Sing Praise to Him

I'm currently sitting in a hot van, on my way down the windy mountainside. I haven't been able to sit down and right a thoughtful well written blog so please excuse my scattered rambles.  The more we settle into Jamaica the more we have been able to gain valuable relationships in the community. Unlike other mission trips where you come and do a lot of manual labor, we are here for an extended period of time. This gives us the opportunity to truly get to know the community, build relationships and share about Jesus in a way that we would be unable to do with a strict schedule.  This being said, it isn't always easy. Coming from a culture that is very goal oriented, progress driven, and strict with time has created a deeply embedded go go go mentality. It's as though my internal clock is having to be re-wired. This has made it especially difficult at times when we're being called to just sit in relationship, in the presence of God.  I'd love to sit he...

As I stepped off the plane in Jamaica I remember thinking, "This is it- no turning back now." I twiddled my phone in my thumbs, and thought of all the friends and family I was leaving behind. When I signed up for this trip I 110% knew what I was getting into. Through prayer, fundraising and packing you would have thought I had all the time in the world to prepare myself for the next six months. In reality, the last couple months before leaving was spent shuffling three jobs, couch surfacing to save money on gas and finishing up what felt like am endless amount of term papers. It felt the only time I had time to truly stop and breathe was when I was in the car driving to the next place. It was as if I had been on auto-pilot, struggling to get tie up all my responsibilities and fitting in my farewells. And then all of a sudden- in what felt like a blink of an eye I was in the back off a 10 seater van, sweat pouring off my face with a view much different than ...

Stop correcting "i"The smell of burnt coffee beans fills the air. I can hear buzzes of cellphones, murmurs of friends talking in line- and the occasional whoosh of the expresso machine. As I look out the small coffee shop window I see a diverse city, a puzzle of God's wonderful creation. This week I have had the opportunity to connect with many people, all in different part of their life.  Conversations have ranged from embarrassing subway stories, to struggles within the health care system, to future hopes and dreams.  I answered the question, 'Where is Maine?" so many times this week I can not keep count.  We are currently partnering with the Salvation Army in Harlem, New York. During the day we help at a food kitchen- mainly creating relationships with the community; loving them and praying for them.  In the afternoons I help in a classroom of 1st graders, their teacher being another young college student. She is currently in school to be a lawyer...