Jamaica: Surrounded

Standing in the midst of the Harmons in Jamaica, I felt as though I was surrounded. I felt surrounded by poverty, by brokenness, by emptiness. And I was surrounded by the feelings of guilt and shame for having so much, while these people have so little

These were the things that I felt at my first glance of the Harmons—when I hadn’t yet gotten to know and truly experience this amazing place. The longer I stood in the midst of the Harmons, I realized that I was surrounded by amazing beauty. Towering mountains that were covered in a blanket of green trees that were breathtakingly beautiful stood all around.

I realized that I was surrounded by the love of God. It was the love that filled and was so willingly poured out of the hearts and souls of the inhabitants of the Harmons.

And I realized that I was surrounded by hope—that God would provide a future so much bigger and so much better than the present.

After realizing these things about my surroundings, God spoke to me through the Harmons and helped me to realize things about myself as well.

I realized that I was the one that was impoverished. Maybe not in of materialistic things but my spirit was poor.

I realized that I was the one that was broken, and these people were impacting my life so much more than I could have impacted their lives.

I realized that I was the one that was empty, only I didn’t know it because I had tried filling myself up with things other than God.

Overall, I realized that I was standing in the thumbprint of God. It is made so obvious to me that God’s hand is at work in this region of the world. I realized that even though I felt like I was surrounded, I was surrounded by God. This was the most important lesson that the Harmons could have taught me, that even in the worst situations that the world could create, I am still surrounded by God.

MacKenzie Johnson, a student at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, served with Go Now Missions in Jamaica during Christmas break.