Jerk!!

When starting to think through the realities of day to day life on a mission trip, one question you may be thinking is “What will I eat?” In this series, PPM’s Missions Coordinators and Full-time Missionaries want to offer you a little insight into the delicious international cuisine we get to eat on a day to day basis. So come and join us on a trip and don’t be afraid to taste the flavors of the world!

When you think about food in Jamaica you probably think about the fruits and that's about it. If you've never been to Jamaica then your mind probably starts to wander and you think, "what if they eat dog/cat/goat"? Well, none of those are true...except the goat.  ;)

There are several "staples" of Jamaican food. There's for sure "rice and peas" (red beans and rice) and chicken...all the time. For breakfast there are eggs, dumplings (almost like donut holes), pancakes, french toast...the usual familiar stuff. For lunch there are Jamaican beef patties, which is traditionally a semi-spicy ground beef in a tasty, flaky pastry shell. If desired you can also get a cocoa bread with it which is a fluffy, buttery, almost brioche type bread that you sandwich your patty in. For dinner there's pork, stewed beef, potato salad, coleslaw...the list goes on of familiar food. But there's always chicken...breakfast, lunch, dinner...chicken.

What I would consider the crown jewel of chicken is Jamaica's famous jerk chicken! You can find jerk chicken almost everywhere on the island with some places being more famous than others. One of the biggest perks of working with PPM is being able to traverse the island and try jerk chicken literally everywhere. But my favorite is good ole Scotchies in Montego Bay! I can have it daily if necessary...and I often do. :)

Jerk is a style of cooking combined with a unique marinade. Everyone does it differently but there are a few standards that make jerk chicken stand out from regular marinated, grilled chicken.

• whole chicken...never boneless breasts - I've tried making just jerk chicken breast and it's just not the same
• white vinegar - I don't know why but if you wash your chicken in white vinegar first it seems to keep it more moist and adds a unique flavor
• jerk seasoning - I use a combination of store bought dry seasoning and a wet marinade - scallions, garlic, onions, Jamaican allspice, thyme and the Jamaican scotch bonnet pepper are usual ingredients - I’m not ready to try and make my own yet - ideally you would let it marinade for a day or so but just a couple hours will do the trick too
• WOOD! NEVER GAS! - in Jamaica the wood almost ALWAYS used is pimento wood, also known as Jamaican allspice - here at home it's hard to find pimento wood so I use hickory - at Scotchies they use pimento coals and cook on top of pimento logs so there is a TON of smoke which is where a lot of the flavor comes from - the goal is low, slow heat with smoke
• put the chicken on the grill and feel free to forget about it for a while - if your heat is low enough you can let it cook for sometimes 20 minutes or more without having to flip it
• a little char - the spice marinade will char up a little and that's great! - this char is very flavorful and desired :) 

The outcome is a flavorful, sometimes spicy, tender chicken! In Jamaica you don't eat jerk chicken in actual pieces (ie. leg, thigh, wing, breast, etc.). Instead they put it on a block of wood and with a butcher knife just cut it into pieces, bone and all.

To top it off some use ketchup (Jamaican ketchup is a little sweeter), some use a ketchup/Red Stripe (Jamaican beer) mix, and some have a unique, homemade, spicy jerk/pepper sauce. Or you can just eat it as is. Regardless of how you eat it you won't be disappointed!

So if you're thinking of a mission trip and you're worried about food...we got your back! Come to Jamaica and try the best chicken you'll ever have! And I won't even start with the jerk pork...

Ain't it funny? (part 3 of 3)

"Well hello there, my it's been a long, long time"
I had planned on writing this back in February with the other two "parts". Life has surely been busy since then! I've been so blessed to have some amazing groups to serve with this spring! The work that these teams did can't be measured against the amount of joy they brought into so many lives! There were great things built and good things done, but they don't compare to the relationships that were made! I was back "home" to the US for about 3 weeks and it felt weird. Interesting...

"How's your new love? I hope he's doing fine"
In the first part of this three-part series I talked about my broken heart. God has surely brought me through this time and showed me His will. At this point I still don't know what the future holds but I have a trust that God has His timing. The comforting part about this whole journey is really that I have committed myself to it and I've accepted it. It's not like times past where I've been trying to live two separate lives. Whether it be good or bad, I've basically committed to just my life here (in Jamaica). Of course I miss friends and family, but it's not like I saw them much in years past during this time of year anyways. Mentally it's been good. Emotionally it's been good. In the long run I trust it will be good!

