Just beyond the beaches and resorts of Montego Bay, Jamaica, people are struggling to maintain a basic living in the small rural town of Catadupa. Experience Mission has been bringing volunteer teams to Catadupa for the past 6 years, and Executive Director Chris Clum first visited the community about 15 years ago. EM staff member Josh Gray spent two summers in Catadupa while in college and is currently EM’s primary contact for Catadupa leaders. During their time in Jamaica, Clum and Gray began to see that lasting change in the community was not going to be achieved just by bringing mission teams. A more strategic approach was needed.

The Catadupa Community Development Committee (CCDC) was formed in 2008 consisting of a team of Catadupa residents, and it exists to confront the needs of the community. It focuses on improving the community in various areas including health, education, and business. The current priority of CCDC members is developing agriculture, but without any significant resources or even a functioning office, they have been able to make little tangible progress.

In the fall of 2009, Gray and Leroy Gordon, local pastor and CCDC president, began discussing the community vision for economic development through agriculture, and since then EM has been partnering with the CCDC to assist in raising funds. The CCDC members are driving the vision, and they possess an in depth knowledge of local agriculture, but EM has a network of connections with people and organizations from the US who have resources. EM is committed to leveraging its time and resources to assist the community of Catadupa, and the CCDC will continue with the necessary on the ground research and planning.

The CCDC’s strategy for agricultural development is all about collaboration. There are many capable farmers in the community, but they lack the knowledge and resources to market their products. Even if they find a market, such as a hotel in Montego Bay, they lack any means for transporting their crops, and in most cases do not produce a sufficient quantity for the hotels to take notice. The CCDC intends to unite local farmers so that they can together produce sufficient quantities, and then provide a mechanism for contracting with hotels and transporting products. The farmers will sell to the CCDC, and it will in turn fulfill its contracts and transport the products to Montego Bay. CCDC profits will be used to sustain the program, provide supplies for the farmers, and fund other community initiatives.

The goal is to create opportunity. Gordon states, “One of the things about farming is that if you’re gonna plant you need market, so the CDC, we come together as a group, and what we want to do is to create the kind of a vehicle or the opportunity where we can provide the market for the farmers, and identify the market so when they plant their product they know exactly where, who they’ll be selling it to, and the price they will be getting from that.” Gordon explains that many farmers only sell to an occasional friend or neighbor, so he hopes that they can plant on a larger scale. He states, “There are more persons who will go into farming if bringing their product from point A to point B and getting a high return was possible.”

It’s been a long road for the people of Catadupa. Originally settled by runaway slaves, Catadupa was traditionally a farming community, but in the late 1800s the island’s main railway was extended to Montego Bay, and the resulting railroad line passed right through the center of the town. It became a primary source of employment and provided a consistent influx of tourists who were ready to purchase handmade clothing and crafts from local artisans. The train became the life of the town, and it provided a much needed connection to the outside world for nearly a hundred years. This all changed in the early 1990’s when the train was unexpectedly shutdown. The town was devastated; its economy and way of life had been destroyed overnight.

Today, the train station is dilapidated, the railroad tracks are covered in weeds, and the only local businesses area are a few poorly stocked shops. Without a market for their products, farmers struggle just to maintain basic necessities such as food, shelter and clothing. Most people live a life of abject poverty. While EM and other NGO’s have accomplished many projects, these fail to address the root cause of the poverty in Catadupa. A grassroots movement that will provide economic opportunity may be the only hope for Catadupa. This is why the locally led agricultural program is so important.

Both EM staff and CCDC members agree that the first step is to build a community resource center. This will serve as a platform for community collaboration, and it will include a functioning modern office for the CCDC. Noel Atkinson, a member of the committee, sees the establishment of a resource center with agricultural development as the number one priority for the community. He explains, “The potential is there for development, but as I said the whole thing is to get the resource center working, and alongside of that, we want to encourage the farmers now to get back into farming so that, you know, we can have some economic activity in the area. That would improve the standard of living.” Atkinson is a retired farmer who lives in Catadupa, and he has years of civic and industrial experience with a US corporation.

EM hopes to raise $40,000 for the construction of the resource center, and $50,000 for the development of agriculture by spring of 2011.

The month of August has been filled with adventure and excitement it has been wonderful to be part of God’s work in Costa Rica. Time after time God shows me why He keeps bringing me back to the Bribri reservation. I truly feel like I have a family among the indigenous people of Costa Rica, from the community in Watsi at the entrance of the reservation all the way to Alto Coen, one of the remote villages in the Talamaca mountain range.

