Women’s Soccer Jamaica Blog II

JAMAICA - Jamaica trip day two is coming to a close and let me tell you it has certainly been eventful. This morning began at 8 a.m. with breakfast at our hotel. They served a few of the expected breakfast staples such as bacon, eggs, French toast, and biscuits. We were introduced to some interesting Jamaican cuisine as well when they brought out boiled bananas served with liver sauce.

Sophomore Corrine Roberts provided this blog...

That was certainly an experience. After breakfast we dove into a team devotional put together by Dani Franco's dad. We discussed 1 Timothy 4:12, which talks about how God has equipped us all to serve and impact others no matter how young we may be. This is demonstrated Biblically through figures such as David, Mary, Timothy and many more who were used by God at a young age. It is also demonstrated by soccer star Pele, who played for Brazil and scored vital goals in the final three games of the World Cup, all at the age of seventeen. It was a good time to get together and remember the impact we can make this week. With this idea in mind we headed to our service project of the trip.

We battled traffic for a while before reaching our destination. There were quite a few people weaving through the traffic on foot, selling everything from fresh fruit to cell phone chargers. One young boy came up and washed our windshield while we were at a standstill. After giving him a soccer ball and a pump he quickly went back to work and traffic finally started to move. We arrived at the Mustard Seed, a home for disabled and abandoned children located in Port Royal. The first few hours we were split up and sent to different areas to paint classrooms and the outside of buildings around the campus. Being a part of that transformation was great, but the best part of our time there was when we joined the kids for their prayer and worship time. As we walked into the gathering room we were greeted by enthusiastic staff and smiling children. The majority of the kids were confined to wheelchairs due to their disabilities, and some could not speak, but to me what stood out most about them was their joy. My own minor issues and discomforts seemed to melt away as I surveyed the room. As the music started they immediately joined in and began to sway, clap, dance, and yell out. All of these kids had been abandoned by their parents and were dropped off at the Mustard Seed without another thought, but that did not seem to cross their minds. To say it was a moving experience would be a drastic understatement. After we sang together and introduced ourselves we were asked to come lay our hands on the kids to join in prayer. I gained great admiration for the staff there who give of themselves to be there for the kids, love them, and put their faith into action. Some of us stayed afterwards to help with lunch for the kids and others went back out to finish up our painting jobs. Soon after this we had to head out to grab some lunch.

We pit stopped at Subway for lunch (no five dollar foot longs in sight, in Jamaican dollars they worth hundreds) and then jetted back to the hotel to eat and change. We played at the same high school we practiced at yesterday against a team called Wtahous. This was not only our first game in Jamaica, but also our first time playing together as a team this season. Funny how we are separated by hundreds of miles, and differing customs, and yet we could all come together through the game of soccer. It was a great opportunity to play a team with a quick pace and an offensive mindset. We battled it out for two forty-five minute halves and the game ended in a 1-1 tie (our goal scored by freshman Lindsey Ingwersen). After the game we drove over to the mall to grab some dinner and now we are finally back at the hotel.
Today has been hectic, tiring, eye opening, exhilarating, and humbling all at the same time. Now it is definitely time for some rest so we can recharge and get back to it tomorrow morning! Thanks again for following our journey!