Jamaica Journals 2003
| Jamaica
Journal 2003 |
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We awoke at about 8am and after a quick breakfast we joined the residents of the orphanage at their worship service. There were perhaps 20 children present, and the adults led them in singing and memorization of Bible verses. These children were desperate for the attention and affection normally offered by parents, and one little 5-year old girl named Shantel climbed up into my lap for much of the service. During prayer time the worship leaders went around to each child and prayed for them individually. As I was praying for Shantel in my lap, my pity for the children soon turned into rejoicing, in that these children were learning about the Savior from their earliest years. Many children in America have so much more in terms of material possessions and family support, but they go through life without ever being taught of the love of Christ. These children in the orphanage, however, with little in the way of clothes, toys or family, were being introduced to the Savior while they were most impressionable. We spent the afternoon relaxing and anticipating the arrival of the rest of the dental team, most of whom were due to arrive that evening. At around 4pm we set out on foot for the Mavis Bank hotel, where most of the team would be staying. We got there about 5:30, just as the team was getting unpacked and settled into their rooms. Fourteen students from the University of Iowa were accompanied by two veteran dentists - Dr. Jim Carney, a veteran of over 30 dental missions trips to Jamaica, and Dr. John Drescher, who also had several missions trips under his belt. We were also fortunate to have among our number three students who had completed four years of dental training at Iowa - Zach, Lena, and Tony. Zach has participated in each of the last three missions trips to Mavis Bank, Lena was on her second trip, and Tony had been convinced to come along this year by his roommate Zach, among others. Their combined experience was a real blessing to the students, and it took some of the heat off Dr’s Jim Carney, John Drescher and myself. Other members of our team included rising seniors Jessica Slater (back for her third trip to Mavis Bank, she also served as our logistical coordinator for the trip), Courtney Schapira (her second trip), Lona Scott (her second trip), and second-year students Katy Davis, Grant Van Beek, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Griffin, Austin Reed, Denise Nixon, Douglas Chang, and Josh Everts. Also joining us was Jill Waring, a first grade teacher who came to serve in whatever capacity she could. Jill found out about the trip through friends of hers who are students, and her presence and her servanthood attitude were a great encouragement to others on the trip. Eight more team members, third-year students, were due to join us on Tuesday after completing their national board exams on Monday. After the doctors and students got unpacked and settled into their accommodations, we headed for the dental clinic to set up the equipment for the next day’s treatment. There was much to do - unpacking and organizing instruments, setting up the sterilization area, and checking out the chairs, vacuum pump and compressor systems. The students chipped in cooperatively to get the clinic operational. There were a few significant malfunctions with the dental equipment, but Dr. Carney (who first set up the clinic about 7 years ago) and Grant were able to straighten out the problems. Grant, a second-year student and a veteran of previous non-dental missions trips, had spent several years as a junior high school science teacher prior to applying to dental school. Dentistry will be his second career, and if he becomes as capable at fixing mouths as he is at fixing dental equipment, he has a great career ahead of him. When the clinic was finally functional and ready for the next day’s treatment, we returned to the hotel. A home-made Jamaican dinner prepared by Millie, our cook and the manager of the hotel, enabled us to hit the sack with happy stomachs. Our morning routine
for the next five days consists of breakfast around 7:30am, followed by
15 minutes of devotions. The overall topic of this week’s devotions
will center around The Greatest Commandment. An outline of each day’s
devotional lessons is reprinted below: |
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| next day Monday |
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