WE are currently saying our goodbyes and about to head to the airport. Thank you everyone for the prayers. WE were so blessed and I believe God used us in mighty ways. Looking forward to seeing everyone at home.
-Andy
Saturday, April 04, 2015
Fun Day
Hello Followers!
Yesterday was our last day in Jamaica. We spent the day driving over to Ocho Rios, we went to Dunns River Falls Park. It was absolutely beautiful. It was especially fun to go with the other team that was here, and our host (Olivene) and Mr Grey. We were able to bond and have a fun last day with our hosts reflecting on the week. Dunns River Falls was a lot of fun, our group all climbed the falls together, and once were done we had extra time so most of us did it again. And the rest of us just spent time in the Ocean. On the way home Olivene brought us to a real cool restaurant. It was some of the best chicken I have ever eaten in my life (Jerk Chicken). They cook in on some sort of special wood and the spice is unreal. And when you order a half chicken they literally mean a half chicken. We all left very full. We got home and spent some time in small groups (groups of 4) praying for each other and reflecting on what we learned this week. A really fun way to end this trip!
-Andy
Yesterday my highlight was chillin' at the beach. It was really fun to go swimming, and just enjoy the water in the hot sun. I also had a lot of fun at the restaurant Scotchies, just talking with the group. The food there was amazing and i really enjoyed my pistachio milkshake that I had. Later on in the night we had a prank war that is currently going as i am typing.
-Adam (La)
Yesterday was awesome. So is Jamaica. So is the food. So is the view. So is John Kennedy. Mom I'm not burned. I won the prank war.
PS: LYNDA: Andy says leave the truck :)
- Tyler
Yesterday was our last day in Jamaica. We spent the day driving over to Ocho Rios, we went to Dunns River Falls Park. It was absolutely beautiful. It was especially fun to go with the other team that was here, and our host (Olivene) and Mr Grey. We were able to bond and have a fun last day with our hosts reflecting on the week. Dunns River Falls was a lot of fun, our group all climbed the falls together, and once were done we had extra time so most of us did it again. And the rest of us just spent time in the Ocean. On the way home Olivene brought us to a real cool restaurant. It was some of the best chicken I have ever eaten in my life (Jerk Chicken). They cook in on some sort of special wood and the spice is unreal. And when you order a half chicken they literally mean a half chicken. We all left very full. We got home and spent some time in small groups (groups of 4) praying for each other and reflecting on what we learned this week. A really fun way to end this trip!
-Andy
Yesterday my highlight was chillin' at the beach. It was really fun to go swimming, and just enjoy the water in the hot sun. I also had a lot of fun at the restaurant Scotchies, just talking with the group. The food there was amazing and i really enjoyed my pistachio milkshake that I had. Later on in the night we had a prank war that is currently going as i am typing.
-Adam (La)
Yesterday was awesome. So is Jamaica. So is the food. So is the view. So is John Kennedy. Mom I'm not burned. I won the prank war.
PS: LYNDA: Andy says leave the truck :)
- Tyler
Church Dedication (April 2)
Yo Watagwan? (Translation: Hey, Whats up?)
Today in the morning we dedicated the house
to Supa. It was a very exciting and joyful morning. We got in a circle together
with Nick and Ashley (our home overseer), Supa, Mr Grey, our whole team, and
other visitors from the village. We spent some time in worship together. We
then passed around the house keys and whoever had the keys gave words of
encouragement or scripture to Supa. Mr. Grey (A volunteer at YWAM, and a man we
grew very fond of who was classmates with Supa) then presented Supa with his
house keys. He gave a speech which was very powerful, challenging his friend to
forever follow the Lord in his new house.
We went back to the base. Half of the group
went to Eber school to paint. The staff at the school were so excited we were
there to paint they were taking pictures while we were doing it. The other half
of the group stayed at the base to help out with yard maintenance (mowing lawn,
weed wacking, trimming hedges, cleaning up dead palm branches, and cleaning the
pool). At the end of the day, Wade (ywam maintenance man) commented in thanks
“That would have taken me a week and a half to do”.
