Work/Play/Burn Day

Hello family and friends! This is Katie, happy to bring you another update from Jamaica! So today is Saturday, which means we will be home in exactly one week! Which is good news for all you parents out there who are missing your children, but bad news for many of our “tans” which we bragged about before leaving home (more on that later). I can’t believe we are already 2/3 of the way done with this trip, time is truly flying. But we still have an exciting week ahead of morning devotions in elementary schools, after school programs, and of course our trip to Negril on Thursday! I know that we are all looking forward to lounging on the beach, playing on water trampolines, and wrapping up all that has happened this trip. Alright, now on to the good stuff.
Our day today started later then usual, I woke up at 9am to find all the other girls already awake and doing productive things, like cleaning or sorting dirty laundry. Today was our “work day” at our current home, Fairhaven, so we were all expecting to get right to work in the morning. However, when we woke up to see the beautiful (but fleeting) sunshine, our wonderful host, Mary, said that we should go to the beach before it rained. And trust me, she didn’t have to tell us twice! As soon as we finished breakfast we all got into our swimsuits and rushed down to the beach. As you may have seen from pictures, the water here is a beautiful aqua blue and also happens to be just the right temperature. When we got down to “the cove”, our favorite spot to swim, some of us jumped right into the water, while a few stayed on the beach to tan. Eventually, 9 of us made our way into the water and decided to play a game of ultimate Frisbee: boys verses girls. Now you may notice that I said 9 of us, when in-fact, our team has 10 members. This is because Kristin opted out of the game and decided to tan instead (which actually really ended up paying off for her). Anyway, the game ended up being much more intense, and tiring, then anticipated. Each team even started making up their own touchdown dances (for some reason the boys always “killed” each other in their dances…go figure) and talking a little smack to the other team. Playing in the water proved to be much more fun than on dry land – every one was leaping in every direction to make catches, or block the other teams pass. The boys may have had the height advantage, but us girls had the strategy. It was so fun to get to goof off and play with the team, and watch everyone get into it. I would love to tell you that we silenced the boys trash talking and won….but unfortunately we lost…barely. It was 13-11 to be exact. We are planning a rematch ASAP.
After our game, we headed back to Fairhaven at about noon to start on our work, and do laundry (which trust me, was a huge blessing). We were all assigned different jobs – Stefene and Jen washed windows, Sami, Grace and I cleaned the kitchen, Lindsey (aka Lynette) and Kristen cleaned and organized a closet, and the boys touched up some painting on the outside of the building. As we were working it started to rain, yet again, and we were all very thankful that we went to the beach in the morningJ. Throughout the afternoon, we all began to notice that out skin was looking a little pinker then usual. It was not long before we were looking at each other and laughing at how red we were. There were only a lucky few who did not get fried today. Now I know that if other parents are like my parents, you are probably shaking your heads at us right now for getting so burnt. But to be fair, we were only out there for about an hour and a half, and it was before noon, so none of us were expecting to get much of a tan, let alone a burn. We have all been coating ourselves with lotion, and plan on those burns turning into tans very soon. So back to the work day….well basically we did some work. It was cool to get to help Mary out; she does SO much for us without complaint, so I am glad that we got the opportunity to do something for her.
After we all finished our jobs, us girls played a couple intense rounds of Phase 10 before dinner, while the Sam, Tyler, and Garrett wrote in their journals and relaxed. There was also some time for some of our team to go over the music they will be doing in church tomorrow. I feel so lucky to be a part of such a talented team…seriously…I think I may be the only person who doesn’t have musical skills, haha. Right now, as I sit on the couch, I can hear Tyler playing guitar and Kristin singing in the other room – our worship team always sounds so beautiful.
You may be wondering why I am posting the blog so late tonight, well, I promise, it is not just because I am lazy. After dinner, our leaders sat us down to have our usual team meeting, but tonight they had a surprise for us. They told us to get ready because we were going out to immerse ourselves in more Jamaican culture…a live music performance and dancing. We were all really surprised and excited to get to go have some fun, and experience something new. The live band was really good – my favorite was when they did a Backstreet Boys song - with a reggae twist. I would have to say that the highlight of the night was the last song that we were there for (Lindsey’s theme song, and apparently Jamaica’s favorite song, because they play it all the time here) “Don’t Matter” by Akon. I think it is safe to say that we all had a really fun time listening to the music, dancing around, and once again getting to do something fun together as a team. When we got home and checked the blog, we were shocked to read the post from the woman who randomly met Jen’s parents in Starbucks, and now is going to donate to the orphanage we worked at, Blossom Gardens. I can’t even tell you how encouraging that was to hear – it gave many of us the chills to read. We have all been struggling with the fact that we can only do so much – never did I think that our trip would affect people we have never met. God works in such amazing ways, sometimes it just takes my breath away. Thank you so much to all family and friends for your support, encouraging words, and constant comments. Knowing that we have people praying for us at home is such a comfort to us all. Like I mentioned before, tomorrow we are going to church. Stefene is going to be giving her testimony, the worship team will be going a couple songs, and we will also be leading Sunday school. Please especially lift up Stef and the worship team tomorrow as they participate in a new church service. Much love to everyone – these blog comments really make me want to meet everyone’s parents and friends – you are all so great. One Love.

Mom, Dad, and Kristina – thanks for the comments! I miss you guys, and I’m excited to see you and share my stories! Kristina – how did you and Jenny do in the science fair? I know you guys are mad at me for getting sun burnt – I’m sorry. But I’m doing great besides that, so you don’t need to worry. Love you lots.
Jenise – I miss you so much. I get so happy when I see a new comment from you. I so wish I could call you when funny things happen – there have been so many times that I have wished you were here. I can’t believe you are still in school….muhahaha. See you June 15th. I love you. Ps – tell your sister and Shanae that I really appreciate all their comments…..not.
Malcolm – Sorry I didn’t give you one of these before. You know I love you my little bumpkin. I can’t wait to get home so we can hang out everyday!! Wahoo! Love and miss you.
Linds and Jess – I hope you guys don’t get offended by the joint thing. I think about you both everyday, and you continue to be in my prayers. I can’t even tell you how much I miss you guys. And I’m still tripping out that there are TWO Frannies….what the heck?! Jess, I got your support letter a couple days ago, I loved it, and it made me miss you even more. Thank you so much for doing that. And tell Hefner that if I go 3 weeks with no comment on this from her, she will face serious consequences. You both requested by birthday off of work, riiiight??I love and miss you both so much.