Day 4 Jamaica. Free Day

Morning paper



We couldn't make any appointments this day because of missionary transfers and our drivers would be gone. We decided to rent a car with the Hunsakers and drive up to Ocho Rios (Ochie- if you're local) and see what it had to offer.



I told you the Jamaicans were inventive--look at those zip ties they have on their hub caps.



You cross over the blue mountains, which is sort of like the road to Hana --that's what Dr. Hunsaker compared it to. Luckily, the carsick gal that I am did not get sick! It must be the blessing of being on a service mission is all that I can figure. Also, Mat got to try his hand at driving on the left side of the street again. He drove that way when he lived in Australia and he admitted that it was kind of fun to rally the car around those tight turns and 1 lane streets.



Once in Ochie, we found our destination, Dunn River Falls.  You climb up the waterfall starting from the beach.  You would think the bald stoned rock underneath the falls would be slimy smooth, but it is actually grippy and easy to climb. I did just fine in my chacos vs their $7 sticky shoe rentals.



The start--wish we could have played, but our journey got started right away up the falls.



Why I'm wearing that swimsuit cover? I don't know because I got wet with in seconds.


I'm sure this part of the course was entertaining for the Jamaican tour guides.  Nothing like pushing Americans into the water. Never gets old having us shout "Ya Man" (ya mon if you're local) and then shove



Later, lunch at The Jerk Centre. Seinfeld: "The Jerk store called and they're all out of you!" We had the daily special, escoveitch -the cute little decorated fish and also the conch (conk, if you're local)





Then we hit the beach.  There were no signs marking these beaches and we were looking for the James Bond Beach.  Directions from local: "Go down 2km and it's across the street from the gas station. " You follow her directions and realize that the gas station must mean that building over there getting remodeled that looked nothing like a gas station.



Just as we parked a helicopter landed over head and we thought it was for sure the bad guys getting away as if we were in the James Bond movie.

The beach wasn't crowded at all and it was delightfully quaint with it's rickety wooden chairs and shade trees.   The water was warm and aqua blue.



I"m glad we could taste paradise, even if it was just for a day



We made some friends, most of them from the cold north places of Toronto, Wisconsin, and Russia. Brilliant people to vacation here. Brilliant.



Brilliant husband putting on his sunblock too!


Gorgeous drive back to Kingston.



We did get pulled over for speeding.  The policeman said: "The police have a ticket for you." When we apologized and showed him our American license he told us" Oh. Okay. We let you go but slow down and be safe." We don't have a tax ID number here so there is no way to pay it.

When we rolled back into town, we accidently found Devon House I-scream again and they happened to have coconut.  It wasn't as flavorful as I thought it was going to be.  I told you, I'm picky about my ice cream.  I managed to eat it anyway, but I think that was my last.

Day 3 Jamaica F.I.S.H, Devon House, Fort Charles

We had an appointment with F.I.S.H in the morning. The F.I.S.H foundation was set up by a doctor who had a vision to serve the poor.  The people of Jamaica needed health care and all that was required of them was to pay what they could. You can imagine what shape this clinic was in. Yes, this is a place we can help.

Pictures around the clinic



We first met with Dr. Thompson, the director on the left, and then Dr. McGregory, the ophthalmologist. They too had a wish list of supplies and materials and we will try to the best we can.



I got some snapshots around the clinic to give you an idea of the people.



Waiting rooms full of people waiting to be seen.  (I guess I stuck that lady in twice)



We finished up early so we took a tour of the Devon House--a plantation owned by a local millionaire in the 1800s


Take your time and read the green, yellow and white sign Patios--the language spoken by Jamaicans.




Below are some home items that deem the Jamaicans as very inventive

*That low chair is for nursing mothers, so when they are feeding in the middle of the night and fall asleep, the baby doesn't have to go too far
*Fold out game table
*Nursing glass bottle
*The piano was just cool




We had lunch and then there was the ice cream.  It is one of the top 15 places in the world to get ice cream, so I'm told.  Maybe I'll put that list on my bucket list? I wanted coconut, but had to settle for mango (mongo).  I sampled quite a few flavors at Mat's embarrassment before deciding. I am so particular about what ice cream flavor I'm going to choose to lick for the next five minutes.



We had time for Fort Charles an old English port referred to as Sodom and Gomorrah for all of the wicked pirates. It had an earthquake and knock two-thirds (two-tirds, if you're local) into the water.  It had two more earthquakes after that. And, that's why I didn't mind getting out of there. Boy! I'm looking parched and sweaty--I was.



Check out this building that sunk into the ground. It wigs out the stomach, so I stepped in and I stepped out. Also, there were almond (a as in cat, amond, if you're local) trees with ripe fruit.  This I could not rip open with my bare hands like I did the mango.



Later, that night we had dinner at the hotel since we are on lock down after dark. The food was okay, but the atmosphere and the company were out of this world.




This guy played 80s songs that I normally HATE, but I actually quite liked them due to the swaying palms, the lighting, and warmth.  He put a reggae spin on these old songs and turned them into bubbly, cool jamming tunes. Move over Barry Manilow and Rod Stewart

Day 2 Jamaica

We set up appointments with KPH (Kingston Public Hospital) and the Ministry of Health here in Jamaica.  This is what our drive looked like along the way.



We met a Dr. Lue and once we worked around getting our foot in the door and explained what we were going to do, he was rather excited. When he figured out that we could get him supplies, it was like Christmas!  We have a budget and we have to access the needs before our church makes the decision, but it's a start. We'll meet with him again on Thursday.



