Church in Trench Town, Jamaica.

(Left to right: Tom-England, Ashley-Austrailia, K.C.-Canada, Me)

A group of 4 of us took a ride into Trench Town this morning for service which started at 10am. First we spoke about ourselves, where we're from, and our specific job on board. Then Tom and K.C. gave an evangelism presentation that required the participation of the congregation that showed the condition of missions today across the world. After they finished, I went up to speak about how God directed my steps into missions and attempted to encourage those who may be interested in spreading the Gospel in unreached areas. Lastly, Ashley preached on 2Tim 3:16. He really touched the hearts of those present while he made his emphatic point on the importance of scripture and it's divinity. After service, the church members met with us and fed us delicious homemade food including perfectly cooked ox tail, chicken, Jamaican rice, and plenty more. The pastor (picture above beside me) was such a humble and kind man. One of the younger men told me that Bob Marley was born just down the street.

Kingston, Jamaica Arrival

We made it to out second stop in Jamaica after an 18 hour journey over night and morning time. The last port in Montego Bay offered a lot of people excited to come aboard the ship. There were more school children on field trips than any other port: over 14,000 in just 3-4 weeks! When the children are here, they get to sit in the Hope Theatre and enjoy a play called "The Greatest Treasure", an excellent show for kids about God and His Word. Even though the number of visitors in Montego Bay was incredible, there are more expected to visit here in Kingston to buy books, attend events, evangelism training, ship tours, and most importantly, hear the Gospel...maybe for the first time ever. You can see that the port isn't the most beautiful; very much industrialized for coal mining but provides ample parking for all the visitors. The ship will be docked here for 5 weeks before heading to the Bahamas.

Montego Bay Church Of The Nazarene

Because of my busy work schedule, I was only on two church teams while at this port in Jamaica. This congregation was a lot bigger than the first one I spoke at a couple weeks ago, and the people were very sweet and hospitable to us. My presentation was on missions with a focus to encourage others by lighting a spark in the hearts of those interested in serving across the world.
From left to right:
Anne & Ashley-Australia. Me & Allie-U.S.A.
The gentleman I'm standing next to above is the senior pastor.

Giving a missions message in Mo-bay...

Sunday was my first church team in a few weeks and I was excited to ride with three great friends to the church about a 15min drive from the ship. Anna and Elyse gave a presentation about the ship and I spoke about missions and my journey to the Logos Hope.
Francois (S. Africa)
me
Anna (Netherlands)
Elyse-taking the picture (Madagascar)

Arrival: Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay is our first stop in Jamaica, with Kingston being next. This country is a lot different than the last Dutch islands we visited, mainly because of its terrain. Beautiful mountains, streams, waterfalls, and foliage are decorated inside a crystal clear (in most areas) coast. The people seem very eager to come aboard the ship and we're expecting large crowds almost every day. A little F.Y.I. for you: Jamaica has more churches per square mile than anywhere else in the world.

Oranjestad, Aruba

View of our dock from deck 9.

Portion of the main street right off the ship.

There's even a Taco Bell....with French fries!

Eating Little Ceasar's with Tom(ENG) and Gina(USA)

Docked beside the Scientology ship!

Lighthouse on the North tip of the island.

In a city referred to as "Little America", Oranjestad (Orange Town) is probably the wealthiest stop thus far since arriving on the ship in September. As I write this, I'm sitting outside the top of a second story building beside a Little Caesar's (Pictured above), Dunkin' Donuts, and Baskin Robbins. Many massive cruise ships come and go daily to transport people who are eager to spend large amounts of money at the Casinos and very high-end jewelry and clothing stores. It's the first time I've ever seen not one but three Rolex stores within a quarter-mile. You may be thinking why our ship would even be at a place like this...That was my initial thought, before I traveled behind the opulent tourist trap. My friend asked me if I would drive a few of us behind the main street to give a sandwich to a homeless lady she met a few nights ago, and wanted to continue to give her the Gospel. As I crept down the road to look for her, the cleanliness suddenly disappeared and the spotless cobblestone walkway turned into unsupervised children loitering on concrete. I was instructed to stop in front of this salmon colored cement structure and the passenger to my right mentioned it was a drug house. The homeless lady named Mecksie took my friend inside the other day after they met down the road and took a walk together. Soon as I stopped the van, a couple guys with sticks began approaching the vehicle....

Two polar opposite realities hit me within two city blocks. Two vastly different lifestyles; yet both with the same vacancy in their life if they aren't regenerated. Some people may think our time is useless in places that seem so affluent on the outside; but it's quite the contrary. There are no more difficulties evangelizing to the very poor than it would be to the person outside a trendy fashion store; all need to hear about Jesus. At least the poor aren't usually fooled by the world system of happiness through materiel wealth. My views on life are always changing at every port and Aruba is no different. The Logos Hope departs on Sunday; we were only here for a short time. Oh, one more thing: The picture above actually is the Scientology ship right next to ours. As I write this, a group of people are taking a tour of the inside and there are sign-up sheets to join more tours tomorrow. I know our ship community is praying for them and their misleading religion.

First church team in 2010.

This is the first church I've been to where a translator was needed when we spoke to the congregation. I really tried to think of all the Spanish words remaining in my head since high school and hit a wall after saying "Hola, me llamo Steve"...
From left to right:
Freddie- Sweden
Maddy- England
me
Lydia- Romania