Kingston, JAMAICA

This was our most recent port in Kingston, Jamaica. The white in the center is our ship and all that grey is the cement factory. This cement factory at our berth required a lot of coal, so there was a mountain of black right outside the ship - you can imagine the dust and dirt that got tracked in by the 135,758 visitors we had here!
It wasn't a very pretty place to be docked for the almost five weeks were were there, so we had to find beauty in other things; the sunrise during a gangway watch, the smile of children - children who are victims of abuse in this country with one of the highest crime rates and the 7th highest murder rate in the world. (http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1147.html#crime; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica#Crime; http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/countries-with-highest-murder-rates.html)
Those places the travel advisories said not to go, we sent teams. It wasn't a safe port. But we were not tourists here; we were the hands and feet of Jesus. Just looking at the line of visitors waiting to come onboard (below) you can see why the book fair staff and all those in contact with the public were exhausted after our long visit in Jamaica. It wasn't an easy port. But it WAS a rewarding port. So many visitors. So many opportunities for ministry. And so many Bibles sold - 14,150.

I don't know what you think of when you think of Jamaica, but this visit has forever changed what comes to my mind. A country with a beautiful culture, but scarred by pain. Abuse, violence, poverty. Somehow I missed the postcard colors and beautiful beaches, and instead saw a different side of this Caribbean island. I saw reality - the cement factory grey. Maybe it's because unlike the tourists, we didn't come for us; we came for them, the people of Jamaica.