Home Jamaica
View of the Mission
Jamaica is home to 2,772,000 people. Kingston, the capital, has over 30% of the country’s entire population. There are many people in this city and resources are limited, as they are everywhere in Jamaica. This country is known for coffee, Bob Marley, jerk sauce, and of course the Bobsled team. What you don’t hear about, as is the case worldwide, is Jamaica’s need for more Jesus.
Our Missionaries
The Penwood Church of Christ
The Penwood Church of Christ is located in the heart of inner city Kingston. The church remains a beacon of light for the Lord in a community plagued with people hurt by Satan and needing Christ. Poverty and violence are far too common here and Harvest works alongside the Penwood Church to battle Satan and bring souls to Jesus.
Our Missionaries
The Penwood Church of Christ
The Penwood Church of Christ is located in the heart of inner city Kingston. The church remains a beacon of light for the Lord in a community plagued with people hurt by Satan and needing Christ. Poverty and violence are far too common here and Harvest works alongside the Penwood Church to battle Satan and bring souls to Jesus.
Winston (Jacko) and Heather Jackson have served the Penwood Church since the early 1970’s. Jacko is the lead Pastor there. As a church, Harvest works with Penwood Church of Christ and has visited a number of times. Recently, we have taken a mission group there for one week every other year.
Our financial support to Penwood reaches many ministries. At the church level they have men’s and women’s small groups, Sunday school, and numerous other activities. Penwood runs a Christian school on site, and they have begun a career center to train people in computers and other practical skills. They sponsor a Christian camp that ministers to youth from all over the island and they do a host of evangelistic ministries. Penwood also reaches out to work with other churches to help counter the violence in area neighborhoods. Jacko coordinates activities for churches all over the island and has recently been heavily involved in church leadership training for Jamaica’s neighbor island Antigua. Rhoan Wallace, whom you will meet from time to time when he visits us here at Harvest, has a unique ministry called PIE that helps other churches with evangelism and leadership training. PIE reaches out to churches in Jamaica to hold revival meetings and train church leaders.
Plan of the Mission
Harvest Christian Fellowship is devoted to sending teams to Jamaica every other year. Our teams can vary in purpose. We have sent teams in the past to help with construction work on the Christian school as well as the church camp. Team members have been involved with Vacation Bible School and in outreaching in the inner city. We have done repair work for those who live in some of the roughest areas of Penwood. Though our purpose may differ with each visit, our goal is always to bring hope to the hurting of Jamaica. We would love to have you join us on one of our next mission trips - all you need is a willing heart.
Here is one person's thoughts from the 2008 trip:
When our plane lands we are greeted by many friendly faces including Winston (Jacko) and Heather Jackson who have served at Penwood since the early 1970’s. Jacko is the lead Pastor. Rhoan Wallace and Hue Senior are also Pastors at Penwood. They, along with their wives and families, are some of the friendliest, most welcoming people you’ll ever meet. They truly have hearts for the Lord and just want to love people.
The sun rises on our first full day and off we go. At first most places look similar to home. As we get closer to the neighborhood where Penwood is I can’t help but notice the houses – by American standards some of these places wouldn’t even be called garages. Walls and roofs are often made of sheets of metal. The need is immense.
The bus pulls up to the church gates and we file out the door. Our hosts are so excited to have us and they are super friendly to everyone. After brief introductions and orientation, we dig in to our first projects on the To Do list. Working with our Jamaican brothers and sisters, we go through lots of paint, brushes, and rollers as many walls on the church grounds get a facelift. Later in the week, as I learn to hand mix cement on the ground using a heavy shovel (something just an hour before I would never have guessed I’d do), I hear the bucket brigade yelling “BUCKET” as a new floor is poured in one of the buildings with the concrete I just mixed. Some people work on raising the roof (literally…not the dancing kind) of a building while others enjoy a respite by playing soccer with kids outside the Penwood walls.
Throughout the week I particularly like learning about one of Penwood’s ministries - a Christian Camp they sponsor for children from all over the island. I hear many fond memories as adults recall when they were children and attended this same camp. Our group visits the camp for a work day and I am in awe of the beauty God has created there. On Sunday, after the church service, we do something very cool. We walk a few blocks down the road and put on a Sunday School for the local kids. Children come from every direction to join us and are so sweet. We see every age from toddler through 12 years old. I end the day by watching the Lord’s glory in the breathtaking sunset before me. What an amazing God we serve.
One of my favorite parts of the trip is the children. They are inspiring. God blesses them with such an incredible ability to find joy, happiness, and peace in the smallest things. They are so resilient and in love with life. The kids come inside the church gates each morning just to talk with us about anything and everything. They have so many questions. What a wonderful way they have of looking at life. And, although they like to ask all kinds of things about the United States, I find myself wondering why we Americans aren’t more like them. Pictures from the 2008 Mission Trip
Pictures from the 2006 Mission Trip
Jamaica 2008
Mission trip to the Penwood Church of Christ in Kingston Jamaica.
