Bird's Eye View

On September 12, 2010, Mario King asked me to spend the rest of my life with him, and I said yes. I’m often asked how I feel now that I’m engaged. From the look on their faces, they expect me to be overwhelmed with excitement and expectancy. On the contrary, I understood Mario’s proposition to enter a courtship in 2007 to be a proposition for marriage. My mind was blown away then. I questioned to myself if he understood that he was asking me to spend the rest of my life with him! I still question if he knew what he was asking then. Lol. What’s wonderfully different now is that we’re no longer alone in this journey towards marriage. My family and friends can now formally support us. Their congratulations and prayers have overwhelmed me. I didn’t know that so many people cared about us and in some cases were happy that we were finally making this move. And it’s also nice to see how Mario’s responding so much more now that the reality of ‘US’ is a lot more real. :) I’ve been ‘planning’ my

So the internship isn’t what they said it would be. It feels so horrible being deceived. All sins are the same, but sometimes it feels like lying is the worst of them all. They have great PR…maybe animal assisted therapy used to happen sometime in the past, but it isn’t happening now. Green Chimneys is a wonderful institution. The kids do receive great treatment and there are many success stories. So I’ve gained way more than I could have imagined being here and interacting with the kids. It’s just that I didn’t gain anything I did come here for (AAT)…and it sucks when U’ve been deceived. That’s all. And I also know now that cleaning stalls is not an enjoyable experience. Hopefully it has burned some of my excess adipose tissue  So why do I wanna get outta here? Because the kids aren’t here…the idea was that a kid would work along with us, and it would be therapeutic. But the kids are on a semi-vacation this week and next (my last weeks)…so all we interns are doing is cleaning and cle

I get to go in late, at 8 instead of 7:30. The day starts with the regular chores of feeding all the animals then on to the daily chores of cleaning. But on Sundays, I get to take an hour off from 10am-11am to go to the 'religious' service. They think it's important for people to 'practice' their religion, so they were more than accommodating for me to take the hour out of my regular schedule. I didn't bother to explain that my 'religion' is 'practiced' 24/7. The service is really just a non-denominational christian gathering. We sing a couple songs, contemporary stuff, then we pray around the room for those that want to then there's a Bible story. (And we get snacks at the end!)It's kinda kool watching those kids sing and praise the Lord. I wonder how much the Lord is involved in other parts of their lives. After church, I head back to work - more chores, but I pick up kids too for learn and earns. It's kool working with/around the a

Straight through UWI and still now, I've never really drank alcohol. I like Smirnoff cause it tastes like Ting and I like Rum Cream...cause it taste like cream :) I've always thought drinking was pointless. I couldn't understand why. I got drugs, and I got sex. They felt good (so I heard). But all I remembered from drinking was people puking. How was that inviting? That was until recently. People laugh when they drink. They're happy. They still know the realities of life, but just for a little, life isn't so bad. So drinking really isn't that pointless. I'm not sure why it took me so long to realise that the real reason I don't drink is the same reason I don't smoke or don't have sex (or shouldn't eat so much junk food). It's because my body isn't my own. I've been bought with a price. I don't own my body. I can't determine what I do with it. And God says not to get drunk. He says my body is precious, and that I'm to t

I was talking to my aunty yesterday about Green Chimneys, and it’s like my insides came alive! You see, I’ve always wanted to work with animals. And when I was choosing my profession in 3rd form, Vet Med was the only thing I knew that fit that criterion. But, now, I’ll be learning about animal assisted therapy (AAT) these next three months. I’ve worked with special needs kids before, and I loved it thoroughly. Then to know that I can combine these two things, it’s just...wow. So my mind ran on Wycliffe. If I’m now questioning if I’ve found my life’s calling, then what of Wycliffe? I learnt, in Chad, when talking to one of the young missionaries there, that the Lord doesn’t necessarily call you for 20years, as was traditionally thought. The Lord could lead you to do something for that period of time. Take Joseph’s life story. Imagine if he thought that being the head of Potiphar’s house was it. Then this whole sexual assault thing comes in. He could have been devastated that now his li