In the evening we celebrated at the base as
two homes of hope finished today. We had Jerk chicken, Jamaican rice and beans,
some sort of bun thing, and ICE CREAM! We were also celebrating YWAM Montego
Bays 13 year anniversary.
We ended the evening with our tradition of
foot washing ceremony. This is where we take time as a team to pray and
encourage eachother. It was especially special encouraging and praying for My
Grey who joined us. Myself, James, and Abe were disappointed the snack shop
wasn’t open tonight but all around was an exciting and amazing day!
Andy, James, Abe (the Babe)
Wednesday, April 01, 2015
House Done! Faith Allied Inst (April 1)
Hello at home!
We've been experiencing a little bit of Jamaican showers the last few days and today proved to be another one of them. When the weather being so hot a little bit of cloud cover and rain doesn't really hurt too many peoples feelings. Today we started the day splitting into 2 groups again: one group going to Homes of Hope, and the other going to Faith Allied Institute. A local ministry to the elderly. The group at homes of hope had to finish up mounting doors, installing windows (Which are more like fixed shutters). Since the area is prone to termites a good paint job is important. We decided at the beginning of the day we would simply paint all day, as many coats as it took until the day was done. It was so rewarding at the end of the day when Andy K, Tyler R, and Liam K shouted out Were done! We had a pretty cool moment where Supa (the guy were building the house for), nailed the last board on the house. Its been so cool getting to know him. He is so grateful to us and has such a humble a servant attitude. I watched Reilly cleaning brushes and he was asking if there was any more water. Supa overheard and asked Reilly if he needed more water. When Reilly realized that Supa was about to walk 1/2 mile down the hill (very steep) he said "No I don't need any water". Supa went down anyway and came back with more water. This is one example of how hard working and serving he has been. Today the other group who went to faith allied institute had a really good morning doing a devotional with the elderly. Drake and Madi shared their testimonies to the elderly, and they same some old hymns together, both Jamaican and more familiar ones to us. The kids had really awesome time visiting the elderly and getting to know their stories and were able to bless them with company and prayers in return. The second group then came back to the base and helped out with some cleaning and maintenance on the YWAM base.
In the evening the whole group went to the YWAM bases community meeting they have on Wednesday evenings where they shared stories about different things YWAM was doing and we also had an opportunity to thank the staff and Dominic and Sofia shared some highlights from their stay at the YWAM to everyone. A group from Minnesota has also joined us on the YWAM base as they are building a homes of hope in the same community we are.
Thanks again for all your prayers. Please pray that we will finish the missions trip strong, and that we continue to rely on the Lords leading in our last days of service at Jamaica!
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Hope Hospice/School Visit/ HOH- Day 3 (March 31, 2015)
Hi my name is Drake and I am going to tell you about my day. To start my day I went to breakfast but when I got there I realized that Scott and his room were all still asleep. So I had to go and wake them up... they were grumpy!
Anyways, once again our group got split up into two groups. Our group (Liam and I) started the day by organizing to go to Eber Prep school and performed some songs, along with a skit, and two testimonies. The kids were super pumped for us being there. After we completed that and were on our way out and Ryan had the brilliant idea to start a high-fiving kids followed by a stamped of joyous children. After we went to the Hope Hospice which is a home for elderly people and had plenty of conversations and laughs with all the people there when came devotion time. We expected that someone was already doing it for them and we would help but Olivine (our instructor) came up to us and informed us that we were doing the devotions... surprise! Well, we sat there for a minute discussing what to do when eventually we got a few ideas and went with them to fill in the time. It turned out to be a great time and learning experience. We finally left after many prayers and came back to enjoy our supper and team time together with the second group.
