Black Flag Day…

Ever have one of those days where you wish you would have had a little warning that morning that the whole thing was gonna bite the big one?  Like a black flag hanging outside your window, telling you to go back to bed and try again tomorrow.  Wednesday was one of those days.  It didn’t take long to realize this, by 8:01 in the morning, I knew I was toast.

Weird thing was, at 7:55 I didn’t think the day could get any better.  It was warm outside, mid seventies and the weather guessers were promising a wintry mix by late evening.  I like that about Texas, we order up our winter and have it all delivered in one day, no dragging it out for months at a time like in yankee country.  When its time for cold, we go all out, dropping 40 degrees in about an hour.  In a few months, summer will come in the same way it left.

Traffic was light, I had a cup full of 100% Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, and I was actually looking forward to getting back to work since I had been away for two full weeks.  All I had to do was show up at the office, say hello to all the boys because I’m sure they had missed me, and then get on with a day full of solving all of the world’s plumbing problems.

And then the train came off the tracks.

I pulled up to the office and only one other truck was there, which is unusual.  I hopped out, a little curious as to what was going on, and wandered in through the back door.  James was on his way out and when he saw me he stopped and let out a big sigh.

 ”Where is everybody?”  Usually the place was full of people babbling on about a new toilet that had just come out or a tankless water heater they had installed in record time the day before.  I generally ignored them and made my way through with a few “Good mornings” and polite smiles so that I could waltz into the grand office of the big boss and start telling him how to do his job, moving stuff on his desk, and generally complaining about having to be there.  Rich is a good natured guy and he’d usually look at the clock and make a comment to the effect of “Hey!  It’s the late shift.”  Even if I was on time.  If I was early, he’d adjust his glasses, lean back in his chair and ask if the wife kicked me out of the house last night and I had slept in the parking lot.  We’d shoot the breeze for a few minutes while I flipped through the latest HandyMan magazine that he’d been saving for me the last few days and he’d run down the list of phone calls I’d been putting off making.  Then he’d give me my first work order, read off the other jobs I had on the schedule, cause he knew I’d always ask and then tell me to “have a good one.”  Some days he’d follow me out to my truck until the ringing phone beckoned him back to business and I’d always think but seldom say, “I’m glad I don’t have your job.”

“You haven’t heard?”  James answered.  “I left you a message on your phone.”  I had turned my work phone off the Wednesday I left, knowing that I would be in Jamaica for a week and then back in school.  I had looked at it several times since I returned, thinking about checking to see if there were messages, but each time I had decided that I would just deal with it upon my return to work.

“I haven’t heard anything, my phone has been off and I didn’t even turn it on on my way in this morning.  What’s going on, man?”

“Rich passed away last Wednesday morning.  Died right here at the office.  He stopped answering the phone, so me and Larry called Shane to find out what was going on.  Shane came by here a little while later and he was dead.  I tried to call you.  I’m sorry, man.”

I slumped down in a chair next to James and a flood swept through my mind.  You know the one.  It’s where half a million thoughts and at least a dozen emotions that you didn’t know you felt hit you like a tidal wave of confusion and shock.  Stunned disbelief.  Surreal.  Suddenly I wasn’t sitting in our office having this conversation, instead, I was watching it on television and every bit of dialogue was in that melodramatic breathy whisper that the fruitloop from CSI: Miami uses.  I hate that guy.

Shane is Rich’s son and our office manager.  He keeps the show running and he’s in and out of the office all day long running errands and taking material to all the guys.  I imagined him walking into the office, figuring the phones had stopped working or that his old man had run to the can and gotten tied up.  Instead he found him gone.

Perhaps selfishly, I thought about my dad.

I held it together, not wanting to look like a sissy in front of one of my fellow macho, manly man, blue collar co-workers.  James left and I went out to the truck to turn on my phone.  It was loaded with messages that I sifted through in a daze.

“Nick.  It’s James.  I’ve got some bad news…”

“Brother Nick.  It’s Ron.  I don’t know if you’ve heard what’s going on, but I’ve got something I need to tell you…”

“Nick.  Paul here.  By now you’ve heard…”

“Hey Nick.  It’s Shane.”

