From the mall we went to fill the car up with gas. We’ve done a lot of driving on only half a tank of gas, but we don’t want to end up stranded in the middle of nowhere. So, we stopped at the Texaco on the edge of town. The gas stations in Jamaica are still full service. It feels a little strange but it's kind of nice, really. As Bruce went inside to pay, a Jamaican was standing next to me and we struck up a conversation. He said his name was Kevin. He was telling me about the mineral springs and how to get there. We had a nice “likkle” chat.
When Bruce got back in the car, we decided that maybe we should go see the other property at Spring Garden that Jennifer was telling us about yesterday. If we don’t, I’ll always wonder about it. And I can’t see it from Indiana. So, we headed down the road toward Sheffield, turned at the corner with the bike taxis to go to Ketto, went past the huge garden and the spring, past Ms. Lolly’s shop and the 7th Day Adventist Church, and then turned at the blue and yellow shack to pass through the hidden cane field valley to Spring Garden. When we got there, we weren’t sure quite where to go. The only thing that we could see was our new friend, Tracy’s house with Lynette’s house next door, and the 6 acres of property that we had looked at the day before. So, we decided to drive up to see if Tracy or Lynette were home to ask them.
Lynette came out when she saw us pulling up the driveway. She didn’t remember ever telling her
friend Jennifer about any property and certainly hadn’t taken her to see it.Hmm.... But as we talked, she figured out that it must be Rick’s place next door. Conveniently, Tracy has the key to the gate at Rick’s and one of the workers that is building her house, Shorty, is staying there since it’s been “abandoned”. (I'm really not quite sure how you can you tell if property in Jamaica has been abandoned?)
Lynette asked Shorty if he would mind showing us around. So Shorty met us over there. This property is directly across the lane and adjoining to the flat parcel of land that we looked at yesterday, the untouched and very usable part that we really liked. The first thing that I noticed was the gate leading down the lane. It says “Jah’s Rest”. Jah is the shortened form of Yahweh, or in the Hebrew YHWH (thanks, Laurette - how much I have learned from you!)
So, we drove down the lane and the first things that I saw were bright red hibiscus, climbing purple
garlic, a giant mango tree with fruit hanging off of it, and several big full coconut trees. Off to the right was a little house with a hammock on the front porch. Following Shorty, we walked around inside in the dark since there is no electricity. There is a bedroom in the front, a large bathroom, and a small kitchen. There is also a large covered space outside almost as big as the entire building. It runs along the side and across the back with a table and an outdoor kitchen. The place was somewhat small inside and a mess with junk all around, but the building was solid and seemed to be in good condition.
When we walked off the porch, we saw another bigger building in front of us, just on the other side of our car. It was camouflaged by vines and overgrown trees and hidden from our view when we first drove in. It had really neat lattice work on the front and side, and when we walked in, we could see that it had the same on the back. There were some stained glass windows inside and really neat stone work up the walls about halfway. This building, too, was partially full of junk laying around and needed to have a couple of walls finished and doors hung, but otherwise was solid and seemed to be in good condition. The bathroom was not finished, but the shower was all stone to match the walls and did appear to be finished. There was also a matching stone outdoor bathroom.
The grounds were a mess and overgrown, but as I wandered around I saw an avocado tree, a pineapple plant, banana trees, many large coconut trees, a couple of mango trees, a big full ackee tree, and a tree with several big jackfruit hanging off of it. We didn’t walk the whole property, just a small portion of the 2 acres. Who knows what else could be there?
I took about a million pictures and didn’t want to leave, but we had on shorts and t-shirts and the mosquitoes were eating us alive. As were leaving we talked about the possibilities that this piece of property with all it’s lush fruit trees, flat open stretches for a garden and a spring right down the road could offer. We talked about how to turn the larger of the two buildings into a children’s home, and the small one into the directors home with a large outdoor kitchen and space for everyone to eat together. We talked about how great it would be to have a friend, Lynette, right next door, what a coincidence it was that Lynette knows Jennifer, that Jennifer told us about this piece of property yet Lynette said that she couldn’t remember showing it to her, that Tracy had the key to the gate, that Shorty was staying there, that he works for our new friends Tracy and Lynette, and that we already knew our way out to Spring Garden. Wow.
From Spring Garden we started off to go to Whitehouse and we wanted to stop at Bluefields Bay Beach along the way. When we got as far as Sav-La-Mar about 30 minutes away, we were trying to follow the signs, but at many intersections, there just aren’t any. All of the sudden, we came to a dead-end. We must have missed a turn off somewhere. As we were turning around, my friend from back at the gas station in Negril appeared in the window. Kevin could see that we were lost so he led us back to the main road and to the turn off to go toward Whitehouse. Wow! No working GPS in Jamaica, but God has provided so many people to show us the way.
