Day 1 – St. James (Montego Bay)
Landing in Montego Bay, I noticed the guy I had been sitting next to on the plane getting impatient with the speed at which things were moving. I told him he needed to gear down here because Jamaicans operate at a different speed. Immediately, my own patience was tested as it took way longer than I had hoped to get through customs and with the rental company. I smiled at the irony and tried to recalibrate my internal clock and expectations. It would not be the last time recalibration and patience was required.
James Hulse, through UniGas, had generously sponsored our transportation on this trip, and we rented a Hyundai Staria. I paid for full coverage. That would turn out to be wise and necessary.
At long last I was reunited with my friends. I drove up to Granville to the Caribbean Central Christian School for the Deaf, where they had been giving service. Immediately I became we (I and I). Those bonds formed so long ago had not weakened at all, if anything they felt stronger as we came together in love and service. We piled in the van and drove to Sister Lee’s home.
Patricia “Pat” Lee taught me how to make rice and peas, she fed me and took care of me when I served in Mobay, and even fixed dinner for my wife and I when we came back to Jamaica for our honeymoon. I had not seen her since her beloved husband Clive “Scallion” Lee was killed in 2022. Her smile and warmth could be felt through the gate as she came to let us in, Even without power or Internet, for exactly one month since Hurricane Melissa, she served us. She picked up Andrew Svenson and his son Joel from the airport and hosted them overnight in her home. We got reacquainted and I showed her some pictures and video I had of Scallion and her granddaughter Winnie. Blake Johnson fixed her Starlink, which had stopped working, and we left some solar lanterns with her. I asked if we could give her a priesthood blessing and she said she would love that. On her veranda, in the muted light of the setting sun, we gathered around her and offered a blessing of love and peace. So many feelings filled my heart and I felt President Lee there with us.
We loaded up all of their gear and realized how tight things were going to be in terms of space. We started down the hill back into town, and someone mentioned that the full-time elders, who they were serving with at the CCCD, had said they were going to Friday Night activity. Well, it was an instant and unanimous decision that we drop by for that. We had all gone to so many Friday night activities and couldn’t pass up an opportunity to partake in that goodness once more. I told them the church was just up and around the corner. We pulled off the road and onto Miriam Way, where we ran into the first little scratch on the van, where I pushed past a taxi that was in my lane, and pulled too close to the edge. Did I mention how glad I was that I paid for full coverage? Thank you, Hulse. We didn’t stay long at Friday night activity, but seeing the domino tables full and the sweaty missionaries ready to play basketball brought us right back to beautiful times.
The guy’s hadn’t served in Mobay so I asked if they wanted to go through downtown and they excitedly said yes! We went up Barnett street and it was the same crowded, chaotic symphony of sights, sounds, and smells that it had ever been. Lines up cars inching along, honking horns, brakes lights, people lining the road or cutting through among bikes and cars and other pedestrians. Music blasting from house speakers setup along the road, playing reggae music. A mix of vendors selling clothes, and fruit, and food filled in all the gaps with the smell and smoke wafting from the jerky’s barrels and right into our hearts. Nathan Anderson open the sliding door on the side of the van as we drove door the road, not wanting any barriers between him and the amazing chaos of downtown. Those open doors and windows, of course, invited a few people to ask what we could give them. We offered them some sweeties. It was well worth the extra time it took to travel that way.
Everyone was hungry and anxious to find rice and peas so I headed to the Pork Pit, knowing they would still be open so late at night, Johnson spotted a gathering of jerky’s across the road for Harbor Beach Park so we flipped around and surveyed the different offerings. We each selected a different jerk spot and bought some chicken, rice and peas. We sat on a short wall and enjoyed the flavors and nostalgia that filled us up. A dread had begged us some money for something to eat so I shared the rest of my meal with him. This adorable little girl was skipping around and talking about stew peas and curry chicken, so I talked with her about food. Johnson and Anderson got some sweeties for her and we drove to the hotel.
We stayed off of Gloucester at Montego Bay Beach Resort. Lest you think we stayed on a fancy beach resort, let me tell you, there was no beach and no resort. It was a high-rise condominium with rooms that very much felt like missionary apartments from back in the day. There were two beds and a tiny kitchen, and bathroom. Still, it had A/C and running water, which was all we needed. In classic Jamaican fashion, there was some difficulty just getting checked in and up to our rooms. We had to lug our heavy heavy bags, filled with relief supplies (tarps, ropes, solar lanterns, water filters, duct tape, etc), up a flight of stairs to reach a creaky old elevator that carried us up to our rooms. Then I had to go back down because there was nowhere down by the entrance to park the cars, so this dread hopped in the van with me and drove me up Queens Way to El Greco, where I parked the car in this mashed up parking lot and walked across a bridge 20 stories in the air, that had been nearly destroy by the hurricane. It was all part of the experience, and we all ate it up.
We had a call with Patrick and Sheryl Medley to get the details for the project we would work on the next day and then we went out on the street to get some water and bun and cheese for the morning. Then we prayed, called our families, and went to sleep. I closed my eyes, drew in a deep breath of our homeland, and exhaled softly as I drifted off to dreams of what was and what was to come.