Christmas Treat Preparations

Christmas in Jamaica...the days leading up to Christmas were pretty frustrating for me. I was jelaous of everyone being home with their families and of all the snow falling in the States. I was bummed that it really felt nothing like Christmas. Even on Christmas Eve morning I was not feeling much at all of the Christmas spirit. The plan was to sleep in a little and then head over to the main headquarters of MSC (My Father's House) to help with preparations for "Christmas Treat." Christmas Treat is a generic phrase here in the Carribean. From what I have gathered it usually means some sort of event held for the poor, or the elderly, or the children at Christmas time. Usully food is provided. MSC's annual Christmas Treat involves several days of preparations of cooking meals for 2000 people, gathering 7000 stuffed animals, and decorating several trucks and vans used to drive around and distribute the food and stuffed animals in the ghettos surrounding Kingston. The ride to my Father's House was quite hectic itself. Jamaicans seem to wait till Christmas Eve to do their Christmas shooping. The streets were filled with vendors selling everything from dresses to fruit to car phone chargers! Now, these vendors are there on a daily basis, but it seemed like their stock had tripled overnight and there were ten times as many shoppers as usual! Finally we made it to My Father's House and were quickly put to work folding small cardboard boxes that had been donated to put the food in. We did this until it was time for Mass. At that time, we headed to the children's home to start the never ended process of wheeling all the kids to the chapel (this is actually done everyday by the caretakers for prayer time). The kids were all dressed up in their Christmas outfits. Much like the clothes they wore for the pageant. After Mass all the kids were wheeled back to the children's home and a couple of us helped get them out of their dress clothes and into their pajamas and then into their beds. Once most of the kids were settled Chelsea and I headed over the cooking area that had been set up. There were about 12 make-shift coal firepits burning all with huge pots filled with hot oil to fry chicken. For the next several hours we fried chicken. I took a break for about an hour and half when I accompanied someone else to the grocery store and pharmacy looking for a couple last minute items. The pharmacy was a mad house! It was about 9:30pm and there were people everywhere! I finally found the balloons I had been sent in search of and got out of there! All in all we fried 2000 pieces of chicken. The army, who escorts us into the ghettos to distribute the food cooks another 2000 meals. Chelsea and I took a nap from about 1am till 3am. Although I have no idea how we managed to sleep with the incredibly loud music going on right down the road! After waking up at 3 and quickly showering we returned to the work area. This time packing the food into the boxes and then packing it into larger containers to be put on the army truck. By about 8am everyone was there ready to load into vans filled with stuffed animals and head out to the ghettos. We were a bit delayed because the army's truck had some problems, but finally about 9 we left My Father's House in a caravan of trucks and vans... Coming Soon: The Rest of Christmas Morning!

The Upliftment Pageant

I am back as promised! So, this past Friday was the Annual Upliftment Pageant. Every year several children are chosen to participate in a beauty pageant. They all get their hair done and all the best clothes are pulled out of boxes to be worn. Throughout the years people have donated tons of children's dress clothes. This includes gorgeous dresses for the girls and suits and tuxes for the boys. They only wear these clothes for special occasions like Christmas and the pageant! Well, the event ended up being an all day affair. It was supposed to start at 10 o'clock. But like most things in Jamaica it didn't start on time. So, about 11:30 the MCs starting calling the kids names and one by one the children came out and strutted their stuff wearing their "Casual Attire." It was so fun to watch all of them! They were all SO excited to show off their clothes and new hair-dos! Several of the girls would come out shaking their hips back and forth as they walked and the boys came out dancing and everyone had smiles from ear to ear! After a couple hours all the kids had been called out. They also had a local highschool band there to play music and some of the people from the community came to watch. Next was the "Evening Wear." This was by far the best. The kids were SO dressed up. Here are some pictures:

The day finally ended about 5 o'clock or so. It was definitely a success. As you can see the kids were thrilled to be the center of attention! I hope you have enjoyed the pictures!

Long time no write!

