Day Nine - June 7th

The team departed from Montego Bay at 12:41PM and arrived in Atlanta, Ga by 4:20PM. We had a smooth flight as well as transition through U.S. customs.

Day Eight - June 6th

The team spent an hour and 15-mins. on Literacy Tutorials for the local church. The tutorials were age-specific ranging from preschool to high school. The areas of focus were reading.

After the tutorials were complete, a church donation was provided to Bethel from the team members. The Jamaica Care Team leaders also provided the team members with gifts as an appreciation of their services.

The team left Southfield, Jamaica to travel to Montego Bay. The team will leave Montego Bay early, tomorrow morning to return to the U.S.

Day Seven - June 5th

The team visited Seaview All Age School today. We continued the same format of performances as the previous schools attended. As a token of appreciation, the school provided the ladies of the team with a Jamaican wall plaque and a pen for the men. The school also provided each team member with a fruit cup.

That evening the team arrived at Bethel for Movie Night. We watched the movie, "Chronicles of Narnia." Popcorn was served as we watched the movie.

The men of our team: Earl Foster, Wayne Whittaker, and Phil Owen had a meeting with the local Jamaican leaders about starting a Men's Ministry at Bethel. The meeting was very productive.

Day Six - June 4th

The team visited St. Mary's All Age School and performed Now, Behold the Lamb in ASL, the Preschool Play - Jesus Loves of the Little Children, the song, "Father Abraham", a solo lead by Phil Owen, and the Wheel of Word game. We also shared the gospel of Jesus Christ via the Smart Cards. The school provided lunch for the team to show their appreciation for our services. The next school visited was Munro Prep School in which we did the same performance as the previous school. Each school was provided trial-size toothpaste, InTouch magazines, and FBA pens for their teachers.

Later that night, the team conducted their Parenting Classes. The teachers were as follows: Margaret Newman, Earl Foster, and Phil Owen. The classes were designed to help parents to rear godly children and share personal testimonies.

Youth activities/games were provided to the children while their parents were in the Parenting Classes.

Day Five - June 3rd

The next two schools visited was Top Hill Primary School. We continued with the same format as the previous schools.....Now, Behold the Lamb in ASL, Preschool Play, the song "Father Abraham", a solo lead by Phil Owen, and the Wheel of Word. We also shared the gospel of Jesus Christ by using evangelistic, Smart Cards and performing the good person test. We did the same performance at Mayfield All Age School except we added on the youth play, "Love Lesson from Above." The teachers at both of these schools received InTouch magazines along with FBA pens from the team.

Later that night at Bethel, the team conducted the Girls of Virtue and the Boys of Valor class. The Girls of Virtue was designed specifically for young girls to recognize the different struggles involving peer pressure and see how the ladies in our team have overcome these obstacles. The subtopics discussed included...Abstinence, Premarital sex, Disobedience to Parents, Praise and Worship, and Hearing from God. The Boys of Valor had the same design and subtopics as the Girls of Virtue. However, the Boys of Valor was designed for young boys.

Day Four - June 2nd

The first school that the team visited was Maranatha School for the Deaf. It was the most beautiful experience ever watching the children's excitement over our performances. We performed, "Now, Behold the Lamb" in American Sign Language, the Preschool Play, "Jesus Loves the Little Children", the song "Father Abraham", a solo lead by Phil Owen, and the Wheel of Word game. We also shared salvation bracelets and the gospel of Jesus Christ with the school.

The Preschool Play is about three students who are trying to figure out who God is. They discover who God is with the the help of their school teacher. The Wheel of Word is a game much like "Wheel of Fortune". However, the categories of the game are based on biblical subjects such as the disciples of Christ, the Ten Commandments, and so forth. Each volunteer holds up one letter which is not revealed to the primary audience. The audience is given an opportunity to guess a letter that may be in the word. The participants must guess one letter of the word until the word is solved.

The next school that the team visited was Ballard Valley Primary School in which we did the same performance as at Maranatha. However, we discussed the gospel of Jesus Christ with the students rather than distribute salavation bracelets.

That night at Bethel, the team watched Bethel's Puppet Ministry perform to two skits. After the presentation of the skits, the team provided Bethel with instruction on the history and techniques of Effective Puppet Ministry. The team also instructed Bethel's Puppet Ministry team on how to write their own Puppet Ministry Plays. At the end of this presentation, Bethel was presented with two Puppet Ministry Instructional Manuals, 2 - CD's with three new Puppet Ministry skits, and 1-audio CD with the Laughing Song and Now, Behold the Lamb.

