Tone's Rock 'n Roll Marathon

Winner of the Stud of the Year Award...

Tone would far and away easily win my Stud of the Year Award just by being Tone… and now he goes and runs a marathon in just about four hours and totally just grabs the award from the trophy case before I have a chance to even think about how the award ceremony should go! My original intention was to go to several waypoints along the route and catch him at different points of the race… unfortunately, the time of 5am is not very friendly to me… So, with the end in mind, I was at least able to document the momentous occasion of that crossing of the finish line…

And there is Tone waving to his adoring fans...

So I have never been to a marathon, nor ever plan to actually participate in one, but there was something about being at the finish line that gets you – a bit emotional – if you will… Not in the teary-eyed sort of way, but a way that has to grip you no matter how much you loathe the idea of running a mile or two, or twenty six point two… You are standing at the peak of the Everest of thousands and thousands of - in my opinion – crazy people and watching as each minute and day given up for this one moment completes itself in a ceremonial crossing of one line. It’s nearly spiritual, and if you ask Tone – it was. A consistent battle between two powers in your mind – one telling you to finish, the other telling you to completely quit now... one telling you that the cheering and supporting crowd is helping, the other telling you that all that support is just downright annoying… it screams spiritual, the same battles that run through the mind on a daily basis – it’s biblical… my post conversations with Tone later that night yielded the insight to an event that I may never experience in my own lifetime.. The closest I can liken his experience to is a season of playing football… that voice in your head… and you don’t realize the battle is over until your supporting fans greet you at the end for a meeting which verbal explanations can’t explain why/how you do what you do… I think we were all speechless.

That last picture of the writing on Tone’s arm was his feeding schedule… “goo, water, goo, water”… I’m telling you – completely crazy… I’m not too sure what motivates you to run so far, so hard, for so long, but there is a level of discipline, determination, and sheer guts that can only get you across that one line… I can’t even imagine... What a champ though…

And the last shot of Tone - slowing down behind the group just to soak it all in, pained and tired, ice on the calf - is a shot of a superhero… This guy did it somehow… and although I don’t think I’m crazy enough to run a marathon – cuz I swear it takes some kind of crazy - it kinda makes you wanna get up and run - towards anything, for something…

The Night Concert and Final Jamaica Post

May 2, 3 2008 – Nighttime

The night had all the energy of a rock concert, with all the Message of three Sundays of church. The artists of both nights, Israel & the New Breeds and Papa San to name a few, were some of the best concert praise teams that I have ever seen. They were straight FIRE. Just total heat and you could feel it... and see it... and I was one of the blessed and fortunate few to experience this whole thing ON STAGE for one of the evenings… That was a shot in a lifetime, and I took full advantage… Enjoy!

Pastor Miles shared the message to nearly 25,000 the first night and 35,000 the second night! Thousands raised their hands to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, so many that our volunteer staff was overwhelmed with the number of people that wanted to come forward. The whole week was the most intense week that I have ever had. I loved it.

I hoped you loved all the images in this 7 part series! It is definitely an experience I am always going to carry with me… God bless!

Daytime Festival

May 2, 3 2008 - Daytime

Here are all the daytime shots of what I would call a culmination celebration. Festivities of all kinds were held at the “Best Dressed 50 Fest”. To be honest, I am still not totally sure what the name of the event is all about, but what I do know is, it is was day of activities for all Jamaicans, culminating in a concert of very popular Christian artists in Jamaica. Along with that, our pastor, Miles McPherson shared the message at the end of the concert and offered a chance for festival-goers to dedicate their lives to Jesus Christ. We were able to invite everyone that we served the whole week to a concert and day of activities sponsored by our team and all the churches of Jamaica! It was a packed day, and it started with a flourish. Team Faith – an extreme sports team – used their talents to wow the crowd and then share the message of the Word. Their ministry was particularly effective..

They were a pretty amazing group – really fun to watch – and shared the message in a way I have never seen. Here were many of the other activities there during the day…

Our lead photographer Brother Joe, got a shot of a lifetime when he was asked by the local media if he wanted to take a ride up in the helicopter… that’s him hangin out of the chopper! And now, the evening concert performers get their start…

That last picture was a site that you had to see with your own eyes to believe… and the place wasn’t even full yet. The evening was still to fall, and as it got dark, the praise concert really picked up. The energy was so intense…