Jamaica Mission Trip

Jamaica Mission Awareness Trip
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Team at Davyton Retreat Centre

A team of 16 people from the Lambton area went to Jamaica during the March Break for a Mission Awareness and Work Trip. The team included people from Ravenswood, Shiloh Inwood, Grace, Courtright- Sixth Line, and New Horizons churches. We stayed at Davyton Retreat Centre in a rural community near Mandeville.

Strip mining for bauxite

The 'awareness' part of the trip included becoming aware of the effects of "Empire" on a developing country. Bauxite is mined in Jamaica, then shipped to the United States and Canada for processing. The process involves strip mining in many places -- including the front lawns of people who sold mineral rights to the companies years ago.

Acidic lake of bauxite slag

The slag from the bauxite has been dumped into a 'lake' that is so acidic that 'if you fell in, they would not even find your bones'. It grows every year.

We spent one day at the New Broughton Church and School. The church was completely destroyed by Hurricane Ivan four years ago. The community worships in the school while the re-building is going on, sitting in the children's desks for the service. They add a bit to the church as they have money to do so. Not much work had been done since we had been there the year before. Our presence inspired them to hold a 'free labour day', where everyone volunteered their labour. Their supervising pastor, Rev. Folkes, was thrilled with the turn-out and the attitude. We were reminded of Paul Hagerman's words to us three years ago when we first went to Jamaica: "You will discover here that you will not accomplish much but your real ministry will be one of accompaniment."

The team spent 3 days at Mount Olivet Boys' Home where 16 boys who are wards of the court live.

Cleaning windows at
Mount Olivet Boys' Home

On the first day, we cleaned windows and walls in the dining area.

Cleaning walls at
Mount Olivet Boys' Home

Painting water tank at
Mount Olivet Boys' Home

Mount Olivet sustained severe damage in recent hurricanes. Much of the facility will soon be repaired and refurbished. We painted four of their five water storage tanks which will also be repaired in preparation for the next hurricane season. Global climate change has meant that the hurricanes have become stronger and more frequent.

Helping in computer lab

The boys have computer lessons two days a week after school. Some of the team helped them with homework.

Teaching tie-dye

We brought t-shirts for the boys to tie-dye. They were quite proud of their creations.

After the tie-dyeing, we helped some of the boys with their reading.

Preparing porch - Hauling cement

We threw stones and bricks from the rubble into the side vestibule area in preparation for the pouring of cement.

Clearing rubble

We cleared away some of the rubble that was still around, clearing a path to the side entrance.

Preparing cement

Pouring cement for the floor includes mixing the cement by hand and hauling it by bucket.

New Broughton School~craft

In the afternoon, we helped the children make a small booklet that included a scripture quotation from 1 Corinthians 12 (about each person having gifts to use for God's glory), a photo and a scriptural blessing, along with some empty pages. The photos had been taken of the children at the school last year. The students were very excited to see photos of themselves.

Reading with
New Broughton School students

After the craft activity was over, some of the team played sports with some of the children outside some read with the children.

Team at Davyton Retreat Centre A team of 16 people from the Lambton area went to Jamaica during the March Break for a Mission Awareness and Work Trip. The team included people from Ravenswood, Shiloh Inwood, Grace, Courtright- Sixth Line, and New Horizons churches. We stayed at Davyton Retreat Centre in a rural community near Mandeville.	Strip mining for bauxite The 'awareness' part of the trip included becoming aware of the effects of "Empire" on a developing country. Bauxite is mined in Jamaica, then shipped to the United States and Canada for processing. The process involves strip mining in many places -- including the front lawns of people who sold mineral rights to the companies years ago.	Acidic lake of bauxite slag The slag from the bauxite has been dumped into a 'lake' that is so acidic that 'if you fell in, they would not even find your bones'. It grows every year.
We spent one day at the New Broughton Church and School. The church was completely destroyed by Hurricane Ivan four years ago. The community worships in the school while the re-building is going on, sitting in the children's desks for the service. They add a bit to the church as they have money to do so. Not much work had been done since we had been there the year before. Our presence inspired them to hold a 'free labour day', where everyone volunteered their labour. Their supervising pastor, Rev. Folkes, was thrilled with the turn-out and the attitude. We were reminded of Paul Hagerman's words to us three years ago when we first went to Jamaica: "You will discover here that you will not accomplish much but your real ministry will be one of accompaniment."	The team spent 3 days at Mount Olivet Boys' Home where 16 boys who are wards of the court live. Cleaning windows at Mount Olivet Boys' Home On the first day, we cleaned windows and walls in the dining area.	Cleaning walls at Mount Olivet Boys' Home
Painting water tank at Mount Olivet Boys' Home Mount Olivet sustained severe damage in recent hurricanes. Much of the facility will soon be repaired and refurbished. We painted four of their five water storage tanks which will also be repaired in preparation for the next hurricane season. Global climate change has meant that the hurricanes have become stronger and more frequent.	Helping in computer lab The boys have computer lessons two days a week after school. Some of the team helped them with homework.	Teaching tie-dye We brought t-shirts for the boys to tie-dye. They were quite proud of their creations. After the tie-dyeing, we helped some of the boys with their reading.
Preparing porch - Hauling cement We threw stones and bricks from the rubble into the side vestibule area in preparation for the pouring of cement.	Clearing rubble We cleared away some of the rubble that was still around, clearing a path to the side entrance.	Preparing cement Pouring cement for the floor includes mixing the cement by hand and hauling it by bucket.
New Broughton School~craft In the afternoon, we helped the children make a small booklet that included a scripture quotation from 1 Corinthians 12 (about each person having gifts to use for God's glory), a photo and a scriptural blessing, along with some empty pages. The photos had been taken of the children at the school last year. The students were very excited to see photos of themselves.	Reading with New Broughton School students After the craft activity was over, some of the team played sports with some of the children outside some read with the children.