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Missionary housing, church Volunteers, Orphanage Building , JamaicaNOAH'S ARK CHILDRENS HOMELatest NewsWhere we are locatedWhat We doNewsletterMeet the MissionariesMarilyn's TestimonyMack's TestimonyThis Week in JamaicaHow you can helpDonationsThe Basic School of Martha BraeMack's BlogNewsletter ArchivesContact usHow to be saved
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September 24, 2011 August 13, 2011
Dear Friends,
Family and Supporting Churches, Tomorrow we arrived back in Jamaica
two weeks ago. Since that time we have been painting the Noah's Ark Children's Home of Jamaica non-stop except for Sunday
and one other day I will tell you about. I have put a coat of primer on 2500 square feet of ceilings and a final coat
of white on 2500 square feet of ceilings and Mrs. Mack has painted two coats of paint on the walls of 2500 square feet making
her total 5000 square feet of walls. Needless to say, we are about worn out and only have the same amount to do upstairs
starting next week. Bro. Ken Ryan has been with us and is staying
until August 28th. He has painted the outside of the building with primer and whether or not he is excited about next
week and the final coat of paint, you will have to ask him..... He has done a good job and there is no way I could have painted
the outside, going up two stories on a ladder. My legs shake when I get to the second step. Pastor Shawn Kelly with the help of Jason and Michelle's son, James have built the steps to the second floor.
They are finished and drying and we are supposed to be able to walk on them on Monday. Chris, Norris and Joel are working on the wall across the river and Jeffrey is cooking for everybody and cleaning
up their messes. Our one day off was August 11th which was our 54th
wedding anniversary (also our son, Art's 43rd birthday) and we took the day off and went to the beach together and enjoyed
our day and then out to eat at the Pelican Restaurant. This
week starting tomorrow is Youth Week at Riverside Baptist Church. The youth (20 of them) are staying in the dormitory
rooms with us and Ritchie is the cook. They have an interesting schedule for the week and next Sunday they will be in
charge of all the services. I'll let you know how it all turns out.
Keep us in your prayers as we labor here together for our LORD. We love you folks, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live." Mack & Marilyn Locklear Missionaries to Jamaica WWW.missionsinjamaica.net WWW.noahsarkchildrenshome.com 706-237-5050 jamaica 876-610-5899 jamaica 706-204-8027 usa 706 506-0272 usa mobil June 25, 2011 Dear Friends, Family and Supporting Churches,
We are back in the states for a month for my check up with my doctor. We returned on Wednesday evening, June 22nd, having
a good flight to Atlanta with Delta Airlines, on time, no lines in Jamaica but a long wait to get our luggage in Atlanta. We had a good stay in Jamaica and enjoyed both of our groups. Dewayne and Kristy
Franks and their two daughters, Rachel and Claire were with us for a week and then we had Eagles Landing Christian Academy
group and several of those who had already graduated joined them. Matt Koehn from Atlanta arrived on Thursday and stayed
with us until Sunday. This group put the blocks on the foundation of the front porch. They wanted so much to be
able to finish the job but we could not get the dirt to fill up the porch. They were on buddy passes and eight of them
did not get to leave on Monday so they spent Tuesday at the beach. They came back sunburned and tired. The
dirt had arrived that afternoon and they went to work at night fall and moved the dirt until 12:00 midnight and finished all
but the final cement slab. They did a good job and it was something that needed to be done. Eagles Landing Christian
Academy has been doing and is still doing a great work in Martha Brae, Jamaica to help us. They have been coming for
over 8 years now.
We are home until the last Thursday in July at which time we will return to Jamaica, Lord willing. We will be picking
up our visa for three more years. We have a group coming under the leadership of Bro. Johnny Raines in September
and in October we are looking forward to a group coming under the leadership of Bro. Kevin Page from Winder, Georgia
and another group under Bro. Pat Lawrence and Bro. Keith Crouch from the Athens, Alabama area. These two groups
are going to build the wall across the river and finish the wall behind the children's home so that the property will be completely
enclosed for the safety of the children. The children's
home is completely rendered on the outside of the building. Thanks to Pastor Shawn Kelly and two other professionals
and their helpers, Jason and Jeffrey. Chris has completed the woodwork around the eves with the help of Norris Rodney.
Our next steps are to paint the outside of the building and to put final coats of paint on the inside, put in windows
and doors and tile the floors. The funds for tiling and labor has already been given. We hope to have the home ready
to start the furnishings by the end of the year. Thanks
to all of you who have given so graciously to help complete the children's home. We have both had a difficult time
physically and mentally with the overseeing. It has really taken a toll on us. We would appreciate your prayers
as we labor on. The church is doing great. We had
over 100 every week while we were there. Last week we had 134 in attendance and we made a major change of having Sunday
School at 10:00 and the church service at 11:00 instead of the church service at 11:00 and Sunday School following.
It worked out beautifully. Pastor Shawn Kelly baptized
four one week and one last week. We had a lot saved and ten to join our congregation. The Lord is still working
in our midst. Soul winning and visitation sure do pay off and we are thankful to the Lord. Pastor/Missionary Mack and Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live." Missionaries:
Mack & Marilyn Locklear P.O. Box 1445 Rome, Ga. 30162 706-204-8027 March 2011 Dear Supporting Churches, friends, and family, Our life has really been busy here in Jamaica since January 18th. We have hosted a group of men doing construction on the children’s home, the Eagles Landing Christian Academy, Bro. Pat Lawrence and his daughter, Hannah Lawrence, and Barbara Nichols from California and eight of her family members and this week we have Kurt and Nichole Hasley with a group of nine with them including our Pastor’s wife, Mrs. Myra Goolesby. Much work has been accomplished this year. The roof is finished!! The septic tank is finished and two dormitories, two bath, two bedrooms and a hall have been painted two coats of primer paint in the children’s home. Both floors in the home have been finished and are ready for tile. Today our group are going to work on our driveway up the hill which is a needed thing. Our attendance has been good. One week we had 92, the next week 134 and yesterday we had 100 with three men saved. For the first time in the history of the church we had more men than women. We were so excited we made a picture of the men in their Sunday School class. Men have been hard to reach. We are finally beginning to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Because of time I am closing for the morning, heading for the kitchen to cook and prepare for breakfast. We sure do love all you folks, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack“We live simply so others might simply live.” Missionaries to Jamaicawww.missionsinjamaica.netWWW.noahsarkchildrenshome.comwww.thehourofgraceinc.org706-237-5050 jamaica876-610-5899 janaica706-204-8027 usa706-506-0272 usa, mobil GOD’S GOOD NEWS FROM MARTHA BRAE, JAMAICA AND THE LOCKLEAR’S January & February 2011 “The Lord has need of him; and straightway He will send him hither.” Mark 11:3 Jesus sure knew the heart of the man who owned the donkey. I am just thinking about this one sentence out of the Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem passage. It is part of our Palm Sunday celebration. We are all familiar with the story. One quick question falls on the whispers in the ears of my heart. “What do you have that the Lord has need of today?” The man had a donkey and he gave it up gladly as soon as he hears the words, for “the Lord had need of him.” What do you have? Will you give it up gladly? How fast will you turn loose of it? Is there a debate going on in your heart about it? Is there a tug of war? Are you at all reluctant? Notice this man gave it up immediately. Just thought I would share with you what God is asking me. Whatever HE needs that I have, I want to be willing to turn loose of it right now. I am praying God will make my heart match what I say. NEWS FROM NOAH’S ARK CHILDREN’S HOME OF JAMAICA….A group of men from Eastanallee Baptist Church in Riceville, Tennessee, joined by Joe Walker from W.V., Jamie Moore and Danny Mulkey from Rome, Georgia put the roof on the building and today (March 10, 2011) the final roofing material arrived. Thanks to Henry Baptist Church of McDonough, Georgia. Mr. Rodney and Pastor Shawn Kelly will start to work on that project on Monday morning, Lord willing. Twenty-three from Eagles Landing Christian Academy under the leadership of Bro. Kevin Hornsby, Mrs. Denise Morgan and Mrs. Cindy Baker mixed and poured our first floor with cement. This was there 8th year with us. They are professionals with cement now. They poured both floors in the Hobgood House and built with cement blocks the Great Wall of Jamaica around our property. We have two dormitory rooms and baths ready for a coat of primer paint, two bedrooms and a hall downstairs and two bedrooms and a hall upstairs ready to paint. The septic tank (pit) is to be completed this week. The plumber and electrician are working. We continue to move along as God provides. Due to a crashed computer our letter looks different this time than usual. We have lost some e-mail addresses so if you are missing our weekly letter, please send us a note and let us know and your e-mail address so we can add you. Much has been done during January and February and we are looking with excitement as March is on its way and three teams are expected in this month and another one in April, May and three more in June. Pray for us as we are enjoying the fruits of our labor at Riverside Baptist Church here in Martha Brae, Jamaica. There is a lot of excitement in the air as Falmouth, Jamaica brings ships into our ports and we are expecting the largest ship in the world this month. We have enjoyed many changes and much growth not only in our church life but in Jamaica in these last fifteen years. Thanks to all of you who have helped to send us here and keep us on the field. We close with a grateful and thankful hearts. Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack Locklear “We live simply so others might simply live.” February 26, 2011 Dear Friends, Family and Supporting Churches, “This is the day the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” We have had a blessed and wonderful week with Eagles Landing Christian Academy group from McDonough, Georgia arriving last Saturday and excitement filled the air as they arrived. We had 112 in attendance on Sunday Morning and the Bible Teacher, Bro. Kevin Hornsby preached a powerful message and our altar was filled with many of our Christians making some things right. Mr. Rodney went to Jeffrey and Jason and they all went to the altar to pray together and Pastor Shawn and the two boys did the same thing. There was a sweet spirit among everyone and some wrongs were made right. Sunday evening Zack Morgan, a senior, preached. It is a joy to have had him visit with us for the fourth year and watch the maturity and growth in him as a Christian. Wednesday evening, Jake Baker preached for us and was very good. He is in the 10th grade. This was an exceptional group of young folks and many tears were shed today as they left for home. Many of the group were seniors and realized that they most likely would not be returning with the ELCA group next year. The leaders of the group were excellent. They were Bro. Kevin Hornsby, (first trip), Mrs. Denise Morgan, (4th trip) and her son is graduating this year and next year her daughter will be coming, Lord willing and Ms. Denise says we cannot retire for four more years and Mrs. Cindy Baker, (first year) all watched after the teens like an old Mother Hen and the three of them were so proud of all of those that came on this trip. The group preached, taught Sunday School classes, sang, gave testimonies, did the devotions and sang at Hague School on Wednesday, visited our folks, went to Falmouth on the ship day to give out tracts, the girls were over our Ladies Meeting on Thursday evening, Zack was over the Friday night Youth Fellowship and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday they mixed and poured cement and finished the floor on the first floor of the children’s home. They have worked with us for 8 years in cement and they are now PROFESSIONALS. Jamie Moore is still with us and he preached on Tuesday evening. Jamie has preached, helped with the cement work, and gone visiting on the ship day as well as joining Pastor Shawn and Bro. Jeff Wentz today on visitation. We have had so much going on I am sure I have forgotten something that I should praise all the folks with us this week. The group went to Dunn’s River Falls on Thursday and to Doctor’s Cave on Friday, also the craft market in Montego Bay, out for lunch at the Pizza Hut and to Scotchie’s for supper. Tonight we have Jamie Moore from Georgia, Jeff Wentz from N.Y., and Hannah Lawrence from Alabama with us. Jeff is preaching in the morning, Jamie is preaching in the evening tomorrow and Pastor Shawn is preaching on Wednesday evening. Pastor Pat Lawrence will be joining us on Monday. We are closing with love and thanksgiving and missing many of you who left us today. Thanks for joining us and working hard and blessing us and our beloved Jamaican folks. Thanks for all your giving, sacrifices on our behalf and our Jamaicans, and just for loving us.Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack“We live simply so others might simply live.” Missionaries to Jamaicawww.missionsinjamaica.netWWW.noahsarkchildrenshome.comwww.thehourofgraceinc.org706-237-5050 jamaica876-610-5899 janaica706-204-8027 usa706-506-0272 usa, mobil February 18, 2011 Dear Friends, Family and Supporting Churches, We have had a good week with services on Sunday and Wednesday nights and Jamie Moore teaching on Tuesday evening and preaching on Wednesday evening service. He is also working with the youth at Youth Fellowship and visiting with Pastor Shawn Kelly on Saturdays. We have worked all week preparing, getting ready, and cooking for the Eagles Landing Christian Academy this week and Mr. Rodney, Pastor Shawn, Damion, Jeffrey, and Jason have completed all the rough casting inside the children’s homeand both dormitories, three bathrooms and two bedrooms downstairs have the rendering finished and we are waiting on the group to mix and pour our cement floors. Upstairs we have two bedrooms, two baths and one-half of another bedroom finished with rendering. We have two men digging the septic tank and the plumber has worked all week on the showers, etc. Mrs. Mack and Jeffrey worked yesterday cleaning up in front of the building and she again says that she feels like she is on the Georgia Chain gang picking up rocks and, of course, always tells us she is fulfilling her college education. Ritchie cut the grass today and Pastor Shawn used the weed eater after working all day. Tomorrow we have hired a coaster and I am driving to Montego Bay to the airport and also another man with a truck to pick up 23 folks and 46 suitcases and 23 carry on’s. THE CITY OF FALMOUTH (one mile from us) made the headlines this Thursday as they received their first cruise ship Voyager of the Seas (Royal Caribbean). They have been working over a year on the docks, wharf and the city. It was a history making day with almost everyone that lived anywhere around being in town. We drove up early in the morning and again around 4:00 P.M. carrying with Mr. & Mrs. Rodney, Jamie Moore, Shana Rodney and a friend. The next ship will come in on February 23 and another one on February 24th. They continue to work hard digging up the main street around the Water Square and putting in cobblestone streets and planting trees and preparing for the largest cruise ship in the world, The Oasis of the Seas, arriving on March 22, 2011. Mr. Paul Muschett, the rich landowner we secured our church property from, is over the Wharf. God is good to allow us to be in Jamaica at such a time as this. The schools and the people are wide open and acceptable to the Gospel. We are grateful to all of you who have supported us in your prayers, giving, and loving us. Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack“We live simply so others might simply live.” Missionaries to Jamaicawww.missionsinjamaica.netWWW.noahsarkchildrenshome.comwww.thehourofgraceinc.org706-237-5050 jamaica876-610-5899 janaica706-204-8027 usa706-506-0272 usa, mobil February 12, 2011, Dear Friends, Family and Supporting Churches, We have had a good week starting with our Sunday services and Monday right through today (Saturday) a crew of Jamaican men have been rough casting and rendering the upstairs of the children’s home and another crew doing the same thing on the first floor of the building. We are looking forward to Eagles Landing Christian Academy (23 of them) are arriving, Lord willing, on Saturday. They are going to mix and pour our cement first floor. They are experienced with this kind of work since this will be their 8th year with us and during that time they have mixed and poured both floors in the Hobgood Building where we live and host groups. They have also built the cement wall around our property. We call it the Great Wall of Jamaica and last year they put in the foundation of The Noah’s Ark Children’s Home of Jamaica. I remember Mrs. Mack saying, when they were coming for the first time, “those kids cannot do that kind of work.” Again, let me say, what a surprise they were! Just to let you all know what is lying ahead, Eagles Landing comes on Saturday. Jeff Wentz comes the following Friday and Hannah Lawrence comes in on Saturday, the day ELCA leave the island, and Bro Pat Lawrence comes in on Monday. Bro Pat and his daughter, Hannah leave on Friday and then we have one week to prepare and get ready for Barbara Nichols from California and her family of 8 more. They leave on Saturday and we pick up the same day Kurt and Nichol Hasley and their group and when they go back to the airport the next Saturday we pick up Bethel Baptist Church group from South Roxanna, Illinois and they leave on April 2nd. Our next group, Camp Living Stones from Tennessee, comes in on April 14th for a week and then we are planning a short trip home for our grandson’s graduation from 6th grade heading into the Rome High Middle School and Mrs. Mack will be speaking at the 20th year Ladies Meeting at Grace Baptist in Tifton, Georgia and then we will head back for a group from Decatur, Tennessee arriving on May 28th. The funds for the children’s home are beginning to come in and we are grateful and appreciate all of you who have helped. I have moved right along, claiming Malachi 3: 11 & 12 and trusting GOD to supply every need. HE has never failed me yet. It is still a miracle to us that GOD would use us but we are thankful to be a part of this work and in HIS service. Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack “We live simply so others might simply live.” Missionaries to Jamaica 706-237-5050 jamaica 876-610-5899 janaica 706-204-8027 usa 706-506-0272 usa, mobil
Feburary 5, 2011 Dear Friends, Family and Supporting Churches, It has been a good week with 5 men from Eastanallee Baptist Church in Riceville, Tennessee, (Sherman, “Bear”, Richard, Jerry and John) and one from W.V. (Joe Walker), and two from Rome, Georgia, (Jamie Moore and Danny Mulkey) putting the roof on the Noah’s Ark Children’s Home of Jamaica. They started on Monday Morning and finished up on Thursday. We now need to put on the final roof covering. We are trying to raise $30,000 to complete the building. Danny Mulkey and myself sent out an e-mail the middle of the week and we have raised or have been promised 4405.00 as I write tonight. We will keep you posted until the goal is met. We have children waiting to come to the home. We cooked and fed 10 Americans this week and from 14 to 18 Jamaicans every meal. The men from Tennessee all brought in one suitcase each with 50 pounds of food with them. They all went home heavier and the luggage much lighter. We had 96 in attendance on Sunday Morning. Pastor Shawn Kelly preached good message both services on Sunday. Many filled the altar during the invitation. Tuesday evening Bro. Jamie Moore taught our Bible Study and he preached on Wednesday evening. The Youth enjoyed their fellowship together on Friday night with Jeffrey being the speaker. Friday all the men went to the Craft Market in Montego Bay and then on to Doctor’s Cave and out in the evening to eat at Scotchie’s. Danny Mulkey left us on Friday, Joe Walker left on Saturday morning and the other 5 left Saturday afternoon. It sure is quiet around here with only myself, Mrs. Mack and Jamie Moore. We sure did enjoy our youth group coming to the compound tonight and singing for us. We have had a couple of mishaps this week. My cell phone isn’t working and our computer hit the dust on Friday evening. I have replaced it today with one of the computers from our computer room. If you got more than one picture tonight, the first one was a mistake. We are working on learning how to use a different one. Mrs. Mack keeps reminding me that she only can type. Pray for us as we push on with the children’s home and as we look forward to 6 more groups between now and June and a few visitors in-between. We sure do love you folks, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack “We live simply so others might simply live.”
