Sorrrrrrry!

Note: Sorry for not blogging!! Either the internet was down or we were busy doing something, but we're here to catch up!

FRIDAY MORNING

We woke up and headed straight for the school. We did a school wide performance outside. They did the Champion skit and Zach gave his testimony. Then they did the skit "We" and Mr. Harryman spoke. Then we got to talk with the kids and see them again. We got to invite them to services and performances we have been holding. Then we walked to the church and were starving. We had breakfast and cleaned the whole church. Everyone worked on cleaning it up for the Youth Rally. Then we had lunch. Afterwards we got ready for VBS and then hosted it. The boys built shelves some more. Everyone was tired. Then we got ready for the big Youth Rally. The youth rally lasted a long time. It was from 7 to 11. There were so many skits. Hillside, CHCS, and two other groups were contributing to the program. Jack gave his testimony and Kristen danced. It was very intense and crazy. There was some awesome worship that night. Mr Harryman spoke and did a great job. That night we all went home and fell fast asleep.

Rick Massey, Kirsty, Blake, Caleb S., & William all left at 4am  (Saturday) and headed back to the states :(
 They arrived safely and are home now.

SATURDAY MORNING

We all got up and walked to the church. We had to clean the church AGAIN to prepare for Sunday service. We got all the chairs in order and made sure all of the floors were spotless. A group headed to the mall down the street from the church to do some ministry. We walked around and passed out flyers and got to know some people. Then we did a service in the middle of the mall. People came and went as we performed. Stephen, Savannah, Natali, & Alison all shared testimonies and the puppets performed. Also, Mrs Harryman spoke and skits were performed. The other group was at the church for VBS. There were 150 kids!! From what we hear, the kids were very naughty. They were not listening and obeying. Eventually they settled down but when the ministry group returned we saw that the VBS helpers were totally wiped out. After this we cleaned up the craft room and all laid down. Then a bus came and picked us up and drove us 30 minutes to the coast. We ate at a place called Jolly's. It was either fish or chicken. While waiting on the food we all sat by the polluted trashy beach. It was poverty stricken all around. We just sat on the cement wall and watched men fish and dogs run around. Then we had our Red Snapper fish. The fish was fried or steamed and still had the head attached. It was delicious. The chicken was really good too. Josh sprayed bug spray into a huge group of bugs and it was quite entertaining. Then we sat by the beach and waited for the buses. When we got back to the church we had ice cream from the Devon house right beside the church. It was yummy :) Then we went home and had debriefing. A lot of people opened up and talked. It was a really great time. We prayed together and then headed to bed.

Picture Blog

The group getting all the VBS program set up on the first day!

Chicken and Cheese Patty from Sugar & Spice

Us with some kids from the school we've worked at twice

Our house- Springburn House

Kirsty Green & Morgan Harrelson (view in the back is awesome)

Zach showing off his MMA

VBS craft time

THE GROUP

Olivia x2 (at the beach)

Olivia, Lindsey, Blake, Shelby, Olivia, Caleb, & Spencer (non 

visible) climbing the falls

The group in a pool along the falls

Olivia x2 climbing

the group with the main falls behind us

The group going up the middle- less people

Natalie, Olivia, Kirsty, & Morgan in the ocean

SENIORS SHREDDING

LOL ben with a flower...& an 20,000 pack

Water water every where and not a drop to drink!

