Hey all, its been a while since we have updated you on our crazy life in Jamaica.  A lot has happened in the last while; we will try and fill you in as best as possible!

We have spent a lot of time at the basic school next to Operation Restoration school (seen in photos). The kids at this school go from grade 1-5.  Our team is split up when we arrive there, one person with each grade.  We help out as best as possible.  For me (Nathan), this includes spelling, colors, rhyming, some art...I had to draw...most of you know that I cant draw!  Its fun hanging out with my grade 5 class, and I know that the others have really enjoyed their classes as well.  It is exhausting work, there is constant noise, and the language barrier can pose a problem at times (the kids talk so fast, and all at the same time).  I know we are helping though, even if it seems that from day to day we are not making an impact.  These kids come from an area in which violence is everywhere, they don't get much attention, and they don't get much encouragement.  We are there to show them that they are loved, to encourage them and at times simply give them a smile or a hug.  I guess we are planting a seed in their lives, we need to trust that God can and will use that to impact their lives as they grow and mature. 
I want to mention another activity that happened that I really enjoyed!  One evening I was chatting with Robert and Patrick about driving, and how I was sure I could handle driving in this country...so...we got in the van, and Robert said that I was driving!  Awesome!  I got to drive a right hand drive, 5 speed manual van down town Kingston among the crazy Jamaican drivers.  That was a good time!  The speedometer does not work, so you just have to go the speed that you feel led to go at that specific time:)  That was a highlight for me!
I will now pass the computer on to Devon.
Stay sweet, Nathan.

Hello There.
The other day we went to the north side of the island. We took whats called a mini bus. It's about 8 feet longer then a 15 passenger van and holds about 50 people. It was a little packed. It took about an hour and a half and we got to Ocho Rios it cost us 320$ each which is about five CAN. We walked down the street and turned to go to a cafe and the woman - Nel - who we were getting a ride from ended up being right there so we got in the car, two in the trunk, and went up to the camp. Nel took us to the beach and left to do some stuff for about half an hour. We got offered weed twice one guy offered us about a pound for free. We told them we didn't smoke and then they tried to sell us anything else they could find. We swam in the Caribbean for the first time it was a really good time. We picked up some snacks and i don't know if anybody has blogged about strawberry melon juice from tropicanna but it's pretty much "freaking awesome" - Nathan. ( We had a hard time describing the awesomeness and Nathan put it simply) We played scrabble that night and went to bed around nine. The next day we worked with a mason named Lemon the girls did various things. It was a long good day. That night we went to bed at seven. It rained that night, a lot. We took the Knutsford express which is like a greyhound and cost 1200 a person which is about 15 CAN a person. That morning for breakfast we had ackee and saltfish. the fish was great but the ackee tasted alright but the texture was like a fruit gusher in the middle and eggs on the outside. That was our first trip to the North Side.
Yesterday Nathan and I saw a lizard inside and we decided we should catch it and throw it outside. We tore apart the living room and eventually caught the terrified lizard. We held him out on the deck where he preceded to jump about twelve feet down and we think he lived. It was a cool experience. We told our host of our victory and she said that they didn't usually bother the lizards because they didn't bother the people. Oh well.
Hand off to Landon. Devon


Hey there,
This is Landon. We are in the start of a day off waiting for the girls to come with Patrick to hang out with us today. Right now we are hanging some laundry that was much needed. Alright well I am trying to remember what has happened over the past few days. Nathan and Devon have basically covered what we did but I guess I can talk about the day trip. After getting back from helping out at the camp by Ocho Rios, we came back and got up early the next day and met at Operation Restoration to pick up around 40 teenagers from 13-17 years old. We got on to a small bus and drove two hours north to a place called Seville which is a famous historic point (we were in the house where Christopher Columbus chilled at after being marooned at sea by his crew!!!). So we got to this park/museum type deal and split everyone into groups for games. I was in charge of the one and only water game... this would not have been to bad if it wasnt POURING. long story short, no one was a real fan of my game which involved holding a basin of water on your teams feet while lying on your back. the tricky part was that you had to take off your socks while keeping it balanced. the look on nathans face when i told explained the game to his group was priceless because at that time there was a downpour.... haha. the day ended with capture the flag in the rain which was a blast!
Yesterday consisted of going to church, having lunch with our billets, the Walcotts. After hanging with the for the afternoon ( i enjoy talking football with their son who is a couple years older than me), we went to a restaraunt called the Ribkage, Needless to say we had ribs. Nathan, Devon, Patrick, and I decided to man up and have a full rack each. DE-FREAKING-LICIOUS! haha
well thats all i really have to say for now...
This is Landon saying goodbye from the deck in the sun.
p.s.
Biggest highlights: We swam in the ocean! and when we got back i got to play basketball with a ton of guys that Robert and Patrick know... total blast!