The youth who visited Jamaica would like to bring a group from Jamaica to Erin Mills UC.
Click here to read why this would be a great project for the church youth.

While there, the youth painted the inside of a local school for young children as a community improvement. They also led a day of stories, music and games for the children of Ridgemount. Powerful prayer meetings and fellowship nights were followed by worship together on Sunday morning. And, of course, the group did go to the beach!

R. De Mel said "Visiting Jamaica has been the most meaningful experience in my life. We were from different parts of the world, but God's undying love united us as one. As we shared our faith experiences with each other and became the best of friends, God's love helped us to overcome many cultural differences and language barriers. The journey helped open our eyes to see that although we did things differently than our neighbours in Jamaica, we still shared the common faith of Christianity and were joined further by the common bond of humanity."

Group members noticed that although some of the Jamaicans they met had only the very basic necessities of life, they still praised God for his love.

S. Wilde said "...the week I spent in Jamaica was one of the best experiences in my life. It was a tremendous growing experience not only socially, but spiritually as well. The world seems a little bit smaller after interacting with youth from another corner of the world that worship the same loving God."

Click here to read more personal stories and reflections.

One of the group leaders, D. Brown, said "We struggled, argued, sympathized, cried and laughed a lot. We drew closer to God at every turn and we were protected and bound together in the love of Christ."

Before the trip, the participants wrote down their goals for the journey. They decided to enter into this journey with their hopes, dreams and goals. They said, we will strive to

• deepen our faith, share our faith and experience the spirituality of others
• begin to understand a different way of life, and the influence we have on each other's ways of life
• learn how to respond to the requests of others in helpful and respectful ways
• enjoy ourselves!
• learn to look at ourselves and our lives in different ways
• form relationships of mutual respect and growth
• contribute positively to our life philosophy as Christians, by asking questions and educating ourselves

Many thanks to the 25th Anniversary Appeal and to St. Andrew's church in Bayfield, Ontario, Canada who financially supported the journey. And thanks to D. Siertsema, M. Jeffers, and D. Brown who ensured that the journey was supervised, safe and rich in opportunities for growth.

 
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