A trip to Jamaica can satisfy all your senses. Upon arrival, your eyes will drink in an exotic island paradise offering the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea, the rugged inland Blue Mountains and the narrow coastal plains where cities such as Kingston, Negril, Ocho Rios, and Montego Bay offer both historical and tropical adventures. You’ll sway to the rhythm of a reggae tune or settle back to the gentle sounds of waves landing methodically on white sandy beaches. Spicy “Jerk Chicken” will satisfy your adventurous need for tasty authentic cuisine and the smell of fresh air and sweet fragrances will relax your soul. As the third largest island in the Caribbean, Jamaica attracts over a million tourists a year. This year it attracted 7 individuals who satisfied another sense, their sense of humanity.

Angie Taylor (Cornerstone Memphis), along with her husband Greg and 7 others from the Colonial Hills Church in Southaven, MS traveled to Steer Town, Jamaica on April 14-21 to make a difference in the life of a man named Bhanno. This marked the second year the group traveled to Steer Town. Their church, Colonial Hills, works with an organization called IsleGo Missions to reach out to the people of Steer Town and build homes, minister to the children of the town, and to help educate the local people to be more self-sufficient. Most of Steer Town’s population are squatters who live in make shift housing or no housing. Bhanno is a mentally challenged individual who had been living on the streets of Steer Town under a cardboard box. He had been taken advantage of by the others in the town, so the Mid-South group traveled to Jamaica and worked with his nephew to build him a home on his nephew’s property. His nephew’s home was already full of other family members and regretfully had no room for Bhanno. In addition to building a home, the group also gave Bhanno a bed, pillows and linen that were provided by the Cornerstone Bible Study Group (Cornerstone Memphis).

While in Steer Town to build Bhanno’s home, the group walked through the town to visit with the local children. “Children come from everywhere as we walk through the town” said Angie. “They just long to be touched and shown that they matter to someone. When they see us they see hope. People ask me all the time ‘Why do you spend your money and your vacation to build a house for someone in another country that you don’t know? Do you really think you make a difference? My answer to them is I know that I have made a difference in the lives of the two families I touched in Jamaica. I have seen first hand the fruit of my labor on the home built last year for a single mother with three children. She has started her own business, her daughter is safe and is in the 9th grade (90% of the children only get a 6th grade education – only the top 10% get to continue their education.)”

Since returning to the Mid-South, Angie and the Cornerstone Bible Study Group held a baby shower for the babies back in Steer Town. The group collected and shipped baby clothes and diapers June 2…to once again….make a difference in someone’s life.

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