Jamaica

Wow wow wow! It has truly been a blessed time here in Jamaica. As we have finished up our time we cannot help seeing God’s hand with us on this entire trip. The Lord has continued to remind us that he has always had a plan for us here.

Yesterday we completed our final day of ministry. So today we had the opportunity to spend the day exploring the beautiful country of Jamaica. We started the morning by saying goodbye to all the wonderful people we have met at Noah’s Ark. Leaving the kids we have gotten so close to over tue last ten days was difficult. We realized how close we had become and how many memories we had already formed.

We then went to Dolphins Cove. Students had the opportunity to swim with dolphins, hike, kayak, and so much more. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and ended with our final time of chapel. Each student drew a name out of a bag and wrote a letter to that person. We want to say a big thank you to everyone who prayed, gave, and supported us! Tomorrow we head back to California, please join us in praying for travel ease!

Today was amazing as we completed our last day of ministry work. I am super proud of all of our students, they have been working very hard. We have seen the children’s home that we have been at transformed and come back to working condition because of the work of our students.

Today we did our last VBS (Vacation Bible School) and it was one of our biggest this whole trip. There were so many kids that came from the community and the children’s home. While talking to a student today as we were cleaning up. I asked him what is a takeaway from the trip so far? He said I want to show Fresno the same God that has set our hearts on fire for Jamaica. And I reminded him this God doesn’t leave him but goes with us back to California. Today the resounding theme was students want the fire that’s been started in their hearts to continue to burn.

Proud is an understatement that all of us leaders are feeling as we watch these students take big steps out of their comfort zones and grow in what God is leading them to do! 

After a nice sprinkling of rain this morning, we knew God was clearing out our path for the day ahead. The teams had another amazing day of VBS (Vacation Bible School). Our very own LocoLisha made her way to Jamaica as well and the kids have loved her and looked forward to seeing her at VBS! It has been so encouraging to watch our students leading the Bible stories and having the kids assist in telling the stories.  Our crafts for each day have been specifically set to coincide with the lesson and the smiles on the kids faces as they choose a student to partner with, has been incredible to see!

Our teams finished our day with continuing our service projects at the children’s home and Hague Elementary School, a fantastic chapel and some delicious dinner. 

We’ve had some team members come down with some different tummy issues and headaches, but when I tell you that their desire to keep working is so strong, we as leaders have to force them to stop and rest. With as much as these students have embraced flexibility during this trip, we want to finish strong. Please continue to join us in prayer for health, energy and strength as we go into our last day of ministry. 

*Parents… if your kiddos give you any push back about chores, yard work, dishes, etc. Don’t let them fool you! They have all being doing all of those things and more!*

Our team was ready and fired up for another week of ministry here in Jamaica.

We started off the day of ministry going back to our VBS (Vacation Bible School)  locations where the students led strong in VBS with their bible story, memory verse, games and craft; encouraging and engaging with the kids in the surrounding communities.

After lunch, we split up to conquer some campus beautification work at Noah’s Ark Children’s Home and the nearby Primary School Campus. There were some challenges including working in the mud and some people dealing with the forces of nature in Jamaica’s jungle landscape. But no hard work comes without a few bandages being used.

Praise be to God that everyone has had a great attitude and all of the students are working with such determination to help pour out God’s love into this country and the people around them.

I am proud of every student for their willingness to go forth and conquer in every opportunity to either bring a smile to a kid or to shovel dirt and mud. It is an honor and a privilege to be a leader on this trip.

We are all pumped to take on these remaining 2 days of serving.

Today our group was invited to Abundant Life Church’s Sunday service. Our students were given the opportunity to lead worship and share their testimonies.
 The one word we’ve gone by is flexibility and our students displayed this during service as our students took lead in prayer for the younger generation attending the church.

After our church service we got the opportunity to visit an infirmary where God was truly present in prayer, scripture, and song. The students got to see the struggles others go through, yet find joy even in their situation because of their love for Christ. The students didn’t skip a beat and started building relationships with the individuals there. They broke out in song for them, preached the gospel, and prayed for miracles.

Tomorrow we will continue our VBS (Vacation Bible School) for the community, so stay tuned!

“Not a fun day but a love day!” -Mr. Dillion
Teams went out into the community to invite the local kids to come hang out with us. We talked to several people.

