Day 4 - Tuesday

On Tuesday I was assigned a new project once again. This time Rusty and I were given the task of building a green house. This was such an incredible project. The green house we were to build really is very different than the ones that are built in the US. In America, green houses are constructed to keep the heat in. In Jamaica, we were building a green house to keep the heat out. The material we used was a white mesh that would reflect the sun and let the wind pass through. One other very important component - we had to build it so that when a hurricane or tropic storm hit the island, it had to be able to be torn down quickly.

Here's the really cool part of this project. The green house will be used to grow tomatoes and peppers to be sold at the high end restaurants in the resorts on the north shore of Jamaica. Won by One to Jamaica will employ single moms (who typically are the last to get employment) to raise the crops and do all of the work within the green house. The proceeds from the sale of the vegetables will be divided up to pay the single moms a living wage, pay for the running of the green house, and to do more ministry in Harmons. What a great vision to impact a region!

After working all day our team came together to talk about what God thinks about the poor. It was a great conversation.

What I learned on Tuesday...

1. Cast a big vision and empower people to complete it. The green house project will have far reaching implications for a long time.
2. I'm still afraid of heights. I hated being up on top of the green house.
3. Listening to everyone's thoughts on the poor really opened my eyes to how people think and it caused me to think theologically about where I really am on my understanding of the poor and what is God's call upon my life and Charter Oak Church in response to that call.