Our bus arrives in about 90 minutes, so last minute packing in underway!

See you all soon.

Negril is one of the top beaches in the world. It’s powdered sugar sand & clear water are just a wonder to behold.

Several of us started the day with a snorkeling expedition with Famous Vincent. This is the same guy who took us on our tour last year. He’s really cool! he actually jumps in with you and gives you a tour of the reef pointing stuff outand showing you where to go and not go.  We saw many different fish, rays, and even a few jellyfish!  One of the highlights is when he hands out the bread. You hold it out and hundreds of Sergant Major fisheat right out of your hand. It’sreally a cool experience.

After returning to the beach, several of us headed down the beach to Alfred’s for fish & chips.  It was quite a walk - maybe two miles. Several of us got sunburned & some got chafed, but the food was good and we had lots of fun.

While we were doing that several others went shopping on the beach. The found some jewelry & beach towels, but one of the funniest stories was from Jackie & Pat.  Jackie asked a guard at one of the resorts if there was a restroom around and he said, “No, no, no.  Way up there” and pointed down the beach.  Jackie and Pat started walkiung in the direction. While they walked, they were looking for shells and washed up coral. They had their hands full of shells when another policeman called Jackie over to him. She thought she was in trouble for picking up shells on the beach. When she got to the policeman, he said, “You need a restroom?” and showed her where it was. He walked her between two weddings to get there.

Back at Margaritaville, Zach, Ben, Regan, and Brandy were jumping on the water trampolines while we floated in the ocean. There were two trampolines connected by a big blow up tube and one of their challenges  was to cross the tube without falling in. It was great fun to watch.

We finished the night with dinner at Margaritaville. We sat down at 5:30 and were done eating at 7:30! There were so SLOW (even by Jamaican standards).

After returning to the hotel, we had devotions and everyone went back to their rooms to pack. Pastor Greg began copying the photos that everyone took during the week on to CD. It took 5 CDs and there were over 1900 pictures!

The week is quickly coming to an end.  The four day VBS at Sav is over and we’re back at the hotel recovering.  The kids had a great time and several came to the Lord or recommitted their lives to him.  It is always a joyful time when new souls are added to the Kingdom of God. The meeting with Pastor Wright and the teens on Tuesday went well. You can see God’s love and hope in them.  The Lord is moving in a great way here in Jamaica.  Just look into the eyes of the teens at Sav and one can see a determination to bring Christ to their people.  The opposite is also true.  Some of the youths at the VBS were there just to get something for free….some food or a toy, or to just cause trouble. There was an emptiness in their eyes.  They heard the message but refused to believe it.  I can sense the frustration the Jamaican pastors have with them.  Christ is answer, but these tough kids are not interested.  How do we wake up these lost lives?  Will they believe in time?  I pray they do.  I pray the pastors, leaders and believers do not give up on them.  I, too, can be frustrated with those who refuse to listen but I still believe in miracles, especially the miracle of  new life in Christ. Even  the hardest heart is not too hard for the Lord to break and fill with life.

I started this blog with the line that the week is quickly coming to an end.  The NLBC mission team will return to the USA.  All of us have been affected by the trip one way or another.  I am reminded of the reason Karen, my wife, and I travel.  We go to strengthen, encourage, assist and teach the Christians of other countries to go out and reach the people of their community with the love of Christ.  Sometimes these believers feel like they are the only Christians in the world. They need to know they are not alone.  We in the USA are standing with them.  Sometimes an encouraging word and a hug is what they need to get through another day.  In this, the NLBC Jamaica mission team was very successful.  At least one person on the team would like to spend 3 months here working with the kids and pastors.  Other team members will go home with a renewed desire to pray for lost souls.  All will go home to share with their friends and family their love for missions.

I am having a great time. The kids are awesome, some of the girls where crying today when we were leaving, I was crying as well. I don’t want to leave.

I am sure you have read that I jumped off a thirty foot cliff twice on Tuesday and we are hopefully going back tonight and Pastor Greg and I are jumping off again. After jumping off the cliff twice I went and jumped off a lower one to swim in the ocean and landed wrong and got a bruise. Go figure — ok for the big cliff and a bruise from the little one. Oh well.

Today was the last day of VBS and there have been some older boys hanging around and the one kept doing something with his hands and calling me a not so nice name. I just said “ok whatever” well he left and came back about two min later and he had a knife. I went back inside and sent one of the Jamaican guys out to talk to him and find out what he was doing. After about ten min he left and I did not see him. I was worried about what he may try to do to the kids as they where coming out from VBS (Note from Pastor Greg: The kid was gone when the kids were leaving. It wasn’t a problem. I went outside myself to make sure there wasn’t an incident). 

