Miracles, miracles, miracles...

Video for the first 2 weeks down here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRdHFTck7lk

Sorry for the lack of updates. There's a few more days between each blog as time goes on and I value sleep more and more. This week is the week of answered prayers. Well, every week has been the week of answered prayers but this one is a week that will directly affect people's lives drastically. To look back at my first blogs and see what we'd been praying about, talking about, working through and hoping for... it is unbelievable to see what's actually happening. When the new team arrived yesterday, we had service at the Baptist church in St. Ann's and spent the afternoon doing a "drive about" to see the worksites for the week. Colonial Hills is Betty & Jim's church in Mississippi and they always come prepared to work. They brought money for 3 houses and with each house a bed and a food basket. Along with that, they brought supplies to build a slide at the Seville Heights Basic School playground. Before they came down and after Dusty and I met with Cynthia, Dusty called Jim to see if one of their houses could be the first room of the school. Jim happily said yes and the team was thrilled they'd be a part of the building of the school!

Our drive about was emotional to say the least. Not only am I more emotional now with it being the last week here but it really is one of the coolest weeks seeing prayers directly answered. We visited the two house sites and got to see the excitement of the people who would now have a roof over their heads. One of the women has been waiting a long time for a house and to see her just bubble over with excitement and throw her arms around Dusty was beautiful. When we went to the site of the school I was washed over with a wave of realization with how much the creator of the universe really cares so lovingly and individually about each and every one of us. To think about 2 weeks ago, seeing Cynthia cry in hopelessness to driving up to a worksite of the new school where the pit for the bathroom was dug, the trenches were done and they were ready to start mixing cement for the foundation. My heart has really been called to Cynthia and her students for the past 2 years and to see her hopelessness turn in to hope and prayers turn to reality is the greatest feeling in the world.

This morning I woke up at 5:45 to go for a walk with Betty. Yep, Betty's back and zumba was in full effect last night- minus the yelling and animations that the youth teams brought. After walking and the normal coffee routine we had the blessing of the hands. Every week is just as special as the last being able to tell God that these are His hands to do what He wants with them. I can't think of a better way to start the week.

We dropped the teams off at their sites and then Corinne and I went into town to exchange money and pick up things to make lunches. Colonial Hills is arguably crazy and they don't take lunch breaks when they're here in order to get all of their projects done right away which is why Corinne and I spent the morning making 50 PB&J's! After our sandwich making, I went back to the school where I was bombarded by the kids. With Jim leading the team members working on the house and the fact that it's an adult team in general gave me LOTS of time with the kids today. Workey and Aaron are also working at the school. It's funny because the 3 of us were placed at Cynthia's school together last year and worked side by side every day. It was awesome to be able to spend time catching up with Workey again. He's an awesome guy, hard worker and keeps us stocked with starfruit which isn't bad at all.

I'm off to worship but tomorrow I'm speaking at the Bright Beginners graduation and interviewing the kids for school sponsorships... please keep me and everyone on the team in your prayers! It's hot, humid and there's lots of work to be done!

Tropical Trough

We've had some strange weather here the past few days. After our nice little flood here on Tuesday night, the rain continued. We were awakened by Fr. Ralph singing about a trough passing over the island. I'm from Michigan, I've never heard the word trough in my life but apparently it's a green spot on the radar that lasts for an extended period of time. We were lucky in that the mornings were usually pretty sunny and every afternoon the rain was non-stop.

Wednesday morning we were back at the worksite cementing! Anyone who's been here at all this summer would be amazed at the amount of work that's been accomplished. At some point in the morning, Dusty called me over to have a meeting in his office. His office being the cinder block located conveniently beneath a coconut tree. :o) Turns out, after making a few calls we have Jim and Betty's church coming in this weekend with funds to build 3 houses. They agreed that one of the houses could be the first room of the new school. That means we break ground on MONDAY!!!!! I am so excited that I've been able to be a part of God's plan for this- it's unbelievable to see the love behind everything that's being done. Workey's already been at the site getting the foundation ready and we'll be digging the pit for the septic tank asap. Along with that news, we've had many individuals from teams who have fallen in love with the children here and want to get involved with the sponsorship program (yes, its now a program) which we've named IsleGRO. :-D More information will be up on IsleGo's website but we're setting up with our partners here in order to have pictures, a brief biography and regular updates which will keep you updated on their progress throughout the year. I can't wait to see where He takes this...

Wednesday afternoon I went back to the infirmary and it was another heart warming experience. I can't even explain the joy I'm filled with when I leave that place. To see the growth God's given me over the past few weeks and to go from being terrified of the infirmary to being ecstatic when it's my day to go. Even the processing we do with the group is amazing. We prepare them for the things they'll see, pray for the power to handle it and then reflect afterwards. When we walked in, I always go straight for the mens ward where I'm greeted with HUGE smiles and hugs. Donovan, Dolores & Lauren are always in the same spot against the wall and are excited for visitors. After saying hi and having my intake of love for the century, I went off to look for Ryan. He wasn't in his bed, wasn't in the back rooms and wasn't in the community room. I went back to see Roland and there Ryan was laughing at me cause he heard I was circling the infirmary looking for him while he was circling looking for me! We went back to his bed and as usual talked and talked and talked. He asked if I could figure out the dictionary function on his computer and without internet there's no dictionary. After 20 minutes of searching, he finally pulled out a notebook from under his chair and said "maybe you could help me." He had written down 20-30 words that he'd heard or read and wanted to know the meaning of. He told me part of his story and talked about how badly he wants to go to college. My heart broke a little more with each part of the story he told. It absolutely kills me to know he's in there doing everything he can to learn when many of us take education for granted. I asked him what they feed them in there and he went on to say the food isn't very good but if he can "beg money" he can get a "box lunch" which is a little better. They're around $200 Jamaican dollars (or around $3US dollars) for some rice & jerk chicken. He had some hidden under his pillow and when he took it out to show me there were ants all over the box. He didn't think anything of it and wiped them off before putting it back under the pillow. I don't know what I can do but I'd do anything to get him out of that infirmary. He needs a hope that he doesn't have right now. Please pray for him.

Thursday morning I went up to Steer Town to help paint the windows at the church. Most of the team worked inside the church so I went out back and used the ladder to reach the higher windows. I can't think of a more peaceful place besides the picnic tables at the falls! I had the most beautiful breeze, music & painting is SO therapeutic. We finished early so we were able t spend time with Uncle, Pastor Edwards & Daphnie. I've mentioned it before but there's nothing better than really getting to know somebody that you've "known" for years. Daphnie and I sat and talked for over an hour and she is truly amazing! She sat and listened to me explain the sponsorship program and immediately ran up to show us the uniforms she's been working on sewing at the center. She suggested we just buy fabric to have her sew for us. How awesome!

Thursday afternoon was another food basket day. We went shopping in St. Ann's again and delivered baskets in Seville Heights. It's great having so much time in the community because now we can walk down the street and know everybody by name. The two houses we went to were the parents of the children we've been playing with at the worksite. I would love to start a food basket ministry in the states.... hmmmm...

Thursday night was CHWC's "Four Corners" night which is usually a really emotional time for all of the kids. It's full of prayer and I've never heard of anyone walking away without seeing God somewhere. I laid on the couch and listened to the praise and worship all night. I absolutely love praise & worship and could have laid, sang and prayed there forever. It's even more spiritual knowing you're on an island working with a group of people who have molded together over the week while listening to the tree frogs and looking at stars that look like they could be touched they're so bright.

Today was the free day and it was the first day where it rained alllll day. Corinne, Chelle and I had our nail appointment this morning. $11 for a pedicure isn't beatable and it is the best pedicure in the world! After pedis, we went for limeades and to the Ruins for lunch with Ralph. The Ruins is a restaurant that's directly behind Dunns River Falls so you're eating surrounded by waterfalls. It's a buffet style restaurant and it is phenomenal. We spent hours laughing and talking endlessly. Being in Jamaica alone makes me happy but to be here with such good friends (and meeting new friends every day) makes it even more amazing. I am truly, truly blessed.