THURSDAY MORNING

Today is the tourist day of all days. We woke up after getting an extra 30 mins of sleep and headed to the church. After enjoying a lovely cereal and banana breakfast we loaded up into the charter bus! Along yet another tiny windy road we went. We traveled for an hour and a half to get to Dunns River Falls Park! On the way we went through Fern Gully which is a rainforest area and was beautiful and GREEN! Once we got to the park we headed in and walked down to the....wait for it....wait....the..BEACH!! Boo ya!! So Hannah and Lindsey had never ever seen a beach so that was fun! We then got to climb up the Dunns River Waterfall! It was a lot of fun! Olivia (massey), Olivia (conroy), Spencer, Blake, Shelby, and Rick (Massey) were in a group to head up the falls immediately :) It was not slippery because so many people walk on it that moss can't grow. The Missouri kids took about 30 mins to get up it where as the guided trips take at least an hour. Shoal Creek really has done something for us after all :) We all tried to find really hard rocks to climb up because the guided ways were too easy. It was a lot of fun!! Then down at the beach we had sandwhiches and chips and cookies. We played some Chicken fight in the ocean and I even think the boys tried a little game of ninja in the water. There were sail boats, jet skis, and we even saw a cruise ship. After spending time in the sun and water we left the park. We then went to a market. Here in the market all of the Jamaicans sell touristy items. They will walk up to you and say, "Hello pretty lady, may I please show you my shop?" Their "shops" are 4 feet wide and 10 feet deep. They hang shirts everywhere and have tables of jewelry. Some shops have neat items that you don't see in other "shops". The shops are side by side and are everywhere. It's like a maze. They also offer us "a good deal" because we're missionaries. Everyone tries to barter with them to lower the price. Josh, Matt, and Zach were all very good at bartering. We all got some awesome stuff and are excited to show you guys! After the market we went and ate Jerk Chicken, Chicken fried rice, or Jerk Pork. I personally thought it was really good :) After that we drove back home and went to bed. Everyone was super tired and worn out.

Love, Olivia x2

P.S. Picture Blog next!!

WEDNESDAY MORNING
We woke up and headed straight to the school next door. This is a government owned school that is run by a local church. We divided up into four different groups and split up among the grades. We had about 30 min with the kids and preformed two skits and two testimonies. The students were very receptive and respectful. The kids loved one of our skits (I even woke up to them singing one of the lines outside my window this morning.)! After being able to talk with some of the kids personally about Christ we walked to the church and ate breakfast. We then started preparing for the Wednesday night service and VBS. We cut string for crafts, the band rehearsed, a group of boys constructed a storage cabinet, and we practiced puppets. We took a lunch break at about 1:30 and went to KFC/the patty place. After lunch we finished getting ready for VBS. Around 3:30 the kidos started trickling in. We opened with some fun songs and the kids were fantastic with learning all of the new actions. Thankfully, we leanred from our mistakes yesterday with the mass amount of children and seperated into two groups with games in one room and crafts in another, flip-flopping, then meeting back together for some more worship. As expected we had more children then the day before which, of course, adds to the fun! After VBS we did some cleaning up ate dinner, and finished getting ready for the service. In the service we performed three dramas and Mr. Harryman gave the message. Worship was awesome with some added Jamaican flare from the locals. We were all pooped from the day but ended in nicely with a game of ninja. We were trucked back to our guesthouse and went to bed!!!
LOVE Olivia x2

(p.s. we're being rushed off to the beach!!! BYE)

Books, Books, and more sweat

TUESDAY MORNING...CONTINUED

Alrighty folks- live from Kingston this is Olivia x2
For breakfast we had American cereal, pop tarts, granolas, and fried bananas.. oh and some green salty stuff that is native to Jamaica. We then went into the sanctuary and unloaded all of the suitcases with supplies. We had books on the stage, care packages in the back, and VBS on the side. There was a river of books! Sarah Buford headed up alphabetizing all of them! Thanks again for all of the book donations :)
There is a grand piano at the church and every now and again someone would pull a solo and we'd all be happy. There was tissue paper every where! Many kids had to cut up squares for a craft.
Next some of the boys painted the Homework Center room while others planned to make a shelving unit in a storage room. Time went by so so fast. It was 1:30 and we all ate lunch. We split into two groups: one went to KFC (a Jamaican version- but the sign literally has Colonel Sanders on it) and the other went to Sugar & Spice. Sugar & Spice is a patty and pastry place. The patties were DELISH and much better than the ones at the airport. The group ate all of the patties and they had to put a sign out to say "no more patties". ECONOMY BOOST. Then Olivia Massey met Miguel..a 3 year old Jamaican boy. HE IS AWESOME! He would not talk to anyone for a long time. He let me hold him for quite a while before he would even speak to me. Eventually he opened up and started talking to everyone, but he was our own little celebrity. He loves my mom's camera and took literally 30 pictures of the tile floor. Everyone took lots of pictures of him too..here he is:

