It is how you choose to look at it

We rose Sunday with renewed vigor after a good night's rest.  We gathered for our morning devotion under an almond tree, with a friendly woodpecker keeping a steady rhythm.  The open space and warm breezes, along with hot coffee, added joy to our Sunday morning.

John led our song "Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord".  Reading from 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, he reminded us about looking at our lives through God's lens as we participate at the station He posts us.  Like our flippers we use in our eye glass clinic, we can see better when we let him flip the lens.

We traveled to St. Andrew's Lutheran Church for breakfast and worship.  We enjoyed the singing by the congregation.  Pastor Ite led us through the readings of the day that centered on the Good Shepherd from Luke 15:1-10.  The sermon on Christ seeking the lost one over staying with the other 99 inspired our continued prayer for sharing the Gospel with those that are lost.

A neat moment was the sharing the peace with the members of the church.  Men and women and children from Kingston shook hands with men and women from Michigan, smiling and nodding as if we saw each other each Sunday.  The service concluded with Holy Communion and more singing.

We enjoyed lunch at the worship center with members of the congregation.  Pans of BBQ and jerk chicken, red beans and rice, and festival were consumed as we sat side by side our new friends.  We were reminded about our common traits of friendship, fellowship, and food.

Alysia and Erin began planning how to setup the eyeglass clinic within the building.  The flow of the stations, from registration through dispensing, helps us conduct a smooth clinic experience.  We also provided a short clinic for the parishoners.  This allowed nearly 25 people to complete their distance and reading testing.  They will return during the week to complete the rest of the stations as we have hope that our eyeglass and sunglass supplies will arrive Monday.

Following our small clinic, we walked in small groups to distribute flyers for the clinic for several blocks around the worship center.  Erin pointed out that the worship center is near a major shared transportation center. We received smiles from those who accepted our flyer.  Mary shared that one woman was sure Mary was sent from God because she was in need of eyecare and had a day off of work on Tuesday.

We returned to the worship center and  finished planning for Monday's cultural day.  We then proceeded for a walk to a grocery store to find treats and other food items.  The store was well stocked including cranwater, plantain chips, spices and sauces, and fruits.  After shopping and sharing information about the upcoming clinic, we headed to dinner at Island Grill.  We ordered chicken, rice, sandwiches, fries, and juice drinks.  We  sharwd stories of our day with one another before heading back to our hotel.

Alysia started off our evening time by helping us unpack what we saw during our first full day in Kingston.  Our devotion time followed with Heather providing music for us to sing "Reckless Love", which reminded us of Pastor Ite's sermon about God's love for us.  Mary led us through connections from Proverbs 3:5 and placing our trust in Him as we experienced multiple "what ifs" so far on this mission trip.  

We have remained steady in our faith that God's plan is best.  Our perspective is best viewed through His viewpoint.  We believe we have had a successful start in sharing the love of Christ in Kingston.