I took the afternoon off today and spent it cuddled up in bed. I left the room only to get tea and talk to the team after their evening service. We talked about the post missions depression, the work they've done, the people they've touched, the people who have touched them and the "what's next" for their lives. This team has been wonderful beyond words. They all came from different parts of the country- some alone, others in small groups, others with their youth groups and even a mother/daughter group. Throughout the week I don't know that I've ever seen a team mend together and really become "one." Not only that but I can't tell you one negative thing I heard all week. Everybody was enthusiastic, positive, loving and open to anything they were doing. I have heard the words "my life has changed forever" more out of a group in all of the years I've been here. The group bought a photo album and they each wrote a "thank you" note on the pages. There were some pretty powerful testimonies of the week and it made me feel even more blessed to be a part of it. This is yet another group that will be really hard to say bye to in the morning.

Bed time for this girl. I can't believe it's my last week here... :*(

Trowback Tuesday

Ephesians 2: 8-10

Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

^From 'the message' translation

Today was one of the most mentally refreshing days since I've been here. I haven't been writing about it, but being here for an extended period of time takes a toll mentally and physically. It's hard to turn your brain off from the constant responsibility of the teams and being on call 24 hours a day alone. On top of that, it is impossible to turn your mind away from all of the people you've created relationships with in the communities we work in. I've mentioned the feeling like we can never do enough and knowing we're coming back to air conditioned rooms with big comfortable beds and food on our plates. Aside from the non-stop brain action, we're out in the hot sun for hours every day. Let me make myself very clear that this is not a complaint. There's no place in the world I'd rather be with the mental and physical exhaustion- even if this is where God wants me to be forever... but it definitely does take a toll. Michelle's seen the "mentally not with us Katie" the past few days and it's not pretty. I'd kind of lost my mind. It has nothing to do with taking a day off because I've had some of those but it's impossible to turn my brain off and maaan is it tiring. I could go hang out at the RIU for the day and experience the same "my body, voice and brain are no longer connected" feeling because, like I said, you can't turn off thoughts or emotions and I think anybody that's been here this summer can attest to the power of those.

Today I woke up feeling energized after a good night of sleep and was headed back to Seville for more cement work. Jess & I were both at the site this morning and we've fallen into a routine of showing up, bringing tools up to the mixing area and around the time we're ready to get everyone working Marcus shows up. Marcus brings his phone which has about 4 or 5 full songs from Justin Beiber to Gyptian and we spend the morning singing the 4 or 5 songs... over and over and over. This morning we had 3 teams at the site and everybody fell right into their work! The cement guys went to the bottom of the hill and carried their 94 pound bags of cement up on their shoulders. 10 sounded pretty good after yesterday's 50 so as most of the girls were shoveling rocks/sand into wheel barrels, Jess & I cheered on the guys. They were hustlin, especially for 9am. I swear some of the guys weighed less than their cement bags...

The morning was spent, as usual, mixing, bucket lining and pouring. We have most of the trench filled for the foundation and move faster and faster every day. The community center's finally heading above ground!! At some point in the morning we heard an ear piercing scream coming from the woody area. There were houses back there and I wasn't as concerned about anyone's safety but it brought me back to a memory of somebodies child dying here and the same ear piercing scream. I walked towards the woods to see what was going on and Mikey/Uncle said she was taken over by the Holy Spirit. The way she was screaming uncontrollably, it sounded more like she was taken over by demons but whatever it was it was really unsettling and went on for over 40 minutes and we left before it was over. If anyone has any thoughts... let me know.

This afternoon I was 100% set on having a salad and my canned chicken Michelle picked up for me. Unfortunately it was patty day so those plans went out the window. Instead we stuffed our patties with salad and the best cheese you've ever had in your life. I don't know what's in those patties but I wouldn't be shocked if you told me the ingredient list included an addictive drug. Today I lost my mind by around 12:40 which was approximately 4 hours before it left us yesterday.

I decided at lunch that I needed to do something physical since I haven't even walked in the morning since Betty left. We went back to Seville with just 1 of the teams and got right to work. They needed 5 more cement bags so I decided I'd jump in, despite everybody's doubt that I could pick it up let alone carry it up the hill. I don't think that in any other situation I'd be able to look at the bag without getting tired but I did it! Jordan put the 94 pound bag on my shoulder and I hiked up that hill. There were a few steps that I could have sworn I wasn't going to make it and by the time you make it to the top you're sweating from pores that didn't previously exist but it felt good. My mind was back and the endorphins were flowing. By the end of the afternoon I carried 3 cement bags up that hill. God was for sure spotting me cause I can't bench 100 pounds... hiking up a 90 degree incline with it on my shoulder couldn't have been my own power. I spent part of the afternoon cheering on the bucket line standing/dancing on top of the cinder blocks. I also had 2 of the team members ask if they could find the girl we were playing with this morning because they brought her back a coloring book and crayons. Of course up for the adventure, I asked a 12 year old boy, "Tips," if he could take us to her house. Turns out, she's Cynthia's daughter! Not the principal Cynthia but the food basket we delivered yesterday. I love going into a community and getting to know the dynamics of it all. Seville Heights, JA and Anywhere in the valley, AZ aren't as different as I thought. Everybody's either related or they dated in high school.

Today was the first day I really realized how close I've gotten to the kids at Seville. There aren't very many of them but I think that makes it special. There's nothing like hearing a synchronized "KAAATTTIEEEEEE" followed by hugs and kisses from the kids. Today another little girl who I hadn't ever met came up to me and gave me a bouquet of flowers she'd picked. Just thinking about them makes my heart smile. My relationship with all of the older guys has become closer than it's ever been before too. I've really been blessed with time to sit and talk for hours with them and where before we'd always use the terms "broda and sista," I really feel like they're family now. Saturday at the tournament I was sitting on the sidelines and at separate times had Aaron, Gregory, Domain, Chey and Red give me their phones/clothes/ipod/money/anything else they had on them to hold while they played. Everyday throughout the day I hear "sista everyting good?" I have been blessed beyond words with these people in my life and I cannot imagine life without them.

After an exhausting afternoon (my arms and legs were trembling from the cementing adventure) we came back to the villa to get ready for dinner. Chelle, Ralph, JC and our new friend Brittany were sitting chatting in the kitchen. Brittany came in town from New Kingston to talk to the team after mass tonight. She signed a 2 year contract with the Peace Corps and is currently on her 3rd year after extending the contract. I of course had 2 million questions for her because my heart is already moved here and she's been living here for over 2 years coming from Cincinnati, Ohio. After talking with her and eating curried goat, it started pouring. The plan for after dinner was to have mass on the beach. That was out of the question but Chelle and Ralph had to decide whether they'd still have mass in Ocho Rios and somehow fit in their small group meetings OR to cancel all plans and have a free night. Around the time Michelle and I were talking about options, Ralph came back and was talking about how much fun the kids were having. Today was the day where everybody from everywhere becomes friends. It's harder when you stay within your youth group but after 2 days of working with mixed teams, they were allll getting to know each other. Needless to say, we see how important the new friendships are and they got the night off. At first I was thinking "perfect, it's only 6:45. Time for a hot shower, a book and early to bed and I'll be fully refreshed!" Yea right.

Geri told me that one of our house keepers was stuck here in the flood. First of all, I didn't know it was flooded. Second of all, crap. I went outside to walk over to the villa where she is staying and stepped out in tennis shoes thinking it'd be a little wet. No, I was calf-high in water. I started walking and saw an umbrella float by me upside down. It might have been a little scary if I didn't hear Beyonce bumping in the villa next to me. By the time I made it down to the villa, she'd already left so I walked back to check on the Beyonce dance team. They were all standing in the villa because Ralph saw lighting and they weren't allowed in the pool. I paid attention for a little bit and there was no thunder or lightning for an extended period of time so I sent them back to the pool. My plan was to go back to the villa and continue with my hot shower/reading plan. Yea right. Gregory and Aaron think it's just as funny the 392038th time to pick me up, spin in circles, jump up and down and manhandle me into the pool. It may have been a little bit funnier today having the kids chanting my name... I haven't decided yet.

