Two Tunics Project - Part 2

Well, it took me a lot longer than I expected, but here is the slideshow of the projects we did in Jamaica last month (If the music skips in the middle and then ends before the photos, I apologize. It was giving me trouble and I am too tired of working on it now to fix it if it isn't corrected by now!). It's hard to put into words a trip like that, and maybe that's why it is so hard for me to sit down and write about it since I wrote part 1 (besides just not having a whole lot of time since getting back). So, I will share here part of what I shared on the private blog we have for the girls in my small group and then let the pictures speak for themselves.

"Time is very different there. You don't have all of the responsibilities and tight schedules like we do here. Days were long but very full, which seems to make the days much shorter here. It was a fruitful change of pace. Our team read a great book called The Great Omission, which I had read several months before and was able to review. It will likely be a required read for anyone who goes on future trips, and I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in any kind of missions It is an amazing book and it has many underlying principles that we want to apply for these trips, but can be applied on some level to our daily interactions as well I think.

There is really too much to share in one post, so I'll just introduce you briefly to two Jamaicans at Darliston Baptist Church who touched my heart and who I will be praying for in the years to come. This is Camise. She is in 10th grade and comes from a very poor family of 15 children, of which she is the youngest. Her parents are too old to work, and she lives with them and an older sister who I think supports them. Her sister has 4 children who are divided amongst other family members, which is very common there. (We met more children living with grandmas and aunts than with their mothers I think.) Camise is going to join the army when she finishes high school. She is a hard worker and has a kind heart. She wants to be the first one in her family to be able to help her parents. She continually told us how she is struggling and hungry and needs help. I wanted to give her more, but I offered her my prayers and support, and promised to write her to encourage and pray. I know she is hurting, but God has brought her this far and He can carry her the rest of the way. I know I can remind her of that at least.

This is Kymani. He is 10 years old and was such a joy to all of us. He instantly fell in love with the babies and was so gentle and caring to them. We joked that he was our personal babysitter while we were there because he was so attentive to Elijah, who he called "Bubbie" and also his little prophet friend :). Pastor Leroy told me that Kymani is going to be a pastor someday. I truly hope that God leads him on that path because his loving, gentleheart is exactly what a pastor needs and I can see how he has potential to have a huge impact one day in the future. But I know that there are a lot of distractions that the world has to offer and so I will be praying that God protects his young heart and preserves it so that He can grow into a man who emulates Christ to his people.


Those are just two small pieces of what I took away from there. As a whole, the trip gave me a reminder of having a global perspective - that God's church is bigger than our church, bigger than our city, bigger than our state, bigger than our country. We have brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world who are working, praying, struggling, fighting the same battle. That we, in the USA, are extremely fortunate. Poverty is a word I don't think we even understand here in many ways. And that serving God is always a sacrifice in some way, but He will pour blessings over us abundantly more than we can ever expect or know when we choose give it all to Him. "

In the slideshow you will see photos from our time spent in Darliston at the church -- doing construction, meeting with the people and getting ideas from the community of the needs they have, attending services, and also in the community -- visiting 3 primary schools, setting up 8 large suitcases worth of donated computers, touring a local farm, making connections with people and places, etc. The final day we spent in Montego Bay, enjoying the beach and the beauty of the island before heading home, so I threw a few of those photos in at the end too. Enjoy!