2013 TEAM

2013 TEAM

Monday, February 20, 2012

Lot has happened in so little time! Please read about the last few days!

THE INTERNET was down at the YWAM base for the last few days. We tried to blog but we didnt have internet. SO SORRY Please read below about our exciting days!
Today we had a WONDERFUL day at Dunns River Falls!!! Very relaxing and SUPER FUN!  It was a wonderful day of climbing the waterfall and playing at the beach! We are all sunburned, most of us used LOADS of sunscreen! We are clearly not Jamaican, at this moment we are applying sunscreen and drinking lots of water. After the falls we went to Scotties for jerk chicken, then up to the top of the mountain to the Robins Nest. We arrived about 15 mins ago at the Robins Nest all the kids where being put to bed, except for the ones who ran out when our bus came on the property. :)
We are excited to be here and to be going to bed soon!
We will write more soon! Much LOVE!!!!!
PLEASE READ THE BELOW POSTS!
After three days of hard work the house was finally finished. It was very rewarding to see the house finished and the excitement in the family faces. We brought a bag full of clothes, diapers, household items, toys, that we where able to give them at the time of the dedication. To start the house dedication we passed the keys around the circle each praying a blessing for the family. We prayed that this house would give the family hope and protection and that this house could be used as a vessel to further his kingdom. Karen then started to thank our team for everything we did for her family. It was truly a blessing for us to see the joy and gratitude in her face. Her daughter also made sure we knew how she felt about our team. Her statement went a little something like this... “I am so glad to came to us, I really love you all, and I am thankful that you came, I really appreciate you, I really appreciate you, I really appreciate you all and I love you all.”
Since this is a very poor community, they do not have very much food, as well because of their remote location it is extremely hard to get any food. Naomi (Mother of Karren) was telling us that about every 3 weeks she goes shopping for flour, rice and oil. That she carries them a few hours up the mountain. When we ate our food durning our lunch breaks at the worksite all of the kids where infatuated with Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches and apples, this simple meal though nothing special to us was a feast to them. It was hard to eat our portion of food in order to keep us going and not share all of it with them. Many of us did share our lunches there was never any food left at the end of the day. 
Tyanna’s church gave us money to give for a house warming for our Homes of Hope Family, we where instructed to buy groceries for them. After the dedication we all came back to the base, some of the team went swimming. Maragert, Tyanna Geoff, Jacey, and Hannah went shopping at the Jamaica Costco “Mega Mart” for flour, rice, cereal, milk powder, jam(to go with the peanut butter we bought), snacks for the kids etc. We went back up on the very bumpy ride for one last time and brought the food. Karren was very excited for the food. 
Since fundraising went so well for our team, we where able to also buy a double bunk bed, gas stove and a refill for the gas tank as a part of the house warming gift. Shortly after we delivered the food, the appliances arrived. We put the beds together by light of a cell phone, as well as the stove because it was getting dark and they do not have electricity. It was hard to leave everyone again for a second time, Meme one local kids cried “I am missing you already,” it was very sad.
Hannah was talking to Karren about sleeping, (the day before she said hadn’t slept because of her 6 month old had kept her up all night, all 5 kids and Karren previous shared 2 beds)  But tonight she said“I am so blessed I can sleep well, God has blessed us so much.”  What an amazing opportunity to be apart of blessing this family.
Today we were able to experience the Holy Spirt in a very powerful way during an amazing worship service at the church we attended. Hearing the voices of the worship team and congregation gave us all shivers. What we experienced is only a taste of how we will worship our Lord in Heaven. As a team we where given the opportunity to do special music in the service Julia and Tyanna lead us in a song called “Follow You”. A phrase within the song is “Follow you in to the homes of the broken, follow you into the world, follow you into the homes of the needy, I will follow you.” Which is something that the team has been focusing our hearts towards and exactly what we are doing in Jamaica. 
After church went to the pork pit for a great lunch of Jerk Pork and Festivals. Then off to the craft market for some bartering and great deals! Tonight we had a night of prep for the children's homes. We also had a wonderful time of team encouragement. 
Tomorrow we are going to go to Dunns River Falls and then to the Robins Nest! We are very excited to meet the kids at the children's homes!
This team is such an amazing group of students. The laughs are never ending and they are such hard workers! God is working in their lives!
Much love to our friends and family back home! We miss you all!
Mel, Hannah, and the team

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