Mission Jamaica 2012
Gratifying, eye opening, inspiring, beautiful, life
changing, amazing, rewarding. These are just some of the adjectives the students
used to describe our mission trip to Jamaica. Typically when one returns from a
family vacation, honeymoon, or trip with a friend, people ask “How was it?!” As
hard as we try, it is typically difficult to express clearly because only the
people you experience the trip with really know how wonderful it was. Our
Jamaica trip was a great example of this challenge. This trip was more than just
a vacation, it had a purpose. A purpose to pour out God’s love by serving
others in a selfless, humble, compassionate way. Considering the group entailed
over 80 youth and leaders that by the end of the adventure, adjectives such as
those mentioned above dominated the conversations, it was clear that finding
that perfect definition of our mission trip would be difficult.
The day we all arrived home, students were already
posting pictures and comments on Facebook. The one status that stood out to me,
because it was so powerful, was written by one of our high school students
Hannah Reis. I asked her permission to include this message in my blog because
I couldn’t have captured the meaning of Mission Jamaica 2012 any better. She
wrote:
“I have
forever been changed by the Jamaican people. They have taught me that in all
the bad times I have, I will still have something to smile about, and my
situation is not worth any fuss or frustration. Next time somebody uses all the
hot water, I’ll think about them having no running water at all. Next time I
don’t have enough money to go out to eat with friends, I’ll think about them
not having enough money to eat for the day. Next time I complain about the
heat, I’ll think about them not having air conditioning to go home to. Even
though some of them lack the money, resources, and technology we have, they
have excessive amounts of love and acceptance, happiness and kindness,
understanding and a deep desire to please, and through it all, they praise God
for everything they do have, even if it is very little. Those are things we are
missing and forget in our lives and I was taught through the Grace of God and
the Jamaican people, how to bring them back into mine. I would like to thank
the Jamaican people from the bottom of my heart for teaching me things about
life I would not have been able to discover on my own.”
I think it is a fair statement to say that once you
arrive home and are back to reality, it is then that you recognize the impact
that has been made on yourself (by Jamaicans) and how that far outweighs the
impact you may have left on others. We have heard it over and over how blessed
we are to live where we do, own the things that we have, but there continue to
be so many things to complain about. A powerful mission trip can absolutely put
your small worries to rest in a second. This trip impacted many of us in different
ways. For me, it was the TOMS Shoes we personally delivered.
This year, Hope Lutheran’s 6-9th grade
confirmation classes raised enough money to purchase over 150 shoes, which is actually
doubled because TOMS Shoes is a One for One movement. With every pair that is
purchased, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. The 87
students and leaders packed the 150 pair of shoes into our suitcases to
distribute them to the children of Jamaica. We delivered shoes to the Clifton
Boys’ Home, the West Haven Children’s Home for the disabled and the Robin’s
Nest Children’s home. It was such an inspiration to place a brand new pair of
shoes on these children’s feet, knowing that some of them did not wear shoes
prior to walking around outside, playing sports, or completing chores. The
images in my mind of these children in their new shoes juggling a soccer ball,
playing basketball, racing our students down the road, all the while wearing a
beautiful smile on their face will forever be remembered.
It can take such a small sacrifice to make such a
huge impact on someone else’s life. Yes, the shoes will not fit forever, but
taking a step out of your world and putting God’s love into action will last a
lifetime.
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” - The
Founder and Chief Shoe Giver of TOMS Shoes, Blake Mycoskie’s favorite quote by
Gandhi.
-Ashley Voigt