How Many People can Ruffy Get in his 11 passenger Van?

Devin Brown, known locally as Ruffy, has been our taxi driver for approximately 7 years. Before that, we rented a bus with driver or we rented a van or car and drove ourselves (never again!). Not only is renting a taxi driver and his vehicle for a day cheaper than a car rental, it is safer and you get his brother and helper as escorts. These guys are sad when we leave and can’t wait until we come back. They love to be with us.

Many times, they will say – “you guys are different from the other Christians here. You guys help people.” They get into the helping spirit as well – many times working alongside of us with no expectations of pay. Other times, we will hire them. Always, they get to hang out with us, eat some of the food we eat (they love my sandwiches and red-neck caviar). They go to church with us, go to show Christian movies with us, are frequently put “on the spot” at churches and asked to speak. Frequently, we tailor our devotions and church talks for their ears.

They are a major part of our mission field. We have seen them change for the better over the years, but their “culture” and as Paul would say – their “world” or “flesh” is deeply embedded. Other than us, there are extremely few  examples of Christian men for them.

So, now that you know something of these guys, what about the capacity of their vans?

We are always amazed at how many students are crammed into the taxis, vans, cars, and buses going to and from school. Ruffy has told us before that he could get as many as 30 in his van, but the police were cracking down on that.

So, we decided to do a Vacation Bible School in a community called Wheelerfield – where we built a church about 3 years ago. The church is a church plant from another church we are associated with and has also spawned a preacher who is now leading yet another church (more about him later). Well,  Wheelerfield is a small rural village with few people, but it has a large field, two adjacent structures we can use and is central to 3 other communities where we work. So, we decided this was the place for a large Vacation Bible School and we would bus the children in from the other 3 communities.

So, we contracted with Ruffy, another van, and still a smaller 3rd van to go pick up teachers, adults, and children for the VBS. Well, it was very chaotic, but we had over 200 children in VBS, over 50 adults in an adult Bible study we had not planned, and about another 25 adults helping shepherd children as well as our team of 14.

Were we worried about the police? Well, I had hired the local police chief to provide security for us, because this was a nighttime VBS. So, no one was monitoring the capacity of the vans.

How many? Fifty (50) – in each of two eleven (11) passenger vans. The 7 passenger van could only manage 39 people. And they came back and they loved every minute of VBS.

Legacies

In 2014, we have lost two of our most dedicated pioneers in this mission to Jamaica - Jack Mullins and Tom Hunt. We humans tend to give ourselves more credit for our works and ideas than we should. Ecclesiastes 1:9 “… there is nothing new under the sun”. Our omniscient God not only knew the idea, He gave it us and probably had given it to others before us as well.  For this reason, only He should get the Glory.

However, we as humans, despite our failings, do have those in our lives who inspire, lead, and set great examples. Jack and Tom were two such men.

Jack led me on my first mission trip to Jamaica. Tom, while not a leader, was on that trip as well. That would be Jack's last trip (winter of 1996), but he constantly encouraged us who continued to travel there. Tom would lead another church group down, then accompany us on several other trips to Jamaica. Tom continued wanting to go beyond the time his health would permit.

What kind of legacies did these guys leave? Well, I don't think they were thinking in those terms, but their passing caused me to look back and see where that trip Jack led has taken this mission. I can only tell the story as I know it. I, Donnie Cantley, will recount what I remember:

