Keeping the Faith..

We arrived here on Sunday April 28th after a red-eye departing SFO and touching ground briefly in FLL.  Our daugthers were so patient considering they only slept 3-4 hours between 10pm PST time and 8am Kingston time.  The weather - tropical...hot and humid.  We were received at the airport by our hosts who fed us breakfast and got us settled in.  

Jamaica has one of the highest per capita crime rates in the world.  The economy is in a recession and the unemployment rate is in the 11-13% range.  Kingston (our new home for the coming weeks), in particular, is known for high crime rates and poverty.  For our friends and family, it was a challenge to embrace the fact that we were not only choosing to take a trip to such a ‘dangerous’ place, but also drag along our 2 toddlers and their grandmother.   Though it did weigh on our minds briefly, we so deeply believed the purpose of our trip: to make a difference for segments of society that rarely get a chance to learn something that could empower them to change their lives.  We just felt that, with a little faith, all would work out.   Faith is an interested thing…it builds on itself.  The more you have faith and trust that the universe will take care of you, the more it actually is true.  In fact, I find it to be all the more true when your intentions are to serve others.  It’s almost as if the forces of nature and circumstance drive events to even exceed your expectations in taking care of your needs.  

Fact in point:  three days after our arrival here, our faith has grown leaps and bounds.  We have met the most amazing people who have shown us so much hospitality and kindness (keep in mind that we've never met these people before and we are strangers to them) that it has been truly humbling.  The sense of caring and assistance we have gotten from people we barely know has left us speechless.  In fact, when people find out why we are here, they even thank us for helping their country.  The warmth, caring and appreciation has been overwhelming. 

It’s been a busy few days.  We've been able to move into a very nice townhouse in a great neighborhood and the girls even have a playmate next door.  Our landlords have been a great help and are quickly becoming good friends.  They've gone shopping with us to help furnish our townhouse down to bringing toys for our girls.

By the third day here, we've managed to hire a nanny so that Seema's time can be freed up to teach. The nanny seems lovely so far…keeping fingers crossed, as this is her trial week.   Seema's mom has found a friend and walking partner across the street (the mother of ones of our host friends that we just met).  Hard to believe all this has happened since Sunday - the day we arrived. 

Devan already started assisting his first course in a maximum-security prison called Tower Street on day 2 since arriving in Kingston.  Tower Street is a former slave holding facility and was never built to be a prison.  The inmates don’t even have basic facilities such as latrines.  Three men sleep directly on the hard, concrete floor in each tiny cell.  The prison was slated to host 700 men and currently holds over 1600!  I've visited the facility everyday this week teaching the Prison Smart course.  This course is not mandatory and the men have the option not to attend.  This first 5-day course hosts approximately 40 inmates.  -  the men come to class clean, attentive and ready to learn each day - this in itself has blown away any pre-conceived notions I had.  In addition, they are ready to share their experiences of the course openly and authentically.  We’ve asked they be ready to start by 1pm and they are seated on the floor with nothing more than one page of a newspaper acting as a cushion and this by 12:55pm.   A few pictures of the men following instructions on yoga and pranayams below: 

I feel so much of this discipline comes from the people running the facility.  The officer we are working with is a remarkable man – he clearly cares for these men and the men have much respect for him.  The officer himself has taken the course before and benefited in such a profound way that he wants every man in the facility to go through the course.  In a short three days, I feel I’ve learnt more from these men than what I might have to offer them.    Regardless of what crimes they may have committed, you can’t help but feel there is humanity in them and they are just waiting for the right key to unlock opportunity.  

All in all, the experience so far has been amazing and the first week is only half done.  

With many more weeks to go, we hope that this blog will be a source of interest, education, and, hopefully, some entertainment to all of you.  We are excited to share our journey and welcome your comments, thoughts and most of all prayers for the less fortunate that we’re here to help.