There wasn't a whole lot else to do at that point but accept my plan was out of the question. A free night with nothing but a pool and 40 teenagers lead to the most intense chicken-war tournament I've ever been a part of. I'm sure it looked hilarious because all of us were so sore from cementing. We were a force of people stacked up with no arm power and lots of splashing & screaming. This was followed by a violent game of marco polo. At that point the air was so much colder than the pool I was shivering! Eventually I stopped being a baby and left them to play games & headed back to the villa for a towel. I wrapped up and took a seat at the big kids table. It's amazing what happens when there's nothing to do. Nobody has anywhere to be so there's a genuine "wanting to get to know each other and talk about our lives being changed" atmosphere. For over 2 hours we sat and talked, laughed, got to know each other and snacked. Oat crackers, cheese & guava jelly was a hit- thanks Chelle! :-P It's becoming harder and harder to watch teams go! Every week I meet amazing people that could be life-long friends and then they up and leave! Not fair! I heard some amazing stories about the week that I usually don't hear until the last reflection night. Geri talked about Chris' house, the infirmary where she washed and rubbed people's feet and the possibility of sponsoring a girl she'd met to go to college. Some people were saying there should be a warning on the application for this trip that it will change your life forever. One of the things Geri said that really stuck out was that the thought of going back to the things in her own house was sickening after seeing what she's seen here. I hope she doesn't mind that I'm sharing but it was really powerful. Talking to the teams about post-missions depression makes me anticipate it for myself and I'm not ready for it.

Tonight was a night of getting to know people, laughing, dancing and fun that I'd been praying for and it was provided in a way I didn't think was possible. As I said in the beginning of this little novel for the evening, I didn't know how I could possibly "relax" having everything on my mind. God made it happen in a way that I was still with the team, truly enjoying myself and mentally relaxing. He has a heck of a sense of humor...

I just finally had my hot shower and my arms are feeling a little more sore by the minute. So excited to spend the day refreshed, full of new energy & working with the team who is now full of good friends. :-D

Good night!

Sunday/Monday

Sunday was a day of moving/resting & reading as we had Northland heading home and CHWC teams coming in from Mississippi, the LA area, Nevada, Illinois, Florida and probably other states I'm forgetting about. I woke up and we had family style breakfast with Chelle, JC, Ralph and the 3 boys. Then I moved my bags from the temporary villa to the IsleGo villa where we webstreamed Northland's service, painted nails, made bracelets and enjoyed the quiet between teams. I ended up having a 2 hour nap which was amazing! The first half of the new team arrived around 3 so we got them settled in their rooms and did some more constructive relaxing until dinner at 5:30. Not only are all of the teams here new to Jamaica but many of them are new to anything near the equator so the caribbean was a fascination. Corinne said some of them were swimming and couldn't believe the taste of the salt water. I love love love the new ones. It's a great way to look at everything & appreciate what we see as if it's the first time again. After dinner we headed to the church in St. Ann's for orientation. We (Dusty) gave our IsleGo introduction/rules/don't smoke what they give you speech and we headed back to the villa. We were back for about 3 minutes when the power went out again.

The power going out is usually a fun adventure and not to say that it wasn't last night but here's the situation we were in. We had food in the ovens for the other half of the team that was meeting us at the church, ALL of the villas were locked so we couldn't have lanterns/candles ready, they'd all need to be finding their villas & rooms in the dark and to say that it was pitch black would be an understatement. I used the last little bit of battery I had in my phone to call Gregory and tell them to take as long as possible at the church- turns out the power was out at the church too and they were having mass by candlelight. They held off for a while but they came back to the 5 of us finding entertainment by sitting around a lantern watching the water dribble through the layer of ice in the middle of Jessica's water bottle. I'm not even a little bit embarrassed. :] When they got back we went from sitting trying to find things to do to looking back 40 minutes later feeling like a hurricane went through here. We were opening locks, unloading the busses/luggage, arranging rooms, REarranging rooms, re-re-rearranging rooms, searching for matches using the light of our 1 lantern to light the remaining oil lanterns and organizing the food in the kitchen for the team who arrived. Naturally, as if planned, the lights turned back on as soon as everybody was settled in, oil lamps lit & happily eating. After the lights were on and the groups were starting to go to bed, I moved my bags over to Michelle's room. We spent the rest of the evening organizing tools, infirmary supplies & toys for the kids so they could be sent out with the work groups today. It did not take long to fall asleep when my head hit that pillow!

This morning we woke up for the first day of work with the teams. Michelle organizes the groups so that they're forced to get to know each other. She created 4 work groups with 10 people each and they aren't all from the same youth group. CHWC has their morning worship starting at 7:30 with music, dancing & prayer. They also start with the blessing of the hands and singing of "the fragrance prayer," which just happens to be my favorite. After morning worship and breakfast we took 2 of the groups to start the morning at Seville. As usual, it was the first day which carried the heat exhaustion, dehydration and pukers. I'm convinced a lot of it has to do with the traveling/getting right to work because I know they drink gallons of water when we're with them and it's usually only the first day!

The team worked hard this morning carrying the 100 pound cement bags from the bottom of the site all the way up to the top, mixing cement and sending the buckets down the line to start filling the trench. This afternoon, Corinne and I got to be a part of the food baskets! We took the teams to a store in St Anns Bay which is cheaper and a cool experience because it's more of a local place versus the grocery store in Ochie. Nobody had any idea what size spice bun to get or how many filets of salt fish but it made it all the more entertaining. Today we delivered to a woman Cynthia who lives right by the new community center. She has 6 kids and some adorable little kittens. The second house we went to was a HIKE. We hiked about a mile up into the mountains to reach Mrs. G (I cannot think of her name!) who had no idea we were coming. She was an unbelievably sweet woman who lived on a farm area. She has 7 kids and there was also a little boy at the house that she was watching for the day. It was definitely my first experience visiting a house that was in what seemed to be the middle of no where. The house was in the middle of a vegetative heaven. Mangos, bananas and fields of fruits/veggies. Corinne and I talked about how humbling it is to deliver the food baskets. There's no feeling in the world like being the answer to somebody's desperate prayers- and to know it was God's plan all along is unbelievable.

Cynthia called today and asked what color dress I was wearing to the graduation. I mentioned before that she asked if I'd give a speech- I didn't realize how serious it was! She called because she wanted to get me a corsage that matched my dress :) I better start writing... How do you motivate kindergartners for life?! Holy pressure...

We were all exhausted and dripping sweat from our hike through the "bush" and ready to get back for dinner. The group's doing some grocery shopping and having mass in Ocho Rios tonight while I plan on going to bed early. :)

Gooood night!

Footy footy football

Today was the big football tournament day at the community center in Steer Town. This is an awesome time to have Grace Community Center in the spotlight and to bring the community together for a fun event. Rumor has it there was a huge storm last night which I should have been up with all night having slept on the couch BUT missed entirely. There was still some remaining thunder and threats of rain at breakfast. Right around the same time I returned safely to my villa to pack my bag for the day, it started POURING. Not just a hard rain but there were gallons dumping down and had the villas floating in inches of water within minutes. Dusty checked the weather and it looked like there wouldn't be a change until around 12 so we decided to head to town to pick up nets, tarps for shade & run a few errands (ie: make mani/pedi appointments for next week) before we went up there. :] Fortunately we finished our errands and the rain was letting up around 10:30 so we went and gathered the troops to let the games begin. We're on island time so games didn't really begin until 12 but it was worth the wait. It was impossible to keep a straight face watching the kids/adults in the tournament pass the trophy table in awe. The Northland team was huddled up chanting "USA" while the Jamaicans were just going crazy. The sideline was filled with spectators including dozens of kids that wanted nothing more than to get their hands on some ready-to-play Americans. It was the hottest day here so far and there wasn't any shade near the field. I have some great videos of both Aaron coaching his team and his team winning the trophy! It was so exciting and holding in laughter wasn't an option. I've realized that I need to take on a more childlike view towards life after spending long hours watching them with bubbles, trophies and cardboard boxes.