On the other hand Day 3 of the Homes of Hope we were blessed with good drying weather so we were able to catch up on some much needed painting. The house is going to be a brilliant lime green with cherry red trim and the inside a more sedated colour of bone white (which is a brownish white). We were fortunate enough to have the rain stay away enough to finish shingling the roof. It is awesome to see the excitement in Supa's face as he helps work on his new home.
Drake, Liam, Scott and Dave
Anyways, once again our group got split up into two groups. Our group (Liam and I) started the day by organizing to go to Eber Prep school and performed some songs, along with a skit, and two testimonies. The kids were super pumped for us being there. After we completed that and were on our way out and Ryan had the brilliant idea to start a high-fiving kids followed by a stamped of joyous children. After we went to the Hope Hospice which is a home for elderly people and had plenty of conversations and laughs with all the people there when came devotion time. We expected that someone was already doing it for them and we would help but Olivine (our instructor) came up to us and informed us that we were doing the devotions... surprise! Well, we sat there for a minute discussing what to do when eventually we got a few ideas and went with them to fill in the time. It turned out to be a great time and learning experience. We finally left after many prayers and came back to enjoy our supper and team time together with the second group.
On the other hand Day 3 of the Homes of Hope we were blessed with good drying weather so we were able to catch up on some much needed painting. The house is going to be a brilliant lime green with cherry red trim and the inside a more sedated colour of bone white (which is a brownish white). We were fortunate enough to have the rain stay away enough to finish shingling the roof. It is awesome to see the excitement in Supa's face as he helps work on his new home.
Drake, Liam, Scott and Dave
Robins Nest/ Building taking shape (March 30)
Hey Everyone,
Today some of us had the opportunity to go to a children's home called Robin's nest. It was about a 45 minute drive from the base and most of us thought we were headed into the middle of nowhere. But when we finally reached the home we were amazed. The home was beautiful and well cared for, the walls were colourful and covered with bible verses. It was home to about 27 children between the ages of seven months and 12 years. We were all looking forward to a day of playing with the kids. However we were surprised, because most of the kids were in school all day. We instead ended up helping around the house and yard. Some of us painted, moved rocks, built doors and jack hammered. Even though we ended up doing something completely different than we expected we all had a good time. Working on the home and yard allowed the staff to spend their time and energy just taking care of the children. We ended the day spending time just playing with the kids for about an hour and a half which was an awesome blessing.
The rest of us went to the Homes of Hope site again to continue working on the house. Most of the kids were at school, so nearly all of us at the site were just working on the house today. The day started off with a long trip up the hill with pouring rain, but it got better. The cloudy day coupled with the release in humidity from the rain made pleasant working conditions and enabled us to work swiftly after things started to dry. Walls were put up, the rafters placed on, and painting began. We all are also beginning to be able to understand thick Jamaican accents, as one of the leaders from YWAM has a very heavy accent, and is in charge of a large part of the work at the site.
Sofia and Reilly ;)
Today some of us had the opportunity to go to a children's home called Robin's nest. It was about a 45 minute drive from the base and most of us thought we were headed into the middle of nowhere. But when we finally reached the home we were amazed. The home was beautiful and well cared for, the walls were colourful and covered with bible verses. It was home to about 27 children between the ages of seven months and 12 years. We were all looking forward to a day of playing with the kids. However we were surprised, because most of the kids were in school all day. We instead ended up helping around the house and yard. Some of us painted, moved rocks, built doors and jack hammered. Even though we ended up doing something completely different than we expected we all had a good time. Working on the home and yard allowed the staff to spend their time and energy just taking care of the children. We ended the day spending time just playing with the kids for about an hour and a half which was an awesome blessing.
The rest of us went to the Homes of Hope site again to continue working on the house. Most of the kids were at school, so nearly all of us at the site were just working on the house today. The day started off with a long trip up the hill with pouring rain, but it got better. The cloudy day coupled with the release in humidity from the rain made pleasant working conditions and enabled us to work swiftly after things started to dry. Walls were put up, the rafters placed on, and painting began. We all are also beginning to be able to understand thick Jamaican accents, as one of the leaders from YWAM has a very heavy accent, and is in charge of a large part of the work at the site.
