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July 12th. The date had been circled on my mental calendar for quite sometime, as this was the day a group of us would leave Toronto (joined by one individual from the States) on our second mission trip; this time to Lititz, St. Elizabeth. I would be on the island for eleven days, eight in St. Bess and the remainder would be a quick turnaround in Kingston.
The flight out of Pearsons was scheduled to leave at 6:35 a.m., and I had finished packing at about 1:00. My ride was expected at 3:30, so with two hours sleep and 10 mins later than scheduled, the Mission Director and I headed out to the airport. We were flying different airlines to Montego Bay; Delta through Atlanta, Air Canada direct, and because I had redeemed my AirMiles, I was on American Airlines through Miami.
But for the fact that things to eat were on sale, the flight to Miami was uneventful. I opted for cheese and crackers to snack on - CAN/US4 \o/ And yeah, CAN/US2 for the earbuds if you didn't have one and wanted to watch the movie. I didn't mind the scheduled 90-min wait in Miami for my connecting flight. In Toronto, my luggage was checked through to MoBay, so no problem there. In Miami's waiting lounge, it was a pleasure to see the number of youth groups, in different bright colored T-shirts, headed off on different mission trips across Latin & South America. Listening to the different media outlets, one would never know there are young people who are living lives of purpose and service. I'm sure not only will those mission bound youths make a difference in the lives of others, but they will be better persons for their experiences
The flight into MoBay was over an hour late, but I rolled with it. Once we landed and deplaned, the immigration area was a sea of humanity. Our flight came in at the same time as three others, so there we were, packed like sardines in lines that curved around every corner and pole as far as the eyes could see. But for crying babies and restless children, people handled it OK, and to their credit, the Immigration Officers kept the lines moving. Two hours later, and just about at the end of my tolerance, I was through.
Unlike the last time, there were clear "Nothing to Declare" lines this time, and I passed through without any questions from the Customs Officer. By this time the rest of the group were all there and waiting, and they had also eaten. I would have given anything for a Juici Patty at that time, but I felt a twinge of guilt at them having to wait that long so I took a pass and we boarded our bus.
Mark, our driver for the week, was excellent
and the drive to St. Bess wasn't as nerve wracking as it was in '07. Given the narrowness of the roads in some parts, I'm surprised more vehicles do not end up off the road! There were still some crater-sized 'potholes' but Mark just about crawled through them, so we didn't bump around and experience the liver and kidney massages of the year prior. And how about the pedestrians who have nowhere to go when vehicles are passing side by side?? 
Last year I gave credit to the drivers for being able to nagivate the roads, but this year I have to salute the fearless pedestrians - especially the kids - who know how to turn sideways to avoid getting hit
We got into Junction just before 7:00 p.m. and would spend the night at the Junction Guest House. Early in the morning we would go to Ocean Breeze Jamaica where we would be for the rest of our stay. By this time we were tired, and I was hungry, but there was a buzz of excitement as we hauled out our luggages and checked into our rooms. The air was fresh, and the breeze was cool. This was Jamaica, and for the Jamaicans among us, it was good to be home.
The flight out of Pearsons was scheduled to leave at 6:35 a.m., and I had finished packing at about 1:00. My ride was expected at 3:30, so with two hours sleep and 10 mins later than scheduled, the Mission Director and I headed out to the airport. We were flying different airlines to Montego Bay; Delta through Atlanta, Air Canada direct, and because I had redeemed my AirMiles, I was on American Airlines through Miami.
But for the fact that things to eat were on sale, the flight to Miami was uneventful. I opted for cheese and crackers to snack on - CAN/US4 \o/ And yeah, CAN/US2 for the earbuds if you didn't have one and wanted to watch the movie. I didn't mind the scheduled 90-min wait in Miami for my connecting flight. In Toronto, my luggage was checked through to MoBay, so no problem there. In Miami's waiting lounge, it was a pleasure to see the number of youth groups, in different bright colored T-shirts, headed off on different mission trips across Latin & South America. Listening to the different media outlets, one would never know there are young people who are living lives of purpose and service. I'm sure not only will those mission bound youths make a difference in the lives of others, but they will be better persons for their experiences
The flight into MoBay was over an hour late, but I rolled with it. Once we landed and deplaned, the immigration area was a sea of humanity. Our flight came in at the same time as three others, so there we were, packed like sardines in lines that curved around every corner and pole as far as the eyes could see. But for crying babies and restless children, people handled it OK, and to their credit, the Immigration Officers kept the lines moving. Two hours later, and just about at the end of my tolerance, I was through.
Unlike the last time, there were clear "Nothing to Declare" lines this time, and I passed through without any questions from the Customs Officer. By this time the rest of the group were all there and waiting, and they had also eaten. I would have given anything for a Juici Patty at that time, but I felt a twinge of guilt at them having to wait that long so I took a pass and we boarded our bus.
Mark, our driver for the week, was excellent
and the drive to St. Bess wasn't as nerve wracking as it was in '07. Given the narrowness of the roads in some parts, I'm surprised more vehicles do not end up off the road! There were still some crater-sized 'potholes' but Mark just about crawled through them, so we didn't bump around and experience the liver and kidney massages of the year prior. And how about the pedestrians who have nowhere to go when vehicles are passing side by side?? Last year I gave credit to the drivers for being able to nagivate the roads, but this year I have to salute the fearless pedestrians - especially the kids - who know how to turn sideways to avoid getting hit We got into Junction just before 7:00 p.m. and would spend the night at the Junction Guest House. Early in the morning we would go to Ocean Breeze Jamaica where we would be for the rest of our stay. By this time we were tired, and I was hungry, but there was a buzz of excitement as we hauled out our luggages and checked into our rooms. The air was fresh, and the breeze was cool. This was Jamaica, and for the Jamaicans among us, it was good to be home.
, so on Mark's recommendation we settled on what he was said was the best Chinese restaurant in town, about 10 minutes away. 
The coordinator showed him the confirmation that we should check in at 9:00. It turned out the young lady who booked the reservations had made a mess of things, not the first time we were told, hence the reason she was no longer working there. But we still had a problem; we needed to get dressed.
It turned out that despite the 11:00 a.m. checkout time, some Jamaicans ignore it all together, and so at 3:00 p.m., some people were finally checking out. I figured that with all the aggravation at the start, this was going to be a great mission trip. I was tired, but I settled in another room with some team members, chatted away a couple of hours, before my room was finally ready. When life hands you a lemon, you make lemonade. One thing I was absolutely sure of, and that was the enemy wasn't going to steal my joy 
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