We're Here!

Well, we made it to Jamaica. We've been here since Saturday, but this is the first time we have had an extended WiFi connection. Things have been going well, and God has been good!

We arrived on Saturday afternoon, and immediately found that two of our bags were missing. Jorge's personal suitcase was missing as well as Frankie's supply suitcase. Not to worry though...if our God can part the Red Sea, he can find two missing suitcases. And He did! After we prayed as a group, we went to the lost luggage desk and found that both suitcases were left in Dallas, and they would be on the next flight into Montego Bay. They arrived at the CCCD campus before breakfast on Sunday morning, so we never missed them.

We have been busy while we've been here. At breakfast time on Sunday morning, we were asked to lead that morning's worship service for the students. We had about an hour to prepare...but God worked out our plans and everything went smoothly. The entire team led music; Jorge, Angie, and Brancent performed a skit, and Josh preached a short sermon. We also had a time of introducing ourselves to the team. So many of the students were shocked to find out our ages (they couldn't believe that Tori was only 14), and they were thrilled to see that most our team was Deaf. They were particularly curious about Matt and Andrew...most of the students thought they were twins, and later, they couldn't believe that Andrew is the baby in the family.

We led Sunday evening worship as well...Angie and Jorge both gave their testimonies, and they did an excellent job. It's so good for the students to hear testimonies from Deaf believers. We also led the students in the song J-E-S-U-S. Some remembered the song from last year, but they had forgotten it. They asked our team to teach them the song so that they can sing it throughout the year on their own.

Today (Monday) we worked doing construction (lots of demolition and hauling dirt...a lot harder than it sounds). We will continue in our construction work tomorrow morning with mixing and pouring cement onto the floors in one of the buildings here. 

We also had our first day of VBS with the students today. The drama group acted out the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000, and then we split the students into four groups where they discussed the meaning of the story, made crafts, played Bible games to help them remember the facts of the story, and played recreational games outside. Everything went well. We continue to pray for God to impact the students' lives as they see His word presented to them in their own language.

Finally, here are some pics so that you have an idea of what things look like around here...

That's a lot of luggage!

The beautiful land of Jamaica

The Heart Surgery drama during Sunday morning worship

Group picture!

We see these guys everywhere. They're always trying to sell us insurance.

The students' flag ceremony on Monday morning.

Last minute VBS planning in the living room of the Great House.

Demolition...we moved a lot of wood flooring out of the Great House.

The view from our back porch. (click for larger image)

Loading buckets full of dirt for the new floor foundation.

We had a pretty good assembly line going.

Attack the bearded man!

And last, but not least, we'd like to let everyone know that Saundra Ford has found her swag in Jamaica. She's coming back to the States as a new woman!

Thank you for your prayers and support! We need them! We will be updating again within the next couple of days.