2013 BLOG LINK

CLICK ON THE LINK FOR THE PROJECT SERVE JAMAICA 2013 TEAM!!!!
The team is leaving tomorrow and updates will be added on the link below!!



http://yfcsask.squarespace.com/

THANK YOU 2012 TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!

The Weekend!

ARRIVED SAFE IN CANADA!

Hello friends and family!!!
We have arrived safe in Toronto. We are now FILLED with Pizza and heading to bed. 


There was mixed emotions leaving Jamaica today, everyone was sad to leave this amazing country but excited to head home to see all of you! 


Our debrief weekend was a wonderful time, filled with reflection and dreaming of what the Lord has for us back at home. Ways that we can take what we have learned and saw and really apply it to our lives back home... things like:
Serving the Poor of Saskatoon
Serving the Elderly of Saskatoon through music
Serving our families more
Bringing Prayer into every aspect of our lives
Allowing God to be part of every area of life


Where just a few of the ways that we want to incorporate what the Lord has taught us to bring back home. I am excited to see these students live out what they have learnt!


We also enjoyed playing on the beach on Saturday, which was right across the street from the Youth Hostel we stayed in. We were able to play on a "Ice Berg" Climbing wall that was about 25 ft tall, a water trampoline, beach volley ball, and some went snorkelling! We had Jamaican Patties for lunch and ate a wonderful meal at a restaurant on the beach for supper. All this mixed in with debrief sessions it was such a great way to close our time in Jamaica. 


It was a real privilege and joy to serve along side these students and leaders. This was an amazing team. They really grasped what it means to serve the Lord through serving others extravagantly. We had so much for together as well! Thank you all for being a huge part of these amazing students and leaders lives, and encouraging them to be the people they are today! They are such hard workers, even when they where exhausted they had smiles on their faces waiting to serve more. Wow. What a blessing!


 The team might go through a little culture shock coming home, not being with the same 15 people 24/7 who always laugh at their jokes and understand what they have just seen and been apart of. Be patient as we continue to unpack the many things we have learnt.:)


I would love to express how thankful I am to have all of your prayers and support we could not have done this without you, that you our extended team! Also, thank you for taking time to read this and post comments! 


May the Lord bless you!!!!


Hannah


If you would like to welcome us home tomorrow our flight info is:
AirCanada 8293 
Arrival 12:23pm
Monday Feb 27

Starting to say Good-Bye!

Preparing to come home!


We are just getting ready to leave the YWAM Base. All the students are packing and cleaning as I type. Soon we will start to say good-bye to our friends at the base.:(


This morning we spent time at Blossom Gardens. This is a very hard place to visit. It is very different from the Robins Nest. The Team fully understood that after we left. These children at this home, are rarely held or loved. You can tell the stark contrast between the two (Nest and Blossom Gardens) after just a few minutes with the Children. Most of the students where holding more than one baby. We didn't have enough arms to go around, but we are glad for even the short time we got to spend with them. We where able to sing songs, do a craft with them and leave a bunch of donated items. It was hard leaving them. Knowing that they are just surviving there. Sad.We are thankful to the Lord that we got to see this and even if only for a short time cuddle them as much as possible. 
Tonight we will debrief more about the students reaction to our time there. It was a quite ride home from Blossom Gardens. I believe we are suppose to be disturbed by what we see, but it is not ok for us not to stay at the place of hopelessness. Instead we are going to start asking the question "Now what." What can I do with what the Lord has given me?

James 1:27

New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

"Now that we have seen we are responsible faith without deeds is dead."

Tonight the Team will received all of your encouragement from home, my prayer is that the Lord will use this to encourage the students to see the tremendous blessings they have in their lives and to respond with their desire to keep loving God first and loving others. This is a very important time in their lives as the walk through the "Now What." 

Thank you for being a wonderful part of this adventure for this team. Thank you for your prayers and financial support. Thank you for all of your encouraging posts, the students love hearing them. Keep them coming!

I am unsure of the internet situation until sunday evening. If I am able I will write you a post tomorrow. If not you will hear from us on Sunday!

