EARLY CREW HAS ARRIVED!

Hey guys!

Five of us went ahead of the group to set up, order supplies, set up assemblies, and make everything ready for the rest of the team. The early crew is Duane, Randy Fields, Renee Fields, Austin Fields, and myself. Everything is going great so far, and God is already stretching our faith and reminding us that he is in control!

When we arrived at the airport, we were told we would not be permitted to bring the sound system since it was too far over weight (it weighed 80 pounds and the limit is 70). For those of you who are familiar with this trip and the ministry we'll be doing, we use that sound system for just about everything we do, so the thought of leaving it behind was overwhelming. We tried explaining and offering payment, but the lady at the ticket counter would not budge because it is a strict policy among all the airlines. I left Renee at the ticket counter while I walked away to call Pastor Eran and come up with ideas. When I came back to the counter 5 minutes later, I see the lady putting a ticket on the bag, saying, "I'm going to pretend I don't know how much this weighs, okay?" HOW AMAZING IS THAT?! After that hold up and the long lines at security, we were worried we wouldn't make our flight. Along comes a TSA worker who ushers us and the other people in our flight to the front of the line! We make it on the plane about 10 minutes into the boarding process. Just in the nick of time! Our flight went smoothly, and the French toast sticks were surprisingly delicious!

When we landed, we got through customs and picked up all our luggage without a problem. Now for renting a vehicle... I get to the Budget counter where I reserved a van. There I meet Richard Bennett who turned out to be an angel in disguise :) After quoting us the price and watching me struggle with that price for a minute or two, he said, "Please ask me for a discount." No joke. Who says that?! I was flabbergasted! (haven't used that word in awhile :) He gave us a generous discount and promised that he could give us an even better discount when the team comes on Wednesday if we went directly through him. He overheard us talking about needing cell phones, so he took us across town where he gets a corporate discount and he really fought for us to get us the discount and make sure they weren't ripping us off! How incredible is this man?! He said to me, "You're coming here to do something for my people that I wouldn't do for them, and I live here. I try to use my job at the rental counter to do something good too." What an incredible example of how God can use our jobs and skills and connection, no matter what they are, to bless other people if we will allow him! Richard was my hero of the day :)

We got to Teen Challenge after stopping for a delicious lunch at Scotchie's. It was wonderful to meet some of our old friends. Guess who stopped by to see us? CHANG! We love him! He graduated from Teen Challenge and was our bus driver last year. This year, he has a great job at a horse farm where they do beach tours. He is taking Brother T's son and Austin for a free ride today, where they will ride horses through the old slave plantations and the jungle down to the beach, and then ride through the ocean and come back and sample local Jamaican food!

Besides that, we're cranking out all the work we need to do to set up and it's all going great! We're so excited for the rest of the team to get here, and we're even more excited to see what God's going to do in and through us.

Love you guys!

Pastor Courtney and the early crew