Spare Change - November 2019
Jamaica Mission Trip Report
Jamaica is a gorgeous country. It has crystal clear water, amazing beaches, lush jungles and beautiful mountains. We went there to help one of the rural schools in the mountains. We flew into Montego Bay, which is one of the big resort cities on the island. It was a nice city with shopping and many “touristy” things to do. We didn’t get to stay there long, however, we were actually staying in Mandeville, the largest town in Manchester Parrish, about 2 ½ hours away from Montego Bay; we had to travel over the mountains to get there.
Most every day we took about an hour journey on the curvy, windy roads into the mountains to Leicesterfield. We worked with Leicesterfield Primary School and Leicesterfield Baptist Church. Leicsterfield is a rural community in the mountains will very little infrastructure. The people have water delivered or collect water in big cisterns. Many work in the mountain fields harvesting various fruits and vegetables. Some do manual labor jobs like brick laying or other skilled trades. Others travel to the cities to work in businesses. Some even travel to work in the bauxite mines (bauxite is a key ingredient in aluminum). Even though they don’t have much, the people make the best of it.
The school is a charming three building structure. Many of the teachers travel from other cities to Leicesterfield. The teachers were amazing! They really keep the focus on helping these kids get a good education. The kids don’t have a lot and the school doesn’t have a lot of extra funds. The only play area the kids have is the parking lot, which has a couple of basketball hoops. Our goal was to provide a fun play area for the children. We had to remove some old concrete pads and put down fresh gravel for a play surface. We constructed a play dome and hired a local welder to make us a play structure that included some monkey bars, slide, and swings. We had to set it in the ground with concrete. We spent a total of three days working and playing with the children. The kids were so happy to have some new play structures. There is one video that we took of a little girl just standing on the play dome giggling and giggling. It was those things that filled our hearts with joy.
We also were able to worship with Leicesterfield Baptist Church on Sunday. Their worship was vibrant, and spirit filled. They were so welcoming and allowed us to give a Bible study lesson for the adults, children, and even preach in worship. It was so encouraging to be worshipping with other believers in another country. The church recently put in a basketball court next to their church and hopes to host a mission team that would do a basketball camp next summer. This might be a future mission opportunity, coupled with installing another play structure at another school.
Jamaicans are a proud people with a rich heritage. Almost everyone born on the island has ancestors that were slaves brought to the island by Europeans. While the country gained its independence in 1962, there is still much work to be done, especially in the area of missions. There is a large contingency of Christians, however, not all are orthodox believers. Many have been trapped by cults like the Seventh Day Adventists. There really needs to be a bigger gospel presence, especially with teenagers and young adults. Like America, the churches are not reaching this demographic. The young people chase after worldly things and want nothing to do with the faith of their elders. We need to be open to assisting the church in reaching the island of Jamaica for Christ. Just a short distance from America but still so much need. I pray that the Lord would bring more laborers into the harvest to reach Jamaica for His glory!