We will spend the weekend debriefing and playing at the beach (Hopefully no sunburns!:) Another praise item is the we have been injury free! Praise the LORD!

With a very full heart,

Hannah

 

Our sweet adventure is coming to an end, but our stories aren't!!

Today we woke up bright and early and cleaned up our rooms at Robin’s Nest, ate a delicious breakfast and headed back down the mountain to the YWAM base! It was a great few days at Robin’s Nest! When we got back to YWAM we were able to relax for a bit, swim, and hangout. After lunch we headed over to the Hope Hospice for a couple hours. We got to have some fellowship with the elderly people of Jamaica. The people in this home are sick and are basically stuck in a bed for the rest of their lives. It was a sad but extremely humbling experience. They have so much joy and peace about their situations it was definitely contagious, seeing people have so little but yet be so happy about their life! They see their blessings instead of dwelling on what they don’t have.

Big shoutout to Tarzan! - Jane

Today we were able to visit the Hope Hospice. It is a palliative care home for individuals with AIDS and other disabilities. I had the chance to speak with a 77 year old woman named Virginia. She lost both her legs to poor circulation. She has been living at the hospice for the past five years. She also has trouble with her vision and is unable to read, so it was a privilege to read to her from the Bible. She loved hearing from the book of Psalms. I could hear her recite the words along with me as I read. It was very special to see just how much joy it brought her for someone to take time to read to her. It made me think of how much I take for granted, such as my sight and the ability to walk. It made me realize that I am truly BLESSED! -Mel

Hey Guys! It’s been a crazy experience here so far, especially since it’s my first time out of the country. I think one of the most encouraging things here in Jamaica is the people. They are just so willing to talk to absolutely anyone that crosses their path. I want Canada to start being like them more (so feel free to start now:!)

Its also crazy to see God in the creation here waking up to the beautiful sunrise. I wish I could just write about everything, but I can’t, so, I’ll stop. Thanks for all the prayers- Amber

I like to think I’m truly on this trip to serve the Lord, not simply for my own enjoyment, however, I find it difficult to maintain that perspective after observing how others have responded to the calling God has placed on their lives.  After spending time at the Robin’s Nest Children’s Home, I was struck by the way the Wileys, who run the home, have uprooted their household by moving to Jamaica and committed their entire life to loving the children.  I was exhausted after two days of working at the home and hanging out with the children, yet they do everything I did, and more, day after day, getting time off only once every six months.  It’s humbling and eye opening for me to continue to realize that serving God is not always comfortable and easy, but can involve much greater sacrifice than going on a fun trip to a warmer climate for a few weeks.  The more I see God working through the lives of others, the more I hope God can push me out of my comfort zone, so that I can strive to bring Him glory in everything I do. Thanks for all the prayer and encouragement; I look forward to sharing my experiences when I return!

Devin

     I can’t believe how fast our trip is going by! It’s been an incredible experience. One of the highlights of the trip safer was spending time with the children at the worksite where we built the house. It was eye opening to see the poverty in the community around the worksite. The children we met there, were craving love and attention. It was an absolute blessing to hold them, play with them and see them smile. They have left a lasting impression and I am already missing them. 

     Another one of my favorite parts of the trip was our trip to the Hope Hospice. It was a very humbling and challenging experience. The people living there had so little. Despite there situations they were so thankful and had so much praise for God. I really appreciate all of your prayers and comments. I am excited to share more about my experiences when I return home!

 -Tiffany

Oh hey everyone! Kerstyn here. We are having an unreal time serving the Lord and seeing the different ways he is working in the lives of the Jamaicans. From down at the YWAM base all the way up the mountain, where there is more poverty then i ever thought there would be, God is a ever huge part of these peoples everyday lives. It became very evident how our cultures differ in worship when we got to go to church on Sunday. Everyone was moving, dancing, and singing so passionately it was impossible not to feel the Holy Spirit fill the room. I guess it just challenged me to take everything I have as a blessing and to remain joyful and grateful through any situation. I hope that I can take that same fire wherever I go to serve the Lord. Our God is so good. He is love, joy, peace, and mercy, and he is transforming lives! - Kerstyn