Sofia and Reilly ;)
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Plight of the Painters
Good evening blog followers!
Today proved to be a very amazing day! Spirits were super high as we started our first day at the building site. We woke up early (6:30) and prepared all of the supplies and everything we would need for the build. We discovered while we were there that for this building they require that the person receiving the home has to do all the work raising funds and building the foundation as well as helping as much as possible while we are putting up the house. As we got to the site and were ready to get going building, Nick our site manager pulled out his guitar and lead us in a devotion and worship time reminding us that we weren't here to simply build. We were called to this community to give a greater gift; and that is Jesus Christ. Many of us were super encouraged by this.
We split up the team into four groups: Framers, Rafter builders, Painters, and Community interaction team. The framers felt like they made really good head way through the day. The rafter builders also made really good time. The painters, on the other hand. Were battling with setting allllll of their panels out to paint, only to see a rain cloud in the distance; put them all away (water based paint), put them back out after a really tiny shower. This happened 3 times. They got discouraged. We encouraged them. The Community interaction team had an awesome time inviting all the locals to a soccer game. Around 20 kids came out to play, and we also had a few people visit with local people in their houses or on the road and pray with them or hear about their story.
Today I had an eye opening experience, to how fortunate we are in Canada. I walked down a HUGE hill with a group of kids, carrying buckets to their water spring. Instead of letting them carry their usual buckets (their everyday chores they do at least twice a day); I decided to try it. This proved to be ALOT more difficult than I ever imagined. These kids walk around a mile up a hill with filled water buckets. I stopped 3 times on the way up and these kids tell me they rarely stop. By the end I was completely gassed and every fiber of my body was sore. Its just so much easier to turn on a faucet and I take that so for granted. And meanwhile these kids are making this trip down the hill twice a day. I was humbled and amazed at how a simple necessity like water is so challenging for some people.
On the bus ride home their were a lot of smiles on everyones faces and we were excited to be apart of this great mission that so many have contributed for us to be apart of.
-Andy N and Dominic P.
Today proved to be a very amazing day! Spirits were super high as we started our first day at the building site. We woke up early (6:30) and prepared all of the supplies and everything we would need for the build. We discovered while we were there that for this building they require that the person receiving the home has to do all the work raising funds and building the foundation as well as helping as much as possible while we are putting up the house. As we got to the site and were ready to get going building, Nick our site manager pulled out his guitar and lead us in a devotion and worship time reminding us that we weren't here to simply build. We were called to this community to give a greater gift; and that is Jesus Christ. Many of us were super encouraged by this.
We split up the team into four groups: Framers, Rafter builders, Painters, and Community interaction team. The framers felt like they made really good head way through the day. The rafter builders also made really good time. The painters, on the other hand. Were battling with setting allllll of their panels out to paint, only to see a rain cloud in the distance; put them all away (water based paint), put them back out after a really tiny shower. This happened 3 times. They got discouraged. We encouraged them. The Community interaction team had an awesome time inviting all the locals to a soccer game. Around 20 kids came out to play, and we also had a few people visit with local people in their houses or on the road and pray with them or hear about their story.
Today I had an eye opening experience, to how fortunate we are in Canada. I walked down a HUGE hill with a group of kids, carrying buckets to their water spring. Instead of letting them carry their usual buckets (their everyday chores they do at least twice a day); I decided to try it. This proved to be ALOT more difficult than I ever imagined. These kids walk around a mile up a hill with filled water buckets. I stopped 3 times on the way up and these kids tell me they rarely stop. By the end I was completely gassed and every fiber of my body was sore. Its just so much easier to turn on a faucet and I take that so for granted. And meanwhile these kids are making this trip down the hill twice a day. I was humbled and amazed at how a simple necessity like water is so challenging for some people.