And that’s when it finally hit me.  Even though I was alone, I did that silly squint and head tilt where you try not to acknowledge that there are tears about to spill all the while trying to balance them on your eyeballs, hoping that they’ll evaporate before anymore show up.  That never works.

Shane’s message was to inform me of the when and where for the funeral.  Turns out it was Tuesday and if I had only turned on my phone when I got home, I could have been there for my friend.  Technically, Shane is one of my many bosses, but I think of him as a friend.  He was at my wedding.  Anybody who will sit through a wedding or graduation when they don’t have to be there immediately moves into friend status.  Look it up.

The dust hadn’t settled from the lead cars being derailed when the caboose hit.  Guilt.  I felt really, really guilty.  I could have been there.  I should have been there.  I know there is nothing that I could have said or done, but when I’ve been in similar situations, it’s nice just to have people who will be there.  People who feel even a fraction of the grief you feel.  It helps.  It takes some of the hurt away.

Instead, I was showing up a day late and a dollar short.  Needless to say, it set the tone for the entire day.

I talked to my friend Joe later in the morning.  I had called to ask him some completely unrelated questions but ended up dumping the whole thing on him.  Including the poor pitiful me feelings of guilt.  He listened patiently and then just said “Providence.”

“You believe in the providence of God, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Then you know that if God had intended you to be there or needed you to be there, you would have been there.  He’s sovereign.  He’ll put you where he wants you when he wants you there.”

Providence is God’s loving care and governance of the universe he created.  Charles Hodge once said, “To suppose that anything is too great to be comprehended in His control or anything so minute as to escape His notice; or that the infinitude of particulars can distract His attention, is to forget that God is infinite…The sun diffuses its light through all space as easily as upon any point.  Likewise, God is as much present everywhere, and with everything, as though He were only in one place, and had but one object of attention.  He is present in every blade of grass, yet guiding Arcturus on his course, marshalling the stars as a host, yet calling them by their names; present also in every human soul, giving it understanding, endowing it with gifts, working in it both to will and to do.  The human heart is in His hands; and he turneth it even as the rivers of water are turned.”

I believe it, but the tension lies in the fact that I still feel like a turkey.

Have you ever stood in a room where there was a mirror in front of you and a mirror behind you?  You know that in theory the reflection will continue to bounce back in forth endlessly.  You stare into the mirror knowing that you stare into eternity, positive that the reflections are infinite.  But you can’t see it because your fat head is in the way.  No matter how you move, all you see is your ugly mug and the back of your head.  This is how I feel trusting in God’s providence at times like these.  I know that God is in control, that he not only sees the eternal, he has ordained it.  But I want to see!  I want to know how far this thing goes and yet I am the one getting in the way.  Reading this probably makes no sense to you, but this is the only way I can describe what goes on in my head.  It’s a funhouse, in more ways than one.

Lord I believe.  Help my unbelief.

I’ll miss Rich.  He was alot of fun and we had many good conversations.  I used to get caught up hanging out in his office when the day was done and I should have been on my way home.  He had great stories.  Many of them that I could never repeat.  He let me tell my stories.  I let him talk about living right, being healthy and not taking things for granted.  He let me talk about Jesus and he asked good questions.  I laughed at all of his preacher jokes that he’d download off the net just to goad me a little, even though I had heard them before.  I listened intently as he talked about his motorcycle.  He listened with just as much grace when I talked about my church.  He’d tell stories on himself from when he was in the service.  I’d brag about my wife and he’d tell me to never forget those feelings.  He’d brag about his grandkids and I’d tell him to let them know how much he loved them.  Once I made it a point to tell him how much I appreciated what he did.  It was on a day that he had driven me particularly crazy.  He raised his eyebrows and thanked me, I think it made his day.  I called him on something he knew better than to do.  He listened to me and admitted I was right.  He told me to shave more often and I did.  I encouraged him when he was losing weight and dieting.  He praised me for getting an education and reminded me that it was important.