Lori M and I where talking and we both would love to do a long term mission here for about three months. I got a lot of phone numbers and addresses. The kids loved it when  we would take their pictures and then show them. We all got a lot of GREAT pictures and I can’t wait to show them all to you.

When Pastor Greg gave the invitation about fourteen kids came and gave their lives to God. HOW AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! Well I am sad for this trip to come to and end, I just pray that Pastor Wright can get ordained so he can start getting into the church and reaching these kids. Well I am signing off. Much love and Blessings from Jamaica.

Well it’s Thursday afternoon and we are officially done with our VBS. It’s always bittersweet to see it end. We met some really awesome teen girls who are really hungry for the Word and longing to learn more. Please pray for them  - Toni Ann, Carrin & Julia.

In addition to working at Sav, we did an outreach backyard Bible club in the Llandilo area on Monday and Wednesday evening. That was a lot of fun (except for the biting ants, arghhh!), our team walked the streets inviting children to come and we ended up with about 70 kids last night! Greg has a really good video Gospel presentation that he shared with the kids and you could hear a pin drop (at Sav too). Without a doubt many people heard the Gospel story (in the community too since we were broadcasting on the side of a house with a loud sound system!) and 4-5 indicated they accepted Christ!

Today at Sav 14 people indicated they accepted Christ! What a great day (& night) of ministry. Please continue to pray for these areas and Pastors that are working with them  - Pastor Wright and Pastor Wedderburn. The culture around the church is one of thuggery. Many of the kids who came to VBS are ones that never go to church. The Pastor’s wife said this is the only time they see these children. I don’t think she meant that in a good way. They get frustrated that they can’t seem to get these kids to come to Sunday School.

Pastor Greg did do some training with Pastor Wright and some of the teen leaders about Purpose Driven Ministry and how they could reach out more to their community. Let’s pray that they will understand and put into practice what was talked about and maybe they would be able to see those kids at other times of the year, not just when we come for VBS.

What up U.S.A?!?!  It has been an awesome time in Jamaica.  We just finished VBS at Hope, and it has been a crazy and fun time.  God has really shown me how lucky I am to have a great family, friends, and congregation.  I hope that the States have been alright.  I guess I will talk to you guys when I come home.

P.S.  I do not miss the weather in Michigan.

P.S.S.  The food is awesome!

I have finished this week with a new appreciation of how exhausting, exciting and frustrating mission work can be. I have a renewed appreciation for those who are in full time missionary service.  Seeing the poverty of the Sav La Mar area reminded me that I am often ungrateful for what a blessed life God has given me in the US.  The spiritual poverty of  the people of Sav La Mar impressed on my heart how important these trips are.   Of the approximately 180 children we had today the majority did not know  Jesus.

They were often a group that was difficult to teach and control but I couldn’t help thinking, “If we don’t come here, who will?” It was exciting to see a handful of children give their lives to Jesus and it was frustrating because I wanted all of them to be saved.  But I know we are planting seed that might take years to grow.  And I was reminded of the importance of praying consistently for the pastors and believers that are working very hard to be faithful and spread the Word in Sav La Mar.   I was convicted of the importance of praying diligent for these.children we ministered to this week and faithfully asking God for a great harvest of souls for Him.

There is a tendency in Sav for kids to show up right before we pass out crafts and snacks. They disrupt the service and won’t listen to us. They are only there for what they can get. Our view is that maybe something will sink in while they are there, but Pastor Wedderburn dislikes this immensely, so we moved snack and craft to earlier in the service today. Needless to say, there were many unhappy kids at the end.

Since these kids are the “thugs” in Sav, they were waiting outside for the little kids to leave so they could take their stuff. Most of us stood outside to try and discourage this, but we know that some of the kids had their stuff taken on the way home. It can be discouraging to see the little kids mistreated, but we also have to understand that this is their culture. In many ways in Charlean (the area of Sav we work in), that this is their way of life. It is literally “the strong survive.”

We wish we could change it, but we can’t impose our Amrican standards on them. We must work within their culture to instill Biblical knowledge and truth and allow God to change hearts and minds.

The afternoon was spent resting and relaxing.  At 6:00 we had Pastor Wright and his wife, Ann-Marie, over for dinner. What a dinner it was — fried chicken, mashed potatoes, beef filets, vegetables, rolls, juice, etc.  Wow! Following dinner we walked up to Rick’s where Greg and Brandy jumped off the high cliff (about 35 feet).  They wanted to go a second time, but the lifeguard closed it down because it was too dark.