• My first trip with you was in February 1996. I believe Terry Fry went a few years on a preceding trip. I have been approximately 36 times and Terry’s trip number is in the high 20’s.
• We have repaired/improved 5-6 churches - from major structural changes with new roofs  to adding large fellowship halls. In the Wheelerfield community, we built the church building for a plant church.
• We have built 4 Basic Schools (like kindergartens/preschools). 3 of the 4 are church related and even the other one is led by a Christian lady.
• We have built have built at least 9 houses. Recipients have included a blind man, a woman dying of cancer with 3 children, a special needs child, an old man whose home was in shambles, a family with 3 children whose home that had collapsed, and one where a collapsing masonry structure endangered the family.
• We have built church pews for 3 congregations, an alter rail for one.
• We have helped thousands with home repairs, food, school supplies, clothing, and/or shoes.
• We have had Christian concerts, Christian videos, and street preaching  at street corners, at community centers, and at bars and gambling places at 9 locations.
• We frequently are asked to speak at churches and even occasionally asked to deliver the sermon at a church.
• We worked with an orphanage to do major floor joist replacement and flooring, built lockers, did electrical and plumbing work and replaced a pump to get water to the orphanage. We also renovated a chicken coop and supplied the chicks and feed.
• We have done the equivalent of over $40,000 of major repairs on a Special Needs School.
• We have furnished educational electronics and school supplies/teacher’s aid to the special needs school as well as to over 15 basic schools.
• We have helped support children in preschool and now we are helping some of the same children pay their college tuition, fees, and transportation costs
• We fund a Christmas program annually that feeds close to 200 people a hot lunch at Christmas, provides gifts to close to 100 children, provides gifts to close to 100 patients in an indigent nursing home, and provide boxes of food to approximately 50 poor, sick, and elderly.
• We have purchased pillows for the residents at the indigent nursing home as well as purchasing them a commercial washing machine and we  visit regularly.
• We have supported two special needs babies in the communities with baby beds, mobiles, toys, protein powder, vitamins, blenders, and bought one mother a refrigerator to help the child.
• We take a lot of peanut butter and vitamins to Jamaica for feeding programs not mentioned elsewhere and for the basic school children.
• We do some to help support a church soup kitchen.
• We built a 7 station community computer lab for the community at a local church.
• We provide printers, computers, and memory sticks to our associates there for use by poor children and the basic schools. Much of the material we take is copied and distributed to other basic schools.
• We take Sunday School materials, craft supplies and teacher aides to teachers.
• We have had approximately 300 short term missionaries from the US join us. Some of these people have been profoundly impacted and seek to go again and again.
• We have made a lot of relationships with the Jamaicans. Isaiahsixeight has a great reputation there.
• The last 5 years, we have rented a mission house there. It have been used by mission teams from 2-3 different states other than Alabama.
• The missionaries who lived there in the community for about 12 years and moved back to Missouri come to Jamaica with their own teams occasionally and stay at our house. When they appear at local churches, the people assume they are a part of Isaiahsixeight and introduce them as such. Because of our good name in the region, the missionaries are proud to be known that way.
• Last year, after the Special Needs School had some disappointing test scores and some inquiry as to why, we were told that it was most likely due to hunger and absenteeism. In October, we began a feeding program at that school feeding over 75 children breakfast on Mondays and Fridays. The teacher reports much better results and a great decrease in absenteeism.
• In June 2014, a team from Pelham did a VBS at a church we built as a plant church from another church. We used taxis to pick up children and adults in 3 neighboring communities where we have relationships. We had over 200 children in the VBS, fed them snacks, had approximately 30 Jamaican adult onlookers, and had at least 50 Jamaican adults in an adult Bible study. All of this was done in the early evening because school was still in session. (Imagine if school had not been in session).
• In July, we had a team from Fayette conduct a VBS in Port Morant. They were also asked to go to another community and share the experience there as well.
• We are currently having discussions with a young Jamaican man filled with the Holy Spirit about helping him get some seminary training. We are coordinating some religious activities with him already.

Jack and Tom will be missed, but their legacy is passed on to us. Read the 3rd verse of the hymn "Faith of Our Fathers" by Frederick William Faber written in 1849. Its message still rings true for us!

Faith of our fathers, we will strive
To win all nations unto thee;
And through the truth that comes from God
Mankind shall then indeed be free.
Faith of our fathers! holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death!

Amen!

No Child Left Behind

Approximately 18 months ago, I was contacted by Ms. Nunes, the Head Teacher at the Special Needs School. After asking about her students, she told me how poorly they had performed on their year-end testing compared to previous year. Then I asked if she had an explanation – the answer – “you can’t learn on an empty stomach”. Many of the children were coming to school hungry or not coming at all since they had no money for lunch or transportation. Also, many Jamaicans do not go to school on Friday. If you have insufficient money for the week, who wouldn’t pick Friday to be the day to stay away?