The last time I saw him, the Wednesday before I left the country, we talked for about twenty minutes.  I told him to have a good Thanksgivng, spoil his grandkids, and to eat lots of turkey.  I wish he could have.  I wanted to hear about it this morning.  But today was one of those Black Flag days.

Back to business as usual…

It has been nice to be home for the last few days and catch my breath.  I’ve probably worn my sweet wife out with stories and pictures but she has been incredibly gracious and patient with me.  I’ve been trying to finish up papers that were due after the trip and prepare for final exams next week so I haven’t had the chance to really recap everything that happened.  I will say that it was a wonderful trip and the Lord has taught me a great deal.  I hope to return someday and if any of you are interested in going, the Taylors make the trip several times per year.  I’ll be happy to get you their contact information.

My next career. 

 

Josh Thompson sharing with a group of kids at school.

 

Josh preaching the word at a general school assembly.

 

Little cuties eating Skittles.

Canterbury.  Not a pleasant place.

 

Dr. Hunter sharing the gospel.

Daniel sharing the word on Sunday night.

Thank you all for your financial support and mostly for your prayers.  God did great things and taught me a great deal.  Continue to pray for the men and women who came to Christ and for Kesla and his wife wife as they minister to these people.  Kesla has some very real and practical needs and I am praying hard that God will supply him with what he needs and trying to figure out how I can help meet those needs.

The Journey Home…

I wish I had the words to convey the excitement and anticipation that I feel right now.  We are supposed t be packed up and ready to go by 10:45.  I have been in the lobby with my bags packed since 9:45.  Mrs. Taylor walked by and said, “Now there’s a man who wants to see his wife.”  She has no idea.

Yesterday afternoon was such a fitting end to all that has taken place.   Just being able to sit and watch football, celebrating Thanksgiving thousands of miles away from family and friends, with the brothers and sisters in Christ who are now so dear to me was an incredible feeling.  I took these pictures just as the game started, but at halftime, we all moved to the hotel bar where Dr. Hunter and the Taylors had set up Pizza and Ice Cream.  We made a ton of noise, converted a few Jamaicans into Cowboys fans, and irritated the sin out of a couple from Atlanta that just wanted to see T.O. embarass himself.  It was much fun.

I anxiously await getting to share pictures and stories with you all.  Thank you for your prayers and thank you for checking here every so often.  One evening I noticed that I had 176 hits on this site, I welcome comments from you, even if I don’t know who you are.  I hope you’ll come back and find something edifying on this site even when the pictures from Jamaica stop popping up.  (There will be more, including a recap of what I’ve learned.)  See ya’ll soon, back in the great country of Texas.

Happy Thanksgiving…

Well, it has been quite a week.  Yesterday we had some very needed time to just relax and chill out.  I spent some time shopping with a few friends, eating lunch, and shooting pool.  The weather has been pretty nasty so we couldn’t swim in the ocean.  I wasn’t too concerned about it though, the rain has been nice and going to the beach seemed like way too much effort.  At one of the craft markets, Josh Thompson saw a Bible sitting on this dude’s table and bagan a conversation with him.  We ended up spending 15 or 20 minutes sharing the gospel and team teaching about 5 people through 1st John.  Very much fun.

Today we headed out to Bogue Hill Baptist Church for the last medical clinic.  I helped Tim and the two Joshes (Joshi?) fill prescriptions from Dr. Kerry Inzer.  He treated about 50 people, many of them children.  The team ran out of children’s cold medicine on Tuesday and so there wasn’t much we could do for the sniffles.  Dr. Kerry would send the kids out with a prescription for Skittles.  Apparently, two Skittles twice a day for the next week will knock out a runny nose.  Except the green ones, you just give those to your friends.  Afterwards, our driver, Tommy, took us to the Richmond Hill Hotel, a resort that sits on one of the hills that overlooks the bay.  From the parking lot of the resort, you can look across a valley into Canterbury, where the poorest of the poor live and where machete fights are commonplace.  We’ve been told that even the cops don’t go there unless absolutely necessary and then they don’t go alone.  Some of our group spent some time there this week and so it was quite a contrast for them to stand on the grounds of this beautiful hotel and look out into the depravity of Jamaica’s lowest.

