|
Archive: | Fusion Caribbean Update July 2010“Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.” Martin Luther Dear Folks, Yesterday (as I write this) was Roofy’s funeral, and as I stood at the graveside with his family and friends just after the burial, they passed me a stick and asked me to write something with them in the fresh concrete. It was not something I was prepared for so was momentarily taken aback, but it was clearly a sacred moment of deep trust, so took I the stick and knelt down beside the grave. “Just write Fusion” one of them suggested… and as he did I thought of all the people from the Fusion family who had stood with Roofy’s family in their time of immense grief at losing him so unexpectedly and in such a horrific way. I though of those also facing their own challenges on the front lines of God’s Kingdom in Australia, Germany, Canada, the UK and other countries, all a world away from Jamaica, yet rather than just being absorbed in their own world they have asked to be kept in touch, they have prayed, offered encouraging words and they have pitched in to help the family to cover the high costs of the burial. Their response to the news about what happened to Roofy has been such a source of strength to his family, and in that moment I realised again just how rare and yet how special it is to be connected to each of these people, to be part of a wider community that is committed to this thing called hope, and because of that committed to one another. So I leant forwards and wrote the words: “Together with Hope”. I had the privilege, not long before, of giving the sermon at the funeral–and spoke of how Roofy’s story has so much to teach us. A young man who had grown up in such a challenging environment (the church, not far from Roofy’s home, in which the funeral was held had bullet holes in the roof, and had even been burned down a few years ago in a war between the neighbouring communities) and yet he always had such a willingness to help others. One of the Community Festivals that Roofy had helped us prepare for had came in the midst of one of these wars, with six people killed in the week before the festival. I remember well the tension and fear that was so evident in the community as Roofy, two of his friends and I painted a Snakes and Ladders board on the ground a few days before the Festival! Yet when the festival came it broke some of that fear, people came out from both sides of the borderline and we had an amazing, fun and very rich time of celebration. Afterwards there was no further violence for five months. In the long, long journey of hope in this community, Roofy’s ability not to be self-pitying or self-focussed, despite the lack of opportunity and all the other lacks that poverty brings, is a testimony to the power of hope. In the morning before the funeral I had told part of his story in a service about “mission” at our church, and we had a sign up sheet afterwards for those who wanted to keep connected with us, praying, attending training or volunteering. The names received covered two full sheets. We have never had such a strong response before. Though he will be so missed, and though his death was surrounded with such dark injustice, it has already so strengthened relationships and commitment to the journey of hope that he was a part of, and I think this is just the beginning. Read about Roofy's story in June's newsletter. There is also a YouTube video which we showed at the funeral. See photos of Roofy. As for the wider news from Jamaica, you will probably heard that “Dudus”, the man that was wanted by the USA whose supporters had started the violence in May that the security forces then responded to very strongly resulting in Roofy’s death and many others, has now been arrested and extradited to the USA. This has been a huge relief at one level, but controversy and allegations of high-level corruption continue to surround the story in the national news. The most positive outcome from all of this is that there is a widespread and strong sense of need to do something about the inner city communities, and how separated they have become from the rest of Jamaica, which if harnessed could bring about some positive change that is well overdue. Seeing what a critical moment it is, our team was talking about Tivoli Gardens in our planning meetings, and had a strong sense that it was the right time to expand our work to include Tivoli as one of the areas to establish a strong model of Fusion’s process of contact and outreach over the next few years. Unknown to us, on the same day that we were meeting, a leading Jamaican businessman had called several church leaders together to offer his support to them and ask them to work out a collective response. One of their agreements was that there needed to be a major emphasis on children and young people, and the church leaders present in the meeting then said “If we are going to be effective in reaching these young people, we need to have Fusion on board.” So the following day, while we were looking for the right contacts to start a work in Tivoli, we had a phone call asking us to come and help several churches work together there.
As for our other news, some great news is that we have finally paid off our outstanding rent from our previous office… which means we are currently debt free! We still have not found a new office yet, or secured enough support to be able to pay rent if we do find one… but it is very good to have settled the past debts at least. We have had one good offer of an office (it is just a long way away from West Kingston) so it would be possible but not ideal.
Because it is now the school summer Holidays we are also starting a Youth Drop In night on Wednesdays in Trench Town, called “Link Up” to keep contact with the young people and give them a positive place to hang out. We recently provided some training in mission to a group of young adults who were putting on a youth conference, and many of them were interested in staying in touch and also helping out with either the summer work or the ongoing work. So in spite of such a challenging time with all the violence that erupted in May, we have found that there is an increased interest in our approach to working in the inner cities and people we are coming across through several different avenues are wanting to keep in touch and help out however they can. Ultimately that would probably be the main thing that we have been learning as a team recently; not to settle short of the goal that we set out for, not matter how far away it may seem at times, but to keep trusting and keep working towards it. One of our goals is to see 30% of young people in West Kingston given the opportunity to make a choice for Christ, having been exposed to a genuine and living experience of the values of the Kingdom … and at times before all the recent violence (and even since) it has seemed so far off. Struggling with little funding, no office, having still carried a debt on our last one for so long, and most significantly seeing the lack of any sense of positive values that has been the predominant experience of so many young people in this area – we have questioned whether it could ever be possible. But then, in this weak place, we hear that we are being recommended as people who know how to reach young people and their communities effectively – and people want to join us in the work! “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Hebrews 10:23 & 24 Thanks again for your prayers and support, David and the rest of the team. The Fusion Caribbean Team
Information and supportIf you would like to receive information about how you can support the work of Fusion Caribbean either in prayer, by lending a hand, by telling others about us or financially then please contact us. Tel: + 1876 296 6801 7 Swallowfield Close, Kingston 5, Jamaica, West Indies. |
See more photos |
This page
is managed by Kyrios
Design on behalf of Fusion Caribbean. To sign up to the email newsletter, please subscribe here. |
||
Because of this, we have expanded our plans for our “Journey to Freedom” Jamaica Pilgrimage this year, to include Tivoli Gardens as well as the communities that would already have been impacted; Trench Town, Majesty Gardens and Marverley. There is a 
The Pilgrimage (July 28th to Aug 15th) is going to be a very busy time, with 10 Festivals and three simultaneous 5 day Kids Clubs over 8 days (Aug 1st – 8th)!! So we are currently looking for as many volunteers as we can recruit, as well as trying to raise all the funds necessary – please let us know if you can help with either aspect.