For the past two summers, I have had the opportunity to go to Jamaica on the Jamaica Relief Ministries Youth Trip with LifePoint Church. I was approached about going on the first Jamaica youth trip in the summer of 2022 since I am involved with Wave, LifePoint's youth group, as the worship leader and as a small group leader. I had never traveled internationally before on a mission trip or otherwise so I initially had my doubts and fears. I worried about stepping out of my comfort zone into a new country, culture, and environment, but God faithfully met me where I was and gave me a peace about the trip. I can now say that my hesitant acceptance to going on the trip turned into one of the best experiences of my life! In fact, I had such a great experience in 2022 that I jumped on the opportunity to go back in 2023.
Both years that we were there, our group stayed in Montego Bay at Jamaica Relief Ministries' facility which also functions as a group children’s home with several on-site caretakers. We got to interact with JRM's staff as well as the children and care-takers who live there. It was amazing to hear their stories and be encouraged by how God is using JRM to reach the people of Jamaica with the gospel!
Our group also got to do a Bible school each day with several different preschools and children’s homes in the community. We taught Bible stories, did a craft, gave out snacks, sang songs, and played games with the kids. It was amazing to watch our group of 25 people, mostly high school students and young adults, all willingly step out of their comfort zones and into God’s calling to share His love with others. I saw God use the strengths, gifts, and passions of every single person in a unique way to make an impact. In turn, we all got to watch as children who had very little and came from difficult family situations beam with joy at simply getting to sing songs about Jesus, have a snack, and play silly games with a group of strangers. The kids were content in the little things, and it was honestly one of the most encouraging and humbling experiences of my life. It reminded me and everyone else in the group that Christ is all we need to be content in every circumstance just like Paul described in Philippians 4.
One of my favorite moments happened on the trip in 2023 when we got to go for the first time to a school for the deaf with teenagers and young adults. A few people in our group knew some basic sign language, but we took white boards to communicate. We were all a bit nervous about how we would communicate and what the visit would be like. However, all of our nerves were immediately eased when we arrived and started interacting with the students. We got to sing songs and dance with them, play games, and hear about their personal stories. The students even taught us some sign language and games that we could play with them! Ultimately, God used this visit to the deaf school to remind us that there are no barriers too strong to prevent the gospel from being spread!
God used this trip to show me the joy and contentment that can be found in trusting in Him and stepping out of my comfort zone to put others first and share His love. For the past two years, a group of us went to Jamaica seeking to serve and encourage others but we left feeling served and encouraged by the people we met. This is an amazing trip, especially as an introduction to global missions, and I would encourage anyone to go! I’m excited to see how God will continue using people to spread the gospel to the people of Jamaica in years to come!
Both years that we were there, our group stayed in Montego Bay at Jamaica Relief Ministries' facility which also functions as a group children’s home with several on-site caretakers. We got to interact with JRM's staff as well as the children and care-takers who live there. It was amazing to hear their stories and be encouraged by how God is using JRM to reach the people of Jamaica with the gospel!
Our group also got to do a Bible school each day with several different preschools and children’s homes in the community. We taught Bible stories, did a craft, gave out snacks, sang songs, and played games with the kids. It was amazing to watch our group of 25 people, mostly high school students and young adults, all willingly step out of their comfort zones and into God’s calling to share His love with others. I saw God use the strengths, gifts, and passions of every single person in a unique way to make an impact. In turn, we all got to watch as children who had very little and came from difficult family situations beam with joy at simply getting to sing songs about Jesus, have a snack, and play silly games with a group of strangers. The kids were content in the little things, and it was honestly one of the most encouraging and humbling experiences of my life. It reminded me and everyone else in the group that Christ is all we need to be content in every circumstance just like Paul described in Philippians 4.
One of my favorite moments happened on the trip in 2023 when we got to go for the first time to a school for the deaf with teenagers and young adults. A few people in our group knew some basic sign language, but we took white boards to communicate. We were all a bit nervous about how we would communicate and what the visit would be like. However, all of our nerves were immediately eased when we arrived and started interacting with the students. We got to sing songs and dance with them, play games, and hear about their personal stories. The students even taught us some sign language and games that we could play with them! Ultimately, God used this visit to the deaf school to remind us that there are no barriers too strong to prevent the gospel from being spread!
God used this trip to show me the joy and contentment that can be found in trusting in Him and stepping out of my comfort zone to put others first and share His love. For the past two years, a group of us went to Jamaica seeking to serve and encourage others but we left feeling served and encouraged by the people we met. This is an amazing trip, especially as an introduction to global missions, and I would encourage anyone to go! I’m excited to see how God will continue using people to spread the gospel to the people of Jamaica in years to come!