It’s April and I’m currently sitting in Ms. Sinclair’s house drinking an instant coffee packet in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Ms. Sinclair is a stranger to you, and she was to me too until about four days ago. She is an older woman who lives alone and who graciously opened her home to seven homeless women she had never met. She has given us beds, access to her kitchen, and treated us like her granddaughters. She is one of four selfless, loving women who have welcomed us into their homes (or their B&B) and treated us like family.
You might be wondering how in the world we came to Ms. Sinclair’s home and why we aren’t staying in a hostel or a ministry site this month. Allow me to briefly tell you how awesome God is and what he is doing this month through my team in Jamaica. I say “briefly” only because if I told you EVERY crazy thing God has done in the past couple weeks it would turn into a very, very long blog. In lieu of a lot of reading on your part and a lot of typing on mine, my team is compiling a documentary of this month. I’ll share the video as soon as it’s ready. 🙂
Four days ago my team made a cross-country move from the southern capital, Kingston, to the northern “touristy” city of Ocho Rios based solely on the fact that the Lord was calling us here and he made it apparent by opening so many doors.
Our ministry this month is called “Unsung Heroes”.
The goal- to meet with local ministries to find potential partners for AIM (Adventures in Missions, which is the organization the World Race is apart of).
The means- research online, talking to any and everyone, hundreds of emails, and lots of phone calls.
The reality- a small budget ($6 for lodging and $5 for food daily), uncertainty about where to go and where to stay, constant prayers.
The outcome- complete dependence on the Lord, the joy of seeing him lead us to places we wouldn’t have gone without his guidance, and meeting so many people we now consider family.
In Kingston, we had two successful meetings with future AIM partners. (woo!) But, we knew God was calling us to “keep moving” and to not get too comfortable in any one city or location. We had a potential meeting with a promising ministry in Port Antonio so we thought it was the place to go next. I think it’s safe to say we contacted almost every hostel, ministry, church, and campground in Port Antonio and the surrounding area but not one of them contacted us back (or they were super out of budget and couldn’t help us).
It seemed hopeless. We only had somewhere to sleep for one more night. It was down to the wire and we needed a miracle. We stopped. We re-assessed. We prayed for direction. We felt a calling to Ocho Rios. We started to look into lodging, friends of friends, and ministries in the city. In less than an hour’s time we had EIGHT days of lodging solidified and TWO more meetings scheduled for the next week.
We have been in Ocho Rios for four days now and each day here has been full of purpose. We had the opportunity to lead someone to accept Christ, we’ve been praying for people, sharing the love of God, and having conversations that make an impact and shine truth into the souls of people who are desperately searching for something more. We had two more meetings with ministries who want to partner with AIM and become future WR hosts. (I’m not going to lie, I’m kinda jealous that we weren’t able to serve with these ministries. Every ministry we have met with has been run by incredible people with passionate hearts and a vision that makes you want to jump in and serve alongside them!)
Keep us in your prayers as we continue to reach out to ministries in the area and possibly move to the Montego Bay Area if the Lord leads. Pray for connections like Ms. Sinclair who will provide lodging for us in a budget that seems impossible. Pray for us as we live our lives interruptible– open to conversations, listening to the spirit, and allowing Him to speak through us.
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3
This verse has been so incredibly true this month. Even without knowing the details of what will happen- whether we would have to travel to a new city or whether or not we had a place to stay for the night, I’ve been completely at peace. I haven’t been stressed or worried because he has been providing more than I could have ever hoped for.