We broke for lunch at Scotchies for some jerk entree and local cuisine.  Mat had the roasted fish and I tried the jerk chicken.  Yes! I'm vegetarian--but not a high maintenance vegetarian.  When in Rome, when in Jamaica. We also tried a local root vegetable called 1) bammy; very tasteless, but had the texture of a sweet potato 2) bread fruit; a heavy potato like fruit that is fried--read the Mutiny on the Bounty to learn about this desired fruit and bringing it to England 3)Festival--unsweetened long corn cake donut. All pretty bland, surprised me for Jamaica and the Caribbean, but with enough jerk sauce, it spices it up a bit.

Bread fruit is in Mat's hand, meat roasted on flavored wood and the little shacks you eat in to provide you with shade. It was delightful and I tried to breathe slow to absorb it all in.



On our way to see Mr. Thompson with the Ministry of Health--a key part in getting our equipment and supplies through the Jamaican government





Mr. Thompson came very prepared and it looked like he had done this a time or two for Jamaica.

Later we headed to Yallahs on a chicken coop project.  The humanitarian missionaries, the Murdocks, needed to buy feed for the coops they had established.

On our way to Yallahs



The church:



We met up with the local Elders on their P-day.  They were playing the ukulele and writing emails back home.  They later showed us the mango tree (pronounced MONgo, if you're local) and they snagged one off the tree for me to try.  It was stringy yumminess and it squirted all over my shirt.  I suppose it is part of the native experience ripping open a ripe fresh mango straight from the tree with ypur bare hands.



We later went to dinner at South Avenue.  The coconut curry was to die for, wish I had ordered it! It had awesome shacks to eat under too. It was one of the more upscale restaurants in the area. It also had upscale mosquitoes.

Oh yes. Headed for Jamaica

Packing my missionary clothes for Jamaica. These mission trips kind of give me an excuse for a whole new wardrobe. In Jamaica it is 80-90 degrees all year round with humidity, so I needed some light weight shirts.



I'd like to picture meself in Jamaica on a tropical island, splashing water at Mat in the ocean waves, laughing so carefree...however that is probably not going to be the case.


We were asked to head down to Jamaica to develop a vision mission for our church.
We are official with our tags:




This particular mission is called a development mission. We haven't done one of these, so we were asked to shadow another vision couple, the Hunsakers to see what it entails. These missions are a little trickier. We have to talk to the government and hospitals about a future project. It's not always easy to explain to the officials that we want to find a doctor that helps the poor and we will provide them with free training and equipment. They usually think there is a catch.   A lot of times you get a funny look or a flat no, "why would you do this?" "And there is no catch?" Sometimes you're also dealing with corrupt  governments. Although, what government isn't corrupt? It will be interesting to see how tomorrow goes making cold calls with certain officials, but we've got a plan and we'll sure try.

We went to church  today at a local branch. They are hoping to get a stake here in June. Here are some pictures of our 45 min journey to the branch building. Sugar cane fields on our left. Markets on our right The church: The Hunsakers and Harrises  Side note: President Hunsaker was my Grandma Bullock's stake president in her ward back in Alpine, Utah, whom she adored and could NEVER stop talking about. Everytime we visited her, it was President Hunsaker this and President Hunsaker that and did you know he asked me to be the music chairman? Oh yes, we did Grandma.  I heard about this man endlessly and now look--my grandma has since passed on, and now I'm graced with his presence. I'm positive she is smiling.And look! He is smiling too--another Bullock?  SO--we're now sitting in sacrament and got passed a note that read:  "we will ask the couples from Salt Lake to share their testimonies. Can you let them know that for me. Signed: President Jones " I have a testimony about my experiences, God, and Jesus Christ, but while I was sitting on my hardwood bench, I couldn't help but quickly turn my thoughts to the people of Jamaica. What were their experiences? What have they been through? Our parallel lives as different as our skin coloring. When I approached the stand, I bore my testimony and said how much I love being a mother and how much I love kids. This was a level we could all relate.  I told them about back home how it is not all that different (minus our simple comforts we take for granted).  I told them about the work we were here to do with our vision project and how we can all give service in some way.  I pointed out the pianist and how I wish I could play the piano.  I explained that I didn't have a musical bone in my body, but I appreciated her and this ward for letting us come and be with them today. I sat down, heart flittering like it usually does and caught my breath. Afterwards, President Hunsaker assured me that my Grandma Bullock was sure to be smiling. Sunday School: In Sunday School, I have an attention span of a flea, and decided that I would head down to primary and check things out. Time flies when you are with kids!  I was helping out in jr primary and we had three kids fall asleep just like that! One for each of our adult arms. It was warm in the building, and my arm started to drip with sweat, but luckily we had ceiling fans to bring down the temperature.   The kids acted just like our kids do in primary at home. Some can sit in a chair and some wiggle , wiggle, wiggle. But! They all know God loves then and they are all trying really hard. This little girl in the pink just had to touch my hair. She'd take a strand and just slide her fingers down it to the end. Back up for the last 10 minutes for Relief Society I found myself playing a game of cheese tag with this cute little muffin.  I'd smile, then she'd smile.  Outside after church. Primary Children Hunsakers (vision commitee), Harrises-same and you know us, so why am I explaining?, Murdocks from Monrow, Utah (Humanitarian Couple serving a 18mth mission--lately their projects have involved getting wheelchairs donated to the hospitals and chicken coops set up for the local residents) We are back at our hotel. We are heavily advised not to go out at night because of the dangers, so Mat and I are in our hotel room eating stale M&Ms and watching march madness basketball.  Mat is actually still catching up on paperwork for St. George and I am really the one eating the M&Ms.  I can't wait for him to be done. You know how long I last sitting.