Missionaries to Jamaica 706-237-5050 jamaica 876-610-5899 janaica 706-204-8027 usa 706-506-0272 usa, mobil
December 13, 2010 Dear Friends, Family and Supporting Churches, We
have had a good week. Our material (steel, cement, cement blocks, sand, and nails) were delivered this week to
the building site of the Noah's Ark Children's Home of Jamaica. Friday four professional masonry builders (Pastor Shawn,
Mr. Rodney, Junior and Damion) went to work with two helpers. On Friday afternoon they had laid over 900 blocks
on the second floor. We are paying by the blocks instead of by the day. Saturday Ritchie and Jason filled the
blocks with cement. We are working non-stop to be ready for a group to put the roof on starting January 29th, 2011. I know they say the economy is bad but this year has been the best year financially that
I have ever had in the ministry. I serve an awesome God and I have stood on HIS promise in Malachi 3:10 and 11
which teaches us "Bring ye all (not after taxes) the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house,
and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing,
that there shall not be room enough to receive." I started the year broke and I will end the year broke but God
has done great things for me. With God's help and your help
we took a container into the island this year filled with good things for our Jamaican people. We put screens on the
church building, put a ceiling in the Sunday School rooms, a computer room was added for our young people so they could do
there school work, 30 pews were built for the church, a ceiling was put in the Hobgood House, 68 little children were fed
at the Martha Brae Basic School, new fans were put in the auditorium of the church and both dormitories in the Hobgood
House, money was collected every Wednesday evening to help in Haiti, we helped Ms. Enett to put a much needed new roof
on her house, a home was built for Ms. Michelle and her family, Mr. Miller's house was painted, we helped Mrs. Spence with
repairs at her house, many boys and girls were bought books, uniforms and supplies for school, Tosh was sent back
for her last year of college, Christmas gifts arrived all year for our church folks so we could have our yearly Christmas
treat on the Saturday before Christmas, and I am going to stop here but I am sure there was even more. The big thing
this year has been the building of the Noah's Ark Children's Home in Martha Brae, Jamaica. I sure do know that God loves
me just like HE loved Elijah. The secret is living by faith and not only believing in GOD but believing GOD! This year we lost three faithful supporters. One wrote us and said they wanted us to start
another work. At age 75 on April 29, 2011 I honestly felt I should not try to undertake another work but to continue
as long as I could and leave one day a lighthouse to the Island of Jamaica in the Martha Brae District. I cannot reach
the entire island but it is my prayer that they may see our good works and Glorify our Father in Heaven. Not only have we lost three supporters but we have gained many without ever coming home to try
to add to our support. We never leave it in the bank but we keep being a funnel to others. Our motto
remains: "We live simply so others might simply live." We have
had some ups and downs in our life otherwise this year but all in all our God has been awesome in dealing with us and we have
tried to be obedient and correct any mistakes we have made. Please remember that we are human. Because our letter is so long this week I will not go into details of my plans for the coming
year 2011 but I will write later and let you know where we are going from here, Lord willing. I just want to thank the LORD and you for being a part of our lives this year 2010. We sure do
love you all, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack Missionaries:
Mack & Marilyn Locklear P.O. Box 1445 Rome, Ga. 30162 706-204-8027 December 4, 2010 Dear Family, Friends and Supporting Churches, It seems like it
has been awhile since I sat down to send you an e-mail letter. I have been busy writing our regular prayer letter
that I send every other month. You should be getting your Thanksgiving and Christmas letter by snail mail this week. In some ways it has been a hard year with some real disappointments in our lives and in other
ways it has been the best year of our lives. While many are having it hard with the economy we have been so blessed
and we give God the Glory. For the first time in three years of deputation and fifteen years on the field we lost three
of our original faithful supporters but God has never failed us yet. We also had several new supporters pick us
up. Most of them had been to Jamaica and visited us and saw with their own eyes what God is doing at Riverside Baptist
Church in the little village of Martha Brae. The rains have finally
stopped and the children's home continues to go up. We had three men working full time this week. They are leveling
the bottom floor getting it ready for the Eagles Landing Christian Academy coming in February to mix and pour the floor
with cement. After eight years they are experts. The steel is up on the second floor ready for us to order cement
blocks. Pastor Kelly and Bro. Rodney came one day this week to work on the building. Occasionally it is a
blessing to have someone work without being paid. We thank the Lord for both of them. We hope to be able to order the rest of the steel and cement blocks for the second floor this
week and hire four professional mason men and three helpers by the beginning of next week. These men assured me they
can put the blocks up on the second floor in two weeks. We have another group
hoping to come in the last week of January to put on the roof. All of this is yet to be seen. All of
this takes a lot of money and we are moving by faith, trusting our Lord to see us through with this project. So far
all has been done, debt free. The youth are working hard on their
Christmas play and gifts are being prepared and wrapped for the yearly Christmas treat which we have each year the Saturday
before Christmas. Thanks to all of you who brought in or sent things to the Hour of Grace, Inc. to help us with this
exciting day in the lives of our people. So far we have a busy schedule starting
in January 2011 and going through April 2. We have groups coming from California, Tennessee, Georgia and Illinois
so far. If you are planning a trip to visit and help us this year please let us know as soon as possible so we can put
you on our calendar. We hope all of you enjoyed your Thanksgiving and
surely none of you made the mistake of eating too much. Christmas is right around the corner and there is lots of excitement
in the air all over the world. When our children were small we always had a birthday party for Jesus during this Season
and invited all the children in the neighborhood and had cake and ice cream and sang Happy Birthday, Jesus. You might
like to do that this year. JESUS is the Reason for the Season. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you.
Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live." Missionaries:
Mack & Marilyn Locklear P.O. Box 1445 Rome, Ga. 30162 706-204-8027 November 6, 2010 Dear Supporting Churches, friends and family, We have several
things to Praise the Lord for this week. At the beginning of the week it looked as if Hurricane Tomas was going to hit
Jamaica and we had about all the water we could stand in the last month. Our grounds were soaked and the river was out
of its banks so we were dreading any more rain that might come our way. Jamaica had some rain but our Martha Brae was
spared. God is good! And thanks to all of you that prayed for us. It poured rain in Montego Bay which is
about 45 minutes from us. Another thanks goes to all of you that took
the time to vote this week. Whether your candidate won or lost at least you will have the right to fuss when things
go wrong. We rejoiced over most of the elected candidates and have some hope for the future. Damon and Jason worked four days on the children's home this week, rough casting the boys dormitory
and bathroom and the walls down the hall. Jeffrey worked three days on the road up the hill and Kash helped two
days. Kash has Dengue Fever and is very sick. The youth began on
Friday evening to work on their Christmas play. Mrs. Mack and I purchased them 48 candles with batteries and lights
so that we don't have to worry about catching the church on fire with the candles. They are becoming real actresses
and actors. Mrs. Mack, Mrs. Rodney and Ms. Olive went through all
the barrels of collected gifts for the Christmas Treat Day the Saturday before Christmas and got them all ready. I guess
you realize that Christmas isn't far away. This week in the states there
is going to be a fundraiser for the Noah's Ark Children's Home in Jamaica in Riceville, Tennessee. Our Ms. Enett is
in Miami and being flown to Huntsville, Alabama and driven to the fundraiser and Ms. Clarris Ruddock is in Rome and will be
driven to the event. Ms. Enett is going to sing and Ms. Clarris is going to give a testimony of her relationship with
us and tell how she feels as a Jamaican about our work on the island. (Mr. Rodney is home in Jamaica from working in
Canada.) Mrs. Mack's dear friend, Jerrie Jowers, is going in the Redmond
Park Hospital in Rome, Georgia tomorrow with her heart. We asked that you pray for her by name. She and Marilyn
have been friends since 9th grade at Rome Junior High School and seven of the girls have been friends ever since and get together
several times a year. Much to my displeasure the University of Alabama
lost their football game today. I am a Die Hard Alabama Fan so I can tell you they will be back!! Our prayer letter was mailed out this week. Our September and October prayer letter
is always filled with pictures of things and people. I hope it will be an enjoyment to you. We are closing with love and thanksgiving and thanking all of you that have prayed for us, sacrificed
by giving to our work in Jamaica, your faithfulness for these fifteen years we have been in Jamaica, and for loving us, for
coming to Jamaica to help with the work, and believing in what we are doing. We sure do love you folks, Pastor
Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live." Missionaries:
Mack & Marilyn Locklear P.O. Box 1445 Rome, Ga. 30162 706-204-8027
November
6, 2010 Dear Supporting Churches, friends and family, We have several things to Praise the Lord for this week. At the beginning of the
week it looked as if Hurricane Tomas was going to hit Jamaica and we had about all the water we could stand in the last month.
Our grounds were soaked and the river was out of its banks so we were dreading any more rain that might come our way.
Jamaica had some rain but our Martha Brae was spared. God is good! And thanks to all of you that prayed for us.
It poured rain in Montego Bay which is about 45 minutes from us.
Another thanks goes to all of you that took the time to vote this week. Whether your candidate won or lost at least
you will have the right to fuss when things go wrong. We rejoiced over most of the elected candidates and have some
hope for the future. Damon and Jason worked four
days on the children's home this week, rough casting the boys dormitory and bathroom and the walls down the hall. Jeffrey
worked three days on the road up the hill and Kash helped two days. Kash has Dengue Fever and is very sick. The youth began on Friday evening to work on their Christmas play. Mrs. Mack and
I purchased them 48 candles with batteries and lights so that we don't have to worry about catching the church on fire with
the candles. They are becoming real actresses and actors.
Mrs. Mack, Mrs. Rodney and Ms. Olive went through all the barrels of collected gifts for the Christmas Treat Day the Saturday
before Christmas and got them all ready. I guess you realize that Christmas isn't far away. This week in the states there is going to be a fundraiser for the Noah's Ark Children's
Home in Jamaica in Riceville, Tennessee. Our Ms. Enett is in Miami and being flown to Huntsville, Alabama and driven
to the fundraiser and Ms. Clarris Ruddock is in Rome and will be driven to the event. Ms. Enett is going to sing and
Ms. Clarris is going to give a testimony of her relationship with us and tell how she feels as a Jamaican about our work on
the island. (Mr. Rodney is home in Jamaica from working in Canada.)
Mrs. Mack's dear friend, Jerrie Jowers, is going in the Redmond Park Hospital in Rome, Georgia tomorrow with her heart.
We asked that you pray for her by name. She and Marilyn have been friends since 9th grade at Rome Junior High School
and seven of the girls have been friends ever since and get together several times a year. Much to my displeasure the University of Alabama lost their football game today.
I am a Die Hard Alabama Fan so I can tell you they will be back!!
Our prayer letter was mailed out this week. Our September and October prayer letter is always filled with pictures
of things and people. I hope it will be an enjoyment to you.