We waited to see the youth finals & the first (and last) American team play before going to lunch sometime after 2. Pretty much everyone taking the 2nd lunch break with us was experiencing a little heat exhaustion/dehydration. I intended on going back to the field but as soon as we got back I saw that the bus had arrived from the airport! Michelle, JC, Fr. Ralph & 3 of the kids from the new team were here and I decided to stay back with them. After a little rest and catching up, we went back to Grace to get Cynthia and see the land for the new school. It's beautiful! Some of her family members were there and had spent the day cleaning the property and getting ready to start building. We still don't have the funds but we're praying and will continue praying for what He wants for the new school.

Cynthia has been far beyond grateful in seeing that she's loved, her students are loved and that we want to help her. Almost daily she's asking me if she can make me coconut drops, grizada or coconut cake. She wants so badly to give back and I've told her it isn't us, it's Him & to keep giving Him thanks. Today when she showed up at the tournament, she was for the first time since I've known her, not wearing the suit she wears to the school every day. She had on a summery outfit and I complimented her on her outfit and her necklace. When we went to drop her off after visiting the property, she asked us to wait so she could go get something. She came back and I saw that she had taken her necklace off to give me. She just put it on my neck and said "call you tomorrow." What a blessing.

For dinner I joined Michelle, JC & Ralph, Mikey & the few new team members for dinner at Evitas. I forgot how amazing the view is from up there. You can see all of Ocho Rios including the beach. Gorgeous! They almost killed Mikey by giving him bell peppers in his food even after the request to leave them out because he's allergic. Fortunately he ended up being okay and we got to meet Miss Evita herself! Although the restaurant was on complete and utter island time, it was deeeelicious and as always great to spend an evening with some of my favorite people I only see once a year!

Northland leaves in the morning and CHWC teams come in all afternoon followed by orientation in St Ann's Bay tomorrow night. Ready for another week! :-D

Thursday/Friday

Thursday was another busy day leaving little time to update but it was nothing short of amazing. Betty and I woke up and walked a few miles at 6am and followed up with 3 cups of blue mountain. After a failed attempt at waking the brain up, we went into town where I was assigned 5 of the team members from St Francis. This meant that I would be going into the market which is in the same category as the infirmary used to fit in.... avoided if avoidable. It's the shopaholic's nightmare. "Hey sweetie special price for pretty girl" "Special price for missionary" "Cheaper than burger king" "Come take a look in my k mart"... non... stop... Not only that but they suck the team members in so keeping track of 5 of them was nearly impossible. We were meeting the rest of the group for lunch at 11:45 and they were ready to go so we planned on showing up early to sit in the AC & sip on a cold drink. Turns out we weren't the only ones with that idea because the rest of the team was there early too. The plan was for Betty and I to try the new Greek restaurant but she stopped in and saw that the meat was uncooked and there wasn't power so we decided to meet with the group at Mothers. I haven't been there yet this year so my full house patty was better than usual :] After lunch we loaded the busses and headed to Dunns River Falls again. While we were in town I picked up a new book so I did my typical read & nap under the tree on the water. Once again, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. While I was there, I met one of the employees and he's from Seville Heights. He wants to help with the community center so we'll see what happens with that!

After the falls we came back and I read poolside for a while before dinner. It was St. Francis' last night so I went to their last mass & reflection. I was amazed by the level of their conversation. They're all in high school and many of them were leaving a level of intellect that I haven't seen in most grown adults. One of their activities was to watch 2 of their team members throughout the week so they could speak about them on the last night. There were stories about seeing them shoeless after the infirmary after giving them away without telling anyone to stories about grown men selflessly sitting in mini chairs so they could make crafts with the kids. I've said it before but the last night is always my favorite time of reflection and seeing the growth and life-changes is nothing short of unbelievable.

Both St. Francis & Miss Betty left at 4:00 am so Gregory, Aaron, Mikey and myself dragged ourselves to the bus by 3:45 to say bye. At least I think that happened... it could very well have been a dream. It was hard to fall back asleep but after I was out, I was OUT until 7:30. This morning was like the Jamaican men + Katie version of Home Alone trying to get packed up and moved out. They were running around, I was packing and organizing what the team left behind and finally everything seemingly worked out when we moved all of our stuff to the new villas except that it was entirely empty. It was 8:10 and usually breakfast starts at 8. I assumed since everyone was missing they'd gone snorkeling this morning and breakfast was at 8:30. Finally we found someone who said everyone was down at the beach. I headed in that direction and eventually saw one of the coolest things I'd ever seen. Half of the team was waist-deep in the water and the others where cheering on the beach. I guess one girl had it on her heart to be baptized so after an open invitation and explanation of what they were agreeing to, 17 of them decided to join! Even the team leaders had never been baptized as adults and decided to do it. I, of course, sobbed like an infant but it was a perfect start to the day.

Today was Northland's free day so they had the same agenda that St. Francis had yesterday. I had the option of staying home but Dusty mentioned limeades and there was no way I was missing that. Today was a little different though because it's literally impossible to go into the market with Corinne and not buy something. She scopes out the cutest jewelry and honestly, 2 pairs of earrings + 2 bracelets for $16 is a steal. After the market and search for a wallet, Corinne & I met Dusty to have a limeade and catch the end of the soccer game. The 3 of us went to lunch at Passage to India... my favorite! I don't think I've ever had indian food in the states but it's my absolute favorite restaurant here (well... one of them). We finally had a chance to really catch up and I once again realized how blessed I am to have them in my life. We exchanged stories, talked about God's been using missionaries in different parts of the world and had a delicious lunch in the process!

We finished and met back up with the group just in time to take them to the falls. Today, Corinne and I just went and got the tickets to hand out then headed back to the villas for a beach filled afternoon. All 3 of us did some reading, I regained my nice rosy red complexion and I swam in the ocean, again. I'm finally willing to admit I'm still in love with it. Everyone goes through their own stages of grieving when it comes to being hurt by someone you love but I've let my guard down. I still search for sea urchins and other underwater critters but it's too perfect to pass up. :-P

There wasn't a second of my afternoon that was taken for granted. Sometimes you have to be conscious of your thoughts and really make a point to be grateful... not today. I was surrounded by people I love, on the beach with a good book in hand. Not to mention my heart is home and this beach is arguably the most incredible in the world.

Dusty & I had a meeting scheduled for 4:00 with Cynthia to talk about a new location for her school. She is undeniably one of the most dedicated teachers I've ever met. Well, principal AND teacher for that matter. Everything she does is from her heart. I know I mentioned in a previous blog that she worries so much about her students that she doesn't take care of her own needs. Today we really saw the raw, worn down, stressed, exhausted and burdened Cynthia that she's so good at putting aside to help others. Her husband is sick, she's losing students, lost her school and is carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. You could just see the exhaustion in her eyes and the Lord's grace that rested upon her when she started to see that He's with her. She had already found a location for the new school and after figuring out a few logistics, the meeting was adjourned and the verdict is: IsleGo is going to build it! We'll know more Monday after Dusty, Gregory and I go see the land but the initial plan is to build it in sections- starting with one of the rooms of the school built just as the houses are. 10x14 at a time which is $2,000. We'll continuously add on as we gain funds and supplies but the finished school will have rooms for different grade levels as well as a kitchen and bathroom. We'll start trying to come up with money now and want to have the first room built right away so she can start registering kids for this coming school year. Speaking of kids, we have cash in hand for 7 sponsorships!! That's 7 little kids that wouldn't have been able to go to school. AMEN & thank God for these loving hearts & this plan that He's had all along.

After Cynthia listened to this, she finally just started laughing, crying, laughing some more and talking about the flowers she wanted to plant around the school. :) I feel so unbelievably blessed to be a part of all of this and seeing prayers answered before our eyes. Please continue to have Cynthia and her husband in your prayers, she needs the peace and rest in her heart. I'll have new news and an official plan for the school by Monday.

After our meeting we headed back to the villas for a hot shower and dinner. Shortly after dinner the power went out so I'm currently laying here in a room so dark I wouldn't be able to see my hand an inch from my face without the computer here. All I can hear is the team out in the darkness worshiping & the tree frogs going about their business... I'm hoping I can find my way to a bed but this couch may be my home for the night.