Pictures take a long time to upload onto this site, so I will do that when I get home.  Right now priorities require that I go watch the Fightin’ Romos destroy themselves some Buccaneers.  We have pizza on the way and ice cream to follow.  Our Thanksgiving lunch was curry goat or curry chicken (I had chicken, though I did try some goat) out of a styrofoam box, so the Pizza and football is an exciting thing.  Happy Thanksgiving!

I’m practically a dentist: The Sequel…

Not as good as the first one, but they did get the original people to play the same parts…

I told you about Vanessa yesterday, here she is being examined by Dr. Park and Josh Mayfield.  Dr. Park specializes in pediatric dentistry, so he worked his voodoo and suddenly this little girl melted in his hands.  After the first stick of the needle, she didn’t squirm or shed a tear.  I cried more the last time I went to the dentist.  Afterward, she and I sat on one of the exam tables and made latex gloves into balloons while her mom got fixed up.  I was actually in this picture but I looked uncharacteristically dorky, so I cropped myself out.  People only want to see the cute Jamaican kid anyway.  While Dr. Park was charming Vanessa into submission, Dr. East was coming close to losing a finger to a hysterical 7 year old boy.  His grandma held him on her chest, threatening to beat him stupid if he bit the nice doctor and still Jeremy had to hold his feet and Daniel his little arms while I tried to pin his head down.  Not the most fun we had today, but by the end of it, the kid was fine.

Josh and Daniel are prepping all of the torture devices prior to an extraction.  I think Josh is about to quit Criswell and head to dental school.  Daniel preferred to just escort people in and out of the room, figuring that once they had met him outside, the dentists didn’t look nearly as scary.

Dr. East was really cool about explaining to us what he was doing.  I think he really wanted to let us pull a few ourselves, but we just never had a good opportunity.  He is the reason that I want to regrow facial hair and buy some scrubs.  New man-crush.  You’d like him.

From left to right, you have Dr. Jeff Taylor, Dr. Todd East, Dr. Blake, Nikki Vedro (She’s a nursing student), Dr. Chad Park, and Dr. Kerry.

Tonight, we had dinner with the Taylor’s good friend.  Every opportunity to be outside in Jamaica is taken, and here we dined on the porch listening to the crickets and frogs and the sounds of laughter from down the street.  This was the first nice neighborhood we’ve seen in Jamaica.  Some of those in attendance are trustees of Ambassador International Ministries and there were several who spoke to thank the doctors, as well as us.  Dr. East asked to speak and talked about how amazed that he was at the dental team.  He said that he thought that he knew how to be compassionate with people until he met us.  It was nice to hear that he felt we had been some help to him and Chad.  Side note to the wife, Todd is 42 and his first kid just turned a year old.  He said to wait to have kids and not to worry about having my wisdom teeth taken out…such a wise man.  Here are the docs again, this time at dinner.  They clean up okay.

Our dental team.  I was very proud to be associated with these people the last few days.  If I was supposed to be “heading them up,” I had the easiest job in the world.  No one ever slacked off, no one ever wanted to quit, no one was ever selfish or irritable.  They each gave everything they had.  From left to right is Josh Mayfield, Dr. Chad Park, myself, Miriam, Dr. Todd East, Jeremy, and Daniel Hancock.

Tomorrow is a day to take a break, catch up on some classwork that is due when we return, and to just find people to talk with.  I look forward to it and I need the rest.  I wasn’t expecting that we would be as busy as we are, and that was one of the reasons I was dreading this trip.  But, very little time is wasted around here, and when we get the chance to chill, we’ll take it. 

Please pray for Elisabeth and Mady on Wednesday.  They will be driving to Arkansas alone.

