It's hard to know where to begin. I've been asked so many times since returning, "How was Jamaica?" and I can definitely answer that it was great! But, there is so much more to it than that. It was beautiful. It was hard. It was humid. It was productive. It was a change of pace. It was poverty. It was Jamaican pride. It was need. It was joy. It was enlightening.
I guess the place to start is why we went in the first place and why it is called The Two Tunics Project. In Luke, chapter 3, John the Baptist was speaking to the crowds of people coming to him to be baptized and warns them that those who are not producing good fruit will be cut down and they ask him what they should do. John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." The Bible tells us that Christ's death and resurrection took care of our debt and gives us freedom - it's not anything that we can do, but what He has already done. But, after we've recognized that, we should be growing, serving, and producing fruit within our church as well as out in the community and the world. We recognize that we are very fortunate from a global perspective and we feel a responsibility to help people, both locally and globally, who are in need. We also recognize that we need them just as much, if not more than they need us.
Pictured above is our team -- Brad, Elijah, and me, Joel and Carina, Matt, Zack, Maryellen and Matthew, and Scott. This trip was a visionary/assessment oriented trip, with a couple specific projects to start us out, to bring a group of leaders to decide if we should continue pursing this partnership and also identify areas of need and potential projects for the future to assist the church and help them reach their community. We do not want to create dependency, but rather give them skills, tools, resources, and ideas to help them build up their presence in the community and reach people more effectively. The idea is for us to send two teams a year for a set amount of time (we're starting with the idea of about 3-5 years). During this time, we would progressively work together with the church people down there to accomplish set goals in several different areas.
As of this trip, we are in agreement that this project should move forward in Darliston, Jamaica. Darliston is a small town about 1 1/2 hrs south of Montego Bay. It is in the Westmoreland parish region of the island with a population of just under 1600. It is mainly a farming community in the mountains and facing a huge problem of unemployment.
Here is Darliston Baptist Church. It was one of the few church buildings in the regi
on that is completed (it's common there for building projects to just stop when money runs out for both churches and homes especially). It was set up several decades ago by an organization that left and hasn't had any follow up as far as I'm aware, so they are a very traditional Baptist church somewhat caught in a past era. We were able to attend services on Sunday where our Outreach Pastor, Scott, spoke to the church about being culturally relevant -- an issue that our church has addressed in the last couple years especially. One way we are already helping them in this area is providing New Kings James version Bibles for them which has already been positively received by the younger and newer Christians there who were having a hard time understanding the KJV. It seems like such a small change, but it is making a huge difference.
Pastor Leroy and his family were such a joy to meet. He has an amazing 
reputation in the community. Everywhere he goes, people know him and love him regardless of the fact that most of them don't attend church. He is highly respected among his people and we saw that manifested in many different ways during the trip. He has a huge heart for God and for training leaders and the next generation. He seems thrilled to have us interested in investing in his ministry and we are looking forward to seeing how he will continue to be used by God in that region of Jamaica.
The best part for me was getting to know the people. It surprised me how in such a short amount of time how attached we got to the people we met. Having the babies there with us was a huge ice breaker and automatically gave myself and Maryellen a common bond with many people there, as well as a draw for the children (they looooved the babies!).
Let me introduce you to one of my new friends. 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. They started building a better house, but had to stop when they ran out of money. 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. I've thought of Camise often since returning and she will be someone I will look forward to catching up with if I do have the opportunity to return someday.
Well, that's a start! I have a lot more to share, and will give more details about the projects we did while we were there next. It was so cool for Brad and I to go together and to have some special time with Elijah as well. It has helped us be a team and share in this rather than for me to be an "outsider" to what Brad has experienced. The slideshow I am working on is almost finished - we have a team meeting tonight where I hope to get the last of the group's photos to include, so stay tuned!
