Day 2 is just about in the books as I type this. What an absolutely incredible day! We woke up to the smell of pancakes and sausage and maybe most importantly….coffee! We left the villa for the Nest around 8am. It took us about 75 minutes to get to the Nest. The road is very bad and we had to stop near the top of the mountain for a throw up break! The person will remain nameless, but Rachel is feeling much better now…just a little car sickness.
As we stepped off the bus, several kids were playing outside and immediately came running, jumping into our arms. I could not have planned a better start to our time at the Nest! We played with the kids while waiting for the director, Joel O’dell to greet us and give us a tour. While we waited several of us tasted the “novacaine tree.” Dawn McGuire exhibited such bravery, taking a huge bite out of the mysterious leaf!
We gathered near the playground built by the Z Foundation in December and listened as Joel began to welcome us. This was the first of what we hope will be many holy moments this week. Joel was getting choked up as he looked around at us listening intently to the history of the Robin’s Nest. Jackie Johnson leaned in and whispered to me that we needed to pray for Joel before we go on the tour of the grounds. I had a sense something was about to happen. Not 5 seconds later Clark Rose spoke up and said “Joel can we just stop and pray for you.” Then another voice and another, all confirming that in that very moment the Spirit of God was falling heavy, prompting us to gather around this tired man and call upon our Heavenly Father to breathe life! We all gathered around, laying hands on Joel and had an amazing time of prayer…totally unplanned and totally prompted by the Spirit. Incredible.
After the tour we had PB&J sandwiches and got to work. Rob led a crew scraping and painting the living room for the director’s home. Shawn and Steve got to work on repairing a broken carpetball game. Laundry was hung, dishes were washed and dried, kids were carried around.
Jack McGuire may not come home with us. The boys at the Nest are going to kidnap him to live with them forever.
Susie, Kathy, Kayla, Kellee and several others had the opportunity to pray with some of the staff today. This is a big part of why we are here and we are so thankful for the opportunity to pray over them. One of the ladies was visibly moved by her prayer time. Another lady had some physical ailments that the team prayed for.
Jackie, Daniel and Max accompanied Joel down to the hospital in Montego Bay. That experience could be a whole separate blog entry. They were going to visit Quest, a boy from the Nest who has stage 4 lymphoma and not doing well at all. I was so proud of Daniel and Max for their courage. A Jamaican hospital is not a place anyone wants to be, and it’s hard to see such a young boy struggle so much. It was an experienced that marked each of them.
Tomorrow (Thursday) we will begin our VBS program in the morning. Then we will hit all our construction projects in the afternoon. Our team is so pumped and so hungry to see God work. We tasted it today and we want so much more.
Below are some pictures from today! Continue to pray for us. Pray for no throw up breaks on the trips up the mountain! And pray for a great VBS kick off! And while you’re at it, pray for a breeze!
packed like sardines
one of Rachel's many friends today
mmm, the novacaine tree
praying for Joel was a highlight of the day
I told Reese these kids would steal his heart and he admitted he didn't believe me, until today!
Wonderful report! Got major Jesus bumps while reading this. Fanning your flame from back home!!!! Our God is an awesome God. Can’t wait to hear more. Blessings to everyone