This is Miguel! He is trying to write his name for me..it took 2 hours to get him to smile for a picture :)


After lunch, some of us went to the ice cream shop and had some ice cream. We all practiced puppets and went out on the streets to invite people to the VBS. The roads with houses scream poverty. A man walked out carrying a blunt behind his ear. Once we handed out two care packages there was a lot of people walking out of the houses to get them too. We got to invite them down to the church. Then it was VBS time! There were 80 kids!! None of them attend the church on a regular basis, so that was an awesome turnout. It got really hot in the room. They saw puppets, music, skits, and did a craft. Afterwards some kids stayed late and danced for us. They were hilarious and awesome. Sarah Buford was dancing on the side and a kid came up and said "wow, you dance like a white girl!" If you know her then you'll understand her response, " But I AM a white girl!" Then Jessica and Savannah got cornrows. Matt Wickland really wanted some but his hair was too straight. After that we cleaned up the sanctuary and another group went out into the streets to invite people to Hillside. Then we had spaghetti for dinner. It was delicious as well.
After dinner we all had to learn skits in 6 groups to prepare for Wednesday morning at a high school. We were all exhausted and excited for bed. The trucked us back home and we were out!
Love,
Olivia x2

Prayer Requests:
1) Kids come back for VBS with friends
2) Ryan Cummins is feeling sick today- HEALTH
3) The electronics (security system set up & music during skits)
4) The women cooking our food- they're so so so sweet
5) ENERGY!