The week of the 5th - 13th I was in Coroma, Talamanca. Experience Mission has been working in this community for the last few years partnering with the community to build a high school. Currently there are about fifty-five students attending the Coroma High School. A couple of years ago when the high school was started there was only twelve students and there was only a couple of standing building, currently there are four functioning classrooms, and one kitchen with a small dining room.

Our project this week was to help continue building a two-story classroom at the local high school. The First level will be used as a classroom, the second level will be used for dormitories since the three teachers that are currently teaching have to walk about an hour and a half to teach in Coroma everyday.

Classroom under construction

There was a couple of highlights of this trip, one of the main highlights of this mission trip was that the local church in Coroma received 2 proclaimers.  The Proclaimer is a digital player dedicated to playing God’s Word in the local language which in this case is the Bribri language.

Here’s the way it works:

• An installed microchip contains Scriptures in the Bribri language; the chip will not erase or wear out from frequent playing.
• The battery will play for 15 hours and can be recharged enough times to play the entire New Testament more than 1,000 times.
• The Proclaimer has a built-in generator and solar panel to charge the battery.
• The solar panel, in addition to charging the battery, will run the Proclaimer even without battery power as long as there is sunlight.
• The sound is digital quality and loud enough to be heard clearly by groups as large as 300.

This device is perfect for the Talamanca area since there is no electricity in the coroma area. This will be a great tool to share the gospel in the reservation. I felt so excited and privileged to be part of this project to take this playback device to people who may not have any other source to hear God’s Word.

Iglesia Cristiana de Coroma

August 31, 2010

Yonathan Moya

Experience Mission is offering summer 2011 mission trips to Costa Rica. Learn more at www.experiencemission.org or by calling the EM Office at (360) 554-8060.

The first day of vacation Bible school has come and gone at the East Chicago Salvation Army, consisting of about 50 children from 2-12 years old and about 20 volunteers. Power Lab exposed us to a positive connection between Jesus and science with many “Aha” moments to remind us of our God-given powers.

In order to prepare everyone for the madness to come, we spent Monday night competing in a plethora of creative games including the Elephant Parade Race and Over Under races. Though the team from Battle Creek, MI is small in numbers, they are filled with energy and heart.  While beginning with songs in the morning, our team worked hard to encourage enthusiasm in a seemingly apathetic group of  children. The small amount of response was discouraging, but we were all thrilled to hear children begging to sing and dance again by the end of the day and the excitement was nearly overwhelming by the end. We look forward to much adventure with Chadder the Chipmunk this week and are enjoying getting to know the Bible buddies themed for each day. We are expecting and prepared for as many as 100 children by the end of the week, so only tomorrow shall tell!

Mandy Schumerth

July 2010

Check out all the exciting things that are going on with Experience Mission on our website www.ExperienceMission.org

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Join us as we seek to bring 100 churches together in this long-term effort.

Year round trips starting in August 2010.

Join a Haiti mission trip by visiting www.experiencemission.org/haiti

Chicago

Our first team from Atlanta, Georgia has truly been a blessing. The work projects assigned were completed in a timely manner, with one group even finishing an extra painting project at Circle Urban Ministries. On our last night together, we enjoyed a worship service followed by an activity of encouragement in which we all anonymously wrote something positive about each other member. This seemed an appropriate way to send them off to the return portion of their week-long road trip.

Before the team left on Wednesday, we were fortunate enough to spend a day downtown relaxing with them and getting to know many of them on a higher level. We were able to go to the top of the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower), eat Dues Pizza, visit Navy Pier, and go window shopping briefly. We had many great experiences, including meeting a boisterous waitress named Shaun who used her notepad to write down some Bible verses relayed from one of our team members so that she could study them later and running what seemed like a mini marathon through downtown Chicago in efforts to catch our train. We became quite fond of each person from Mt. Pisgah Church, and were sad to see them go, but we have high hopes for each of them in their spiritual journeys.

Team Chicago

June 2010

Experience Mission is offering summer 2011 mission trips to Chicago. Learn more at www.experiencemission.org or by calling the Office at (360) 554-8060.

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” -Romans 12:9-10

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church Group

Week one of work in Atlanta has officially begun. Throughout the week the large group from Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston, Texas has been running kid camps, digging trenches, and navigating the highways of south Atlanta with one goal—to build real relationships.

