So it’s the evening of my second day in Jamaica. I LOVE the place, although it’s a more than
a little disconcerting to me that I am
literally steps away from the ocean and have not yet even gotten my feet wet in
the Caribbean waters. I did try tonight
after dinner (thanks to Sophi B. for showing me how to wear a sarong around my
neck like a dress!), and did at least find the trail, but it was too steep and
unlit, so even I didn’t do it.
Prayerfully I’ll go down tomorrow morning and watch the sunrise or
something. Although I’ve got my balcony
door open and am listening to the tide come in.
Not too shabby.
This has been quite a day!
Started out at breakfast. Last
night they had us order breakfast (I swore I wasn’t going to eat, since I don’t
usually eat breakfast, but thought I’d give their vegetarian options of calaloo
and ackee a try.
So they bring me out this plate. Here’s a pic:
And I’m looking at it, not wanting to be the person with
weird dietary needs, but also thinking I
didn’t want to eat that many eggs. So I
say, “Um, Miss? I asked for no
eggs.” “That not eggs. That’s ackee.” “Oh! OK, thanks.”
I sat down to eat, and it was WONDERFUL!
The ackee with peppers and onions had the taste and consistency of eggs
with peppers and onions. There was a
boiled green banana, a piece of sweet potato, and a couple of slices of
yams. Yes, it was all starchy carbs, but
I’m telling myself they’re complex carbs.
They were delicious carbs; so much so that not only did I order the same
thing tomorrow, but a couple of people, after looking at my plate and my face,
did the same.
We rode about half an hour, to Fortcharles, to the Good News CME Church. On the way we
stopped at the Joseph B. Coles primary school for
children ages 3, 4, and 5. We talked
with the teacher about what they do, and took some pictures. It was good to see, since this education of
children is work that’s directly supported by our Women’s Missionary
Society. It may not seem like much, but
before I forget, later in the day we were to meet a young Jamaican woman who got
a scholarship from the General Conference and attended one of our CME Colleges,
and who is now in seminary. Even if it’s
just one life impacted, that one life has a ripple effect. It’s great to see this as it happens. I’m
going to recommend that all our Missionaries make a trip down here. Bishops Lakey and Reddick spoke with the
teacher about their needs, we took pics, and we were on our way.
One of the other members brought coloring books and crayons, and I brought
the little bands, but since school is out this week, we didn’t get the chance
to give them to the kids.
So we arrived at Good News CME Church, in Fortcharles, where
the Reverend Colmie Simms is both the Pastor and the Presiding Elder. I think we came in a bit early, but the
praise team was already in place. A few
minutes in, I found myself clapping, dancing, and praising with abandon. I am usually a bit judgemental about people
who confuse genuine praise with enjoyment of good music, but this morning I
realized that there’s something about a reggae version of “Pass Me Not Oh Gentle Savior” and “All
Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” (one is a hymn and one is an anthem; both are
slow, stately, and generally regarded as inconsistent with reggae) – there’s
something about the reggae versions of these songs that is authentic and touches
one at the very core. That was very cool
for me. It wasn’t about the music, after
all; just like reggae resonates with many people in our popular culture, I
found the reggae rhythms and phrasing, applied to our old familiar songs,
resonated with me in a way that was new and completely different.
There are, from what I can tell, three regions if the
Jamaica Annual Conference: the East
Mainland District, the Southern District, and the Northern District. Because of the Jamaican infrastructure (or
lack thereof), some of these dedicated people travel 9 or 10 hours to get to
conference. So everyone wasn’t there at
the beginning. There were perhaps 10-15
pastors present out of a roll of 25 or so.
As Presiding Prelate, I found Bishop Reddick’s style formal
yet friendly. It was interesting to
watch him teach Methodist theology and CME polity casually, with remarks and
appropriate object lessons. I had to catch myself and remember that his role as
chief Shepherd most likely includes not only bringing new people into the fold,
but meeting them all at their points of need, whether those needs are
spiritual, educational, or theological.