We are closing with love and thanksgiving and thanking all of you that have prayed for us, sacrificed by giving to our work
in Jamaica, your faithfulness for these fifteen years we have been in Jamaica, and for loving us, for coming to Jamaica to
help with the work, and believing in what we are doing. We sure do love you folks, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live." Missionaries:
Mack & Marilyn Locklear P.O. Box 1445 Rome, Ga. 30162 706-204-8027 October 3, 2010 Dear Friends in Christ, I bring you greetings from wet, windy, stormy Jamaica. It is now a week since the Jamaicans have
seen the sunshine in all its glory that we are use to having here. Since Sunday, it has been raining on and off costantly
and continues. The island in most places has experienced between 8-12 inches of rain. Many places are marooned
with water, homes damaged and destroyed and some persons are dead, while others are missing. Pray for the nation at
this time. Here at Martha Brae, Trelawny the Martha Brae River
is out of its banks and near the church on three sides but there has been no damage thus far. The water isn't near the
Hobgood House, bath houses or the Noah's Ark Children's Home. The work was stopped for a full week on the children's
home due to the weather. We are rejoicing at the goodness of
God. It is good just to stop awhile and look back and see what HE has done in this place. So many lives have been
changed, souls saved, Christians revived and growing, buildings constructed, every need met, and I could go on and on about
the goodness of God in our lives. We are rejoicing that HE chose to use us in this place. Of course, we think
it is the best work on the Island of Jamaica. We are closing
this afternoon with thanksgiving. Please keep us in your prayers. We have two groups arriving this month, one
being for construction and the other for basketball and soccer camps. We love and appreciate you folks, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live."
August 14, 2010 Dear Folks, There are two
things of most importance this morning as I write this letter. The first being that school starts in Jamaica in about
two weeks and we have the funds for 6 children and $150.00 to help Tash Rose with her last year at college. We would
like to thank those who have helped and we are praying that a few more of you will help in the near future. The second thing on our mind is, of course, the Noah Ark Children's Home of Jamaica.
Many fund drives are being set up around the Southeastern part of the United States in hopes to get this project through as
soon as possible. The lintels are set over all the windows and doors and we are ready to put the belt around the first
floor of the building. We will be working
closely with Robin's Nest Children's Home of Jamaica. They are hoping to send us their children when they get to be
around 7 or 8 years old. They would like to work with the very little ones and give them to us when they have been properly
trained and use to living at the home. The computer room
that Grace Tabernacle of Louisville, Kentucky set up for us this summer is doing great and keeping the traffic out of our
house. Mr. Rodney is in Canada, Chris is working at the
dock in Falmouth, Pastor Shawn is preaching his heart out and is faithful with his visitation program on Saturdays, Colleen
is in Martha Brae at the present time with Chris and the baby, Mrs. Rodney has her new four front teeth which were provided
for by Grace Tabernacle, Ms. Enett is working in Miami, Ms. Clarris is in Rome, Georgia, Ritchie is faithfully cutting
the grass each week and three are working on the children's home.
It is hot in Jamaica but the temperature is not as high as it is in Georgia. Our humidity is awful and we stay wet but
we do have a breeze that helps. Hope you are having a
good Summer. Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live
simply so others might simply live." Missionaries:
Mack & Marilyn Locklear P.O. Box 1445 Rome, Ga. 30162 706-204-8027
July 31, 2010 Dear Folks, Saturday we
transported our last group for the summer, Grace Tabernacle from Louisville, Kentucky to the airport. Needless to say,
Sunday was real quiet at Riverside Baptist in Martha Brae, Jamaica. We were thankful to still have Mary Ann Jenkins,
Julie Ellison and her son, Grant, and Ray Goolesby with us.
This week has been much slower but we have had all our regular services (Sunday Morning Worship, Sunday Evening Worship, Tuesday
Evening Bible Study, Wednesday Evening Prayer Service, Friday night Youth Service with Afterglow of ice cream, and today
I have carried all the Jamaican Youth Group to Doctor's Cave for an outing reward for their good service during the
VBS and Youth Revival and I have also joined Ms. Clarris Ruddock from Montego Bay and her grand daughter, Stacey, and her
husband, Chris and their two children from New Zealand. Tonight I will be eating out in Montego Bay with the Youth
Group. Friday Mary Ann Jenkins, Julie Ellison and
Grant left for Riceville, Tennessee. I only have Ray Goolesby with me now. He really has been a lot of help to
me. He leaves for Alabama on Tuesday, August 3rd.
It has been a good summer and much has been accomplished. The children's home is on it's way up. Mr. Rodney
is working in Canada now and Pastor Shawn is ministering at the church and Jeffrey and one other are working on the construction.
Chris is working regular at the docks, Mrs. Rodney and Ms. Olive are working at the church
and Hobgood Building. Our next big thing coming
up will be our children go back to school in September. If you have an interest in helping one of them with school books,
uniforms and supplies, please send your check for $150.00 to the Hour of Grace, Inc., P.O. Box 1445, Rome, Georgia 30162-1445
marked for school in the left hand corner. Thanks to all of you who have helped in the past and because of you we have
been able to keep many of our children in school with all the things they needed for a year. We also will be sending Tosh Rose back for her final year at college. If you can
help us with her tuition, books, uniforms and supplies we would be grateful. She has really done good and we hope
she will be teaching in the Fall of 2011. I am closing
with an attitude of thanksgiving, Pastor/Missionary Mack Locklear and Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live." Missionaries:
Mack & Marilyn Locklear P.O. Box 1445 Rome, Ga. 30162 706-204-8027 July 24, 2010 We have had a blessed week on the Island of Jamaica. Last Saturday we picked up
19 guest from Grace Tabernacle in Louisville, Kentucky headed up by Pastor Mark Jackson and his wife. They joined
us along with Ray Goolesby, Julie Ellison and her son, Grant and Mary Ann Jenkins. Excitement filled the air upon their
arrival and it hasn't stopped all week long. Sunday is
always a spirit packed day with breakfast early and a long day ahead. The group taught, preached and worked in all our
classes as well as the services. Our people are always responsive to the gospel and I am so grateful for that.
Ms. Enett is working in Miami for six months so she was missed extremely during our Sunday Morning Worship Service but Mrs.
Spence filled in and did the best she could. Vacation
Bible School started again on Monday morning through Wednesday. The first day we started off with 120. Each evening
we had a youth revival and the youth led the singing service.
Wednesday afternoon between services the group went to Falmouth to Buy Down (flee market) and gave out tracts on the streets. Thursday we had a play day. They went shopping at the Craft Market in Mo Bay and on for
lunch at the Pizza Hut, to Doctor's Cave and the evening meal out at Scotchie's. It was raining but they enjoyed
the day anyway. It was a day the Lord had made and we rejoiced in it! In the evening was the monthly Ladies Meeting
and the women of Grace Tabernacle led the service. Friday
they all went to Dunn's River Falls in Ocho Rios and in the evening we had a youth meeting and a birthday party for Mrs. Rodney
with hot dogs and all the trimmings. During this week
with all that going on the group set up a computer room in the church with 6 computers so that our folks will have
a place to go on the internet without having to use our personal computers and our house. We are grateful because many
times they come before we are out of the bed in the morning or eating a meal or trying to get ready for bed, trying to do
their assignments for school. Most of our people do not own a computer in their homes but the schools still give them
computer work to do. It makes it hard on us. Of course, we do realize that many of the youth are just trying to
stay in touch with their new friends in the states. We do have all porn, etc. blocked. This morning I am on the way to the airport to say "goodbye" to another wonderful
group who worked good and played good. We are so thankful for all their help. We hope this will be another yearly
group. We thank God for all HE is doing in Jamaica and
we are thankful HE is using us. I hope to be able to give you a count of all that were saved later. Keep us in
your prayers. Satan has been fighting us since the first shovel of dirt was moved in January and the beginning of the
Noah's Ark Children's Home. We have some special request that need you to go before the throne of God on our behalf.
Call us out by name. Pastor/Missionary Mack Locklear
& Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply
live." Missionaries:
Mack & Marilyn Locklear P.O. Box 1445 Rome, Ga. 30162 706-204-8027 April 19, 2010 NEWS from JAMAICA: We have talked with Pastor Shawn Kelly in Jamaica two
or three times in the last week. The last two Sunday's they had good attendance. Yesterday they had 86 in
attendance and it was raining. For those of you who don't understand, most of our people have to walk to church.
The youth group are being faithful and continuing to sing in the youth choir each Sunday. Mack and I had worked with
them the last four months and we were so excited about them all. Our plans are to return and continue to work closely
with them. They are the church of the future!!
We have heard good things about Jason and Jeffrey. In our absence Jeffrey has worked some for Missionary Wesley
Hutchins. Chris has work too. Today
we ordered lumber and nails for the last two rooms in the Hobgood House to have ceilings enclosed. Bro. Shawn and Mr.
Rodney will be working there tomorrow. Norris Rodney
has excelled in running and will be making a trip to Pennsylvania during the month. Here in the states we have been going non-stop. Last week we were in McQuady, Kentucky.
It had been sometime since we had visited that supporting church. They were in a new location, a new building, and had
a big Christian school. The minute the music started Mrs. Mack leaned over and said, "We are in church tonight!"
The youth choir sang and there were so many youth that there were not enough seats in the choir. We returned home on Monday evening. Our next door neighbor had died on Sunday and
they received friends on Monday evening. We did not know anything about it until Thursday afternoon when Mrs. Mack asked
if the gentleman was sick because we had missed seeing him in the yard each day. Tuesday Mrs. Mack cut the grass by choice. She enjoys the exercise. Wednesday we rose early so as to make it to McDonough, Georgia for Eagles Landing
Christian Academy's Chapel at 9:30 A.M. They showed their pictures made in Jamaica and Bro. Dan Bishop spoke and
Mrs. Mack and I also. We had lunch with the group that came to Jamaica in February and then went to see Mrs. Mack's
Mother until around 5:00 P.M. and then hit the Atlanta traffic.
Thursday I spent the day in study and Mrs. Mack worked in the garden beds and pulled weeds. Friday we did all those little
things that needed to be done, you know, that HONEY DO LIST and Saturday we worked together in the yard and entertained our
two grandsons in the evening and Trey Salmon and Mary Ann Jenkins and her friend came to visit us. Sunday we were in our home church and we enjoyed seeing Bro. Keith Shumaker and his wife
and family. Bro. Keith is a Missionary to Africa. We are so proud of him. He spent two summers with us in
Jamaica. If you are not supporting him we recommend him to you as an outstanding preacher and a good missionary. Sunday after church we left for Cornelia, Georgia. We arrived early so we visited
kinfolks of Mrs. Mack's in Demorest, Georgia. Demorest is her home place and where she was born. In the evening
we were with Bro. Donald Grizzle. They, too, were in a new building and we enjoyed their choir and I enjoyed and had
full liberty to share our work and preach to the people.
Our life is full and never dull. There is so much to be done and we are busy about our Father's business. Pastor
Mack and Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply
live." Missionaries:
Mack & Marilyn Locklear P.O. Box 1445 Rome, Ga. 30162 706-204-8027 April 10, 2010 Sunday was a good day not only with the weather but the church was full and the choir cantata was awesome
at the Rome Baptist Temple in Rome, Georgia. The message from our Lord was uplifting. In the afternoon the two of us and Merrimac, Daniel and Hunter made a trip to Atlanta to visit Mrs. Mack's
94 year old Mother. Monday bad news came to us that her Mother had
a bad fall and was taken by an ambulance to Emory Hospital. She is in bad shape from the fall but she had no broken
hip and nothing showed up bad on her cat scans. She has an awful black eye and face and both arms are bruised and one
arm was cut open which had to be stitched. Wednesday we worked all
day in the yard pulling weeds, cutting grass, planting flowers and trying to survive the pollen. In the evening we were
again at our home church. Thursday we were thankful for a day of rain
and Friday we drove to Atlanta again to check on Mrs. Mack's Mom. We spent a couple of hours and then met Hannah, Angela
and Sarah from the University of Alabama at the Cheesecake Factory in Buckhead for a late lunch. That was fun!
It sure wasn't on Mrs. Mack's diet. Today we have several things
that must be done and then we will begin to prepare for a trip to McQuady, Kentucky for services tomorrow. NEWS FROM JAMAICA: Pastor Shawn Kelly called this week with the news that there was
96 in Sunday School on Easter Sunday. Everything was going good in our absence. We are so thankful to have a National
Pastor that can take over and keep everything going and doing what it should be doing. We asked that you pray for some of our friends this week as they are facing surgery. Please call out
before our Lord the name of Irma Sokonicki in Chicago, Illinois, Lynn Knight at Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Georgia
and Wanda Vice in Tifton, Georgia. We are getting excited
about the Talley Trio Fundraiser for the Noah's Ark Children's Home at the Eastanallee Baptist Church in Riceville, Tennessee
on May 7th at 7:00. We have invited by e-mail and heard from 68 families by return e-mail on facebook. We have
folks coming as far away as Buffalo, N.Y. Wow! We have precious friends all over this world. It is our prayer that you will have a blessed day tomorrow and that souls will be saved.
Let's all work towards the enlargement of the Kingdom of God. We love
you all, Pastor/Missionary Mack Locklear and Mrs. Mack "We live simply so
others might simply live." Missionaries:
Mack & Marilyn Locklear P.O. Box 1445 Rome, Ga. 30162 706-204-8027 April 3, 2010 Sunday was a good day at the Riverside
Baptist Church with 87 present in spite of a 1:00 P.M. funeral for Enett's granddaddy. We called off Sunday School so
that our people could attend the funeral in the community of Zion. I
preached on Sunday evening and was surprised at the large attendance since they had been in church with us in the morning
service, then to an all day funeral service and were faithful to be back on Sunday evening. Monday Mrs. Mack and Mrs. Rodney packed up the house and they started painting the upstairs
in the Hobgood House. It had not been painted since it was finished in 2004. They got the kitchen and the bathroom
shelves painted and our suitcases packed for our visit to the states. Monday evening we carried the adult choir to eat at the KFC in Montego Bay. The van was
full and it was a fun evening. Tuesday morning we were
surprised when Bro. and Mrs. Rodney, Mr. Eddie, Ms. Ollie, Chris, Jason, Jeffrey, Zeco, Pastor and Mrs. Kelly all came to
see us off and all of them went to the airport with us with the exception of Mr. Eddie and Zeco. Our flight home on Tuesday on Delta Airlines was a good flight. It left right on
time and arrived right on time. WOW! The lines were long both in Jamaica and in Atlanta. Our daughter,
Merrimac and our two grandson's, Daniel and Hunter met us at the airport.
Merrimac took off from work on Wednesday and spent the day with us. That was a real treat. And Wednesday evening
we were invited to eat at the Rome Baptist Temple with the other missionaries at the Annual Mission Conference.
We were glad we could be there for the last night of the meeting.