I am so sorry it has been so long since my last post! I think I just got into the routine of life and have not had the chance to sit down and write. Although I have had some eventful days since Thanksgiving so get ready for a lengthy post! Well for starters, last weekend Chelsea and I headed to Port Antonio for a little break and some much needed beach time! Port Antonio is on the northeastern coast of Jamaica. It took us a few hours to get there by way of a mini bus, which we caught in Halfway Tree, where there is a huge bus terminal and lots of taxis and mini buses headed to pretty much every part of the island. Finding the bus in itself was the first part of the adventure. We had a taxi drop us in the main taxi park where we asked one of the many taxi drivers begging to drive us "anywhere we wanted" where we could catch a bus to Port Antonio he pointed in a direction toward the main bus terminal so we continued walking that way. We then came to where several mini buses were loading people and they started begging us to get in their buses we said no because they weren't going where we wanted to go, but I asked where we could find a bus for Port Antonio and we were again pointed in a direction a little further away! So, we kept walking and came to another street with several mini buses lined up loading people in and we started walking down the sidewalk and finally a man came up to us and said "Port Antonio?!" We replied "yes!" and he loaded us into his bus which already had a good amount of people, but he insisted we "sit up front." They like to load as many people that can possible fit in these mini buses. The buses are sort of like big vans with seats for maybe 40 people or so. Well, usually they can squish more like 55-60 people. And when you sit up front you are conveniently RIGHT next to the driver and one lucky person gets the "seat" that faces backward. Well, I was the lucky winner! Or not so lucky once the ride started and we drove up and down and around mountains with many curves...Chelsea and I were both praying the whole way that I would not get sick...she said my face was practically green and my whole body was breaking out in a cold sweat. I am certain the only reason I did not get totally sick was by the grace of God! Finally we made a stop about halfway there for someone to use the bathroom and Chelsea and I made a quick switch and I was able to ride facing foward while Chelsea got the backwards seat, but she managed it a little better than I did! We finally arrived in Port Antonio! After some sitting around waiting for check in time at the guest house and then going to the guest house only to wait because no one was there to check us in we finally deciding to just leave and find a taxi to bring us to the beach with all our luggage! We made it to Frenchman's Cove to spend the day on the beach! It was by far one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been to and we were served drinks and food the whole time we were there! I think all in all we spent around $20 US for everything at the beach that day...not bad at all! Below are a couple pictures from the beach:

We headed back to our guest house at about 4:00 in the afternoon and met a really nice family who had us jump in their already packed cab because they didn't want us to have to wait for one to drive by and the husband told us to call them next time we come into town because they rent out cottages for even cheaper than we were paying for our guest house room (which was hardly anything by American standards!) and then he told the taxi driver to bring us to get patties (Jamaica's unique fast food item) and then drop us right at our guest house! Otherwise we would have just been dropped in the middle of town and had to walk back to our guest house and probably would not have had time to grab patties before it started getting dark. So, that was pretty amazing! I must say the veiw from the balcony outside our room at the guest house was worth the extra few bucks I think. Here are some pictures:

The next day, Sunday, we went to Mass in town and then spent a couple hours at the beach in town right next to the marina where smaller cruise ships sometimes dock for the day. There weren't any while we were there so we pretty much had the whole beach to ourselves except for a European couple that was not only at the beach, but also staying next door to us at the guest house!

We headed home after lunch and had a much more enjoyable bus ride thanks to seats facing foward! Although we did manage to pack more people than I have EVER seen on one of these mini buses...I laughed really hard as I was squished between Chelsea and a Jamaican woman with two HUGE bags filled with items she was most likely taking into town to sell and on my lap I was holding an old man's large plastic bag of oranges that he had asked me to hold so he could join the group of 7 or 8 men who were standing in a space that could fit maybe 3 men "comfortably" so all the women with their bags could get a seat. We tried to take a picture, but there was no way to do it without looking like "white tourists" so we resisted.