Tomorrow is the first official (I think...) Steer Town football (soccer) tournament!!! We have kids, adults, Americans, Jamaicans and trophies for the end of the day! The guys are putting up tarps for shade in the morning and games start by 10. If you couldn't tell, I'm a little excited about this. Also happening tomorrow is the arrival of my favorite CHWC staff members. Michelle, Fr. Ralph, JC- can't wait to see you! :-D

For those who have been asking: I spent some time with Chris and his daughter today and am going to his house tomorrow so I can take pictures of both the baby and the house if you want to see the progress. Sorry it's taken so long!

I realized today I'm almost half way through my time here this summer and am not ready to think about leaving...

Good night.

Beautiful souls

Today was St. Francis' last day at the worksite... these days are going by too fast! First of all, I woke up at 5:15 and couldn't fall back asleep which made the coffee a necessity this morning. The ladies also surprised us with fresh omelets with peppers and onions! They were wonderful. We combined with Northland again and it was HOT. It probably wasn't any different from the other days but with so many people at the site it doesn't leave much room for everybody to find a place in the shade. Everyone was exhausted from mixing cement from yesterday so it took a little bit to get them going but once they started, it was awesome! I can't believe how much they've gotten done this week. Word got out today that pineapple is my FAVORITE and I had some freshly cut pineapple hand delivered on ice. :-D It was deeeeelicious.

We had to leave Seville right at 12 to have a quick lunch so we could do everything we had to do this afternoon. We left right at 1 to head to the Seville basic school to play! The kids there are 3 or 4 and absolutely adorable. Some of the Northland team was there as well which kept the kids busy! They were walking around with fake glasses, crowns and jewelry. The boys from the teams and the boys from the school played football and bodies became jungle gyms. I adore these kids.

At 3 we left to go to the infirmary where I was greeted with HUGE smiles from Donovan and his "lady friend" Dolores. She isn't able to talk and can only see out of one eye but was absolutely adorable in her communication. She sat right next to Donovan's wheelchair and you could tell she clung on to everything he said and would just smile. At one point he was asking me about a DVD player and I could not for the life of me understand what he was asking for. There was another man there and they were both trying to tell me what they were talking about and all I could hear was "dpt pear." Without saying a word, only smiling, Dolores got up and went to get a stack of DVDs. They all laughed at me when I realized what they were saying! I talked with them for a while and went to find Ryan who wasn't feeling well. I hadn't seen his bed before but they put him in the corner so he could have a tv and cabinet to keep all of his things safe. I talked to Ryan for a looonggg time. Him and I have somehow become friends that act as if we've known each other for years. I sat back today on his bed and tried to look at the world through his eyes. He's smart, funny... no, hilarious, inquisitive and has full mental abilities. He's 22 years old and living in the infirmary. I looked ahead and saw a man rocking back and forth while occasionally hitting himself in the face. Kiddy-corner I saw a man who was entirely yellow and stick thin while the man to the foot of the bed was laying motionless and it was hard to tell whether or not he was breathing. I asked him if he has anybody to talk to there and he said, sarcastically of course, "do these people look like they're fun to talk to? No, I sit here and watch tv or play my games." I can't even begin to imagine what a typical day is like in his life or anybody's life for that matter. My eyes were really opened today and my heart broke. It's terrible that the infirmary exists in the first place- that people are put there to die but to imagine being only 22 years old. Ryan and I went back and forth with our favorite scripture, he showed me his new computer and some of the movies he has. We were about to play super mario bros but the team was already gathered and ready to leave. I think that Ryan's going to be one of the hardest things to leave when July rolls around.

Aside from the sad realizations, the infirmary today was one of my favorite experiences I've had since I started coming to Jamaica. The feeling of community and love that I felt there today was like nothing I've experienced before. The difficulty in communication and the laughs that came with it was more than refreshing. Donovan was having a hard time talking and breathing but when I was saying bye he put his hand to his chest and said "I really love you." My heart left there in an emotional wreck! I was beyond joyful having the loving relationships that have formed there but feeling so down about Ryan's situation. Keep him and everyone at the infirmary in your prayers...

Tomorrow's St. Francis' free day so it's back to town & Dunns River Falls... and I heard a rumor there's this new Greek restaurant in town for lunch with Betty ;)

Blessings

Never enough

Sometimes at the worksite it's easy to focus just on the construction site rather than focusing on the hungry/hopeless/struggling people around us. It's not at all a negative thing- it would be financially and physically difficult if not impossible to build a community center without our teams AND some of the people I'm the closest to are people I've met at worksites. The Grace Community Center has been unbelievable and I'd expect the same for Seville heights. It's just that for me personally, it doesn't have the "wow" aspect that you find when you're in the situations outside of the site. I love seeing the teams work together and can't wait to see how God's gonna use it in their community BUT it's days like today that I really walk away feeling changed. It was another food basket day and one that left me feeling as helpless as the people we were serving.

We started the morning with our grocery shopping and running a few errands before delivering the baskets. Mikey had a request for a food basket in Steer Town so we went back up by Grace. We pulled up and Workey was there! I hadn't seen him yet this year and after working side by side every day last year, it was an exciting reunion to say the least. I'm hoping I have time to catch up with him at some point this summer!

After our quick stop at Grace, we went up to the hills and found Jeff's house. Jeff's house was built by a team last summer so I didn't realize it until we got there but we'd met before. When I walked up he was laying on the floor of his 10x14 ft house. I told him we brought groceries for him and wanted to pray for him. Jeff just had 3 surgeries, lives by himself and has no work. He has no refrigerator and only a propane powered burner to cook with. His house was one of the cleanest I've seen and you could tell he's been taking goood care of it. After we prayed with him, he told us he was on the last of his propane and didn't know where the next of his anything would be coming from. Meaning food, propane... any necessities we need to live. He told us his situation and tears just filled his eyes. The whole team walked away silent, myself included. It was another moment where I realized that it's never going to be enough. No matter who we help, there's SO much need that it helps "just for now." I was thinking the same thing with Cynthia. We help with the students, the school and with what we have available to us (which still isn't much) but what does she eat when she goes home? Does she have a bed to sleep in? Most of the people we deliver food baskets to will feed multiple people... for now. What happens when the food runs out? How is it that these people (some of the happiest and grateful people I've ever met in my life) can go to bed starving and praying for their next bite of food when we throw away pounds of leftovers daily. I walked away from Jeffs house feeling like my heart was broken. We got on the bus and after spending the past few days with this team- I knew silence meant they were strongly affected by what we experienced. Finally I broke the silence and asked Mikey how much a propane tank costs. It's $25 and before anybody else could speak Fr. Robbie was to the front of the bus offering to pay for one. Fortunately, Jeff will be able to cook the food he has but it's unsettling feeling like these things are "just for now." I hate feeling like there's nothing more we can do when I want to give them the world and excess that we have. For many of them, it's a matter of having to figure out what's next for survival. A lot of praying and one blessing at a time, I suppose.

After Jeff's house, we went back to the worksite where the other half of our team and Northland were hard at work. I had a chance to talk with Dusty and the team in Haiti is doing great despite the enemy's effort to keep them away. The site for the recovery center wasn't ready so the team toured some of the destruction and visited an orphanage. My heart isn't ready for that...

When it was time to leave for lunch, we had our whole team back and went to Edna's house. Edna is a sweet old faithful lady living in Seville. She's a Sunday school teacher and has been extremely sick for the past 4 weeks leaving her stuck at home. We arrived shortly after her pastor, who was there to give her communion and prayer, was leaving. She requested that we pray for her health and wouldn't let anybody leave without a handshake and a thank you- she was more than grateful.

Lunch today was patties & world cup. I'm not sure when Jamaican's decided they were from Brasil but it sure made for an exciting match! Before the game was over we were headed to Seville's basic school to see some kids. We arrived after most of the kids had already gone home so we ended our day early. We've been back at the villas since 3:30 for some relaxation time to get ready for tomorrow's day of work/kids/infirmary. I got to video chat with my dad for a loong time, eat some fresh pineapple. :) I also noticed how some things that we have in abundance at home are like GOLD here. Miss Betty has the little crystal light packets and if there were words to explain how amazing they are here, I'd use them but there aren't. When we're going through so much water, flavor has never tasted so good. It's kind of like my kit kat binge last year... hah. The plan for tonight is to combine groups and have a BIG zumba class in the lot outside the villas! Perfect.

