Final Report from Jamaica

We would like to share a final report of the Fun in the Son Festival in Jamaica as described by Randy Burtis, Festival Director with the Luis Palau Association. The following is his report!

It was a weekend of great victories! We had an awesome week in Kingston as our team spread out across some of the toughest neighborhoods on the Island. On Monday, our missions team from the U.S. and the UK drove up into the Blue Mountains to begin three days of ministry at the City of Refuge orphanage. In the morning, after a 90 minute bus ride, they did painting, cleaning and moving furniture so the next team could do some remodeling. Afternoons were filled with ministry to the 70 abandoned children at the orphanage. Then a 90 minute ride home on some of the narrowest, roughest, mountain roads you have ever seen. Meanwhile, our Alliance team of Mike Parker, Brett Butcher, and Jud Heald’s “Untitled” team of athletes ministered in 13 public schools to more than 5,500 students. At the end of school assemblies filled with skateboard & BMX demos, testimonies and gospel messages by Mike and Brett, 2,300+ students committed their lives to Christ.

Toward the end of the week, the team in the mountains came together with the Alliance team to finish out the school ministry, conduct two Good News Clubs, and to do an amazing evening outreach in Trench Town, one of Kingston’s most notorious neighborhoods where evening gunfire is a fairly common occurrence. When the crowds didn’t flow into the outdoor theater we had set up, Brett and Mike each took some athletes and did a Pied Piper routine through the housing projects. They invaded the public square in the projects unannounced with portable skate ramps, a small (but loud) PA system preaching the gospel and inviting them to the theater. Kids followed from project to project, and the theatre filled as we concluded the night with one last gospel presentation.

Andrew arrived on Thursday to do media interviews for Fun in the Son and to meet with the team for a time of sharing, encouragement and prayer. When Andrew stepped to the microphone at 7:15 on Saturday evening he was facing a huge crowd of very excited Jamaicans (conservative estimates were 55-60,000) . We were in a new venue and we needed every inch of it, as the crowd was much larger than last year. It was an amazing sight. The forecasted rain never happened. The early part of the day was clear and bright, and at night the same huge full moon that they saw in Phoenix was right over our stage in Kingston. Andrew gave the gospel out of John chapter eight. Much to the delight of the crowd little Sadie greeted them as Andrew talked about the fact that there is a heavenly father who is eagerly waiting to adopt and love everyone. When Andrew gave the invitation, hands went up all over the park. We are still waiting to hear how many responded. Andrew is clearly accepted here as “one of them”.