Jamaica // Part One

DAY ONE // Sunday, July 9th
I’ve started and restarted this sentence a bunch of different ways now, because there’s just SO MUCH I want to share with you and I don’t know where to begin! It’s incredible to think that as we sat in church today, many of you were also sitting in church miles away in a different country…it struck me that we were all worshipping the same God, and the same Jesus even though we are separated by oceans and time and cultures. Our God is much bigger and more powerful than we even realize.

Today was so special. On the drive to church in Wait-a-bit this morning, we practiced the songs we might sing for our Jamaican friends. Abi brought her guitar and led us so effortlessly - it was the perfect way to set the tone for the day. We arrived for Bible Study before the main worship service. Our teacher talked about family, and the importance of bringing up children and your home in God’s truth… he talked about how leading a God centered home has ripple effects that reach past just our immediate families and our homes, and spread outward and upward eventually changing the kinds of countries we live in.

Jamaican church is so FUN! Worship is lively, and loud and there’s a lot of singing and dancing and clapping. Our entire group was able to sing a song in front of the whole church. Abi prepared us well, and led the way - God has so clearly gifted her to lead worship and use music to praise him. Madyson and Jaylen shared their testimonies. I nearly teared up, because hearing them talk so confidently about how God has changed their lives was so powerful. Madyson was eloquent and brave and genuinely talked about the joy she has in Jesus and the passion she has to spread that joy with others. Jaylen said something the Jamaican ministers kept quoting throughout the service, he said, “You don’t have to change yourself before coming to Jesus, it’s Jesus who starts changing YOU."

After some more singing and praying, AJ shared from Philippians 2. He talked about our awe-inspiring God, and our response to King Jesus when we know him for who he really is. The entire service lasted about 3 hours, it was long and hot but our team fought to stay engaged and present. These students continue to impress me and I was so proud of them and how they represented their faith and our church.

Missing our families and friends, but so excited about our great first day in Jamaica and looking ahead to the rest of the week!

DAY TWO // Monday, July 10th

Wow, each day just gets better than the last.

Every Life In Abundance office around the world prays and fasts every Monday morning as part of their normal work week. We got to participate in this time this morning. We took turns praying for the LIA programs and partner churches in Egypt. As we prayed for the people’s safety from persecution and danger due to their belief in Jesus, we were reminded of the luxury we have to gather and worship our God freely. Then, we sang a few songs and prayed more for the LIA center here in Jamaica. Towards the end of this time, we broke up into groups of two and prayed for each other individually.

This time was the highlight for many of our students day. Aubreigh talked about the connection her and Liz got to make and how their conversation brought them closer. It was truly a holy moment watching Marcia, and Pastor Nezbeth, and Sister Evette pray for our students and our team pray for each other – God was moving and doing something special between this team and the LIA staff. Prayer is an important pillar in LIA’s Transformational Model and the morning of prayer and fasting is such a beautiful reminder of the gift we have in being able to communicate with God through prayer.

After lunch, Marcia and Pastor Nezbeth led us through envisioning. We got to hear all about LIA’s approach to community development and wholistic transformation. Pastor Nezbeth talked with such passion about empowering the local church and the local community to participate in their healing and in poverty alleviation. Marcia is absolutely lovely. I wish there was a way you could all meet her – she is vibrant and full of wisdom. She’s been a great bridge between the Jamaican culture and our culture for our students in understanding the heartbeat of LIA and their work in Jamaica and around the world.

Before dinner this evening, we helped Garland (the facilities coordinator here on campus) with fixing a pipe. It was the first time many of your students had ever held a pick-ax haha! Regardless of size and stature, everyone took a turn at digging out the mote the pipe would lay in. Isaac was especially encouraging to our team and he so naturally took leadership of that time together. It might have been a small project, but it bonded our team to see something we accomplished together in such little time to be of help to the center.

After dinner Megan, Isaac, Liz, and Madyson joined in on a game of soccer with some of the Jamaican students from a local team that is also here staying at the retreat center. Some of the teenage girls were eager to show our team their choreographed dance moves to a worship song they love – our team LOVED this! These interactions brought so much joy to our students, they couldn’t stop talking about how selfies and snapchat filters are just as popular here in Jamaica :)

Our students lit up in our debrief time tonight! This was so fun to watch - their chemistry amongst each other is growing and strengthening and they are eager to share with one another what they are learning and experiencing. We had such a wonderful day!

Other noteworthy things that happened today: a bird pooped on AJ’s shoulder (we hear it’s supposed to be good luck), and we found out Aubreigh has a talent for braiding hair and half the team might be coming home with cornrows (don’t be surprised!).

Keep praying for safety and that God continue to reveal himself in big, powerful ways. So looking forward to returning to Wait-a-bit tomorrow to pitch in on some projects the church is working on!
Share