Well it wasn't a typical first day but it was a great first day! We left JFK and all of our hectic lives behind around 8:00 this morning and landed in Jamaica around noon. Starting our time in Jamaica with a beef patty and ting soda on a patch of beach near the airport was probably the best start we could ask for and a whole lot better than our usual meals of rice and chicken.
Another pleasant change from years past was going directly to Matthew 25:40 and playing hide and seek (Jordan can testify it's hard to win when these kids know everything about their house), baseball (Phils versus Yanks), garden building (Karen is convinced the boys will be crushed when their leaf garden is dead in the morning but she's willing to help rebuild), and of course the all time favorite of 'human jungle gym' (Kevin and Andrew may need some icey hot in the morning). After an hour that went by way too fast we began the trek up the mountain to Sophie's Place, our home away from home.
It was so good to see the amazing progress made on the wall by the river after the demolition that we did last year. The kids are also doing so much better and seem really happy and adjusted to their renovated homes. Ty-Ty was of course stealing noses and Hakiem was very excited to see that our ratio of guys to girls leaned in favor of the girls!
It's been a long day but we are excited to be here and can't wait to go to sleep and see what tomorrow brings us. We never know what might happen but we do know that we are going to live in the moment and embrace each and every experience we can because these individual moments make up the beautiful love that we see in each and every child we meet here.
~ Bridget (Fearless Co-Leader)
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Seventeen
17 alarm clocks set for 4am
17 suitcases (under 50 pounds!)
17 bins of supplies for mustard seed
17 cell phones turned off for the week
17 team members, on our way to Jamaica
17 hearts ready to be opened
17 lives about to be forever changed
17 suitcases (under 50 pounds!)
17 bins of supplies for mustard seed
17 cell phones turned off for the week
17 team members, on our way to Jamaica
17 hearts ready to be opened
17 lives about to be forever changed
Friday, October 30, 2009
A "Rookie" Mission Tripper Gets Ready
Here’s a chance for everyone to hear from a “rookie”. My name is Jordan and this year is my first year going on the trip. I summed up my feelings pretty well in a thank you note to a family friend. They always pick on me for getting myself into the craziest adventures whenever I leave my little hometown in Pennsylvania, in particular they like to mention that I ran off to Europe and jumped out of a helicopter (it’s really not as dramatic as it sounds, I was studying abroad and was in the extreme sports town of Interlaken, Switzerland). But I said to them in my note that my feelings are pretty similar to that day when I went skydiving because I am experiencing such a mix of emotions from minute to minute.
It seems a little surreal to me still. Through all of the preparations and countdowns it has become a sort of “thing” in my mind rather than an “experience” It seems like it’s already been a long road from when I first met the team, committed and turned my summer birthday party into a fundraiser. But now it’s just one day away and I am flooded with so many different emotions this is proving very hard to put together in any sort of logical way. But I feel so ready to jump in with both feet and experience what I have been hearing about for the past few months from the veterans on the team.
After procrastinating all week and filling my suitcase piece by piece and stopping into the same stores for just “one more thing” I feel like I’m almost packed, but I’m still worried I am forgetting something important. That’s one key emotion that keeps coming up in my head—worry; the what if’s keep going through my head. What if I get hurt or sick, what if I break down emotionally, what if I forget my passport, what if I can’t sleep, what if about a thousand other things. But just like before I jumped out of the helicopter the “what ifs” are all part of the experience and I trust that I am in good hands and that I am doing God’s work.
I think my overwhelming emotion that overpowers any of the others is that I feel so blessed. After such a short time I already feel so close to a team of great people. The team has welcomed this rookie with open arms and a funny nickname. The support that I have seen from people in my life has been truly uplifting and a reminder of what amazing people I am surrounded by. This feeling I know is about to multiply with the love from the children in Jamaica.
~ Jordan ("Rookie")
It seems a little surreal to me still. Through all of the preparations and countdowns it has become a sort of “thing” in my mind rather than an “experience” It seems like it’s already been a long road from when I first met the team, committed and turned my summer birthday party into a fundraiser. But now it’s just one day away and I am flooded with so many different emotions this is proving very hard to put together in any sort of logical way. But I feel so ready to jump in with both feet and experience what I have been hearing about for the past few months from the veterans on the team.
After procrastinating all week and filling my suitcase piece by piece and stopping into the same stores for just “one more thing” I feel like I’m almost packed, but I’m still worried I am forgetting something important. That’s one key emotion that keeps coming up in my head—worry; the what if’s keep going through my head. What if I get hurt or sick, what if I break down emotionally, what if I forget my passport, what if I can’t sleep, what if about a thousand other things. But just like before I jumped out of the helicopter the “what ifs” are all part of the experience and I trust that I am in good hands and that I am doing God’s work.
