Port Antonio-Sunday

Sunday morning we went to church at Bethesda Church and we had an awesome time of worship. First was the breaking of bread service, then we shifted into singing, which went on for a really long time. I really liked that it did though, because it helped me to get into a spirit of concentrated worship and I was able to focus better. We only did a few elements of a normal show - some singing and one skit. Then Pastor Andy preached. After the service the pastor asked for a copy of the words to Happy Day, which he really liked. We had a snack with the other church members, then stayed for half of Sunday school, where we did one more skit, some singing, and some puppets. I met one girl named Tresanne and we chatted a little bit about her, but mostly the kids were shy.

After lunch we went to Port Antonio Infirmary, which was really hard for many of the members of our group. Our guitar amp started smoking, so we had to do an acoustic show, which wasn't bad because the cafeteria was small enough for it to carry. But we couldn't do any puppets or dramas. That's ok though, because the "inmates" (their word, not mine) really enjoyed the singing. Some of them had mental disabilities, some were deformed, and some were sound but unable to care for themselves because of strokes or paralyzation. At the end Tom was just about to make the Gospel presentation and one man from the audience just sort of jumped in and gave it for him, which was really cool. There was one man who got saved that day, named Roy. At that point I was in one of the other wards, but apparently he had a really rough life and was only in there because of a stroke. His fully sound mind comprehended his need for a Savior though, and he became a part of God's family. While that was going on, I was in a women's ward talking to several bedridden ladies. The place smelled like urine and there were flies everywhere. I think a lot of our team members weren't really comfortable at all and weren't really sure how to handle some of the inmates. But they were just glad to have visitors. I met Lillith, who had some sort of stomach pain. She was already a believer. We talked for a little bit then I moved on to a woman named Gerlene. I don't know what was wrong with her legs, but they were all twisted up under her and she sat on her bed in a little ball. She couldn't talk much, but seemed to comprehend some things. She was a Christian for 13 years, and she wanted me to read to her from the Bible. Then we were talking for a while and I noticed that she had some pieces of scribbled paper taped up by her bed. I asked and she said that she had drawn them. On her bedside table were two black bags, like the kind groceries come in here. Initially I thought they were for garbage, but she wanted me to grab them for her and with her good arm she rifled through them, pulling out several combs, toothbrushes, a crusty tube of toothpaste, and many papers and books. I realized that these were her belongings - all of them - in these two bags. What she was looking for was a crumpled piece of construction paper, a pen, and three broken crayons, which she started coloring with. I helped her draw a tree, and then I had to go. I left the infirmary with mixed emotions. I was glad to have been a bit of joy in the lives of the people, but it was disheartening to see how they lived. I realize that most of them don't know any better, but they clearly would benefit from United States facilities.

In the afternoon, some of our team members went on the roof of our hotel to sing and worship. While they were up there, some other guests from the hotel went up, and our team started witnessing to them. I think that some of the guys were saved as a result.

At night, before our next show, we took a side trip to a guy's house because he had an amp for us. While Roger and David went to get it, we were praying that the equipment would work and also that it would stop raining for our show. As a result we got not only a new amp but a new sound board - for free! It was the bare minimum, but God provided exactly enough to cover what we needed. We also had to stop and get gas, and it started raining harder. We prayed more, and right then, the rain stopped, and stayed stopped for our entire show! We set up on the side of a busy road. Since it was paved, cars went by faster than usual, so we had to be extra careful. Our show went well - the new equipment worked well. Afterward, Jake and I went to go talk to people across the street. One lady, Marie, who had raised her hand told us that she was already a Christian, but had let other things get in the way of living like a Christian. We prayed with her and she rededicated her life to Christ. After talking to her we went up to a guy who wasn't really sure that he bought into the concept of heaven and hell, and who had a lot of questions about why we believed what we believed. We started to get into a good conversation when the rain also started, and Roger told us all to leave.

That night as we were praying over Amy's knee in the lounge, two men, Alex and Camroy, came over to where we were and started talking to Roger and some of the guys about getting back into an active relationship with God. They were in Port Antonio at our hotel on business from Kingston, and in God's perfect timing they met up with us. It's mind-blowing to think that although we originally intended to go to Kingston and couldn't, God brought people that we needed to influence from Kingston to us.