"Well I got to go now, and I guess I'll see you 'round"
"Pelican summer" for almost 800 people starts here in Jamaica next weekend! Up to a year or more of planning all comes to fruition starting May 30. There's definitely not enough time in the day to prepare for everything that will go on in the next almost 3 months, but the reassuring part is that God is in control of what will happen. I've said it multiple times, but I know that God is in control and there's only so much I can prepare for. He will handle the details. That's comforting to know at this point!

"Sittin' at the dock of the bay..."
So for the next almost three months pray for the 9 teams that I'll be leading! I have put plans in place but only God knows what is truly in store for them. For some of them it will be their first time out of the country...for some their first time to Jamaica...for some they will REALLY hear God speak to them for the first time...for ALL it will be a life-changing experience! Pray that I get out of the way and let God work!

"Ain't it funny?"
I started this 6 month journey a little over 3 months ago. So I'm about half-way through and I'm still listening to what God wants to tell me. Knowing the way God works in me, in August I'll look back over the past six months and really start to comprehend what He's been trying to teach me. The people I've met, the places I've been, the amazing experiences I've had! Whatever it is, I know I'll look back and wonder how the time slipped away...

Spoiled! (part 2 of 3)

And here I sit in Montego Bay, Jamaica feeling like a king! I read/hear about snow storms and biting cold and all I can do is feel sorry for those folks. My version of bad weather is when it rained for 2 days this weekend and since we were up in the hills a bit it got chilly (maybe mid-60s) at night and all I had was a sheet. LUCKILY the rain cleared out and the sun came out in time for our day at the beach. I can sit outside drinking Blue Mountain coffee and watching a hummingbird buzz around in the mornings. I drive past the sea every day and sometimes forget to look. . . FORGET TO LOOK!? I mean, COME ON! Who can say things like that!? Me! That's who!

Somehow, somewhere I did something that got me to this place. . . a place where I can just feel God's presence shining down on me. . . oh! wait! did I really do anything? Is it my doing, my actions that got me here? God surely knows it was NOT my doing! God has made it clear in no quiet fashion that He is in control and I'm just along for the ride! Who gets to say these things!? Me!

I get to serve with some of the most amazing people, and although they're only in my world for a short week usually, they forever impact my life. I mean, just this past week I met a kid who can solve a Rubik's cube in under a minute (that's impressive!), but he can also have 100 kids laughing and chasing after him in the same amount of time. . . a blind girl who has absolutely nothing but has one of the most amazing voices I've ever heard. . . a man who has been bed-ridden for nine years who wants nothing more than to speak truth into the lives of others and bless them through his faith in God. . . a lady who has opened her small home to the destitute children of Jamaica. . . and the list could go on and on. Who has the right to meet these people!? Certainly not me! But I do.

Not only do I get to meet new people nearly every day, but I get to visit old friends. I have a "wife" at the St. James infirmary (even though she wears a Pittsburgh Steelers hat) who will hold my hand the entire time I'm there and just laugh and smile. I have a friend at the St. Ann infirmary who is confined to a wheelchair; mentally and physically disabled but she sure laughs and smiles every time she sees me. There are children in a community close to me that will climb on me and just want to be near me when I'm around. Why do I get to have these people in my life?

I surely don't say these things to brag, but I say these because I still don't believe it and I am so humbled at the life I live. I thank God that he has given me this opportunity and put Jamaica on my heart. I get up early, sometimes have to work late, sometimes have to make emergency trips to the airport in the middle of the night (which I would do a million times over again, Dan!). And I LOVE it! I am surely spoiled rotten! I can't say I don't like it though. :)

Confirmed (Part 1 of 3)

Sunday, December 30, 2012 - Hopewell Baptist Church, Hopewell, Hanover, Jamaica. I have two teams totaling 9 people and we're wrapping up a week of building a chicken coop. Although the coop is significant in this story, it's not the main point. It benefits this family by giving them food, an income and stability. However there is something more going on here.

