Summer Staff Profile #1

Hello everybody and greetings from Harmons, Jamaica! Right now, the Staff is still preparing the Harmony House (and ourselves) for the first group, which will arrive in Harmons on Monday. So in the meantime, I would like myself to introduce...myself. My name is Tim and I will be primarily in charge of the blog for the summer. Although, I would like to add that I am not the only one you will be hearing from. The blog is an open forum not only for me, but also for the other seven Staff members who be in Harmons for the summer. So here is a little bit about me!

• Name - Timothy Rowand




• Age - 20




• Hometown - Smethport, PA




• High School - Smethport Area JR-SR High School "Go Hubs!"




• College - Jamestown Community College




• Major - Social Services




• Hobbies - Reading, Writing, BLOGGING, having fun, studying useless things, watching movies...




• Interest- Cultures, Geography, Religions, basically learning as much as I can about other people from around the world




• Favorite Color - Any hue of blue




• Favorite Sports Team - Newcastle United "Geordies Unite!"




• Favorite Book - Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller and Kiss Me Like a Stranger by Gene Wilder




• Favorite TV Show - The Office, The Riches, Hell's Kitchen, and Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares




• Favorite Food - Pasta of any sorts




• Favorite Jamaican Food - I like anything with jerk and I have grown to love curry chicken




• Favorite Music - I really enjoy alternative rock and I listen to a lot of European music




• Biggest Dream - Well, I am one to dream big, so I would like to visit every country experience every culture...and in my biggest dream, learn every language




• My job in Jamaica - I am a co-work site coordinator with John and I also run the blog!
  



• Biggest thing I have learned lately - Well, I guess that would have to be that there are actually good and caring people out there besides my family. So far I have been really challenged to open up and to trust people I don't know, but I will happily report that it has been getting easier for me!
  


• Anything Else? - Well, I am really stoked to be doing God's work this summer and I feel very blessed to be part of such an amazing staff. I hope and pray that everybody back home is doing well too! I love and miss you all!

Greetings From Jamaica!

WE FINALLY MADE IT!

Hello everybody and greetings from Harmons, Jamaica. We all made it and we are happy to report to our readers.

Well to begin, this blog is run by the Won By One To Jamaica Summer Staff. There are eight of us who will be involved in writing, and our names are found to the right of this (and all other) entries. Anyway, to qualify for Summer Staff we all needed to satisfy the prerequisite of visiting Jamaica at least once before, you know, so we don't get lost : ) While we are down here, our jobs will be to help out the Americans who come to experience life here in Harmons, Jamaica (which is a small village in central Jamaica in the mountains and is pretty secluded from the rest of society), and to serve the community itself. We have jobs that all eight of us are personally going to be in charge of such as worship leader, store manager...etc...all that fun stuff. To say the least, we are all VERY EXCITED to be here.

So here's how we got here...

On Friday, May 23, 2008, all of us met in DuBois, PA, for a Staff retreat during which we began to prepare ourselves for our trip and got to know each other very well. Chris Whitehead is our spiritual guide for the summer, and we would all like to give him a big THANK YOU for the time he has and will be spending with us! Full-time Staff Josh Shaffer and Loyd Jackson were also there to bring all of us together spiritually, mentally, and of course physically.

After our retreat, on May 27, 2008, we finally left the states for the summer and landed in Jamaica. Then we took the long bus drive to our beloved Harmons, where we will essentially be living for the next couple of months among the locals, sharing, working, and living with them.

Right now we are all currently preparing ourselves and the Harmony House for the first group, which arrives this coming Monday. We are highly anticipating their arrival and we are all hopin' and prayin' for a safe journey for them. Can't wait see you guys!

Anyway, in all seriousness, we would like to thank all of you for your continuous prayers and support. Without any of that, this ministry would not be able to accomplish the things that we did and are anticipating to do this summer and beyond.

We would also like to thank everybody so much for reading this, and we would ask you to please keep checking in every couple of days for updates! Please leave comments if you wish, we are more than happy to answer any and all of your questions!

With Love!

The Won By One To Jamaica 2008 Summer Staff!