Our team has arrived safe and sound in Balaclava. We are off to a great start after having an amazing meal cooked by Pat, Lelieth, Mildred and our other wonderful cooks from the Balaclava Baptist Church. Tonight we spent some time in worship and prepared our hearts and minds for our week of ministry which begins early tomorrow with church! We’re excited about what God has in store and look forward to every minute God allows us to serve him on this island!

This morning our team went to church in Elderslie and enjoyed worshiping with the Jamaican church congregation and learning about how they do church in Jamaica! We participated in the service through music and testimonies and spent some time canvassing the neighborhood after church. This evening we went up to the Roses Valley community and attended a street service at the primary school overlooking the mountains. Our team has had a long but great day of worship, fellowship, and learning about Jamaica and the body of Christ here. Thanks for your prayers and support as we continue our ministry!

Our team has spent the afternoon at the Balaclava Primary School helping paint the floor with a new coat. It sure needs it! We got a lot done today!

We started our day again with VBS, but this time we tried a new, more organized approach. We started the kids out with the skit production of Daniel and then moved them from station to station based on age. There were definitely some benefits to this, but also a couple problems, so we've regrouped and are ready and excited for tomorrow! Unfortunately our sports ministry got rained out so we headed back to the school early and enjoyed some more time bonding and getting closer as a team. Tonight pastor Gareth Irvin of the Balaclava Baptist Church circuit shared a devotional with us which focused on the bleeding woman in Mark 5 and the idea of pressing on toward Jesus. We were blessed and we're now having a final team meeting before bed! God bless!

Internet access became an issue this morning so this update will be brief. Today we continued with VBS out in Elderslie and we're spending time at an orphanage in Mandeville this afternoon. Our team is healthy and having an exciting and awesome trip. Please continue to pray for us as we serve and grow together as a team. God is good.

Our last couple days in Jamaica have been exciting! We traveled to a children's home on Wednesday afternoon in Mandeville and had a chance to love on the kids there. We finished our VBS program at the Elderslie Baptist Church this morning before spending some time at YS Falls. YS Falls features natural waterfalls, pools, and a zip line. It was a great chance to relax after our week of ministry in Jamaica! We travel home tomorrow!

The Flag ceremony at VBS!

VBS at Elderslie!