Some closing thoughts from Tayler...

Hey everyone! Tayler here. As the staff prepares to leave Harmons this week, there are so many thoughts and emotions that could never be put into words. After spending close to three months here, it’s hard to imagine living life any other way. However, there are a few closing thoughts that I would like to send out there to everyone on the other side of our experience this summer.
Something that has troubled me all summer is the tourism here in Jamaica. Despite it being a large part of the economy here, I am so sad that all some people get to see of this beautiful place are all-inclusive resorts and white sand beaches. The Jamaica I have come to know and love is completely different from that – and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
At the beginning of the summer I would just get so angry driving past big hotels on the way to the airport, thinking about the audacity of some people who come down here, experience a small part of the culture, take some pictures, get a tan and go home. However, as the summer went on, I started to realize that this is exactly what I did on my first trip to Harmons. It’s something I have come to call “spiritual tourism.” The reason I say spiritual tourism is because I used to have great God experiences on week trips, but that high would wear off soon after returning home. During week trips, I would talk to a few people here and there, take some pictures, and go home. Not to say that my previous trips to Harmons did not impact me in profound ways (and believe me they did), but the true essence of Harmons never really set in until I gave up my summer to be here. There’s just something about being here and deeply engaging in the culture and with the people that has changed me from the inside out. This summer I have experienced God through the many relationships I have formed with my Jamaican friends. This experience is not something I intend to leave in Harmons when I return home. No longer do I feel like a tourist who experiences Harmons and then goes back home to a normal life. This time, I intend to take everything I have learned and experienced here and carry It back with me and apply it to my life back in the states. One of my favorite quotes by E.E. Cummings that I feel is extremely applicable here is “I carry your heart with me always, I carry it in my heart.” I know for sure that my heart has been changed this summer…in a way that I will not soon forget.