Jamaica, Part I.

      Well, I'm back stateside! We got back late Friday night, and I think I've finally rested and recovered enough to share the amazingness of my trip with you. I'll break it up into a couple of days at a time, and most of what I write will probably be paraphrased from my journal. Get ready!

Day 1
      Going into this trip, I knew my heart wasn't in the right place.  I was spending most of my time running away from and dodging anything that might upset me, because frankly I was just plain exhausted and tired of feeling sad and disappointed.  I wanted to get on that first plane to Miami with total peace of mind, but I was nowhere near that when the day finally came.  When we got there though, it was as if I'd never left. Everything looked the exact same, and all of the memories came flooding back. They were all so good!
      Our first stop was Sacred Heart, the monastery that the brothers go to after completing the novitiate stage.  We had lunch there and got to see Father Ho Lung, the founder of Missionaries of the Poor! I really wish he'd been able to sit down and talk with us, but he was leaving the country soon for one of their concerts. He is seriously the most saintly person I have ever met and will probably ever meet, so it was really nice to see him again. After lunch, we headed to Jesus the Redeemer, the house for the "old brothers" and all the volunteers. We pretty much took over the third floor, and I'm positive we scared the three other volunteers we would come to consider members of our own family. We spent the rest of the day getting settled in - life in Kingston can take some getting used to!

One of the views from our patio, the always beautiful Blue Mountains!

Day 2

      On my first day of work, I went to Jacob's Well with Caroline, Adele, and Sarah P. Jacob's Well was the first place I went to last year, and the women there have had a special place in my heart ever since.  When we got there, we were greeted with happy screams and lots of hugs. It's crazy how easily I recognized the women and remembered their personalities. Names are a bit harder, but they tend to change their names every time the wind blows.  In the morning, I brushed teeth, washed faces, and applied lotion before washing mattresses and feeding them lunch.  When I was with those women, I found myself thinking of my own mother. What if she needed me in this way? Many of the women in this center are the age of mothers and grandmothers, and it can feel so weird to spoon feed them or brush their teeth for them.  As weird as it feels though, the apprehension fades so quickly. You can feel the love and thankfulness coming from them, and immediately you realize you're going to get so much more out of this trip then you ever thought you would.

      That night, I realized that some of the peace I'd been seeking had returned to me. It's nearly impossible to ignore God and what he's trying to tell you when you spend so much of your day in prayer and in the presence of His love.  In the end, my fate will be decided by how I showed love, not spoke of it.  

One of the gorgeous residents of Jacob's Well, taken last year.
She's still got that smile though!