Jamaica -- Day 2 (Church and Set Up)

Day 2 dawned earlier than I probably wanted, but later than a normal Sunday for me. Lisa and Rosina started their day earlier than the rest of us, as they would the rest of the week.  They were responsible for feeding us, and we never went hungry that's for sure. Breakfasts usually consisted of muffins, sweet breads, yogurt, lots of fresh fruit,  (the best pineapple I've had since I was in Hawaii), cereal bars, granola bars, and peanut butter, Nutella, and jelly.  After that first morning we ate at the church, so there were hardboiled and scrambled eggs available, too.

The coffee was strong and the water was filtered by the 5 gallon container. Lisa uses a filter on the water out of an abundance of caution. We don't need all of us going down to something in the water, that's for sure. Bottled water was available too at times, in Jamaica the brand is Wata...for real.

If you look closely, you'll see large black tanks on the roofs of the buildings

Water is at a premium in Kingston, they have been under a drought for several years now.  It seems that the rain hasn't been making it over the mountains.  Kingston is on the south side of the island, the northern parts have plenty of the precious source, so it's trucked in to those who can afford it at a premium price. All over the city there are large black containers on rooftops to store water. In fact, that morning when we drove up to church, they were receiving a delivery of water. It's very strange to be in a place surrounded by water and at times during the week, we were unable to flush toilets.

Sunday morning we had the distinct pleasure of worship with our partners at Upper Room Community Church. Upper Room is in the Grant's Pen neighborhood of Kingston. Grant's Pen is one of the most violent, hurting neighborhoods in all of Kingston. In past years, the presence of gangs and drug dealers were felt during our week there. The church, like our hotel, is surrounded by a 10 foot concrete wall, razor wire, and an iron gate. Down the street from the church, people live in shacks.

 

Upper Room usually has services in their sanctuary on the upper floor, but they took pity on us poor, spoiled Americans and had it in the basement where it was air-conditioned. The air-conditioning is thanks to the MASH clinic. The story goes that a local politician visited the clinic one year and saw our folks treating the locals in the sweltering heat. He promised that the next year it would not be that way, and he made sure the church got air conditioning units for the basement.

For church we spread out throughout the room so that those who were veterans might sit with their old friends and newbies like me might meet some of our soon-to-be new friends.  Upper Room is pastored by Ian Muirhead and his wife Yasmine. He is supported by Pastors Metts and Reid, both amazing women of God. Pastor Muirhead's son John leads worship for Upper Room. Worship was full of energy and freedom. The messages of the songs were about being a conqueror and who we are in Christ. "We are going up, we are going up together, we are going up to prosper, in the name of the Lord." was one of the songs we sang. Some of the songs were black gospel songs, but others were songs we would do at Stafford Crossing, adding a twist that made it special. John is a gifted worship leader and a talented keyboardist. I had a sweet time worshiping under his leadership. The music and singing were so loud that it didn't matter if I sang what everyone else was singing, so I found myself just singing the name of Jesus at times. It was moving. John was supported by several singers, a drummer, and a bassist. One of the singers was new to the church last year during MASH, and this year she ran a lot of the clinic for the Jamaicans. Our pastor, Darryl preached the message. He talked about temptations and trials, preparing us for the week ahead.

supplies

After church we went back to the hotel to change and came back to set up the clinic. Outside several large tents were set up with white plastic chairs under them. Those tents would be registration and waiting areas as well as a tent for the Vacation Bible School that would run through part of the day each clinic day. The same room we had church in quickly transformed using rope, tarps, and lots of duct tape into a full-fledged clinic. The downstairs office became the pharmacy, the alcove at the far end of the room where the drummer sat that morning became the dental clinic. Along the left side of the room 5 treatment rooms and the prayer pod emerged. The right side housed the waiting areas, nurses' station, and a spot for the local Lions Club to do eye exams. As the hours went by, the exam tables, dentist chair, medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, and other needed items all found their place. We are blessed to have people that do this trip time and again because it truly makes the hard parts easy, as long as you're willing to do what you're told.