We have had a busy week. We both had hair cuts and I have been to the dentist. We have weeded the flower beds
in the front yard and cut the grass. Today we have been to a funeral for my Uncle who was 90 years old. It was
good to see many members of my family which I don't get to see very often.
We have a busy schedule this trip to the states. We have meetings every Sunday with the exceptions of Easter and Mother's
Day Sundays. We will also be attending the Talley Trio Fundraiser for the Noah's Ark Children's Home in Jamaica at
Eastanallee Baptist Church in Riceville, Tennessee on May 7th and the graduation of our daughter-in-law, Dr. Tina Locklear
on May 8th at the University of Alabama and Sunday, May 9th we will spend some time with Mrs. Mack's Mother and May 10th
is her Mother's 95th birthday. In April we will be at the chapel
program of the Eagles Landing Christian Academy in McDonough, Georgia.
Our plans are to return to the island in June. We have
two friends that are having serious surgery and ask that you hold them up in prayer. They are Irma that lives in Chicago
and Lynn that lives in Reynold Plantation in Greensboro, Georgia.
We wish all of you a good day tomorrow as we worship a living Savior who loves us and knows us all personally. We bow
our heads, hearts and knees before an awesome God who cares.
We love you all, Pastor Mack and Mrs. Mack "We live simply
so others might simply live." We have two Missionaries:
Mack & Marilyn Locklear P.O. Box 1445 Rome, Ga. 30162 706-204-8027 March 27, 2010 We had another good Sunday with 97 in Sunday School and Mrs. Mack led a young boy 12
years old to the Lord and an adult lady. The altar has remained full during the invitation and our people are going
to the altar to work with them and pray for them. We sure did
miss our group from Athens, Alabama and Jefferson, Georgia and the girls from the University of Alabama but Bro. Eddie and
Ms. Enett and Zeco preformed as usual and the song service was wonderful for both morning and evening services. Wednesday we picked up Pastor Mark Jackson from Louisville, Kentucky. He was on
a short survey trip so as to make plans for a group from his church coming in July. He preached for us on Wednesday
evening and again our church was full and waiting on the table to be spread from the Man of God. We all left with our
cups filled to the bream. Thursday Mrs. Mack,
Jeffrey, Jason and myself took Bro. Mark to visit in the homes of some of our people and afterwards to see Falmouth where
they are working on the wharf for the largest ship in the world to dock hopefully in the near future. We also took
him to see our new world cup stadium and to the Martha Brae Rafting Village. Chris called in the meantime and we
all went to the hospital to pick up Colleen and her new baby, Chrisannaiah and back home for lunch. In the afternoon
Jeffrey, Jason and I took him on a trip to Montego Bay to the craft market and to Doctor's Cave. Friday we all left early and drove to Negril to Rick's Cafe to watch the divers
and dip in the pool and ocean. On the way back we stopped at KFC in Montego Bay and made our way to Martha Brae for the Youth
Meeting. The Youth Choir started off the service and Bro. Mark preached and he had two fun games for the youth.
It was a fun evening and another message that brought folks to their knees at the altar. Bro Mark is a young man but
we were so impressed by his good preaching and how much wisdom he had for his age. He was a real blessing. Today we had Bro. Shawn, Jeffrey, Jason, Bro. Mark, myself and Mrs. Mack for breakfast.
Bro. Shawn met the youth and Mrs. Rodney at 11:00 for visitation and I took Bro. Mark to Scotchie's for jerk chicken on the
way to the airport and Mrs. Mack had Ms. Clarris from Montego Bay for lunch. In the evening we took Ms. Clarris home
and met Bro. Wesley Hutchins and Mrs. Evelyn at the Pelican for our evening meal. We went home with them and ate homemade
carrot cake. At 8:30 tonight we went to Dead Yard in
Zion to speak to the family of Ms. Enett's. Her grandfather had died and the funeral will be tomorrow at 1:00.
In the morning Bro. Shawn will be preaching and in the evening I will preach God's Word. Tuesday, March 30th we are
making a trip to the states for April and May. We have had a busy Winter and we have a busy year in front of us.
So far we only have one other month open during the year and that is September. Every other month we have someone
coming to be with us or either a group. Pray for us as we have meetings every week with
the exception of Easter and Mother's Day. We have a busy May with the Talley Trio Fundraiser for the children's home
on May 7 in Riceville, Tennessee, May 8th our daughter-in-law Dr. Tina Locklear will be graduating from the University of
Alabama with her PH D and May 10th is Mrs. Mack's Mother's 95 birthday. We are so glad that it worked out so we could
be at home for these occasions. We thank God upon every remembrance of you, Pastor Mack
& Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live."
March 20, 2010 This week we have been blessed by having 5 preachers among us, Pastor Pat Lawrence and
Pastor Keith Crouch from Athens, Alabama, Pastor Kevin Page from Jefferson, Georgia, and Pastor Shawn Kelly and myself
from Riverside Baptist in Jamaica. When you get 5 men of God together in unity and right with God, I can tell you that God
shows up. We had a mini-revival and 12 saved and they were all adults. We bow our heads, hearts and knees
to the ONE that deserves all the praise, honor and glory. Each service our auditorium was full. Our youth group worked for two weeks practicing to sing for every service and 14 of them sang.
To reward them I took all of them to KFC last evening in Montego Bay.
The Baptist Boys also sang for us. The Baptist Boys are Bro. Rodney, Pastor Shawn, Chris and Bro. Eddie. They
always bless our hearts. Added to the group that were
with us was Lewis and Deborah from Bro. Pat's church and Hannah and Angelia from the University of Alabama, and Tim and
David from Jefferson, Georgia. The group built 30 pews in two days for our church and painted them. I wish
you could have seen Lewis, the one that bossed the job and knew how to make and follow a pattern and Tim and Angelia that
were quite but worked like nothing you have ever seen. They painted all day, non-stop until the job was done. Hannah Lawrence sang every evening sometimes with sound and other times with sign language.
She was the speaker at the ladies meeting on Thursday evening and even Mrs. Mack was impressed. She always says of Hannah,
"She would make a good Preacher's wife." Do we have any offers?? To end up the ladies meeting with
fun we had a fashion show with Lewis and David dressed up with hats, dresses, sunglasses, wigs, the works and ushered
in by our own Jason and Jeffrey. That was a sight to see!
We enjoyed a little bit of relaxation at Doctor's Cave and Negril during our spare time in the week. It was hard to say goodbye
as usual but we parted with a few tears in our eyes.
The thing the group said they liked best was the visitation into all the homes of our folks. It has been a blessed week and we thank God for it. Please continue to pray for
us. Our attendance has been 101 and 116 the last two weeks and we are seeing new faces each week. Thanks
for you prayers, love, visits, calls and support. We could not do the things that are being done without you and our
LORD. Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so that others might simply live."
March 14, 2010 I am running a bit late with my weekly letter due to a lot of excitement going on around the complex.
A group from Athens, Alabama, and Jefferson and Winder, Georgia have arrived for a week and it has been non-stop since
Friday. I will be brief with my message this morning. Sunday was a good day with 101 present and 2 more being baptized after our morning worship service.
A young man was saved on visitation last week and he was baptized and the other one was Shane Kelly, son of Pastor Shawn Kelly
and Mrs. Terry Ann Kelly. We rejoice over all that are baptized believers but we are really rejoicing over some of our
youth being saved. Since our arrival in Jamaica it is usually the teenagers and adults that are saved and that is so
unlike living in the states but our children are beginning to learn and be taught about Jesus so that they can understand
too. Many adults have held the little children back thinking they are not old enough to understand. The youth choir have been practicing every evening for the mini-revival this week. They
are going to sing each night. Mrs. Mack and I have worked with the youth since our return and we have built up that
part of our fellowship. Young people don't have to have things so special here. They just want to be together
and have some place to go. We had all our regular meetings of the week.
Friday night at the Youth Meeting our group was over the message and the fun for the night. Saturday we all went out on door to door visitation in all the areas surrounding Martha Brae. We
carried candy (sweeties) with us and amazing but it was not long until we had run out. Not only do the children
want sweeties but so do the adults and you had better not forget them.
In the afternoon we all had a fun day and Mrs. Mack left her girls here to prepare both the lunch and the evening meal without
her and they did a great job. At lunch they did tacos and the evening they prepared roast beef, creamed potatoes, and
black eyed peas, drinks, bread and pecan pies. They are to be congratulated.
Colleen , Chris' wife, was sent back home on Monday morning without a baby-false alarm. We will keep you posted. We are preparing now for breakfast and the morning service. The group will be in charge.
We have 3 preachers and myself and Pastor Shawn. We are expecting to have a great day and for God to show up with great
and marvelous things. Jeremiah 33:3 The foundation for the Children's
Home is finished and the walls are going up by faith. Pray for us as we
serve our Lord here in Jamaica and are faithful also to all of you that support us. Pastor Mack and Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live." www.thehourofgracepublications.com This one is a new one and we are still working on it.
March 6, 2010 On last week's visitation we took Mr. Archie and Mrs. Chris to visit the homes of where our people live
so they could understand how far they had to walk and the conditions in which our people live. While visiting Mr. Miller in Jones Town had a young Mother on his door steps and had given her a tract but he did
not know how to go any further. Mrs. Mack sat down beside her and led her to the Lord. The angels in Heaven are
rejoicing over all the folks accepting Christ in our surrounding neighborhoods as well as Martha Brae. On Sunday Morning Pastor Kelly preached on II Chronicles 7:14 and we also had a time of fellowship,
hugging and loving Mr. Archie and Mrs. Chris and Mrs. Mack asked Bro. Eddie if he would play his guitar and sing at the
end of the service because Bro. Archie enjoyed him so much. It was a sweet service
and the altar was filled at the end of the invitation. Monday Ms. Clarris
from Montego Bay came to spend the day with us and the following all showed up around lunch time so we fed Archie and
Chris, the two of us, Ms. Clarris, Mr. and Mrs. Rodney, Pastor and Mrs. Kelly, Chris, Jeffrey and Jason, and Ann Marie and
her new baby unexpectly. Missionary Wesley and Evelyn Hutchens also visited after lunch time. In the evening we carried Ms. Clarris and Archie and Chris out to eat in Montego Bay at the Pelican. Tuesday morning Mrs. Chris was up real early, in fact, she set her alarm. She did not have
to leave our property until 11:00 for the airport so we think they were excited about going home. Tuesday evening was our first time in one year that we had been alone in our house whether in the states or
in Jamaica. Wednesday and Thursday our folks continued to clear
all the things out of the trailer and deliver them around the island. It is empty now with the exception of 80 school
desk and boxes of tracts. Our Wednesday night service was good and we
had a good crowd of folks. Thursday Mrs. Mack and I drove to Montego Bay
to the Mega Mart and purchased the groceries and supplies for the Berea Baptist Church group that will arrive on Friday, Lord
willing. Our plans are to build church pews. We have 6 men coming (3 of them are preachers) and 3 women.
We are excited about their arrival. Friday night Mrs. Mack and I continued
to work with the youth. We had some good news from the states this week.
Trey Salmon went home from Jamaica and is on fire and excited about the children's home. He set up a meeting and
has the Talley Trio giving a concert at Eastanallee Baptist Church in Riceville, Tennessee to raise money on May 7, 2010 at
7:00. Please look for the address and telephone number at www.eastanallee.com and www.missionsinjamaica.net. Chris, Jeffrey and Jason worked on the children's home 4 days this
week. Thursday night between 11:30 and 12:00 midnight Chris called
us and said Colleen was in labor. Mrs. Mack and I got up and dressed and transported them to the hospital. Please
remember to pray for her. The hospital here does not allow anyone to stay in the hospital with a patient whether
it be an adult or child. Folks can only visit during visiting hours. She remains in the hospital so far without
having the baby. Today Pastor Kelly, Mr. Rodney and Mr. David Martin all
came to visit with us and then cut the grass. Ms. Olive and Mrs. Spence cleaned the church building and now a group
are going visiting. We close with love and thanksgiving and giving
God all the glory for what HE is doing here in the little town of Martha Brae in the Parish of Trelawny. We bow our
hearts and our knees to our awesome God and stand amazed with all the blessings we have received here and who HE uses to help
us get the job done. Thanks to all of you, Pastor Mack and Mrs. Mack "We
live simply so others might simply live."
February 27, 2010 Sunday Morning we had 90 in attendance and Pastor Shawn preached a great message from
Daniel Chapter 6 on an "Excellent Spirit." The altar was filled with folks and one joined our fellowship.
We had a baptismal service at the river after church with 3 ladies and 2 men being baptized and Zeco Rodney. Jeff Wentz from up state New York spent Sunday with us. On Sunday evening we had
testimonies and Zeco sang, "What a Day that will be....." Bro. Eddie blessed us with his guitar. During Pastor Shawn's sermon he asked anyone if they had heard the trumpet blow during
the night?. He told about falling asleep on the couch with his Bible on his chest and he awoke to hear a trumpet blow.
He jumped up and told the Lord he was ready. No one else heard the sound but Mrs. Mack. She sat up in bed at our
house and called out, "Mack, it is the Rapture!" I did not hear her or move so she felt of me to be sure
I was still there. They both have laughed and said, "You have got to hear the trumpet if you are going in the Rapture."
I think the two of them are having Rapture practice, getting ready to leave. Monday we all had a day off with no work going on around the property. Jeffrey and Jason surprised
us by bringing us a big bunch of bananas. Tuesday morning
was Jason's birthday and he wanted to be baptized that peculiar day so at 9:00 in the morning Pastor Shawn baptized him.
He was saved and led to the Lord by Pastor Pat Lawrence when he was with us last year. On Wednesday I made a trip to Montego Bay with Bro. Archie Medckie to go to Customs.
When we arrived at the airport Customs told him he could stay until March 3rd not the 30th so we went to have his stay extended
but we received BAD NEWS that it was going to cost them $20,000J and they still might not let him stay until the 30th so they
are leaving us this Tuesday at around 1:58 in the afternoon. Bro. Archie has done
a good job working on all the things that have needed to be done for 10 years. Chris, Jason and Jeffrey helped the West Virginia group this week put the rafters and final
roof on the educational building at Bethel Baptist Church at Dumfries. Mrs. Mack spent two days with Mrs. Carol, Mrs.
Jan, Mrs. Jenny and Ashleigh from W.V.at their new place in Ironshore. Wednesday
evening our prayer service was good and we continue to take up money to help our missionary in Haiti and our folks are giving
good. We are grateful that we have been able to teach them they are not only to receive but to give to the Lord's work
here and around the world. Thursday evening Mrs. Mack
and Chris and Colleen and myself went to meet the coaster in Ironshore to go to Hopewell Baptist Church along with Pastor
Shawn and his family and the W.V. team. After we arrived a call came to tell us the church had no electricity due to
an electrical storm the night before so we all had service at Ironshore. It was a sweet time around our Lord, a good
fellowship with believers and Bro. Joe preached to us from 11 Chronicles 7:14. Many gave their testimonies and shared
their life experiences. It reminded us of the old time Cottage Prayer Meetings we use to have. It is too bad that
it doesn't continue. Friday I drove Bro. Garnett Dyer
around Barrett Town looking for a place for him to start a work and Friday evening Mrs. Mack and I worked with the youth group
showing them the film, "Faith Like Potatoes" and the verse used in this was 11 Chronicles 7:14. Mrs.
