More Pictures July 16, 2008

Here are more picures from the trip.  Enjoy.

The pool at our guest house

Julie G. hard at work

Julie T. moving some benches

Austin working on the ceiling

Our lunch one day (Acki, boiled green bananas, dumplings, bread fruit, and yams)

The men of Cataboo Baptist Church hard at work

Bill Corl’s special meal cooked at. Mr. Godfrey’s

The Cataboo Baptist Church kitchen

A local boy who helped at the church

The reason most of us would not jump in the river

Another croc

We were balancing on a branch from a mangrove tree

Matt swinging from a mangrove branch

Bill swinging from a mangrove branch

The “pipe organ”

The ones who were brave (or stupid) enough to get in the Black River

Sycronized diving

Our river boat

Our captain was brave enough to let Bill drive. He did great!

Our super market (we couldn’t find a Publix)

Downtown Black River

Our internet cafe

Rick’s Cafe in Negril

Austin cliff diving at Rick’s Cafe

Rachel cliff diving at Rick’s Cafe

Matt cliff diving at Rick’s cafe

Sunday morning worship

Our home for nine days

Working on the ceiling

Jumping off the bridge in Cataboo

Pastor Sylvan James’ pigs

Pastor James and his family in front of their home

We’re all back July 16, 2008

After a very long day yesterday the remaining six members of our mission team arrived at NNBC at 10:30 PM last night.  All were tired, but had smiles on their faces as they looked back on the last nine days spent in Jamaica.  What a privilege and honor it was to serve God and the people of Cataboo Baptist Church.

Sunday Post July 14, 2008

First of all, sorry that there are no pictures today.  Technology is not always our friend.  Four of us (Matt McCraw, Darrell Campbell, Julie Gregory, and Julie Thompson) came back to Naples today.  Please pray for Julie Thompson because she fell and broke her arm while in Jamaica.  She is doing o’kay now.

Saturday was our fun day in Negril.  In case you don’t know, Negril has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.  We enjoyed a day of beaches, wave runners, massages, hunting starfish, cliff diving, and eating pizza.  It was great to get a break after such a hard week of work.

This morning our remaining six missionaries worshipped at Cataboo Baptist Church.  I spoke with Bill Corl and he said things went great!  Please pray for the last day of work on Monday and for safe travel fro the rest of the team on Tuesday.

Friday Update July 11, 2008

Sorry that it’s been so long since we posted last.  There have been technical difficulties.  Today the power was out in town, so the internet cafe coudn’t take us.  The weather has been fair until today.  Today it was especially hot.  Pastor Matt had the opportunity to preach Wednesday night at church.  Despite the heat, the mosquitos, and the dust, we had a wonderful time worshipping the Lord. 

Everyone is doing well and having a great time.  Today we went on the Black River Safari and enjoyed swimming with the crocodiles (only Pastor Matt, Austin, and Bill got in the water).  Yesterday we jumped off a bridge into the Black River to cool off.  Tomorrow we are going to Negril to enjoy the ocean.

Don’t be mistaken, we are not only having fun.  We have spent many hours working very hard at the church.  All of us (even the ladies) are drenched in sweat and dirt at the end of the day.  However, we are glad to do it because we do it for the glory of God.

Finally our First Post July 9, 2008

Sorry it took so long to get our first post.  Things have been really crazy around here.  We didn’t make it to Black River unitl 2 AM on the first night.  Things are going well at the church (although construction is slow).  We are having a wonderful time.  Enjoy the pictures.

Dates January 17, 2008

The dates for the 2008 Missions Trip to Jamaica are July 7-15, 2008.

It’s Happening . . . Jamaica Missions 2008 December 23, 2007

We will be taking a construction trip to Cataboo Baptist Church in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica in the Summer of 2008.  Details to come soon.  If you are interested in going, talk to Matt McCraw or Bill Corl.

Last Update July 22, 2007

 

We have come to the end of our time here in Jamaica.  Tomorrow morning we will be leaving to go back to FL.  We traveled today 2.5 hours to attend church at Cataboo Baptist Church.  We were delighted to receive some hand made fans and baskets made by the members of Cataboo.  The people in Black River are truly a delight. 

 We ate at a place called the Pelican last night and got some much needed America food (spaghetti, filet mignion, fried shrimp, ice cream, etc.).  Today we went shopping when we got back to Montego Bay. 

We all loved our time here, but can’t wait to get back home.  Thank you everyone for your support and prayers.  Enjoy the pictures.

 Also, feel free to check out Brian McKillop’s blog for some history of the churches we worked with.  http://www.xanga.com/cataboo07

Friday Update July 21, 2007

We finished a long day of VBS today and we are now back in Montego Bay.  Today we had 160 children at VBS. What a blessing to be able to minister to that many people!  We ate at Pizza Hut tonight and went to get ice cream afterwards.  Tomorrow we are going to Dunns River Falls in Ocho Rios.  We should be able to give another update soon with pictures.  Please continue to pray for us on our trip.

Thursday Update July 19, 2007

 

Today’s VBS was great!  We had over 138 children.  Pastor Barry shared the gospel message today with the older children and we led 29 students (ages 6-13) to the Lord.  Praise God!

Everyday it seems as if the days get longer and hotter.  However, tonight we have plenty of free time and today is our last day of VBS.  We thoroughly enjoy our opportunity to serve God with these children.  We had over 150 people in a room that is smaller than one of our youth portables. 

Last night we had an opportunity to eat goat curry (it was a first for almost everybody).  The youth wanted their mommies to know that they love them.

Here are some pictures from our worship service at Cataboo Baptist Church, Thursday’s VBS, and pictures of us haning out at the Ashton Great House.