Greetings from Jamaica (Jan 16, 2014)

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Greetings from Jamaica!

This will be my last report from Old Harbour, Jamaica, as I will be leaving for the US early tomorrow (Friday) morning.

I decided to sleep in a few extra minutes this morning since I didn't have to teach today. So, I got up at 6 am, got a shower, prayed and read my Bible, then went down for breakfast. Wow! We had French toast this morning. It was very good. The young Jamaican couple from the church that cooked for us did a fantastic job!

This morning Dennis, Mary, Pastor Jerry, and I will be meeting with Locksley Todd to discuss the Pre-school project and the future planning and coordination needed to prepare a budget so that we can begin to apply for grants and begin to raise funds for the equipment and other items that we will need to open the school once the building is completed.

Before Locksley arrived, Dennis found some problems with a couple of things that the contractor did to the school building. They were not major problems, but they had to be corrected before we can proceed any further. Fortunately, they found them now and not later. (I think that Dennis will end up firing the contractor?) While waiting on Locksley, I packed up my suitcases, worked off a bunch of emails, and made some notes for a project that I'm working on.

Locksley showed up at around 9:30 am. I met with him primarily by myself for a couple of hours while Dennis and Jerry from time to had to leave to give instructions or check on the work teams. Mary also received a call from their daughter Krista during our meeting who had to be taken to the hospital ER this morning. It appears that she was having a problem with her legs going numb and having a severe pain in her groin. (I'm not sure they found out the cause, but at least they gave her some medications to ease the pain and released her to go home and later to see a specialist.) So, I mostly met with Locksley and we discussed several issues and came up with a plan and timeline to finalize the start-up budget and the initial operating budget.

In the afternoon, I continued working on my other project until around 3 pm when the work teams formed another "concrete bucket brigade" and started to pass buckets filled with concrete across the property to pour supports for a new gate they were building. We did this for about 2 hours or so and then finished for the day.

This afternoon was really nice. It was overcast and I would estimate it was around 75 degrees with a slight breeze. It really felt good but it probably means it will be a little cooler tonight. I might have to break out my poncho liner?

Tonight we had fried fish and pepper steak for dinner. I did eat a piece of fish (against my better judgment) and it was very good. However, it did have bones in it so I had to be very careful. After dinner, we had our devotions and Dennis briefed the two teams on their trip tomorrow to Ocho Rios.

Tomorrow morning, Dennis and Mary will be taking me to airport. We are planning to leave at 5:15 am. It will take us about an hour to get to Kingston, negotiate the traffic, and get to the airport. My plane doesn't leave until 9 am so I should have plenty of time.

I've had a really good time during this trip. It was really good to work with and get to know Curt Nordhielm and Dale Cornett from Boise Bible College and it was good to meet the people on the mission teams from the Meadowview and North Terrance Churches of Christ. It also was great to see the progress that they made on the school building! I have personally invested a lot of time planning, researching, and working on the plans for starting a pre-school and it is good to see the "dream" starting to become a reality.

I am slightly disappointed in the turn out for our seminar, but I think that I was able to "plant some seeds" in the minds of a few young pastors who want to learn to lead like Jesus and make disciples like He did. Only the Lord knows what will come out of our effort here. I often have to remind myself that God never told us that we have to be "successful". Instead, He tells us to be "faithful".

After I get home tomorrow afternoon, I do not have much time to recover, wash some clothes, repack and prepare for my next adventure – to Myanmar, which begins on Sunday morning when, Lord willing, we will climb on a plane at 6:15 am.

Thanks for your prayers! Also, please pray for Dennis and Mary who will be here in Jamaica until February 1^st. My next blog post will take place as we depart from the Lexington Bluegrass Airport on Sunday morning.

Blessings!

Fred

Fred R. Waggoner
 
Fred R. Waggoner
4221 Forsythe Drive
Lexington, KY 40514
Home: 859-223-7972
Cell: 859-312-5334
 
Soli Deo Gloria - "For God's glory alone".