Jamaica Mission Trip 2013

 I went to Jamaica on a mission trip with our choir from FBC Conyers a couple of weeks ago. Our handbell choir also went and some from our orchestra. There were 47 of us total. Here are a few pictures of the trip. It was very rewarding. We stayed at the Caribbean Christian Center for the Deaf. They have four campuses and we stayed at the one at Montego Bay. This picture is overlooking Montego Bay and is a very peaceful secluded area. However, just outside this center, the world is totally different.
Their mission is to teach the deaf children about Jesus - otherwise, how can they know?

 Here is the room I stayed in. There were 9 twin beds in there and we thankfully had a fan to give us some moving air. There was no air conditioning (except on the buses that took us to various locations) and no hot water - just a couple of things we certainly take for granted every day. Makes you very thankful for where we live. We literally walked around with a liter bottle of water most of the time to stay hydrated. It is hard to explain the heat and humidity without being there but thankfully we were well equipped with bottled water every day.

 This is Calvary Baptist Church where we sang with their choir on Sunday morning (Total Praise) and did a concert there on Sunday Evening. Those that play the handbells are preparing on the right.

 This is the church looking out into the congregation. Most of the buildings, including this church, had shutters for windows to allow the nice caribbean breeze to flow through the buildings. We welcomed any breezes that came our way. They had absolutely wonderful music and even though the service was 2 1/2 hours, we thoroughly enjoyed worshipping with them and the music with a Jamaican flair.

 Here we have a group of ladies that played games with the children a couple of times and did crafts with them. Many of us did not know sign language, but they could still understand a lot of what we were doing and had no problem playing the games or doing crafts.

 Here our sweet Sadie - 81 years young - was teaching this young girl how to knit. Several ladies taught knitting to the students.

 This sweet girl showed me the blue ribbon that she had just made with the crafts. What a sweet smile!

 We did an outdoor concert one evening just outside another church. This is where it was held and we were just getting set up.

 We were able to go to the beach for about 15 minutes on Tuesday......ah, the water was beautiful!!!

 And of course I needed a little proof I was there - LOL! Felt so good to get my toes wet and squashy in the sand!

 Next we went to an Infirmary, what we would call a nursing home. It was government run and the people there did not have any families or really anyone who cared for them. We divided into small groups and visited the different houses/roooms, shared with them, sang with them, took special requests to sing and were truly blest by them, enjoying praising the Lord with us!

 This house here was for the mentally challenged (thus the bars) but they still were able to enjoy the singing and fellowship.

 Here were some young student nurses that were training at the Infirmary. They said it took four years to become a nurse.

Here is another picture up on the hillside outside of the Infirmary.

 And here we are washing dishes outside. Three large tubs - one for rinsing some food off, one with soap and one with some bleach added for rinsing before they were dried. We took turns after our meals and thankfully we had a cook to prepare some very good meals for us.

 Here we are in our matching outfits before we go into Calvary Baptist Church for our concert.

 Here we are in the church before the concert.

Our handbell choir is playing.

Did I mention there was lots of planting of trees and flowers done on the grounds? From what I understand, all the buildings were built by volunteers and one is still under construction.

Here is Jeffrey (he and his wife are the missionaries at the Montego Bay Center), Pastor Andrew and our Minister of Music, John Link. This is the dining hall where we ate and had meetings.

I could go on and on with more pictures and stories, but just wanted to give a glimpse of our trip. It is good to be back home and I'm certainly more appreciative of where I live but want to continue to remember those in Jamaica, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with others.