Caleb Colp: Brothers and Barbados

Exactly a year ago my family and I took a trip to Barbados to serve a community in need. The people we met, the experiences we had, and the way my family grew closer - simply amazing! It's so hard to write about an experience that changed your life, but I'm going to try and put my first full day on the island into words.

When we first landed on the tropical island of Barbados I was awestruck by the beauty that surrounded me. The capital city was amazing! The gorgeous architecture and rich history sprung from every building that we walked by. The people strolling around smiling and waving as we drove through central square left you wanting to lay down roots and talk to everyone you saw; but it was short lived. The second we left the main city; the roads got bumpy, the buildings began to slouch, and the people dissapeared.

We arrived at our house for the next couple weeks. It was surrounded by a wall and a couple armed guards waved us through as they opened the barbed wire gate. We were welcomed with open arms by a pastor and his family + a couple friends. The odd thing was, his house was the only thing we could see for miles, but it was stilled walled in and heavily guarded. I thought it was a bit odd, but we went to our room, unpacked, and tucked in for the night.

The next morning I woke up to the sound of bird chirping and a dog barking out back. I climbed out of the tiny bed in the corner and stepped out of bed to the warm breeze coming through the window. Walking to the bathroom to brush my teeth I took in the sight of my brother curled up with his blanket talking to himself in some foreign langugage under his breath; clearly dreaming of some far away place (as if Barbados wasn't far enough away). After brushing my teeth I continuted out to the front lawn for breakfast. What I saw next I'll never forget.

A sunrise. A sunrise that no one else but our God almighty could have created. The sky was so perfectly imperfect, the random clouds that lit up as the sun bounced it's warm rays off of them left me wanting do more than just capture the moment with my GoPro. I wanted to stay, and I had only had only been in Barbados for a day.

I hadn't realized we were so close to the ocean when we had came in the night before because it was so dark and apparently we had came through the back enterance the night before. You can probably understand why I'm so at a loss for words. Isn't it amazing how God creates the most beautiful paintings with the most common of things. Sun - clouds - water - trees - and some rocks.

The smell of food was in the air as I turned around from watching the sunrise, my family was up now and ready for the day, and yes, my brother could now speak english (I definately gave him a hard time though). As we ate pancakes and some fruit our host walked out to brief us on the plans we had in store the rest of the day.

"Goodmorning everyone, hope you slept well, you'll need your energy today. We'll be working to build a church on the other side of the island, a much rougher side than you see out front. I want to take this time to warn you all, this is a dangerous place. Many of you think that Barbados is an island of peace and relazation, that is not the case anymore. Gangs have taken the island over, drugs are beginning to poison our children, and gun violence is at an all-time high. You're safe here and at the worksite, but do not venture out at night or in the early morning as these are the hours when the traffickers make their runs."

Uh.....wait.....

"...Nonetheless, I expect you all to have a wonderful time here and work hard in the name of our Lord! Amen! Let's gather round for prayer of our morning meal, and then get going to the worksite."

To be honest, I don't think I heard a word of that prayer. I was too busy thinking about how bad I wanted to just stay here and look at the ocean all day.

We arrived at the worksite about an hour later, and began to get our assignments. I was apart of the crew that would be doing the carpentry (I worked as an apprentice when I was younger and had the skills necessary to do some beam work and other stuff that needed to be done by some woodworking-inclined individuals). I immediately was assigned an "islaned partner" and we got to work. Job was the name of the man I was paired up with.

We got right down to work. You see all that scaffolding behind us in the piture? Yeah we made all that, and climbed it regularly doing most of the heavy liftin in the operation since the majority of our group was either too old to climb, or too inexperienced to be of any help. Job was the man, I was just his little elf - man did he push me to my limits. That first day was the most intense day of work I had ever been apart of, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

As the day of work grew to a close I sat down with Job for a break on top of the building. We sipped out coconut tea and looked out over the land behind the church. (Note: He called my C the whole week for some reason, I loved it).

"C, you see that little building way over to the left under those trees. That's where my family has lived for generations. We've never left the island to my knowledge. I've been a carpenter all my life, and a christ follower since before I was born. What do you think so far?"

I began to talk about how nice the island was and my first impressions when we landed.

"No really, what do you think of my home?"

I told him that it was cool that he lived way out of town and that his family had been here their whole lives.

"Let me tell you something C. I don't need a big house or a lot of stuff and travel to feel at peace with myself. I just need a family, my God, and my brothers. Do you feel the same way?"

Speechless. I didn't have a response.

"You'll learn brother. I only get to be with you for a couple weeks, but I'm going to teach you all that I know, and we're going to be friends. We're are brothers in Christ, and we'll be brothers in real life by the end of this."

We climbed down off the roof and I walked to the car. Driving back to the house we were staying in I just looked out the window and took in the scenery; it all melded together. For some reason I was numb to what my eyes were seeing, but I was alive on the inside thinking about what Job had said.

That was the first of many talks I had with Job, it was the first of many lessons I learned on Barbados, and most of all it was the first time my eyes were opened to the true meaning of life. Brothers - Brothers like Job.

#Barbados #BFP #Travel