Chronicles of a remnant
Will Jamaica’s children return to school as scheduled this academic year in September? Will we have enough local teachers to greet our little ones entering the school system for the first time, and prepare and reassure the older ones who will sit primary and secondary exams next year? Jamaican teachers who understand the local socio-economic and cultural context that so greatly impacts the teaching/learning experience?
Not to mention the recent weather system that brought devastation to some areas of the island. With approximately two weeks to go and two hundred and twelve schools damaged by Hurricane Beryl, back-to-school looks like a herculean task!
But God, in His Divine Omniscience and Infinite Wisdom, would have seen this coming, and so, in order to stave off colossal devastation, strategically dispatched troops to pray, decree, declare, intercede, and raise up two hundred righteous altars across the nation, exactly two months before! Many of us would have done this at school gates and on school properties where access was allowed.
This article tells the tale of one such school at which a strident spiritual battle was fought and won. Interestingly, this school is situated in one of the parishes that was ravished by the hurricane but it escaped unscathed! Glory to God!
ANSWERING THE CLARION CALL
It was approximately 7:15 a.m. when the taxi pulled up in the square. It was Labour Day, May 23, 2024. The warm rays of the sunlight kissed the top of the huge almond tree as it cast its rosy hue upon the early risers of our little town.
Armed with my Bible, newly acquired water bottle, and my ministry cards, I gingerly alighted from the taxi and looked around me. So, where were the scores of remnants who had answered the national clarion call? (1 Kings 19:14) Was I the only one to respond to the mandate by Apostle Jeffrey Shuttleworth to establish Legacy Projects in our neighbourhoods, island-wide?
My heart plummeted, and I was saddened. Honestly.
After a few moments of assessing my situation, I ‘pulled up my shoulders’ and muttered, “Well, God, seems like it’s just the two of us today, so please cover me while I start!”
I opened my Bible and embarked on some serious Word and prayer saturation into the atmosphere, decreeing and declaring over the town as the Holy Spirit led. I might have been at it for over half an hour.
Early morning commuters and pedestrians, meandering about their business, stared at me like I had ten heads.
A BOND IS FORMED
Finally, someone stopped to address me.
“Good morning,” the young man smiled. “So, you’re one of them!”
“Good morning, one of whom?” I enquired.
“Some of your people are over there, on that side,” he pointed to the eastern end of the square.
I could not see the people he was referring to, nor could they see me. The truth is, none of us was aware of the other’s presence, as our vision was blocked by the ancient historical clock (a typical landmark in most Jamaican towns).
Quickly gathering my paraphernalia, I thanked him, heading in the direction he had indicated. It was a pleasant surprise to see all of six other remnants who had also answered the clarion call! Now there were seven of us (fullness and completeness), and none of us had ever met before!
“LORD, what are you showing us here?” I questioned in my thoughts, quietly grinning throughout the welcome and anointing by our leader. I was overjoyed to be part of a team and excited to spend the better portion of the next hour in consecration, praise, and worship.
GO TO SCHOOL OR ACCEPT THE COPS’ INVITATION?
Our first stop was the nearby police station, where we were warmly welcomed and invited to chill in the shade of the park adjoining the premises. As tempting as the thought was, we graciously declined, for we were on business for The KING and could not take respite under the enormous almond tree!
It was a vigorous march towards the high school, a major diabolical altar in the community. The Holy Spirit downloads came fast and furious; we could not budge from the school gate until every one of those evil altars was dismantled in the realm of the spirit, and a righteous one was erected!
Why should a school be headed by a grandmaster in the lodge society and used as a recruiting centre? Our treasured children held captive under the tutelage of a satanic entity! We were wroth, and the Holy Spirit constrained us there for a while!
An hour of tarrying had elapsed when, surprisingly, some students began arriving for external examinations, giving us the wonderful opportunity to encourage, greet, and pray for them before they quietly entered the compounds!
As we saturated the atmosphere with the Word of God, decreeing, declaring, and prophesying over the school and community, there was such a strong presence of the Holy Spirit that we could not leave our post!
All, but one motorist, honked in solidarity as they slowed to read our ministry cards while we sang praises unto God. The antagonistic lone ranger hurled some rather rude and disparaging expletives at us and sped away, but we held our ground and remained resolute!
WHAT WAS THAT IN THE SKY?
What was that travelling from the south of us in the sky? The whitest of white clouds arrested my attention. What was so different about it was that it was very pure and pristine. It had a silvery shimmer that kept me transfixed, and it was the only cloud in sight! I was in such awe that I forgot to alert my teammates!
This Glory cloud continued on its intentional, floating journey until it came and paused right over us at the school gate!
I felt safe, as a great sense of peace enveloped me! It was as if all my past had disappeared and only this moment mattered! I was enveloped in a cocoon of inexplicable protection that I prayed would last for eternity! It made me feel like I belonged elsewhere—like heaven was touching earth and I could not humanly explain or contain it! All I knew was that I wanted to remain in that moment forever!
This was the third time I was having such an experience in my life: the first time was the Good Friday that God saved me; the second was during a vision I had that involved my dear Sister Aarons; and now today.
In the bluest of blue skies, this solitary cloud testified majestically! I thought it would pass us by, but it remained stationary for a while before dissipating like whisps into thin air!
REINFORCEMENT ARRIVED
At approximately 11:30 a.m., we saw a team of about seven remnants approaching us from the north, while another comprising five advanced from the south! The former was one of the two hundred teams assigned to erect physical altars as part of the National Labour Day Legacy Project, while the latter were members of a denomination within the community who had also answered the clarion call to “Take back Jamaica from the clutches of the Devil.” They had been in search of the group in their locale that they had heard being interviewed on The Breath of Change (TBC) radio earlier that day.
Our squad moved to the right of the school gate, providing ‘cover,’ while the remaining combined forces erected the physical altar on the left.
We were now more than twenty “soldiers” strong, battering the enemy in the gates!
Our victory closing prayer was an anthem to our faithful Father, and then and only then did the Holy Spirit instruct us to march from school, singing, “And the angels cry, ‘Holy.’ All creation cry, ‘Holy.’”
THE BATTLE WAS NOT YET DONE
We had come full circle, returning to the almond tree at the police station, which was where this had all begun…but the work was not yet done. The Holy Spirit revealed that there were other unholy altars to be decimated within proximity to us, so, as tempting as the cool, shaded park was, we had to march on by to complete the mission’s mandate.
At day’s end, as we reflected, we had to acknowledge that the Holy Spirit had surely been our only compass on this assignment! When we had answered the clarion call to root up unrighteous altars and erect righteous ones, all we were instructed to do was report to the nearest town in our neighbourhood! Only to find that the twenty-plus of us who eventually comprised our battalion were all meeting for the very first time!
The special unit dispatched from base (at TBC) to erect the physical altar had no idea that another set had been “watering” it ahead of them! The third squadron only located us as they drove in search of the team that was ministering in their community.
Through Divine intervention, all three groups were brought together with the sole objective of serving notice to the devil that we intended to enter his camp and take back what he had stolen. (Please read 1 Kings19, especially verses 13, 14, and 18.)A WhatsApp group was also formed with the aim of strengthening the bonds that had been established!
A spirited, Spirit-filled Labour Day was indeed what we had experienced! Praise God!
Truly, heaven touched earth on May 23, 2024!