Be the voice!

Julie and I often say the we need to be the voice of those who have no voice, and you can't do that effectively unless you go and experience what they are experiencing .. lots of times we have been in situations where we would ask "where is God in this".. but sometimes that is the very reason you are there... To bring Light into the dark places.

This last week Julie and I were with a group from our Canada church in Jamaica.  The dates of the trip had changed and it worked out that we would arrive home from Kyrgyzstan a few days before, so we were excited to be able to go. 

The team packed barrels of food and shipped them a few weeks ago and the arrived in time for us to pack bags of food and deliver them . This is something we have lots of experience with.. Half a world away and we find many of the same situations .

Packing the bags 

Then we went up the mountain with a friend who has been working with families in the area for a long time , so it was important that we work with him to bring food to where it would have the greatest impact.

We also had opertunity to bring  cooked meals to the homeless and the street sweepers.  

This lady has a little store where she sells frozen chickens ... I asked her what we a good day.. she said that if she sells two chickens that would be a good day.  I then asked how many she had , she had 12.  So I told her that I would take 10 so that she would still have some for the next days customers.  We added them to the food hampers .. 

Julie made conection with so many along the way .

Back at the camp, we had lots of work to do .  The playground had been destroyed by the hurricane so we built them a new one .
 

As well with the sustained winds , lots of paint was stripped off the buildings so we scraped and painted there as well

 

I have to be honest, JET LEG is real .  I was so turned around and just seemed to have no energy .. fortunately we were on Jamaican time and that included lots of little breaks .  

But despite that , we made some good friendships .  Maybe even better because I was operating at a much slower pace .. it gave time to focuse on the people . 

This was the family hosting us .

Our bus driver .

All in all , I feel blessed that we had the opertunity to make this trip.  Now when I speak up for this incredible community , I can do it with the first hand knowledge I have gained .   I believe that when it comes to missions.. we are all called to go , and we are all called to speak up for those who have no voice.   

If you ever feel it might be your time and you are not sure what to do next, reach out to me and I will point you in the right direction .. we except teams and also work with great organizations like possibilities International  who facilitate trips.  Be the Voice