See ya later :]

Irie

Sorry for not updating yesterday! I was a little exhausted and went to bed before 10. Yesterday (the 13th) was another relaxing day. We woke up for breakfast and all went to the catholic church with St. Francis. Katie B and Brett will be happy to hear that there was a HUGE, black, terrifyingly fast mutterfly swooping around the church all morning. At first we thought it was a bird but no sirrey, mutterfly.

After church we headed back to the villas for lunch and another pool day! After a couple of hours at the pool, the new teams arrived around 2:30. I had some (not nearly enough) time to catch up with Dusty & Corinne and even got talked in to swimming in the ocean- no sea urchin encounters this time. It was an absolutely gorgeous (HOT) day and it was, as always, great to be reunited with the Coopers.

Last night ended with twilight zumba, an early shower and my pillow.

Today we were back at work. All 44 from Northland combined with the 16 from St. Francis at the worksite. Not only did we have the teams out there but Dusty, Corinne, Betty, the guys + 3 of our drivers and the locals in Seville were all helping at the site. It was insane! We had our bucket line going from the cement mixers to the pit-cappers, we had people digging and filling in the trench surrounding the center, we had people weeding out plants from the trench and other people filling in where they could. It's a really neat thing to see so many people coming together to serve one purpose. We even had David offer to buy 5 more shovels so we could have more people working at once. Nobody fainted, no sun poisoning (to my knowledge) just a whole lot of work done in one morning!

This afternoon we had a little extra time during lunch so I uploaded my first set of pictures and listened to the guys yelling about the soccer game. Around 3 we took off for Grace so the team could spend some time with the kiddos. Northland was there for a food basket & to take a walk with Red to his house and we were there to rile some things up. St Francis gathered as many kids as they could and had a big US vs JA soccer game- I didn't watch but I could probably guess who won. ;) I had some time with Jaymar (Aaron's little brother) and some of the other kids I've gotten to know. I also ate the best banana I've ever had in my life that grew right outside the center. Miss Betty even liked it and she doesn't eat ripe bananas!

This morning before breakfast, St Francis had a talk about what it means to be real. David read this from the "Velveteen Rabbit" and I thought it was something we should all think about so here it is:

What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

"I suppose you are real?" said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive. But the Skin Horse only smiled.

There are some great things going on down here- many that cannot be explained, only felt. God's not being shy about showing up and leading us where He wants us to go and it feels good to be a part of his journey.

In one of the previous posts I mentioned Cynthia's 6 students who needed a sponsorship in order to go to school next year. Within minutes, God really put it on peoples' hearts to help these kids and not only did we have somebody offer to sponsor all 6 kids, but multiple others have asked for information on how to get involved. Anybody know knows me knows that He's given me a real passion for children and I'd love to see how far we can take this. I talked to Dusty and concluded for at least this coming school year, donations can be made at islego.com with "Child Sponsorship" in the details box OR checks can be made payable to IsleGo Missions Inc and sent to 550 Cidermill Place, Lake Mary, FL 32746.

Bed time. Another day of work/food baskets tomorrow- my favorite! Good night!

Meditation Day

Today was a pretty uneventful day as far as working went. I woke up, drank some coffee, ate some fruit (plantains included) and packed to move down the road. Notre Dame left at 10:30 and I was at the pool by 11. St Francis was at the worksite this morning so Betty and I had silence AND an entire pool to ourselves. Our day included but was not limited to: napping, floating, reading, beaching and chatting. St Francis came back and had a free afternoon so it was a little more crowded after lunch but that didn't stop me from putting on my headphones and taking a nap by the pool. Lunch today was hot dogs... I was in my own little heaven on earth. The day was spent regrouping and taking time to rest; physically and mentally.

After the morning/afternoon of bronzing, we had a delicious dinner followed by late night zumba. I thought very seriously about getting certified as an instructor because I want to bring this twilight zumba idea back home but I don't think the art would be perfected without the Jamaicans and the tropical scenery. The humidity adds a whole new element too- by the 2nd song you are dripping sweat from places you didn't know you could sweat. By the end of the hour, you look like you were freshly dunked in a pool. Either way, if I don't take anything else back with me... twilight zumba is where it's at.

Betty, Gregory and I shared post-zumba drinks and had a God talk. One of those talks where you know He's the one leading the conversation. It's always touching to see any of the guys pray or talk genuinely about the "Fada up habove." Greg told me about the Church of Christ here and how any other church he's been to seems bland compared to the 3 hour service there where you can feel the Holy Spirit throughout the entire service. I wasn't shocked to hear how much he loves it when he explained that there isn't just music then preaching... there's music then preaching then music then preaching then dancing with music and more preaching. Any church with music, dancing and the Holy Spirit sounds like an A+ church in my book. I want to make it there before I leave.

Like I said, pretty uneventful as far as work went but the rest was a blessing. Tomorrow we have church and then the Northland team gets here. Can't wait to see you Dusty & Corinne!! I have some mangos waiting for you :)

Gooood night!

June 11, 2010

Today was the last work day for the Notre Dame team and the first for St. Francis. We started the morning and had to say bye to Drew and Ted so they could go take the ACT back in Chicago but on the upside, Barbs drove them so I got to spend a little time with her! After breakfast and getting ready, we took off for Seville. All 16 members of St. Francis and the remaining 12 on our team worked harder than I've seen a team work in a while! They started right away pouring the sand, rocks, cement and water and started mixing. All 28 of them plus the Jamaicans made a bucket line to pass the heavy cement from the mixing ditch all the way up to the pit in order to cap it. Today was the only day we'd have that many people so after talking to Richard and the teams, we decided to haul until 12:30 to finish what we could with so many people. It was downright AWESOME to see two (mostly) high school teams come together to work so hard. I basically said "St Francis, meet Notre Dame. Notre Dame, meet St Francis" and didn't expect anything to happen. That's about the same time I looked back and saw them all shaking hands and introducing themselves to each other. Good stuff. They ended up getting through 1.5 loads of cement which is impressive for anyone, let alone a team made from a team exhausted on their last day and another exhausted from arriving late last night.

After work and lunch it was time for the infirmary. I don't tell many people this, but I REALLY don't like going there. As much as I've gained from the experience, I feel like my heart breaks every time I walk in that place. I cannot understand how people are rejected and sent somewhere to very literally rot away. I always pray for and with the team before we go but it's still difficult for me- I look up to those people beyond words who are blessed with a heart to handle it. Anyways, we were getting ready to go and I talked to the team about what they were going to see and prayed God would use them as vessels to speak to the people we'd encounter. Today may have been my 15th time going there but I still felt like it was the first. When we arrived and talked to the nurses, they were sent to the women's ward, the common area and finally the mens ward. I had beautiful conversations with the women outside of the sleeping room and wanted to stay there so I didn't have to face my fears. As the team continued through the infirmary, I lead/followed (not sure which..) and ended up in the common area. I was standing watching Char so comfortably walk up and hug anybody and everybody while I sat there with a lump in my throat trying to understand "why". I was looking for a comfortable situation and I'm sure by the way I was acting, nobody had a clue about the way I was feeling. I kept on thinking about Jesus and what he'd be doing and what I should be doing. I ended up going to pray with a few of the women who tried to talk to me but I couldn't understand anything they were saying.

I spent about 10 minutes talking with some of the women before I realized that there was a man in a wheelchair that had been staring at me and smiling for quite some time. I finally went up to him and asked what the deal was with his handsome smile and he responded with "You didn't come last year, Katie!" First I was thinking "yes I did..." but switched back to try to figure out how he knew my name and what he was talking about. Like the majority of people in the infirmary, it was hard to understand what he was saying but after some translating re-explaining, I go the just of it. This man, Donovan, remembered me from 2 years ago. He remembered me telling him I'd be back to see him. He said he wrote letters "to america" to try to find out where I went but he was so happy Katie was back. WOW. Then when I really thought about it and realized that last year I really didn't go to the infirmary. Every time the teams were going, I'd talk to them before they left but always ended up at a worksite or with the kids somewhere. Ok God, I hear you...