We pulled off when we saw the sign for Bluefields Bay Beach. We had decided that this was the trip to see as many beaches as we can. So far this is our fourth. It’s a cute little beach with shops and vendors across the street. We took a short walk along with beach, took a quick swim, then had curried conch and garlic lobster with festival for lunch. Our chef, Pearl, made us a fantastic meal and we were stuffed.
We hopped back in the car to go on towards Whitehouse and our friend, Linda’s, house. We followed Linda’s directions and found her house. But not before we drove around for at least a half hour, close, but lost. I must have missed writing one step down. Nonetheless, we found the house and rang the bell. Monique, Linda’s house help, was expecting us, but she wasn’t here. She went down the road just before we came and then it started to pour down rain. We sat in Linda’s driveway for a good hour and talked, listened to the rain and let it wash off our dusty rental car, and even got in a short nap. Finally, we decided to go look for Monique by asking the security guard at the gated entrance to the subdivision. Just as we got to the corner, a big white truck pulled up and Monique stuck her head out. She had found a ride back home and was coming to let us in.
We opened the gate and were just stunned by the beauty of this tropical oasis. Linda’s whole yard is a big jungle garden with trees and flowers everywhere you look. We wandered around and got our bearings, unpacked our car, and then Monique took us up the mountain to McAlpine to see the clinic, school and ranch house that Linda has built with Jesus for Jamaica. Wow. First of all, what a ride up that big hill. Secondly, what a view from the top. And third, we can see how much work has gone into this little village. Many houses are new or newer. And we have learned from Linda that they just got running water up here on the mountain within the last month. Can you imagine? But we could also see the poverty in the men living underneath the clinic and saw evidence of them sleeping in the ranch. They just have no other place else to go.
We got into the clinic and walked around, imagining the possibilities for the orphanage that Linda is hoping to start soon with Jesus for Jamaica. We went back to the car and Bruce got his tape measure and I got a piece of paper. Bruce drew the building out and I wrote down the measurements. He wants to be able to draw it out for Linda so that they can get the best use out of the space. We are so excited to be able to help with this vision in this way!
As we were walking around we made a friend. His name was Andre and he was about 8 years old. Smart little stinker, and so sweet. He walked all over with us and stayed right by our sides asking us questions and showing us things. We wanted to give him a toy or a sucker or something when we got back to the car, but at some point while we were finishing up, he disappeared. Good bye, Andre.
We headed back down the mountain with Monique and then went to the grocery store in Whitehouse. It was good to have a local with us. We got a few things and then headed back to the house where we met Monique’s daughter, Jessina. She is 3 years old, totally cute and smart! Oh my
goodness, the things that came out of her mouth! I would probably take her home if I could. (Bruce said that Monique would tell me no way....) Bruce and I walked out to the ocean, walked around on the beach and the rocks, took lots of pictures, and watched the sunset. Then we went back to Linda’s house and went for a swim in the pool, took a shower, made some toast with guava jelly, and headed off for bed. It was a full and eventful day.
Lynette asked Shorty if he would mind showing us around. So Shorty met us over there. This property is directly across the lane and adjoining to the flat parcel of land that we looked at yesterday, the untouched and very usable part that we really liked. The first thing that I noticed was the gate leading down the lane. It says “Jah’s Rest”. Jah is the shortened form of Yahweh, or in the Hebrew YHWH (thanks, Laurette - how much I have learned from you!)
So, we drove down the lane and the first things that I saw were bright red hibiscus, climbing purple
garlic, a giant mango tree with fruit hanging off of it, and several big full coconut trees. Off to the right was a little house with a hammock on the front porch. Following Shorty, we walked around inside in the dark since there is no electricity. There is a bedroom in the front, a large bathroom, and a small kitchen. There is also a large covered space outside almost as big as the entire building. It runs along the side and across the back with a table and an outdoor kitchen. The place was somewhat small inside and a mess with junk all around, but the building was solid and seemed to be in good condition. When we walked off the porch, we saw another bigger building in front of us, just on the other side of our car. It was camouflaged by vines and overgrown trees and hidden from our view when we first drove in. It had really neat lattice work on the front and side, and when we walked in, we could see that it had the same on the back. There were some stained glass windows inside and really neat stone work up the walls about halfway. This building, too, was partially full of junk laying around and needed to have a couple of walls finished and doors hung, but otherwise was solid and seemed to be in good condition. The bathroom was not finished, but the shower was all stone to match the walls and did appear to be finished. There was also a matching stone outdoor bathroom.
