I'm still in Jamaica, and I still love it here, but a few small things have detracted from my experience somewhat. First off, we had a hurricane which was pretty exciting. It was making a beeline toward Jamaica and we thought we were all going to die but then it veered off at the end (which it normally does). We just got a lot of rain, and the wind tore off a gutter on the chapel, but that's it. One of my roommates was here in the great '88 hurricane and the roof of his house came off while he was in it. Wow. It's really the rainy season now and it is very wet, and even a little cold. I even wear a sweater sometimes. We're in the mountains. 

There are a large number of rodents here. I asked a Jamaican why there were so many and he said "It's the season". "When's the season over?" I asked, innocently. "February" he said. So far, the guys have killed 34 mice and 4 rats since the vermin hunt started a month ago, mostly using brooms and machetes. At one point we put a sticky rat trap in the kitchen and it caught 4 mice in ten minutes. We need more of those. The really big rats present a different problem. They step on a trap and just saunter off with the trap attached. When I see a really big rat, I turn the other way in order to escape with all my fingers and toes. 

Last weekend I went to Negril with several others. The trip was surprisingly inexpensive and fun (in spite of the rain.) In Jamaica, instead of Greyhound, there are many independent minibus operators. They take out the regular seats and put in different seats that add an extra row, and then cram people in like sardines. There are no schedules, they just cram people in until full and then drive extremely fast to the destination. The upside of this arrangement is that competition has brought fares way down and you get where you're going faster than most cars. I paid $170J (about $3.50 U.S.) for the 2 hour trip halfway across Jamaica. It was like a carnival ride. In Negril, I swam in the nicest ocean ever. It was like a bathtub, the water was perfectly clear, and it had white sand and little, happy fish swimming around. We found a place to go cliff jumping and I jumped off a 48 foot cliff into the Caribbean. It was really high and really scary, but so much fun. In tourist towns like Negril, white people are seen as a target, which can be really annoying. Here in Mandeville, though, there aren't any white people at all, so they don't see me as a target and they tell me the same prices for things that they tell other Jamaicans. I love walking through the marketplace and buying fruits that I didn't know existed. Fish are for sale that look like they belong in tropical aquariums, not people's dinner tables. 

Enough talk about how I love Jamaica. I wrote earlier about how Jamaicans are very spiritual, and I still find this to be the case. I have come to believe that materialism is perhaps the greatest hindrance to people's relationship to God in America. When caught up in the middle of it, it is really hard to see. Americans would be blessed to have a little Jamaican style poverty (that is, where everybody has enough to eat, and the weather is warm enough that shelter isn't a big deal). 

I am learning a lot here. Sometimes I am frustrated by some of the teaching that doesn't agree with me so well, but that's okay. YWAM originally had it's roots in the Assemblies of God church, and that is a background different to my own that I am not used to. The other day we sang some good old fashioned hymns which was refreshing for me. In January I will go to Cuba for the outreach portion of the trip. None of us are clear on what to expect, and no one in the group has been to Cuba before. It is still illegal to come to Cuba with a religious organization, and apparently there are loads of spies and such, so there are many things we won't be able to do. There are home churches which are allowed to meet, and we should be able to plug in with one of them. Cuba is similar to Spain in that they take siestas and stay out all night. We plan to follow this lifestyle, which will be a nice change from 6:30 breakfast here in Jamaica. 

About a month ago we had a speaker named Terry Snow who is the YWAM base director in Haiti. He really had some good things to say, but I especially liked his stories about Haiti. Haiti is a very messed up country. It is one of the 5 poorest countries in the world, and the men on the base have to take turns doing guard duty. Terry got on the bad side of one of the gangs in town, and they trumped up some false charges against him and had him put in jail. Fortunately, the rest of the town came to his defense (a first for Haiti) saying that he and YWAM had done so many good things for the town and nothing that was said against him was true. Not only was he released, but he was essentially given the key to the city, and the mayor often calls the base when there is a problem YWAM can help with. The last time Haiti's president came through town, the Mayor made sure Terry got to meet him. It was very exciting to hear about. I am going to consider applying for a staff position at the Haiti base after I have finished my time in Jamaica. Apparently they have tools, but no mechanic to use them. It might be a good fit. 

Well, Ta Ta For Now, 

Chris