Good day brothers and sisters in Christ,

The deadline for our summer VBS trip is quickly approaching.  The details can be found under the Get Involved link above, under the Go heading.  The trip is quickly filling up and if you want to secure your slot on this years trip, please act quickly.  We are requesting deposits for airfare by May 1st.  If you are interested in serving alongside us this summer, contact us through the website and we will be in touch soon.

Blessings,
Richard

Greetings to our brothers and sisters in Christ,

We had a successful trip to St. Thomas Parish Jamaica this past week.  Doc, Terry and Richard went to visit with our friends and partners and plan for the summer.  The most pressing need for this trip was to find a new location for our tool storage.  Our previous location was ending in May of this year.  God provided us the land to build a storage building on and construction began before we flew home.  We thank God for his bountiful provision.

The second goal of this trip was to finalize the summer VBS trip plans.  We have confirmed the dates of June 29-July 6.  We have room for 7-8 more volunteers for this trip.  You can find more details for this summers trip soon on the Get Involved page, linked above.  We will be hosting 2 VBS's at 2 local school as well as having an evening marriage and family seminar at a local church.  Time willing, we will try to have an afternoon at the Blue Lagoon for a swim and some fellowship in this iconic, beautiful location.  

Lastly, we were inspired in some creative, smaller ways you can help as well.  We found out that many of the special needs children in the area have never been assessed.  Assessment is free from the Jamaican government, but the wait list is years long.  Private assessment can be done, but it is costly.  We are exploring ways to send a team to perform the assessment or provide a means for you to sponsor the assessment of a special needs child.  Once we have the necessary information, we will update in the news section and our Get Involved page.  The special needs school also needs tactile learning aids up to grade 3.  This would include puzzles, flash cards and other physical tools teaching letters, numbers, colors, shapes and simple mathematics.  We are in the process of creating a wish list of items for you to view and assist with purchasing.  Lastly, the special needs school could use some tablets as both a learning aid and reward for students who complete their work.  We will be porting a link to some affordable tablets along with the wish list in the near future.

We thank you for your prayers.  They were answered on this last trip.  We look forward to partnering with you all in some fashion in the future.  Please check back soon for the opportunities listed above.

Blessings,
​The IS68 team

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
It has been nearly two years since we last updated this blog section, and we want to express our gratitude to our loyal supporters and newsletter recipients. Despite the lack of content here, please know that our absence does not reflect a lack of activity in Jamaica.
Over these past months, we have been diligently maintaining our ongoing projects while seeking opportunities to expand and evolve our work in Jamaica, all with the goal of making a lasting impact on God's kingdom. During our most recent trip, we organized two Vacation Bible Schools and undertook a construction project at a basic school in St. Thomas. It was a week filled with the joy of sharing God's love and serving the community, as both IS68 veterans and newcomers joined forces.
However, due to an outbreak of Dengue fever and scheduling complications, our return has been delayed until next week. Nevertheless, a small team consisting of Donnie, Terry, and Richard will be traveling to St. Thomas from March 9th through the 14th to lay the groundwork for our upcoming summer trip. We are excited to announce that this year, we plan to incorporate a marriage and family seminar into our annual Vacation Bible School, encouraged by and in cooperation with Pastor Richie Dunn. Stay tuned for further updates on our plans, which will be shared here and in the "Get Involved" section of our website.
On a practical note, we are facing a challenge as we will lose our tool and equipment storage in May of this year. Therefore, we earnestly seek your prayers for the Lord's provision of a new storage facility during our upcoming trip.
As always, we are immensely grateful for your prayers and unwavering support.
Blessings,
The IS68 Team

​Isaiah 9:2 
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone. (ESV)
 
The light stands for God’s blessings, presence, and revelation. Then, in Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:14-16), Jesus tells us we are the light and let out light shine before others.
 
Eastern Jamaica has been in great darkness. The severe Covid-19 restrictions, churches not meeting, no in-person school for 20 months, inadequate Internet for remote learning, poverty prohibiting ownership of tools for remote learning, loss of jobs, and hunger all contribute greatly to this darkness. 
 
Thanks to the donors of Isaiahsixeight, we are letting our lights shine into this darkness! How? Well, all along these twenty-plus months, we have been helping feed people, helping the poor, and helping some of the teachers with Internet capabilities.  But, starting in December 2021 and continuing today, we really started to shine. So, what is different this time?
 
As our usual practice in December, we aided the soup kitchens as they made Christmas meals and also distributed groceries to the poor.  In November, we got an extra boost from the Riverchase United Methodist Church’s Angel Tree. This was very timely because we had just learned that in-person schools were restarting in December (part-time). So, not only were we able to buy a small present for the children, but we were able to send groceries to their parents and help with school uniforms for the children. 
 
As you can imagine, after 20 months, no one would have school uniforms that fit. 
 
If you have ever been with us to Jamaica, you will know that much of our efforts center in and around Port Morant; however, the school uniform purchases are being spread beyond Port Morant to Old Pera, Stokes Hall, Wheelerfield, and even Johnson Mountain. 
 
See the photos below for the elderly and sick getting bags of groceries, children getting a Christmas toy and a bag of food, and some of the uniforms. 
 
 Click on photos below to enlarge and see captions. 
 
 
 
 
 

Churches have not fared well in Jamaica because of Covid restrictions. Also, the economic difficulties have greatly affected the operation of their soup kitchens. We have helped even more with two soup kitchens in Port Morant.  The larger one, operated by the Wesleyan Holiness Church, cooks in the front yard of Ms. Patsy Lindsay (aka Evadney Richards), a great Christian friend for over 18 years. While 3 men and about 6 women each week do the cooking, serving, and delivery of these meals, we have played a major part in supplying the food for this effort. 
 
On January 16, 2021, Patsy was recognized in her church for her service to this soup kitchen. You can also be proud of this because we are partners in this effort. 
 
See Patsy’s award and most recent cook day below:
​

Most years, we take a family vacation to the Alabama or Florida Gulf Coast. We see many beaches, a lot of ditches, some swamps, but the land is very flat yet there is little flooding after hard rains. The highest point in Florida is Britton Hill, which is 345 ft above sea level. Britton Hill is about 2 mi, southeast of Florala, AL. The straight line distance from Britton Hill, to the nearest beach (Destin area), is over 42 miles. Also, the soil in much of Florida and the Alabama Gulf Coast is very sanding and water settles into it very easily.

Jamaica does have some sandy beaches, but much of the soil in Jamaica is a very thick clay-like soil. It is also much more tropical with a lot more vegetation which changes the soil. I can remember many times walking in Jamaica after a rain and you get up to an inch or so taller as layers of mud clings to your shoes. I also say only an inch or so taller because any more and I was sure to slip and fall. (Yes, I have done this many times).

Jamaica's highest point is Blue Mountain Peak, at 7,401 ft at a place where the North to South breadth of the island is only 20 miles. From Blue Mountain Peak to the nearest beach (sea level) is 9.5 miles at a place called Bulls Bay. We travel through Bulls Bay coming from the airport.
​
The average rainfall on the northern and eastern slopes of the Blue Mountains is over 200 inches per year. When a hurricane or tropical storm is near this part of the island, the mountains cause the uplift of the clouds and greatly intensifies the rain even on the southern and western sides. We would suspect rain then would exceed 20 inches per day. That rain has to run downhill 7,401 ft. in a space of approximately 9.5 miles. With that, you get tremendous flooding, landslides, and erosion. (*Note - click on images below to enlarge and for captions)