BeVera/ AWOP

We have arrived in Jamaica. We made it out before the winter storm cancelled our flights so we are happy. We checked into our lodging for the week and enjoyed our first Jamaican meal. We had time to get to know our leaders and share about ourselves. We look forward to going to Jacob's Well tomorrow for church service and to experience an authentic Jamaican church service

We woke up refreshed this morning and ready for our day. After an amazing Jamaican breakfast. We got ready and headed out for church. We couldn't be more excited for our day and to worship Jamaican style.

Today at church Pastor Earle felt led to pray for Reginald. What a blessing it is when we listen and follow the Holy Spirit. Reginald was so moved by Pastor Earle's prayer. This is one of the many reasons we love serving alongside Pastor Earle, he is unashamed of the gospel and doesn't ever hesitate to share that with our teams

When our team met the team from Osage Church that we will be serving with this week, there was an immediate connection. We gathered this evening for a time of getting to know one another, an awesome bible study from Luke and finished off the evening with a time of praise and worship.

The ladies were ready to serve this morning. This week we are working on building a home for an elderly couple that lost their home during Hurricane Melissa. We pray we can play just a small part in getting them back into a home that they are able to feel safe in.

The preparations of 35 care packages were such a blessing for church members, teachers, and people in the community. The team worked hard to help sort and bag non-perishable food and toiletry items.

What a wonderful week. The amount of work done on the housebuilding project was beyond anything we have ever seen. When the week started, there was a “huge” amount of rock, stone, and concrete from the flooring of the previous home. The team managed to completely clear the entire pile of rubble, stone, and concrete and move it into other areas of the house as fill before the flooring can be poured. They were also amazing masons and bucket passers. As the walls went up, well over a hundred cinder blocks were laid. This was something that would have taken weeks for the family to have completed on their own. We couldn’t be prouder of this group and what they accomplished this week.

Instead of taking their full rec day, the team decided to head out to Jacob’s Well Church, where they had served last year. They spent 2 hours mixing and pouring another huge amount of concrete for a walkway that was desperately needed at the church’s school. It was such a blessing to watch them work together to help another one of our partners on the island. To God be the Glory!

Reginald didn’t hesitate to jump in with some of the team members to form a chain for back rubs. They certainly deserved this after their long, hard days constructing a huge portion of the home they came to help rebuild.