We hung out at Rick’s listening to a Reggae concert. Several of the team did the Electric Slide when the singer sang “Electric Boogie” and then we returned to the hotel where we packed our leftover supplies and hung out with the Wrights. While we were fellowshipping, Pastor Watson showed up. We talked and visited until about 11:00 pm.  It was a really fun night. It was the Wright’s first trip to Rick’s — it was fun to watch their reactions.  We invited Pastor Wright to jump from the cliffs, but he respectfully declined (actually, he wouldn’t even walk out onto the platform to look down at the water!).

Tomorrow (Friday) is our free day. We’re sleeping in and then hitting the beach in Negril. Several of us are going snorkeling and some are heading to Alfred’s for fish & chips for lunch. Should be a good day.

Ben & Zach were our models for the clothes relay. We brought along two sets of clothes — pants, jacket, glasses, shoes, etc. The kids had to pass the items from the back of the room to the front and the boys had to put it on. Then they modeled their outfits down the middle aisle of the church. Everyone went crazy.

Our Bible story was Jesus walking on the water.  Our waves were Lori C. and Carol. Rick was Jesus and, yes, he walked “on the waves.” The kids really enjoyed craft time. We made hacky sacks which the kids bounced and tossed around them around all day.  We gave the kids “biscuits” and “Juice bags” for snack.  That translates to cookies and frozen juice in bags which the kids suck on. They LOVE them.

Pastor Greg tried to surprise the group with lobster patties when they got on the bus after the morning session. Our driver, Mackie, went to Juici Beef to order them, but since lobster “isn’t in season” we couldn’t get lobster and had shrimp instead. Definitely not the same thing. Most people didn’t like it. Oh, well –he gets an A for effort!

The afternoon was spent relaxing and preparing for the evening session and Thursday.

Wednesday Night was, by far, the most exciting and rewarding event of the week. We returned to Llandilo and this time we were met by a crowd. We began with about 12 kids who started coloring their hacky sacks. When we began 10 minutes later, there were about 25 kids present. By the end of the night, we had almost 70!

The  kids were VERY well-behaved and excited to be there. We sang several songs and then watched a video by my friend, Jim Zarbaug, who works for Prestonwood Baptist Church. They put together an evangelistic video for the iPod that can be used internationally. It’s been translated into about 15 different languages. Jim sent me a copy that was Shoutable (projectable) and we showed it before giving the gospel presentation.  To see it, click here ishare video on YouTube.

We gave our gospel presentation with Reactor Paper. Kids dipped their finger in ammonia and touched the paper. It immediately changes from goldenrod to bright red. When it’s sprayed with vinegar, the red disappears illustarting how our sins are washed away by Jesus.  When we gave the invitation 4-5 kids raised their hands that they had prayed!

We showed the rest of Chadder (3 episodes in one night is way too much Chadder for anyone) and closed with some singing. When we were done, the girls from Sav presented us with cards that they had bought for us. One of the girls, Antonia, read her card to us:

Because of you, there’s someone who is thanking God today.  Someone who appreciates your warm and caring way. Someone who’s remembering the special things you do and wants to say the world’s a brighter place because of you!  You do so much to bring people joy, to share God’s love, to shine His light, to reach out with His kindness, to show compassion, to encourage goodness, to inspire peace — God bless you for being so wonderful!

This is a girl who was saved at last year’s VBS, has been baptized and joined the church and is now part of their leadership team.  So many times, we come and we serve and we come back year after year and we wonder, “Are we making a difference?”  Antonia is evidence that we are!!

Llandilo holds so much promise. After our program ended, a lady came up and offered her (larger) yard for us to use next year. She gave all her info to Pastor Wright’s wife and said we were welcome any time. Several adults expressed how much they wanted Hope Baptist to reach out in their community.  One mother (with the cutest kid named Mario) said, “This is fantastic, but I could really use more than two days.”  Our whole team is looking forward to what God will do in Llandilo.

When we returned to the hotel, Chris and Francine had set up a reggae concert for us and the rest of the guests. So, to end our evening, we were serenaded by  Rasta Ralphie (he’s actually REALLY good).

Anyway, it’s now almost midnight your time and we’ve got a BIG day tomorrow.  Pray for us as we present the gospel in Sav that we will see many more Antonia’s come to know Jesus.