For 11 days I had the privilege of leading a missions trip in Jamaica. Here is a summary:

Day 1, Friday, March 9
It was an early start to the day as we had to be ready to leave for the Toronto airport by 6:30 AM. Last minute checks of everyone’s passports and baggage requirements (like J who forgot to pack his pillow and bedding) and we loaded up the chartered school bus and were on our way.

Most of us were dressed lightly as we didn’t want to take winter coats to Jamaica with us. Unfortunately the heater on the bus was busted and we arrived at the airport very much looking forward to some tropical heat. One last bit of frost bite before going, you could say.

Frozen students on the bus.

Visit Troy Johnstone Photography

We arrived at the airport shortly after 9:00 AM, right on schedule as our plane was to leave at 12:00 and we needed to have time to get through the airport rigmarole for international flights. We found out we were going to have an additional 5 hours for the rigmarole as the flight to Montego Bay was already delayed that much by the time we got to Toronto.

To further complicate things, 6 of the 22 of us received stand-by tickets. So the next four hours were partially filled with prayer that our team would not get split up and arrive on different days!

While waiting at the airport I decided to get some pictures of my daughter’s Tux (the Linux mascot!) visiting friends.

Finally a plane arrived and we were on our way to Jamaica!

Outside the airport in Montego Bay

Five hours late, but thank the Lord all of us were able to fly down at the same time. After a harrowing drive up into the mountains at night we arrived at our base for the week, Fairview Baptist Bible College. (map)

Day 2, Saturday, March 10
In the morning we got our first idea of how beautiful the country was, and how hot it could get. The schedule for the first day was pretty lite with only an orientation session in the morning and an open air evangelism meeting in the evening.

Our students had just finished a very busy quarter at WOLBI with a full class schedule and six weeks of Snow Camp, so the day off in the sun was a nice break for them. Of course, I spent some of this time taking photos around campus of the scenery (some are available on my flickr set at www.flickr.com/photos/troyandnaomi/sets/72157600025885997/). Wes and I went to the top of the hill overlooking campus to check out the incredible view..

Err.. maybe this view is better:

It is a beautiful campus at Fairview.

The temperature got up to just over 30 C (85 + F) each day with high humidity. And the sun is definitely more intense than in Canada. Normally under such conditions I would welcome a cool, refreshing shower.. but most residences in Jamaica do not seem to have any hot water, so the shower was rain water that is collected into cisterns. That makes it pretty cool, a little cooler than I am used to for a shower.

Guys shower: straight pipe, bent pipe, watering can shower head – all cold.

That evening we walked to the small town at the bottom of the hill where there was a little square with some shops, a couple of bars, and a taxi stand. The nearby church had arranged for their youth group and our team to do some open air evangelism in the community. It was a noisy venue with traffic going by, people walking along, a couple of guys smoking pot, and constant activity at the bars. We did some music and skits to get a crowd around, and some students shared their testimonies.

Students and members of the McField Baptist Youth Group sharing in music

Team members talking to locals about God

Some guys playing a game at the bar 20 feet away from where we were giving our presentation

I also had the opportunity to preach to those who were gathered and those who were listening but trying to look like they weren’t. The people in Jamaica are generally open to listening about God and are respectful, so once I started to speak a number of people who had been at a distance came in closer to listen to a brief Gospel presentation.

It seems that many people in Jamaica know about God and Jesus, but they are trusting in their own works to get them to heaven. With that foundational knowledge we were able to focus our messages on the need for a personal faith for salvation. A key text for me was:

For it is by GRACE you have been saved through FAITH, – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by WORKS, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8, 9

By the time we were done it was getting dark and time to head home for supper, reviewing the night, planning the next day, and a good night’s rest. Sunday was going to be a busy day!