1987 and 1988 were very busy years for us in Jamaica. We had kept the Bible Training Centre going after the Calvary Ministries team left. We were developing curricula and training material for Children’s Ministries and the course material for the Bible Training Centre teaching. Additionally, we had gotten to know a lot of missionaries across the island, many who were independents, not sponsored or sent out by an organization, and who had very little support, care, and fellowship. So we started hosting Fellowship Gatherings for the missionaries, first at our home in Kingston, then at the Bible Training Centre, then at Christ For The Nations in Montego Bay. We were able to bring in mature pastoral, prophetic, and teaching ministries for these occasions (by God’s grace and the generosity of the ministers we brought in!)
In late 1987, we were contacted by Pastor Gene Weaver from a small Kentucky town near Cincinnati OH. He represented a fellowship of churches in his area who had become responsible for the care and feeding of a group of churches in St Elizabeth parish, about three hours drive west of us on Jamaica’s south coast. He asked us to be their representatives in overseeing and caring for the group of churches in St Elizabeth. We agreed to do it and that set in motion a whole new set of adventures!
Then Hurricane Gilbert pounded away at the island for a few days in 1988. Hurricane Gilbert was the first major hurricane to directly hit Jamaica in over fifty years and there was huge damage all across the island. The jungle and agriculture and building construction and infrastructure hadn’t been tested by really severe weather for more than a generation, so the damage was devastating! Much of the island was without electricity for months. Even in Kingston, the capital city where we lived, it took six weeks for our power to come back! So, as you can see, there are some great stories in store!
We’re discovering some interesting things as we intentionally set ourselves to remember experiences and events in this season of our life. One of those things is the memory process itself!
When we began to try to remember and capture these stories, we thought it would be best to approach it in more or less chronological order. That’s a good way to do it, but we’re learning that’s not always how memory works. Memory is more often built of events and experiences than of calendars and schedules. Some things stand out in memory but it’s hard to remember when they happened and when they happened in relation to other events.
One of the first things we did is list some major events and occurrences, things we had actual dates for: When we left Oregon for Missouri and then on to Jamaica, when we moved from Linstead to Kingston, when the Bible Training Centre started, when the Hurricane hit Jamaica, when Melissa graduated from ICHS… that sort of thing. We put the most accurate dates we could on those events, then began to think of things that happened before or after or between the major mileposts. It’s surprising how many things we remember clearly but don’t remember just when they happened or how they fit with other events.
Jean and I spent time talking it over, again and again, telling each other the stories as we each remember them. We brought Stephanie and Melissa into the discussions to get their perspective on the things that happened. Each conversation allows another little piece of the story to surface. We each remember some events differently, so we have to talk it out and see which is correct or if each has a piece of the “true story”!
Photos can be very helpful to stir memories of people, places, and circumstances. Google Maps turns out to be both a friend and a foe! Forty years of growth and development changes the map and some things simply aren’t where we remembered them to be on the map! It’s an adventure!
And here’s another thing we’ve discovered over the past few years as we’ve worked at building an origins story for ourselves, our kids, and our grandkids: Some information is simply irretrievable because there’s no one still living that has the answers we’re looking for! So don’t wait too long to find out stuff. If you have parents and siblings still living, initiate conversations, ask questions, listen to each other’s stories. Look through old photographs and find out who’s who and why they’re in the picture. Get started with the remembering process. Tell the stories as you remember them and they’ll develop as you go along. But don’t wait too long!
I’m convinced that Intentional Remembering should be one of our Spiritual Disciplines! I’ve written a recent GraceNotes devotional on this topic. You can find it here: https://www.resourceministries.org/devotionals/grace-notes/tell-the-story/
4 Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power. 7 Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy about your righteousness. (Psalm 145:4,7 NLT)
I’ll be back next week with another story from our Jamaica years! As always, I’d love to hear from you. If you have a question or a comment simply reply to this email or if you’re reading on the blog, comment below.
Grace to you today, Jim Stephens