Rocky Point

Since coming to Pearl Lagoon more than a year ago I have always heard of the group going in service out in the jungle at Rocky Point, and until now I have always missed the trip, usually by just a few days. Either I was away for a visa run or back in Canada or for some other reason the trip was planned when I was not around, but finally I have had the opportunity to work Rocky Point. It was Thursday night and I was walking home from the meeting when I heard talk that a group was planning to go by bicycle the next morning at 5:00 AM. I will admit that the idea of going so far on a bicycle was intimidating, but i was determined to be included this time.

We refilled our water bottles
with coconut water

4 of us took off the next morning down the rocky road through Haulover and followed the road straight south. We were already feeling the heat even this early as we rode across the open area called the Savannah. After some time we reached the edge of the rain forest, there was a river and a pumping station which was where the municipal water in Pearl Lagoon comes from. The moment we crossed the bridge we hit a wall of cool air. I had never realized this phenomenon existed but apparently the thick vegetation actually cools the air significantly when you are in the jungle. This helped us have the strength to carry on further, a long with how fresh and clean the air smelled.

The ride took us about 45 minutes before we reached the first gate, where we then hiked inside to the house. Most of the people we were visiting this morning spoke Spanish but there also a large number of Creole people in the area. Edward "Daha" Fox who is one of our most recently baptized brothers lead the way as this area was his home. He lead us to each of the farms where we had long conversations with entire families, many offering us food and coconut water.

On call of note was a young man named Choko. He has had a condition since birth, I'm not exactly sure what it is but it seems like some kind of brain damage, he is unable to communicate except for a few words such as "mama" and "papa" however he is able to move around fine and is in good physical health. Choko is intensely cheerful and gets quite excited when visitors come. He cannot read, but for some reason has always loved books. He had little interest in videos on a tablet but with any magazine or book he will sit with it for hours looking at the pictures and pointing out people that look like his family. When I gave him a copy of the brochure "Listen to God and live forever" (the one with all pictures and few words) he got so excited I thought he was going to explode. He started running around the house showing everyone what he had, and was shaking so much from excitement he could hardly hold on to it. He finally sat down and flipped through it shrieking with glee at each page. I have never seen anyone enjoy our literature as much as Choko and I don't think I ever will.

First call

Parking lot

On the way to the door

Going up the driveway

Bacon bits

Cocoa

Run Down with lime

We finished there at around noon and headed back to Pearl Lagoon. We stopped in Haulover at Kati's house where we enjoyed a home cooked meal of fish "run down", a perfect way to finish the day.