On this hot, humid day in Jamaica, I am writing to you from a beautiful old home owned by a woman who has graciously allowed us to “crash” with her for the past 4 days. Why are we staying in this home (with a woman who was a stranger just days ago)? Let me explain. Typically, in each country our team is assigned to one ministry, one host, and lodging/food are established before we arrive. We partner with the ministry, helping wherever needed. However, this month is different. This month my team has a special assignment – it’s called Unsung Heroes. What exactly does that mean? It means that our team has been tasked with finding new ministries or organizations in Jamaica whose mission aligns with AIM’s in hopes that we will be able to form new partnerships for future trips. We are searching for the hidden “heroes” in the community that are doing great work for the kingdom.
Going into this month, our team didn’t have a ministry city, host, lodging, transportation, or food arrangements setup in advance. The month is centered around listening for God’s direction: where to go, how long to stay there, who to talk to, what to do when we’re there? It is a month of trusting the Lord, depending on Him… it is a month of living as Jesus did, not knowing where we will lay our head (sometimes just 24 hours before we’ll be arriving in a city). By the world’s standards, it’s pretty ridiculous…rather unconventional. But for me, it has been an insanely powerful and awesome opportunity to tangibly experience what it looks like to truly have faith that God will provide for our daily needs. He has been teaching us to listen for His voice, to follow His lead, to surrender expectations, to be interruptible, and to welcome change in our plans.
Before we arrived in Jamaica our squad had a 5 day debrief in San Jose, Costa Rica. As the end of debrief quickly approached, our team scrambled to find lodging in Kingston. We had reached out to family/friends back home, churches, squadmates, and everyone else we could think of who might have a connection in Jamaica, but all of our options fell through. Our budget is $6 per person per day, and one of the other team’s hosts told us that it would be a miracle if we found lodging for that price. Just 48 hours before we flew into Kingston, our team was still #homeless…but we had peace. We had a feeling that it would work out. We prayed, researched, networked, and the day before we left for Jamaica one of our squadmates informed us that she had gone on a mission trip to Jamaica 4 years ago and might be able to help. The ministry she worked with had a friend whose best friend agreed to host us. SO, a friend of a friend of a friend became our first host in Kingston, in a neighborhood called Franklin Town. She picked us up from the airport, cooked for us, and hosted us in her home for almost a week. What a blessing! While living at her home we got to taste authentic Jamaican cuisine (Salt fish and ackee, patties, jerk chicken, the seasonal bun and cheese) and we had the opportunity to live in the local community.
During our time in Franklin Town, our days consisted of morning worship and prayer time, research, emailing, phone calls, and setting up meetings with potential ministry partners. An awesome ministry that we found online and had the opportunity to meet with was Deaf Can! Coffee. The coffee shop is a non profit venture seeking to engage, equip, and empower Deaf youth to believe in their God-given abilities, encouraging them to pursue their dreams and take responsibility for their future.
As we continued to pray and seek God’s guidance each morning, we all agreed that we were called to leave Kingston. We felt that the Lord only wanted us there for a week, and as we fervently searched for our next lodging site, we found ourselves approaching our tentative departure date with nowhere to go. Anxiety attempted to creep in, but God continued to give us peace and assurance that He would provide again. Just one day before we planned on leaving, one of our teammates received a message from her parents saying that they ran into someone at church who had an aunt in Portmore (25 mins from Kingston). The aunt loves to host and offered to let us stay with her for a few days. AND to further confirm that this was God’s will for us, I received a reply from a ministry we had contacted, headquartered in Portmore, that was asking when we could setup a meeting. So, in the two days we spent in Portmore, my teammate and I were able to meet with the man who started the second ministry our team connected with, Yutes 4 Change. Crazy awesome!
Following Portmore, we felt the Lord was leading us to Ocho Rios. Coincidentally, the couple we were staying with in Portmore mentioned (in casual conversation) that the husband’s sister lives in Ocho Rios. We called the sister and BAM, had a place to stay for another 4 days. I could go on and on about the miracles God has done for our team this month. It has been so cool to experience firsthand, and I feel privileged that the Lord has brought me on this journey. My relationship with Him is deepening, my faith is being built up daily, and there is no where I would rather be than in this place where I have no choice but to trust in Him. Although it isn’t always the most comfortable place to be, I feel safest in the will of my Father. I can’t wait to see what else He has in store for this month.
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3
XO,
Em