Mack asked Bro. Shawn if he was preaching on 11 Chronicles 7:14 on Sunday to which he replied, "I think God is trying
to tell us something." Today is visitation day and
choir practice for the youth and adults. Pray for us as we send the Medckie's home and prepare for Bro. Pat Lawrence
and 8 others arriving on March 12th. We thank God for answered prayer. It has been a good week. Thank you for loving us, praying for us, supporting us, visiting us,
and calling us. The foundation on the Noah's Ark Children's Home is finished and we are making plans for our next
step. Trey Salmon and Mary Ann Jenkins are working on a fundraising Singing in Rome, Georgia to help with the funding.
Watch us on www.missionsinjamaica.net. "We live simply so others might simply
live." Pastor/Missionary Mack Locklear and Mrs. Mack
February 6, 2010 All our services were good this week. Sunday morning we had an adult man, Mr. Miller, (not our own Mr.
Miller) saved during the invitation. We had a auditorium full including Mr. Eddie's wife and both his daughters that
Mrs. Mack had led to the Lord and his grandson visited also. The family stayed for our Sunday School hour after the
church service. It was one of those days when everyone was rejoicing.
We had a good group for our movie, The Origin of Evil, Tuesday evening and Wednesday
evening we had 39 in attendance. Friday night the church was full to see the Story from the Book of John. This entire week we have been clearing out the trailer/container. Of course, it has
been a real mess and people on the property from sun up until sun down. We have transported truck load after truck
load of books to Hague School and have now started to carry them to Granville All Age School. Bro. Joe and Mrs. Jenny
have carried truck loads of boxes and bags of clothes to Bethel at Dumfries and the new work of Bro. Alton's in Deeside. Pastor
Parnell and wife Maxine came up on Tuesday and carried tracts back to their church. Needless to say, the trailer is
still half full. We have a group coming in this coming week so we have closed the container until after the group is
gone. Friday we invited Ms. Clarris Ruddock, our dear friend from Montego
Bay and one a lot of you folks know, to spend the day and have lunch with us and also Enett that is Ms. Clarris' friend.
We had an enjoyable day around the table, fellowship, laughing and telling our tales. Chris layed cement blocks on the foundation this week along with several helpers and Jeffrey and Jason did
the weed eating and raking around the church and Chris cut the grass.
Savale, not the painted, helped paint and Mr. Archie and Mrs. Chris and Mrs. Mack worked on all kind of projects that needed
done. Tuesday Mr. Rodney and Pastor Kelly put a ceiling in our bedroom. Thursday I rode with Pastor/Missionary Wesley Hutchins and Jeffrey rode with Pastor/Missionary
Josh Wesley to Kingston to pick up a truck for Pastor Hutchins. It was good to have the fellowship time even though
it is a rough trip anytime you go to Kingston. Mrs. Rodney, Mrs. Kelly,
Mrs. Colleen Bryan (Chris' wife) and Ms. Olive worked all week Monday through Friday opening the boxes and bags on the container
and helping to be sure that all the church members had a bag of clothes to take home with them. Thanks to all of you who help provide for the trailer to be sent to Jamaica and all the things that you donated. Looking
forward to the group from Eagles Landing Christian Academy this week and also Trey Salmon and Mary Ann Jenkins. Closing with love and thanksgiving for all of you, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live."
January 30, 2010 We have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that our own Mrs. Clark had a stroke the early
part of the week and has been in the hospital ever since. She is in need of a cat scan and our church is trying
to take up the money for her. She is in need of $60,000.J which is a lot of money to our folks. Now for some good news: Mr. Eddie asked us on Sunday if we would visit his family
and encourage them to come to church with him. On Monday evening Pastor Shawn, Mrs. Mack and myself went to visit in
their home. It was a good visit and Mrs. Mack (filled with the Spirit of God) led Elaine, his wife, and both his teenage
girls to the Lord. They all prayed and sang to us with Mr. Eddie playing his guitar. I hope you will rejoice with
us as we know they are rejoicing in Heaven. On Tuesday the container finally arrived on the grounds of Riverside Baptist Church. It left Rome, Georgia on Dec. 9th, arrived in Miami on Dec. 16th and in Montego Bay on Dec. 21st. It took from Dec. 21 until January 19, 2010 to arrived on our property. All the supplies are here for the mixing of cement and pouring the foundation of the children's home which
we will start on Monday, Lord willing. Also 5 loads of dirt have been brought in to fill in the foundation. We had no trouble getting the grass cut this week. The new riding lawnmower that Mrs. Mack
and I purchased for the church came in on the trailer so they were standing in line and excited about the yard work. All week, Monday through Friday Mr. Archie, Mrs. Chris and Mrs. Mack have been building screens,
painting the wood and hanging screens in our open air auditorium. We are in high hopes that it will help with keeping the
mosquitoes out. I shall never forget preaching and swallowing one of those devils and nearly choking to death.
I thought they would never find me a drink of water so I could kill that tiny little enemy. Chris has been doing body work on the old red van all week and is ready to learn to drive and help pick up
folks for our services. We had services as usual on Sunday,
Tuesday evening, Wednesday evening and Friday evening. I showed the youth the movie, "Tribulation." Wednesday evening, we as a church, voted to send 65 boxes of clothing out of the container
to help our brothers and sisters in Christ in Haiti. We are also taking up an evening offering for our missionary, Anne in
Haiti, to help she and her husband put a roof on their church. Wednesday evening we had a young boy Morris saved. Today I took Mr. Archie and Mrs. Chris to Bend Down in Falmouth and then to Dumfries where
we first started in training on the field. We also took two of our teens shopping in Falmouth for new clothes and shoes
for church. Pastor Shawn made a visit to the hospital today and they allowed him to preach at the hospital. Jamaica
remains wide open for the Gospel. It has been a hot, busy week but
God has been good to all of us. We are closing with thanksgiving and love, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live."
January 16, 2010 Dear Supporting Churches, Friends and Family, Saturday we had
two vans filled with our folks to go to Spot Valley to hand out tracts and visit homes where Bro. Wesley Hutchens will begin
a new church tomorrow. We met the Hutchens, Bro. Dean Hamby, Bro. Tim Campbell and Bro. Josh Wesley and his family and
Bro. Hutchens organized the groups so that we could visit as many streets as possible. Sunday our attendance was down due to heavy rain but we were proud of our Jamaican people. Fifty-nine
folks managed to get to church in spite of the bad weather. Bro. Dean Hamby from Macedonia World Missions preached and
he was a real blessing. He has been our friend for a long time. When I was a Pastor at the Rome Baptist Tabernacle, Bro.
Dean was one of the missionaries we supported in Africa. After the
morning service we hired a coaster bus to travel to Spanish Town for the passing of the mantel from Bro. Wesley Hutchens to
Bro. Paul Manis. We arrived home after 12 midnight. We have had
rain all week but held all our services. We had our Bible Institute on Tuesday evening and Wednesday evening Pastor
Kelly preached a good sermon so that we all left saying it was good to have been in the house of the Lord. Thursday evening was our regular Ladies Meeting. Mrs. Evelyn Hutchens was our guest speaker.
She spoke on the clay in the potter's hand. Friday night I worked the
second week with the youth showing them a film about the rapture and being left behind. After the fellowship we
practiced for Chris and Colleen's wedding which we are looking forward to at 2:00 this afternoon. Ms. Olive and Mrs.
Spence have already cleaned the building and Ms. Rona is decorating and preparing refreshments. Last evening Mrs. Mack invited Colleen, Tosh, Angie, Queenie, Shawna and Lily to spend the night.
Before going to bed Mrs. Mack told her famous Eagle's Story from the scriptures, prayed with them and this morning they are
sitting at our table feasting on donuts. We have a busy day of visiting,
a wedding, and then we are off at 6:00 P.M. to a Ladies Meeting at Hopewell Baptist Church in Hanover. The foundation is dug for the children's home and the iron is tied and ready. Our trailer is due to be opened on Monday. Continue to pray that Customs will be merciful
with my pocketbook. Thanks to all of you that have helped with those expenses. I know our God is able...... Our Missionary, Anne Jerome in Haiti, has answered our e-mail. She and her husband are
safe in the mountains but writes that much damage has been done and many lives have been taken on the island. They need
our prayers. Closing with love and thanksgiving, Pastor Mack & Mrs.
Mack "We live simply so others might simply live."
January 9, 2010 Dear Supporting Churches, Friends and Family, Our attendance
was down on Sunday. We had just finished our revival from Sunday to Wednesday evening and then had a Watch Night Service
on Thursday evening so we are being very forgiving due to the fact that our people were very tired. We had heavy rain on the island on Monday night, all day and night on Tuesday. We had planned
to begin our Bible Institute over on Tuesday evening but put it off because of the weather. The big event of the week was on Tuesday, regardless of the rain, we broke ground for the Children's Home.
Chris, Jeffrey and Jason have worked all week laying out and digging out the foundation. I have tried for several years
to forget about this project and have asked the Lord to take the desire away but it would not leave so even at my age I am
doing exactly what I believe God wants me to do. Danny and Robin Mulkey from Rome, Georgia are paying for the foundation
and then we have promises for the rest of the building from Ralph Jenkin's church in Tennessee. Wednesday evening we enjoyed our prayer service together with Pastor Doug McComas and his wife, Jan,
and Bro. Jerry Hatfield and his wife, Carol, joining us for our service.
Thursday evening Mrs. Mack and I had our evening meal out and then joined Bro. Dean Hamby with Macedonia World Missions and
Bro. Campbell from Old Swanee Baptist Church at Missionary Wesley and Evelyn Hutchens home to watch Alabama win over Texas
for the NUMBER ONE TEAM in the U.S.A. ROLL TIDE............ All
week I have spent most of my time running back and forth to Falmouth and Montego Bay filling out paper work to get our trailer
and container ready for customs, hopefully this week. Friday was a work
day around our church. Our electrician, David, put in new fans in the church auditorium and two of the guys dug on the
foundation of the Children's Home and Mrs. Mack cut the grass with a push mower and Chris used the weed eater and later Jeffrey
and Jason finished it all up by raking. The grounds are beautiful. Mrs. Rodney cleaned the flower beds around
the Hobgood Building and Jeffrey cleared the beds out around the front of the church. Mrs. Chris and Mrs. Mack did touch up painting so things will stay neat and clean around our property. Thursday Mrs. Chris and I took Bro. Archie to the doctor in Montego Bay. He has been sick
for two weeks and I thought maybe we should have him checked out. His sugar is 400+ and the doctor gave him insulin
before letting him leave his office and put him on medicine for a deterioation of his lungs and asked that he see a doctor
upon his return to the states. Please remember to pray for him.
Today we are leaving at 12:00 to go to canvas and give out pamphlets at the Spot Valley Community where Bro. Wesley
is going to start his third work on the island. We have a big group going with us. Our folks are faithful
at visiting and giving out the gospel. I am thankful they were willing to help. Tomorrow Bro. Dean Hamby will be preaching at Riverside and immediately after the service we will be taking
a coast to Spanish Town for the 4:00 afternoon service at Heritage where Bro. Wesley will hand the mantel over to his National
Pastor. Pray for us. We have a busy week with Bible Institute, Ladies
Fellowship, Chris and Colleen's wedding,Tosh returning to college, the Northshore Ladies Fellowship and possibly the container
having to be inspected. Please continue to pray that Customs will have mercy on my pocketbook. I am closing with love and thanksgiving for all of you and thanking you for your faithful support
of us through all the years and all these things God has called me to do.
"We live simply so others might simply live." Pastor/Missionary Mack and Mrs. Mack Locklear
August 22, 2010 Folks, Since our last letter we have had a successful
VBS with 29 coming from Antioch Baptist Church in W.V. There were many saved and many decisions made. This summer a group from W.V. along with Bro. Lyndon and Bro. Alton and Bro. Shawn have worked
hard to start another work in Deeside, Jamaica. They held VBS in the mornings and crusade at night. The Parish
of Trelawny has come alive and souls are being saved. At Riverside, Mrs.
Mack and I have given monies to put a ceiling in all the Sunday School classes and Bro. Shawn, Chris, Joel, Mrs. Rodney and
Terry Ann have all worked hard and that project is finished. We continue to work on finishing up all the little things
that need to be done around the church. In the states we are purchasing
a container. Today it was transported to Newport, Tennessee to be filled with things our Jamaican folks need and
we hope to be able to raise enough money to get it to the island by December.
We have enjoyed a visit with Jerry and Carol Hatfield from W.V. and Angie Lewis from Covington. Several have sent money for our children's books and supplies and uniforms for the school year
starting back in September. We send our thanks. Tosh did good in
college last year and finished up her first year. Mrs. Mack worked on her a student loan for this year and she is receiving $98,000J
(divide by 87 for the amount she received U.S.). This should carry her through December, subjects, room and board.
We have provided her with money to buy her uniforms for this year and pay her insurance and registration fees. We are
very proud of her. She needs a digital camera and a laptop computer. If
you have either one in your house not used we would like to get it to W.V. for a group coming the last week of September.
Please let us know by e-mail if you have either. Closing for the morning
with love and thanksgiving to all of you, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We
live simply so others might simply live." Missionaries:
Mack & Marilyn Locklear P.O. Box 1445 Rome, Ga. 30162 706-204-8027
March 7, 2009 Dear Supporting Churches, friends and family,
We had a good week with 109 in Sunday School. Dr. Morris Anderson and his wife, Darlenia from Maryville, Tennessee, kick
boxer champion and football player from the University of Nebraska, Kurt Hasley and his wife, Nichole and 3 year
old son, Barret from Signal Mountain and Jake Bull, Youth Pastor from Athens and his friend, Randee from Knoxville were our
guest this week. All the men preached and shared their testimonies not only at our services with 23 saved but also at
Spot Valley High School on Monday and Hague Primary School on Wednesday where over 250 raised their hands and prayed during
the invitations. Sunday evening was the high light of
the week when Bro. Shawn Kelly was ordained into the ministry. I preached the charge to Bro. Kelly and Dr. Anderson
preached the charge to the church. This week was a little
unusual in that we were touring the North Coast with the group. Monday we took a days trip to Negril which is world
known for its 7-mile beach and the sunset at the world famous Rick's Cafe. We stopped back by the Pizza Hut in Montego
Bay in the evening. Tuesday we made a trip to the craft
market in Montego Bay and on to Doctor's Cave. The sea was rough and the breeze was cool. There was NO ONE
on the beach except our guest. Now can you believe it was cold in Jamaica?? In the evening we ate at Scotchie's
and went on to Glistening Waters that night. Wednesday
I traveled to Ocho Rios for the group to climb the famous Dunn's River Falls and in the evening we were blessed to hear
Bro. Jake Bull give our evening message. Thursday we
went back to Doctor's Cave. It had rained and was cool and cloudy each day but Thursday was a beautiful day
so everyone got plenty of sun and surf. The group were
able to visit 4 out of the top 10 must do tours in Jamaica and visited the Parishes (counties) St. James, Hanover, Westmoreland,
St. Ann and Trelawny. The best way to see the island is to travel with us. Mrs. Mack always ask the members of a group what they liked the best and most of the time they will
say, the Falls, Negril or Doctor's Cave. When she asked Nicole Hasley her answer was unexpected and appreciated.
