If you listened carefully, you would’ve heard the voices of our children above the clangorous sound of that old concrete mixer. Laced with a bit of laughter and a few grimaces, they shoveled the sand and stone from the top of the heap into their buckets, some taking a little longer than others to fill them to the brim. Some, who were short of a shovel, even scooped the gravel by hand. It’s a back-breaking, hand-blistering kind of work, yet they came in the heat of the afternoon sun, full of excitement, to lend a hand to those who had been moving the sediments since early that morning—sediments that had to be specifically measured to produce just the right strength of concrete per cycle.
You see, for every four courses of blocks that were laid on the foundation of our new multi-purpose building, each block hole then had to be reinforced with concrete. Not the convenient, ready-mixed kind of concrete that comes from the factory itself, mind you. But rather the inconvenient, roll-yourself-out-of-bed-early-on-a-Saturday-morning kind of concrete that comes from the sweat equity of a family of believers. Believers who are laboring together to build more than just a physical building. Believers laboring together so that generations will know how to build a legacy of faith.
Faith that is not afraid to get our hopes up in our Provider. A faith that calls us to the end of our self-sufficiency and to the beginning of God’s all-sufficiency.
Faith that keeps us on our knees petitioning Him for His promises and biding for His breakthroughs.
Faith that requires that we forge ahead anyway and that leaves us in awe of the reality that He is an ever-present help.
Faith that stirs our hearts for the community we serve and that will be recollected for generations to come.
Faith that fills the holes in our own lives, shoring up our foundations and preparing us to withstand the weight of the journey ahead.
Faith that pleases God, resulting in great reward.
By the end of that workday, our laboring together had managed to fill every remaining block hole and had poured every single column. This means that we can now pour the top floor which will house the sanctuary—the cost of which, once again, far exceeds what we have at our disposal. But to be sure, we have learned in this faith journey what it is to really walk by faith, not by sight. We have learned to keep praying for the impossible, keep moving in the inexplicable, and keep believing for the inconceivable. We have learned to forge ahead, not just in building a building, but also in building a legacy of faith—for both are making room for the harvesting of souls. And as God continues to respond to our faith with the immeasurably more, may His awe-inspiring deeds be on every tongue and may each generation tell its children of His mighty acts.
One generation commends your works to another;
Psalm 145:4-7
they tell of your mighty acts.
They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
They tell of the power of your awesome works—
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
They celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
Kenroy & Stephanie Clarke
Caribbean Missions is dedicated to the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the region. Kenroy leads Church Village Church of Christ on the island of Barbados. He travels extensively throughout the islands, preaching and teaching the word of God. They are also working with other leaders to start new churches.