I’m practically a dentist…

Today, the good doctors and our gang from Criswell spent some time pulling teeth.  It was fun.  Dr. East looked at me when we were getting on the bus to leave and said, “You’ve got blood on your pants, that’s cool.”  All I could do was say “Yep.  Pretty cool.”  I was amazed all day at the dedication of these two men and their ability to work with limited equipment.  It was neat to not only share the gospel with people, but also to meet very practical needs as well.  The flow of people was constant and we had to turn several away who will have to return tomorrow.  We are starting earlier and plan to go late to get in as many as we can.  The dentists are leaving on Wednesday so hopefully we can get alot done tomorrow.  The first patient in the morning will be Vanessa, a five year old who has to have a few teeth removed.  You can pray for her, she is terrified, and her mom will probably be holding her the entire time in the chair while Dr. Park works on her. 

Miriam was able to lead a young lady to Christ.  I don’t remember her name.  Pray for Miriam, she is registering all of the people who come to the dental clinic on her own and she has to deal with some nervous and agitated people.

This pretty much sums up how all of us felt at the end of the day.  To get the full effect, you really need to hear the dumb laughs that go along with the eyes, but you get it. 

 The rain was a little fierce today and flooded some of the roads so that we were unable to go to Canterbury, where we would actually have to park and hike across a gully to get to the community.  Too bad, I was looking forward to it.  Josh got to share a devotion with about 940 kids at a public school today and I understand that there were a few students and parents or at least a parent that prayed to receive Christ.  It has been an exhausting day, I was up past 3:30 am because I couldn’t fall asleep.  I doubt I’ll have that problem tonight.

Smoke it if you got it…

Tonight was incredible.  We headed out to Granville to the Garage.  When I say “the Garage,” I don’t mean a metal building that an American youth pastor has crammed some old couches and a half busted up pool table into, I mean it was literally a car repair garage.  Kesla Forbes from Pitfour was running the show.  He said, “You people of Granville come here to fix your automobiles, tonight you come here to fix your lives.” 

Kesla is in the white shirt in these photographs.

This is Daniel, who spoke tonight on the left.  Dr. Kerry, one of the medical doctors is on the right.

This young lady was speaking to Dr. Hunter about coming to the Criswell College and then going on to Seminary to study counseling.  Pray that God would provide the means for her to come and study in Dallas.

The kids around here love Ashley and D’Ana, the little boys are very impressed with their hair.

Steven and Jeremy are hanging out with some of the neighborhood kids.

I know that you can’t see much in this picture, but my life was threatened because I took it, so I figure I had better post it.  This house is right next door to the garage.  The guys you see appear to be gambling and maybe smoking a little something.  After I took it, a little boy started tugging on my shirt and said, “That man wants to talk to you.”  I walked over and chatted with the guy.  He wanted to see the pictures on my camera and demanded to know why I was taking them.  I knew what was up and I could sense the threat, but I just played smiley dumb American and showed him the black screen of my camera, shrugged and said, “There ain’t enough light, that’s too bad.”  I knew I could fix it on the computer.  He told me to take it off my camera and I patted him on the back and said, “No thanks!  I like it!”  and wandered back over to the rest of the gang.  I think he was just trying to punk me out in front of some of his buddies.  I wasn’t too worried about it, though as I turned on the camera t show him the picture I was praying, “Oh Lord, don’t let that picture be any good, this guys ticked.”  God is good.  So is Paint Shop Pro, but not in the same way.  Anyway, there is the picture that almost cost me a beating.

Dr. Hunter is saying hello and letting the people know what we’re up to.

This is Miriam, Luis’ wife.  She shared her testimony of how God rescued her out of an abusive and dangerous situation.  Her story resonated with alot of the Jamaican women and was a blessing to hear.

 This lady is from Emmanuel Church, where we were this morning.  She shared her story of how she was robbed a few months ago in her home and how she was shot in the hand, you can see the bandage in the photo.  She talked about the grace of God and then sang.  It was powerful.

D’Ana shares her testimony of how the Lord tests his people and how he comforts.  Awesome.

Daniel spent about ten minutes explaining the two healings that were available.  Over the next few days, there will be physical healing as the physicians and dentists treat various diseases and meet needs.  But tonight, God was calling them to spiritual healing.  He pointed out that when a certain leper in scripture needed healing, he said, “Lord, if you are willing you can make me clean.”  Jesus said, “I am willing.”  Daniel is passionate about lost souls and his message was clear.  He told them, “It doesn’t matter what some white boy from America says, or what some brother from Jamaica says, you’ve heard it before.  What matters is what Jesus says, and in His word he says that you need to repent and believe.”  As Kesla gave an invitation, people came to the porch to pray and give theri lives to Christ.