Okay, for now I think that will have to do. I will try and write another post this evening about the annual Upliftment Pageant that they hold for the children. Until then, I hope you have enjoyed my first weekend adventure story!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have to be honest, I felt kind of weird wishing people who got in contact with me on Thursday a Happy Thanksgiving. To me it was just another Thursday. For the most part I didn't even think about it being Thanksgiving until someone called or emailed me and mentioned it! I will say there was a moment when I remembered it was Thanksgiving on my own. I went to get lunch on Thursday and as I approached the pavilion where they serve the staff lunch I realized it was closed up...no lunch for the day. I decided to go to the adoration chapel and pray instead and it wasn't until I looked up above the Tabernacle in the chapel and read the infamous Mustard Seed phrase "Thank You Lord" in big lettering across the wall when it hit me. Not only was it Thanksgiving, but I didn't get any lunch! I thought that was quite ironic. It made me thankful for the opportunity to sacrifice my meal for all the people who go without food on a regular basis and go to bed hungry every night. My week started off with retreat Sunday-Tuesday. MSC holds an annual retreat and several members of the staff are asked to attend along with any long-term volunteers currently serving. It's meant to serve as a couple days away from work in a peaceful, quieter part of the country. It was a really neat experience. There were only about 4 Catholics in attendance, myself, Chelsea (the other volunteer), and 2 priests. So, it was one of my first experiences being in a spiritual setting where the majority of the people were not Catholic, but aside from when it was time for people to recieve Communion at Mass and when everyone said "for thine is the kingdom..." following the Our Father you really would have no idea that everyone was not of the same faith. It seems in the States there is a thick divide between religions but here it's more like there is one God and several ways to worship Him, none of those ways being greater than the other. I will say, I would have loved to have been a spectator when everyone was singing, clapping, and dancing to worship songs while Chelsea and I tried our hardest to keep a beat with our clapping and sway in the right direction! But it was a lot of fun! And I definietly smiled and laughed quite a bit. On Wednesday and Thursday I returned to work. I would say my biggest feats this week as a nurse were giving our two psychotic residents at Jerusalem! their monthly injections successfully and removing some sutures from a another resident's chin without an actual suture removal kit. For the most part needles and stitches are not fun for anyone, but it all worked out! I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving and enjoyed the turkey and all the fixins! Mom and Dad, I am sorry I am not there to help with the leftovers!

Meal Time!