The grounds were a mess and overgrown, but as I wandered around I saw an avocado tree, a pineapple plant, banana trees, many large coconut trees, a couple of mango trees, a big full ackee tree, and a tree with several big jackfruit hanging off of it. We didn’t walk the whole property, just a small portion of the 2 acres. Who knows what else could be there?
I took about a million pictures and didn’t want to leave, but we had on shorts and t-shirts and the mosquitoes were eating us alive. As were leaving we talked about the possibilities that this piece of property with all it’s lush fruit trees, flat open stretches for a garden and a spring right down the road could offer. We talked about how to turn the larger of the two buildings into a children’s home, and the small one into the directors home with a large outdoor kitchen and space for everyone to eat together. We talked about how great it would be to have a friend, Lynette, right next door, what a coincidence it was that Lynette knows Jennifer, that Jennifer told us about this piece of property yet Lynette said that she couldn’t remember showing it to her, that Tracy had the key to the gate, that Shorty was staying there, that he works for our new friends Tracy and Lynette, and that we already knew our way out to Spring Garden. Wow.
From Spring Garden we started off to go to Whitehouse and we wanted to stop at Bluefields Bay Beach along the way. When we got as far as Sav-La-Mar about 30 minutes away, we were trying to follow the signs, but at many intersections, there just aren’t any. All of the sudden, we came to a dead-end. We must have missed a turn off somewhere. As we were turning around, my friend from back at the gas station in Negril appeared in the window. Kevin could see that we were lost so he led us back to the main road and to the turn off to go toward Whitehouse. Wow! No working GPS in Jamaica, but God has provided so many people to show us the way.
We hopped back in the car to go on towards Whitehouse and our friend, Linda’s, house. We followed Linda’s directions and found her house. But not before we drove around for at least a half hour, close, but lost. I must have missed writing one step down. Nonetheless, we found the house and rang the bell. Monique, Linda’s house help, was expecting us, but she wasn’t here. She went down the road just before we came and then it started to pour down rain. We sat in Linda’s driveway for a good hour and talked, listened to the rain and let it wash off our dusty rental car, and even got in a short nap. Finally, we decided to go look for Monique by asking the security guard at the gated entrance to the subdivision. Just as we got to the corner, a big white truck pulled up and Monique stuck her head out. She had found a ride back home and was coming to let us in.We opened the gate and were just stunned by the beauty of this tropical oasis. Linda’s whole yard is a big jungle garden with trees and flowers everywhere you look. We wandered around and got our bearings, unpacked our car, and then Monique took us up the mountain to McAlpine to see the clinic, school and ranch house that Linda has built with Jesus for Jamaica. Wow. First of all, what a ride up that big hill. Secondly, what a view from the top. And third, we can see how much work has gone into this little village. Many houses are new or newer. And we have learned from Linda that they just got running water up here on the mountain within the last month. Can you imagine? But we could also see the poverty in the men living underneath the clinic and saw evidence of them sleeping in the ranch. They just have no other place else to go.
We got into the clinic and walked around, imagining the possibilities for the orphanage that Linda is hoping to start soon with Jesus for Jamaica. We went back to the car and Bruce got his tape measure and I got a piece of paper. Bruce drew the building out and I wrote down the measurements. He wants to be able to draw it out for Linda so that they can get the best use out of the space. We are so excited to be able to help with this vision in this way!As we were walking around we made a friend. His name was Andre and he was about 8 years old. Smart little stinker, and so sweet. He walked all over with us and stayed right by our sides asking us questions and showing us things. We wanted to give him a toy or a sucker or something when we got back to the car, but at some point while we were finishing up, he disappeared. Good bye, Andre.
We headed back down the mountain with Monique and then went to the grocery store in Whitehouse. It was good to have a local with us. We got a few things and then headed back to the house where we met Monique’s daughter, Jessina. She is 3 years old, totally cute and smart! Oh my
goodness, the things that came out of her mouth! I would probably take her home if I could. (Bruce said that Monique would tell me no way....) Bruce and I walked out to the ocean, walked around on the beach and the rocks, took lots of pictures, and watched the sunset. Then we went back to Linda’s house and went for a swim in the pool, took a shower, made some toast with guava jelly, and headed off for bed. It was a full and eventful day.
No comments:
Post a Comment