I also had a chance to meet Ryan. He's one of the many young people that are in there now. He's the most cynical young man I've ever met in my life and because of that my abs were hurting from laughing throughout our entire conversation. "Why do you have such a childish watch?" "So you've been coming here this long? You must be old. I'd guess at least 27." "Your necklace is so tight it's choking you..." He was laughing, I was laughing, I can imagine it was probably good for him to have some younger people to talk to. I sat and talked with Donovan and Ryan for a long time... long enough that the team was all waiting by the bus for me. I'll definitely be making more trips back to see Donovan and Ryan... and whoever else God's going to throw at me to teach me a lesson. ;) It truly was an amazing, powerful experience to yet again see the power of promise and love.

We stopped by Grace to see the kids for one last time before the team leaves in the morning and eventually made our way home for feast night! We had a little time before dinner so I sat in my lounge chair by the pool facing the ocean to spend a little QT with Chris Tomlin. It wasn't 10 minutes before Doretta came out and brought me some tea. When I asked how she was doing her response was "Blessed! More blessed today than usual, this weather is beautiful. Love you Katie!" She is one beautiful person. I absolutely love the new kitchen crew here. Not only is the food delicious but they're great ladies.

We had our big feast... jerk chicken, pork (pourk as Gregory would say) and every assortment of Jamaican food imaginable. Including chocolate cake for dessert. The team had mass so Gregory, Aaron and I headed down to the other villas for late night zumba. St Francis was a little hesitant at first but it didn't take long before they were out of the pool and getting down on the dance floor with us!

I talked to Char earlier today and asked if I could do a reflection with them tonight. I've spent plenty of time with them at the worksite and on the bus but I haven't had a chance to hear any of their meetings or reflections. We met after zumba and I gave them 4 options: kodak moment (mental picture they'll keep forever), tattoo (what has forever changed them), wow/ow or just something that truly stuck out to them. One of my favorite kodak moments was Garrett talking about looking at the poverty and something that had potential to be so sad but he saw the ocean in the background. He realized that no matter how bad things seem, there's always beauty and God's love surrounding you. There were more things said than I could ever write down here but it was WONDERFUL to hear how great their week was. We talked about post-missions and the "what's next." We stayed and chatted after the meeting and enjoyed every second of conversation.

I love you Notre Dame team and will miss you! Thank you for your positive attitudes, smiles and everything you taught me. Next year: same place... see you here!

Tomorrow I'm headed to Silver Palms to get ready for some new teams and the continuation of this journey...

Good night!

Proverbs 16:9

Free Day!!

So we decided to have our "free day" early because 2 of the team members have to head back to the states tomorrow. The free day we plan is partially free but pretty structured and gives the team members a chance to discover some more cultural aspects of the town. The boys of the team started the day bright and early with 7am snorkeling. This moved our breakfast back to 8:30 (meaning those who didn't go snorkeling got to sleep in a little bit) and we left for Ocho Rios at 9:30. The team started at the farmers market where they're pulled, pushed and begged to buy each and every trinket available. It's typically a fun experience when you get to bargaining but we had one Miss Katie Gordon who couldn't say no OR bargain which left her carrying 39 bags and $0 lunch money back to the bus. :-P During the time they were walking around the market, Gregory, Aaron and I went to the barber to get Gregory a haircut and to the pharmacy to visit Rodney. It's always such a great experience to walk through Ochie but even better when you see people you know on the streets and get to do/see things you've never done before. Going to the barber in JA vs the states is in no way the same.

Usually the teams are given all morning and part of the afternoon to do their shopping and find a place on their own for lunch before meeting back up but Notre Dame did their research and found out about Scotchies. Scotchies is one of my FAVORITE "restaurants" in JA. It's pure Jamaica... Jerk chicken smoked right on the logs in front of you, pork, festival, sweet potato, corn and soup. Chicken foot soup, that is. With having such a small team we were able to tweek the schedule and give them less time in town so we could go to Scotchies for lunch. I think everyone really enjoyed it, myself and the guys included. Notre Dame was SUCH a great team in more ways than one but when it came to open mindedness and punctuality, they get an A+ in my book. Granted, we have 1.5 more days to see how it goes but they follow the pattern they've set they're an amazing team that definitely understands TINA (this is not america).

After lunch we all smashed back into the bus (which has turned into a puzzle each and every time) and headed to Dunns River Falls. I'm so used to having CHWC teams and having to get 90 tickets, I was ready to jump out (bus still moving) and run down to order tickets before the team had a chance to unload the bus. Only having 15 non-residents and 2 residents was great! We reached the bottom picnic table area with our favorite guide and they were off. I brought a book and music to keep myself busy. At first all I could do was sit under the tree and look at the water. To this day, the sea here is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. ESPECIALLY when you're sitting in the shade, next to a waterfall with a perfect breeze watching the cruise ship float by listening to kids playing in the water. I literally have to take a deep breath every time I really sit and look at it. After I got over my infatuation with the water, I started reading "Cross Cultural Servanthood" by Duane Elmer for the second time. It's amazing how certain books can jump out at you depending on the setting you're in or where you are in your life at the time. Just the idea of acceptance and categorizing people immediately and all of the subconscious cultural things we do before even meeting a person that automatically hurts our relationships before we even meet. I thought of that all day as I was trying to be conscious of what I was thinking as I met or even just looked at people. One of the things that really jumped out at me was a story written in one of the chapters about a man going to the south side of Chicago and asking his friend, "Is she a prostitute?" and his friend responded with "No that is not a prostitute! That is a person... in prostitution." This is such a different way of looking at things because it is such a natural response for us to simply look at someone and categorize them by their achievements instead of the fact that they're a person that's loved just as much as any other person by God. A big slap in the face was reading that to sin against one of our brothers and sisters here is a sin against God himself... something we don't always think of and probably one of the most common sins we see in Christianity. Just one more thing that stood out (among many others) was "the point of our being blessed is to bless others." If more of us spread love and lived like this in our everyday, we'd reach a point of unity and the world wouldn't be as divided as it is.

When we got home from the falls, they had 2 hours to relax before dinner. Most of them were exhausted from such a busy day and found a shady spot by the water and passed out. I organized some of my things and walked around the yard. When I was walking up towards the top of the property, I saw a precious old man on a moped, wearing a helmet and carrying a bag full of things to sell. There's nothing I hate more than a cute old man on a moped coming on the property to sell things. Not because I really hate it but because there's nothing worse than having to tell a precious old man he can't sell his carvings here! God truly did have me read that book today for a reason because of course at first I saw him driving up and ALL of the negative thoughts came to my head. I was having the "he's one of them sneaking in to sell things to the team..." type of thoughts. I walked up to him before he got to any of the team members to let him know that he really can't be here. As this was all happening, I changed my thought process to realizing he obviously needs money. He's working hard enough to make these carvings and using his energy to find us in order to convince us the face carvings are something we want. Going in with this mentality, I did end up telling him he really isn't supposed to be selling things on property but wow did we have a good raw conversation. His name is Sean and he is one of the most loving people I've ever stumbled across. He was an angel sent here to make me realize things about myself that I hadn't known before. I can guarantee I'll never see him again but will forever be changed by his laugh, love and true inspiration to live a life full of joy. Looking back, I am curious to know what people were thinking when they saw me talking to him on his moped laughing away as if we had been friends for years.

Tonight ended with pasta, Bobby's friend Rose who is a traveling masseuse coming to give massages, great conversation with the Notre Dame kids and a whole lot of thinking. The thought of leaving here keeps briefly crossing my mind and just as quickly the thought of staying forever pops up...

Please keep the prayers coming! There are amazing things going on here... lives being changed every day... mine included.

Good night!