On the bus ride home their were a lot of smiles on everyones faces and we were excited to be apart of this great mission that so many have contributed for us to be apart of.
-Andy N and Dominic P.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Beach/Market/Church Day (March 28)
Hi! This is Corbin writing for today. We did a lot today. In the morning after breakfast, we headed for the beach to chill out for a few hours. First time in the ocean for quite a few of us! It was really fun. After that we had a small lunch (that was kinda like pizza pops but WAY better) then went to the local market. This was my favourite part of the day. We got a chance to haggle people for items, which I was terrible at, but I liked the experience! After that we headed back to base, got cleaned up and dressed, then headed for church downtown. This church was different than we were used to. And loud. And the kid on drums was amazing. Then we had small groups, then free time, which leads to me writing this right now!
Today was a pretty sweet day we went to the beach and got burned. We then went to the market and i really enjoyed bartering with the people. ~Jacob
So today I started out a nice tanned colour and turned out beet red. We went to the beach and snorkelled. It was awesome to see the coral reef and all the little fishies. It was also fun to drink half the ocean. We then went to the market where I bought a shirt that i thought would be a nice size. When we got back Andy and I tried it on together and it fit perfect. It should fit my Dad perfectly.
~A-Krahn~
Today was a pretty sweet day we went to the beach and got burned. We then went to the market and i really enjoyed bartering with the people. ~Jacob
So today I started out a nice tanned colour and turned out beet red. We went to the beach and snorkelled. It was awesome to see the coral reef and all the little fishies. It was also fun to drink half the ocean. We then went to the market where I bought a shirt that i thought would be a nice size. When we got back Andy and I tried it on together and it fit perfect. It should fit my Dad perfectly.
~A-Krahn~
West Haven March 26th
Today, was a challenging and life changing day. We went to West Haven Home for children and adults.
West Haven was home to roughly 80 disabled people, both mentally and physically handicapped.
When we first arrived, the residents of West Haven saw the bus and overwhelmed us with joy and love. One person was even jumping with joy when we arrived. Some of us found it difficult at the start and eventually most of us warmed up to the people there. The residents were very friendly and enjoyed hugging and holding hands. Our day was spent walking around, participating in races, singing, and feeding them.
The residents had varying cases of disabilities. Some were bedridden, many were unable to speak, but still many others could understand us still. At lunch we fed many who were unable to feed themselves, which proved to be a moving experience for many of us.
As for transportation, we had a very entertaining bus driver. Dwayne proved to be
Prayer Walk (March 27)
The
day started out on some scrumptious Jamaican breakfast. Then followed by a session in the prayer
house here in the YWAM base. There we sang worship songs and prayed for a
considerable amount of time over the up coming camps and the DTS program.
Then
proceeded by a communal prayer walk. We split into groups of four. Upon the
prayer walk we met random strangers and chatted with them, prayed and shared
many laughs. There were many interesting conversations, it was a major culture
shock says Dominic. We enjoyed getting to see more of the city.
After
a scrumptious lunch we ventured on a wild bus ride through blusterous traffic
to our next ministry opportunity. It was an elder folks care home called the
infirmary. I on the other hand thought it was a children’s orphanage and spent
the entire day outside playing with kids and a few others did to. Some of the
youth had eye opening conversations with the elders and loving on them like
Jesus would. Adam wants me to make note of a cute baby named sparkle.
After
a scrumptious supper of grilled cheese samiches we had a period of free time
followed by team time and small groups.
We
have already experienced so much through Gods eyes and just can’t believe this
is the start. Overwhelmingly excited for each coming day as God has something
new and exciting planned for us here. ITS AWESOME.
This
message is proudly brought to you by Cole, Adam and Dominic.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Headed Out (March 26)
Hello everyone!
