The synod travel grant helped a group of 9 from our church travel to Harmons Jamaica from July 17 through July 24. Harmons is a remote mountain village of 2,500 people in south central Jamaica, three hours drive from Montego Bay and 45 minutes from Mandeville. Harmons is an impoverished community with around 75% unemployment. Because of expense and its remote location, education past the 8th grade is very difficult. Quality medical treatment is rare and money for basic needs (clothes, shoes, toiletries and home improvements) other than food is limited.

Our group partnered with two other churches and spent the week serving in various ways. Our groups over the course of the week built 2 12'x15' houses and poured 2 foundations for the groups coming the week following ours. Jobs included assembling the wall panels; applying concrete to the walls; installing windows and doors; attaching the metal roof; and painting inside and out. In addition, we ran a vacation bible school for the local community Tuesday-Saturday morning from 9:30-12. We had 160 kids participate. Other jobs included hauling crushed stone (crushed limestone rock, is the basic ingredient for making concrete and needs to be carried in bags to future home work sites … usually uphill), sorting donated products in the store (all of the extra items that we purchased and brought down to donate were placed in a “store” in the Harmony House where local families can “shop” for  basic needs). Two grocery size bags filled with supplies cost approximately 75 cents for the locals, and digging tanks because Harmons has no water or sewer systems, residents must collect rainwater in tanks. Tanks are first dug and then lined with concrete. Some tanks are also needed to replace outhouses or allow for indoor bathrooms to be installed.

One of the more impacting experiences that we had was on Thursday afternoon, when we went to the community poor house. The community poor house is a government funded care facility where patients were dropped off because their family was not able to offer the proper care or did not wish to have the burden placed on them. Some of the residents were fully functional and others required a significant amount of assistance. It was heart breaking to see so much poverty.

The groups that visited them over the summer from the mission organization that we worked with were probably the only visitors that they received. Most residents often don't even get family to visit them. We sat with them. We visited with them. We prayed with them. We read to them often hearing them complete the passages of scripture from memory. It was beautiful. That in a place where hope seemed scarce, hope abound. They seemed to have a keen awareness of God's presence. It was a joy to meet them and sit with them for the afternoon.

We had an amazing week and saw God's hand at work in the homes we built, in the relationships that we started, in the conversations that we had. We did it all in the name of Jesus. And we hope that the difference that we made was even a fraction of the difference that was made in us.

Thanks for your support!

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