i'm back from jamaica! i never knew i had such good friends. the thought of it is quite humbling actually.

my trip was a true blessing from God. i got the true jamaican treatment. not only did i stay with them in my own room, they drove 2.5-3 miles everyday from the mountains to a beach everyday to show me just a small portion of what jamaica has to offer. the day i flew in we went to a beach directly behind the airport. we ate amazing seafood and put our feet in warm water. i got some amazing pictures.

each day we did something amazing. i know it was a blessing from God because i experienced greatness on the other side of fear.

i climbed a waterfall at dunn's river falls in ochos rios. we went late enough that we were essentially by ourselves climbing the height of the waterfall. it was amazingly peaceful. each level had it's own small 2-3' pool of water. i would lay back and watch the vultures circle overhead. as we ascended up the waterfall, doubt would kick arise but when i thought i wasn't going to be able to climb up certain rocks, either damian was there to help pull me up or God gave me an extra boost to push myself up on a rock that i thought was too difficult to traverse. the experience was surreal. i always had help...always!!!

i even swam out in water deeper than 6'. i have never purposely swam out in water where i couldn't touch the bottom after i had formal swim lessons. i mean it takes commitment. real commitment. and with me being honest commitment isn't my strong suit. out of damian, merkie and me, i am the stronger swimmer. on another beach in montego bay, i swam out to a raft at the end of a pier. i attempted to climb up the ladder but i couldn't pull myself up. there were 2 fellows in the raft that pulled me up. once i got on top i just couldn't get my footing to stand up straight because of the waves. the 2 guys told me that i wouldn't be able stand on the raft, however, they encouraged me to just run and jump into the water. i let them know if didn't come back up to come get me, lol.

i run, jump off the raft and plunge into the water. it was a scary experience. the fear slowly dissipated as i rose to the top. when i broke the surface a guy that was currently in the water asked if i was ok. i said i was fine but tired. i later realized that he was the beach's lifeguard. see how God had me covered at every angle? at every angle i was being monitored. when i got back to the beach, the first thing i demanded was a patty...it didn't matter if it was a shrimp patty or an ackee patty...i deserved it! lol

because of my daring actions, i've earned a jamaican name...nicolette :)

the last day of enjoyment was spent on a beach in negril. the sand is like powder and the water is saltier making it that much easier to swim. a lifeguard at that beach said people will come out to sleep in the water because it's so much easier to float. that i couldn't believe but after experiencing the effortless floating i could see for myself that it's probably true. the water was a clear as a glass of water. warm. for me it was my first experience living in paradise. i would lay back, enjoy the sun and pray. i was experiencing the good life. a life God has mapped out for me. His hand was all over it.

during my time there i didn't know exactly what to pray for that area. even though it's in the smack dab middle of paradise, it's poverty stricken. the economy is terrible. it's amazing the everyday luxuries that i take for granted on a daily basis...like sidewalks, 4-lane streets, ditches, free public bathrooms. so what i felt compelled to pray for was a saturation of God's spirit in the area. there are lots of churches but i just felt led to pray for his spirit to return to the area. with His spirit over the area things will change for the better, including the economy.

it was kind of weird being "exotic" in the land of exotics. my american accent turned a few heads. it also could have made the situation a lot worse if i spoke during an inopportune time. we ran into some dirty cops that had damian pull over. they told him that they were going to give me a $10000 ticket if he didn't give them "drink money". damian gets back into the car, hides his wallet, and gets enough from merkie to satisfy the dirty cops. i ask if they wanted american dollars. he sternly says no and to put my money away. if they hear that i am american or learn that i have american dollars that the situation was just going to get worse. that is some scary crap for you. just merely speaking can cause you to pay more money or worse. i'm glad i didn't find out what worse was.