We had a nice dinner in Ocho Rios. It took three hours. They just don’t do anything quickly here…well, except for driving!

When we got home we shared communion together as a team and then we were commissioned to go home and be missionaries in our communities! God has done great things in us and through us this week! We will never be the same!

Our flight leaves Jamaica at 1:45 EST and we arrive in ATL at 4:48.

We love you and will see you soon!

Today got off to a great start. We got to sleep in for a whole extra hour this morning! For breakfast we had great pancakes and bacon. We have a great cook who cooks us anything we want. After breakfast we waited for our wonderful driver, Johnson. Once in the bus we were on our way to Jamaican church! (That’s not actually what its called.) Church was a great experience! The first hour was all worship which was very interesting, we sang wonderful songs… that I have never heard in my life. One including “We Need the Anointed.” everyone here is singing that song, its really annoying  but it gets stuck in your head. The second hour of church was all preaching. After church, we drove to “Doctors Cove,” which is a private beach with wonderful clear, warm, salty water. There was a huge trampoline a few yards off the beach that we were all playing on today, it was so fun! Right beside the rope separating the swimming area from the boating area there was a huge reef with all kinds of different fish and coral. Almost all day was devoted to spending time with the older kids and swimming. Way too soon it was time to say our final goodbyes to the older kids. We were all really sad to watch them go.  Afterwords, we all walked down to Margaritaville. We had the top deck which was the best view.  A lot of us went down the water slide and played on the trampolines they had there. Dinner was really good. The nachos were HUGE there!!!!!!! They had everything on them you could possibly want or need. It started getting dark really fast so we kind of had to rush eating because we couldn’t see our food. We then went outside to wait for Johnson, who got there about thirty minutes after we got outside. When we did finally get to the villa we were all really tired, so we didn’t have worship. Everyone is asleep besides Reece Delaney and I. All in all today was a wonderful day, filled with fun! Oh, and before I go to sleep, Jon reminded me a wile ago to tell everyone that he “drilled” Rob in pool today, but I think Bigga (One of the staff) could beat them all. Anyway thank you for reading the blog!! we will keep you posted on whats happening tomorrow!!

Today started off a little crazy.  We woke up and it was pouring rain.  Our fearless leader (Jon) was sick, along with a few others not feeling so dandy.  We started out 7 people down (3 of them sick) and it was time to head “to the nest.”  No need to worry . . . we were in Jamaica (no problem-mon) and no matter where we were, God was in control.

By the time we arrived at the nest, the rain had stopped completely.  We decided God wanted to give everything a good washing before we got started for the day.  He turned off the water just in time.  Imagine that.  We then gave out Jamaica t-shirts that we were all wearing to the kids as well.  They went crazy over them.  Even one little fella said “now I feel like I am on your team!”  It was good to hear that.  We then marched on down the hill to our VBS gazebo and cranked out some worship music.  It was good seeing the kids really enjoying the music.  After that, Clark spoke about God’s light and how we need to let it shine.  Clark took a risk and gave the kids each a candle, actually lit the suckers, and spoke briefly about we need to share God’s love (light) with others.  I personally thought this was a crazy idea letting kids under the age of 5 play with fire, but God pulled it off! (Maybe why we had all of the rain!)  One child ran from Rob because he wanted to see how far he could let the candle burn.  Rob blew it out before the child suffered any 3rd degree burns.  Another miracle!

Rob then told a story to the kids that tied in well with letting Jesus’ light shine.  We then did our craft for the day which was a journal/diary that the kids could write their thoughts in, scripture verses, etc.  It contained a photo of each child and then they personalized it with different Christian symbols.  It was a hit.  One child named Dean decided his was utterly fantastic and proceeded to show his to all 40 of us who were there.  We ooooh’d and awwwww’d. 

As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, we had 7 on our team not show up.  God stepped in and provided some help.  While we were there, a bus load of teachers from Dallas, TX showed up.  They were in Jamaica to help train other teachers for the upcoming year.  A few of them volunteered to help us out.  We got that project done with help from Dallas!  Pretty cool.