It's been a good week for the most part. It was exhausting, but good. I am starting to feel like I am getting somewhere in the medication room. I've been doing inventory of all our meds and organizing them in a way that seems to work best for me. As most of you know, I am somewhat of an "organized person" ok ok so that is an understatement. I am totally obsessed with things being in their place. So, organizing the medication room has kind of been a fun project for me! There were several moments this week that reminded me why I love being in a place like this and especially working with kids who are just happy to be alive and have no concept of the materialism and greed that takes place in so many parts of the world. The first of these moments occured earlier this week at Jerusalem! Most afternoons after I eat my lunch I head over to the childrens' home to help with feeding. Now, keep in mind there are hundreds of kids living in this home and a large number of them are unable to feed themselves. Not to mention it takes a decent amount of time to feed some of them because they have trouble swallowing, or because they have constant involuntary movements of their body, or (my favorite) they refuse to open their mouths for you...even though I know for a fact they are all hungry at meal time! So on top of all this the childrens' homes are seriosuly understaffed because it is not easy to find someone willing to do this kind of work everyday of the week. But to get back to my "moment." The other day I walked into the large area where all the children sit and looked around and saw so many of the higher functioning children feeding those who cannot feed themselves. It was so beautiful. Stuff like that happens all the time here. For instance, everyday I look out the clinic door after school gets out and I see the children who can walk pushing all the children in wheel chairs back to the childrens' home. Nearly all the higher functioning children and the children who can walk have their own disabilities, but in a place like this the kids just see each other as a huge family. It's really awesome to watch and even more awesome to be a part of! My second moment also involves feeding time! But it's a much shorter story. I promise! The other morning the kids were eating poridge for breakfast (what they eat almost every morning). One of the girls said "Auntie Sarah do you like poridge?" And I said yea! And about 5 minutes later a different girl was eating hers and I asked how it was and she said "Good! Do you want some?" I know that doesn't sound like much, but think about it this way...an orphan who gets just enough food to keep her healthy and probably not enough to keep her from being hungry offered me some of her breakfast! I of course said no that I wanted her to have all her breakfast. But it really reminded me how selfless these children are. Ok, and I think I will tell one more story! Only because it happened at yet another meal time! Yesterday I went to help feed the kids lunch. And after I started feeding the first child I realized it was chicken neck. Which is quite possible the most difficult meal to feed children because there is barely any meat on the bones and the bones are really weak and break easily and I am always afraid I am gonna cause a kid to choke on one! So, I got through two of the children without too much mishap. Then I got to Andrew. He is one of the kids who is in constant motion. He has the most amazing smile :) But he has little control over his head, arms or neck and they are constantly moving. As you can imagine this makes feeding difficult. So I gripped his head and started feeding him some of the rice and beans. I got to the chicken neck and stopped to try and pull some meat out and leave the bones in the bowl. Then I got side tracked by a couple other children trying to steal extra food from the cart and then there are others trying to steal the food in the bowl you are feeding from! Anyway...all the while Andrew is just sitting there quietly and patiently waiting. I decided in that moment that he is one of the most patient people I have ever met. He completely relies on another person to put food in his mouth and I know he was hungry because I could see it in his eyes as I fed the child sitting next to him first. But he never once cried out as I over and over again stopped putting food in his mouth to tend to something else! He just sat there and when I would apologize for stopping he would just smile :) Absolutely beautiful! So, as you can see I really love these kids. On the bus ride home from work yesterday I sat staring out the window thinking I could not imagine what it would be like if I had not come here and met every single one of them. My life would forever be missing something. I know this was a long one, but I wanted to blog all these stories in more throughout the week, but I am always exhausted onceI get home from work so I saved them all up! As always, I hope everyone is well. Peace!

So, it's my second weekend here in Jamaica and I am getting used to life here. I spent three days this week at Jerusalem!, two of those without Maggie. I have started trying to determine the best way to organize the clinic and the medication room. There is a lot of equipment that can't really be used by any of the apostalates here so I am trying to sort through it and hopefully find a place that can use some of the stuff. Below are some before pictures of the clinic before I started going through everything. Hopefully in a few weeks I can post some "after shots!"

So, I think my biggest feat this week was traveling to and from work the first time by myself! The volunteers use the public transportation system to get around mostly. So, a typical morning for me to go to Jerusalem! goes something like this: wake up a little before 6 to be out the door by 6:30, catch a cab outside the house to bring me down the hill to the closest major town (Papine), if we can get a cab without too long a wait we are able to catch the "express" bus which brings me the bus stop in 3 Mile (Downtown Kingston) near My Father's House, then I walk to My Father's House and hop in the Mustard Seed van that drives to Jerusualem! every morning. It takes a total of about two hours. If I miss the express bus than I have a few other options. All of which will add a good amount of time onto the already lengthy commute! So, I try to get out the door on time and pray there is a taxi driving by within 5 or 10 minutes of getting out there! The afternoon commute is a little different: I take 2 buses and a taxi usually, but it takes about the same amount of time. Taxi rides cost on average J$50 which is less than US$1. And the express bus costs J$70, about US$1. Being out and about is sort of stressful just because there are usually a million other people trying to catch cabs and buses and not to mention I sort of "stand out" here...so pretty much everyone stares at me. But I try and not think about it too much because when you do it can drive you kind of crazy.

So, I guess thats good for now. We all slept in this morning which was really nice and we found our missing mop so we have spent most of the morning mopping our rooms and the common areas. Eventually I will take some pictures of the house and post them. This afternoon my roomate Chelsea and I are going to a "staff appreciation" dinner and there is a short term group coming in this afternoon as well.

Hope everyone is well. Any snow up there in the States?! God Bless everyone!

Goats and Taxis!