It was particularly interesting to hear him talk about Wesley stressing
personal responsibility as a counterpoint to Calvin’s 5 TULIP points
(specifically irresistible grace), without ever getting into the categorization
or terminology, but simply explaining the meat of the matter.
Right beside the Good News CME Church is the Pauline B.
Grant School, which they opened up for us and of which I have pictures. Before the pics of the Pauline B. Grant
School, though, I found an ackee tree. I
took lots of pictures of the ackee fruits, on the ground and ripened on the
trees, asking people until I learned that they open when ripe, to expose the
black seeds and the delicious yellow flesh, which is what they cook to taste
like eggs.
Morning Devotion was led by Rev. Shadene Stewart, the young
lady I referred to above, who got the scholarship and is now in seminary. That was followed by Bible Study by Presiding
Elder (and Candidate for Editor of the Christian Index) Ore L. Spragin,
Jr. He broke open Acts 3:1-18 for
us. He has a very interesting style, one
that’s very much like my own: he engages the congregation, inviting them to participate
by reading the Word and by asking questions.
Then he contextualizes the passage, then goes through it verse by verse,
picking out nuggets and feeding them. He left us with the question, “Is your
faith in yourself, Jesus, or your past?” and the mandate that faith in Jesus
will convict us, which brings about repentance or a change, and that change is
key for a new life.
We broke for lunch (which was actually when I took the
school pics), and I was able to see the baptismal pool behind Good News CME. Because there was limited eating space, we
ate in the Sanctuary (all except the Bishops and Presiding Elders, who dined
privately). We had our choice of baked
chicken, curry chicken, or curry goat. I
had steamed veggies and peas and rice.
Once again, it was quite good!
After lunch was the Conference business. Again, Bishop Reddick taught as he conducted
business – he gave Disciplines to the officers. I was particularly impressed with the way he explained the Discipline as our Covenant -- then he proceeded to tell each departmental leader or officer which pages outlined
their responsibilities, securing their commitments that they would study and
learn their roles by the next Annual Conference. Along the way, he explained the
demographic requirements for electing delegates to the General Conference. (note to self: flowchart this process) Because of concerns about getting visas before the next GC (and because the
next Jamaica Annual Conference might be only a couple of months before General
Conference), they elected delegates this year.
I’ll have to get the listing of who the delegates were and post it….
The business of the Conference actually ended early, so we
moved on into Communion. Communion is
one of the holiest sacraments we observe.
Not much else to say about that.
It’s equally holy and equally awesome with a reggae backbeat.
We left after Communion.
Got back to the hotel about 7.
I’d asked Miss Melanie to check on transpo for me to Montego Bay so I
could go swim with the dolphins tomorrow. They quoted me a price of $160 for
the day. I’m like, “Is that in Jamaican
dollars?” The price was in US dollars. And since dolphin cove doesn’t advertise its
prices, I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a bit pricey, so I can’t make a
commitment to spending $160.00 on transportation – that’s nearly half of what I
paid to fly from the US to Montego Bay!!
So I don’t yet know what I’m doing tomorrow. One option is to pay $80.00 and go ziplining
at the falls;I think I’m going to talk
to Gary the driver at breakfast and see if he knows anyone. Another option might be to go to Conference
tomorrow and go to Montego Bay on Thursday when Rev. Spragin has to go,
anyway. Perhaps I could split the cost
and save someone from having to make another trip. But first I have to get a response from the
dolphin folks.
So we’ll see. I have
fully charged my helmet cam, and if all I get to do is zipline, it won’t be the
end of the world. It won’t be as much
fun as ziplining and swimming with dolphins, but neither is a new experience;
the goal was to zipline and use the helmetcam.
So we’ll see.
Right now, though, I’m going to bed. My unedited pics from the day can be seen here:
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