Any DIY project is bound to be riddled with ups and downs. The Kingston Ministry Centre renovation project certainly was in late June. Thanks to Jamaica’s first OIM short-term team, DOWN came a wall in the sanctuary and UP went a drop ceiling in the apartment. Five individuals from Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Wichita Falls, Texas, labored alongside local plumbers, electricians, and carpenters to bring the multifaceted vision for the building closer to reality.
The vaulted ceiling that soars over the back portion of the sanctuary will soon echo with the praises of the faithful at St. Andrew Lutheran Church, instead of the drone of a jackhammer. The apartment is, likewise, looking homier and homier as the process of identifying a second alliance missionary pastor to serve on the island and secure the necessary travel documentation for him marches on.
Undeterred by sweltering heat and scourges of mosquitoes, the Our Redeemer team was also responsible for installing screens on the bunk room windows, outfitting a neglected storage room as a repository for a growing conglomeration of tools and materials, and sifting through debris dating back to the building’s previous owners.
The list of pending tasks is still as daunting as the soon-to-be-hauled-away trash pile in the parking lot. We entrust the project’s continuation into our gracious Heavenly Father’s hands and, together with you, lift UP prayers that He would rain DOWN what only He knows that we need in order to bring it to completion in His perfect timing.
Author Erin Mackenzie is a career missionary in the Dominican Republic. When she’s not traveling around Latin America overseeing the regional short-term team program — too often, according to her cat, Freddy — Erin enjoys reading, trying new recipes and challenging anyone who claims they can beat her at English or Spanish Scrabble.