Rewind to December 5(ish), 2012 - I have just proposed to Praying Pelican Missions that I would like to spend a good amount of time in Jamaica this year. I proposed that when I came here to Jamaica in December that I would stay through August and spend time reinforcing our partnerships with churches and ministries here as well as assisting in the day-to-day operations of setting up and leading trips. It was just a proposal. . . they liked it and ran with it. I was nervous, unsure, questioning my thoughts that I had put into words. I had just spent the past 6 months fighting against spending so much time in Jamaica! A girl broke up with me over 6 months ago because I was gone too much. . . I wasn't over it. . . I loved her. I wanted to find a way to settle down and find a nice girl and. . . the American dream. What was I thinking!?

Back to the future - Dec. 30 - I'm sitting in church listening to Pastor Oniel Brown preach a Christmas sermon. He's fired up as most Jamaican pastors are when they're preaching. He's talking about Mary's role in the Christmas story. Protestants don't talk much about Mary unlike the Catholics. We don't have anything against her, we just don't focus on her so much. 

Mary, however, has an interesting perspective in the Christmas story. Pastor Brown talked about how much Mary had to lose. A young woman, maybe 15 or so, engaged to be married, a virgin. . . pregnant. Unlike today, this was not a common story. She had absolutely everything to lose! Legally she could have been put to death. Joseph could have divorced her and had her killed for being pregnant. Virgins, after all, don't get pregnant. In Luke, the angel tells Mary that her life is about to be turned upside down. Mary's answer is simply, "I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled." What!? Really!? That's it? No arguing? No questioning? Just, "yeah, sure, ok"? Wow. . . that's faith!

When Pastor Brown was talking about Mary and how she trusted even though she had EVERYTHING to lose, I felt like he was speaking to me. I was nervous about my decision, but what did I really have to lose? In my mind I was losing the opportunity to find "that special person" and settle down. But God was telling me to trust him and He'd take care of it. God was using Pastor Brown to tell me that it was all going to be OK. 

And. . . 

Daddy Issues

This past month has been crazy! I've been to Atlanta, Dallas, Minneapolis, Louisville and Chicago as well as back home to Bloomington, IL. But it's been an awesome month and although much of the travel was for work, it was to be with people and to talk about what I love. So very much worth it!

With all that travel and about 3 straight weeks of not "working" (sitting here at my desk working), it's time to play catch up (or ketchup or catsup if you prefer). So on this cold Monday it's time to tell the world what's been going on!

I would have to say one of the most impacting times over the past month was my time in Dallas. I went there for a convention but scheduled in some time to see my dad whom I hadn't seen in about 5 years. If you remember my post from October 1, "Parenting Advice for a Single Guy!?", I had realized that a relationship with my dad is healthy and something that I needed to pursue.

So looking back on that post I am realizing that of the 4 stages (nursing, king/queen, coach, and friend) I hadn't ever really experienced ANY of these with my dad. Funny thing. . . I found myself acting like a kid around him at first. It was the weirdest thing! I would want to jump on him, hit him, and just play around. And immediately I recognized it and had to stop myself. That's what we always did when we would see each other over the years and so that was my first inclination. So basically I had to skip all the steps (partially consciously) and go straight to the "friend" stage. 

And you know what?? It was GREAT! I had never really spent a good amount of time with my dad as an adult. I ended up staying with him about 3 days and it was one of the best things I could have done for myself. 

I can think back over the years and I have said OUT LOUD that I didn't want to be like my dad. He's made some poor choices in life (haven't we all!?), but the funny thing is that I never really knew what it was/wasn't that I didn't want to be like. All I knew was that his absence in my life had created this inner turmoil that I still can't explain. This turmoil still exists, but I at least feel like I have a better understanding of it. Turns out we are very much alike. We think the same way about the very basics of life. About treating people with respect. About helping others. Granted, we are very different in many ways also, but I realized that I was OK with turning out to be like him. I'll learn from his mistakes and make a few different choices, but overall he's not the "bad guy" I always thought he was. 

I don't know how to explain it but I left Dallas with a little touch of pride and a little more self-esteem and a little more confidence. I guess those are things you get from your dad? 

I also got to spend some time with my younger brother, Evan! What a great kid! (kid? he's 26!) He's dealt with way too much for someone his age and he's a trooper! I haven't had much of a relationship with him either in the past. That's something I want to change too!

Keep in touch for some breaking news coming soon. . .