Work day 3 (June 9, 2010)

Shocking but it was yet another amazing day here in Jamaica. Betty and I have been sharing a room and have gotten into a habit of talking and talking and talking until bed or until we realize breakfast is in 5 minutes! Today was no different except that she offered to do my laundry which changed our talking to yelling from the bathroom where she was washing clothes in the tub to the bedroom where I was getting ready/reading before work started. We went back to Seville and dang did this team work hard. It got to the point where they didn't want to get out of the trench so my job title changed to water girl and I spent some of the morning filling and delivering waters to them in the trench that is now up above most of their heads! They brought music and spent the morning picking, digging and dumping. Richard wanted to wait until Friday to start cementing because there will be another team here so we'll have more hands on deck for the mixing.

Lunch today was quite possibly the best chicken salad sandwich I've ever had in my life along with fresh fruit and wata. The plan for the afternoon was to head back to Grace so everybody would have a chance to play with the kids. They don't get out of school until 3 so we decided not to head back there until 2:30.... which left me about an hour and 15 minutes for a nap :] I sat down to read and woke up at 2:23. It was beeautiful. Today was another one of those days that I rediscover my love for kids and know that I'm in the right field. Cynthia brought 3 of the little girls from her school so I had a chance to blow bubbles and sing songs with them before the other 2392 kids showed up. I was able to see a lot of kids I've known from previous years and somewhere in the range of a million new ones. Aaron's little brother is my new little 4'8" giggily shadow and I met a new little man who likes to be called "batman"... I obeyed. There were a whole lot more kids than yesterday and a whole lot more fighting for sweeties, trinkets, bubbles & markers. I saw Drew from our team being attacked by a mob of children and took it upon myself to get them to all go outside so he could throw them the football. I have to admit, 95% of my motivation came from the question of whether or not this white girl could get dozens of kids to listen to her but all went well and I felt pretty good about it after. ;) After 2 hours of rioting for goodies from the kids, we took off to walk back to the villa. I absolutely love walking through the towns and having the opportunity to see people in their real environment. Whether it's food baskets, walk-abouts or just walking home instead of taking the bus, it's a real blessing for us to be able to see that little part of their lives.

When I was talking to Cynthia, she was telling me that 6 of the kids on her roster for next year can't start school because they can't afford the books and uniform. We talked about the idea of a sponsorship type program and I have the names of each child. It costs around $50 to send a kid to school for the year so if anybody has any ideas or wants to sponsor, please let me know!! I also forgot to mention yesterday that she asked if I'd speak at their graduation on the 29th! What an honor.

When we got home, we ate dinner and did dishes. Betty and I headed to the room where we talked for another 3 hours before realizing what time it was! I spent a little time with the team and the guys, drank some tea made from the leaves Aaron picked today and called it a day.

I'm not sure if this seems like words or a wordy explanation of what I'm doing down here but I don't know how to explain a constant joy. No matter where I'm serving, who I'm serving, what challenges come up, there's literally not a second in the day that I am not full of happiness. Sure there are incredibly sad moments, moments where you question why people are in the situation and why you're so blessed but there's nothing more comfortable than being surrounded by constant love and knowing God's backing you in everything you do. Try to imagine anything sweeter than seeing a kid across the room smiling ear-to-ear because they remember you and you ACTUALLY came back like you said you would. I sure can't...

Matthew 19:21

Good night!

Work day 2 (June 8, 2010)

Luke 6:38- Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

That scripture was in my head all day today as we continued our journey. We started the day with a delicious breakfast and sent the guys off to the worksite. The girls all stayed back and would go into town with Betty, Gregory and myself to grocery shop for food baskets.

For anybody who doesn't know, IsleGo started "food baskets" when it was brought to attention that although we were providing shelter, many (if not most) of the people we built houses for were still going hungry. A food basket contains food that the Jamaican's would typically buy to prepare meals for about two weeks. We have individuals in different communities that are aware of who is going hungry and they provide us with places to provide. It's one of my favorite things to do because we get to walk around, see the community, get to know the people we're delivering food to and pray with them. It's always an emotional eye-opener to teams who haven't left the worksite and haven't seen the living conditions that people just like you and I are living in.

Today we took the girls shopping, picked up the boys and got to meet Mr. Ken and Miss Rosie. We first delivered to Mr. Ken's house. The house was one room with a bed and a refrigerator. The walls were thin wood and a roof that was barley attached. When we arrived Mr. Ken was sitting in the door way in a folding chair looking out into the bushes. I told him we brought him groceries and would love to sit and talk with him and his eyes just lit up with excitement! It's funny how God works... most times we deliver food baskets the people we're led to have been praying for their next meal. Ken told us he's been having stomach problems and let us pray for him before we left for Rosie's.

Rosie is Mr. Brown's (who works around Civil Heights) wife. The have 4 kids and no steady income or resources aside from some housecleaning work on the side. She truly appreciated anybody that would pray for her and her children as well as the opportunity for work. If there was any way to explain the living conditions they were in, I would. Aside from saying it was basically pieces of wood/sheet metal bolted together to create a shelter, I don't know how to explain it without pictures. I do not in ANY way want to degrade any of our brothers and sisters here but I do want to open the eyes of anybody who hasn't seen anything like this. There are people praying for their next meal when we're trying to decide WHICH place we'll go to dinner and choosing which meal we're going to pick. I have seen babies drinking sugar water here because the mothers can't afford milk. It's absolutely heartbreaking...

After delivering food baskets and seeing Donovan explain the fruits and vegetables and purposes of each and every tree/bush/shrub growing on Miss Rosie's property, we went back to the worksite where the team finished the trench before lunch (so they can start cementing tomorrow!!).

Lunch today was beef patties with coco bread and whewww were they delicious. Its funny how things that are so simple can be so satisfying. Today after lunch a lot of the team wanted to have a chance to play with some kids while some of them wanted to get back to the worksite. I talked to Cynthia earlier this morning (the principal of the school I worked at all last summer) and she wanted to get together at the community center. It all worked out that I took the kid half to Grace while the others went off to the worksite. It was great to see Char and Katie spend time with Cynthia after having spent so much time with her last summer. The kindergarten class just won a trophy for intelligence! She brought the trophy, plaque AND award. So proud of them! We also met her new teaching assistant who has worked with special needs kids here for years. It's unbelievable hearing the stories about these kids- imagine how hard it is in the states and take away 100% of the resources we have available. These are physical AND mental needs. She's one amazing lady.

When I left home I really felt like I had unfinished business and was leaving without having anything settled. Money owed, leaving people hanging in different areas and just left feeling like this were unstable but God told me over and over I needed to be going. Today while I was at Grace I got a phone call from home that just didn't settle well and made me feel like I was putting others out in order for me to be here. If anybody knows me... I was literally feeling sick over it. I was praying and trying to figure out how to get everything taken care of while I'm here at the same time while I was directing the 800 Jamaican kids surrounding me as well as the few that were there from our team. I was watching Char hand out bags of markers and basically watched her in a brutal fight over Crayola markers. I just naturally went up to her and said "look around, you may want to start giving one per child instead of a bag with every color to a few of them." She began doing that and I sat back down to the frustration in my brain when God put the realization in my head that I was watching literally HUNDREDS of kids line up for 1 single Crayola marker that would make their day (or however long it takes to dry up). There was another boy who came up and blew bubbles in my face and giggled harder than anybody I've ever seen in my life. I looked out the window where there were hundreds more children playing and heard a car horn. That's when all of the kids started SCREAMING at the top of their lungs and sprinting... they were chasing after the sugar cane trucks to try to get some sweeties. After looking around and seeing all of this raw, plain joy in such a simple form made me start laughing. Not just a little laugh but one of those laughs where you can't stop no matter how hard you try. That's when I realized (again) that I'm here for a reason and no matter what's going on back home, I'm here and that's exactly where I should be.

After the center we came back to the villas for goat night! We had dinner and Red stopped by before work! I called him to see when I'd be seeing him and after a 2 minute discussion of me having to convince him that I was actually in town, he brought his paintings and we were able to catch up. Around 8:00 we started our late-night zumba in the dark with only the noise of latin music and the waves crashing. I looked up at one point and saw the stars... I tried to make out a dipper... north star... anything... but there were so many more stars that there wasn't a chance. That's when I (again) realized that I am truly truly blessed and have indeed gained more than I have given.

Cementing in the morning and off to play with the kids tomorrow afternoon :)

Love & miss you all.