So, this is how and why we started a feeding program at the Special Needs School. We purchased a gas stove, some pots, pans, bowls, table wear, utensils, food, and helped hire a cook. So, on two mornings a week, 75 students get a Hot, very nourishing breakfast.

At first, we started the breakfast on Tuesdays and Thursday, but Ms. Nunes made a wise decision to move it to Monday and Friday. Monday to get the kids there on the first day of the week and Friday to make sure they come to school on Friday.

Results – much better attendance, teaching was easier and they did much better on their testing. The feeding program continues. Maybe
this is why Jesus fed the multitudes.

Special Child, Special Blessings

I have written much about Mushie and her mom, Michelle. I also try to take every mission team to meet them and hear their story. Usually, there are tears shed – by Michelle, by team members, and by me. Michelle, because she knows how God loves her and how blessed she is as well and how God has used us to bless her. We feel blessed just by hearing her express her love for Mushie, seeing how thankful and full of hope she is living in what to many of us is an impossible situation.

You see, Mushie was born with hydrocephalus (“water on the brain”) and as a result, has severe cerebral palsy. The diagnosis was made before she was born. The father insisted on an abortion, but Michelle refused. The father abandoned them. Then Michelle’s parents disowned her because she would not put Mushie in a facility for the severely handicapped.

When we first met them, they were living in a very small one room of a shack. No screens, no mosquito net, no fan, and only one light bulb. Mushie was malnourished, had floppy legs and arms, she could not chew (her mom chewed her food), and she cried when mosquitoes would bite her. To make things worse, they were about to be evicted and had no place to go. Immediately, we obtained mosquito nets, vitamins, a blender, eggs, and other items for them. Less than a week later, I returned with a fan, a better blender, more vitamins, and protein powder. We set up a system to also help get eggs and peanut butter to them. Lastly, we purchased a baby bed for Mushie so she would no longer roll out of bed.

By a miracle, God provided us with a ready-made foundation two lots down from where they lived and we built them a house (story told in last Newsletter).

In early 2014, Mushie had some severe seizures and was placed in the hospital for a few days. She could not leave until we sent money for medications. Then, we had a team there in June. Michelle had a garden, chickens, and eggs. She blended the fruits and vegetables to feed Mushie, but she could not preserve them. So, our team went to the local small town and purchased them a refrigerator. In July, another team was there visiting and in the interim, Mushie had been sick and was prescribe an antibiotic that had to be refrigerated. Now, they had a refrigerator! Michelle made everyone from the team come into her tiny house and see what was in the refrigerator. She had eggs, carrots, greens, juice, fruit, tomatoes, and onions – all the things that were spoiling on her before. She was so proud and grateful!

They have been doing well, until the Chikungunya virus struck (see separate article). Both of them got sick – high fever, headaches, muscle and joint pains, etc. Mushie had it very bad and would cry every time she moved her muscles or joints. I received a call, because she was getting dehydrated and her mom had no money to buy juice. Again, we sent a small amount of money to her. She bought juice and Pampers.

Speaking of money, they have very little. Because of Mushie’s condition, the government does give them some money. It works out to about $15 US every other month. So, they survive on less than $0.50 per day – yet, they feel blessed and inspire every one of our team members who meet them.

Please pray for Michelle and Mushie and pray that we too can be as thankful for our blessings.

Chikungunya

Chikungunya (Chik V.)is a mosquito borne viral disease. The word is a tribal African word that means "to bind up". That is probably due to the fact that some of the patients get muscle pain and arthritis. The Chikungunya virus has caused disease in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Africa, France, Italy, and the US. It made a big appearance in St. Martens, the Caribbean Island in November of 2013. I took notice of it then because there was evidence it would spread through the Caribbean.

