Jamaica 2008 Week 2

Today was a typical day at Sav. It’s actually been nice. We’ve been down in attendance due to summer school, church camp, and a couple other events that are going on in and around Sav.

Even though the attendance has been down, it has by no means been easy. Today we saw almost 160 in attendance. As usual they were slow rolling in. It’s a phenomenon unique to this church. Usually when we minister on the South Coast, the churches are packed when we arrive for VBS. Here they just kind of wander in when they feel like it. It’s frustrating. We start a little later thinking we’ll have a bigger crowd, but they just come later. God is faithful though – He always brings the kids out and we always have a good time.

Today our lesson was “Jesus gives us the power to help others”  We looked at how Jesus healed the blind man with spit and mud. As usual our spontaneous melodrama was hysterical. Our craft was scratch art – the sheets of multi-colored paper are covered with black wax. Kids use wooden styluses to scratch off the black and reveal the color underneath.

For snack today we had Juicy Beef “patties”. These are like hot pockets filled with beef and  spices. They are really good and the kids love them. They are a great value too. They cost about $55 Jamaican when we buy them in bulk. That’s about 75 cents. When you go to the store and buy them they have many different kinds. They are beef, chicken, beef and cheese, shrimp, vegetable, and the ever elusive Lobster Patty. In eight years, Pastor Greg has never had one and he is convinced they don’t really exist (although the Jamaicans swear they do).

One of the highlights of the day was singing “Making Melodies”.  The kids were SOOOO loud. It was amazing too hear them singing on the final chorus.

Most of the group spent the afternoon relaxing from our double session on Monday Night by swimming, walking to Rick’s, and napping.

Pastor Greg and Rick returned to Hope Baptist in Sav on Tuesday evening for leadership training. We had about 12 people from the church that showed up to hear how they could grow their church.

PG shared with them the purpose-driven philosophy and how we are applying it at New Life. It was a very exciting meeting. The people asked questions and really interacted as we discussed various ways they could move people form the community to the core. Pastor Wright  has been reading the PD Church book and was very excited to share with his people what he’d been learning. I think we made a lot of progress in setting a direction for the church at Sav and Llandilo.

Pastor Wright is an energetic person with lots of ideas. We really look forward to working with him in the future.

Rick Chenoweth here.

Tuesday was day two of the four day VBS at Sav.  What a Day!  We had an indoor snowball fight and a blind man was healed!  (The snowballs were wadded up paper and the blind man was  Zach).  The kids are great and all the mission team members are doing an awesome job.  The love of Christ is being shared in a real and wonderful way.  Kids that do not always have a reason to smile are laughing, singing and learning about the compassion of Jesus.  To see what we are doing, just copy and paste the address below or click on it to enjoy a few  pictures.

                                   http://pictures.aol.com/galleries/rikamissions

Later Tuesday evening Pastor Greg and I traveled back to Sav where Pastor Greg shared with the young church leaders and Pastor Wright about the Purpose Driven Church.   They eagerly listened and asked many questions.  These people are hungry to learn a proven method to help them reach their community for Christ.  Pray for them as they begin putting into action what they heard.

I really want to Praise God for the team He has put together for this mission trip.  All the members are united to see God’s Glory shine in this part of Jamaica.  Thank you for your continued prayers for us.

In Christ,

Rick Chenoweth

Talked to Brandon tonight & the first question he asked was, “What animals did you see in the water today?”

I was telling him about our Friday snorkelilng trip on our day off last year, but apparently he thinks all we’re doing is snorkeling and hanging out by the pool. When I told him we weren’t in the ocean today, he asked, “So what did you see?”

He’s kind of young to understand, but every day, we’re seeing God work in and through our team. I am so proud of our group. They have been adaptable and worked tirelessly even when things started slowly.  God is blessing and someday I hope Brandon will be able to come with us and see exactly how hard we work.

I love you, Brandon!!  I love you too, Camryn!

See you next Sunday!  Be good for Grandma & Grandpa.

Today was the first day of VBS at Sav in the morning. We arrived at 8:30 and set up. At 9 there were only about 36 kids. By 9:15 there were 57. At 10:00 we had 102 and by the end, we had about 150. We started slow but ended strong. Everything went well. The kids were very well behaved. Our drama went well and we videoed it. The highlight of the day was the Diet Coke and Mentos in the yard afterward. One of the Geyser tubes was missing the cover for the side holes and it sent kids scattering when it went off.