So, there are a few interesting things about Jamaica that have made me laugh since I arrived or have caught me off guard here and there. The first of these things is goats...yes...goats. Goats run around all over this island like stray dogs. They are EVERYWHERE. I am personally a fan of the baby goats outside one of the apostalates where I work. They just scavage around looking for food and "baaaahhh" when I walk by on my way to the bus stop. Last week at the bus stop I watched a huge goat jump onto his hind legs and then into a trash can searching for some dinner. Even in some of the busier parts of the city there are goats just trotting around! Anyway, it just makes me laugh that of all animals to roam around it is goats!! The next interesting concept is the method of taxi riding. Personally, I never understood why it doesn't work this way in the States, but anyway...here in Jamaica they fill every taxi with as many people as possible who are headed in the same direction. So none of that "one person per taxi" stuff you see in cities in the States. Granted, I am sure people in the States might not be too fond of stuffing 6 passengers plus a driver in a small car, but at least filling it to its legal limit just seems much more practicle to me! Then, unless you yell out "one stop driver" you get dropped off in a general location where all the cabs pick up and drop off passengers. Well, thats about it for tonight. I hope everyone who lives in the northern part of the States is enjoying the cool weather! Every now and again when I am profusely sweating I think about how some people in the world are wearing winter coats right now. It's in the mid 80s here and REALLY humid! God Bless Everyone!

Greetings All, I really can't believe I have only been here for 6 days. I feel like it's been so much longer than that, which affirms the fact that I know I am meant to be here, although there are certainly moments when I just stop and ask God how on earth I ended up here! But I feel like I definitely will have a role to play once I get into the swing of things and hopefully I can at least accomplish some of the goals I am setting. Over the past few days I have, for the most part, just been getting oriented to some of the apostalates I will be working at and meeting the caregivers and the staff. And of course spending time with the kids, who after only a few days I have fallen in love with. I already have a few "favorites," but I think over time I will have a reason to make each one my "favorite." This week I was able to spend time at My Father's House, Jerusalem!, and Jacob's Ladder. I will say I was entirely overwhelmed the first time I walked into Jerusalem! It took all my might not to burst into tears. The reality of it is beyond words and the only decription I can give is "complete and utter chaos." Over 200 children live there, some of whom are psychotic and most who are severely mentally and physically handicapped. When it comes down to it though, they all desire the same treatment...love and attention. Thankfully, I was there two days in a row. So, the first day I spent getting over the initial shock of walking into tons of kids running at me, hitting me, and screaming at me. The second day I was able to walk around to some of them and hold their hands and just say hi and look them in the eyes, and essentially give them a tiny amount of the attention they long for. I even got to take one, Amanda, out of her chair for maybe 20 minutes and just hold her. As soon as I pulled her out of her chair she immediately stopped crying and I even got some smiles out of her in that short amount of time! So, yes, I have definitely learned that there is no amount of preperation that can truly prepare you for coming and working at a place like this. I know, I am still not over the initial shock, but I don't think I ever really will be. Because I think if you do get over it you become jaded, which is the last thing I want to happen. All in all, I can say that my first week has gone really well. My roomates are all really great and we all get along really well. Last night we went out to Port Royal, which is the very tip of the teeny tiny narrow peninsula south of Kingston. We all got lobster that was absolutely delicious. Oh, and in case anyone is worried Hurricane Paloma did not hit Jamaica. We had some heavy rains last night, but thats about it. Today is sunny and gorgeous and humid, of course! Okay well, I have so much more I could talk about, but I think this should suffice for now. Please keep me in your prayers as I start work this week without Maggie, the other nurse, who is headed back to the States Thursday. Peace!

Finally!

