Hello, everyone.

On Tuesday night Carmen and I got back from a visit to Jamaica. We had a very good trip and just wanted to thank you for your prayers. In addition to worshipping with the congregation we also had an Association meeting, a meeting of the Trustees and an all-day meeting on Monday (a public holiday in Jamaica) with the pastoral teams from Christian Pen, Ocho Rios and Montego Bay. The team from Mandeville was not able to make it. It was a pleasure to see the dedication of these men and women.

Our pastoral teams in Jamaica are made up of humble men and women who have shown an awesome strength and willingness to pay the cost of leadership. Pray that they will receive the grace to keep their commitment to hold up Jesus and exalt Him so that many will be drawn to Him. Pray that their messages will be motivational and reflect their love for Jesus.

Jamaica is experiencing a vicious crime wave. The Christian community on the island is on an extended prayer vigil. The criminal element seems to be gaining the upper hand in terms of power, weapons and terrorism. The most recent attack is a vendetta over the death of a relative of one of the criminal kingpins. The kingpins have vowed to kill 15 policemen and 10 security guards to avenge their comrade. While we were there they killed 5 police officers. One of our church members had to move his business place to a well guarded shopping plaza to avoid paying the extortion money required by the criminals to guard his place. These men actually put a gun to his youngest sons head to intimidate him. Please join us in praying about the crime and violence on the island.

God bless you all.
Charles

Pictures can also be viewed here.