One of the moms was telling us that Peanut Butter is expensive here in Jamaica, so the sandwiches were quite the treat for the kids. Pastor Greg has decied to start a ministry of sending PB to Jamaica. It is his goal to rid the US of the horrible stuff so that he only has to deal with it when he is here for the week. It will be his greatest service to humanity ;^)

We spent the afternoon preparing for our evening session in Landilo and playing in the pool to cool off. It was extremely hot in Sav this morning.

Tonight we traveled to a suburb of Sav called Landilo. This large area is a modenr subdivision with single family homes and upscale buildings. We were in Phase 4 at the town square. Actually the front yard of the house beside Charlie’s Cookshop. We used the projector and showed our videos up on the side of Charlie’s house.

It was definitely an experience. We finished setting up at 5:30 for a 6:00 start. There were two little girls watching us set up. When I said, “Hi” the ran off screaming. Eventually the came back and warmed up to us, but they were the only ones there at 6:00.  We turned up the sound system and played some music to try to gather people. Some of our group went to invite people that we could see watching us.

We pulled out the Sandy Candy hoping to attract some more people. Then we realized we sounded like pedophiles calling kids to get some candy.  But it worked. When Pastor Wright arrived at 6:15, he took the rest of our group around the neighborhood and invited some more people to come.  By 7:00 we had over 50 people there.

We had a great time singing, doing our spontaneous melodrama, and doing our crafts. By the time we got to the end, it was dark enough to show Chadder.  Then we called the kids out into the street and did the Diet Coke and Mentos geysers.  Some of us stayed back to clean up the sound system. We could hear the oohs and aahs as it went off.

What a great example of God working. As we worked with the kids, Pastor Wright was able to talk with several adults who asked him to continue coming and sharing with their community. Several of the teens from Sav came to help us in Landilo.

Please pray for the leadership of Hope Baptist Church as it transitions pastors and attempts to reach out into this new area.

Got to get to bed, tomorrow’s another day. We’ve got VBS in the morning and a leadership training session in the evening.

I’ll post more pics tomorrow.

Well Hello everyone back home. Ok I have decided I am not coming home. Ok Ok that would be a dream. It is so beautiful here. I am loving the kids. On Sunday Lori M and I were walking to the little corner store for ice, when a little girl came running up to me and jumped into my arms. She gave me a big hug and tried to feed me her ring pop. Her name was Chanelle. She was so cute. I also got to meet the girl we support here in Jamaica. She is very shy but cute as a button. God is really doing a work down here. We drove past the place where we may start a new VBS. It is in a yard and we will be using the projector off a building. It is awesome to see all the kids singing and dancing to Gods music. When we were having service a young girl with a baby was sitting out on the porch of the church and I told her to come in but because her shorts were too short she wanted to just sit there. The baby I was holding in the picture is a Boy name RJ, he has very bad asthma so please pray for him to be healed. Well much for to come from the beautiful land that God has created. Love and Blessings. Brandy

This morning we held services at Hope Baptist Church in Savanna La Mar. This is our third year at Sav and we recognized many of the faces that were present.

Pastor Wright was speaking at another church this morning and Pastor Wedderburn didn’t arrive until 10:50 (Sunday School started at 10), so we jumped right in and began. The whole team led singing, Brandy shared her favorite verse, Zach sang “Grace Like Rain” and several people did a Scripture reading. Lori and some of the ladies took the kids (about 28) into the small side classroom where they learned about the miracle of the Great Catch.  Rick spoke to the adults about the P.E.A.C.E. program and how they could bring P.E.A.C.E. to their community. All total including our team, there were about 50 people present.

At 11, the church  service began. Once again, the team led singing, Pat shared her testimony, andwe did a Scripture reading. Pastor Greg shared about God’s purposes for our lives.  Following the service, we quickly decorated the auditorium for VBS.

After arriving back at the hotel, we recuperated from our day of travel by relaxing by the pool, taking a nap in the hammocks, and just fellowshipping with each other.

In the evening, we ate dinner, went to see the sunset (there wasn’t one — it was cloudy) and cliff divers. No one did it this time, but on Thursday several of us are planning on jumping.

After devotions, we made about 250 PB&J sandwiches for VBS tomorrow.

Well, that’s our day. Everyone is doing great. We’re looking forward to what God has for us over the next few days.