She said, "the best thing was when I met you Mrs. Mack." What a joy to a hard working missionary!! Friday morning I dropped them off at the airport headed for the U.S. Friday afternoon
we planted large palm trees and Gary built us an iron rack to place in our dining area. This week on Thursday we made reservations for Mrs. Mack and several of the women to
attend the National Baptist Women's Conference at the Star Fish Resort which is held in July. Thanks to Jeff Wentz,
Berea Baptist Church Women's Sunday School Class and the construction group from West Virginia. This is the the
first time in 3 years our women have been able to attend due to financing.
We have a new member of the family. He has a new pink 2 story house on our front porch. We have a parrot.
I am trying to teach it to say, "Praise the Lord!" He doesn't like me but seems to fair well with Mrs.
Mack. She said she just knew when I got old I would be talking to a bird. We are now having our first break this year. We have had guest except for 10 days
since January 3, 2009. We close with a grateful
and thankful heart and are on our way visiting this morning. Keep us in your prayers. Watch us this week on www.missionsinjamaica.com. Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We
live simply so others might simply live."
February 28, 2009 Dear Supporting Churches, friends and family,
Today is the end of another good month at the Riverside Baptist Church. Last Sunday we had 98 in attendance in Sunday
School. During the week the construction team from West
Virginia were staying at the Hobgood House. They were building at Dumfries and holding revival Monday, Tuesday
and Thursday evening there. Some of our folks went every night to encourage the Pastor and congregation. Mrs.
Mack and I were able to go on Monday evening and carry a group from the church. Wednesday night Bro. Joe Hutchenson preached for us and we had three young men come forward for salvation
and one young lady. Since then I have taken the time to talk to each one of them personally and be sure they understood
and knew exactly what they were doing. We are rejoicing over the souls saved and the lives that are changing. Thursday was the Pastor's and their wives conference in a new resort just outside
of Lucea. Mrs. Mack and I and Bro. Kenny Wesley paid the way for Pastor Shawn and Mrs. Terry Ann to go. They had
a wonderful time and a break away from all their responsibilities here at the church. Friday night Bro. Dixon did the Youth Night and had a good group. Today we are transporting folks to the airport and picking up folks at the airport.
We have Dr. Morris Anderson from Maryville, Tennessee and his wife, a champion kick boxer and football player from the University
of Nebraska and his wife and child and a Youth Pastor and his girl friend. Tomorrow evening we will be ordaining Pastor Shawn Kelly into the ministry. The West Virginia group were a real blessing to us this trip even though they were not
working here. They bought us 2 new coffee makers, bought Tash a printer for college, worked Savale, Jeffrey, Jason,
Andrew, Chris and Clint which helped them financially, paid Mrs. Rodney's way to Ladies Conference on July 2-4, and one
paid some towards Terry Ann going to the conference, and Mr. Paul Gillispie brought 5 colored baby dolls which blessed the
hearts of 5 little girls. Tonight we are
sending Mrs. Spence and Ms. Enett to a Fund Raiser in Montego Bay for the Caribbean Christian School for the deaf
in Lethea/Eden to represent us and our church.
Pray for us. We have had full time company since January 3rd with the exception of 10 days. We love you folks, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live. www.missionsinjamaica.com
February 21, 2009 Dear Supporting Churches, family and friends, What an exciting and wonderful week we have just experienced! Eagles Landing Christian
Academy returned last weekend for the 7th trip to help us at Martha Brae, Jamaica and the Riverside Baptist Church. The group were like a breath of fresh air to us, each having their own personalities
and talents, even the J. J. twins with only one freckle different so we could tell them apart. (I told them I am too
old for this twin thing!) We had 126 in attendance last
Sunday and we fed 24 plus the 2 of us from America and humpt teen hundred Jamaicans besides, three meals a day and wash dishes
by the hundreds. Monday the group had a fun day at Dunn's
River Falls in Ocho Rios and after that it was all work and no play. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the group built
Mr. Miller (70 year old living in bad circumstances) a house. They completely built it with 2 windows, 2 doors and painted
it inside and outside. Upon completion we had a dedication service in his yard and prayed over the place. Mr.
Miller gave his testimony and the group moved him. That was a high light of the week and they did a good job. Zack Morgan, one of youth, preached on Sunday evening and Mrs. Mack led Roxanna
to the Lord and 2 others were saved during the week.
The group taught all the Sunday School classes on Sunday and the Drama Group did a great job teaching a real truth each time. Two days the group went to the Martha Brae Basic School to do the devotion and to teach
the children some new songs. The children also sang for them and showed off their new sign language abilities. This trip we had a few things arise that were unexpected. Dan and Zack Davis had
to fly home on Sunday due to a death in the family and Kenny Wesley had to leave on Wednesday because of work in the states. Thursday we picked up Jerry Hatfield from W.V. and Friday we transported the group to
the airport and picked up Jeff Wentz from N.Y. They left snow to arrive here in 81 degree temperature.
They along with a group from W.V. which we will pick up today will be with us until next Saturday and that day we pick up
7 more to take the place of them. God continues to show Himself
here at Riverside Baptist. We are rejoicing over all His marvelous works. Souls are being saved, lives changed
and church attendance is up. Please remember to pray for us.
This week is conference in Kingston and Thursday and Friday is the pastors and their wives get together in a beautiful new
resort outside of Lucea. Kenny Wesley and myself are paying the way of Pastor Shawn Kelly and Mrs. Terry Ann Kelly. We close with a thankful heart, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live."
February 14, 2009 Dear Supporting Churches, friends, and family, We had another good Sunday with Bro. Eddie, our guitar player, joining our fellowship and Mrs. Mack
led Michael, Auntie Faith's (cook at the Martha Brae Basic School) grandson to the Lord. He is a young
boy which excited all of us because we have young people and adults saved and very few children. She took as much time
as needed and he understood what he was doing and then came right back to tell me that he was saved. Our week has been very busy preparing for the 24 arriving from Eagles Landing Christian
Academy. Wednesday Bro. David Martin drove Tosh,
Ms. Olive, and Terry Ann to Kingston for Tosh's first interview for a Student Loan for her next year at college.
We have been doing everything we could over the computer and internet. She will have to make one more trip to Kingston. Friday the group arrived. We had lunch at the Burger King in Montego Bay and after
the evening meal they helped to head up the Youth Meeting. The church auditorium was full and they had a good time. Today after breakfast we drove them to Doctor's Cave for a day trip. We also
shopped at the Craft Market and ate supper at Scotchie's.
This week Bro. Jerry Hatfield from W.V. and Bro. Jeff Wentz from N.Y. will arrive and a group of 10 from W.V. come in
on Saturday. All the group are preparing to teach the
Sunday School classes tomorrow. We are a tired bunch tonight but look forward to our services tomorrow. Keep us
in your prayers. We love you folks, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live."
February 7, 2009 January 31, 2009 Dear Supporting Churches, Friends and Family, We had an attendance of 98
in Sunday School and we started what we thought was going to be a mini revival which would end on Wednesday evening but revival
really broke out at Riverside and it continued through Friday evening. Bro. Ken Massey and Bro. David Wood were with
us taking turns preaching each night. Monday through Thursday Mrs. Fran Lowe and her daughters
and Mrs. Mack did the devotions each morning at the Martha Brae Basic School and taught them new songs and some of the
sign language. Monday in the afternoon I took Bro. Ken, Bro. Wood, and the Lowe family to visit all
the churches where we had worked and started in Dumfries and Bounty Hall and we visited some of the families in the areas.
During the week the group worked with moving dirt, laying blocks, and floating the cement for the foundation on Mr. Miller's
house. After work Elizabeth, Anna, Jesse went swimming in the Martha Brae River with Jeffrey and Clint.
On Tuesday morning as the group walked back from the basic school Mrs. Mack ran into one of the young boys who lived next
door to us when we were first building the church here. He was a child then but he is now 18 years old. She invited
him to church that evening and he came with 5 other boys who are all a part of a gang in Hague. The boys Mother
had been saved the first week in January when Bro. Pat Lawrence was with us. When the invitation was given 5 out of
6 of those young men walked the aisle and were saved. We also had several women saved that evening and we baptized by
van head lights that night in the Martha Brae River. The service lasted until midnight. Each
evening was a blessing, folks getting right with God and folks being saved. God has been so good to us at the Riverside
Baptist Church. We had so many saved that we quit counting. The Lowe family blessed our hearts
each evening with song, Ms. Enett lifted us to the gates of Heaven with her strong leading voice, and the Baptist Boys (Shawn,
Mr. Rodney, Mr. Eddie with his guitar and Chris) ministered to us also. It has been a blessed week!!
Friday we all made a trip to visit the Carribean Christian School for the Deaf in Lethea-Eden and the Children's Home
for crippled and mentally retarded children. Today I drove Bro. Ken and Bro. David to the airport and this
afternoon we will all be going visiting. Thank you for being a part
of our ministry here and we Praise the Lord that HE spoke to our hearts and moved us from America to serve HIM here on the
Island of Jamaica. We love you folks, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply
live." Watch us on www.missionsinjamaica.com. "Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me, Bless His Holy
Name".......... --
Missionaries to Jamaica January 24, 2009 Dear Folks, We had another good Sunday with 95 present in
Sunday School. Mrs. Francine Lowe, Elizabeth, Anna and Jesse all taught in our Sunday School classes and the women
all sang for us along with joining the choir, playing the guitar and working along with Ms. Enett singing and Mr. Eddie playing
his guitar. It was an unusual Sunday evening due to the fact
that Tosh had to have transportation back to Moneaque Teachers College about 2 hours away from our community of Martha Brae.
Mrs. Mack joined me to drive her back that afternoon about 4:00. We were about 8:30 getting back to Martha Brae in the
evening. It is a rare thing to miss the church services. That was one of those pastoral duties. Each day during the week the Lowe family and Mrs. Mack went to the Martha Brae Basic School. They
taught new songs and the sign language to the children and teachers and Mrs. Lowe did the devotions. Monday afternoon we drove a group over to Trelawny Beach for a swim while Mrs. Mack and I did some things
that needed to be done. Tuesday I drove Mrs. Mack and the Lowe family to Montego Bay to Doctor's Cave for the day. Wednesday
was our regular prayer meeting and Bible study. Three days this week
we have worked on the foundation for Mr. Miller a new house. The Lowe family have worked along side of Chris, Bro. Shawn
and Jeffrey. We are getting it ready for the Eagles Landing Christian Academy mission team to build the house. Thursday morning Bro. Wesley Hutchens and Mrs. Evelyn Hutchens, 23 year veteran missionaries to Jamaica, came
over from Spanish Town to spend the day with us and the night. We all made a trip to Spot Valley Subdivision between
Martha Brae and Montego Bay. If I were a young man I would start a new work in that area. We also visited the
high school and set up a chapel time for a group coming on February 28th. Also on Thursday evening Mrs. Lowe spoke
to our ladies again. It was not a regular meeting of the church but we had 20 women to show up for the Bible study. Please pray for me. I have an infected tooth. I did not have a dentist here but believe me
I found one. I am taking an antibotic now and they will work on my tooth next Thursday. Today Bro. Shawn, Chris, Jeffrey and the Lowe family are working in cement. I am soon on my way
to the airport to pick up two Pastors from the United States. Mrs. Terry Ann and Mrs. Rodney are cleaning the church
and Mrs. Mack is cooking. We will visit later in the afternoon.
The weather is beautiful here, hot in the day time and cool at night. We love you folks, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live." Watch for us at www.missionsinjamaica.com. --
Missionaries to Jamaica January 17, 2009 Dear Supporting Churches, Friends, and Family,
It has been a good week. Sunday we had 93 in attendance at church and Monday Pastor Shawn and I made another trip
to Kingston to do the final work of securing our visa for 3 more years. It is finally in my hands. We left at
5:00 in the morning and I they finally took me after 3:00 in the afternoon. It was after dark before we arrived
back home in Martha Brae. Elizabeth Elliott was right when she said 90% of the missionary's time is spent in just
living. Tuesday we prepared for the Lowe family, Fran, Elizabeth,
Anna and Jesse to arrive from W. Columbia, S.C. We picked them up at the airport just as the sun was setting for
the day. We had our evening meal and then spent sometime getting to know each other. Wednesday morning we made another trip to Montego Bay to the Mega Mart to buy groceries. In the evening
we had our regular prayer service. The church was full. Mrs. Fran played the keyboard and she and the girls sang.
What a blessing! Thursday and Friday mornings we worked with the children at the Martha Brae Basic School. Mrs.
Fran taught them songs and had the devotions each day. They are precious little ones, all 68 of them. The
teachers were so glad to have some help and learn some new songs themselves.
Thursday evening was our regular monthly Ladies metting and again we had a big group attend. Ms Fran spoke and
she and the girls entertained with song. Both Friday and Saturday Mrs. Fran, Jesse, Anna, Elizabeth, Jeffrey, and Prince
joined us for door to door visitation. One day we visited in Martha Brae and the next day we visited in Zion.
