When presented with the opportunity to go serve the Lord in Jamaica, I was initially excited, but a little bit nervous. As the time came to make a decision, I was ready to go do the Lord's work. When we arrived in Jamaica, I was ready to grow closer to Him by serving others.  Initially, the rain made work a little difficult, but we were still able to paint the interior of a pastor's house.

     Day Two was the most spiritually impacting of all of the days, as we were not only able to attend a local church, but also visit an infirmary. At this church, many people were raising their hands with proclamations of "Hallelujah!" This was a refreshing sight of how open these people were to worship the Lord. This also served as a metaphor for how I should live my life, as it showed that it is important for me to be completely open about my faith, hence allowing me to show people the power of the Holy Spirit. 

     After this, I was touched on an even deeper level, when visiting the Manchester Infirmary. The people in this "house" were sickly elderly people who did not have the money to pay their medical bills. The saddest part about this was not the state in which these people were in, but the fact that nobody, not even their family members, would come to visit them. The look on these people's faces served as a reminder of how important our visit was to them. With candy and Bible in hand, I was ready to build connections with these people. Originally, I felt as if I was forcing the Gospel too much, but as the visit progressed, I felt the Holy Spirit take over, and I felt I was much more effective. Many of these people had favorite Bible chapters of which they knew every word. When I was reading John 3:16 to one of the men, he cut me off and said it aloud. What spoke to me the most was the dire situations that these people were in and the faith in which they had in the Lord. This reminded me that the problems I may think I have are truly nothing in the eyes of the Lord.  

     After this eye opening day I was ready to work.  One group built a playground at a local school and the other group, my group, was laying concrete on a woman's house. At this worksite, we made concrete and then proceeded to lay it on the roof.  The process of making concrete was a very lengthy one. 

   After doing this for a few days, I signed up for a Vacation Bible School at a local school, within walking distance of the camp. We lead the kids in crafts, participated in Jamaican Bible Songs, and I was challenged to a race. This was a very good experience, as many of these children were very involved in their development as Christians. 

  Throughout all of this, we had worship sessions as a group, and individual "Quiet  Times" in which we studied Scripture. Both of these helped me to grow in my faith.

     This experience was one of the most beneficial experiences in my life, as I gained a better understanding of the Lord and His abilities.  I am extremely thankful that I had the opportunity to go on this trip as it truly helped me to grow closer to Him, and experience all He is capable of. 

John during Bible Study time  in Jamaica.