Today was another pretty awesome day! We traveled from Kingston to Ocho Rios via our sporty rental van. The first night we arrived we learned that a Chinese company had built a new highway, which we were able to ride on today. Jamaica’s road system is quite needy. The highways which are two lanes (total) have bumps and potholes and lines are just a suggestion! Going from the bumpy road to a 4 lane highway that was smooth and new was quite the juxtaposition. Quickly we returned to the curvy winding original road where we traveled through the famous “Fern Gully”. I am sure there is an awesome analogy in here but I am too tired to think of it! Some views from our drive…photography credit: Samuel Reigner.
After arriving at Ocho Rios we checked in at the Teen Challenge Jamaica.
Alvis in the picture with the gate welcomed us. I do not know his full story because he speaks mainly Patois and talks really really fast. But I do know that he has decided to live here after completing the Teen Challenge program. What a testament to what is happening here. He is choosing to spend his life serving this program and all it stands for. He is one of the most helpful people I have ever seen. He has the energy of a 15 year old! Which leads me to explain that the program here is a bit different. They are named “Teen Challenge” but they are a place for all age men that are suffering. There are numerous stories of the leaders here pulling men out of the gutters and helping them get their lives back. Their message and methods are Christ centered. After seeing the actual gutters in Jamaica I am humbled by what they are doing here and all that they are offering to these men.
We have been so warmly welcomed. All of the students and staff have amazing stories and journeys and we have such an opportunity to learn and grow. There are so many moments happening along the way I can not even wrap my head around sharing them all. We ended our night with a friendly (read competitive) game of Dutch Blitz. It is a Vonderful Goot game and if you do not know about it you should. It was fun to share my favorite game with the group:) More tomorrow…stay tuned.