I am here! Today was my first full day here in Jamaica and it was a really good one! Yesterday I arrived and moved into Sophie's Place, my home for the next year or so, as well as the home of the other volunteers. My room is small and simple, but all my stuff fit just fine and I have a comfy bed and wireless internet (so not typical for a developing country). Today I went with Chelsea, another volunteer, to My Father's House (MFH). MFH was where Mustard Seed started and is home to probably about 30 or so kids as well as all the MSC administative offices. The morning started off with Morning Prayer with the rest of the staff and then Sr. Cathy, one of the staff members involved with the volunteers showed me around. At the end of the tour she just sort of left me in the middle of a big group of kids (nearly all of whom are in wheel chairs and non-verbal). I also had two new best friends, Keemar and Brittania, as soon as I walked into the children's home. Neither of them are in wheel chairs and do a lot of roaming but are always up for a free "ug" (thats hug for you non-Jamaicans!) Anytime I walked out into the open area of the home Keemar would come running at me out of no where and hold onto me for dear life. So, yea most of the day I spent with the kids. In the morning we wheeled all of them out to the open-air chapel and one of the care-takers just sang songs and prayed with them. It was so fun to see all their faces when she would start singing a new song that they liked...they would get these HUGE smiles on their faces and start clapping. It made me so joyful to see those smiles and their eyes lighting up. Chelsea and I also took a couple of the kids out to a garden they have and worked on stretching out their joints and just giving them some time out of their wheelchairs. Some of the kids are severely crippled and so stretching out their arms and legs as much as possible makes them feel really good. Tomorrow, I will go with Maggie to Jerusalem! (another of the apostalates) and I will see what I will actually be doing everyday for the next year. Unfortunately, as the nurse I am expected to do more than just roam around and hang out with the kids. So, hopefully it goes well and I fall in love with some more beautiful smiling children. I hope all is well in the States! If anyone is interested in getting in touch with me, my email is sebegin@comcast.net, I also have googlechat and skype and my name for both those is sebegin. God Bless!

Almost there...

Hello All! So, in 10 short days I will be sitting on a plane on my way to my new home in Jamaica. I cannot believe that it is only a week and a half away. Time really flew by these past couple weeks. I was able to speak at my parish this past weekend and I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all the people who have given me donations and for all the people who approached me after Mass to let me know they would be praying for me. I feel so much more at ease with everything now and I know it is only because of all the prayers that have been said for me. So, now all thats left are the final preparations that unfortunately will have to wait till next weekend, RIGHT before I leave. This upcoming week I will be in New York for training and orientation with the Catholic Medical Mission Board, who will be my sponsor while I am in Jamaica. It will be nice to meet some fellow volunteers, although none of them will be headed of to Jamaica with me I am sure we will still all have lots to talk about! Anyway, I just wanted to write a quick post so everyone knows things are going well and I am looking forward to boarding that plane in 10 days and as Maggie, the nurse I will be replacing at Mustard Seed told me, taking that huge sigh of relief that all the stresses and anxieties that come with the preparations are finally over! Again, thanks everyone for your prayers...keep them coming! God Bless!

Let the countdown begin!

Hi Everyone! Welcome to my blog. My name is Sarah and I graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville in May 2008 with a degree in nursing and not long after passed the NCLEX to become an official Registered Nurse! In a little over 3 weeks I will be leaving the States and moving to Jamaica to work as a volunteer nurse under the auspices of the Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB) for a Catholic organization called Mustard Seed Communities (MSC). MSC is devoted to caring for abandoned children in Jamaica. It is home to over 400 children who are mentally and/or physically handicapped or who are HIV+. I've created this blog so my family and friends can keep up with my adventures in Jamaica. I am hoping to add posts and pictures as often as possible. In the weeks leading up to my departure I'm hoping to write some posts about the different organizations I will be associated with while serving in Jamaica and some basic info about Jamaica itself. Also, if you are visiting this blog after hearing me speak at Holy Trinity or after reading my letter in the parish bulletin...thanks so much for stopping by! Add me to your favorites list and check back now and then to see what I am up to. Thank you so much to anyone who was able to support me financially. But even more importantly, thank you so so much for all your prayers. Please continue to pray as I make all the final preparations, which I am sure will be stressful! As a final note: if anyone reading this blog would like to support my work in Jamaica financially, please contact me and I will provide you with the information needed to do that. God Bless you all!