When we went to Jamaica with a small team in March of this year, it was still in the southern Caribbean. In early June and then early July, I was watching it much more closely and it was infecting a lot of people in Puerto Rico and was starting to infect the population in the Dominican Republic. Reports are that approximately 500,000 people in the Dominican Republic were infected. Luckily for our teams, but unluckily for the Jamaicans, the virus did not start affecting Jamaica until August. That coincided with the rainy season, more mosquitoes, and the start of school. In September and October, it was ravaging Eastern Jamaica, where we do our work. Reports are that at least 50% of the people in that area got the virus and absenteeism in schools was greater than 50%.

As people recovered and developed immunity, there was less transmission of the disease in our area; however, the disease apparently has not peaked yet in other parts of Jamaica. This infection caused us to cancel a small trip in October this year.

Please pray for Pastor Campbell in Stokes Hall. His Chik V infection left him almost debilitated with arthritic pain. He is a very active farmer in his 80’s. As with most pastors in Jamaica, their pastoring duty will have its reward in the next life, but little in this one. Most get no income from their churches and must have another job to sustain their families.

Please note - we will closely track the disease on the island. Most of our mission teams travel in the dry season and there are fewer mosquitoes. So, acquiring mosquito borne viral illness would be less likely. Hopefully, by the time we approach Spring, the disease will have run its course on the island. For now, we are waiting and considering a trip with two of us soon. In the meantime, we will monitor the disease.

Seminary in a Cane Field

Courtney is a rarity in Jamaica. He is a really neat guy about 30 years old. He had little formal education, but is very intelligent and creative. He even built a motorbike from old parts, plastic bottles, a plastic chair, and even used Vise-Grips as a kick starter lever. The things unique about him? Well, he is married, he goes to church, and he is called to preach.

We first met Courtney when we decided to build a church building for a new plant church in the middle of a cane field community called Wheelerfield. Courtney, his wife, and his two children came to help us with the construction. When we went back to visit the church, he would occasionally speak at the church. He wanted to be an evangelist. On several occasions, we would go out with him to show some Christian movies and then he would preach. Later, after the death of a minister at a church in a neighboring community, he was called to come preach at that church. Since then, that church denomination has ordained him.

Courtney told me that in 2007, he was in a serious accident. In the hospital, he was in a lot of pain and was about to lose the leg. He prayed to God and accepted Christ. He then taught himself to read by reading the Bible. He was so on fire for God, that he started evangelizing in the hospital. He is a great example of what God can do and an example to Jamaican men.

Immediately, the question came to us – how can we work with Courtney to help grow the Kingdom? Get him a better Bible, some study aids, help get our movie system into his hands, help him and his family financially so he can do more Kingdom work?

Well, I had heard of this program from Birmingham Theological Seminary (BTS) in conjunction with Third Millennium Ministries whereby one can gain a free Certificate in Christian Ministry online. All the video lectures and readings are all online and free. But, Courtney does not have Internet service. We took an iPhone 5 with data plan to his home – no signal. We took a cellular broadband modem that works great in Jamaica, but his remote area has no service. So, what to do?

After meeting with the President of BTS, he gave us the entire course of study on a USB thumb drive. Courtney has no computer or device to accept it. So, on our next trip, we are taking him a used iPad 3, a cordless WiFi router with USB port, and all the seminary data on the USB thumb drive.

So, Courtney will be able to undertake some seminary training in the cane field where he lives. Our main concerns are his ability to read (which is not great) and his time to study.

So, please be in prayer about Courtney, his spiritual growth, and how we can help him become even more effective spreading the Gospel.

Mystery Fruit
The tree is Myristica fragrans – better known as the nutmeg tree. From it, we get not only the spice known as nutmeg, but we also get the spice known as mace. Both come from the seed portion.

The red veins on the outer surface of the seed is the source of mace. As you dry the seed, the mace becomes more brown. If you shake the seed, you feel and hear something large inside. That is the main meat of the seed and is where you find the nutmeg spice.

Happy To Be Heartbroken?

Yes, my heart is really aching! I just came back from Jamaica visiting the poor and making plans for future work there.  What I saw was truly disturbing - profound poverty, despair, unemployment, hunger, homelessness, abandonment, etc. Yes, there was the sin, but there was also hope - not much in this world or this life, but in the one to come from the One to come.

