Jamaican Journal – Day 1

Last night was just the beginning of the testing. I had just finished packing the last of my suitcases when I went briefly into the computer room, only to be roused by the sound of my wife telling me moments later that the suitcase that I just packed had burst at the seams. We had no other suitcases but a smaller rolling case which I was sure would not hold the contents of the one that just exploded. After taking my thoughts and emotions captive, perhaps not as quickly as I should have, I went through the numbers in my cell phone to see if there was anyone I knew that would have an extra suitcase and would not have already gone to bed at 10:45 on Christmas evening. The only person that I called didn’t answer so, I left a message and thought that if it were any other day of the year, I would have driven to Wal-Mart and bought one. Thankfully Millie got a hold of the house-sitter girl who was staying at her parent’s house while they were out of town. She said that there were two suitcases there that I could come and get. So, I drove to Millie’s parent’s house and looked at the suitcase options. The largest of which was the exact same size as the ‘too-small’ one that I had at home. By the grace and miraculous power of God I transferred the contents of the defective suitcase into the smaller, borrowed case. The teeth of the zipper threatened mutiny as I pulled the case closed. I was exhausted as the clock neared midnight, so I surrendered for the evening to the solace of my comfy bed.

This morning at 3:30 am (the morning after Christmas) I woke up to begin my journey to Jamaica. I am going to visit Pastor Winston Nathan, his wife Gail, and their two boys, Joshua (5) and Jonathan (3). I did everything in my natural ability to gather the final remaining items for my trip. Hopefully I didn’t forget anything important ; ) Sister Dorothy arrived promptly (possibly a bit more promptly than I would have desired) at 4:30 am to pick me up. As I rushed around for one final collection lap, I kissed the children goodbye, none of them probably remember the event though. Sister Dorothy and I pulled out of the driveway at around 4:45. We were off and running on our way to the Tampa airport. We partook of a Diet Pepsi each followed by a hot cup of Hess Jamaican Blue coffee and somewhere along the way we both learned a valuable lesson. We share a common habit of telling long and winding yarns (stories) and realized that the road to Tampa International is much too short to get our points across. As we pulled into the departing flights drop-off I had just completed my tale and although there was life-giving truth in the Word it could have been accomplished more efficiently. When the Lord perfects us in this realm I’m sure we will find that we are entirely more effective. Sister Dorothy drove away as I dragged my bulging baggage to the ticket counter.

I forgot to mention that the previous evening as I was attempting to pre-check my baggage online, I read something about a Holiday embargo being in effect from December 1st through the first week in January. What this meant was that in order to not overtax the baggage handlers during the highly traveled holiday season, each passenger would only be permitted one piece of checked luggage. Since the donations that the church provided for the missionaries to distribute had consumed every square inch of the largest suitcase, I would have to forego packing my own suitcase with clothes and personal hygiene essentials. I wondered how many pairs of clothes I could physically wear and still get the seat belt around my waist in the cramped mini-seat of the plane. Good thing I picked the aisle seat, that way half of me could bulge into the center walkway at least until the beverage service began. Once again Millie saved the day by calling the airline and coaxing them subtly to agree that this was not a feasible option. I believe they were concerned about my impeding the timely delivery of refreshments and salted snacks anyway. Although the mission suitcase ended up costing me $25 because it was 6 lbs. overweight. Millie and I had weighed it on the bathroom scale the night before and we thought it would be underweight. Bathroom scales lie. We should have taken it to the doctors office.

I arrived in Jamaica at about 1 pm and made my way to the customs checkpoint. While filling out the customs declaration form, I suddenly remembered that I had forgotten to bring the contact information that Pastor Nathan had sent. No problem, I thought, I would just call Millie and get it from her as soon as I arrived at the gate. Unfortunately I was surprised to find out that my cell phone does not work in Jamaica. When the customs officer heard this she quickly escorted me to customs prison to sit while they discussed my ‘likely’ claims. I told them that they could talk to Pastor Nathan who would be outside waiting, and get the information from him. I prayed that I would recognize him when I saw him because I have only seen photos of him. When I saw Pastor Nathan I remember thinking that he looked much smaller than I had imagined he would be. I’m sure he was probably thinking the opposite about me.

When that got cleared up, I returned to locate my bags. I found them soon enough, but they did seem to be much less tightly packed than they had previously. Perhaps the contents had settled a bit, or maybe they had been compressed slightly in transit. Nevertheless, I met Pastor Nathan who had gotten me a Jamaican Patty to eat, It was spicy but good. I have no clue what was in it though. Pastor Nathan stopped to get me a Ting soda which is Jamaican grapefruit flavored soda. That was good also. He kept trying to stop to get me another patty, but I declined the offer, fearing that I would become a patty fatty on my first day in the country. Pastor Nathan keeps talking about all of the Jamaican delicacies I have to try before leaving the country. He even said that he wanted to stop on the way back to the airport to get Patties and Ting soda and Jerk Chicken to take back for Millie and the kids. I don’t know if that would be kosher with U.S. customs though. I might have to eat it before entering the country. Maybe I could describe the flavor to my family in enough detail that they would feel as though they didn’t miss out on the actual experience.

I read this morning that 80% of Jamaica is Christian, Jamaica is also in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most churches per square mile / kilometer than any other place in the world. After riding on the winding, pothole-ridden, one-lane roads for three hours on the way to Pastor Nathan’s home in Manchester Parrish I can imagine why that might be the case. I don’t believe that I’ve ever called on the name of the Lord in prayer more frequently or fervently as I did in those few hours. There are no straight roads in Jamaica and most are perilously close to the edge of some great cliff or stray livestock. I saw more free-range goats than I had ever imagined I would in my lifetime. The little villages we rode through were littered with little 5′ x 5′ shacks or bars every few feet or so. People stood at the road holding bags of food or fruits and vegetables for sale. I saw quite a few coconuts lying in piles along the wayside. I saw no stores that we would recognize in America and wondered if the people had to travel from shack to shack, vendor to vendor in order to do their grocery shopping. The goat hunting would be enough to make up for any lack of convenience though. I finally arrived at the Nathan house in time to eat a delicious dinner of baked chicken and ham along with red beans and rice and salad prepared by Sister Gail. After exchanging gifts Pastor Nathan took us out to the ice cream parlor in Mandeville, this town has a Burger King and KFC as well as many other shops and businesses. The Nathan family has been overly hospitable and gracious to me since arriving. Pastor Nathan has three preaching engagements lined up for me this coming weekend. There is more yet to say but I will have to write more later. I am full and exhausted. It is 10:30 pm, I am ready to get to bed. Goodnight and God Bless.

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