Planes, Green, & Tiny Roads

Planes, Green, & Tiny Roads

Welcome to Jamaica..land of the GREEN EVERYTHING. Well we started out the evening by traveling on the bumpy school bus with Zach saying "ear" over and over. The desire for a comfortable position was inevitable. (Contribution made by Olivia Conroy). Personally, (Olivia Massey) I rode in my dad's truck with AP Bio homework and a nice stereo. Once we made it to St. Louis airport we unpacked alllll of the 10,000 suitcases, checked-in, went through security, and waited for the plane. All went smoothly and Zach stopped saying "ear"! On the plane we all crashed. Olivia and Natali's ears were exploding from pressure change. For a few people, this was their first flight ever! Flying over water was a first for me. We landed in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Here's where the fun began :)
We unloaded into the airport and made our way down to immigration. In the line we discussed a woman who was carrying a wedding dress. Finally, Mr. Johnson asked if she was getting married. Sure enough she and her fiancee had been engaged 8 years and finally were eloping to Jamaica with only her mom knowing! We got through immigration after some questions and an hour wait. Then we claimed our luggage. Mrs. Harryman played some maracas with a Jamaican music group in the baggage claim. Next we walked through customs. Anyone older than 18 had to claim the young'ns. Basically the next thing to do was walk outside. And then it hit. HUMIDITY!
When we all walked outside it was like we hit a wall of humidity. We had to be very aware of our surroundings. There were dreads everywhere! We all got to eat a variety of food while we waited for the separate traveling group. I had along with many others, a beef patty which is like an empanada. It is practically a spicy hot pocket. It was goooood! Also others had wings with fries or rice, fish with rice, or mac n cheese. The second group showed up and we saw our transportation..A BIG YELLOW BUS (TRAMBIA).
It was a big ol' charter bus. It started to rain, but I use the word rain lightly. I'd compare it to the Silver Dollar City fans that sprinkle you with cold mist while you're waiting to get on Wildfire. It felt wonderful! We loaded up the charter bus and got settled in. The bus was veryyyy nice! The one problem..He drove on the wrong side of the road.
Jamaica, a former British colony, still has the steering wheel on the right side of the car and drives on the left side of the road. If you know me, you know that I love roundabouts. I was a little nervous/stoked when he pulled into the roundabout going the wrong way!! The trip we were taking was from Montego Bay to Kingston. Google the map of Jamaica to see that Montego and Kingston are on the opposite side of the island. (http://www.wordtravels.com/Travelguide/Countries/Jamaica/Map). Along the way Blake got a little motion sick. We pulled over and got bananas. Everyone (that likes bananas) loved them! They rubbed bengay on his hands for him to smell and his chest. They also rubbed newspaper on his chest. We traveled across the street to a gas station called CoolOasis. We got out and took a potty break. Many people got Ginger Beer and tried it out. It was a different taste that tingled the back of your throat. Ryan Cummins lovesssss it! Also the boys got some Plantains and Banana and Cassava chips. The road then became very small...dun dun dunnnnnnnn!
To say the road is a two lane street is being optimistic! This road could fit a charter bus next to a semi with no shoulder room. Not only was the road small, it was curvy. You know River Road or 86 Highway that leads to the Candy House? Worse than that. It was so curvy he honked the bus every time he came around a curve as a warning. Sarah Buford loves the sound of Jamaican horns. Natalie Herrod yelled "Goats" every single time we saw a goat...which was a lot! The view was green everywhere. Every tree, leaf, and ditch was full of green. There is plant life everywhere. We were traveling up a hill so every now and then we could see this amazing view of the coast. Honestly I fell asleep at this point so now we'll see the trip from Olivia Conroy's eyes.
Pieces of metal were used for fencing, roofing, and gates. The houses were made of concrete, some looking much better than others. No matter what, they were pained in bright tropical colors. At one point we saw a picturesque scene of a hill with children running up it. It was a real life "Sound of Music" scene. (I thought of you, Dad!) The guys spent their time staring at the TV screen watching the "DVD" symbol hit the walls. Every now and then it would hit a perfect corner and only change colors once. Basically they were living for that moment. The crowd went wild when it occurred. Next the bus stopped at a bakery and got some hot fresh bread. We all got to have a pinch and it was amazingggg! Then we got to Kingston. (Back to Olivia Massey's view with Olivia Conroy's input- NOT THAT IT MATTERS) In the last leg of the trip Chris Six puked. There's really no nice way to say it. (He feels much better now, Marilyn!) We tiredly unloaded from the bus and into Hillside Christian Church- our base. We unpacked all of the supplies and got to eat. We had a cup of soup that was delish- I found a wishbone in it and lost to Natali. No wish for me. Also we had little sandwich triangles and SHELLS AND CHEESE! I love shells and cheese. Anywho we all ate- some eating more than others *cough* SAVANNAH *cough*. Then we left the humid room and got into the bus..again.
Now we blocked traffic to get to the hotel. We got our room assignments and settled in. Some rooms have air conditioning and some DO NOT. We all took cold showers...except Sarah Buford who somehow got warm water..no one's bitter. ugh. There were some Canadians who were having a dance party..Justin Beiber wasn't with them physically (sorry M'Riah) but they were definitely singing his songs. Then everyone fell asleep....at 9 o' clock.

TUESDAY MORNING
We all woke up and got ready with ease. Olivia Conroy's room woke up to kitty cats (meow) and little children (ahhhhhhh) from the school next door. We did our devotions and had some worship time on the patio. It was swonderful :) Basically Missions Week has begun. We rode in the back of trucks to the church. The Olivia x2 (that means both Olivia's and will be referred to a lot.) had 14 people in the back of the truck. It was like we were celebrities. On occasion a person would yell "Yeaaah" *Jamaican accent* and we would all yell "Yeaah maaaan" back :) Now we are at the church and getting in line for breakfast.
Catcha' lata' maaaaaaan!

With love and tired fingers,
Olivia x2

P.S. Pray for everything to go great today!

This is the first post for the Jamaica blog. Just had meeting with students and gave them a list of what was going on. Heads of ministry's need to meet with Mrs. Miller or Mrs. Strawn.