Hi to all. Lauren is currently in Jamaica on a mission trip with the youth group from our church. About 40 young people and around 20 adults from the church went. They are ministering to impoverished people in Kingston. They will be flying home tomorrow.
The trip began with a terrible travel day. The group left Thomasville on a bus on June 21 around 7:30 pm. They headed to Jacksonville, FL (about a 3 hour drive) where they spent the night in a hotel. They slept for around 3 hours, and had to get up earlier than the chickens to get to the Jacksonville airport. They were to fly to Miami on two separate flights, and then fly to Jamaica on one plane. They should have been in Kingston by noon on the following day (June 22.) The flights from Jacksonville to Miami went without a hitch. However, when they got to Miami, they found out that their flight to Kingston had been cancelled. Long story short, this dedicated group of young people spent over 12 hours in the Miami airport, waiting for their travel arrangements to be worked out. Lauren's group FINALLY got to the hotel in Kingston at 4:30 in the morning, on June 23, after having spent hours and hours on planes and in various airports. They were completely exhausted. The adults wisely planned for the kids to rest a good bit the next day, and then the real work began.
They led vacation Bible schools in several of the schools in Kingston. Some of the youth ministered to inmates in prisons there as well. It was a tough, but highly rewarding week for all of them. Lauren gets back into Jacksonville tomorrow at 2:00 pm (if all flights are on time!!!) and we are driving over to pick her up. Here are some photos from her trip. One of the adults on the trip has been uploading pix from the trip all week. This has been WONDERFUL for all of us back at home - to see what they are doing, and know that they are well.
The wait in the airport in Miami was long, boring, and terribly frustrating. Can you imagine dealing with a group of 40 teenagers for over 12 hours - with nothing to do??? As you might imagine, Lauren spent a lot of time using her cell phone and her iPod!
Lauren fell in love with some of the children she worked with. I fear that she has an educator's heart and mindset. Looks like another generation of teachers is coming from the bloodline.....
I will probably post a slide show with lots of pictures after she gets home. Just thought that some friends and family might like to see what's been going on in our newly-turned-16-year-old's life this week.
Love to all,
Jami
5 comments:
Very cool!! Hope her flights home are smooth!
Hello...first your Lauren is growing up and is a not so little missionary anymore!! She looks like she is having a wonderful time! I think is is such a wonderful opportunity for these kids to travel to places and see just how difficult life can be for many. We are so blessed here in the U.S. Love the photos!!!
Wendy
There's WORSE things than being a teacher...LOL!
How wonderful for her, Jami! What a horrendous travel time, though, yuck. I'm sure that was a very long wait. We were delayed in Newark on our way home from China, 9 hours. It was rough! It was neat to read that she (and you!) were in Jax. I should have met you at the airport :)
What a neat experience for the youth group! I wish we had known you were in Jacksonville. We're only an hour away from there. :-)
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