The students of Memorial Drive’s youth group are no strangers to hard work. Many of the students have served on mission trips both domestically and internationally, so the team came ready for a week of physically demanding work. Although they have tackled several tough, meaningful projects—painting and digging an irrigation trench at the Initiative for Affordable Housing’s newest worksite, most of their Atlanta projects have been an exercise in developing relationships.

Trevor, a summer intern at Memorial Drive, spent Monday morning playing Bingo and chatting with an elderly man at Hapeville Care Home. Although the conversation seemed difficult and forced at first, Trevor was persistent—he wanted to be a real friend to the wheelchair bound man with a fading memory. He succeeded.
One of the adult leaders, Mary, said that she was impacted by the kids at the Kroc Day Camp because of the way they responded to a Bible lesson. The kids seemed genuinely interested in the skit and story that the team presented—grasping pieces of truth from the simple Bible message. When the afternoon ended, the team was sent off with a round of hugs from the campers. Another success.

Despite the successes of the team, they admit that doing relational ministry is difficult because you don’t always get to see the results. In fact, sometimes it might feel like you’re failing. Unlike a building or painting project, you don’t always get to see the difference you’ve made in the life of another person. You might walk away from a kids’ camp or a nursing home wondering if you made a lasting impact. But one thing the EM staff and Memorial Drive team has learned this week is that building relationships is rewarding work. At the end of the day, loving people and reflecting Christ into their lives is what matters most.

Atlanta, GA

Heather D. Moline

June 2010

Note: Experience Mission is sending out many more great trips to Atlanta and many more great communities throughout the summer of 2011! Check out our website for more information at www.experiencemission.org.

]]> http://experiencemissionnews.com/2010/07/what-matters-most/feed/ http://experiencemissionnews.com/2010/06/river-time-brings-joy-to-local-kids/ http://experiencemissionnews.com/2010/06/river-time-brings-joy-to-local-kids/#comments Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:49:40 +0000 admin http://experiencemissionnews.com/?p=1038

Team volunteer Dan and Diogo play in river

This week we got to work alongside team leader Kelly and five other teenagers from Jupiter First Church doing VBS this week.  Throughout the week we had lessons, crafts, games, and snacks for kids who were anywhere from 2-14 years old.

At the end of the week, Kelly decided to have a fun day where we had a small lesson about God’s holy water, played with water balloons, and took a trip to a nearby river.  When the kids arrived on Friday, they were anxious for the afternoon to come because they knew they’d be playing with water.   With the help of some visual aides in the form of puppets, the kids were able to focus a little better.

If the kids were able to answer a question correctly, they would be allowed to pop a water balloon over any member of the team.  In short, they were very excited and the team ended up soaking wet by the end.

Once we ran out of water balloons we all went to the river to meet up with the other teams who had been doing construction projects for the week.  It was amazing being with everyone in the river and seeing God’s love through the kids’ actions and expressions while speaking or playing with Jupiter’s youth group.

Of course the saddest part was saying goodbye to the kids, but I know that they will always remember us because I believe that a seed was planted in their hearts and it will continue growing throughout their years. The love that the Jupiter youth group showed to this kids will never be forgotten because it was all for God’s glory.

Team Costa Rica

June 11, 2010

*To learn more about what Experience Mission in Talamanca, Costa Rica, visit our website at www.experiencemission.org.

Kids paying attention

It’s crazy to think we’ve only been in Portland for eight days.  We spent the first week doing a crazy amount of preparation for our first team, who came from San Antonio, TX.  They’re a great group of people, eager to jump in and help as much as possible.  Mary, one of the team leaders, loves dancing and singing with the kids, teaching them new songs, and getting the ‘tough guys’ to join in as well.  Callen, one of the guys, comes up with hilarious songs each day to teach the kids Bible verses.  Everyone is offering a little piece of something bigger and greater than themselves, giving the kids here a memorable experience.  As summer staff, Christine, Michelle, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group, and I have no problem telling them that to their faces.  On Monday, we went to the homeless ministry on Preble Street and we volunteered our time to cook breakfast for hundreds of homeless patrons.  We made great friends, initiated relationships, and made a stinkin’ good breakfast, if I do say so myself.  The work projects we’ve started this week include:  General maintenance in the Root Cellar (the non-profit we are working with), working with the Portland Housing Authority (painting low-income housing for the poor as a beautification project), and eventually we’ll be working with the elderly, helping them around their homes when they can no longer help themselves.

The staff at the Root Cellar has been great; the amount of food they’ve been trying to force-feed us has left us feeling extremely blessed.  We were shown around the kitchen by Peggy, assisted in work project planning by Becky, and told the best ways to work with the kids by Clark.  Cori Lyons, a former EM Staff Member, came to help us prep last week, and her experience was invaluable.  Without all of these people around us, well… let’s just say we’re glad we’ve had them along for this crazy ride so far.

