Don't Buy The Lie

Don't buy the lie! I am not sure how many times I have heard the same old line when I share what I do. When some people hear that I am a missionary serving in Jamaica it would seem many have the same response; "Oh, that must be tough!" Understand, that when they say this to me it doesn't mean what it says, its sarcasm at its finest. Really, what people are saying is...oh wow, you suffer by serving in Jamaica, with all the beaches, tropical paradise and fancy resorts, must be tough. Well, don't buy the lie!

In reality, I have never been to any resort in Jamaica, well take that back, I have been to one but only to return a suitcase to a family that one of my mission teams picked up by accident at the airport, which was a bad thing as it contained cancer medication for their son. Anyway, outside of that I have never seen beyond the walls and gates of a resort in Jamaica. As far as the beaches, yes there are some nice beaches. But, I typically serve away from the beach area and as much as several hours away from the coastline. We do take our mission teams to the beach for a recreation day at the end of their trips as they very much desere it after the long hours and hard work they put in. But as far as spending my days at the local beach, don't buy the lie! No hammock in the shade while sipping a virgin Pina Colada and listening to Jimmy Buffett.

Don't buy the lie that the work is as laid back as the island. Its hot, the hours are long, lots of construction that includes hand mixing conceret on the ground and then passing buckets of concrete sometimes to second story levels up ladders. We often work long days and then host VBS programs in the evenings or visit children's homes after working all day. But its awesome! If you buy into some of these lies, maybe you should join us for a mission trip yourself. I guarantee you will have a different perspective of missions in Jamaica.

Don't buy the lie that others are financially supporting the missionaries. Honestly, we all at times assume someone else is taking care of these things. The truth is, this is simply not true. Fundraising is the most difficult aspect of mission work. Without the proper financial backing we cannot serve on the mission field. Most missionaries struggle financially. Most missionaries leave the mission field simply becasue they don't have the financial support to stay, not becasue they lost their passion. Great ministries come to a halt becasue the missionary cannot serve any longer due to financial struggles and find themselves leaving the mission field to find a "job" that will pay the bills.

Cathy and I love to serve in the way that we do. We have been blessed to be able to serve together up to this point. However, financial support has been very slow and we have not picked up any new supporters since late March. To add to that, we are loosing a huge supporter at the end of the year as they have another obligation they really need to focus on. The truth is, if we cannot raise the funding to not only make up for what we are about to loose and then some, we may not be able to continue serving in Jamaica much longer. We too may need to pack it up and walk away. Not becasue our passion is changing, but simply due to our not being able to raise the needed funds to stay. So, don't buy the lie that others are giving and so you don't need to. We need you to join our support team today!

We would love to share more of how God is moving in mighty ways in Jamaica with you. We would love to have you join our support team and help us stay on the field serving. If you would be interested in hearing more or join our financial support team please let us know. We are praying that God will move hearts to give so we can continue serving in Jamaica. Don't buy the lie that God doesnt answer prayers, I know that He does! Blessings to all of you.