Kingdom Builders Ministry's main mission in Jamaica is to honor God and bring glory to His Name while sharing His love with those He directs us to. With the help of a team from Atlanta Leadership College and Penie's father, Frank, we were able to do just that. It seems it’s the little things we do that mean a great deal in people’s lives. Helping people attain basic needs can be a major achievement.
When Jim and I first moved to Jamaica in June of 1997, we prayed for God to open avenues for us to show His love and build trust with the people He had called us to serve. God responded in an unique manner that we could never have planned or prepared for. One day as we finished our morning routine a teenager we had befriended who lived in our local town of Whitehouse knocked on our gate. He had pushed a pushcart loaded with empty five gallon jugs most people use to carry water from local streams or community standpipes. One of the significant requirements to be tagged a developing country is that less than 60% of the population has running water in their homes so gathering and carrying water is a common practice in Jamaica. The teenager explained that there was no water in Whitehouse at all and hadn’t been for many days. We were unaffected by this because the neighborhood we lived in received water from a well and not the community water lines at the time. Without thinking too much about the request to fill his jugs we agreed and Jim offered to give him a ride home so he wouldn’t have to push what would become a very heavy cart back to his grandma’s. When Jim returned home from delivering the water, our little hatchback was filled with empty jugs! This routine continued into the evening hours. The following day, when we went into town for something or other, we were greeted with overwhelming acceptance and shouts of, “Hey, Jimmy the Jesus man!” Our intentions were pure; we were made known of a need and did what we could to meet it. God used it to open many hearts to hear the Good News of the One who supplies everlasting water!
It was with this same heart that we responded to the information Jim received from a friend we have made who lives in Audayr that even the drips of water the community routinely collects overnight when Sandals Whitehouse isn’t draining the lines hadn’t come for days. Water has been an issue in Audayr since Sandals Whitehouse resort opened in 2005. The same water source feeds both Audayr and Sandals Whitehouse with Sandals’ pipes always full and Audayr’s dry. It was for this reason that KBM has constructed gutter systems with a collection barrel on five homes in Audayr. During the winter months, Jamaica doesn’t receive much rain, so even these families were in need of water. With no rain and no water in the community pipe, the only solution to provide water for your family is to travel more than a mile to the water source. Some of you have been to this stream where we have picnicked for lunch break during a day of ministry in Audayr. You can testify that it is a difficult walk up hill both ways! How is that possible? There is a hill between the community and the water source.
We brought our 5 gallon jugs filled with water to Audayr and communicated our intentions of helping them get water that day. We drained our jugs into a few large drums trying to explain that every 50 gallon drum will likely not get filled; they would have to share. We would do our best to carry as much water as possible that day, and we did. Having the vehicles and strong young people to do the lifting, we made many trips to the spring head and supplied the entire community with water.
Although we transported hundreds of gallons of water that day, it certainly was not a solution to the problem they face daily. Please continue to pray with us for Audayr. It is a very dry community in many ways. We pray for their physical need of water to be provided in a reasonable manner. We also pray that springs of living water would flow through that community as people turn their hearts to God and share His love with their neighbors.
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Another basic need is food. Food is nearly as scarce in Audayr as water. Although our hearts break each time we go there, we are well aware that KBM is not their source; God is. We prayerfully blessed one family with groceries that week. You may remember Keriann and African. KBM built a small room onto a relative’s home so they would have a room for themselves and their three children. African had already started the construction and was often not home because he was working. KBM admires ambition. African was home this visit. African was in a car wreck that ended with the car going up in flames. He was badly burned trying to get another passenger out of the car. Sadly, the other man didn’t escape and African is still recuperating. He will have horrible scars over most of his body and possibly always walk with a cane, but he is alive and walking! Please pray for his total healing so he can get back to work and provide for his family. If you would be interested in helping their little girl with a school sponsorship, please let us know. The twin boys are not in school yet. 
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A friend from Petersville asked us to check on her dad’s toilet to see if we could help fix it. We know her father as “Uncle Joe”; he is a dear man in his late 80’s. When we went to investigate the need, we found his outhouse and kitchen blown over by the recent strong winds. We strengthened his kitchen lean-to so it wouldn’t fall any further, but the outhouse was beyond repair. When he told us that he had a lady friend that came every morning to have tea with him and they wanted to get married, but she won’t move in until he has a toilet she can use, our hearts skipped a beat. We went home and prayed. It was not in our budget to build a new outhouse for Uncle Joe. Within 24 hours one of the team members made a contribution toward the project and we made plans to get it built!
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LOVE CHAMPIONS
Jim and I (Penie) are both very project oriented hands on kind of people. We seek God's leading with each team as to where and what He wants us to work on. There are so very many needs in our surrounding communities in Jamaica and around the world as well. Each of us has a part to play in His plan. The most important lesson we have learned is that it's not the project that is God's focus but the people we meet in the process.
Diana shared such a story in our evening debriefing after working at Uncle Joe's. While our focus was on the great need we saw in Uncle Joe's yard, her attention was directed toward Sean, a young boy home from school our first work day. Diana shared her love for soccer with Sean and taught him some basic moves. Our second day at Uncle Joe's was a Saturday so many children were home and a soccer game formed. With Diana at his side, Sean had the moves and made goals like never before! Diana saw this young boy's demeanor change in the short time she was privileged to spend with him. Sean has a new outlook on life and better understanding of his value in Christ.
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It’s Better to GIVE than to Receive.
After playing with the young people in Gully Bank, a soccer ball was given to an older boy who had played nicely and been a real helper while we were there. A soccer ball is a real prize and greatly coveted item by any young person in the area. This young man returned the gift and asked that it be given to a younger boy. As we packed to leave, the initial recipient came to Jim to share his feelings. The young man said it was the first time he had ever given anything away and it felt amazing!
It was Kevin’s birthday! Kevin is the son of our dear friend, Tracy. He accepted the ball with giggles!
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Small spots of rust have been taking hold of our railings around our house. The rust had eaten sections of the railing away causing it to not be secure and demanding attention. Penie’s dad, Frank, was with us this trip and conquered the problem during his stay. He is an excellent welder and more than competent in many other areas as well. We put his skills to work in some way every day!
Frank is seen here with Queenie who is working at My Father's House helping assure the yard and pool are well cared for. They made a a great team; moving from one project to the next.
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Atlanta Leadership College lost no time following behind Frank and Queenie painting wherever they had welded and primed the railings and grills. Other areas needing a coat of paint were attacked and cared for as well. Upkeep at My Father's House is a constant need. We are extremely grateful for all the manpower and thoughtful care!
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Sharing the GOOD NEWS
Going into the schools and churches and delivering messages of encouragement through song, drama and testimonies are vital elements of a team's week. Even public schools conduct daily devotions in Jamaica. They welcome our teams trusting their attention grabbing creativity and true to the Gospel content. Local churches welcome Kingdom Builders Ministry too. We usually attend a Lighthouse Church. Petersville Lighthouse is where we most often attend as it was this week with ALC. Mearnsville school, Petersville school and church were blessed with the presentations from ALC. The timeless lessons from David's trust in God for triumph over Goliath and Joseph's trust in God despite his circumstances were presented through dramas and reaffirmed through lessons and testimonies.
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