Pearce Lalli- China Man

To be honest, this trip crept up on me.  With the stresses of finals, and graduation, the Jamaica trip was put on my mental back burner.  With this in mind, I wasn't prepared mentally, or physically.  The night before the flight consisted of hectically throwing stuff into my bag, and trying to get my things together.  When I finally finished packing (which was about 2:30), I sat down and had a little quiet time with God.  I asked Him to just give me the patience and strength to prepare me for everything I was going to encounter in the next week.  I was then off to bed, and then in a few hours, off to the airport.

I came into the week in Jamaica with a certain mindset.  I planned to approach the week like my hair: the mullet.  Though this might seem silly, it made sense to me.  Business in the front, party in the back :) There was a time to buckle down and work hard, and then there was a time to let loose, and enjoy everything that Jamaica had to offer.  

The very first work day I was assigned to work on House #1, and this is where I received my pet name: China Man (for obvious reasons).  We threw up the walls, and the house really began to take shape.  In the process of cutting out the hole for the window, I acquired a decent cut on my face for the metal wire.  This was exciting for me because combined with my mullet, it was a pretty fierce look.  Like any boy, I hoped for it to scar, but to my dismay, it began to heal.  Unfortunately for us, but luckily for the Jamaicans, it rained all day.  This made the work a little bit harder.  But since we had a team made up of a few stallions, we persevered.  The walls were up, the doors and windows were in, and the roof was done. A pretty decent day of work, if i might say so myself.

One of the more exciting nights of my trip was men's night.  This was my first real interaction with the Jamaican people for an extended period of time.  The game was dominoes, and boy did it get intense at my table. It was a Akeem and I vs. another American and Noel ( the real China Man). After the short learning period for us rookies, the game was on. Dominoes were being slammed, things were being shouted, and smoothies were being consumed.  I walked away with a smile, it was something that I would do again in a heartbeat. 

The next two days consisted of the hardest work I did all week.  I was on the foundation team that did both foundations.  I had been told of how challenging it would be, and they sure didn't lie.  I, along with the many other teammates, carried maul and cement for a full day.  I worked with some of the most hard working people I have ever met at these sites (the Jamaicans), and it was amazing to seem them do what they do best.  It sure was some tiring work, but in the end it will all be worth it.  

Over the last couple years I had heard stories of trips to Jamaica, and this week I was able to finally experience them all.  Everything from the ting, to the work sites, to the people, it was all so much better than all I expected.  I'm very thankful that God blessed me with this opportunity, and I can't believe it is almost over.  I will never forget the people that i came down here to help, who actually ended up changing my life.  I miss home, but I know I will miss Jamaica the second i get on the plane. Ahhhhh, what a week. God is great!!