They are open to the gospel and that is a blessing. They are very honest. If they are asked if they are Christians,
they will answer honestly by saying "No." That leaves the door open to present the Gospel. Friday evening is Youth Night. The church was full and the Lowe Family were again given the opportunity
to help. Friday night late Missionary Wesley Hutchins and the Associate Pastor in Spanish Town drove over and spent
the night with us. On Saturday morning after breakfast I joined them to pick up two pastors from the states at
the airport and had lunch with them at the Pelican. As I write the
grounds are full of children playing and the young folks are playing volleyball. Later today the choir is coming to
practice and Mrs. Fran is going to help them with their music. Pray
for us as we prepare ourselves for tomorrow's services. Folks are being saved in Martha Brae and I am so glad God
has given us the opportunity to be a part of the ministry here. We love you folks, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live." Watch us at www.missionsinjamaica.com --
Missionaries to Jamaica January 10, 2009 Dear Supporting Churches, friends and family, We are
ending a marvelous week of revival, play, ministering, and fellowship. Pastor Pat Lawrence of the Berea Baptist Church
in Athens, Alabama has been with us and Hannah, the Pastor's daughter, who is a student at the University of Alabama,
and Perry who is also at the Crimson Tide, Kerry, Linda and Gary, members of Berea. We rejoiced with the angels in Heaven when 12 souls were saved this week all being young men and women (teens
and above). Bro. Pat blessed our souls as he preached God's Word. Hannah and Perry both sang for us and Oh!
how good it was....Hannah sang to us in the deaf language also and I believe even the unsaved shouted. Kerry had
a sweet quiet spirit and Linda and Gary Wilson helped us in the kitchen in the dish pan, teaching Bible Classes during
the day, to working at the Martha Brae Basic School. The group
painted Ms. Ollie's house on Monday morning and Bro. Shawn's on Tuesday morning. They all enjoyed a trip to
Dunn's River Falls, Negril and Doctor's Cave. They were able to visit 5 parishes, St. Ann's, St. James,
Hanover, Westmoreland and Trelawny. Our own folks were a blessing too. Ms. Enett led our music and Bro. Eddie joined her with his guitar.
Our pews were packed each night and many stood on the outside. Sunday
morning we had 116 in Sunday School. Pray for us as God continues to work in the Riverside Baptist Church. This week we are looking forward to the Lowe family coming for three weeks from Grace Baptist in W. Columbia,
S.C. We are closing with a thankful and grateful heart, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live." Watch us
on www.missionsinjamaica.com --
Missionaries to Jamaica January 3, 2009 Dear Supporting Churches, Friends and Family, We had a good
trip home leaving late from Atlanta due to heavy fog but Bro. Shawn and his children met us at the airport. Mrs.
Terry Ann and Ms. Ollie had our house as clean as a whistle. Sunday
Morning we had 112 in Sunday School and Wednesday evening we had a Watch Night Service and Mrs. Mack led two adult women to
the Lord. Tuesday Bro. Shawn, Bro. David and myself made a fast trip
to Kingston to pick up our visas for three more years. It was due August 31, 2008. We came into the island as
tourist and visitors and Customs gave us two weeks to have our visa or to leave the island. Mon!! Did we work fast..... Friday we picked up Bro. Pat Lawrence and five other folks from Berea Baptist in Athens, Alabama. In
the evening they worked with the youth. Hannah Lawrence and her friend, Perry, were in charge of the fun time.
I wish you could have seen them. They filled two pans with flour and hid bubble gum in the flour. We had two groups
racing to see which one with their hands behind their backs could get the bubble gum with their mouth and chew the gum and
blow a bubble. Oh! Was it fun and exciting to watch. You need to try this game with your youth. To
be honest, it is almost impossible to blew a bubble. At the invitation one teenage girl was saved and after the service
two young men were saved. We have had a glorious week with 5 new souls going to Heaven one day. To God be the
Glory! Today has been a fun day. After Breakfast we made a trip
to Montego Bay to the straw market, back to the Pizza Hut for lunch and to Doctor's Cave for them to take a swim in our
beautiful Carribean Sea. On the way back to Martha Brae we ate jerk chicken at Scotchie's. Tomorrow starts our revival for the beginning of the year 2009. Pray for us as Bro. Pat preaches God's
Word to us. We are expecting great things from our Lord this year.
The Martha Brae Basic School has 68 little children this year.
This week is packed with lots of things being revival services at night, painting Ms. Ollie and Bro. Shawn's house on
the outside, Bible classes for Women, devotions at the Basic School, a trip to Dunn's River Falls in Ocho Rios and a trip
to Negril. Again let us thank you for your faithful support, special
offerings, visits, calls, and letters during 2008. You are very special to us. We are riding in our new van, Born
Again 11. Thanks to you folks. We love you, Pastor Mack
& Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live."
Dec. 27, 2008 This is just a note to let you folks know we are on the island. We had fog so heavy
in Atlanta that we had a hard time leaving the airport. We left at 6:30 P.M. instead of 5:30 P.M. Bro. Shawn was
faithfully waiting on us at the airport along with Dana, Shane, Lily and Angie. We came home to a clean house, a cut lawn, and everything in order. We were surprised with several new
lamps, a new ceiling fan in our bath, a new coffee maker, new iron doors on the front two doors and the side door of the Hobgood
Building, and a new rack to hold pots and pans in our church kitchen. I'm not sure I have found all the Christmas
surprises that were here for us. Our thanks to the West Virginia group that does so much to help us. The weather is great here. Mack says it is just like Hawaii. It isn't
too hot and it is cool enough at night to sleep under a spread and blanklet. We truly enjoyed our visit home. It was good to visit many of our supporting churches, to have
time with Mrs. Lovett (Marilyn's 93 year old Mother), to put flowers on her Dad's grave, to visit Mrs. Mary Jim Morris
( another 92 year old that gave a bridal shower for us many years ago) who had a bad fall on Thanksgiving Day and is in a
home for rehab, to play and enjoy our grandsons, our children and their mates, and to cook on Thanksgiving and Christmas for
many members of Mrs. Mack's family (to be exact on the Saturday evening before Christmas we had 32.) We are back now ready to go full steam ahead with our mission work. The Martha
Brae Basic School has 68 little children this year. We have groups starting Jan. 2 through March 7, 2009. Happy New Year 2009 to all of you. Thanks for all you have done to help us and
are doing to help us. We are grateful and we love you folks, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live."
Dcember 20, 2008 Dear supporting Churches, friends and family, Saturday evening
we drove to Morristown, Tennessee where the church put us up overnight in the Holiday Inn. I enjoyed the liberty
of preaching at the New Start Baptist Church and seeing Bro. Ken Massey again. Sunday evening we were Bro. Charles Carpenter at the Hickory Valley Baptist Church In Lenoir City, Tennessee.
After the service we drove home to Rome. It has been a rainy week
in Rome, Georgia. In spite of the weather we have enjoyed lunch one day with Danny and Robin Mulkey, all the cards and
calls and the Wednesday evening service at our home church, Rome Baptist Temple.
Our thanks to all of you for remembering us at Christmas in all kind of special ways. We are grateful. Today is exciting for us. We are preparing for 35 members of Mrs. Lovett's family for the evening
meal in our home. I think it will be standing room only but it will be fun and I know the food is good....I have been
sampling. Pray for us as the next letter you receive will be from
the Island of Jamaica. We fly out December 26th. Thanks again for willing allowing us have this time with
our family and Mrs. Lovett. When we arrive in Jamaica we are usually
without internet services and it takes sometime to get everything in order, up and running, so be patient with us. If
you are one of the groups coming to the island, please feel free to call us at 876-610-5899 or 876-824-7650 but understand
it is very expensive. Word for Jamaica this week: We spoke to
Pastor Shawn this week. They baptized 2 adult ladies this past Sunday. Bro. Doug McComas and Bro. Jerry Hatfield
had been at our house there for a week. They bought new bicycles for Jeffrey and Prince to ride back and forth to school.
Tosh is home from college for the holidays. Bro. Rodney will be flying home from Florida on December 22nd. They,
too, have had a lot of rain with some water standing in the church yard but the river is in its banks and there is no water
in any of the buildings. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2009.
It is our prayer that God will bless everything your hands find to do. We love you folks, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live." Please pray
for Mrs. Myra Goolesby who will have surgery for colon cancer on Jan. 7th and Mrs. Carrie Metcalf who had heart surgery yesterday
and after recovery she is facing breast cancer surgery. --
Missionaries to Jamaica December 6, 2009 Dear supporting Churches, friends and family, This is one
of those weeks when we don't have much to say. It is so cold in Rome, Georgia that we are looking forward to our
return to Jamaica on Dec. 26th. Our plane tickets have been purchased.
In the meanwhile we have a busy schedule until our day of departure. We are home today. I am keeping
my Mother this afternoon and Mack is looking forward to watching the Alabama/Florida ballgame. Wednesday evening we
are with the youth at Henry Baptist Church, next weekend we are in Morristown, Tennessee in the morning and Lenoir City,
Tennessee in the evening. The 20th of December we are having 35 members of the family for our Christmas Dinner together. Our other appointment is to make a trip to Atlanta to get an entrance visa so we can get back into Jamaica.
Our visas were not ready when we left the island. Please pray for
our preacher's wife, Mrs. Myra Goolesby. She has colon cancer. They did a Cat Scan yesterday and will talk
with them about surgery on Monday. She is a real asset to Rome Baptist Temple and we all love her. Thank you in
advance for praying for her. We love you folks, Pastor Mack &
Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live."
November 22, 2008 Dear Supporting churches, friends and family, This is
a note to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a Day and a Season and should be a Lifestyle. Our attitude
should always be one of thankfulness and a grateful heart. I am so glad I woke up this morning and could breathe.
I so glad I am an American even with the government that we have today. It is still the best country and government
in the world. One just needs to leave the states to learn what a blessing it is to live in the U.S.A. We will be in Trenton, Georgia tomorrow evening with Bro. John Smith at Piney Grove Baptist Church.
We will return back home after the service to spend the week at home. We will be having about 14 on Thursday for Brunch
and the Evening Meal around our table. We have one suitcase
packed for our return to Jamaica on December 26th. We have several meetings in December before our departure.
Keep us in your prayers. Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live."
October 25, 2008 Dear Folks, "Bless the Lord, Oh my soul! And all that
is within me, Bless His Holy Name." What a wonderful week we have been blessed to enjoy. We left last
Saturday for W. Columbia, S.C. to be in the 2008 Mission Conference at Grace Baptist Church under the leadership of Dr. Bill
Egerdahl. The conference hosted some good missionaries and we all bonded and became good friends. Sue Hahn was
with us, a veteran missionary to Japan, Gailen (Butch) Abbett and his wife Margie who had served our Lord 38 years in France,
the Collins family going to Singapore, veteran missionary, John Anderson in China, the Hatfield going to China, the Lewis
family going to Romania and the Bennett family with the Silent Word Ministries International. Paul and Rachel Veach
ministered to us in music. The morning service on Sunday started
off with each one of us teaching in different Sunday School classes. I taught the College age and Mrs. Mack helped in
First Grade. The morning worship service started with the carrying of the flag from countries around the world and the
children dressed in outfits from different countries. Mrs. Mack joined the parade with her Jamaican hat. Dr. B.
Clayton Shumpert was our speaker each evening and he blessed our souls. He stopped counting after doing mission
work in 80 countries. The high light of the week for us was to visit
in the different classrooms in the Christian School at Grace Baptist. There is so much to tell that I am going to stop
here. On our way home we stopped by Belmont Baptist Church in Conyers,
Georgia and had lunch with Bro. Johnny and Mrs. Kelly Raines and their four children. Friday afternoon when school was out our grandchildren came to spend the night with us. We also arrived
home to learn that Mrs. Lovett, Marilyn's 93 year old Mother was sick, running a high fever and it looks like we maybe
carrying her to the hospital this afternoon. Please keep the family and Mrs. Lovett in your prayers. The other news for the afternoon is that our son, Art, and his wife, Tina bicycled 150 miles for MS.
Out of 800 bicycling, Art and Tina came in 15 and 16th and Tina was the first female to cross the finish line. Art is
also a hunter and has killed two deer and has meat in his freezer.
Tomorrow, Lord willing we will be with Radio Springs Road Baptist Church in Rome, Georgia. We ask that you remember
us when you pray. We love you folks, Pastor Mack and Mrs. Mack Locklear Missionaries to Jamaica
October 3, 2008 Dear Folks, Saturday afternoon of last week we drove to Montgomery, Alabama to be with Pastor Paul Hubbard at
the Lakeview Baptist Church. It was a new area of town which was perfectly beautiful, clean and inviting to outsiders.
We stayed in a Comfort Inn which I did not think anyone had ever been in the room before us. It was smoke free and spelled
new. We enjoyed our evening together watching the Georgia-Alabama football game. Sunday morning we were in the Sunday School and Morning Worship Service. During the morning
service I showed our power point and spoke for a few minutes.
Sunday evening we were with Bro. Tim Thompson and his members at Grace Baptist in Wetumpka, Alabama. Bro. Tim has some
good facilities there and it was a blessing to preach with much liberty to his folks. We drove back to Rome after
the service arriving home at 12:30 A.M. In Jamaica a group is there
from West Virginia working on the roof again at the Martha Brae Basic School. Bro. Shawn called to tell us that Riverside
Youth Group had 68 present on Friday evening and 7 young people saved and 109 in the morning service. He is doing a
good job. We have also heard from Tosh Rose from college there in
Jamaica. We are boarding her at school. She seems to be doing good. We have been in town this week in service at our home church on Wednesday evening and today at 5:00
we will have our evening meal with the Senior Citizens at the Rome Baptist Temple.
Please continue to pray for us as we travel. We are working on a new mission board and a new power point presentation.
We love you folks and appreciate all you do to help us. "We live simply so others might simply live."
Pastor Mack and Mrs. Mack Locklear --
Missionaries to Jamaica September 6, 2008 Dear Supporting Churches, friends and family, Sunday in Jamaica
was good. Hurricane Gustav had just passed by us on Thursday with high winds and rain. We were pleased with 86
in attendance since the rain always hurts our services due to so many having to walk to church. Tuesday morning we left for the states flying with Delta Airlines. The plane was on time both in Jamaica
and the states. We left in heavy rain and a river out of it's banks at the Riverside Baptist Church. Please
pray with us that Jamaica will not get too much rain in the near future and our church doesn't have to go through another
flooding like we did with Hurricane Dennis and Emily. We were actually spared in our estimation of Fay and Gustav and
we give God the thanks and praise. We left Jamaica also with many
children in school with books, supplies and uniforms and thanks to all of you who helped. Mrs. Mack and I sent Tosh
Rose (Ms. Ollie's daughter) to college this year. She is our first one to go to college and we are very proud of her.
Jeffrey and Prince are back in school after dropping out of high school a few years back. Please keep all these in your
prayers. It is good to be home for a few months. We are setting
up meetings which start on the weekend of September 21st. We hope to be able to see some of you. Mrs. Mack's Mom has been moved to her sister's home in Rome and the family are coming home this week
to clear the house. It is a sad time. Mrs. Lovett is 93 years old. We visited with her on Tuesday evening
after our arrival from Jamaica and for the first time we think she looks her age. Mrs. Mack praised the Lord that
HE provided this time for her to be home and spend some time with her Mother, children and grandchildren. We can be reached at 706-204-8027, cell 706-506-0272 and P.O. Box 1445, Rome, Georgia 30162. Our address
book is not up to date on this computer so please give us a little time to get things working.Website: www.missionsinjamaica.com. 'We live simply so others might simply
live." We love you folks, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack --
Missionaries to Jamaica
August 23, 2008 Dear Family, Friends and
Supporting Churches, We have had a
fast, busy week with so many of God's blessings on our lives. We had rain during Saturday night from Tropical
Storm Fay. We were so blessed to get
a little rain which we so badly needed. It has been hot and dry in Martha Brae. So hot that water runs down Mrs.
