DAY 3......CRUX, BEAUTY, AND CEMENT! (2006)

This post is going to begin with last night...myself and several other team members were the recipients of a spectactular gift from God last night. I had been thinking about looking for something while I was in Jamaica. I have only seen this twice before and they were both while I was in Grand Cayman. I really wanted to get a glimpse of it while I was here. So, last night aroun 10 o'clock Jamaica time, I asked Jeff Reed to help me look for it. AND WE FOUND IT! Right outside the front door! If you're wondering what it is, it is CRUX, more commonly known as the Southern Cross. It is a star formation made famous by ship captains using it for direction. Hmmmm....using the cross for direction.... It was peeking over the mountain top big as life in front of the house we are staying at. It was just a reminder that Christ is with us ALWAYS. The rest of the team saw it tonight and were reminded the same, that Jesus' love for us is even written in the stars.

Now, as for today....

More fun with the most beautiful children you have ever seen! We also spent more intentional time investing in the teachers and they were wonderful as well. Beautiful people through and through. They were very interested in learning more about us as we are them and asked many questions. At our school in Golden Springs one of our teachers brought us two papayas from her tree. It was a very special gift and we will be eating them tomorrow for breakfast. They were also blown away to know that their pictures were on the internet and that people all over were praying for us and them.

As for work, we have come to love CEMENT! Everything is made from cement. Today, we spent some time spreading it on walls for a wall covering that will eventually be painted over. Some of the other team members spent time scraping on and in the church in preparation for a new coat of paint. It clearly had not been scraped in a long time.
We enjoyed two wonderful devotions today from Linda Creighton who spoke on 1 Corinthians 13 about love and then tonight from Jada Earl about trusting in God from Proverbs 3:5-6...you know the one....TRUST IN THE LORD! Yeah, that one.

PLEASE be in prayer for the team as tomorrow will be our last day with the children. NO ONE is looking forward to it, but we know it is coming.

And in case you were wondering how Doug and Martha celebrated their third anniversary, they did the same thing they did on their wedding day....celebrated communion. The team celebrated communion tonight Jamaican style.....with bread and coconut milk. Then we sang around the kitchen table HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD! And He truly is GREAT!

Now, on to tonight's team member posts....

Kaley Harper.....(student)
This morning when I woke up, the first thing on my mind were the children at Golden Grove. Any thought of them brings the biggest smile to my face. I was so excited when we arrived this morning and could not wait to get in the school and start singing and doing crafts with the children. There is a girl, Tashana, with whom I’ve become big buddies with. When I stepped out of the van, I turned and looked towards the school and there was Tashana running full speed ahead. Before I could think, she jumped straight into my arms with her legs wrapped around my waist and her arms around my neck…and she wasn’t planning on letting go any time soon. This not only brought a smile to my face, but tears to my eyes. It was another reaffirmation of how big of an affect we’re having on these kids. Seeing them so excited to see us gives such an amazing feeling. It’s almost an indescribable feeling that I get when I see their smiling faces. God is definitely doing some amazing things in my life, as well as in the lives of the other team members, through the work we’ve been doing and the time we’ve spent with the children. Thank you for the prayers and the comments; it’s more encouraging than you know. We love you all.

P.S. Mom, Dad, and Loren- I LOVE YOU and MISS YOU!!!!!!!!

Jandi Childs....(college student)
Wow! What an amazing adventure! As I look back on all that we’ve been through over the past couple of days, I sit here and smile and say to myself, “I would do it all over again.” God really is amazing! Working with the smaller group of children at Golden Springs has meant so much to me. Just thinking about them brings tears to my eyes right now, because tomorrow is the last day that we will get to spend time with them. I have made so many bonds with each of them through singing songs about Jesus to playing “Duck, Duck, Goose!” It was so funny – the other day one of the little boys went around and named each of us a duck and then right when he came to Linda, he said “Moose!” instead of goose! Memories such as these will forever be engraved into my heart. I have come to know their names and their smiles and I love them all. The work on the Beechamville Church is coming along great too. We’ve done a lot of paint scraping on the inside and picking up trash on the grounds. We’ve also helped with the cement process. I’d like to thank-you all for reading our postings and commenting on them. It is very much appreciated! Can’t wait to see my sweet hearts tomorrow! Lots of Love!

P.S. I’d like to give a shout out to my Life Team! I’d also like to thank all of you who have made this trip possible for me!! I love you Mama, Dad, J-d, Mariah, Austin, and Jordan! Miss you tons!