Wha' Gwan Newsletter
Youth trip and possibilities
One of the young people from Fargo summed it up in a sentence, “Whatever we gave the people of Jamaica, we got back tenfold.” Others talked about how it changed their lives and reshaped how they look at the future. All in all it was a wonderful trip and inspiring for the adults to watch 120 some young people step in service to their Lord. Our youth cleaned and painted two of our new clinic sites. They played with the children of Westhaven, Copse Place of Safety and Copse Basic School. They also painted at POS and Garland Hall and went either to the beach or had ‘bouncy house’ party with the kids from Garland Hall Orphanage. Several groups poured concrete and painted with J’Abode (Habitat for Humanity) and enjoyed the fellowship with regular people out in the little towns. We juggled the schedule a bit and everyone got to a Church for the first time and now feel even more a part of the communities we serve. The traditional catamaran/snorkeling trip and climbing Dunn’s River Falls rounded out an exceptional week. This is such an exceptional experience we are looking at scheduling it each year (rather than every other). If you or your church is interested now is the time to think about it – give us a call/e-mail and we can give you the particulars. As one girl wrote, “If you get the chance – go, it’ll change your life, it changed mine.”
Teams from around the country are identifying the weeks they are going to serve and more specific publicity will come out from them soon. Our major local gathering in Mahtomedi will be August 23 and 24 as a full weekend is planned to kick off Mission Jamaica’s 20th year of service. One thing that distinguishes Mission Jamaica is the simple phrase I hear often. “You came back” is said frequently with admiration and gratitude in the speakers voice and eyes. I hear this from extremely grateful administrators as well as delighted kids and even our friends on the hotel staff. That Mission Jamaica teams come back is due to your dedication and heart for mission work.
As you consider your missionary service in 2009 note several additions and options as we strive to be good stewards, better communicators and address needs more efficiently. We hope to expand some areas of service. Because of increases in flight costs, renovations in Hotels and the current economy a less expensive but very comfortable hotel becomes an option for each team. You may also stay a second week in many circumstances (two weeks at the less expensive hotel for less than the price of one week at last year’s hotel). Many people have mentioned that they want to come but can’t because of conflicts on the week their Church picks. Now you will be able to come as we are moving to a year round program – the first full week each month. You can sign on for JAbode teams (Habitat for Humanity), Child care at Westhaven or a Medical team. These are some exciting options to fit your schedule or possibly a second trip. Maybe you would like to participate on a JAbode team formed from Christians from around the country. Maybe you would like to light up the eyes of a Westhaven child by “coming back” in the quiet time of Summer or Fall. Teachers, this is your chance to join a team during the summer. Medical people get excited about the better care we can give when we come each month and we are very excited about starting a clinic for our friends in the Westhaven/Copse area. We also need non-medical - Minnesota Gophers as we call them in Minnesota - to help out with running these clinics.
All this is to say we are growing and changing in this 20th year of service. Our prayer is that you find an opportunity to serve that fits your schedule and areas of interest. Our staff is excited about fitting you into the program that works for you.
Blessings as you pray about your place in missionary work.
Your Mission Jamaica team,
Michael Lori Cathy
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