The last thing we did for VBS was a skit several of our students put on for the children.  At first, the kids were so unruly we thought we were going to have to punt that idea.  Finally after trying to settle them down for 10 minutes, we regained control.  Our students pulled it off flawlessly!  It was about falling into sin and praying to be released from our sin.  It was impressive.  God used our students for his glory!

Later on, Rob, Bart, & Clark went down to where the boys stay (Jakes House) to pray and talk specifically with Shaqell . . . a little boy about 10-12 years old.  His heart is somewhat hardened, but has massive potential to be a great leader and Christian.  They spoke words of praise to him and prayed with him about different things.  Shaqell then wanted to pray for Quest . . . the little boy in the hospital with cancer.  He prayed so sweetly from the heart it was hard to keep your eyes dry.  He misses Quest a lot.  It was good to have some Christian men surrounding Shaqell during our stay. (If you think about it, say a little prayer for Shaqell . . . he is at a crossroads right now.)  There is also a boy named Ian that needs our prayers in the worst way.  He is a troubled young boy that has a long ways to go . . . there is still so much more work to do.

Later on in the day while it was scorching, we thought it would be a lot of fun to take 15 loads of gravel down a steep driveway and dump it in another location so someone else could shovel it into little buckets and then hoist it up a ladder standing in a pool of water up on top of a concrete roof.  We now know how it feels to build a pyramid as if we were in Egypt.  This was done for the Wiley’s so they could actually have a floor to stand on when their home is finished.  We also wrote scripture verses all over the walls.  They may end up being covered with paint, but God knows they are there and will provide protection from the enemy when the Wiley’s move in.  Take that, Satan!

This was the last day at the nest, so it was sad to say bye, but we had to leave about 4pm.  Some of the kids we will see tomorrow at the beach.  That will be fun IF it does not rain.  Pray for NO RAIN!  We got back and had one other bit of business to take care of.  Today is my daughter Holly’s birthday!  She turned 12 going on 17.  We surprised her with cake and ice cream.  She even received a couple of gifts.  That was sweet.  While at the nest, she got an unexpected gift from a little boy who thought an appropriate present would be a little pee-pee.  Holly lives with 2 brothers . . . she is used to gross things such as that!

A little long tonight, but it was a busy and fun day.  We are glad to have Jon back on board along with all of the others who were feeling sickly.  Take care and God Bless!

Jon feeling much better.

Sharing the light.

The "Bucket Briggade" old school style . . .

The Backpack I made!

Sean and Steve completed the repairs to the carpet ball table and the boys were excited to get to play with it!

Carpet ball champion!!

Rob, Clark and many other helpers completed two coats of paint in the O’Dell’s living room, kitchen and master bedroom!!!!! Let’s start the kitchen!!!!!!

Well, it’s off to bed! We can’t wait to what God has in store for us tomorrow!!!!!!!

Both of us spent some time with Jhanelle and Quest, two of the Nest children who are in the final stages of different diseases that will eventually take their lives.  God gave both of us amazing strength, love and courage to spend time with Jhanelle, bedridden at the Nest, and Quest, currently at a local Jamaican hospital (too awful too describe).  Even though we don’t understand why God allows their pain and suffering and wish He would miraculously heal them, we still see that both of these precious children have touched and are touching the hearts of many.  Please pray for comfort and peace for both of these children, and for wisdom and strength for Joel and all of the other people involved in their care.  Of course, we can always pray for a miracle, as long as it is in God’s will.

We put on a Vacation Bible School for ALL of the children (ages 1 – 15), which was quite difficult.  However, there were definitely many moments when the “sun shined through the clouds” and we were able to really have fun with the kids and hopefully have an impact on them, showing them the love of Jesus.  We sang songs, painted banners, listened to Jon’s message, and played baseball.  We will do VBS tomorrow and the next day, hopefully making some adjustments to really reach out to the group of older boys who seem to be having a hard time focusing and opening their hearts to God and us.

