Early to Bed...?

How does that old saying go? Early to bed, early to rise? What happens if it is late to bed after a full days work and heartfelt reflection and then insanely early to rise? And by insanely early we mean 3:00 AM. Well, don't worry; I think you can probably tell by reading the other entries that Jamaican coffee is the solution to everything including a tired team.

After piling the sleepy team into the van we were off to My Father's House for adoration, mass, and rosary with the kids. The scene always amazes us. It is pitch dark and the outdoor chapel is dotted with smiling faces of kids excited to be there praising God. Most of them can't speak yet they have such a deep awareness of what is happening. The dark combined with the sleepiness can make you almost trance-like but in that trance you can truly focus on God. "Thank you, Lord" is repeated over and over. Simple, yet so profound. Thank you for the day. Thank you for the children of Mustard Seed...for the caregivers...for the very existence of this place. Thank you for the smiles, the hugs, the astounding experience of love. Thank you, Lord, for my life.

After adoration Fr. Benny celebrated mass with Msgr. Gregory (the founder of Mustard Seed). Then we got to say the rosary with the kids. Each year we watch the kids who can not speak find the ability to lead us in the prayers. Yet, I can't find time to pray everyday in my life back home? What an amazing way to start 'Thank You Thursday'.

Back in the van for the long journey to Jacob's Ladder and Ocho Rios. It's always an experience driving on roads wide enough for one car on the edge of the mountain in a 30 person van! Jacob's ladder is a home for the adults of Mustard Seed to go and live out the rest of their lives. It has been remarkable to see the growth of Jacob's Ladder starting five years ago with 4 cottages to the mass operation it has become. The goal is to grow and provide 95% of the food needed to run all of the apostolates and they are almost there. With three greenhouses the size of a basketball court, livestock, a soon to be pond, and their own cinder block making they are well on their way to sustaining Mustard Seed within the next 3-7 years.

After all of the hard work we have done this week, Mustard Seed treated us to an afternoon on the beach for rest and relaxation. It was a blessing to swim in the ocean as a team and enjoy good friends, good conversation, and amazing food (yay, festivals!). The simplicity of just being together and challenging each other to chicken fights (that may have never happened) was a great way to spend the afternoon.

After so many experiences this week where we have seen and experienced God we thought it would be nice to have the team share one of those experiences from today (Thursday) with you.

God is...
- love. God is in everyone and everything.
- Brandon praying the rosary, Fr. Benny's homily, and Msgr.'s prayer and reflection.
- good friends and good conversations.
- seeing a beaming smile and the bright eyes of an orphan despite their hardships.
- Mustard Seed Communities. He is here!
- in everyone and everything.
- the provider of our fellowship.
- a mirror allowing you to be stripped away from your normal every day life to look at yourself through both good and bad and see a beautiful reflection of peace, love, and hopefulness through the eyes of all of His people in Jamaica, the land we love.
- allowing a child to teach you how to be loving again.
- a cup of Jamaican coffee at 3:00 AM, children with nothing but smiles and hugs to give (who give them out readily), and a day of fellowship with our team.
- a young man with severely disabled limbs who uses a ducted tape skateboard for mobility at adoration and spoke the first works, "Thank you, Lord, thank you for life...".
- the children of Mustard Seed, who can't speak but are somehow able to lead us in songs of praise and the prayers of the rosary.
- little Brandon who looked up at me and smiled as I sat down next to him at My Father's House during adoration. A refreshing picture at 3:00 AM!
- children who you thought couldn't speak who see you and light up because they remember you from year's past...unconditional love.
- sitting with 16 new and old friends and some of the most beautiful children in the world watching the sun rise as you revel in the Glory of God and the amazing gifts He has given you this week.

~ 17 Mission Trippers who have been changed forever