Have you thought what it might be like to work with children in a third world country?

Lessons Learned in Jamaica is not only a captivating collection of stories about the children Heidi Haagenson has met and the situations she has faced in her many years of short-term mission work, but also serves as an excellent resource for individuals, groups, or churches considering getting involved in short-term missions.

Written in a warm, informal style, readers will feel as though they are involved in a friendly coffee house chat with the author, as she describes how her experiences in Jamaica have taught or reinforced important life lessons. Each chapter focuses on a lesson learned from the children of Jamaica, her fellow mission teammates, and friends met in the churches, towns, homes, shops, and streets of Jamaica. Her personal experiences are woven together with Jamaican culture, history, and folklore to create a unique, inside look at the people of Jamaica.

Using a delightful combination of humor and compassion, Haagenson recounts both the happy and the sad realities of the lives of Jamaican children under State care. Her knowledge is gained through the experience of living and working directly in one of those children’s homes on a short-term basis each year.

A must-read for anyone who is interested in learning not only about short-term mission work, but also about the ebbs and flows of the daily lives of Jamaica’s most vulnerable.

Heidi Haagenson was born and raised in Minnesota. She is married, a mom to two grown children, and relishes being a grandma to two magnificent humans and a bunch of grandpups. Heidi holds a master’s degree in Rhetoric and Applied Writing, and recently retired from Minnesota’s two-year college system, trading in her Minnesota winters for Arizona sunshine. She enjoys camping, putting miles on her electric bike, and hunting for Lake Superior Agates. Heidi spent many years traveling on short-term mission trips to Sunbeam Children’s Home in Jamaica, the inspiration for Lessons Learned in Jamaica.