I didn’t expect to come back to Jamaica a second time. I also didn’t expect to learn so much about prayer and gratitude in the short time before and during my trip.

From the little whispered prayers for breezes and clouds to bigger prayers for protection and wisdom, God has been faithful and answered in big ways and small.

I am humbled as I watch a man rejoice over having a new 4 ft kitchen added to his small home, or a family of 3 move into a room smaller than my own bedroom back home, propped on cement blocks with a crumbling concrete floor. Yet they rejoice, they smile, and they warmly thank us for our help.

We gather to pray a blessing over their new homes, and they instead pray blessings over us.

Their churches on Sunday are filled with people who live in less-than-desirable situations, yet their worship is sweet and pure. Hearts poured out in gratitude over what God has done for them in spite of all their hard circumstances.

I hope I can learn true gratitude like the Jamaicans: hearts that worship God, hearts full of joy and thanks in all circumstances—poverty, leaky roofs, and small one-room homes.

Thank you for your prayers and support. Please continue to lift our team and the people of Jamaica up in prayer!