So, how can I be happy? Through years of work in Jamaica with these kinds of problems God has shown me how when we do unto the least of these, we are doing it unto Him (Matt 25:40). It brings me incredible joy and happiness to do things for Jesus, but neither the Isaiahsixeight mission nor I can do it alone and without support. The blessings are truly amazing! Wouldn't you also like to be a part of these blessings and to know more?

Has Isaiahsixeight been on vacation?

Well, it might appear that way, but very far from the truth. A little over a year ago, Alabama suffered devastating losses from tornadoes. God called some of the leadership of Isaiahsixeight into the rebuilding effort and we built 3 homes with the cooperation of many churches, mission teams and very dedicated Christians. In July of last year, we had one team member to go to Jamaica, then in November of 2011, we took a small team down, all of whom had been involved in tornado home rebuilding, and we built a church in the Wheelerfield community in Jamaica. The tornado destroyed homes we built were completed in January 2012 and in that same month, some of us returned to Jamaica.

We knew that the focus of most of our churches and members was on the local devastation and for a short time, Jamaica would have to take a back seat. We learned a lot in building these houses, not the least of which is how God can make things happen if we are faithful.

With renewed energy, renewed faith, and the knowledge that God is in control, we are taking some ambitious steps to enlarge His mission in Jamaica.

What does Isaiahsixeight do?

That is a question I am often asked. Then, I am confronted on how to best answer that question. Usually my response is whatever God shows us to do. In our society, we are known best by our occupation. I believe God knows us differently - by our faith in Jesus Christ and what that faith motivates us to do. And what did Jesus tell us to do? Spread the Gospel, love God, love one another, feed his sheep, minister to the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the sick, the prisoner, and the dying.

I know that this is an obtuse answer, but let me tell you a (long) story about how so much of what we do is related:

Our main Jamaican taxi driver for approximately 7 years has been on our heart a long time. We have shared the Gospel with him and he has witnessed our work first hand. We are closer to him than anyone in Jamaica. Even though, he supposedly accepted Christ about 4 years ago, we have seen only a little evidence that he is truly a Christian. Of course, that is probably true of many of us. We had also hoped he would take our movie system and move about the area showing Christian movies. We have pretty much concluded that our frequent visits will not change him. The only One who can change him is the Holy Spirit and a Jamaican that would be a role model would help. So, we just pray and wait on that.

Then, about 5 years ago, we heard about a Basic School (similar to daycare/kindergarten) in the back of a church in Stokes Hall had been badly damaged by Hurricane Dean and was in terrible shape. We go visit it and agree. We pledge to come back to build a new one. We build it. Then a year or so later, we come back to do major structural repairs on the church including a roof. We become very close to that community. Then, I see a malnourished child who is in the Basic School.

To combat the malnourishment, I start investigating the feeding programs of the basic schools and the government involvement. This leads me to visit several basic schools, then to contact the national governmental officials in charge of the feeding programs. There, I learn that the teacher was at fault as to why this basic school does not participate and will not in the foreseeable future.

All of this lead me to talk to the board chairman of the basic school. At that point, she tells me she is pastoring a small church in Wheelerfield and they need a church building. We had already decided that building a church was not in our plans, but to be nice, I agreed to go visit the area and see what she wanted. We had a lady team member there and I asked her to go with me, even though, to this day I do not know why, but God told me I should take her. Well, who greeted us there, but 4 young children. While they did not say much to me, they approached the pastor and the lady team member for food because they were hungry.

As we are walking across the field to look at a possible church site, I am telling myself that we are not going to build this church. Hunger is the main problem and not lack of a building. But, then I am told that this was a church plant from the Stokes Hall church and they started it for the children of the area. So, this was a mission church to help the hungry children. God knew that would break my cold heart. So, with the consent of our leadership, we built the church in November of 2011. This building project was probably our largest ever and we had a small team of 5-6 Americans and we actually helped another team on another project for the first 2 days of that week. So, we needed a lot of Jamaican help and we got some of the best help we have had and the most community support. One Jamaican man, Courtney, in his early thirties was most impressive. He was a hard worker, ingenious, poor, had 4 children, a wife, and was an active member of the church.

