Tell Your Story

A week in Harmons can be life-impacting and we have heard many powerful stories over the years from people who have come on trips.  We would like to make this a place where you have the opportunity to share your story!  If you would like to be included on this webpage, please email Wendy a picture and your text and we may post it!

Sam's Story

I had a really rough year leading up to our trip to Jamaica. I reached a point in my life where I decided that I wanted nothing to do with God and Christianity. I was very against church in general and what I believed was the typical American Christian. I came to a point where I told God I wanted nothing to do with him and that I could figure things out on my own and live according to my own rules. This decision eventually threw me into one of the darkest points of my life. At first I admit I liked living with no rules but it was extremely difficult for me to live this double life; on the inside I was living how I wanted, without God; but on the outside I had to act like I was still a Christian around my friends and family. This was very hard and I was terribly lost and was searching for something to fill this mysterious void that developed in my life. I was looking all over for a label to give myself: Buddhist, humanist, agnostic. None of these seemed to fit. I had become depressed and developed bad anxiety. I think deep down I knew why I was feeling this way but I was too stubborn and selfish to fix what was wrong. Through all of this I know that God was trying to get my attention but I kept ignoring him until finally I reached a point where I couldn't ignore him any longer. I was all out of my own ideas so as I approached this year's Jamaica trip, I told God that I would go into the trip with an open mind and an open heart and see what happens.

I came on this trip hoping God would spark something within me that would give me the push I needed to kind of start over. This being my fourth year to Jamaica, I had learned to come with no expectations and that's exactly what I did. I had no idea what was in store or what I thought God would do. And I definitely didn't. As I have learned how God tends to do things, He didn't "spark" something inside me, but instead turned my life completely upside down on this trip. There was not a big "aha" moment when I suddenly realized everything but instead it was more subtle. I saw how OBC and the group from Pennsylvania worked so well together serving the Jamaicans and God, I saw how beautiful the locals are, I saw how much God has done in Harmons. I saw Jesus. And this changed my life. On the last night when we were sharing I was trying to think of what to say. All of a sudden it just came to me: this is it. This is what I've been looking for. This is Christianity. No matter how much I get caught up in how sad I think our culture is and how it frustrates me, I know what true Christianity is, for I have experienced it firsthand and it is beautiful. Whenever I find myself getting too caught up in this culture, I remind myself of Harmons, the beautiful place where God has put my heart. He has revealed to me what life is truly about: loving Jesus and loving others.

After Jamaica, my life has been a lot different. I have this wonderful sense of peace and joy. I feel free.

The world is mine and nothing is holding me back. I am very excited to see what all He has in store for me. In no way is this the end of my 'story,’ but instead, the beginning.

Share Your Idea

Many of us have appreicated the opportunity to give, share, and serve during a week in Harmons.  But how do you continue your ministry once you are home in the States?  We would like to make this a place where you have the opportunity to share your idea!  If you would like to be included on this webpage, please email Wendy a picture and your text and we may post it!

Birthday Shoes!
Wanting to do something more meaningful for their birthdays than accumulate more toys, Cohen and Caden of Midlothian, Virginia chose to ask their party guests to bring black school shoes for school children in Harmons.  Because of their request, about 20 Jamaican children will now have school shoes!

In Charlotte, North Carolina, Haven did the same thing for her 7th birthday and collected 22 pairs of shoes to bring to Jamaica.  That's an additional 22 children who will now have these shoes, which is a required part of their school uniform.

We can never have enough black school shoes, so maybe you can collect these as well in a fun and creative way!