This month my team is in Brown’s Town, Jamaica. It’s very different than the Central American countries that we spent the past couple of months in. Thick lush tropical bush covers most of the countryside. Everyone that lives here is black. And for the first time in 5 months, the main language is english. It’s hard to understand people most of the time because of their thick Jamaican accents, and the fact that their english tends to be intermingled with Padua, the other local dialect. None the less, we can actually have conversations with people first hand this month, which is awesome. So yesterday when I got the chance to make friends with some locals, I took it!
We spent the day yesterday slinging concrete at a church construction site. There were 13 of us “whities” and a crew of 7 or 8 young Jamaican men. One young man, named Chevan, and I started chatting between buckets of concrete. He was quite friendly and interested in who we were and what we were doing in Jamaica, but it was too loud to have a good conversation over the noise on the concrete mixer. So at lunch time, he waved me over to come sit and chat with him and the other men. I left my crowd of white missionaries and went to sit down among the crowd of black Rastafarians. Not to my surprise, they were all busy rolling up their lunch time joints. Marijuana has been decriminalized here in Jamaica and it’s quite evident as you see and smell it everywhere you go. As I sat down, there was a brief moment where I had the thought, “hmm, should a Christian missionary be sitting in this circle while all of this dope is being smoked?” Thankfully my mind came to a quick resolve with, “Uh, yeah! This is exactly where Jesus would be!” And honestly, it felt the most like home that I have felt in quite a while. I was raised around pot and I still live in a world of pot smokers. I smoked it myself for about 4 years and stopped about 9 years ago when I realized that it wasn’t what God had for me, but to this day I have no problem being around it. It doesn’t bother me, It doesn’t offend me, and it certainly doesn’t stop me from loving people. So I grabbed a stick of sugar cane to chew on and happily sat in on the lunchtime doobie break.
Naturally we began talking about God and our beliefs. I have learned that this is definitely one of my favourite things to talk to people about. As you ask questions and learn what people think or believe about their existence, God’s existence and eternity, you catch a glimpse of their heart and mind. You come to sense what parts of their heart and soul long for. You pick up on some of their deepest questions and battles. You connect with a part of a person that I believe all people long to find connection for. Everybody wants to be known and understood, and this young man was no exception.
As I asked questions about Chevan’s Rastafarian beliefs I quickly came to realize that there were areas that held little or no logic, evidence or proof… yet he was thoroughly convinced, and I could tell that he thought my beliefs were just as flawed and unsupported as I considered his to be. This is not uncommon when talking to someone with a different belief system. But here’s the thing, what I am endorsing is not a potential gain that one might realize over time by following the right equation and course of action. No, what I am preaching is something that can be realized in an instant, today. An experience that can be had and a victory that can be claimed anywhere, any time, by anyone. Because what I am suggesting is a relationship with a real, living God. One who loves people exactly where they are, and speaks to anyone who chooses to ask questions and listen for His voice.
Rastafarians read the Bible and may even consider themselves to be Christian, but they do not believe much of the Bible and their beliefs are not congruent with the teachings of Christ. At one point Chevan was explaining to me how he believes that Moses stole the 10 commandments from inside one of the ancient Egyptian pyramids, which is a far throw from the biblical story of Moses receiving the commandments directly from God on Mount Sinai. I challenged his belief on this and he in return challenged mine.
“How could Moses have received the law and commandments directly from God?” He asked. “Because God spoke directly to Moses.” I replied. I asked Chevan if he ever prayed to God.
“Yea of course I do.” He replied.
“And does God ever speak back to you? Do you ever hear the voice of God?”.
“Yea, I hear Him”
“And when God speaks, do you KNOW that it’s God?”
“Yes.”
“Well that’s how God spoke to Moses, but even clearer because God chose Moses to have a special relationship with Him so that God could work through him.
I challenged Chevan to ask God specifically about these things and he smirked and chuckle at the suggestion. But hey, why not?! If my God is real and He is as alive and present as I am claiming that He is, why not seek Him out and ask Him questions? What’s the worst that could happen? Either He is all I proclaim Him to be and in an instant you open up a dialogue with the living God of the universe, or you hear nothing and you lose nothing. I know my God speaks directly to me, and so many times around the planet this year I have seen Him speak directly to people of all different nations, beliefs and languages. It’s a beautiful and amazing thing, and it is a big piece of the connection that we all seek. Whether it’s an atheist in Africa, a Buddhist in Asia, a Catholic in Costa Rica, a Rastafarian in Jamaica or someone who claims no belief system in North America, everybody wonders and has questions about life and the existence of God. I’m telling you, I have seen God speak directly to all of them. So if you’re wondering, why not ask and have a listen?
The concrete mixer fired back up and after a few last drags on his doobie and a few last jokes and laughs about our differences, Chevan and I headed back out to sling some more concrete. Ah Jamaica, you do make me smile.
I love you all and miss your faces and hugs. I hope life is going well and you are finding all that your heart is searching for. Today in Jamaica, I know that I am.
Peace and love.
Emily
