cool to have a few moments as a whole team before we moved on to our next event for the day.
BC 3: Beach Clean-up! the aftermath of last night’s Jamaica Day celebrations left quite a mess on the beach, so we decided to help restore the beautiful surroundings and be good stewards of what’s been entrusted to us this week by cleaning up the beach front…and dipping our toes in the water a time or two for good measure. 
Our last event tonight was attending service at Family Church on the Rock. The congregation was so very welcoming, and we were so uplifted by Pastor Keane’s message. To make a great night even better….they had cake! Our students love cake, so this extra little treat was the perfect touch of Christian hospitality we needed to refresh ourselves after a long day of meaningful ministry.
Isaiah 35:5-6a “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.”
Today we spent the whole day at West Haven Children’s Home and ministered to 75 or so special needs residents. It was an opportunity to share the love of Jesus and remain present to those who needed to be shown care. Since many of the residents suffered from severe physical and mental challenges, and many on our team were inexperienced regarding ministering to the developmentally disabled, this ministry site gave us the chance to trust God in new ways. Our students responded to this unique ministry situation by trusting God’s direction, by boldly jumping in to lend a hand, and by choosing to be active in living out the Gospel truth. At the end of the day there was a general feeling of awe and feeling overwhelmed with gratitude for how God has blessed every person on the team. Most were amazed by how much God used them in the lives of others. We ended the day with an outing to Glistening Waters restaurant and boat tours where we got to experience the world famous bioluminescent lagoon at Falmouth.
Today the team led devotionals at neighborhood schools, and our students had a great time connecting with students and sharing the gospel with them using our Gospel Bracelet tool. It was incredible to minister to neighborhood youth, and WE were blessed by the Jamaican students’ songs, prayers, and welcoming hearts.
We spent most of our day at Jamaica Christian School for the Deaf (JCSD) and partnered with their ministry by painting newly installed playground equipment. We learned a few essential signs so that we could connect with the kids, we played games with the students, and we had a blast joining JCSD’s Jamaica Day celebration. It was a deeply powerful encounter for both JCSD and SCS, and our students ended the day dreaming of opportunities for future partnership.
The morning started off with an early wake up call and breakfast. After the dishes were washed and put away we headed off to two different public schools to share the gospel. Teams lead songs and preformed their skits. What they had been working on for so many months was now a reality. After the schools half the team went to Blossom Gardens Orphanage where they helped care for infants and toddlers. Leaving was hard for many and a desire to return was felt throughout the team. The half that didn’t go to Blossom Gardens rolled up their sleeves and got down to some work. Individuals painted, cleaned screens and picked up trash from the public beach. After a hot day of work a little beach time and some shopping was the order of the day. The evening came to an end with a delicious dinner of fried chicken and rice and evening devotions.
Hannah, is the bill for our lunches for the week really $16,565.55? (That’s $347.00 in US)
We’re all very excited to go and minister for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