  

I spent most of the afternoon counting vitamins along with other "support" people. We counted out a 30-day supply of vitamins and placed them in little ziploc bags. The kids made it a little game; how many times can you pour out exactly 30 pills. I was the champ! Everyone who comes through the clinic gets vitamins. Nutrition is poor in Grant's Pen. The nurses encountered one man who had lost his job and was living off mangos he found that had fallen off trees.  They gave him pre-natal vitamins to try to supplement his poor diet. This was another example of God showing me how blessed I truly am. I hope the thankfulness I developed in Jamaica is something that will follow me, but I am sure like other things, it's going to take a conscious choice.

That evening, we had a dinner with our Jamaican brothers and sisters to prepare for the next 4 days of clinic. Skip, on his many trips here, has found a woman who does the catering of our dinners for us. We eat a lot of chicken and rice, and there's always a green salad. It was nice to get to know some of the folks we would be working with, both the Jamaicans and the Stafford Crossing folks. We aren't a mega church, but it's easy to come in and "do church" and leave.

When it came time to go back to the hotel, I think most of us were ready to sleep. It had been a productive, but busy day, and our busiest days were ahead of us still. As I drifted off to sleep, I silently prayed thanksgiving for what I'd seen so far and entreated God to bless the coming days, keep us strong, and use us. It's not often you get to see prayer answered within 24 hours, but he did just that.

Coming soon -- clinic days

Jamaica -- Day 1

Last week, I went to Jamaica with Stafford Crossing Community Church's MASH missions team. It was my first mission trip in a long time and it was my first ever trip outside the U.S.  I felt very secure about going, since several of the participants had been there more times than they can count. There were 35 of us, some medical professionals (nurses, doctors, dental hygienists and assistants, pharmacists, and EMTs), some teenagers, and some of us just regular folk to act as support.

There were many blessings and a few miracles this past week. The first miracle was I was able to get up 2:30 in the morning to get ready to leave. Our bus to the airport left at 3:30 AM. However, the first real miracle was when we arrived in Kingston, friends of our group were waiting for us on our side of customs. See, we brought our medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, and a lot of our food with us. It can be quite a laborious process getting that stuff through regardless of our preparation. We were able to almost glide through customs.

Shortly there after, we were eating our first Jamaican lunch of patties and coco bread. I think every culture has a version of the patty, it's dough filled with some kind of meat paste, in this case it's fried. I found out the next morning at breakfast that coco bread is amazing with peanut butter or Nutella.

Kingston is a busy city. Unlike any city I've been in here in the U.S., there are goats everywhere. Little herds of goats wander the streets like dogs. Oh, and there's plenty of dogs wandering the streets, too. The traffic is crazy and the street signs are crazier, "Running the red light may put your light out" and "Protect your head, don't end up dead."  Being a passenger while driving on the left side of the road is freaky enough, I can't imagine driving. Thank goodness for Darryl, Skip, Alex, and Phil.

 


There are vendors everywhere, selling everything from bug swatters to honey buns and mangos. Our hotel, like most every other building in Kingston, was surrounded by a 10 foot wall with razor wire on the top and had a guarded gate. That's another one of those things that you don't have to worry about here.  We never went anywhere alone, and never went outside any of the places we served or stayed at.

Our first night we were blessed to have dinner with a local businessman and his family. They shared their beautiful home with us. The young ones and the more competitive older ones played soccer in the hot sun. Personally, I stayed under in the shade on the expansive porch or by the pool. The family treated us to some coconuts and to Ting, a favorite Jamaican soda. It was a treat to relax after the long day of travel. 

All of us were ready for bed when we left. I got to room with two of our nurses and a nurse practitioner. Kim, Chrissy, and Anna were consummate professionals and have such hearts of compassion. They also are hard core. Even on the most exhausting day, they would work out, like I said hard core. I felt bad they had to live with the person who lives by herself.  I probably took up too much space and left my clothes in the bathroom too many times, but they were patient with me.

It was a hectic and long day. Through it all God kept reminding me He was in details and He was going to teach me something new about Him, about me, and about the people of Jamaica and of Stafford Crossing.

Coming soon -- Day 2