The Other Jamaica

A picture of beauty in Jamaica with a bright blue sky, colorful tropical flowers, and towering palm trees was fit for a travel brochure. From a cruise ship or expensive resort, the island appears to be a paradise.

Searching deeper into the trees, up the hills, and away from the roads, a different picture emerges. For a week, our mission team experienced the other Jamaica not seen in promotional posters.

Each day team members spread out to minister in various ways. Lives were changed.

An elderly man moved from a patchwork shack to a sturdy, new home, the size of an American bedroom. His joy abounded as he thanked the team for blessing him. With a new bed, clean sheets, and a locked door, he can now sleep in peace.

For other families, freshly painted walls revived homes previous teams had constructed. Food baskets were distributed to seven families who desperately needed food.

Children flocked around Americans, who played games, painted faces, colored pictures, and hugged the excited youngsters. Bubbles and laugher floated around the play areas.

The dental/eyeglass clinics brought hundreds of people eager for health care. Two dentists worked tirelessly to extract decayed teeth. With no money for visits to dentists and poor dental care, extractions were the only option for the poor. They waited for hours but at each location. Every day many were sent home unseen because time ran out.

Over three hundred people came to have eyes checked. Almost all were helped to see better. Numerous ones wanted to be able to read their Bibles easily.  We saw every person who wanted to be checked, but a few had problems we could not solve which was heartbreaking. Cataract surgery, common in the U.S., is beyond the reach of the poor. Those who received glasses were so thankful.

During the week, hundreds of lives were touched--those we helped, those who watched, and those who served. As we strived to be the hands and feet of Jesus, we were blessed by Jamaicans who had peace and joy, in spite of, difficult circumstances.

Proverbs 19: 17 He who is kind to the poor, lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done. (NIV)

Dear Lord, help us be Jesus to others and help us see Jesus in those around us. Amen