Jamaica Day 6

Goodmorning!

Group Picture

Ready for the ride

Gotcha!

Today was my final day in Jamaica, well it was scheduled to be I should say…that story will come later on. We started off the morning around 7:30 again and went through our normal routine and then I had to make sure I was packed to leave by 10:30. Between the time we had breakfast and the time I was scheduled to leave we split up into groups to work on projects at the camp.

I was with a group of about 5 who worked on repainting one of the building next to the dining hall. While I only had a few hours left it was great to be able to talk more with people in the group while we were working. In no time at all, however, I was called to grab my things so we could drive to the airport.

While it was a bitter sweet goodbye, it was great to see how many new friends I had made in such a short time. Before the 5 of us departed to go home we had a group picture with everyone in it. After our picture we said our goodbyes and were headed off to Montego Bay to catch our flight. After loading our luggage into the truck we realized we were one seat short so I almost had to ride in the bed of the truck, but luckily we got another driver to take two people from our group.

Once we loaded up in the cars we set off four our last 3 hours drive to the airport. My driver was a really great guy named Wayne. Wayne grew up in Mandeville and went to the same church as the people who were in charge of the camp we were staying at. Throughout our drive it was great to talk with Wayne and hear more about his plans for the future and his upbringing in Jamaica. While 3 hours seems like a long time it flew by very fast since we were having a good conversation. Once we arrived at the airport I unloaded the truck of our luggage and then heard an announcement come over the intercom that said, “Please take you luggage, passport, and confirmation information to the nearest kiosk to sign in for your flight. Once you have your boarding passes proceed to the ticket counter to check in your bags.” While normally I don’t think twice about these announcements I felt there was something wrong…then I realized my passport was with the director of our trip and she was 3 hours away at the orphanage.

After telling my group that I would not be joining them on the flight I said my goodbyes and then loaded up with Wayne to take another car ride. The funny thing was that on our drive to the airport I had been thinking that it would be great to give Wayne company on his drive back to Mandeville, little did I know I would be able to join him! On our ride back we jumped into conversation again and had a wonderful time talking about Jamaica, our Faith, and our plans for the future. After driving about 2 hours I asked Wayne what fruits we were seeing people selling and he told me they were selling coconuts and upon me saying I had never had one, we stopped and we each got one. With a nice snack in our tummies we got back on the road to finish off our drive to the camp. Once I got to the camp I gave Wayne my number and he went on his way.

Shortly after I got back to the camp the rest of the crew got back from the orphanage and I was bombarded with questioning about still being in Jamaica. While everyone was in a bit of shock it was great to be able to enjoy another evening with the group. After dinner we had a bonfire where we all went around and told stories about our favorite moments of the week and as a whole there were many tears flowing. For me it was very empowering to see how big of an impact one week had on the lives of all of us who came on this trip. While we all anticipated serving and working with kids, we all came out with a new sense of freedom and joy over our lives. While it may have cost $700 to change my flight, it was worth every penny to be able to enjoy the last night with the group and spend many hours driving with my man Wayne!