Monday, May 5, 2008

Real Jamaica - Reach Out And Touch Someone Via Bread Basket Ministries In Ocho Rios Jamaica

My day to day world of Real Jamaica Vacations pretty much tends to revolve around The Blue House Luxury Bed and Breakfast Villa, our guests, their interests and their vacation experiences.

My day to day living also includes heading a Christian Non Profit Charity in Ocho Rios, Bread Basket Ministries. Volunteers at Bread Basket Ministries follow the lead of The Holy Spirit and reach out to help very destitute families in nearby villages who struggle each day to survive. Families who are faced with the choice, on almost a daily basis, of either eating or sending their children to school. Families who live in unimaginably hovels and deplorable, heartwrenching squalor with no sanitary conveniences. Elderly who struggle to survive on almost next to nothing.

The vast majority of visitors to Jamaica's sundrenched shores have no idea that as much as 17% of our population of 2.75 million people live below the poverty line, but quite a few of our guests at The Blue House have ventured out with me when I go Bread Basket-ing. http://www.breadbasketministries.com/

Through the support of these few generous Blue House guests, the support of a few very caring Spirit led individuals who find and support our non profit Christian charity thru online donations, the support of a couple of local and international businesses, a portion of the income from The Blue House, a recent donation from JASY volunteers (a wonderful group of 26 Christian youth and their leaders/chaperones who recently ran a summer camp for inner city children from a war-torn ghetto in Kingston) and the promised help of a couple of soon to arrive mission trip teams from the US, Bread Basket Ministries will be building their first house for a poor single mother who is in jeopardy of having her children taken away from her because of their extremely dire living conditions.

A Bible verse that speaks strongly to my heart is Isaiah 58:10-11

"If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."

I pray that these words will penetrate your heart as they have mine.

God Bless.

2 comments:

JASYmon1 said...

God bless you Elise for all that you are and for all that you do for others, be they guests in your beautiful home or desperately poor souls in Trenchtown. Accompanying you to meet Ms Nolly's family was the most impactful part of our mission trip to Jamaica. Namaste. David

Elise Yap said...

So happy you decided to join us for that visit, David.

Hats off to you and your entire mission trip team for working so hard with the children from Riverton City.

You guys are all heart ! God's richest blessings to you all