A week in the life

Hey everyone!

Well, I followed through on saying I would update this thing more often. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to write any more next week because it is our staff retreat week. No group is coming to Harmons and the staff will be spending 3 nights in Ocho Rios, 2 nights in Negril and then 2 nights in Harmons before we have our next group. I'm really looking forward to this week as an opportunity for our staff to grow tighter. It's tough to get much time to ourselves while groups are here.

This week has been going really well, although the dynamic has been a little different because there are two groups here this week and one of them is a public high school from Virginia. The kids have been great but there is definitely a different atmosphere than when everyone is from church youth groups. I've tweaked the devotional times this week to fit better with the group we have.

So I promised to let you all in on a sneak peek on a normal week in my life. I feel like there is so much I can say so I'll try to cut some details but here we go. Let's start by explaining a few things about the ministry here. Every group that comes down builds two houses start to finish. In addition, groups are supposed to build two foundations to be ready for the next group that comes. Another place where students serve during the week is the store. The store is full of clothes, school supplies, medicine etc. and people in the community get the chance to "shop" once a year. The cost is 100J which is about $1.50, but if someone can't afford it they usually make an exception (the main reason is so that people feel like they're not just getting a handout). Another area of our ministry is the infirmary. The infirmary is a government-run home where mentally and physically handicapped people are sent to when their family cannot or will not take care of them anymore. Many people there are pretty incoherent while others are simply a bit older and have physical issues. Our group is one of the only group that ever goes to visit these people. The infirmary is a really tough place for me to go although it's been getting more enjoyable as the summer goes on.

When the team arrives on Sunday we have a long, windy, bumpy bus ride back to Harmons. We reccomend people take dramamine-- I've started getting used to it but I still get sick sometimes. The bus ride back is crucial in starting to learn names and getting to know the teams. Once we arrive in Harmons dinner is usually waiting for us. We eat really well here although it's a pretty simple diet of chicken and rice. Afterwards the team puts all of their 50-pound suitcases in the middle of the meeting room and we separate everything they brought into different categories for giving away in the store. Monday morning they have an orientation and then our staff takes the team on a bit of a tour around Harmons. They come back to the house to eat lunch and then work half of the day at houses, foundations, the store, the infirmary, and various other worksites. I try to go the worksites as often as I can to get to know the teams better but usually I can't stay the full time because I have to prepare for devotionals in the morning and the evening as well as hang out with the kid I'm mentoring. Every night after our devotional we have "courtyard." Mike is the staffer in charge of courtyard so he plans events like dance night, movie night, game night, mens/womens night etc. It varies every night but there can be as many as 100 Jamaicans that come to courtyard. It's a great place for the Americans and the Jamaicans to hang out apart from the worksite (I forgot to mention that Jamaicans are employed by Won By One to help on the houses). Tuesday is a full day of work so I usually work half of the day and use the rest of the time to plan devotionals and hang out with my mento. Wednesdays the team works in the morning and then we all go to the infirmary. That is always a very powerful time and most Wednesday nights our devotional is more like a debrief from the afternoon. Thursday is another full day, and then the teams go to Jamaican's houses to eat dinner (while we have staff meeting...). Friday they work in the morning and then the afternoon is like a structured free time. They have a few options to choose from like playing soccer or taking a hike up a mountain. I always lead the group up the mountain to see a man named "stick man." He carves really cool walking sticks that the team can buy at the end of the week. It's a pretty tough climb but the view is definitely worth it, and I really enjoy walking up with a few Jamaican kids that usually tag along. Saturday morning we leave with the team for Ocho Rios where we all hang out to get some much needed rest (case in point- I will be getting 3 hours of sleep tonight). Most Sundays we would take the team to the airport and then wait there for the next team and repeat everything.

So there's my life in a nutshell. I'll try to pass on a few more specifics and some stories next week. I hope everyone is doing well!

Oh, one quick story-- this week when we met the group at the airport I pretended like I was from London and used a British accent. Everyone believed me and so I let the joke continue for about 6 hours until we unpacked the suitcases. It was pretty hilarious when they realized I was an American.

Peace out!

Adam