Just last week, we went to the church and they have done a lot of work there since we left. We saw Courtney again. On Saturday night, we went up into the mountains past Courtney's home to play bingo and show a Christian movie in the community of Johnson Mountain where we have built a basic school which is the center of a renewed spirit in the community. The bingo was a fundraiser for a community farming project to provide jobs for 17-27 year olds. This was lead by a very nice Rastafarian. We picked Courtney up on our way up the mountain. He was amazed at the movie and is now on fire to show it to his congregation and others. We also gave him Bible study materials and he wants to get our taxi driver to go with him as a team to share the Gospel message via a movie ministry.

So, God had it all figured out, we were just a little slow. So, building a school which lead to a church restoration which lead to a relationship to a community which led us to see malnutrition in that community which lead us to talk to the school board chairman who happened to be the pastor of the mission church. Traveling with the mission pastor, we again saw hungry children which caused us to build the church where we met Courtney. We go to Johnson Mountain at the request of the leading citizen - a Rastafarian who wants us to help with their farming project as well as show a Christian movie. We take Courtney with us. Courtney is amazed at the movie and now wants to team up with our taxi driver (remember this started with him). Also, the taxi driver really admires Courtney and I pray this will ignite him.

So, what do we do in Jamaica? Pretty much anything that God shows us. As with the stories of Jesus, you cannot separate the faith stories, the Gospel, or the mercy ministries. It is all a part of building the Kingdom. Incidentally, the church I did not want us to build has about doubled since November, has had four Baptisms, has two more scheduled and Chef, a good friend of Courtney's who has 8 children, was baptized and will soon marry the mother of his children.

As you can see, this all was the work of God and is to His Glory and is an example of what we do in Jamaica.

I'm a Thief for Christ!

For years, we have been visiting an elderly stroke victim named Ms. Rita. She is a delightful person. Our helper there in the community, Audrey Lindsey, has been delivering soup to Ms. Rita monthly for many years as well. We almost did major repairs on Ms. Rita's home, when much to our surprise, a son did the work. He, however, did not paint the house. So, Bradley, a 21 year old college student with a heart for Jamaica and I, started looking around the house. I was photographing it for documentation for the amount of paint and work. Bradley disappeared around back. There, I found him in deep conversation with a Jamaica woman.

Bradley told me that the woman had a special needs child with hydrocephalus (water in the brain). I peer around the door and met the mother, Michelle and her 3 year old girl, Sosheba. Michelle is renting a room from Ms. Rita, for $12 per month. This room is about 8 feet square, contains a full size bed and little else. There is less than 2 feet of space at the end and one side of the bed.

Sosheba is lying on the bed, in a Pampers, thrashing about. Occasionally, she will giggle and smile. She is obviously malnourished, her head too big for her body, and her limbs too frail to support her. Michelle, tells for her love of the child, that she could never put her in a home for the handicap, that no one will babysit for her, and that she cannot leave her alone. Someone has given her a stroller and a medical mission team had left some children's books, but nothing else. The child sleeps in the bed with the mom, there is nothing to keep her from falling out of the bed, there are no toys, and the child stares at a dark tin roof and old dark unpainted walls. The is one light bulb in the corner attached to a small extension cord.

To make it worse, Michelle tells of her need for Pampers, her need for food for the child, and the fact that the child cannot chew and must have all her food mashed up and how difficult that can be. Of course, we see all this on late Saturday afternoon and we are leaving the island the next morning, so what to do.

Audrey was also devastated that she had been to that house so many times and did not know the child was there. I immediately asked her to buy a playpen for the child (which will have to be used outdoors because of lack of space), buy eggs, meat, nuts, cheese, and beans to help meet the protein needs of the child, buy some rattles she can grasp, possibly a mobile and help in other ways as well. Then, without permission and without regret, I stole! I stole a blender belonging to the Langer's, missionaries to Jamaica, and asked Audrey to give it to Michelle.

