Two weeks ago tonight, I had the distinct privilege of delivering the message for the Sunday night service at Havenhill Baptist Church in Kingston, Jamaica. I felt led to share a lot of my personal story and walk with Christ during the message, but I tried to make clear that my message was not about me, but about Christ and all He has done for me and in me. I had sketched out the rough message weeks prior to going to Jamaica, but I heard a song for the first time just a day or two before I left on the trip that really confirmed what I was trying to say. I meant to mention it during the message itself, but ran out of time. So I’m posting it here for you to enjoy. This is Big Daddy Weave singing “My Story.”
Category: <span>Jamaica Mission</span>
We have been in Jamaica over a week now and all of the things that seemed so strange at the beginning of this trip are feeling more and more familiar. I know from last year that I will experience culture shock when I land back in the U.S. just like I did when I got here to Jamaica last Friday, but I imagine it will be worse this time since my trip was longer. Either it is a little cooler now or we have gotten more used to the heat as well. It is still hot, but our minds are not constantly thinking about it like they were when we first arrived.
Back at the camp this morning for one last time. Today was the presentation of the worship services the two teams of campers put together. As I think I mentioned before in a post, we had also divided our team up to help the two teams of campers. What this meant was that it ended up becoming a competition for us as well. The team that I was a part of was the winner, but both services were very well done. The other team had a young person who seems to have a gift for preaching evident to everyone who was there, so that was exciting. Ultimately, I think it came down to the fact that our transitions were a little smoother and our readers did a really great job. The funny part was the friendly arguing and teasing between the members of my mission team about some perceived rule bending that went on with the use of some leaders and camp counselors in some key roles during our service.
Posted this blog a little late because yesterday was such a busy day, although as you can see, breakfast in Jamaica is a good way to get started. Today started with a trip up to the camp for a worship set, devotion, and then about a hour to spend with our teams on the worship service they are creating. As I write this on Friday morning, we are preparing to travel back to see the finished products. One of the main parts of both services will be “The Box Skit” which I hope to stream live today. It is a powerful drama that illustrates the gospel story. Here’s a picture of the campers practicing the skit.
Speaking of the Box Skit, we also used it during our closing ceremonies at the VBS we are putting on. We had several decisions for Christ at the end of last night’s session which is wonderful. I was in charge of games (or “sports” as the Jamaicans are used to calling them) and last night I helped Christina with the younger kids. There was one child who was having trouble keeping his hands to himself, so I spent about 20 minutes giving him a piggyback ride while singing “Every Praise” to keep him occupied. You never know how you are going to serve on one of these trips!
This morning, we left bright and early for Fairview Camp (which didn’t have power) where we divided the campers into two teams for a worship service building competition. Each team will build a 20-minute worship service that will be presented on Friday morning. One team has the theme of God’s Forgiveness and the other has God’s love. Our team is also divided up to help each team by providing ideas, some scripture, and a drama for them to do. They will all have to participate and the competition aspect of it gets them really motivated. The underlying focus of this exercise is to encourage them to find their fit where they can serve in their churches.