A Song to Praise By

Off again!  I'm in Jamaica, eager to serve her people for another week. We arrived 2 days ago, and things have been going extraordinarily well.  Our flights were good, we, and all of our supplies, passed through customs without a hiccup, and the weather has been perfectly beautiful.

We began our day yesterday at a local church. On all of my previous trips, we've gone to churches here that have been somewhat Americanized in their presentation of the service. But, this church was in the heart of Port Maria, was a very old church with great Jamaican architecture, and was a much more culturally Jamaican service. I appreciated that, particularly for the way that people here so joyfully, whole-heatedly praise God in song.  They LOVE to sing, and aren't shy about doing so.  In the heat of a Jamaican summer, I was covered in goosebumps as they began their first song, first just saying the words for us, and then having us repeat them so that we would know the song.  And then, slowly it grew.  The choir joined in as they came around to it, then each of the instruments jumped in, all at different times in no particularly organized fashion so that it had this awesome organic effect of a song just rising up out of nothing into this big, full voiced praise and worship at its finest. It was breathtaking!

We spent the rest of the day yesterday preparing our students for their roles here and organizing and stocking our supplies. We have a well-stocked pharmacy this time around!  I even have a few new supplies to give away that have migrated down here - ice packs, heat patches, arnica creams, etc.  So, I'm excited and looking forward to our first clinic today. We're headed to Long Road, which is I think our most remote clinic, about an hour up a long, long road winding up a hill.  

Aaaaand, it's my birthday today!  I think this service is a great way to celebrate this gift of life!!