Key Largo, Montego...

Montego Bay, that is. The return leg of my Jamaica trip went as planned - better, actually! - so yes, I did eventually make it to Montego Bay via the Knutsford Express. But first, three wildly productive, encouraging, enjoyable days. I had done some legwork to ensure that we maximized our time on the ground; we easily filled in the gaps and then some after realizing we could realistically get the Ministry Centre ready for hosting teams by the end of June!

Tuesday, February 5

We are NOT in the DR anymore: TWO HVAC companies AND a roofing company arrived ON TIME to provide estimates for work to be done on the Ministry Centre. We were even able to call in the engineer who had previously drawn up some blueprints to consult with the roofing company rep.

Dreaming :)

The plan is to - literally - raise the roof. 

The fastest appliance shopping trip in recorded history resulted in a refrigerator and range for the kitchen in the short-term team housing portion of the Centre. Here's Charles, Lutheran Hour Ministries director Ancella, and I with our sales reps from Appliance TV Depot & Furniture. 

Wednesday, February 6

Conference calls, meeting with a lawyer, visiting multiple hardware stores to price bunk bed materials, picking up a rental car...nothing worthy of photos until dinner with the Ite family: Pastor Obot, wife Abas, and daughter Goodness. 

Thursday, February 7

Charles, Ancella, Jamaican evangelist Claudious, and I left Kingston at 6 am and drove four hours to  Bath Mountain. Don't bother looking that up; you won't find it on any map. This was the view of our destination - a former clinic - from where we parked. 

Claudious, a Bath Mountain native, is actively discipling his countrymen in the area. He claims to have a group of two dozen that gathers every Sunday morning! Charles began working with him this trip on the first course in a specially designed program that will culminate in ordination. 

Imagine this room filled with people hungry and thirsty for the Gospel!

Or the yard, if the weather is such that it's nicer to move chairs outside. 

 The clinic hasn't been operational since 2007, so the structure has seen better days. Of course my mind went immediately to how we could engage short-term teams in the Bath Mountain outreach...

Claudious has a sign (top) and everything!

The vision for this trailer on the clinic property is to open a combination car wash and computer lab (?), to be run by Claudious's cousin, who lives nearby. 

Lutheran Hour Ministries is active in Bath Mountain as well, so we took advantage of the trip to deliver Portals of Prayer and other materials to a school up the road...that was founded in the 1800s!

Our late lunch on the way back to Kingston was jerk from a joint one step above "roadside shack."

Thursday morning, Charles and I took a cab to the Knutsford Express bus station. Check-in, loading, and boarding were quick and easy. Our 7 am bus pulled out at 7:01. The ride was clean, comfortable (not too cold!), equipped with a bathroom and WiFi (ish...but #firstworldprobs), and offered stunning scenic views of the north coast. Two and a half hours later, sans stops, we pulled up in front of Sangster International Airport. The verdict: 100% would do again and recommend to anyone. 

Until next time, blessings!