Jamaica Day 4

We ventured back to Wait-a-bit today, to help with construction on a training facility Pastor Reed’s church is in the process of building. The hope for the center is to teach skills like sewing, welding, and computer skills to the young people in the community so that they have a better chance of getting jobs once they are out of school. This is the same training center we got to work on last year, and it’s right next to the Pentecostal church we’ve been partnering with all week! It was so fun to be able to see the progress they’ve made on it since last year. Today we poured the rest of the concrete to finish the ceiling. More mixing and more swinging heavy buckets. The church sits on top of a hill and overlooks the lush rolling hills and the small towns nestled into their valleys – so the entire time we worked, we had a gorgeous view of the island while the wind blew and cooled us off…not a bad way to work construction if you ask me ;)

Isaac was complimenting Jason (one of the worship leaders from the church) and his team on their work ethic – they got to talking about the differences between Jamaican work and American work since Jason has visited family in the States before. His conversation reminded him of what we talked about last night in debrief, “And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor.” - 2 Timothy 2:6. Our partnership allows the Jamaican community to have pride in their efforts, and they will be the first ones to enjoy the training center when it is done because they labored every step of the way (alongside some white teenagers form America from time to time) year after year. Rochelle was back and Gracie was easily her favorite…they played chopsticks and about a hundred rounds of patty-cake on our water breaks.

Tonight at debrief we talked about how music has been a such an impactful piece of our trip this year. It’s been a way for our team to open up to each other, and it’s connected us to the LIA staff in such a special way. Any time Abi breaks out her guitar, it brings people together. It’s also been a way for your students and the local youth camp that’s here connect. Tonight after dinner, Abi was playing her guitar and a dance circle broke out in the courtyard. Megan had all the student singing and chanting and dancing together, it was a blast to sit back and watch!

Your students are so brave. They’ve been asked to try new things, and get to know new people, and they’ve jumped in with both feet without hesitation. They are realizing how strong, fearless, and capable they really are. My hope is they come home more empowered to face whatever new or unfamiliar territory might be waiting for them, whether it be college or moving on or tackling senior year and all the questions about their future it inevitably brings up.

AJ, Lauren, and I are so humbled to be here with your students – thank you a million times over for trusting us. We know they are missing you and can’t wait to share all they’ve experienced!
Share