After he preached, I saw Dr. Taylor speaking to a group of about five men and two or three women.  I wandered close, just to hear what he was saying.  He has the ability to hold people’s attention, and here on the street, his audience was both glued to what he was saying and trying to appear as if they didn’t care.  I asked one young man who was standing there with his arms crossed what he thought of all of this and it broke the ice.  He told me of the difficulties of living in such a bad place.  He told me that if even if what we said was true, it could not be lived in his neighborhood.  We talked for a while, discussing scripture and me telling him what Jesus has done in my life.  He didn’t understand what faith is, Daniel happened to be standing behind me, I was up on a curb talking to this guy and so I told him that I had faith that if I began to fall backward off the curb that Daniel was going to catch me.  Then I just stood there.  I finally asked what he thought of my faith and he rightly answered that it wasn’t very sure, because I hadn’t yet fallen off the curb to prove that I had faith in Daniel.  Thankfully, while talking to another guy, Big Dan was keeping one ear on our conversation and as I took the Nestea plunge into the street, Daniel caught me and lifted me back onto the curb.  The kids face lit up and he said, “That is faith.”  I said, “Sure, in Daniel.  What do you think faith in Jesus must look like?”  He replied that it must mean taking the step to trust Him and then to live for Him.  I told him that I thought the same thing, that faith was understanding that Jesus is powerful enough to save and faithful to do so when we trust Him, just like I did with Daniel.  He told me, “I want to be a Christian.”  To which I promptly replied, “no you don’t.”  I told him how hard it was to be a Christian in Dallas Texas and that it was even harder here in this neighborhood.  I told him that he would be an outcast and that if he lived a life of purity in pursuit of knowing God and he attempted to glorify God in all that he did in this particular place that he would be shunned and ridiculed.  I did my best to talk him out of it, an evangelism technique not everyone agrees with, but I believe that the Spirit of God will not be denied in convicting someone of their need for salvation and bringing them to repentance.  I half expected the matter to be dropped and in fact prayed silently for a full two minutes that he would seek out Kesla in the coming weeks and still be serious about becoming a Christian.  Instead, he grabbed my arm after a few minutes of pondering and firmly declared, “I’ve made my decision, I will be a Christian!”  The force and conviction with which he said it convinced me that all that was left was paperwork, God had already knocked this kid off the donkey.  I grabbed Daniel, and a Jamaican man that he was sharing the gospel with and said I wanted them to pray with me and Kimroy.  I prayed and then my new brother in Christ prayed a very sweet prayer, acknowledging that Jesus had died as a substitute for his sin and that he trusted him to be his Savior, saying at one point, “Lord I want to be a true Christian, a real Christian, even though its hard, you help me.”  I’ve been praying that myself ever since I heard him say it.

Kimroy is 18 and as a young male who wants to live purely and be dedicated to the cause of Christ, he is a very rare thing in this part of Jamaica.  Pray for him every day.  He shook my hand and just held on for a while and I told him, “Kimroy, there are a bunch of men and women in Texas and in Arkansas that I have been asking to pray for you before we ever met.  God had it planned for you and I to meet tonight, so you make sure to thank him for the people who have been praying for you.”  He got a little choked up and asked me if I would tell them “Thank you, my brothers and sisters.”  So there you have it.  He wasn’t the only one tonight and I am praying that he will not be the last.  Pray that these conversions are genuine and pray that Kesla will be able to pour into these men and women in Discipleship, otherwise I’m going to have to do it and you people are going to have to support me monthly so I figure it would be easier if we just all prayed real hard, cause Jamaica’s nice but I wouldn’t want to live here.