It’s been 2 weeks since I wrote. I got to the wedding. It was amazing! I didn’t trip, and I ensured the bride didn’t trip either. Got through my speech too...I was ‘concerned’ about it, to be honest. But that wedding was exactly like my sister and her husband (yes, I can say it like that now!). Mr. Groom basically built the entire set-up with his own hands. The decorations down the aisle, the altar, the easel for the picture ‘guest book’, the King and Queen thrones, the cake stand...even the dance floor!!! So I’m just very impressed with my brother-in-law for surprising my sister like that. Not that she deserves anything less though. Since I’ve been home, people keep asking me how the trip was. I don’t know what to answer. How do I answer? It was great. But I don’t know how to explain something so awesome and something so very different to anything the hearer could imagine. It’s too much to say, and I don’t know where to start. Some are not really interested. They care that I had to

When I was a teenager, on any given Friday night, there’d be some clash of events. My dad would form his hand into the letter ‘C’. He said we simply had to make a choice. But that was never good enough for me. I didn’t want to miss anything. So I always worked out a way to catch the beginning or ending of one thing or the other. I wanted to do it all, and then, it seemed I could. But life doesn’t always work that way and now I’ve got the Big C to think about again as I make my way home. My long term plans are a big consideration, but even just what to do with my summer is causing me undue stress. But it is a good thing to have Godly people around that can give you advice or even just to listen. And I’m also encouraged by 1 Sam 8 (was pointed to this passage by a Godly friend) where the Israelites wanted a King. It wasn’t a good thing for them, but God still gave them what they wanted. The thing is though, He explained to them clearly that the decision wouldn’t be in their best interes

It seems that so much has happened (in Jamaica) in these past 2 weeks. One high school classmate got married, another had his first child. I got to skpye in on a meeting with some of the bridesmaids for my sister's wedding. Anoter of my family members is not so single anymore. :D My Dad and my aunt (in Canada) had birthdays. One of my friends (in Bimshire) from UWI is getting married today too. Jim and Pam on The Office had a baby girl! Ok, so that last one doesn't really count. We've been doing literacy training here; training teachers to teach others. It's been great meeting the Sudanese in this unusual situation of being refugees in a foreign land. But so much good has come out of it. Would they have had the time to come to a class if they were tending their fields in their own land? (Like the story of Joseph with others planning evil, but God planning good) I see them smile, and enjoy gaining knowledge. I really like them. I'm liking them so much I think I don&

For the past 2 weeks, I’ve been doing a very important job; a job that every branch around the world needs more people doing; a job that many a missionary has to abandon their assignment to fill in for. And this job is the least glamorous of all. This job has very few photo ops. This is the job that the missionaries that choose to remain at home do, and that people do not regard as missionary work. (And so, they get very little support in this very important role). For the past 2 weeks, I’ve been working in administration. It’s the driving force behind everything else. It’s pretty much like any other 9-5, except, at the end of the month, you don’t get a salary. You get a great reward in heaven. It is not my job to convince anyone of how important this role is. But I sure am convinced! There’s the guy here that’s my age, and he’s in accounting. He sits at a desk around the computer and does the books and manages our accounts and also functions as cashier. He’s doing it alone, and

Last week was Spiritual Retreat. For missionaries working in remote areas, it may be the only time for the year that they get to gather together with other believers and get solid teaching from God’s Word. We had an excellent speaker from Germany for the week. She caused me to do a lot of soul searching. It’s easy to stop there...to just think about it and say it was good. But it hurt deeply to have to actually do something about it; to really pour out my heart before God and dig up wounds so that they can now be healed. It’s almost like camp where U get that Spiritual renewal, but this was on another level because of 3 minute sharing. 3 min sharing is where each missionary has to go up and share anything they want to about their work, or challenges from the year before, or challenges to come. We then gather around the individual and pray for them. I think if you really want to know the life and breath of Missions, go to 3min sharing. There were stories of people wanting to hear abou

Conference is over. Praise God! In some ways, we did a lot this week. In others, we just did the same thing every day. Like worship in the mornings...I had to ‘mature’ into singing songs JUST for the lyrics. All the songs were slow, European sounding things. Like from the 70s and 80s. Imagine mixing worship music and hymns. No likkle clappin, no rocking. Nuttin. I really did miss Jamaica in those times. But by the end of the week, I was singing with gusto (and like an opera singer too), because I was forced to concentrate on those words, and words about Jesus never grow stale! But, this should also be encouragement for more young people to come on the Missions field man. I need you and Jesus too! And it would also be nice to not be one of the two black non-African people here. I say that because the first missionary to Africa was a black Jamaican. He ‘returned’ to his roots to bring to them what he had received. Jamaica is all over in so many other things...bad and great. But why is

