 Paul -"What is truth?"
Paul was my "woman at the well", but he's a man. The encounter with Paul was the most compelling, peaceful, truth seeking, hard hitting, deep thinking gospel conversation I have ever had. I miss him and genuinely love this man. He spoke to me in parables and asked hard questions. I do not have enough space to even come close to sharing this full experience. It changed my life profoundly and I was told that I will see him in the Kingdom. I am confident.
After I had spoken to Rashaun I said to the Lord: "Here I am Lord. Lead me to whose next and I will follow." I began walking. I wandered for a bit, praying with people but knew there was something larger on the horizon. Along the way, the Spirit led me into a clearing in the midst of Montego Bay. I stood in the middle, looking around and fixed my eyes on Paul. When I saw Him I clearly heard "Him, Go." I was very hesitant, nervous. It's funny but I actually started walking against my own will, if you can decipher that. I made my way to him and sat down on a stone wall. The first one to speak was Paul and what he said put the largest smile on my face: "You have a message for me don't you." At that moment I was so excited. "It depends on what you want to hear." He replied: "Tell me what you were sent to tell me." [I am not making this up for dramatic effect]. I said, "I was sent to Jamaica on a boat to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with you." And then, the conversation ensued. In the midst of our conversation Paul made a sincere statement: "for 30 years people have walked by me, handed me tracks saying 'Jesus loves you'. I never knew why until you explained it to me." Paul made several other heartfelt statements, but this specific one floored me. The souls we share the gospel with need to know why Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. The reality is that no one is going to the Father except through Jesus. They need to hear it from a living witness. No one had ever taken the time to share "why" Jesus with Paul. I tell you the truth; the Lord used Paul to penetrate my heart and it will never be the same. As I recount this tale I can't help but be emotional and have a sense of urgency in the preaching of the gospel. We have to open our mouths and proclaim His name, we need to tell the world why Jesus.
The conversation ended with me nearly missing the boat and a reading of John 18:33-38.
I was very sad to leave Paul. However, I was able to leave him with this - If you seek the truth you will certainly find yourself face to face with Jesus, just as Pilate did. But you won't be asking "what is truth", you will know He is the truth.
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Lavern -"I want to ask you about Daniel."
I had my first interaction off the boat with Lavern and another man whose name I cannot spell, but say. It began an introduction to Jesus and ended in Daniel. It seems a great deal of Jamaicans were terrified about the May 21 end of the world false prophecy, so I helped answer some questions concerning the book of Daniels end time prophecies. The encounter ended in an urging to focus now. How can we better know and serve Jesus now, today? It happens all too often that people concern themselves with things we simply can never know for sure and miss the point of a daily relationship with Jesus. I was able to return to them at the museum (they worked in a museum) the second day and restart the conversation again, it ended extremely well and I am hopeful I will meet them again in glory.
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 Rashaun -"I have a lot of questions."
There is a neat story behind Rashaun and I meeting. I was walking down the street in Montego Bay with Kirk (another man on the mission). As we walked along we passed by Rashaun. The Holy Spirit spoke to both Kirk and myself, but neither of us knew the other had heard the same thing. I knew the boy had questions. I ignored the Voice and continued another 20 yds until I had a HUGE compulsion to go back to the boy. I grabbed Kirk and said "I have to go talk to that boy, I know he has questions". I quickly turned and took off running after Rashaun. I caught up with him and tapped him on the shoulder and said "Jesus insisted that I speak to you. He knows your questions and has sent me here to answer them. Do you have questions"? He smiled and said "I have a lot of questions". I almost laughed out loud, and fell over. We proceeded to the side of the busy street where for the next hour I gradually explained the gospel and the difference between "believing" in Jesus and "knowing" Him. At one point we even had an audience of 4 or more listening, so who knows who else heard the gospel that day! Amen! I am getting so exciting just sharing this with you all! I was able to pray with Rashuan several different times and walk with him until his mother came to pick him up.
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 Montego Bay -"I am going to talk about Jesus."
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. -Romans 1:16
For whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. -Mark 8:38
How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" -Romans 10:14-15
I boarded the boat under the impression that I would be sharing the gospel in the Jamaican schools, and why not? This is what was what planned before hand. I knew though when I got on the boat that Jesus had something else for me to do, and it didn't involve the schools. I knew the Lord called me out of the schools and into the streets because it would have been my testimony I was sharing with the kids. I wanted to confirm what I was hearing, so I made my way down to the school speaker training and walked up to the man with the list. I asked him, "Is Steven Butwell on there, I am scheduled to speak in the school." He took a moment to look through the six lists, but I knew before he told me that I wasn't on the list. Jesus wanted me in the streets of Montego Bay, so that is where I went and these stories unfolded.
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Why I was led to Jamaica
Undoubtedly these three stories I have just shared were a big part of the Lord Jesus leading me on a crazy cruise ship to Jamaica, but there is so much more. I was given priviledge to mentor two young disciples of Jesus for seven days. In doing so I challenged one of them to take their daily walk with Jesus much more serious. He actually turned out to be my roommate, and the friend he was with had been praying the Lord place him with someone to speak truth into his life. I love how Jesus works.
Josh McDowell and I had a conversation about whether it is ever permissable to lie. He made a monumental statement that positively altered my understanding of God's Word. I was able to encourage the band Casting Crowns with a story about the work their musics doing in my fathers life. There were also several opportunities to encourage and pray with doubting believers, get sick with a chest cold I still have, and pray with a good amount of Jamaican street dwellers. All in all, the seven day outreach was packed with ministry that didn't end and proved eternally fruitful. Of course, I cannot do the trip justice in this small amount of writing space, even with 9 pt. font, verdana. If you want to know more, just ask. I can tell you all about it, in detail.
I know I have a tendency to write a great deal about my encounters. If you would like to know more let's meet up. I'll buy you a coffee.
A very special thank you to those who made this trip possible with prayers and financial provision.
The gospel was heard with your help. I am hopeful souls were added to the Kingdom of Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Remaining grateful with eyes fixed on Jesus,
-Steven
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