Looking forward the rest of the week and the crazy songs that Callen, Oscar, Jeff, and I can come up with, we pray that God lets us be as effective as we can be.

Team Portland

June 2010

For more information about Experience Mission visit us on our website at www.ExperienceMission.org

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Christian Missions: This week, the epidemic that had the world holding its breath affected Pearlington in a most unusual way. With the Swine Flu virus sweeping across Costa Rica, First United Methodist Church out of LaGrange, Georgia changed their travel plans at the last minute, leaving behind the Caribbean Islands for hurricane relief work in the heart of the South. They met up with a YoungLife group out of Illinois and Main Street United Methodist from North Carolina at Pearlington to help finish up the last projects of the summer.

Since it was the second to last week of the summer, the Experience Mission staff was thrilled to have the extra help.  Even though work has flown by each week, there were still several key jobs to be finished before both the Bennett’s and Nick could move into their respective houses.  Because of this, one of the most exciting parts of this week was the amount of quality work that got completed throughout the city. From cranking out electrical projects to demolishing houses, teams tore through any and all tasks they were given. The Bennett’s saw their massive porch cover finished, kitchen tiles and electrical installed and Nick’s crew finished roofing, siding and decking. All the while, other smaller groups finished up incredibly crucial jobs at the O’Neal’s, the Crepeau’s, the Ackers, the Vince’s and the Vincent’s.

However, it wasn’t the work ethic that stood out on these youth mission trip teams, but their willingness to do anything and everything to help those in need. These teams left a fantastic impression on every family that they worked with this week. The community adored the servant’s hearts that they worked with, and many went out of their way to thank the volunteers over and over again. The week was a huge success, and Team Pearlington is praying for one final great week to wrap up all of their projects and end the year with a bang. And if God needs to use Swine Flu again to make that happen, then we are all for it.

*This summer wraps up 3 years of rebuilding in Pearlington, MS. The town is 85% rebuilt! Stay tuned for our new Hurricane relief locations, and check out other locations that we serve in, at New Orleans mission trips.

Hurricane Relief in Mississippi: We’re Alive! Team Pearlington survived a youth mission trip team of 150 people this past week and we had an awesome time!  Houston First Presbyterian Church is our largest group of the summer. Literally, our entire summer has been in preparation for this short term missions trip.  We have been making sure that things are lined up to accommodate this many people.  It was interesting to see how God worked this week because we found that even with all of the preparation we had done, problems still arose. The first work day we awoke to torrential downpours and it seemed like the week was going to be disastrous because the majority of the work projects we had lined up were outdoors.  We also had some last minute worksite cancellations.  We were sweating it out and praying that things would turn around.  

However, God helped details to fall into place and the week was a “home run”. He presented other opportunities for work projects and blessed us with eager and high spirited students and leaders who were flexible and energetic.   We were also blessed with beautiful weather on Thursday and Friday.  It is truly amazing how our Lord works even in the difficult times. This was definitely a lesson on trust in Our God, and it became very obvious that sometimes it is so hard to let go of all control in a situation and just give it over to Him. This team from Houston was a huge blessing to the community of Pearlington, Mississippi and the hurricane relief work, as well as to the Experience Mission Staff. We were very encouraged by the entire group’s positive attitude and dedication to work hard. There was never a moment when this team wasn’t asking how they could help whether it be in the kitchen or on the worksite. This team worked in a total of 15 worksites doing various things such as shingling, siding, demolition, flooring, decking, interior & exterior painting, staining, porch covers, and general cleanup and yard beautification.

Something that was very unique to this mission trip team was their tight knit community, which is surprising considering their large size. Their evening programs were very exciting and intentional.  We had fun dance parties each night and moving talks given by Brune, Scott, and Tim.  They have an interesting approach to missions.  They use it has a tool for evangelism.   About 2/3 of the students that came on the trip with First Presbyterian Church did not necessarily have a relationship with Christ.  The philosophy this group has about short term mission trips is to show students what it means to live out a Christian lifestyle through serving. Their theme for this week was in 2 Corinthians 5:20 and being “Christ’s ambassadors.”  Many lives were changed this week and many relationships were built both within the team and the community.

-Jim and the Pearlington team

*Interested in joining in the work of Experience Mission? Check out our website at www.ExperienceMission.org for more information and to sign up for upcoming 2010 mission trips!