Saturday/Sunday report

Dear ODBC family and friends,

We have safely arrived on the island of Jamaica! Our travel was uneventful but exhausting. When I say uneventful, I mean that everything went as well as can be expected for the transport of 15 people with personal luggage and 1000 pounds of ministry supplies. I was particularly worried about the350 precious care packages for the school students at Cornwall Mountain All Age School, the little pre-school further up the mountain and JSD- Jamaica School for the Deaf. These care packages were lovingly constructed out of the generous donations of our church family. Each package contains pencils, erasers, a composition notebook, a box of crayons or markers, a tooth brush, toothpaste, shampoo and a little “wow factor” gift item, which was a sticker page, bouncy super ball or pocket flashlight (depending on the age of the recipient). In addition to the care packages, we had a dozen soccer balls, athletic equipment, a portable sound system, hundreds of dollars of ink and toner cartridges and a full range of craft and teaching tools for our after school Bible club. There was no way that we were going to get through customs unnoticed. Even with every team member checking two bags, we still had 4 additional bags that had to be checked. Rather than try to expose the team to any additional scrutiny, Adam and I took the extra bags between the two of us. We were the sacrificial lambs that would go through after the rest of the team had passed through customs. Sure enough, everyone who had just two suitcases got through customs without inquiry or search, except Delores. I’ve been telling her that she looks shifty, and in my mind this just confirms it. Adam and I were tagged for search as well- you can’t just walk into Jamaica with 8 suitcases between you and look like a tourist.

We answered the usual litany of questions- “No, nothing we were carrying was for resale”… “Yes, these were for Jamaican school students,” etc. etc. When they found out that I was the ringleader of this apparently notorious charitable smuggling operation, Josh and I were detained and Adam joined the others on the other side of the customs waiting area. I was informed that all of the contents of our suitcases were subject to import tariff. As they pawed through the eight suitcases packed with supplies, they provided me with a document where I was instructed to list the contents and provide an estimate of their cash value of each suitcase. I deflected by saying that all of these items had been donated by our church members and were not for resale. They were gifts for impoverished Jamaican school students at the Cornwall Mountain All Age School and had no cash value. Furthermore, I couldn’t possibly provide an estimate since I had bought none of it myself- I had no idea of the cost. I also stated that we had made 3 other ministry trips to Jamaica and had never paid an import tariff on any items that we had brought in and the Ministry of Education had always been appreciative. We continued down this line of discussion for about 20 or 30 minutes. After consulting with another customs official, I was told that although my paperwork was not in order, they would allow the school supplies to pass except for 30 tee shirts. Would I pay tariff on the shirts? “Yes.” I agreed, I would. After declaring the fair market value of the shirts, I proceeded to the cashier where the tariff was tabulated. “That will be $98 USD” she said. You’ve got to be kidding! No way! The shirts only cost $120 to begin with. Back to the drawing board and another 20 minute discussion and lengthy wait. Why out of the thousands of dollars of supplies they zeroed in on tee shirt, I’ll never know. But in the end, I refused to pay and placed them (not me) in detention. We hope to collect them and take them back to the US with us. Today we found replacement tee shirts at the Mega Mart.

Today (Sunday) was a great day at Mount Stewart Baptist Church in Cornwall. Mount Stewart is our host church for ministry up on the mountain. We were graciously received and it was wonderful to renew friendships and meet the many new faces that were among the congregation. It was also nice to see how our occasional monetary gifts have been put to work. The choir had new choir robes and the church building had some fresh paint and new shrubs planted here and there. 

For Sunday school, Shannon taught the children, Lance the teens and Adam the adults with assistance from other members of our team. In the morning worship I preached, Delores sang and Debra and Linda gave testimonies. The testimonies were particularly moving. Debra shared how lonely and isolated it can be to be deaf in a hearing world, but how knowing Christ makes all the difference. Miki interpreted for her and the whole church listened with rapt attention. Linda shared about losing both her father and husband within three weeks of each other but how she has been able to rest in God’s providential care. Jamaica is such an impoverished and violent island that everyone has been deeply touched by suffering and loss in some way. There were many murmurs of empathy and support as Linda shared. Each testimony ended with loud applause. Jamaican worship is uniquely beautiful. It was a long but really good day.

Tomorrow we begin our ministry in the schools and deliver our precious cargo to its final destination. I can already envision the beautiful smiles and shy thank you’s that the team will receive from the students.
It is now midnight and 5:30 will come very quickly.  

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

P. Steve for your 2010 Jamaica Team