Settling in to Jamaica

Yesterday we settled in to various work projects in the morning, and sports and games with kids in the afternoons. One incident illustrates well the differences in our cultures. Much of the morning was spent looking for and fixing a staple gun to repair screens in the kitchen and dining room. I walked with the Jamaican foreman (very slowly) to several places to find it, then three Americans and two Jamaicans spent an hour trying to fix it. Meanwhile Beth Bradburn spent this time hammering heavy duty staples into screens with a hammer.

While I was looking for the gun in the first place I was thinking, "We would save so much time if we just went out to buy one (which we eventually did). But walking around with the foreman, he told me the fascinating story of how he met and got engaged with his wife. I realized that I would not have heard that story if I had just gone off to buy a new gun. How many times do we miss opportunities to build relationships because we are so efficient in the US?

Work projects include digging and pouring footers for a new bathroom (our young guys are working so hard), painting, screen repair, fixing chain link fences, and tying rebar (steel supports for concrete). After a rainy Monday, yesterday afternoon was perfect--one of those days when you are a little warm in the sun, and a little cool in the shade, with a steady breeze. We brought out beads to make necklaces and bracelets, and we were concerned the older kids would be uninterested. One Jamaican boy got started with them and signed to his teacher--with much emotion, "I LOVE this!"

This is a Christian school, so it is not so much an evangelistic trip as it is simply loving the kids. One teacher said that the kids act up at the end of the school year because they are scared, nervous and sad to go home to thier families during the summer months. Usually their relatives do not sign, and certainly others in their villages and cities do not, which makes them very isolated. So they are hungry now simply for love and attention.

Stephen Dickman has regulars at the Sorry game, Ute with a 1,000 piece puzzle, Beth with Jenga, Forrest with beads, and Brandon made us proud being the only one of us who could beat the Jamaicans at checkers (Jamaican rules). The field in the afternoon is full of activity, especially the popular sport here of soccer. Casey and Monty are involved here, and are often out gunned by the older students (but they hold their own). Others help out in all these areas, and we are building such relationships with the kids that they can't wait to get out of school to hang out with us.

We have enjoyed our evenings together singing and praying, debriefing, and breaking into families (plus one or two guests) for devotions.