I feel like everyone should be uncomfortable and experience a new culture in some way. 

I believe that God softens our hearts for those who live in circumstances that are less fortunate than ours. Jesus did not just come to live with people that were perfect and had a status like his. He was meant to be around those who have struggles so he can help them. God calls us to do the same thing. Travel the world contributing our love and knowledge with others. With the education we get for free in the US, we could change lives with what we have all learned. 

I am currently in Jamaica on a nine month journey to six different countries. So far it has been amazing and has grown me in so many ways. Everyone is so loud, expressive, and kind. Something I have learned about myself while being here is that I am very not expressive in my face. People tell me all the time that I am nonchalant or way too chalant. Coming here it’s been know to me that I am pretty inexpressive in my face, and not chalant or nonchalant. I think the Lord wants me to become more expressive to make others feel more seen. God is not a nonchalant God. I imagine him as the most expressive God, making me laugh with his witty humor and dad jokes. He is more than a judge between what's right and what’s wrong. He is a dad who does not care if his children think he’s weird. I think he would actually want to cringe at his jokes and hold us when we cry. The kind of dad who will defend you from a bear with his own hands. He loves us, so he will protect us when we're in danger and make us laugh when we are not doing okay. He is so amazing.

Living with fourty-one people can be hard. Finding who to talk to and a place alone is hard to find. When I need to be with just myself and God, it can become difficult. There's so many benefits to having a lot of people in the group you're traveling and living with for 9 months. There's also a lot of downsides. One of the downsides is just living. How can it be easy when there are thirty girls and eleven guys. 

Being in Jamaica, there isn’t a lot of air conditioning. While the girls sleep inside with AC and the guys outside with sweat, bugs, and music being played through a JBL Partybox on max volume until four in the morning,  it can be difficult to be grateful for the circumstances. My setup is pretty awesome. I have a hammock setup on two palm trees with a rain tarp above it. The bugs are one of the biggest problems here in Jamaica, but I have avoided that problem completely by having a bug net around my hammock while I sleep. I also have a paracord tied onto a fan that I bought at one of the markets to help cool me down in the eighty-five degree nights. It gets pretty loud at night as well, so what is my solution to that? The Airpod Pro Gen three is the best for having noise cancellation and listening to some reggae before hitting the hay. 

I also keep my gear and clothes in the half-built building next to our base so that everything is all kept dry and safe. The building has a little workout area in one of the unfinished rooms. You might be wondering what I do to keep such an amazing physique up while travelling the world. I don’t. But I do what I can to get my muscles moving and keep a little bit of muscle. One of the things I’ve done here is grab a cinderblock from outside and go into the very empty “workout room” and do some curls with it and some other extraneous exercises. Plank, pushups, situps, pullups if I have a bar, and occasional squats. 

Some of the ministry has also been helping my physique a little. We are starting to get into roofing and helping people recover their houses from the devastating storm that ruined many lives last year. The work includes lifting very large sheets of zinc metal onto roofs, hauling tools throughout the neighborhood, and doing this all while being in ninety degree heat and brutal humitity. Being here has really taught me how to have the pace of peace instead of being task-oriented. Putting others before myself and before the work or task at hand. One of the people I helped out building a roof was so sweet and I talked to her while putting her roof together. While I was talking to her, she offered me some sugarcane. I love sugarcane. When I was in Swaziland, before the children would come hangout with us at the playground, they would go up to the moving truck that had sugarcane and take it off the truck while it was moving. I would always be so happy when I saw a five year old child carry twenty pounds worth of sugarcane up to us after a long day. African children are built differently. 

Mission trips are also so much fun. Getting to do crazy activities with some of your closest friends and experiencing different cultures is so sweet. Some of the activities I got to do in Africa were so sweet. During our debrief after being in South Africa for 5 weeks, we got to stay in an awesome AirBnb in the middle of a national park. I would wake up in the morning to go read my bible and look out the window to five zebras looking out the window. We would sit on the porch as wildebeests, warthogs, giraffes, and elephants would walk past us. So sick. The first activity that I got to do here in Jamaica was parasailing. Until yesterday I honestly didn’t know what that even was. I wasn’t fully sure if I should have brought my phone when we were on the boat out to the parasailing point, but I brought it anyway because I needed pictures. They start to put on my harness, and I’m wondering where my phone is going to go on this small boat. I ask the driver where I can put my phone, and he tells me he has a place once I get my harness on. All of a sudden, the guy behind me pulls me onto the back of the boat, clips me onto the glider, and sends me off while I’m holding my phone. Holding onto my phone for dear life, we start to get into the sky fast. About one-hundered feet into the air, I decided to face-time my mom. It was awesome. Missions are so fun. 

Thank you guys for reading this blog and keeping up with everything I’m doing. God has moved so much in my life and I’m so happy I get to share my journey with you. Please continue to keep me in your prayers and I am so grateful for your support. I am currently seventy five percent funded and I only have $4868 left! I am hoping to get fully funded within the next month, so any donation financially would be so amazing. I am so happy and grateful for all of the financial support. I would love to talk and stay connected as well, so I would love a text or call!

Home phone: 719-246-4321

Snapchat: Marcus.werne

Instagram: marcus_on_mission / marcus._werner

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