Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Jen's Jamaica Story


Jen Pignataro is one of kind and one of hundreds! Jen served in Montego Bay, Jamaica two weeks ago with as a part of a team of 48 adults serving with Mission Discovery. One of a kind in that she brought the unique talent of being a mural artist, and one of hundreds in that she represents what we have seen hundreds of times on Mission Discovery projects---that God continues to reviel new passions, and open doors not previously considered of service to Him.

Jen’s passion can’t be contained. She met an orphaned child at Blossom Garden Children’s Home named Emmanuel. Since Jen’s return home to New York she has work tirelessly to find a way to adopt Emmanuel or find a family that would adopt him.

Several years ago Jen came to Jamaica on a Mission Discovery project for the first time with her mom. I’m sure her mom would be proud of how that first mission trip has blossomed in Jen’s adult years!

Not just Jen, but 47 other participants connected deeply with the needy in Jamaica. One team lead a pastors training conference, another prepared a meal for the community one evening, another labored installing windows at a school for the deaf and another labored hard mixing concrete and building classroom space for a Christian pre-school in a needy neighborhood. It was a great week of hard work, but most would report that it was the relationships they built with Jamaicans, and seeing people give their lives to Christ that meant the most.

Everyone I talk to about Mission Discovery wants to go on a project, but wonders if they would really fit? Would you like to experience something life-changing? Go with me? I have the perfect location for you! And I make this promise, that you will never be the same…Just ask Jen!