Jamaica

I'm not going to be able to tell the story right.  

I'm not going to be able to explain the beauty...the beautiful beauty and the ugly beautiful.

I'm not going to be able to explain the raw emotions.

I'm not going to be able to capture the relationships with my words.

I was not there.

I wish Ben could write this post but he has entered back into Corporate America.

Although he is not the same.

This is what Denise put on Facebook this morning...

After reading Ben's journal I know he feels the same!

So, I left one week ago and arrived in a very hot, treacherous, rainy mountain village with unknown expectations and an ankle that was screaming. I arrived home today being more blessed than I ever expected, in love with God more than ever, a heart bubbling over for the Jamaicans we served and knowing that I got way more out of this trip than they will ever know. Thanks to all for your prayers. What a week.

It was HOT.  About 100 degrees.  It was hard work.  It was emotionally challenging.

It was amazing.

Here are some pics from Ben's week in Harmons Jamaica.

A team of about 20 from our church headed there for a week.

They were working with Won by One.

This was Ben's first mission trip.

People told me that he would never be the same after.

I hope they are right b/c the man that was back in my arms last night was so empty yet full.

In a perfect way.

I will continue to pray that the Lord will use Ben and his experiences to further His Kingdom!

Here goes....

Below is a picture of two of my favorite people 

They were with Ben on this trip.  

Denise...who has made an appearance on my blog before...and the love of her life, David.  

The weekend before Denise had an accident that put her bound for surgery.

She didn't let that stop her from being on this trip.

Ben said she was a trooper.

It doesn't surprise me.

She is an amazing women.

She didn't spend the trip the way she originally planned....

but it sounds like God used her in a mighty way!

Ben took a box of CPS hats with him.  Many of them were distributed at the "nursing home".

The gal from our church that was giving him the hat is wearing one of the 75 shirts from the A&A's school.  I'm not sure why she is wearing it....may have needed a change of clothes...but Ben assured me is was left there for the people of Harmons.

One day the team served at a nursing home.  This was a home for the sick and crippled who had nobody to care for them.  They knew the team was coming so they cleaned up.  I didn't use many of the pictures from there....they are hard to look at. Maybe I should have....  Not a pretty place.

Ben said that these people don't get visited.  

He spent a good chunk of time with a man named Ray.  Ben was very fond of him. 

Ray asked Ben to read  Psalms 91, 21, 22, and 23.

This is Hannah, one of our babysitters.  She is an amazing young lady.  

 

 

This mission trip with part construction/part medical.  Here is the start of a foundation for a house that they were building.  They built two homes while there.  They were each smaller than my living room rug.  One was for a family of 4 and one was for a family of 5.  

They had a bucket system going to transport rock and water to their building site.

Ben is in the orange shirt.  He is facing the kitchen of a house.

(Picture below)  The building in the back is the families bathroom.  

The little guy in the window will soon be moving into that house.  

Above is the final product!

Ben also had the opportunity to spend the day in the school.

He was in a classroom of 10 year olds. 

They had a few opportunities to play with the children.   David brought the kids Frisbees. 

Here is the group in front of the grocery store.

 This was the bunks that the team slept in at the Harmony House.  They did have cold water showers.  This morning I heard Ben say "AHHHH HOT WATER" when he hot into the shower :)

Here are some pics of the medical team.  Ben told me the dentist pulled over 135 teeth last week.

Almost all of the pictures below are of members from our church.

This is the medical clinic before they opened for business. 

Ben was unsure how how many people the treated.....it was A LOT!

Another place that Ben and the team served was in the greenhouse.  Won by One is the leading employer of Harmons.  There is a 75% unemployment rate there.  This green house is one place that brings money into the community.  

Pastor Rick (our pastor of operations) was hard at work.  

Another business run by Won by One is a fish hatchery.  The fish are sold on the coast.

Thank you Lord for working in Ben's heart this week.