Though our day was jam packed with fun it was overflowing with love. The students took Mr. Dillion’s words to heart. They danced with the kids, played soccer and many games of Uno. Chalk art filled the driveway of the Marthe Brae Baptist Mission Church where we held our community event. 
Relationships have been formed with the boys from Noah’s Arc. They have joined us for our morning devotion and evening worship and word. 

After dinner we had a special surprise for our teams. We headed to a local beach spot and the kids were allowed to go night swimming. Such a fun experience. Tomorrow we are headed to the church we have been serving at for Sunday services. Please continue to pray that God will use us in a mighty way. We love you!

For our second full day in Jamaica, our team was up bright and early once again, with hearts eager to serve. After sharing breakfast together and applying generous amounts of sunscreen, our team broke up into two teams and hit the roads for some VBS (Vacation Bible School). Each lesson plan consisted of singing songs, memorizing a Bible verse, skits, crafts and games. This was an amazing opportunity to love on kids all while sharing the Gospel and teaching them more about Jesus. The teams reconvened for lunch before splitting up again to partake in different service projects.

One team continued their disaster relief work for Noah’s Ark where they finished cleaning a church, and helped with landscaping and painting. The other team was able to complete a landscaping project for one of the local churches. After a long, hot day of vigorous work, the teams came together and finished the night with dinner, chapel and the celebration of one of the student’s birthdays. It was another great day of serving and the entire team is excited to continue serving the people of Jamaica. Thank you for all your prayers and support.

What an amazing day we had to officially start our ministry time in Jamaica. Before we even left Fresno, we impressed upon the kids the need to be flexible, that plans can change at a moments notice. Well, as you could have guessed in true prophetic form, we pivoted bright and early on day one and these kids were amazing! They eagerly jumped right in and had great attitudes!

Our team split  this morning to divide and conquer with one group setting out to invite the neighborhood kids to our VBS moment tomorrow; while the other group shifted plans to actually put on a VBS for a group of kids at one of our partner churches. Both groups had great success and we are expectantly excited to see even more kids tomorrow!

After an amazing meal with our host team at Noah’s Ark, we headed back to work! The recent hurricane created quite a mess, flooding the chapel at Noah’s Ark with about  a foot of water. Their once white tile floor had turned a very dingy brown. Our team set to work cleaning out debris, repairing rotted wood, and mopping and scrubbing determined to return the shine to the floor…and boy did they! Our other team set back out to Abundant Life Church to assist with some landscaping needs. The driveway up to their property was in desperate need for a facelift as it was filled with rock, weeds and other debris. We set to work pulling weeds and removing the rock and cinder block. While that was happening, the team also moved bucket after bucket of dirt as we set out to level the ditch the weeds had previously occupied. Pastor Hinse informed us his plan was to seed the area with grass and invited us back in the future to witness the fruits of our labor.

As we closed out our evening with devo and a time of prayer, I found myself reflecting on the fact that I can’t recall a time where I’ve had to tell my team to slow down and pace themselves like I did today. These kids are hungry to serve and I for one, cannot wait to see what God has in store for each and every one of them as we continue to serve the beautiful people of Jamaica!

After a whole night of traveling, we are here in Jamaica! We arrived at about 1pm and since then have been getting situated, meeting some of the people we will be working closely with at Noah’s Ark and have eaten dinner! Even though we’ve only been here a few hours we have already gotten to experience some of the things here in Jamaica like “juice patties” that are very savory and super yummy, traditional Jamaican dinners and the humidity. So we are absolutely being sure to drink our water! For the rest of the evening we will be meeting as a team getting ready for the next days of ministry and will start our day tomorrow at 6:45am! Please be praying for the team as we go out into the city and serve alongside Noah’s Ark! Thank you so much for supporting us!

Today we departed for our Global Outreach Trip to Jamaica. We are taking 44 people to Martha Brae where we will be partnering with Noah’s Ark Children’s home. We leave with great excitement as we believe that God is going to do truly mighty work through us and in us. Through the last several months we have prepared and prayed for this moment.
 
Please pray for us for travel mercies. Pray that we would be able to serve with willing hearts and make wonderful connections with the people in Jamaica!