You
dont have to go much past just saying the word Jamaica
to elicit visions of beauty in your mind. Known for its beautiful terrain
and easy going people it is a wonderful place to visit. However, masked
in its natural beauty are the very deep spiritual needs of the Jamaican
people.
It
is an adherence to a variety of commands in scripture that people follow
by obediently involving themselves in missions. Acts 1:8 provides for
us a blue print to follow when beginning to embark on mission work.
Amongst the variety of levels are to the uttermost parts of the earth.
Namely this refers to, in our case being from the U.S.A., going overseas.
To do so often requires entering an unfamiliar culture. Venturing
into such an arena brings with it some interesting challenges not the
least of which are language barriers.
In
and of themselves, language barriers shouldn't keep one from taking
the Gospel message to a particular people group. However, for many who
haven't yet had an overseas experience, it can be extremely overwhelming.
Another potential barrier may be mere distance. Although the advancement
of technology certainly makes it seem like the world is a small community.
Our reality is that many hours must be spent on perhaps multiple aircrafts
in order to reach certain destinations. Along with the travel, there
are the shots and accompanying records of these. One last thing that may make a list of why not to go overseas
for missions may be the lack of a drinkable water source.
Fortunately,
Jamaica provides a reprieve from many of the above concerns.
Jamaica
provides an excellent entry level overseas experience for these reasons:
-
You have the
opportunity to enter a different culture without a language barrier.
English is spoken quite prevalently in Jamaica. There is a dialect
called “Patois” in which many Jamaican converse and is a mixture of
French Creole and English.
-
To enter the
country, special inoculations are not required.
-
With only a three hour flight from
many major U.S. cities, Jamaica remains just far enough away, but not
too far.
-
Although classified as a developing country, Jamaica has a
number of public utilities including a drinkable water source.
Whether
you are a veteran missionary or only beginning in your quest for obedience
in the area of missions Jamaica is a perfect ministry sight for you.