Soccer match

This evening at 5:30pm, I got to be in a soccer match with several YWAM girls who work on the Logos ship that is currently docked in Montego Bay. It was supposed to be YWAM MoBay against YWAM Logos, but only Bethany and I represented MoBay. So, we evenly divided the team from all the girls who came from the ship. It was 7 on 7 and though most people couldn't play, we had a BLAST. They want to do it again. They want me to come to the ship before they leave again. They move about every 2-3 weeks.
Another reason that it was so much fun was because the girls were from all over: 2 from Austrailia, 1 from Argentina, 1 from Mexico, 1 from Malasia, 2 from the US, 1 from Germany, 1 from Finland, 1 from England, and the other 2 I don't remember.
After the game, we had homemade pizza that Bethany, Crystal, and I slaved over (but in a fun, dancing to the tunes as we make the dough kind of way) for about 2 1/2 hours this morning. And now, we're watching a chick-flick.
What a fun day!

Baptisms

Today, Howard Ellis (our speaker for this week) did baptisms. 4 of the students participated: Brennan, Theox, Michael, and Megan.

Birthday Celebrations

21 years. I look back on my years and thank God for all that he as done in my life. I know this year will be a memorable one for me as I spend a good portion here in Jamaica. God is already doing some heart molding and widening my love and faithfulness to him. He is a good God. I have realized that I don't brag enough about him. :)

Week 2 speakers

This week, our guest speakers are Howard and Margarett Ellis from Canada. The are teaching on "The Plumbline - Breakdown of Your Personality and Restoration of Your Personality". It's pretty powerful stuff. I'm preparing myself for a bucketful of tears by the end of the week. ;)

Beach Day

On the weekends, we are allowed to make our own plans. A few of us decided to go to the beach. We went to a beach called Doctor's Cave. It was more of a tourist beach and you had to pay to get in. The fee goes to the security that stays on the beach to make sure that whatever you bring is safe.

Germane (aka "G") just chillin'. He's works in accounting on staff.

The water was a tourquoise blut and so nice. I would say it is warmer than the Florida ocean.

The next few pics are on the "hip strip" - very touristy with lots of different restaurants.

Party Night

On Friday night, the DTS staff put on a welcome party for all of us. It was quite fun. Lots of Jamaican specialty food and dancing and laughter. The arts team put on a dance for us.




Cucumbers and carrots on the 1st tray, an assortment of jamaican fruit on the 2nd one. Popular fruit includes the red Jamaican apple, sugar cane, pineapple, tangerine, grapefruit, starfruit, jamaican pear, papaya, and orange.

Jerk Chicken (a speciality) and aqi, the national fruit. It's boiled and cracked open. It looks like scrambled eggs, but, guess again.

I forget what the white paste is called, but it's made from a root. The "festival" (pronouced fest-e-vaal) is a dough that's rolled into these long hot-dog shapes and deep fried.

Teko and Marion dancing.

Megan, Me, Charlotte, and Sashuana

Marion Jacobs, the YWAM Carribean director.

Nick, Donna, and Marion sang us some Jamaican songs

Team picture

This is my DTS team. Top (left to right): Arlin (school director), Michael, Sashuana, Benthany, Josh, Theox, Brennan, Yashen (staff), and Megan.

Bottom: Me, Alexia (staff) Jaiden (Alexia and Wade's daughter), Wade (staff), Charlotte, and Crystal.

I'm playing the keyboard again

I'm kinda excited. I was invited to do worship tomorrow for our corporate worship session tomorrow morning. I haven't played the keys in probably 2 years. Practice was a little shaky, but God will come through for me tomorrow. ;)

Today was good. Topics we covered included intercession and small groups. Next week we will start having speakers from all over. I'm looking forward to that.

Night into town

After dinner, we went into town to the MegaMart to pick up some supplies. We got to ride in the back of the truck, which is quite an adventure, especially when you're driving in Jamaica. We had a good time.

Meet the campus

Here are pictures of the base at Montego Bay. It's actually one of the larger YWAM bases. It's on 13 acres and looks out on the ocean. It's beautiful! You'll see pictures of my room, different locations where we meet for worship, the student lounge and rec areas.

1st day of DTS

DTS has officially started. It's orientation week this week. We were introduced all the staff on the base (about 20) and got a tour of the property. The base is on 13 acres. It really is beautiful. There's a pool, trampoline, volleyball net, basketball court, and grass area to play soccer. I took pictures of the campus but I forgot to bring my camera up with me tonight so I'll try to post those pictures tomorrow.

It was exciting for me to complete my registration and get my books and key. I have 9 books in all that I have to read. They all look great. Well, I love to read anyway so this is cool for me. :)

Our first official "classtime" was at 4:00pm on Quiet Time with God. It was great. I'm really praying that the Lord would just help me to be completely open to what he has to teach during each class setting. I'm already finding that God is already revealing Himself to me and teaching and changing me so much...and it's only day 1. That's exciting!

I'm here!!

I can't believe I'm finally in Montego Bay. It's still surreal. I dark to the base when it was dark so I couldn't really make out the area, but in the morning, I was astounded. It's beautiful! The base looks out over the ocean. The water is a turquoise blue. I can't wait to swim in it. :)

Everything is different here. Like England, you drive on the left side of the road and the driver is on the right side. They drive pretty crazy. You can go in the other lane as long as another car isn't coming. If you've ever been to Mexico, it's kinda like that. Lots of honking of horns and just making your way.

The weather is nice. I like the warm weather. It's just a little humid. It's florida wheather minus the rain.

My DTS team is only made of 10 students. 6 girls and 4 guys. 2 guys are from the US, the other 2 are from Jamaica. And 2 girls are from Jamaica, 2 from Canada, and 1 from Holland. And then there are 4 DTS staff and I'm excited to get to know better.

Classes start tomorrow. I'm excited for that. I'll post more after the first day. :)

I put up a few pictures just of the base. They probably don't do justice to what I'm actually seeing, but it will give you a glimpse.