Hi folks!
We had our first full day of construction! The Pentecostal Church of God in Wait-a-bit is where we attended church on Sunday, they are one of the local churches LIA partners with. This week the church is working on rebuilding and fixing up the house Deacon Chambers lives in. Deacon Chambers led our bible study on Sunday at the church, so it was really special that we got to play a part in the building of his home.
When we first arrived, we helped sift some of the dirt they would mix with concrete to use on a cinderblock wall inside the home. We mixed concrete and swung buckets to lay flooring in the lower level of the home. Brenna stood inside the home and helped empty buckets and leveled the concrete with some of the church members, they joked and laughed as they worked and razzed her for having to wear gloves ;) She said this was her favorite part of the day! Gracie was a pro, having been a couple missions trips before and being familiar with pouring concrete, she was the first to jump in line when it was time to pass buckets. One of the young girls from the neighborhood watched us work - she was very curious about us and seemed to be particularly fond of Lauren but wouldn’t speak to us and was very shy. By the end of the day she told us her name, Rochelle, and helped us carry empty buckets back up to the top of the hill. So sweet.
Your students’ teamwork was so impressive, no one complained about the heavy buckets or the hot sun on our backs. Everyone was eager to jump in and help or learn from the locals about how to make the task more efficient. David (our liaison while we’re here) praised their energy and enthusiasm during construction. In his words, “this was very unique to see”. We learned there is joy in serving God and accomplishing hard work together - many of your students talked about how the hard labor in the heat barely bothered them, instead it filled them up to work towards something they knew was helpful to the friends we made at church on Sunday and to the community. The entire day was a true picture of partnership and the missions model Flatirons and LIA share.
After dinner, we circle up in white adirondack chairs and debrief our day. We share our highs and lows, and David usually shares a devotion or a lesson from scripture with us. Tonight, he asked the team to share some of their spiritual challenges. He talked about the “mountain top experience” and how to carry it with you even when you leave the mountain. He encouraged us to lean on each other, on our team…that we don’t have to carry our burdens or our challenges alone, but now that we’ve experienced this together we can have one another’s backs and encourage and remind each other of what God taught us when we are back at home. Ah I just love how he said it , “you are twelve strong”. This is something I hope our team brings home, the bonds and the relationships they’ve forged here in Jamaica.
Headed back to Wait-a-bit tomorrow for more construction. Pray for continued energy and strength, and that with each new day God continues to move in the hearts of your students and draw them in to how he’s working in Jamaica.
We had our first full day of construction! The Pentecostal Church of God in Wait-a-bit is where we attended church on Sunday, they are one of the local churches LIA partners with. This week the church is working on rebuilding and fixing up the house Deacon Chambers lives in. Deacon Chambers led our bible study on Sunday at the church, so it was really special that we got to play a part in the building of his home.
When we first arrived, we helped sift some of the dirt they would mix with concrete to use on a cinderblock wall inside the home. We mixed concrete and swung buckets to lay flooring in the lower level of the home. Brenna stood inside the home and helped empty buckets and leveled the concrete with some of the church members, they joked and laughed as they worked and razzed her for having to wear gloves ;) She said this was her favorite part of the day! Gracie was a pro, having been a couple missions trips before and being familiar with pouring concrete, she was the first to jump in line when it was time to pass buckets. One of the young girls from the neighborhood watched us work - she was very curious about us and seemed to be particularly fond of Lauren but wouldn’t speak to us and was very shy. By the end of the day she told us her name, Rochelle, and helped us carry empty buckets back up to the top of the hill. So sweet.
Your students’ teamwork was so impressive, no one complained about the heavy buckets or the hot sun on our backs. Everyone was eager to jump in and help or learn from the locals about how to make the task more efficient. David (our liaison while we’re here) praised their energy and enthusiasm during construction. In his words, “this was very unique to see”. We learned there is joy in serving God and accomplishing hard work together - many of your students talked about how the hard labor in the heat barely bothered them, instead it filled them up to work towards something they knew was helpful to the friends we made at church on Sunday and to the community. The entire day was a true picture of partnership and the missions model Flatirons and LIA share.
After dinner, we circle up in white adirondack chairs and debrief our day. We share our highs and lows, and David usually shares a devotion or a lesson from scripture with us. Tonight, he asked the team to share some of their spiritual challenges. He talked about the “mountain top experience” and how to carry it with you even when you leave the mountain. He encouraged us to lean on each other, on our team…that we don’t have to carry our burdens or our challenges alone, but now that we’ve experienced this together we can have one another’s backs and encourage and remind each other of what God taught us when we are back at home. Ah I just love how he said it , “you are twelve strong”. This is something I hope our team brings home, the bonds and the relationships they’ve forged here in Jamaica.
Headed back to Wait-a-bit tomorrow for more construction. Pray for continued energy and strength, and that with each new day God continues to move in the hearts of your students and draw them in to how he’s working in Jamaica.