Word to Life Church and street evangelism; our time in Jamaica - Day 7

We woke up before the sunrise this morning.  So much to think about from yesterday and the whole week.  And tomorrow we have to go home already.  Sigh....

Since there are no coffee pots in the rooms, Bruce made me a cup of coffee from the filter bags that he had brought along (yes, he has such a servant’s heart and spoils me rotten).  We sat on the balcony to eat the sweet rolls that we had bought at a local place along the way yesterday.  We watched the sun come up on the water and talked about all that the week has held.  We decided to take a quick swim in the pool before heading off on our next adventure.

We took quick showers and got dressed, packed up a bag for the day, and headed off to the beach for breakfast.  Just after we sat down, a couple of older gentlemen who told us that there names were Vin and Leroy, came up to us on the beach and starting serenading us with reggae music while we were eating.  We were thrilled!  We recorded one of their songs, took their pictures, and gave them a tip for a CD.  What a great way to start the morning on the beach in Jamaica!

After breakfast, we walked down the beach for church with Pastors Richard and Nicola that we had met on Tuesday.  They were very welcoming and we really enjoyed the service.  For the past several weeks I keep hearing the same scriptures: Hebrews 12:1 and Ephesians 6:10.  This morning, we heard those verses yet again.

At church this morning we met Marcia who is part Jamaican but born and lived in London.  She has been here for exactly a year today and hasn’t gone back because she has a heart for the street kids and wants to do...something.  Ironically, she lives right near to Spring Garden and the properties that we have been looking at.  We also met Iona and Maxine and several other wonderful members of this little church.

During the service, four Americans came in and sat down.  Doug and Debra are from Marietta, Georgia.  Their first trip to Jamaica was with a mission team 16 years ago and they have been back to Negril every year since.  This year they brought their daughter, Amanda and son-in-law Michael along with them.  They love it here and call themselves Jamaricans!  They are free spirits, adventurous, and we instantly connected with them as friends.

At the end of the service we talked for awhile with Richard and Nicola.  They were very supportive and told us that they would love to help us in any way that they can.  And then they told us that they would be going out to do street evangelism at 5:00 pm.  So, we invited ourselves to go along!

After we left church, we drove back down to the west end and to the lighthouse.  The lighthouse keeper was no where to be found.  We decided that he was likely still at church.  So, unfortunately without the key, we couldn’t climb the lighthouse, but we looked around and took some pictures. Then we jumped back in the car and followed the road further south to look for other properties along the ocean.  We found a couple with for sale signs on them, stopped the car and trekked around, wondering if we could see ourselves at this place.  We took some pictures and made notes so that we can look them up later.

It was mid-afternoon by this point so we headed back to find something to eat.  At church this morning, Doug and Debra had recommended that we try the restaurant Sweet Spice, the local favorite, in downtown Negril.  We found the place and had the most wonderful chicken peppered steak.  After lunch, we headed back to the hotel for a nap.  We had been up and going since 5:30 am!

We took a quick 10 minute nap, re-grouped and changed, and headed back out the door to the beach for a quick swim in the ocean.  I’m getting in all my last chances while I can and making every minute count.  We floated around in the blue water for about 15 or 20 minutes, took a shower, changed clothes and headed off toward the church to meet Pastors Richard and Nicola for some street evangelism.

When we got to the place to meet them, our new friends Doug and Debra from Georgia were there,

too. Nine of us took off to walk the streets of Negril. We talked to the folks that stopped about Jesus and invited them to church. At one place that we stopped, we found our friend, Patrice, from the shopping center a few days before! I knew that I felt like we would see her again. We talked with her and her friends for a little while, prayed with lots of people, made a few new friends, and answered their questions. Several people gave their lives to Christ during the hour and a half that we were out.  It was really fun to talk with so many people and exciting to see how God is moving.  The harvest is ripe in Jamaica, for sure.

It was starting to get dark and the mosquitoes were biting so I pried Bruce away from the conversation that he and the other guys were having.  A couple others walked with us back to our car and we took off for Rick’s Café.

The parking lot at Rick’s was packed!  As we walked in we could hear the reggae band playing and saw people dancing, singing, and swimming.  What a fun atmosphere.  We danced on the sand dance floor in front of the stage, had some Jamaican beef patties and a huge brownie sundae, and watched as several guys jumped off the 30 foot high cliffs into the water.  Some even did back flips and acrobatics!  The lights were on the rocks and shining into the water and we could see several huge tuna circling around in the swimming area. If only we would have had a fishing pole and a net!

We hung out at Rick’s for a little while before we drove the short distance back to our hotel for an evening swim and to pack to leave the next day.