“I was 14 when I ran away from Trelawny with my older sister, who had gotten a job in Kingston.” Sister Jenneve Ross laughed at the memory. “My mother didn’t have a clue I was leaving, and she probably wouldn’t have tried to stop me either, because she had six of us and very little money to stretch. She was trying her best, but things were very difficult.
“I never finished secondary school, but God gave me the ability to reason out things and plan. I figured that if I remained in the country, I would probably end up with six children, too, so, although I wasn’t saved, I promised the Lord that I would keep myself quiet until I met the man of my dreams, and I would not be having more than two children either, because two were all I could afford.
“Imagine me telling God what I can afford!”
Sister Ross shared that her life generally turned out the way she had prayed when she was a mere teen, although there were several bumps along the way.
“My four sisters all had six children each, just like our mother, but my brother and I had only two,” she reflected.
“When I met the man of my dreams, we didn’t marry right away. We weren’t Christians yet, but we feared God. So, when our second child was born two years after the first one, my baby-father said that we should give our lives to the Lord and get married. But there was a delay.”
Explaining that they were asked to vacate their rented home in Vineyard Town, Sister Ross continued, “One day, I followed a friend to the Hampstead Park community (aka ‘Backbush’, off Mountain View Avenue). There was a nice piece of land next door to Bethel Tabernacle Church of God, which had only one little room for service at the time.
“We offered to help take care of the church, and after a short while of doing this, we got married. That was 30 years ago, in 1994, when I was 30 years old.
“Our children turned out very well, too, both completing high school. The Lord protected them throughout the spurts of violence in the community, and our daughter is married, working, and pursuing further studies overseas, while our son works with us at home.”
NOT HEAD, BUT COOK AND BOTTLE WASHER
The bubbly minister of the gospel described how the family house was constructed as the church itself was built, and her responsibilities grew.
“It was a relief getting married,” she sighed. “It was like a burden rolled away, and that’s how I became not the head but the ‘cook and bottle washer’ for my church.”
“I also operate a cook shop in my community,” disclosed Sister Ross. “The family laughed when the big ‘No Credit’ sign went up because it’s hardly ever observed. I keep thinking to myself, ‘how do you refuse to feed someone who is hungry when the food is there before you?’
“Last February, we launched the Bethel Care Group at church. It comprises seven ladies and is funded by the dues that we pay when we meet on Tuesdays. Every Wednesday, we go out with food and toiletries and offer prayers and encouragement to the shut-ins. Since this year, an 80-odd year-old gentleman got baptised, and we felt so good, bringing in a soul for Christ.”
This Mother’s day, Sister Ross is entreating mothers to “be a mother for every child. Teach them so that they know the fear of the LORD,” she implores. “Nowadays, children have gone away from God, so when we get them into youth fellowship on a Friday, we cook for them, feed them the Word, and pray over them.
“Because they are not turning out for Sunday service, when we get them on Fridays, we have to give them a bellyful of the Scriptures until we meet again the following week,” she said.