It has been an amazing journey so far, it seems we have done so much. I would have to say my biggest high light thus far has been the work site, where we built the home for Karen and her family. I will be honest... I didn’t do much of the hard labour, I spent a big portion of my time hanging out with the kids. The thing that just made me want to love on these kids SO much was the thought that they don’t get this often, this is not a normal routine for them, to have a group of people come in and build a home and hang out and play with them for a few days. I feel when you go to Children’s homes, though it is still so great to love on them, they experience it a lot more then what these particular children did. It was so fun just to have fun with them, build things, be crazy, be goofy, be a kid! They were so full of life and SOOOO full of energy. They were all so unique and absolutely beautiful. I had an amazing time with them. It was definitely great. - Alex

Our night ended with an amazing fancy dinner put on for our team from the YWAM staff... Jerk Chicken, Rice, Beans, Festivals, Plantanes, Salad, and ice cream for dessert! We then had a team meeting and went into hanging out with the team, just enjoying our last few nights together. Tomorrow morning we head off to Blossom Gardens, another children’s home, for a few hours to hang out with the kids. Then it’s time to pack up and clean up our stuff at the YWAM base and head to the Caraibic House for our debrief! Thanks so much for your prayers and comments and love! We love you all!

-Alex and the team :)

Many Hands working together

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR ENCOURAGING POSTS! Keep them coming!

Today we had a wonderful filled day. In the mornings we got the chance to sleep in for the past few days. 8:30am! After breakfast we met with all the kids from “Jakes House” (all the older boys from Robins Nest) The boys paired up with our team, to build the fence. We laid out the fencing along the mountain side and attached it with MANY hands to the poles. It was great to be able to serve alongside the children! After lunch we did a few skit, songs, crafts and swam with the kids! It was a great day!

After dinner we did devotions with the older kids. The devotion time consisted of prayer, a few stories, and ended with a “thankful check” one by one the kids would say one thing they were thankful for, and always gave thanks to the Lord, they all had to say something different. The night ended with a movie (Night at the Museum) with the boys from Jake’s House, it was their reward for working so hard with the team today! Tomorrow we leave Robin’s Nest bright and early to head back to the YWAM base and later we will be going to the Hope Hospice. 

Alrighty so tonight we were able to have devotions with the kids at the Robins Nest and at the end we all took turn saying what we were thankful for and some of the kids answers really put things into perspective for me. Hearing the answers I’m thankful for clothes. It makes me realize how thankful they really are for these things and for me these things I don't even think about I’ve just always had them. It really makes me thankful for all that God has blessed me with.- Tyson

Hey there, so Sunday we went to a church here called “The Light House.” The people of this church were so filled with the joy of God they were jumping around and dancing during worship and shouting alleluias and amens durning the service made me think, why aren’t we that excited about God back home. Lets get stoked everyone, we have a God who has a plan for us. -Matt

Such a blessing to be on this trip! I’m having such a blast! I’ve done a lot of things! So far I’ve used a shwack of sunscreen, caught a firefly, learned how to barter in a market, tried sugar cain, bonded with my teammates, laughed a lot, danced in church, had a gecko on my face, been blessed by the community, played soccer barefoot, held tons of little kids, ate goat, learned how to build a fence Jamaican style, got covered in paint, built a house, licked a lot of elbows, had many cold showers, and climbed a waterfall! So thats just a bit of what i’ve been up too so far, hope that gave you a snapshot of the good times we’ve been having. “Jamaica? YA MAN!!” - Tracey-Lynne

W’gwan! This trip... has been outstanding to say the least, it is so great to be in Jamaica. There are so many people to meet and children to love. I feel like everyday manages to stretch me, and I am so challenged by little things, such as a barefoot child playing in the trash, or a shy orphan boy thankful for clothes. Poverty is so real here, but regardless, the passion of the people is incredible. I am truly inspired by their hope and faith despite their circumstances. I am sad that this trip is over half finished so soon... I look forward to the adventures that remain in this place and I hope to absorb so much more of the Jamaican attitude that’s here, as well as their intense passion for worshiping God. -Tyanna