Hooray Jamaica!

Hey guys and gals,
Wow…pretty crazy that the summer’s already coming to a close. Our last group from Mecklenburg Community Church is here right now and then we have four days as a staff to say goodbye to all our friends from the summer. The team is a mixture of 18 students and adults, so it’s really intimate and personal. One really exciting thing about this week is that my parents are here!!! They’ve watched me and my sister come down for five years now, and finally get to experience everything themselves and meet all my Jamaican friends. So far everything’s been sweet; I’ve gotten to work with my dad twice at a house and a foundation and my mom got to go to the store and infirmary for a full day. I’m really excited for the rest of the week and think it’ll be a growing week for all of us personally and together.
Another really exciting thing that happened recently was that Michael and I got to stay in Harmons this past weekend. We got up early to say goodbye to Carmel on Saturday then slept in a lot more. Then we found Pops, Tarraine, Kashka, and Little John and headed up to visit Mr. Reed in John Robinson. He lived a while in England and we talked about everything from his farm, car, house, technology, jobs, smoking, God, and everything in between. After that, we walked back and played regular and French dominoes with Barry, Pops, Bull, and Kashka. Then, we made a glorious dinner for 8 awesome Jamaicans (most of them previously mentioned) of macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, bread, and kool-aid. It was great to serve them and we had some great conversation. Afterwards we played drug dealer and mafia, and then we watched Batman Begins. Tarraine and Barry fell asleep. Later that night Michael and I cleaned upstairs in our boxers because no one else was at the house and we felt like it. The next morning, we went to the Open Bible Church in Green Pond with Pops which was very enjoyable. Then we watched the Harmons cricket team play the all stars of every other team from their league because they won the tournament. Hung out with Danika, Rashan, and Lamar. After that the team got here and I went with Suma to pick up my parents in Kingston.
Anyways, it’s going to be a bitter sweet week and a half or so. Definitely not ready to leave, but I’m starting to get ready for a tough transition and the next stage of my life. Please pray for my week with my parents here. Pray that my last days with Jamaicans would be meaningful and that we’d finish strong. Thanks again all you students who are reading this who have come this summer! I loved getting to know you and serve with you. You guys ministered to us just as much as we were able to do for you. Hope everyone has a great end to their summers. Adios!
John