Much like the 72-year-old man who lost his roof to Hurricane Melissa on October 28 and then had the remainder of his house gutted by fire shortly after, Pastor Carlton Daley knows that misfortunes are oftentimes a part of life.
Pastor Daley grew up in a children’s home in Manchester, and his foster parents were missionaries who spent a lot of time giving back to those in need. When he learnt that the senior citizen had lost his home, he sprang into action. The fact that this senior citizen was also raising two boys whose mother had died moved the pastor and other members of the Praise House Ministries in Forte George in St Ann to provide material and labour to reconstruct the house, with the financial backing of kind donors.
“When I got the message about this incident, I went and viewed it and felt we could do it. Also, not too far from that house, when I was 16 years old, I helped build a house with Food for the Poor,” the pastor told Freedom Come Rain Newspaper.
He said the house the senior citizen shared with the two boys was gutted following a mishap with a candle. Situated in a community called Good Intent in Manchester, the senior citizen was definitely in need of urgent help from persons with good intent, and the pastor and his team rallied to the call. In addition to having the house rebuilt, the church also gave the family a new bed and a two-burner gas stove.
The church community has been rallying to the wide-scale call for help following the passage of Hurricane Melissa, which claimed many lives and destroyed thousands of homes, especially in the western part of the island.
“The Church must be a part of the restoration of Jamaica because restoration is at the very heart of God’s mission. Jamaica cannot be fully restored by policies, money, or programmes alone—it needs spiritual renewal, moral direction, and practical love, and that is where the church is uniquely called. Turning our compassion into action,” said Pastor Daley.
A similar message was shared by presenters during the Association of Christian Communications and Media (ACCM) Zoom forum, “Overcoming Personal Crisis”, on Sunday, November 16. The group of panellists underscored the existing need for the Word of God to be generously distributed along with the truckloads of relief supplies to fill a void that food, shelter, and clothing will never be able to fill.
Suicidologist Dr. Donovan Thomas said it is important that focus be placed on not just rebuilding structures but spirits as well that are currently broken.
“People are hungry. People need water, but they also need validation. Some of them have lost their sense of personhood. All that they had—their food, their clothes and everything—just gone. How are we going to help to do that? I would say to us, we have got to listen to them, listen to their stories, and help them to be able to talk about the emotions that they are feeling. We want to help them grieve in a healthy way,” he asserted, while hammering home the need for what he calls the “bio-psycho-social-spiritual model of intervention.”
“When people are in crisis, they are most open to spiritual intervention, but we want to connect with them where they are at. The woman at the well is a model of ministry. Jesus started at her starting point; she needed water– many of our people need water. So we can touch her at her point of need, and then we can help her to see the Messiah,” Dr. Thomas added.
Despite the multiplicity of problems brought on by Hurricane Melissa, counselling psychologist Dr. Calvin Isaacs said the church cannot afford to retreat. Instead, every effort should be made to get down in the trenches and work with those affected. This, he believes, will make a big difference as the nation rebuilds.
Pastor Daley said the joy expressed by the two boys was very rewarding for members of the church whose outreach arm is called G.A.P (God Answers Prayer).
“A 9-year-old cousin said to me, ‘thanks for making them [the boys] happy,” he recounted.
Pastor Daley explained that G.A.P has taken on other projects in order to ensure the holidays will be memorable for many families.
“We have given zinc and boards for some families and paid to get roofs repaired. We also traveled to St. Elizabeth to give to Ginger Hill food, etcetera.”