Day Three - June 1st

We started our services with the Dental Clinic this morning. Dr. Heather-Dawn Lawson-Myers was our dentist who performed tooth extractions in the morning and dental cleanings in the afternoon. We serviced both adults and children. During the dental clinic, other team members assisted Bethel with providing glasses to the locals of Southfield. Each local resident had the option of choosing one pair of reading glasses and/or sunglasses. The team also provided Praise and Worship songs along with some Bible Trivia for the locals as they waited to be serviced.

Later that night, the team performed the youth play, "Love Lesson from Above" at Bethel Gospel Chapel. This play discussed the struggles of a young Christian girl who is unsure about waiting to have sex. In her search to make the best decision for her life, she talks with her pastor who helps to guide her in the right direction. After the play, there was an open discussion for the viewers to ask questions.

Salvation bracelets were distributed among all of the attendees and the gospel of Jesus Christ was shared.

Day Two - May 31st

The Jamaica Team performed "Now, Behold the Lamb" in American Sign Language during the Sunday School services at Bethel Gospel Chapel. Afterwards, the team met with Pastor Oliver Bent, the senior pastor of Bethel and other Jamaica Care Team Leaders. We had lunch at our home, Memories Resort. The Jamaica Care Team Leaders also joined us for lunch and fellowship. After we had finished lunch, the team had a brief meeting with the Jamaica leaders concerning our schedule for the week. This meeting was very productive and we are excited about our week.

Later that night the team practiced for their youth play, "A Love Lesson from Above".

Day One - May 30th

We arrived promptly at the airport in Montego Bay and had a smooth transition through customs. Our first Jamaica leaders we met at the airport were Devain Parchment and Donnijo Parchment. We had a three-hour drive to Southfield. We had dinner and met with Jamaican Care Leaders. The seven Jamaica Care Leaders that we met were as follows: Sis. Carol Stephenson, Sis. Jackie Parchment, Bro. Shepherd Bent, Bro. Kingsley Palmer, Bro. Devain Parchment, Sis. Donnijo Parchment, and Bro. Hambert Hamilton.

The Jamaican leaders provided us with welcome gifts that included a journal, map, bookmark, and much more. We also provided the Care Team Leaders with gifts as well. We are truly looking forward to this trip and all that God will be doing this week.

History of Bethel Gospel Chapel

In 1960, Brother Aubrey and Sister Monica McGann who lived in Black River started a Black River High School. They moved to Southfield and saw the need for Christian work. They had a "burning desire" to start a school in Malvern Chase, a town in St. Elizabeth Parish. The school in Malvern Chase was named, "Bethel". The school started with ten members who met in the living room. This number greatly increased as the Word of God was taught and people willingly surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ. A chapel was needed to accommodate the members. Later, the chapel was built and called Bethel Chapel. Brother Harry Chang replaced leaders Brother Aubrey and Sister Monica McGann as they felt it was time to move on. Brother Chang helped to start Bethel's first Bible Camp in 1964. This Bible Camp would help to bring young people all over the island together. In the 1970s, Brother Chang felt the Lord leading him to move on. He later chose Brother Oliver Bent who was one of the earlier preachers of Bethel before the church was built. Brother Oliver Bent was saved in the early 1960's and called to service at the chapel in 1978. He has played a pivotal role in the continued work of the church. He is the pastor of Bethel Gospel Chapel today.

Bethel has grown from 10 members in the 1960's to 191 members presently. Over the years, two new wings have been added to the church. Some of the ministries at Bethel include Sunday School, Young People's Group, Women's Group, Choir, and the Prayer Warrior's Group.

Our Mission Statement

Our mission is to share the Word of God in fun, creative ways while in Southfield, Jamaica. It is our goal to show forth the love of Christ through youth activities, puppet/plays, parenting classes, tutorials, and dental services.

A Personal Note

The Jamaica: Mission Possible Team warmly invites you to follow our journey to Southfield, Jamaica. This journey will begin on May 3oth. We will be providing details of our daily experiences with as many pictures as possible. We have anxiously awaited this time that God has prepared for us. Please join us as we capture these special moments in God.

The Jamaica Missionary Team