Today I was going to go the church near the hotel where we used to stay. Rain or shine, I was going to go.
I had seen the church during each of our previous seven visits but never attended. And it was just a short walk up from hotel.
Ocho Rios Methodist Church, led by superintendent presbyter Reverend I. Michael Llewellyn, is just right up Main Street. Ocho Rios Methodist Church is part of The Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas, Jamaica District, Ocho Rios Circuit.
The weather featured drizzle to light rain during the walk up to church. Once inside, I found the setting to be very inviting. I was welcomed by the ushers and a couple of the parishioners. It didn’t take long for me to start feeling comfortable. As the service progressed, I found I knew many of the songs sung during worship. I even sang along a few times.
The folder we all received contained the order of today’s service, plus a whole lot of other information like upcoming events, the history of the Ocho Rios Methodist Church, a word search (!), etc. Our Bible references for today included Psalm 63:1-8, Isaiah 55:1-9, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, and Luke 13:1-9.
Service at Ocho Rios Methodist included hymns, responsive reading, fellowship and greeting time (yes, I stood up and introduced myself during this time), worship, choir selections, and of course the sermon itself.
I was expecting service to last a little longer than it did. I stayed a couple of minutes afterward and talked to two of the church members. Following that conversation, I headed back to the hotel.
A familiar face
By now it was getting close to lunchtime. The sun was coming out. I changed clothes and headed back up Main Street to Island Grill. I remember they had some very good-tasting French fries the last two times I went there.
Soon I ran into a familiar face sitting outside along one of the walls: an older gentleman who walked on crutches and had two wooden pegs for his legs. I noticed his eyes had grown quite dim since the last time I saw him. He also had new crutches and legs. And new people were hanging around him. Before, it was just him and another man who had summer teeth (look it up). He was at a new location a bit north of where I was used to seeing him.
The guys who were gathered around him all looked warily at me as I approached my friend. They seemed to relax when it became obvious I knew the gentleman. I walked right up to him and said hello. You could tell he found something familiar about me. He looked at me for a few seconds. You could almost see the memory coming back to him. As he slowly recognized who I was, I said, “Yes! Yes!” A short conversation then ensued. I always left him a little lunch money each time I visited. This time I gave him a few dollars and asked him if he wanted anything from Island Grill since I was headed there anyway. He said he wanted a cheeseburger.
I told him it had been five years since the last time I was in Jamaica, which is why I hadn’t seen him in so long. We talked for a couple of seconds, then I went to go get my lunch and his cheeseburger.
There was a line at Island Grill. I guess I got there during the Sunday afternoon rush. I ended up having to dine upstairs. This time the fries tasted different from what I remembered. I don’t know if that was because they changed the recipe or because my taste buds changed.
It was starting to get really crowded so I rushed through the rest of my lunch. I grabbed the cheeseburger for my friend but he was gone when I got back. I ended up eating it later on.
Another thing on my agenda was to get a beef patty and Red Stripe from somewhere. Juici Patties was close by so I headed there. There was a line there, too. Do I eat on their patio or go back to the hotel and eat by the beach?
Returning to the hotel, I walked to the water’s edge and sat down at one of the tables under the shade of several trees. With a patty in one hand and a Red Stripe in the other, I began to relax. I spent a lot of time sitting there in solitude and gratitude that I was able to make it back here. I let all the memories of the previous trips run through my mind as I listened to the water lap against the shore. It was such a peaceful afternoon. I must have sat there for close to two hours after finishing the meal. The sun was just beginning to set and the sky began to change color. It was very hard to break away from that scene. Just staring out over the beach and the hills on the other side…
By now it was time for dinner. The food was so good Thursday, I decided to dine at Mongoose Jamaica Restaurant again.
A walk and a welcome
After dinner I decided to walk up to Soni’s plaza to see what, if anything, had changed. Half-heartedly looking for souvenirs, I walked into one of the gift shops that was still open. A couple of other people were in the shop. The proprietor greeted me. In the midst of our short chat, somehow the conversation shifted and he asked me if I had been here in Ocho Rios before. I told him I had and he said he vaguely remembered me. I think we bought some coffee from him once before. A little more conversation followed, which eventually included a couple of the other guys in the store. Next thing I know he is breaking out a bottle of rum cream. This time it was the banana flavor. He poured some into small plastic sample-size cups and gave us each one, including himself. You could really taste the banana flavor in it. It was actually pretty good. We all sipped and talked for a couple of minutes as some other patrons came in.
This is pretty standard practice all over. Give tourists or serious shoppers a taste of the food or drink in hopes they will buy a bottle/box or two. This case was different. It almost felt like part of a welcoming custom for family or honored guests. That ‘ceremony’ added to my string of having a free rum cream on each and every visit to Jamaica. I did end up purchasing a couple of souvenirs and some coffee from that store.
It was now getting late so I walked back to the hotel. I spent rest of evening watching television. Yeah, it seemed like a waste of time in paradise. But it felt good to finally take time to do nothing for a change.
My unfinished business in Jamaica is now finished. I accomplished what I had set out to do. I have explored Mystic Mountain, visited all 14 parishes on the island, and attended Ocho Rios Methodist Church. What will I do next time? There’s a few things on an ever-growing list: Visit the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston; there is supposedly an excellent seafood restaurant in Kingston I was told by two people that I should check out; visit Port Royal again; see the Fire Water Pond; go back to the Blue Lagoon; visit Rockland’s Bird Sanctuary; see the Blue Hole; go rafting again; spend more time in Negril; any other suggestions?
Juici Patties photo credit: TripAdvisor member Gumucio
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