Since Wednesday, I’ve had diarrhoea. I’ve had to explain (in an attempt at diagnosis) the colour, smell, consistency, frequency, volume and sounds it’s made! In the past, I’ve try to pee quietly, so no one would know what I was doing. So this was quite unusual to do personally, but quite normal here when self diagnosis is the only option you have, even for serious illnesses. Deductions were made; I was medicated for Amoebas, but my tummy or God didn’t want any of it, and it came right back out with the two tablespoons of rice I made myself eat that day. And so the diarrhoea continued. We were to travel back to the capital on Thursday. Wednesday was very busy with packing and people coming to greet and wish us bon voyage. Some of my friends from the church stopped by. It was nice, but difficult to stay long. One of the guys made me a little dress! It was just about at my knees, and he explained (using hand signals) that it was for sleeping in, that’s why it was so short. I did feel a

Health and hygiene are borne out of wealth, not ‘progress’. To be able to wash your hands properly means that you can afford soap and water. To have access to medication (even if provided free by the government) means you have enough money to travel to wherever it is being given out. The nomads know about vaccinations for their animals, but they do not use it, because it costs too much money. It costs a lot more to treat a disease outbreak though. I remember considering this ‘equation’ when I observed the ghetto people in Jamaica. If a cheap shoe that lasts 3 months costs $500 and a more expensive shoe that costs $1000 lasts the year, it would be wiser to buy the more expensive shoe now, as in a year, you really would have saved $1000. But if all you have is $500, and you need shoes now...it even takes wealth to save and become more wealthy. I have not seen toilets here. I don’t think the average man on the street even knows what one looks like and how to use it. They have little p

“Jamiila?” he says “Na’am” I respond There are many laughs all around. “Jamiila?” he says again “Na’am” I say again... He’s just calling my name so that I will respond in his language. And it’s apparently very amusing to them. I’m called Jamiila because my real name is too difficult for them to say. (Jamiila means beautiful btw) I’ve been told that I say Na’am very well for a foreigner. Most other people will call my name, and after I respond, they’ll continue with the question or statement then one of the miss.es will translate for me, and we’ll have a conversation. But this dude didn’t care for all of that. He just wanted to hear my voice. He also wanted to make me his third wife. He gave us a sheep today. Hope he doesn’t consider that a dowry. We tied the thing on top of our van for the drive home. I gave him water when we arrived, and patted his head. He’s very tame for a sheep. We’ll eat him tomorrow for dinner. VM (22.01.10)

This week gone was quite eventful. Sunday at church was an awesome start! Never mind the language barrier. The ‘praise team’ had a different dance/jig for each song. The instruments were made, not bought. The drum set, for example, is set up like a regular drum set home, but it’s goat skin they use with metal drums (steel pan material). The cymbal was a flat piece of metal with glass bottle covers wired to it. And the sermon was in 3 languages! We’re backward in the west, bout we only know one language. Or I am. Went to the bush twice, to see two different families. It was amazing. We got to have vet meetings where we discussed different animal diseases they were experiencing. It’s my job to now figure out what the illnesses are and to come up with possible solutions. Imagine someone explaining that their animal makes a sound (then imitates the sound) and does like this (then imitates the action). Quite a hill to climb, but I’m gonna try my best. I did get some good info to work wit

I have been in Africa for one week today. It doesn’t feel so long. Everything is so new, everything is amazing and note worthy…from the sand instead of dirt to the herd of camels, or even the babies strapped to the women’s backs while they go about their day as normal. The people are beautiful, the colours in the market just breath-taking, well, that and the heat. Lol. I spent most of the week in the capital getting registered, meeting missionaries (met some very very nice people) and buying groceries, etc for the 7hr drive to the village. The drive was considerably longer due to a combination of road work and car trouble. In Portmore, there are houses in every direction as far as the eye can see. In Chad, it’s dry and thirsty land with a few bushes scattered throughout (it’s dry season now). You can find a good bush to take a leak…and yes, I did it, and I used my left hand. Don’t ask for details. Chadians are sweet people. The Chadian Arabic is just lovely. I’m learning it slowly.

I think it's quite a fitting start to my adventure that there was a security breach on the plane...so I got to London 5 hours later than I should have! I got my bags and had a safe flight. Just another of God's blessings that's easily ignored. It's not so cold and my cousin came and met me...so all is well. I'm a tad tired, but I'll be good. :)I was in Jamaica for the new year, so I guess that's a good thing. Happy New Year! VM