Well, we’re settling down after a VERY long day.  The main group left Detroit an hour later than scheduled. Which means we arrived in Jamaica an hour later than we thought we would. We were worried about meeting up with Steve, Regan, and Rick, but when we landed, we had a voicemail and text message that their flight from Charlotte was delayed. They were basically leaving Charlotte after we arrived in Jamaica and had cleared customs.

Instead of waiting around the airport for 4 hours, we decided to take the main group on to the hotel. A driver remained behind in MoBay to bring SR&R to the hotel when they arrived.

As we boarded the bus, it was pouring down rain. A nice, steady hard rain that lasted all night long. Apparently there is a tropical depression centered directly over Jamaica that is supposed to last through the weekend. Hopefully, it will move on tomorrow.

The hotel is hosting a wedding tonight, so we were not able to eat at the on-site restaurant. Our plan was to hike up to Rock House for dinner and watch the sunset, but with the rain and our late arrival, we missed our 5:30 reservation. The good news is that we didn’t miss the sunset — there was none due to the rain!  We arrived at the Sea Star about 6:45 PM. Linda, the lady at the front desk, called Rock House and they said they could take us, but we had to be seated by 7:30.  We quickly dropped our stuff at our rooms and our driver, Macky, drove us up to RH.

Steve, Regan, and Rick still hadn’t arrived when we sat down to eat. I don’t mean they hadn’t arrived at Rock House. They hadn’t arrived in Jamaica. We called and text messaged, but could not get in touch with them at all. We called the driver, but he hadn’t seen them either.  We were getting a bit worried. About 8:15, our driver called and said  that he had them and that they would be there shortly. They were stopping to get something to eat on the way.

We arrived back at the hotel about 9:00 and they still hadn’t arrived. It is now about 9:30 and we’re still waiting on them. Hopefully, they will be here soon.

We’re off to bed. Tomorrow is church!

The main group left the church this morning at 3:30 am. Thanks to Jay Sweet for driving us.

We’re currently sitting in airport in Detroit waiting for our next flight.

Our flight from Pittsburgh to Detroit was pretty uneventful except that we were held up at check-in and security and the last few members of our party had to rush to make the flight. They were closing the door as they came aboard!

We’re exhausted from being up so early, but excited about what God is going to do in us and through us this week.

We are just about packed (well, I am. Greg still has a little more to do). In just a few short hours we will be leaving for the Pittsburgh airport and then we’re off to Montego Bay, Jamaica by way of Detroit. I’m feeling sad about leaving our children for the week, but excited about what lies ahead. I hope that everyone who reads our blog will commit to praying for our team. God has put this team together and each one brings a unique presence.

Here are some prayer requests:

1. Safe travel. We have people on different flights and airlines, but all arriving around the same time at Mo Bay. Also, pray for our travel on the island as well. We will be spending a lot of time driving from place to place.

2. Health. Pray we all stay healthy and hydrated.

3. Hope Baptist Church. This is the church that we will be primarily working in.

4. Pastors Aldred Wedderburn and Paul Wright. These are the pastors who minister at the churches we are working at.

5. The area of Savannah La Mar, Jamaica. This is the town where we will be working. 

6. The kids. Pray that the kids who come to VBS will be open to the Word of God and willing to let us build relationships with them.

7. Our families back home. Pray that God will keep them safe and healthy while we are away.

Thank you to everyone for your support and prayers! We hope to keep you updated throughout the week. So check back and see what God is doing!

Love and Blessings!

Lori

Hey everybody,

 Pastor Greg and I went shopping today to finish getting needed supplies for Jamaica. I’m getting excited about going and what God is going to do. I’m really excited about the addition of a two-night VBS for Pastor Wright (one of the Jamaican pastors we are working with) at a church plant he is starting. It will be outside and with a smaller group of kids, so that will be nice. Pastor Greg is also going to be teaching a one night seminar on Purpose Driven Ministry to local pastors. Tomorrow our team meets after the 11 a.m. service to pack and make final arrangements. One neat thing about this trip is that Zach Throne is joining us from Detroit! The Throne family was part of New Life back in the day:) They moved to MI around the year 2000. Anyway, Zach was just starting in All-Stars when he moved away and now he is coming back as a teen to help us minister to our brothers and sisters in Jamaica! Cool!

 Please keep us in your prayers as we make our final preparations. One week from now we’ll be in Negril.

 Blessings,

Lori Marshall

BTW, Pastor Matt and the first Jamaica team should be home tonight sometime. Can’t wait to hear about their experience:)