Isn't it ironic when you do something with the intention of helping someone else...but then end up being the one blessed by the person you set out to help.
I think this sums up my Mission Trip in regards to the kids I met. Just sitting here right now, closing my eyes, I am still getting teary playing the memories over of those beautiful children that I met. And they aren't tears of pity, or sympathy for the situations that these kids live in and come from...it's tears of pure blessing and joy. I have never encountered Jesus so vividly before my eyes as I did on this trip when I watched those children.
Let me tell you a little bit about my trip. We lived and worked right on the Salvation Army compound that enclosed the School for the Blind and visually impaired, The Nest, a home for visually impaired retired officers, a Salvation Army church, and other homes where officers lived who were stationed there. At the school there were students who boarded there, and some who came for the day, and went home at night. At The Nest, there were 42 kids who lived there who had either been abandoned or orphaned.
Each morning we would get up at about 6:00am (usually my sister and I were still sleeping by 6:15 and woke up to my father yelling from the male side of the building "Halsey girls..time to get up!") and we had breakfast as a group at 6:30am (grace was sung precisely at 6:30 led by the fabulous John Pierce). After eating, a different member of the team each morning would lead a short devotion. It was such an incredible way to start the day, and really helped us see into the lives of each person who spoke, and share Jesus with them. I was blessed and encouraged every day by these devotions as I witnessed so many strong men and women of God share their testimonies and tears.
At about 7am we were headed down to the site. We would walk through the school towards the back of the grounds, so we would often get to talk to a few children as we walked. One of my favourite memories is seeing the same two boys every morning play on the swings before school started. They were both completely blind, and one was handicapped and had only one good hand. With his good hand though, he would always be pushing his friend on the swing. We would shout out "good morning boys" as we passed, and they would both respond with a cherry "good morning miss!"
As soon as we got down to the site, it was straight to work. Our biggest task was putting a new roof onto the building we were repairing. So..the first job..tear off the old roof. The stronger men (who weren't afraid of heights) were up on the roof ripping up the old tin and throwing it down for us strong women to move and stack. After the tin, came all of the wood frame that made up the roof. We ended up with a heap of wood about 9 feet tall and at least 20 feet in length. We got quite a few wounds and bruises during that first week, as the tin could slice right through your skin (just ask Mark Hall), and we were after all, on a construction sight.
There were two days unfortunately during the first week that it just poured. The clouds rolled in over the hills, and the sky unleashed a downpour. We had been painting a great deal of the wood that was going to go up for the new roof by this point, so we had to quickly cover up as much of it as we could and were left without a lot to do. The guys on the roof however...they kept working. Electrical equipment and all. One of the guys decided it'd be good to stop after his arm kept buzzing from the shock that kept shooting up it. We did have only one (praise the Lord) serious accident. A ladder that the guys had made from wood was being used in the house, which now had a wet floor. One of the men were on it, and it slipped and caused him to slide his arm down a glass pain window. He was very strong about it all, and didn't utter a single complaint..even after his 15 stiches on his arm, and the 5 stitches that sewed the tip of his index finger back together.
We would work all day until 6pm (although the second week that ended up being pushed until 7, and then 11 on a couple of the final nights). We had a break in the morning, half an hour for lunch, and a break in the afternoon. I enjoyed the breaks in the mornings, as the younger kids at the school had their morning recess at the same time. After grabbing some cold liquids and a snack, a few of us would walk over to wear they were playing and hang out with them for the short time we had off. My boys that I hung out with at break were Kareem, Richard and Jamere. Kareem was completely blind, Richard couldn't seem much and had glasses, and Jamere could only see things when they were really close up. You knew when Kareem was out, because you could hear him. I could hear him shouting from when I was still at the work site "Miss Esta! Come push me on the swings!" So I would spend the next 10 minutes or so pushing 3 boys on the swings while they competed to see who could go the highest.
It was an awesome thing to see how these kids interacted. There were a few there from the nest, who had complete sight, and they would look out for and take care of those that they knew were visually impaired. No one was sitting there telling them to look after them...but they did it anyways. Just as a second nature. It was beautiful. And my dear Kareem, who had no sight, was always looking out for his friends. I saw him help his friend Shamar (who has some sight) open his snack because he was having difficulties with it. Kareem would always save the swing closest to the ground for a little boy named Mario, who also had no sight, making sure that he had a turn.
These kids loved their sense of touch. They would hold your hands and rub your arms, and your face, getting a sense of who you were. And those who could see up close, would put their face right up against yours, trying to get a glimpse of who you were. There was no fear that a hug, or holding of a hand was crossing boundaries. These kids soaked up all the love and attention that you could give them.
At the end of the day, when the sun set, we would head back up, have our cold showers, and eat dinner together. After that..there wasn't much to do. Some nights we would play cards together, or just sit outside and enjoy each other's fellowship. I enjoyed heading up to the nest to visit the kids there, although we would often have to do it before dinner, as they went to bed early. There were a few of us who went up regularly to hang out with the kids and just get to know them. Each and every one of those kids had such an incredibly beautiful spirit. You would never think that any hardships had ever crossed their paths. And they were just bursting of Jesus, and loved telling us their favourite books of the Bibles and verses.
On the middle Saturday, we took the afternoon off and went to a beach called Hellshire. It was a wonderful break from work, and a great experience to absorb the culture as it was a local beach. We ate lobster, coconut, and sugar cane right on the beach and swam in the beautiful clear water. Later that night we went out to a Chinese food restaurant for dinner, which was fantastic! (Although someone *cough* Brian *cough* ordered about 10 plates too many of food!)
At the end of the first week, nine team members went home, and four new people came. It was a hard adjustment at first because we had lost a lot of man power, and were behind on getting the roof back together. But..we put in a lot of long tough hours, and got to see our project completed. And man oh man..it's beautiful!
On the last day that we were in Kingston, my sister (Donna), Laurie White, and I had the privledge of leading the Blind Schools morning sunday school class. Donna is blessed with dramatic abilities, so she told the story, and Laurie and I helped with leading worship and leading a game. At the end, the Captain came and thanked the team for all of our work and for coming to the compound. He then asked Bob McArthur to say a few words on behalf of the team. Bob summed it all up I think we he said that we had come to give what we could to the school, and to help out by fixing their building. But we were the ones who had been blessed. Each and every member of the team was leaving having been impacted in one way shape or form from meeting and witnessing the children on the compound. I teared up as he spoke, knowing the full truth of his words, and realizing how much I was going to miss being there.
Well, I have definilty written a great deal, so I think I'm going to end it now. There is definitly a lot more to write about, regarding what else I learned, and took away from this trip, so I'll most likely get back to that in the upcoming days.
Here are some pictures though just to finish up, from my trip.
An outside view from the corner (it's an 'L' shaped building) of before and after
This is my sister and I, Sunday morning at church with all our beautiful children.
This is me and one of my boys during break time.
This is our team at the end of the second week. One of the guys in the first week brought the Canadian flag for us to all sign and leave in the building.
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