Charity of the Month: June 2019
“Mission Discovery trips aim to help desperate communities. Teams of volunteers build homes for families in need, love on orphans, feed the hungry, clothe and educate school children, provide medical care and empower churches to bring hope to their communities. The Mission Discovery Staff arranges food, lodging, and logistics so volunteers will be effective from day one. Each night we offer a worship service to provide an atmosphere to come together and reflect on what the volunteers have experienced during the day.”
How We Got Involved
In June 2019, we went to Jamaica, and we were able to do so much! We spent time at a school for special needs people, ranging in age from 7-40, called Westhaven. This school has 101 students and the staff is extremely outnumbered. When we arrived at the school, the students came running to the bus to greet us. From the moment we stepped off the bus, we were greeted with hugs and pure joy simply because we were just there. They would hold our hands the entire time and wouldn’t let go of us, so happy to have individual attention. Most of what we did at this school was provide relief for the staff, as well as give these students some love and attention, since it’s something they don’t get much of. We went on walks with some, bottle fed several, and danced with others. Seeing the way these people live was heartbreaking and eye-opening, to say the least. It’s mind-blowing to recognize how much we have and how ungrateful we are, as a society. How incredibly blessed we are was easy to recognize while we were at Westhaven.
Another day, we got to go teach Children’s Bible School at a local church. The children were much younger than we anticipated, but they were as precious as can be! One behavior we immediately noticed was how trusting and loving these children are. When we were there, they had zero hesitation in hugging us, letting us hold them or climbing on to our laps. There was no judgment or limitations in the way they loved us, and it made us all reflect on our own lives and how quick we are to judge or limit the amount of love we extend to others. It was amazing how much we learned from these small children who had no intent to teach us a thing.
We, also, spent time at Jamaica Christian school for the deaf. This was our favorite place we were able to go! Not only were the kids so welcoming and happy to have us there, but it really challenged us on so many levels. None of the places we visited had AC, but at the deaf school we had to do a lot of physical labor; this challenged us to persevere even when it was a difficult and to hold our tongues when we would have been quick to complain. In addition, we were challenged intellectually as we learned how to sign with the students and teachers. What a joy it was to communicate with them! Brittyn and Kennedy have since decided they want to be fluent in sign language so that they can communicate better next time we go back. My plan is to fully embrace their new desires.
To say that our trip with Mission Discovery was life-changing would be an understatement. We feel so unbelievably blessed to have been given the opportunity for such incredible experiences and to see God’s hand at work. We laughed, we cried, we learned, and we are so grateful for so much love and support so we could go!