Getting protein to this child is a problem on many fronts - money, blending or mashing the food, and they have no refrigeration and even if we bought a refrigerator, they could not afford the power to run it. Michelle and Sosheba need more room as well. I think they just made it to the top of our list to for us to build them a home.

Michelle is a Christian and a member of a Pentecostal Church. She reads her Bible regularly and reads it to a gentle Rastafarian man who helps her with the child. She certainly has faith and the hope that Christ gives us, but as Christians we need to help her and her child.

I am contemplating returning to Jamaica soon - with toys, protein powder, and to help Michelle which would include trying to improve her housing situation.

He was blind, lame, and lost, but now he is found!

A few minutes after finding the lady with the special needs child, we met a great Christian man helping a elderly lady with amputated leg who we had already visited. He was telling about a man who had recently lost his leg to diabetes who formerly lived in the area. He had heard he had moved to the Seaside community and was in a terrible living situation.

So, off we go to visit this man. We find him. He is elderly and living with his elderly sister in a two room house, where one of the rooms was uninhabitable. We entered. The room was dark with most of the light coming from the cracks and breaks in the floor. The source of the light was also the only source of ventilation. He was living in a house with a tin roof and plywood walls, but there was only a door - no windows whatsoever. There was also no electricity.

My immediate concern was for light, but when I learned that not only did he have but one leg, but that he was blind, my concern about light was not an issue. We originally thought the main problem would be the stability of the floor, but we soon recognized that ventilation and nutrition where the main problems.

We thought putting in windows would be a great project for a team from Birmingham-Southern College expected in January, because we were leaving the island the next day. Then we put ourselves in his shoes and realized this needed to be finished soon since it is summer. So, we have made arrangements to pay a Jamaican carpenter to take care of the windows.

In talking to Audrey about this man, for years, he had been a recipient of the soup from their soup kitchen for shut-ins, but he moved and was lost to them. Now he is found and God can now bless him with windows and soup.

Feeding 3 generations.

Sometimes, God has to hit us over the head twice. Early in our recent trip, we were walking through the Seaside shanty community. My good friend and fellow Jamaican missionary Terry Fry told me as we passed this pink house that the woman there on the front porch just really seemed desperate. She frequently asks us for help, but I usually shun her because of the coarse almost demanding way she asks.

The next week, we were again in the community, but Terry had left the island several days earlier. I recalled what Terry had said and as I walked by, she asked me for some money. We normally do not give money out (see comment below), but I went to talk to her. Her daughter and the daughter's two little boys (one still nursing) live with her. She was cutting cabbage for the evening meal and that is all she had. She wanted me to help them buy some rice and oil to add to the cabbage. I gave her the equivalent of about $2 US and she did indeed buy the rice and oil.

Later, I wondered, how many other times had she asked and how hungry were they? God taught me, I need to look beyond the words and manner in which they are spoken and look at the need.

Comment - While we almost never give out money, I saw so many desperate hungry people who I know, that I could not follow my own rule. One of the most honest hardworking Jamaicans I know, for the first time in the ten years I have known him asked for some money. Since he is a long time friend, I could not say "no". I also gave money to several elderly women and men. 

What does a Rastafarian, marijuana, and our mission have in common?

God must have a sense of humor! Several years ago, we go to the community of Johnson Mountain. It is an agricultural community on the side of this large mountain. Before we go up there, we hear two things: first, they have a terrible basic school that needs to be replaced and secondly, the area is known as one of the major marijuana growing areas.

We go, see the tremendous need and like the people we meet. One is the community leader, a very tall, kind, well spoken Rastafarian. We took a great team from Birmingham up there in January 2011 and built them a school. Approximately two months later, we visit them, find that the enrollment is up about 50% and everyone tells us the school is the new central point of pride in the community.

On trip two weeks ago, we go up there to visit and check on them and we hear they are working with an agricultural development arm of the European Union and are planning to do a cooperative farming project to raise and process ginger. However, they need some money to pay for a bulldozer to cut the road. The European Union is doing this project to try to make jobs for 17-27 year olds. We are all for jobs and opportunities, so we talk more about it.

