REV. KAY PRATT
Papa’s Ministries
Funny, no matter how much you study the cultures of the place you live and try to work within them, there is always a stone you trip over again and again. For me in Jamaica it is the stone of “Soon come”.
All over Jamaica that means “It will happen when it happens”. I bite my tongue and try hard to smile for a long time but inevitably the words come streaming out, “It is an hour past starting time. When are they going to get here?”
So of course the answer is always, “When they get here.” This is true for worship, youth group, shared meals, meetings,
funerals and weddings. Just yesterday we sat around for over an hour for a “surprise” going away party for a young American band teacher working here for the summer. How do you surprise someone at the same time when everybody gets there when they get there?
Work days are the hardest for Merlin and me. We start at 8 am. The other “volunteers’’ roll in around 11, some as late at 1 o’clock in the afternoon. By then we have finished a couple of projects and moved on.
But an odd thing has happened. I am no longer “vexed” by the lateness of their coming. Instead I am amazed at how much volunteers get done when they do get there. They allow me to bark orders for a few minutes and then do the job they knew how to do anyway. By the end of the day they are pleased with what they accomplished and so am I.
We all share a few laughs with and about each other and I see the gratitude on their faces. I say I’m sorry for barking orders and they say, “Don’t be Miss Kay. If you didn’t we would never get anything done. Somebody has to take the goat by the horns.”
During summer break the ladies at Little London painted the Basic School (three, four, and five-year-olds). It had not been painted in over 50 years. The dirt was so bad it made Merlin sick and he had to go home. I stuck it out but found it hard to imagine teaching there for 36 years as some had.
We threw out all the old dirty stuff and Papa’s will buy them whatever they need to start the new school year. I was embarrassed that the school had the name Methodist on it in the condition it was in. There was only one light bulb in the center of the room and no fans. To have a plug-in for use a person had to screw in the light bulb to complete the circuit.
So we are installing four fluorescent lights and over-head fans to cool this one large room which had 54 students last year. Next we will move the kitchen out of the school and into another building on the same grounds. Grills must be installed over the block windows to keep the articles inside from being stolen. The stove and refrigerator have been stolen twice in the past two years. The ladies have carried the stove out of the church every day and take it to the kitchen to prepare meals.
We provide fruit for the school every week to go with their rice and peas. Papa’s will fill the new shelves with crayons, pencils, paper and books so this year the school will feel like a clean place to come and start their education. Some new teaching materials and books for the teachers to use and age appropriate books will be waiting.
Thank you so much to all who have given in the past and to God be the glory for all you will continue to do. At the present time we are looking for someone to come alongside Merlin and me to help with the daily workings of Papa’s. Please email for more details.
Note: the Revs. Merlin and Kay Pratt are pastors of the West Michigan Conference. Papa’s Ministry is an Advance Special of the General Board of Global Ministries #3021286.
Last Updated on December 28, 2022