 This day has given me such a love for our team.  These people have amazed me with their love and dedication to God and His word.  We will walk away from here having gained no personal benefit, instead having sacrificed time and money and holidays with family.  But now, that time has been redeemed and I believe that there will be some men and women rubbing elbows with you in Glory that may speak of a time that a group of kids showed up with a microphone on their street just outside of Montego Bay.  There is nothing more fulfilling to me than that.  I want my life to be spent in sharing this news with others.  I’ll confess, I didn’t really want to be here.  I wasn’t looking forward to it and I didn’t think that we would have much of an impact for the kingdom in just a few days.  God has broken me and I ask your forgiveness.  Many of you are the reason that I am here and though I am miles and miles and miles of land and sea away from the love of my heart, I am right where God wants me right now.  He has taught me so much in such a short time.  My heart is heavy with the weight of my poor attitude and my lack of faith and yet I rejoice in what the Lord is doing in me and through all of us as a group.  Though I have used many, words are inadequate to express the emotions that course through me at this time.

Dr. Hunter has asked me to head up the Dental team this week.  I’m not sure what that means except that I had to pick a team of people and I am responsible for either sharing a short presentation of the gospel before we begin at the clinic or delegating that task to someone else.  Daniel, Josh Mayfield, Jeremy, Miriam, and I will be at St. John’s Methodist church with our dentists on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.  Tomorrow begins around 6 and won’t end until after another open air meeting in Canterbury where I will be sharing my testimony.  Right now it is just past 1am, so I don’t know that I will be posting tomorrow or tonight.  I may have to catch you up in a few days.

I love you all and I do miss you.  My precious bride, I think of you always even though we only speak for a few expensive minutes at a time.  My DBC peeps, I ached at not worshipping with you and I prayed for many of you as I thought about you during the day.  I have many stories to tell and hope that we can get together soon to rejoice in what God has done.  Mom and Dad, your comments have been great encouragements, thank you.  Thank you all for praying up the men who preached the word today, they were a blessing to all who heard.

 Sidenote:  We were all very excited to see that the Dallas Fightin’ Romos put an end to Indy’s unbeaten season.  I wouldn’t be suprised if some young preachers make it back to Dallas with tattoos of this guy.

Sidenote2:  The title of this post is a joke to those on the trip who know exactly what I mean and not an endorsemet of anything illegal.  The story is too long to tell.  Though I will say that Tim and I got offered drugs and women today by a guy who knows exactly who we are and why we are here.  Sad stuff.  “C’mon, mon.  This is Jamaica.  You have to at least smoke some ganja.”

Praise de Lord, mon…

Saw a billboard here this morning, can’t remember what it was advertising, but it said “Tek di challenge.”  I like a place that writes like they talk.  I’ve had to learn that “Ya mon” is the polite way to respond to a person.  It’s not like getting called buddy or pal, it seems to be more like “sir.” 

We left about 10:15 this morning and dropped a few guys off at Pitfour Gospel Chapel and then Daniel Hancock, Tim Merki, and I all headed to Emmanuel Baptist with Kesla, the pastor from Pitfour.  Emmanuel doesn’t have a pastor, so Kesla usually takes one Sunday a month to fill in and this time had Tim preach the word to the people.  Kesla was born and raised in the ghetto that surrounds Pitfour Chapel.  He spent a few years in Atlanta before going to Dallas Theological Seminary.  After he finished, he headed straight back here to minister to his people.  He is an incredibly busy man.  He and his wife are expecting thier first child, so be sure to pray for him.

Tonight we will be having an open air service on one of the streets near Pitfour.  Last night four people were shot and killed and three were wounded in this very neighborhood.  Instead of being a concern, Kesla said, “Obviously these people need to hear about Jesus.”  I love it.  I have never seen the kind of poor that we see in these neighborhoods.  I have tried to get pictures, but nothing really captures the full scope of how bad it is.  We’ve been told that when we start preaching and sharing testimonies tonight that we won’t see the people who are hearing us, but we will more than likely smell the weed that they are smoking.  It will be much the same way Monday night at Canterbury where I will be sharing my testimony along with one of the medical doctors, Kerry.  Steven will be preaching.  Please pray for us.  Josh Thompson will be speaking at a school tomorrow morning, which we are very excited about.  This is a huge opportunity to be able to tell these kids about Jesus in a context where they will be open to it.  (Any time school is interrupted it is a good thing, its harder for the kids to pay attention on a Sunday morning when they really want to be off playing.)

