We're alive!

First off sorry about the delay, our plans have been less than concrete since we left but we have technology once again! So to recap our trip so far we have flown from Edmonton to Chicago then to Miami. We had a ten hour layover in Miami from midnight to ten and then the final flight to Kingston. Needless to say we reverted to our natural instincts learned from CLBI camping trips and huddled together in a corner of the airport to try and retain some warmth while on the tile floor in the air-conditioned environment. We were very thankful for the blankets and pillows we had, which we did not expect to need so soon. But we toughed it out and are all the more appreciative of the weather here in Jamaica. Also while in Miami airport we found the one open place to get food at midnight, good 'ol Subway! However due to our lack of experience with international travel it wasn't until we got to till with our subs made and ready that we realized canadian money and debit cards were completely rejected. Luckily Tyler had a Subway gift card for 25$ (thanks Grandma) that covered most of it, and the cashier was nice enough to take our worthless money anyway to cover the rest, seeing as there was no other option at this point (He said that he may or may not have a job tomorrow, we'll be sure to check in on him when we get back to miami).

Jamaica! Alas our inexperience showed yet again as soon as we landed, Tyler almost passed out from the heat (like actually, not even joking) and Rachelle was still cold (Miami was a suckerpunch to our internal thermostats). We moved into customs and realized we didn't have an address for where we were staying. After a few phone calls and a lovely chat with an airport official (it was actually quite delightful, no sarcasm intended) we were permitted into the country! We knew someone was coming to pick us up and we were very excited when we saw that it was Patrick and Michael our friends that we met way back in October when they visited AB! Oh! and the airport was on its own peninsula, then on the way back to the mainland, we discovered the insane driving habits that Jamaica possessed (video to come) which Tim and Tyler were thoroughly impressed by, after all it takes a lot of skill to drive on small, crowded, windy, pot-holed streets (correction the streets ARE POTHOLES!) which have very little organization (just a never ending series of Y-intersections).

After our first experience with driving we arrived at Robert's parents house and had a much needed nap time followed by grocery shopping (at a more westernized shopping centre). The night in Kingston was hot but beautiful and the next morning we were off! So we mentioned earlier that our plans were a little messy which is due to the recent election (last week) and the resulting violence means that schools are closed (there goes our plans for the week). So without delay were off to the north side of the Island to New Generation Camp to help out Nell, a missionary who has been here in Jamaica for thirty-seven years! So we spent the last two days out at the camp helping out in whatever ways we could such as fencing, (using cut logs as posts, putting them in holes and stabilizing them with rocks) and masonry (all the houses here are concrete!). When not working we had a beautiful time with our new friends from the local Technical University of Jamiaca intervarsity christian group, we got to join them for worship time, discussion groups, prayer time, games, and just hanging out around the dinnertable.

Personal favourite moments from the past few days include:
-Bag-juice (sold by street vendors it's pretty much koolaid in a plastic bag with a strong ginger taste)
-Cold showers (Like cold! There is one tap on the shower and one setting, COLD!)
-Chickenfoot soup (they use the whole foot!)
-Dishwashing (they were dumbfounded by our enjoyment of doing dishes, Jinnell couldn't believe how much we joked and laughed)
-Condensed milk (they use it everything! poridge, hot cocoa, coffe, tea, cookies. So good!!!)
-Stomping roaches in the guy's cabin (Tim 3 - Roaches 0)
-Our first trip to the beach! (it turned out to be cloudy and rainy but fun nevertheless!)
-Lemon (the mason we were working with) talking on the phone, "Hey Tuna, dis is Lemon!"

Tomorrow morning we start our Foundations program up in the jungle by Montigo Bay, we're still not sure quite what to expect but we know God has some amazing things planned and we're really looking forward to all the experiences to come. Sadly our internet connection may be lacking up in the jungle so you may have to wait for our next update but we'll do all can to keep you posted!
Love Team Jamaica :)