Sunday, April 5, 2009

Home from Jamaica...(I miss the sunshine!)

We are home from Jamaica and had an amazing trip! We returned Saturday, March 14th after as good of a Jamaica trip as I can remember. Here are some of the highlights:

We got to build a house for a single mother of 5 children that had been living in a tiny shack that was smaller than the dorm room I lived in my freshmen year. It was an amazing experience as the mother and children were with us the whole week as we were working. Getting to bless this family was one of the major highlights of my week. At the end of the week, we had a big dedication of the house as we handed the keys to the mother. I had the joy of praying for the family and the house, and I started crying! In front of 80 people!! I hate crying!!! But it was a really great experience and something I'm sure none of us will ever forget.

Another highlight was getting to spend time at an orphanage for abandoned and disabled children. It was very eye opening getting to be with these children and see the poverty they live in. Many of the freshmen had life-changing experiences at these infirmaries and orphanages as they experienced things they hadn't seen before. We are so shielded in America from the things going on in the world around us that we often have no idea what poverty even looks like. Unfortunately our culture has been gripped with a materialistic obsession that is unheard of in places like Jamaica. I think a lot of the freshmen were blown away by the hurt and pain they saw in the eyes of these children. They did an amazing job of sharing the love of Jesus Christ with these kids for the short time we were there.

We also visited another infirmary, built a roof for a church, poured cement, built a new fence, and a few other things to bless the people of Jamaica and share the love of Jesus Christ with them. One of the greatest outcomes of the trip was the community we experienced on the team. We had 50 students with us in Montego Bay (the other 40 were in Mandeville) and these students left the trip as best friends. Since we've been home, it seems like they're going out to dinner every other day! It was also amazing seeing all that the Lord did in all of their lives. So many of these students came on this trip unsure of what their relationship with the Lord looked like, and they are coming home on fire for Jesus Christ, ready to serve Him and love Him with their entire lives. This is why I do what I do! What a blessing to see the Lord move in such mighty ways in these students lives!

Of course, we also found some time to have a little fun. We visited Dunn's River Falls, which is a giant waterfall that you can climb up. No one got hurt, everyone made it out alive, and they had a great time. Success!

Overall, I was blown away by the goodness of the Lord. He took care of every detail of the trip and blessed in ways we couldn't have imagined. Thank you so much for all of your prayers! God bless!