by Maddy Swedberg, 6-month Caribbean IMMERSION team member
We spent our first week here in Catadupa living together as a team in the church Experience Mission partners with, Christian Fellowship Church of Catadupa. During that week I came to know the staff of the church as well as the head pastor, Pastor Gordon, very well. We spent that week debriefing all of Haiti and refocusing our minds to better prepare ourselves for when we would move into our homes the coming week.
That first week there was also a short term team from another missions organization staying at the church with us. We had the opportunity to participate in the project that the short-term mission trip team was working on during their stay. The beauty of IMMERSION is that you never know exactly what your day will look like. We enter the community, and when we see a need we respond. We have no prior set agenda but that gives us more room to listen in on what exactly the community needs and how they want it done. The community is in the process of rebuilding its gravity water system that helps move water from the water cistern high in the mountains to down to where the community's water supply will be much closer and easier to access. We helped alongside the short-term volunteers to move rocks and sand to mix concrete to pour around the new pipes.
After our week spent in the church we moved into our first host home. My host parents are named Janet and Henry and the have 4 daughters (sound familiar to the Swedberg household?). My living conditions are more American-ized than Haiti in the fact that I have a bed, electricity, a shower, and a flushing toilet. I've never been so appreciative of such seemingly small luxuries in my life. A lot of my days have been spent with the family—we've become a big fan of card games. It's such a fun and easy way to connect with each other. Most days my host dad works in Montego Bay, an hour away, and the two youngest girls attend school in neighboring towns, so we don't see much of them until the evenings. My roommate Regan and I, however, were so lucky because our stay happened to fall on spring break so we got to spend lots of extra time with our sisters on their week off of school.
Church here is very different from the services I'm used to in the states. Jamaicans like everything loud, and worship is no exception. In fact, that's probably when they're the loudest. They do not hold anything back from giving God all of the praise and worship He deserves. It's inspiring. I will be honest, I have felt uncomfortable at times because of how new and different things are. I've been working and praying to keep my heart and mind open. I'm discovering that's when the Holy Spirit can work the most and show me some really beautiful things.
An extra thing we have been getting involved in at our base church is visiting the elderly and the sick. We traveled as a group up the mountain to visit with the oldest woman in the community, Sister Willy. She is 91 and lives with her husband, 90, at the top of the mountain. They are completely self-sustained despite being farther away from the main community, but they do not get out much so they enjoyed our company. We read scripture, sang songs, and prayed with them during our stay. We have also visited with the sick and injured at the hospital in Montego Bay. We started by visiting and praying with some of the members of our church we knew were currently in the hospital and then began praying with others we didn't know as we felt called. Some were kind but didn't respond to us much. Others, however, were extremely moved by our faith, and we could tell the Holy Spirit was really moving and doing work in the hospital that day.
Saturdays here is market day, so everyone travels down to Montego Bay to do their food shopping for the week. I got the chance to tag along with my mother one time to see what the Jamaican market looks like. One of the best parts about this trip is seeing the side of the country that most Americans don't see. I got to see the meat stores and bakeries that the locals go to to get their food. My favorite part was going to the "market" where they all buy their fruits and vegetables. Janet knows exactly which vendors to go to to get the best prices and is able to work the market like a pro. Most locals are surprised to see an American on that side of town, and lots like to ask me if I just got off the boat (meaning a tourist cruise ship). It's so exciting to get to respond and say "Nah man, I live in Jamaica!" The responses vary, but most are excited to hear I'm not just here to stop by and then move on. Jamaicans have a lot of pride in their country and they love to see when you love it as much as they do.
This community truly is a beautiful place and it is so encouraging to simply live life with them. We have celebrated birthdays and Easter with them, as well as celebrated simple ordinary days. There is so much to see and learn about this new culture I honestly don't think 2 months is long enough. But I'm cherishing every single day here even more than the last. The trip is already more than half way over and I am in complete shock to where all the time has gone. At the same time though, that means I still have half of the trip to look forward to. I miss home lots and some days are much harder than others. Jamaica is constantly feeling more and more like home though, and I'm so excited to see what the rest of my time looks like here in beautiful Catadupa!
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