I asked Kesla this morning if there was a race issue here in Jamaica.  We see few white people, other than the obvious tourists in the obvious tourist locations, and some Asians, who sound funny with a Jamaican accent, and a few middle easterners, who sound even funnier.  He said that there really is no race issue.  “No Jamaican cares what color you are,” he said, “only whether or not you have any money.”  Class is a huge deal here.  When Kesla first became pastor at Pitfour, there were several well to do families.  Now that the focus of the ministry has been centered on reaching the poor and needy, those folks have left the church.  They want nothing to do with the people who don’t have money.

 When Tim finished preaching, we headed back out to Pitfour and made it in time to catch the end of the communion service and celebrate the Lord’s supper with our Jamaican brothers and sisters.  It was a very touching thing, and as I joined them, I reflected on the amazing fact that when I am in Denton Texas singing praise to God, there are people all over the world who genuinely love Jesus and are seeking to serve Him.  They are my family.  I feel that I have learned more about community by the breaking of bread with these Christians today than I truly understood before.  As different as we are, we serve one Christ.  We celebrate one Savior whose body was broken and whose blood was spilled for the forgiveness of our sins.  We all sing of amazing grace, just in different dialects.

It is raining today, but it has been just a beautiful day, full of worship and joy.  We have a few minutes to watch some of the Cowboys game before we get ready to head back out for the open air service.  Continue to pray.  Keep checking back, I love your comments.

Seriously, I don’t want any weed Pt 2…

We’re back from dinner and have received assignments for where we will be in the morning.  I will be following along with the group going back to Pitfour Chapel where Josh Mayfield will be preaching from Genesis 3 & 4.  Here are some more pictures:

The Falls.

 

  

They have  really embraced the drug centered stereotype.

 Lunch.  Seriously, right outside the lunch shack on the side of the road.  About 6 of them when we pulled up, only 2 when we left.  Hmmm.

I believe that Daniel and Luke are debating whether Red Stripe is better than Guinness.  Baptist kids, like they’d know. 

“Mackie’s Jerk Centre”  We had jerk chicken (maybe goat) for lunch and later had jerk pork at the “Pork Pit.”

Many many more pics that I’ll post later.  I don’t know why they aren’t formatting like they are supposed to, but I don’t have time to fiddle with them.

Seriously, I dont’ want any weed…

It has definitely been interesting this first full day on the island.  Today we traveled a couple of hours along the northern coast of the island to Dunn’s River Falls in Ocho Rios.  It is a national park where several rivers come together and fall down a mountain into the Carribean Sea.  We enjoyed just getting used to the area, getting acquainted with each other and engaging some of the Jamaican people in conversation.  Some of the guys were talking to a few Jamaican guys at Dunn’s River.  When they found out we were preachers, they assumed that we must be rich.  They could name several of the name it claim it prosperity preachers from the States and it sounds like most of the preachers that are from here tend to try and follow in the footsteps of these men.  So these guys figured that we were all rolling in Hummers and had just come to Jamaica for vacation. 

I was offered marijuana several times today.  First thing this morning, we went to get some money changed and a guy came around a corner after us hollering “Ganja?”  One of the other guys on the street took one look at us and said “Dare meeshonaries!  No ganja!”  He nodded, waited till we got our money changed and then instead of addressing us as a group, he made sure to catch one or two of us individually and make his offer again.  I guess being a missionary just means that you don’t buy your weed as a group.  Saw a shirt at one of the shops that summed it up pretty well, it said, “Jamaica: NO I don’t want a taxi.  NO I don’t want my hair braided.  NO I don’t want any weed.”  Pretty accurate.

This sign is just up the hill from our hotel. 

First real look at the Carribean. 

Tim in the water.

 

Some of the team.

 

 

Gotta go eat dinner, most of us have the munchies.  I’ll finish posting pics later tonight.

Be sure to pray for Luke, Josh, Tim, and Luis as they preach tomorrow.