I asked the Rastafarian leader, with the red eyes of marijuana usage, if we could come up the next weekend and show a Christian movie to the community and we could also play bingo (I have an iPad app that automates and projects the bingo calling). He loved the idea and suggested we charge for the bingo and use the proceeds of the farming project.

Well, on Saturday night, we go there. We show a Veggie Tales movie for the children and 4 Three Stooges shorts. Then when we have a crowd and ready to play bingo, the Rastafarian asks me to open the proceedings with prayer. Now, Rastafarians believe in a god and they think it is our God, but they have their own "messiah". So, I made sure my prayer invoked the name of Jesus Christ.

We played 5 games of bingo and the Jamaicans really enjoyed it. Many then left, but quite a few stayed including the Rastafarian as we watch "The Hope" video, an outstanding presentation of the Gospel.

Incidentally, I am participating in a study about how to start spiritual conversations naturally. Was this natural or supernatural? God certainly had me  scratching my bald head! 
  
Isaiahsixeight hires its first employee!

We have been working in Jamaica since the early 1990's, and Isaiahsixeight came into existence in 2007. Everything has been done by volunteers except for the occasional casual Jamaican laborer or a short contract job. Most of our work in Jamaica that is done when we have not been there has been done by Audrey Lindsay, but Audrey is a fulltime basic school teacher, a lay minister, steward of the church, runs a Seaside children's ministry and is busy in many other church and community causes. So, while she is very dedicated to our mission and our causes, she has no time for additional activities.

We knew that starting a child sponsorship program would take a lot of work on the Jamaican end and someone to do it, so we went to Jamaica on this last trip with the main purpose of finding that person. We had some preconceived ideas about who that person might be, but almost immediately, God showed us that those people would not be our employee. I was sharing our plight with Mrs. Jacobs, the proprietor of the local hardware store when she told me about her daughter, Freddi. Later that week, Mrs. Jacobs met with Audrey and us. Then a few nights later, she brings her two delightful daughters - Freddi and Sandi.

Freddi is an intelligent 26 y/o lady who graduated college studying pharmacology, then got something akin to a masters degree in epidemiology. She wants to enter medical school and become a pediatrician. She is a Christian, technologically savvy, is well spoken, energetic and self motivated. God sent us what we could not imagine; however, Freddi can only promise us 10 weeks of work until school starts.

Freddi is already cataloging the children, meeting the teachers, chronicling the needs, preparing Bible studies and summer programs for the children in Seaside, working to help us find jobs for some of the brighter older children in Seaside, reading books I recommended, installing apps and learning software that we will need to communicate, track expenses, and track the children.

All I can say is "Thank You God!" and "Welcome Aboard Freddi!" What can you do?

I believe as you can see from these stories that God is moving in many areas of our mission. We have had no fundraisers in over a year. The tornadoes, the economy, and probably my failure to tell the story have all hurt our contributions. Also, we have taken fewer teams to Jamaica in part due to donor and volunteer fatigue (including my own) related to the tornadoes.

So, what are our needs?

● A small construction team to build a home for the mother and her special needs child
● Money to help feed and support the special needs child
● Money and a small team to build a playground at Johnson Mountain
● A team of child educators to gather materials for schools, communicate to the schools, and to consider going there to help train the teachers
● Money to help pay for a bulldozer to cut a farm road in Johnson Mountain
● A team to build church pews for our new church in Wheelerfield
● Money and a team to replace plywood on homes in Seaside
● Money to pay for making the windows in the blind man's home
● Money to help us feed the poor
● Sponsors for the child sponsorship program to begin in a few months
● Creative writers to replace my feeble attempts to tell the story
● Creative people to redesign and update our web site
● Creative people to maintain a FaceBook presence.
● Prayers, prayers, and more prayers for guidance, wisdom, and appropriate responses to the needs before us.

We pray that you are touched by these stories and will come alone side us to help this mission. To God be the Glory!

Donnie Cantley