In the air somewhere over Southern California, 7:29 p.m. PDT, Sunday, May 4, 2008: We’re riding into the sunset. The western horizon glows a burnt orange. We’re on Jamaica Air flight 75 on our way from Montego Bay, Jamaica, to LAX, where we’ll catch a bus to San Diego. Most of the nearly 300 Miles Ahead volunteers are heading home too, or will be very soon. After months of planning for the Jamaica Crusade, they spent 10 jammed-packed days in MoBay working their tails off — and making a difference in people’s lives.
While it will be wonderful to be home again, I can’t get the images of Jamaica out of my mind…If you could view memories like a gallery of photographs you might see…
* The 30,000 Montego Bay residents on Friday, and then 45,000 on Saturday, dancing to the gospel reggae-rap music of Israel Houghton and Papa San and others during the crusade concerts… I can see one boy, I would guess about 10, swaying with tears running down his cheeks…
* A downtown church transformed into a Miles Ahead medical clinic, and about 200 of the 6,000 residents who took advantage of the four sites offering free medical care…I can see a toddler pulling herself up on the wheels of an old wheelchair; in it sits a smiling old man without legs waiting for his free prescription…
* Volunteers dripping with sweat as they sweep out a dank school lavatory whose broken toilets have no water…I can see the 900 students who now have a brightly lit, restroom painted cream, now with working commodes and stalls with doors…
* A troupe of junior high boys and girls, dancing in bright red plaid traditional costumes, celebrating their newly repainted school… I can see the warm and quiet principal handing Pastor Miles a plaque honoring Miles Ahead for the work done there.
* A thin, dignified older pastor leading a passionate worship service in an unfinished sanctuary… I can see peace on his face, even though it is scarred where robbers beat him, and I can watch him literally jump with joy on badly damaged legs…
There are so many more snapshot memories… It’s worth your time to flip through the wonderful (real) photographs taken by skillful volunteer Miles Ahead photographers at http://www.flickr.com/photos/milesaheadpics/sets/. (They have their own blog at http://www.therockphotographers.com/) And scroll through the iDo stories at http://old.milesahead.tv/category/jamaicaido/.
With such wonderful experiences it’s no wonder we’re leaving our hearts in Jamaica.