I think my overwhelming emotion that overpowers any of the others is that I feel so blessed. After such a short time I already feel so close to a team of great people. The team has welcomed this rookie with open arms and a funny nickname. The support that I have seen from people in my life has been truly uplifting and a reminder of what amazing people I am surrounded by. This feeling I know is about to multiply with the love from the children in Jamaica.
~ Jordan ("Rookie")
Thursday, October 29, 2009
A Mission Tripper Returning
My name is Carla and in two days I will leave my cozy home in Hoboken, New Jersey for my second service trip with Hoboken Cares. I cannot think of a better way to welcome in the month of November, a month of giving thanks, than by being with the children of Mustard Seed and by working alongside the beautiful men and women who care for these children.
As I pack my suitcase and open my heart to the experience that awaits me in Kingston, I am feeling…
Excitement, that I get the privilege of learning from the children of Mustard Seed once again.
Fear, that children I met and loved last year will have gotten worse or may even be gone.
Joy, to see children so uninhibited and vibrant in their songs, hugs, and prayers.
Relief, at knowing and remembering what is truly important in my life and in the world.
Anger, that there are so many more children who need help and are not getting it.
Gratitude, for our team’s strong leaders, for the chance to be a part of this week, and for all of the blessings in my life.
I know at this moment that I need to pull myself out of my comfortable NYC bubble and throw myself headfirst into a week of emotions, challenges, joy, and love. The daily obstacles in my life are insignificant compared with the challenges that our children in Jamaica live with everyday. Their courage in the face of hardship, joy in spite of physical limitations, and their hope despite desperate conditions have helped me remember what is truly important for the last 365 days. I miss them and I need that reminder again.
~ Carla (2nd Trip)
As I pack my suitcase and open my heart to the experience that awaits me in Kingston, I am feeling…
Excitement, that I get the privilege of learning from the children of Mustard Seed once again.
Fear, that children I met and loved last year will have gotten worse or may even be gone.
Joy, to see children so uninhibited and vibrant in their songs, hugs, and prayers.
Relief, at knowing and remembering what is truly important in my life and in the world.
Anger, that there are so many more children who need help and are not getting it.
Gratitude, for our team’s strong leaders, for the chance to be a part of this week, and for all of the blessings in my life.
I know at this moment that I need to pull myself out of my comfortable NYC bubble and throw myself headfirst into a week of emotions, challenges, joy, and love. The daily obstacles in my life are insignificant compared with the challenges that our children in Jamaica live with everyday. Their courage in the face of hardship, joy in spite of physical limitations, and their hope despite desperate conditions have helped me remember what is truly important for the last 365 days. I miss them and I need that reminder again.
~ Carla (2nd Trip)
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Jamaica 2009
Welcome to Hoboken Cares' 5th annual service trip to Kingston, Jamaica. My name is Bridget and along with Michael we are the co-leaders of this trip. It is less than 72 hours until we load up the cars and head to JFK airport for our flight to Jamaica. Every year I'm always amazed at the group of people we take with us. They are completely selfless and give 100% with everything they do in the orphanages from singing with kids to building roofs to eating plates of rice and curry! I really hope that you can experience through our blog a small part of this amazing experience with our team. Please tune in every day after 10:00 PM to read our blog for that day. We are going to have pictures, videos, and short stories. Every day will be a glimpse of something different and from a different person's perspective (with maybe some narrating by me). After almost five months of planning we are excited and anxious to get down to Jamaica and start doing! Check in Thursday and Friday to see what a returning member and a new member are thinking about before the trip. And then on Saturday (October 31st) check in to see if we made it down there!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Welcome to the Hoboken Cares blog!
If you've landed here, you are probably aware of our group, and our work with Mustard Seed Communities (www.mustardseed.com). We are a group of adults from Hoboken NJ and the surrounding NY/NJ area who are committed to supporting the work of Mustard Seed Communities in Kingston, Jamaica - we do this through fundraising, awareness-raising, and community-building efforts throughout the year, and then travel each year to Kingston to lend our hands in service.
We will be using this blog to post thoughts, photos and video during our trip to Kingston, Jamaica from Oct 31-Nov. 7. Once you subscribe to the blog you can track us throughout the week and see where we are and what a Mustard Seed mission trip is like. For those who have supported us with donations, this blog will help you to see where your money is going, and feel connected to the wonderful work Mustard Seed does every day to support the many children who need their help so desperately.
We will be using this blog to post thoughts, photos and video during our trip to Kingston, Jamaica from Oct 31-Nov. 7. Once you subscribe to the blog you can track us throughout the week and see where we are and what a Mustard Seed mission trip is like. For those who have supported us with donations, this blog will help you to see where your money is going, and feel connected to the wonderful work Mustard Seed does every day to support the many children who need their help so desperately.
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