I apologize Ive had trouble getting the internet to work on my computer but now we are up and running. We just finished breakfast and orientation here. At breakfast Sofia stood on a chair and our team another team on missions here and all the staff at YWAM sang happy birthday to her. I think she was pretty embarrassed but its good! Were trying to honour her on her birthday today. We just finished orientation for the day and Olivene (Our host) informed us we would be spending the day at a children's home. At this home many are disabled and they are very short staffed so they love when groups come in to help with the daily chores and to be a friend to the patients. Should be a pretty eye opening day. Please keep us in your prayers. I see them practicing skits and songs to do with the kids while we are there and I am looking forward to a day filled with opportunities. Everything went very smooth with all the flights. Customs took quite a bit at Jamaica (Reeeeealy long lines) But we all made it through
God is good!
Andy
I apologize Ive had trouble getting the internet to work on my computer but now we are up and running. We just finished breakfast and orientation here. At breakfast Sofia stood on a chair and our team another team on missions here and all the staff at YWAM sang happy birthday to her. I think she was pretty embarrassed but its good! Were trying to honour her on her birthday today. We just finished orientation for the day and Olivene (Our host) informed us we would be spending the day at a children's home. At this home many are disabled and they are very short staffed so they love when groups come in to help with the daily chores and to be a friend to the patients. Should be a pretty eye opening day. Please keep us in your prayers. I see them practicing skits and songs to do with the kids while we are there and I am looking forward to a day filled with opportunities. Everything went very smooth with all the flights. Customs took quite a bit at Jamaica (Reeeeealy long lines) But we all made it through
God is good!
Andy
Safe and Sound (March 25)
We
made it!! We had no complications with
the flight other than a few first time flyers *cough cough Dom and Andy K, who
were very concerned about seat belts.
Arriving
in Montego Bay was a real shock to our internal thermometer and external AC, as
there is none in our base. At the airport there was only one major issue
involving a messy immigration card from Adam. But everything turned out alright
and after a long wait in the sweaty airport we finally made it out.
Driving
is really different here, they drive on the left side of the road. They drive
really fast with hardly any space in between cars and side walks. And they cram
as many people in a vehicle as possible.
There
are also really big cockroaches here. We found an extremely large and ferocious
roach in our bathroom the first night here. We had to hunt it down with all of
our skills, with shoes on our hands and feet, standing on the furniture, and
screaming every time it moved. Finally
we cornered it on the back of the dresser and smashed it several times before
Madi was convinced that it was dead.
Our
eventful and long day was ended with an
awesome view of the city lights twinkling across the bay, and a crazy kid from
the base beating on our guys with a plastic hammer.
Ps the view was everyone’s favourite part
about Jamaica so far.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Boarding the Plane
Gooday Everyone!
Well theres a bunch of tye dye tshirts in the airport this morning! Easy to spot in a crowd. Feels good to be sending home updates again! I look forward to mission trips all year. We had a quick sleep at Immanuel Pentacostal Church in Winnipeg. We went to bed almost as soon as we got to the church because we had a 4:30 AM wake up time this morning. Everything went very smoothly at the airport, and we are now currently boarding the plane. Our flight number is WS2432 if you feel like following where our planes at through google!
Thanks to Vern and Cindy for driving us in, and thank you so much for the prayers! Please continue to pray for travelling mercies and for good health!
Andy
Well theres a bunch of tye dye tshirts in the airport this morning! Easy to spot in a crowd. Feels good to be sending home updates again! I look forward to mission trips all year. We had a quick sleep at Immanuel Pentacostal Church in Winnipeg. We went to bed almost as soon as we got to the church because we had a 4:30 AM wake up time this morning. Everything went very smoothly at the airport, and we are now currently boarding the plane. Our flight number is WS2432 if you feel like following where our planes at through google!
Thanks to Vern and Cindy for driving us in, and thank you so much for the prayers! Please continue to pray for travelling mercies and for good health!
Andy
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