Here in this warm tropical country, I found the country beautiful with its red mountains and lush green valleys, but the heat was stifling in Jamaica.

I came to this country with my pastor, a woman I had known since I was eighteen years old. She was on the mission field, and had asked me to accompany her as a singer.

Upon arrival we were picked up at the airport by the pastors we were going to stay with. The minute I exited the airport doors, I noticed the air, stuffy and hot.

We greeted our hosts with hugs and handshakes and entered their house, in Spanish Town, Jamaica. This Chinese Jamaican Pastor and his wife were both ministers who also ran an orphanage for boys. They welcomed us to their home and showed us to the room we would be sharing; telling us dinner would be served shortly.

We ate a delicious chicken, rice and vegetable dinner and then lay down afterwards till the evening. I lay on the bed resting and looked at the mosquito coil sitting on the dresser, feeling the effects of the insects, but never once seeing any. I lay on the bed wandering how people there dealt with the oppressive and constant heat.

As I lay on the bed my attention drifted to the closet door, and I noticed this huge insect on the floor. I took one look at this huge bug, which resembled a giant beetle, the size of a small golf ball and screamed. I do not scare easy, but I had never seen any beetle that size.

My scream brought both the pastors and as they entered the room I pointed at the floor near the closet, trying hard to calm down, but failing miserably.

“What is that,” I looked at both of the pastors, and felt goose bumps on my arms.

Pastor Lee looked over to where I was pointing at the bug, and simply replied, “Oh that is a roach”.

“A roach”, I screeched. “You got to be kidding, I have never seen one that huge before, it looks like a giant beetle.”

Pastor Lee looked at his wife and laughed, “Yep, that is a roach, and they fly, too.”

“They fly!” I looked at him in horror. He went over to the creature picked it up and left the room with it.”

Needless to say, I slept with the light on that night.

While visiting with the pastors in their home, I befriended a young woman who came in twice a week to do laundry.

There was no washing machine, only a washboard. All the sheets had to be done by hand, that included the orphanage sheets.

How easy it was to appreciate the convenience of modern appliances while those less fortunate struggled with manual labor, from that which we take for granted.

She told me that she was saving her money for a pair of shoes that cost $300 Jamaican dollars. I asked her how long would that take before she had the money to buy her shoes. She told me a couple of weeks. In U.S. dollars that was only $3 or $4.

I found it incredible that someone had to work a couple of weeks just to purchase much-needed shoes. I accompanied her to the market and looked at the supermarket prices for chicken, and beef cuts. I cringed inside while looking at the price tags, $30 to $50 dollars per chicken, and wondered how the West Indian people afforded to live in this high price country.

A lot of the fruits, and vegetables were home grown though. I was impressed with the size of oranges that grew to the size of grapefruits. Going outside in the backyard and picking a banana, grapefruit or a breadfruit off the trees was an experience in freshness never to be forgotten.

We got a ride to the market, and as I got out and walked around I felt the heaviness of the heat, the air was infused with dry, stifling heat. The sweat continually poured down my face and my arms. Until we returned to the house, I could not cool down. Only when the evening came did I cool down and enjoy my surroundings.

I remembered looking at the people in the street and wondered why they weren’t sweating profusely. I seemed to be the only one affected by the heat. I briefly wondered how the people could stand the constant heat of Jamaica.

One spot of relief was when Pastor Julie, who was 70 at the time and I journeyed to Dunn River Falls. There were stones that could be climbed to the top of the ridge where the water flowed downward.

With that challenge before us, we both climbed the falls stepping on cool, slippery flat rocks till we reached the top.

I will always remember Jamaica as the place that was so hot, but beautiful, here in this warm tropical country, where I found God’s handiwork displayed in breathtaking colors.