A couple of our youth were brave enough to join the Nest children in the “wonderfully, disgusting pool”.  They patiently let the children jump in to them over and over and over again.  This is such a fun way for the Nest children to play and get clean and the same time.

One of the tough parts of the day was when a group of us took about 13 of the Nest kids down the road to a local school.  We were hoping that some of the local kids would want to play some games with us.  We played with the parachute and soccer and baseball.  Some of our kids and leaders experienced a sense of darkness in this location, compared to the sense of Holy Ground that we feel at the Nest.  Someone tonight described the Nest as being a beacon of light on the hill, surrounded by darkness trying to creep up and shut out the light.  Obviously this would be something you can pray about regularly.

Tonight’s team devotion time was highlighted by all of the youth gathering around and praying for Joel.  I know God was beaming down on all of these amazing middle schoolers when they did this.  Joel really appreciates all of the prayers and encouragement that all of us have been providing.

The skeeters have been biting my ankles the entire time I have been typing this, so we are finished!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and “good night to y’all.”

Reece and Sally

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!

Our entrance into Jamaica was, shall I say, a little more eventful. They wanted to know what our exact address was going to be in Montego Bay. I didn’t have that address because we were being picked up by our driver for the week! After some negotiating, we made it through immigration. Now it was on to customs. Half our team made it through the easy line, the other half got pulled out and sent to the far end of the room for an inspection! I should mention here that Bart Pederson was searched in Atlanta. His words: “He couldn’t have been more thorough!” Now Bart was in the inspection line again! We think there is a connection and that he is possibly marked on this trip!

We have settled into the Villa, gone swimming and killed time…about 3hrs…while the food team made a Mega Mart grocery run. We started to worry they were never coming back with my credit cards and cash! They finally made it back and we are now enjoying some homemade pizzas cooked by our house cook here. Her name is Minna and she is a sweet lady that is going to take care of us all week.

Thank you for your prayers! We head to the Nest early in the morning. More updates soon.

Here are some pictures from the day…

Here's Rob and Paxton! Thought it was appropriate to share their picture since Rob's camera got stolen out of his bag when we got here!

We were busting on first class flyers and then Shawn let me listen to Bryan Reegan's standup routine about flying! Hilarious!

All of our supplies, safely out of the airport...finally!

we bought some fruit from a local farmer lady who insisted she was charging us a good price! Uh...nope! Found out later she definitely ripped us off, but hey, no worries, right?!

Hey Cindy, our grocery bill was a little higher than expected! (that's Jamaican dollars)

our adventurous grocery team! Kellee Cronan, Steve Bowman, Rob Masengill, Sean Weimer, Dawn McGuire

here's the grocery receipt, it's a good 6 feet long

I’ve invested about $30 in herbs and veggies and fertilizer. So I’m a suburban farmer now!

I’ve got rosemary, grape tomatoes, lemon thyme, sweet basil, parsley, green peppers, sweet peppers, and yellow squash.

We’ll see if anything actually grows!

I treated Annie to lunch at Chick fil-a, her favorite spot! Not only was this a special lunch for Annie, today is day 90 of P90x….which means I’m done! OK, I’ve only worked out twice since Norah was born, but I’ve continued to stay pretty strong on the nutrition plan. Today, I indulged! No chargrilled for me…give me the traditional fried chicken sandwich! One of my favorite things about today was when we went to sit down Annie said, “Daddy I want to sit on the same side with you.” I loved it! She was truly my beautiful date for the afternoon.

As we were finishing up, Annie asked about dessert. I said, “do you want a milkshake or wait and get a cookie when we go to wal-mart?” Annie responded with “cookie at wal-mart.” WHAT?? So I rephrased the question: “do you want a handspun, cookies and cream milkshake with whip cream…or a little cookie at wal-mart?” “Milkshake!” was her response. Whew. Daddy is off P90x and it’s time to enjoy a milkshake. Two straws please!

We wrapped up our date with a trip to wal-mart to gather supplies for Annie’s birthday party next weekend. I let her pick out all the toppings for the cupcakes! Great times with my little girl…my little girl who turns 5 yrs old next weekend.