Jamaican morning! Steven Hotze shared the
morning devotional from Psalms 100 in the
message which begins....on your feet now
applaud God. After another walk up the hill,
which seems to be getting easier, we arrived
at the church & school. For VBS, we led the
children in making turtles out of plastic
bowls. It wasn't long before many of them
were wearing them as hats! We explained how
Gods love is like a turtle shell and that we
are never without it!
After VBS, we continued working & painting.
Lots of Painting!!!! Knowing that Easter
Sunday is coming is more than enough
motivation to make the church to look as
beautiful as possible. The return walk home
was filled with reflection's on what God has
done & friendly waves & smiles from our
neighbors.
For dinner we had a special treat - some of
our new friends ate supper with us and then
stayed for singing & the evening devotion.
It was "INCREDIBLE".
A theme that has emerged is "NEVER THE SAME"
and each day we have more & more experiences
that will truly leave each of us "NEVER THE
SAME".
Wednesday - Children, worshipping, stickers &
cement
The usual....breakfast....the walk..... &
daily preparations. This morning however, we
received a special treat - approximately 125
of the children gathered together and sang
worship songs before school, they then read
responsibly from scripture. It was a
powerful experience for the team. For VBS,
the craft included stickers & making a
stained glass cross. I will never forget the
sight of Mark Redd standing with his arms
over his head giving out stickers while 25
children surrounded him - "Good Times"!
Work included more painting and
finally....."CEMENT". We are pouring a
handicap ramp and a long length of stairs.
All the cement is mixed by hand and delivered
by buckets. In the mean time Mark Redd has
been wiring a building to be used as a
kitchenette. Work is going great, we will
post pictures when we return home.
Unfortunately our technology does not allow
it at this time.
The evening was another amazing God
experience. More guest for dinner & worship.
Morgan Dyson reminded us we need to stay
connected to the vine....which is Jesus.
We will be traveling to Ocho Rios on
Thursday, can't wait to tell you all about
it. Keep the comments coming - they mean
more than you will ever know!!! Your prayers
are felt & truly empower the team! Please
read from 2 team members! Team Jamaica. PS.
Happy Anniversary Doug!
Kelli Richard (Student)
So what a great day Monday was!!! The clouds
have cleared, revealing sunny blue sky's to
background these fabulous Jamaican Mountains!
Even better it was breezy day so even though
the sun was hot we were comfortable. With
the exception of a few doors, the interior of
Bensonton UMC has been completely repainted.
The children we host VBS for seemed to love
us more & more. We taught them like a turtle
shell God is always with us and always
protects us! They made some awfully cute
turtles out of styrofoam bowls and tissue
paper. After hardcore game time, we set to
work & were successful then. We had some
delicious dinner made by Ms. Beverly & Ms.
Carrie Ann, and after a few "Human Knots" we
began our devotion/worship/reflection time.
We sang 5 songs, one led by our Jamaican
go-to-man & leader, Maxie. Talk about
amazing!!!
All your prayers are being felt and it is so
obvious that God is moving, working and
thriving here in Bensonton. Thanks for all
your prayers, care & love as we continue to
shine these little lights of ours to the
wonderful people of Bensonton. We love you
and oh we miss you!!! Looking forward to
sharing more with you in person. Love Kelli
and Team Jamaica. P.S. Mom & Dad - for real
- no one really believes the passport story!
Molly Richard (Student)
Humble is a BIG word for this trip and the
best to describe it here!!! Start to count
your blessings because they are more than you
could think of. A little girl showed us her
house - and it was as big as my room!!! But
the kids here are so polite and sweet - they
could teach the kids in America a lesson or
two!
9 comments:
It is indescribably amazing to hear about all of the things God is doing in your lives and the lives of the people in Bensonton.
My prayer for all of you is that you will always remember what God is doing (and has done) in your hearts over this week.
Keep letting your lights shine!
I love and miss you guys very much!
Hey everyone!
Keep God's light shining through each of you. You are all so special to everyone here & now all there. I pray for safe travel home. Looking forward to seeing you & hearing more of your amazing God filled stories face to face.
Martha: Happy Anniversary!!!!
Morgan: I love you & are so proud of the young Godly woman that you have grown into.
Love & hugs to each of you!
Brenda, Anndrea, & Joey
AS I SIT HERE ON GOOD FRIDAY READING THIS ALL I CAN SAY IS WOW!! ONE MAN DIED A HORRIBLE DEATH SO YOU GUYS COULD GO AND SHINE HIS LIGHT FOR THE WORLD TO SEE. I CAN NOT WAIT TO SEE PICTURES AND HEAR ABOUT ALL THAT HAS HAPPENED. PRAYING FOR SAFE FLIGHT HOME...YA'LL ROCK...PRAYING FOR YOU ALL.....ANGELA WEATHINGTON
Hey Dad & Mel
I love you both and miss you too! I can't wait to see you! Alan
Hey team :)
Hope you all are safely on your way back to "touristville" M.Bay. I know that you all are sad to leave and I'm sure you will treasure this experience forever. We are praying for all to go well during your travels home. Can't wait to see you all and hear all of your "stories". Whit"man" we miss you! Lydia says "hello". See you late Saturday night. Love - Mom & Sis
This is amazing guys. I'm glad that everyone is enjoying your time together and your ability to spread God's Word. I love and miss you all very much and wish I could be there with you. God Bless!!
Hello team Jamaica!! I just thought I would step in and see how all of you are doing down there...
Well I love you all so very much!
For Kelli and Molly:
Hey, girls! I am so excited that you are home! You know what today is? It is Easter and you know what that means...it's time for our annual Easter basket game. (Yea!) So here is your first clue:
"I smile because you are my sister. I laugh because there is nothing you can do about it."
Good luck!
xoxox
so, team jamaica, I love you all sooo much and I am so glad I was there with you. I'll never, ever forget this experience!
oh, praise Him.
love forever,
kelli <3
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