They built a pavilion at the Senior Housing Project. Then there was Emergency call that came a week before leaving. A woman and her 3 children living in a freight trailer desperately needed a home. More…
Thank you all the members of Prince of Peace and Starve Poverty that made this event so incredible and memorable. The kids of Palm Grove Church of God were so blessed by your generous giving this past week.
May the Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
The collective heart of our POP Church Family has contributed over $1000 for our Jamaica mission. The donations will be used to purchase school supplies for the children of the Palm Grove Sunday School in Negril Jamaica. It is because of generous contributions like yours that we are able to broaden the scope of this outreach to bless those who are often over-looked or forgotten. Thank you for your kindness. May your gift be returned to you in the form of God’s abundant blessings!
If you missed the offering this past Sunday or would like to make an additional donation you can use our PayPal Donation service, just add “Jamaica Mission” to the check out instructions.
We will be helping to build a house for a family currently living in a 40′ freight trailer at Curtis, Exuma. Despite the incredibly poor living conditions, all three children are straight ‘A’ students.
The mother is a strong woman. In addition to the care she has provided to her children, she has been working to build a "house" out of pallets. A new, well constructed home is the need.
In addition to this project the mission team will be meeting daily for prayer and devotionals. On Sunday February 7th the team will hold an evening of Praise & Worship for the community. Our hope and prayer is that we’ll lead new brothers and sisters to Christ.
Day One – The Trip Down
It’s been a long day, starting at 4:00am! We finally landed in Exuma at about 5:00pm after a 4-hour layover in Nassau (including a short trip to the Fish Fry) and a quick landing in Cat Island. We’re all very tired from the day of travel and ready to get to bed! We need to be well-rested for our first day of hard work and to serve the community here on the Island.
We’re staying at the Exuma Foundation Resource Center where their is barracks style housing and communal dining. Tomorrow morning begins with Devotions at 7:30 am, followed by breakfast at 8:00 am, and departure for the work site at 8:30am. Stay tuned…
Day Two – Tender Moments
We started the day with prayer and devotional, the topic was Romans 12:9, Love must be sincere. We went to the project site and were struck by the conditions this young family lived in. “It was a tender moment” Ron Fraser said.
In Exuma there is a saying, “No one move, no one get hurt”, well this was what we were faced with. The job prep was not completed and we had to change plans to another project that was scheduled for another trip while we waited for the prep work to be completed.
So, we headed over to Rolleville to work on a shelter for the seniors at the apartments.
At the end of the day, the shelter is nearly completed! And, to our surprise, the prep work was finished at the Curtis project site. So, tomorrow’s work day begins at 6:00 am so that the shelter can be finished in time for evening worship and we can begin work at Curtis on Monday! Stay tuned…
Day Three – Community Worship
What an awesome day! We started the day early at Rolleville with morning prayer. We gathered folks from around the community and they joined us in our devotions. As the work day got rolling, the kids in the community helped with the project.
The evening worship was a great success! Several families accepted our invitation, joining us in joyful praise and worship.
Pastor Anthony gave his sermon on the “Hunger for Jesus.” Some very powerful connections were made and relationships were built.
We ended our gathering with refreshments and fellowship, where we did some “Facebooking” to see the conditions back home. The children were very curious about the snow and amazed at the pictures posted. Needless to say, our thoughts and prayers are with our loved ones at home in NJ. Please stay safe and warm! If it makes you feel any better, we got some pretty bad rain here all afternoon Stay tuned…
Day Four – Sabbath
Today is the Day of Rest. After a few days of hard work we rested Exuma style on Stocking Island of the coast of Exuma prime.
We spend a few hours on Stocking Island and then headed to Little Exuma to see David, Alfonzo and Hazel. Hazel’s home was a project completed a few years back. Ron’s team continues to minister to Hazel, Alfonzo and Hazel’s grandson David. Hazel always wears a hat the says “Jesus is my Boss.”
On the way back form Little Exuma we stopped by a family that came to our worship service the evening before. Some time ago the young woman Nellie and her five children all lived in a small house that burned to the ground. The kids were then taken by social services for a year. Ron’s team came to this family’s aid and built a house and reunited the family.
Tomorrow we’re head to Curtis to work on the home for the mother and children that now live in the trailer. The next few days will be busy and exciting. Stay tuned…
Day Five & Six – Physical Walls Go Up – Cultural Walls Come Down
On Monday (yesterday) our internet connection was down, so we could not post. Here’s a brief synopsis of the last 48 hours:
Day 5 was our 1st day of work on the Curtis project. We started with a concrete slab and by the end of the day we had 4 walls and a roof! Amazing! Our new team cheer is “YAY, US!”
We were delighted when Vernette and 2 of her children, 9 year old Donneshia and 6 year old Vincent visited the site.
The 2 children even helped with the construction.
On day 6, our team made the structure “water-tight” with hurricane straps and finished 90% of the shingles on the roof. This progress would not have been possible without the additional skilled labor of Alfred and Ricardo, relatives of Vernette who have put in as much time on the project as our team.
After work, we hosted Vernette, her 3 children (including 12 yr. old Audrey), Alfred and his wife and son, and Ricardo back at the Resource Center for dinner and worship. The day was truly awesome, and a perfect example from the Book of Acts: We WORKED together, We ATE together, and We WORSHIPPED together!”
Tomorrow, we will get an early start to put the finishing touches on the roof and have some time for an excursion to the beach and Straw Market (to buy our much-deserving loved ones some souvenirs). Again, our thoughts and prayers are with you as we know the snow is falling again. We love you and give many thanks for your love and support! Stay tuned…
Day Seven – Last Day
We got up early this AM to be on the job site before sunrise to finish this phase of the project. We were finished by 8:00 am and headed back to the Resource Center. The rest of the day was for fellowship and reflection on the days of this past week down here in Exuma.
Alfred and Ricardo will continue to work on this project for Vernette and the kids. In March a group from Stockton College will be here with Ron and Starve Poverty to continue where we left off. The plan is for Vernette and the kids to be moved in by April. Keep them in your prayers.
We hope you have enjoyed following us on our mission this past week.
Stay tuned…
Sermon Series: The Letter of James
