our first day in Jamaica

It's about 7 pm in Jamaica. After our hour-long Mr Toad's Wild Ride up the mountain we couldn't wait to get out of the small bus and stretch our legs. We gathered up our belongings and were assigned our rooms where we deposited all our suitcases and met on the lanai for a quick meeting as the Jamaican sun began to set with its orange sherbet hues in cotton candy pink clouds. After our short orientation we were free to settle in and explore the immediate area and ultimately relax.

Our travel here was long but mostly uneventful with the exception of my own ticket. There was some kind of ticketing glitch in Ft Lauderdale that took a few fancy-footed phone calls back and forth with our travel agent back home to get it straightened out. When my blogging about the incident was mentioned the agents at Air Jamaica were concerned that I would write unkind things about their service. I assured the two ladies that I had no intention of saying anything but good about them. They were professional from beginning to end and diligent to help straighten out the confusion. Air Jamaica gives us good service each time we fly with them. There are no complaints here. The glitch was fixed and I flew with the others in our team as scheduled. Even the landing was one of the smoothest we have ever had. It turned out all right.

Then there was the earthquake. OK. That makes it sound really dramatic and it wasn't that way at all but I like a little excitement every now and then. It was only about 5 minutes after we arrived as we stood outside our rooms talking amongst ourselves, we heard a large bump. I thought one of the children with us had kicked a wall or hit the wall with a suitcase, etc. It was short, and sweet and noisy. Then, Kim, the missionary, immediately received a phone call telling her that we'd just had a small earthquake. It was my first ever earthquake. How exciting! At least it's exciting for this small town Southern woman.

Breakfast is at 8 am, church with the children is at 10 am, and lunch is at noon. Then we have a couple hours to relax while the children rest and at 3 pm we have free time to play with them. It's going to be a full day tomorrow. Monday the construction work begins.

It's going to be a good week here at The City of Refuge. I can feel it in my bones. Although we've only been here once before, it feels a little more homelike each time.

I will set aside time this week to meet with the three little girls Byron and I support each month; Crystal, Denise and Abigail. Photos will have to follow after I get home. I'm just not that tech savvy.

Thank you, Father, for traveling mercies for our team. It's been a good day all around. I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds here in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. I love you more and more each day.

Suz