Mack's back, legs, arms, and neck. We take from 2 to 3 showers a day. After Sunday most of our day was spent preparing and visiting for a mini revival to
be held Wednesday through Friday nights with Dr. Ralph Jenkins from Rome, Georgia and Dr. Morris Anderson from Tennessee being
our speakers. Both preached each evening so we cut back the singing time. If you have visited us you know that
the Jamaicans like to sing for an hour before the Preacher gets to the pulpit. It was a good revival with 16 souls being saved and some folks really being revived. During the day on Thursday we visited the Spot Valley Community where we have high hopes
of starting a new work. We will work along with Pastor Ralph Jenkins and the Sherwood Forest Baptist Church and the
Burchell Baptist Church of Montego Bay canvassing the community in March 2009. The same day I drove Jeffrey, Chris, the Pastor and the Evangelist for a dip in the Caribbean Sea. Friday Morning I drove them to the Fishing Village in Falmouth and they went fishing for four hours,
Jamaican style, with Kash, Angie and Tosh's Dad who is a Rasta. That was a real adventure. They needed an
interpretator to understand what he was saying. We cooked all the meals at home with the exception of the Friday night meal. We visited a new restaurant
in Falmouth which was very good. We ate Jamaican fried chicken, jerk pork, rice and peas and shredded raw vegetables.
It was very good and different than the regular American meals that we cook for our guest. Today Jeffrey, Chris and Shawn are on visitation for tomorrow's services while I
took the men to the Craft Market in Montego Bay and to the airport for their departure. It has been a good week and we Praise the Lord for the increase and the souls saved. See us on www.missionsinjamaica.com. "We live simply so others might simply live." We love you folks, Pastor Mack and Mrs. Mack Mack & Marilyn Locklear
Missionaries to Jamaica House phone 876-610-5899 Mobil 876-824-7650 August 16, 2008 Dear Family, Friends and
Supporting Churches, This morning as
we looked out over the church property we were amazed to see that we have plantain, bananas, coconut and almond trees all
producing. There has been a lot of work put into this place and God is giving the increase both physically and
spiritually. We had an increase in
attendance on Sunday and an increase in the offering. It was a good Sunday. Shawn preached both messages.
Monday was our 51st wedding anniversary
and what a day!! Amazing how we plan our day and it turns out completely different than we have planned. We had
planned a trip through the mountains in our air conditioned van to take Tosh to visit her college. Ms. Ollie and Mrs.
Terry Ann went with us. Before leaving someone from Immigrations called from Kingston requesting a police report on
me in order to finish up my visa for the next three years. I did not know a pastor/missionary would need a police report
for my last 12 years on the island. I learned something new every day. They wanted it by the next day. Needless
to say, our trip was fast and furious, 2 hours up and 2 hours back and a sandwich at the house and a trip to Montego Bay where
we immediately went to the police station. They sent us to the court house to see the Corporal. He filled out
all the papers and finger printed me (every finger and thumb once each and then both hands at one time). I was told
I could pick it up on Friday and gave him $4000.00J. Monday and Tuesday evenings Mrs. Mack continued her teaching of English, Math and Spelling. I think
she is going to give them a break now as they get ready to return to school in September. She has been real pleased
with the progress. Tuesday Jeffrey
and Clint painted on the ceiling at the basic school. It is not finished and may not get finished before the beginning
of school. Wednesday morning
I took Jeffrey and Prince to Falmouth to have them dressed in two pair of slacks and three shirts for the school year.
They will be returning to class on September 1 to finish up there high school education and prepare to pass the CXC exam.
I now only have to put shoes on their feet. Thanks to Jeff Wentz in Buffalo, N.Y. for helping with the tuition and clothes. Wednesday evening service was good. Jeffrey preached again for us and did a good
job for a beginner. Mr. Eddie played his guitar and Mrs. Spence worked with the music. We do miss Ms. Enett.
No one can take her place. Thursday
evening was ladies meeting and they always have a good turn out and have fun together. Friday I returned to Montego Bay to pick up my police record to send to Immigrations
and, of course, it was not there and I was told to return on Monday. Please pray as I sent it to Kingston on June 16
and usually have it back in 6 weeks. It runs out on August 31. Only God can make a Jamaican move fast. Friday during the day Jeffrey and Mrs. Mack worked cleaning the Martha Brae Basic School
and getting it back in order for school to begin September 8th. The Youth met in the evening at the church. Thanks to all of you who have sent funds for our children to go back to school this year. We are grateful. This week on Wednesday we have a Pastor from Rome, Georgia and an evangelist coming
from Tennessee. We will have a mini revival in the evenings, Wednesday through Friday and they will return to the states
on Saturday. We are planning to visit Spot Valley Community and a fishing trip for Friday during the day. I am closing for the morning. Saturday is always a busy day with visitation,
church cleaning and choir practice.
Remember that we need your prayers concerning the renewal of our visa. I must go to Kingston by or during the week
of August 25th. Closing with a thankful
heart, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We
live simply so others might simply live." See us on www.missionsinjamaica.com Mack & Marilyn Locklear
Missionaries to Jamaica House phone 876-610-5899 Mobil 876-824-7650 August 9, 2008 Dear Supporting
Churches, friends, and family, Sunday
was a good day with the group of eight from West Virginia being with us for our evening service. Bro. Eddie, our guitar
player was with us. Our own Mr. Miller, 70 years old, sang for us during the evening service and our youth choir thrilled
our souls as they sang for us also.
Monday through Thursday the group from West Virginia did VBS at Salter's Hill and painted a basic school building inside
and outside at Deeside with Jeffrey and Clint joining them to help. Bro. Shawn and Bro. Alton carried them around. Our only duties this week were to prepare the evening meal so it was an easy week for
us. Friday they had a play day going
to the Craft Market, Black River and the Pork Pit for the evening meal. After a long day they joined us for our Youth
Fellowship on Friday night. We truly
enjoyed the group and became Nana and Big Pop to several of them. We have purchased Born Again Van 11 and Born Again Van 111, a Toyota for Mrs. Mack and myself and groups and a Nissan for Bro. Shawn and the church.
We have air conditioning for the first time on the island. Praise the Lord! Thanks to all of you who helped to
make this possible. We have registered
Jeffrey and Prince to go back to school in the Fall and finish their high school education. Also Tosh will
be leaving the end of the month for college. She is our first and we are really excited. She is going to Moneagua
Teacher's College and board for the year. Please pray for her as she will be a long ways from home. We Praise
the Lord that we were able to help her. She so needs to leave the environment where she is and make something out of
her life. She has been with us since we built the church in 2000. She is the daughter of Ms. Ollie. Our schools open in September. We would be appreciative if you could help us send
some children to school this year.
Today we are busy cleaning, cutting grass, visiting and preparing for tomorrow. Thank you for praying, giving, and allowing
us to represent our Lord and you here in Jamaica. We love you folks, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack Mack & Marilyn Locklear
Missionaries to Jamaica House phone 876-610-5899 Mobil 876-824-7650 August 2, 2008 Dear Supporting Churches, family and friends, It has been a blessed week with much work and excitement ar
Dear Supporting Churches, family and friends, It has been a blessed week with much work and excitement around here. Last Saturday morning
after I had written to you folks, Bro. Shawn informed us that 4 girls and 2 guys had been saved at the Youth Fellowship.
God is still working at Riverside Baptist.
Sunday's attendance was down a bit due to folks taking some time for what we call vacation and they call holiday.
Monday and Tuesday during the day
Mrs. Mack and Jeffrey painted again at the Martha Brae Basic School. The school is finished with the exception of painting
the ceiling which Mrs. Mack has hired one of our young men, Clint, to do that for her. During the cleaning and painting
she has run into frogs and mice. She maybe old but she sure can move fast!! Monday and Tuesday evening Mrs. Mack continued her English, Math and Spelling classes
for the high school drop-outs and those having trouble while trying to finish up their high school education. She has
about 9 regular students. On Thursday I drove Jeffrey and Prince to Falmouth and had them tested to see at what
level they can begin to work. They both will begin going back to school on September 1. It cost $9000.00J
each and they are required to have white shirts and brown pants for class. Thanks to Bro. Jeff Wentz of Buffalo, N.Y.
he has agreed to pay the expense for Jeffrey and Prince. School begins again here in September. If you are interested in helping a child go to school this
year with books, supplies and uniforms, the cost is $150.00 U.S. a year. The donation can be sent to The Hour of Grace,
Inc., P.O. Box 1445, Rome, Georgia 30162-1445 marked for school. Last year we were able to send 22 children. Wednesday Bro. Jerry Hatfield from W.V. arrived and the group were to arrive at
9:56 A.M. They will be taking the evening meals with us and staying here but working at Salter's Hill doing the
VBS for Faith Baptist. Wednesday evening
was an exciting night for us. Bro. Jeffrey preached his first message. He had hoped to preach for 15 minutes but
preached for 30 minutes. He did a great job. His Dad visited and also Ms. Erica, the Principal from the Martha
Brae Basic School. He spoke on things we should hate and things we should love. When Jeffrey gave the invitation
the altar filled with 9 folks, mostly teens. He spoke again at the Youth Fellowship on Friday night. August 1, Friday was a National Holiday here and last night the load music played until
2:00 A.M. making for a tiresome, long night for us. This morning several folks are around here working and cleaning. Early this morning Mrs. Mack and
I went to the market for fresh vegetables and then made a visit with David (our electrician) and his wife, Naomi to see their
new son, Daniel. Pray for
us as we pray for you. We love you folks, Pastor Mack and Mrs. Mack at Riverside Baptist Church in Jamaica "We live simply so others might simply live." Visit us on our website:www.missionsinjamaica.com Missionaries: Mack & Marilyn Locklear Falmouth P.O. Trelawny, Jamaica 876-610-5899 876-824-7650 July 26, 2008 Dear Supporting Churches, friends and family, Sunday was a good day but a little off in attendance due to much rain on Friday night
and Saturday and a funeral in Martha Brae on Sunday. In spite of all of that, we had good services. Mrs.
Mack led an eleven year old girl to the Lord in her Sunday School class. She teaches (Ms. Enett's class while she
is in the states) with flannel graph given to her by the Rome Baptist Temple when we arrived on the Island of Jamaica. This little girl was the one that told her weeks before that she had learned something
new. It was that Jesus loved her. I guess you are wondering why all the fuss over a 11 year old being saved.
It is because most of the time we have teenagers and adults saved but very few children. Praise the Lord for this salvation.
She is the grandchild of Bro. Miller in Jones Town. Much work has been accomplished at the Martha Brae Basic School this week. Jeffrey and Mrs. Mack worked
all week painting and cleaning. They finished up the back wall on the outside of the building, three outside doors,
the blackboards have a fresh coat of paint, the kitchen is painted and Spring cleaned, all the wooden tables and the chairs
are all painted, the sick room and the boys and girls bathrooms. It looks like a new place. The floors are in bad shape and need to be tiled but that is an expensive endeavor and
the ceilings need a coat of paint which is too hard for Mrs. Mack at her age. Monday they plan to stain the other desk and try to finish up a few more things as we
have Bro. Jerry Hatfield arriving on Wednesday and a group from W.V. coming in on Saturday. Mrs. Mack continued her English, Math and Spelling classes for the school drop-outs
on Monday and Tuesday evening. Our Wednesday Prayer Service was good and Friday evening the church was filled with teens
for the Youth Fellowship. This morning
is visitation and Kash, Angie and Jeffrey are cleaning the church building for tomorrow. This afternoon we plan to go
grocery shopping in Montego Bay for the up-coming group. This is the day the Lord has made and HE is in full control. The money arrived on Friday for us to go shopping for a better van. We, again,
thank Kenny Wesley for overseeing this project. It was a real need and thanks to all of you who gave. Have a good Lord's Day tomorrow as we labor to bring and influence others for His
Kingdom. "We live simply so others
might simply live." Watch us on our website:www.missionsinjamaica.com Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack in Jamaica Missionaries:
Mack & Marilyn Locklear Falmouth P.O. Trelawny, Jamaica 876-610-5899 876-824-7650 JULY 19, 2008 Dear Supporting Churches, Friends
and Family, I am writing early this
morning due to a tropical depression in our area which affects our weather and our internet service. We had a good rain
during the night which we gladly welcomed. It is very hot and dry here so the rain was a relief. We have just finished up a wonderful week at the Riverside Baptist Church. Belmont
Baptist Church from the Conyers/Covington area has been with us. Each morning we had VBS and in the evenings we had
Youth Meetings. The group
started off on Sunday by Bro. Johnny Raines (a graduate of Pensacola Christian College and Youth Pastor at Belmont) preaching
for us. In the evening Bro. Lee Parker preached. Lee has been with us for 7 visits so we think he is
Jamaican. His first time to preach was from the pulpit of Riverside Baptist Church on his first visit to the island.
Bro. Johnny and his wife, Kelly and Lee are all very special folks to us. Monday morning at VBS they wondered in until we had about 65 kids. We offered
the first 15 kids that arrived on Tuesday a surprise which was a box of Valentine candy that Grace Baptist Church from Tifton,
Georgia had left behind and we had kept frozen. They had a good time and on Tuesday and Wednesday we had over 100
kids. There was excitement in the air!! All the workers were good and the crafts were special and well planned.
We had so many little ones, 3 to 5 years old, that Mrs. Mack and I laughed as the workers carried them on a nature hunt on
our two acres of land. Workers were running everywhere as we laughed and tears ran down our faces. What fun we
had!! Each night we had
Youth Meetings with every age attending. Bro. Shawn, Chris and Tosh led the music and Bro. Eddie, our own Johnny Cash,
played the guitar. Of course, the important thing was the preaching of the word done by the young men from Belmont Baptist
and the souls that were saved in both VBS and the Youth Meeting. The group left on Thursday morning and arrived safely back in the Atlanta Airport and in the evening
the ladies had the Ladies Fellowship with another large group of ladies attending. They always have fun. Our Youth Fellowship was called off on Friday evening and today Jeffrey is cutting the
grass and we are preparing to join Bro. Shawn for visitation. We have distributed 12,000 one a day vitamins to our people that was given to us by Mike Sidwell
from the Sherwood Forest Baptist Church in Rome, Georgia in hopes it will improve their health. Thanks to all of you who work, help, pray, visit, and give so that we can continue to
be on the Island of Jamaica. We love you folks, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live." Website:www.missionsinjamaica.com Missionaries:
Mack & Marilyn Locklear Falmouth P.O. Trelawny, Jamaica 876-610-5899 876-824-7650 876-824-7650 July 14,2008 Folks, Sunday was good with an attendance of 92. The schools are having graduation all around
us and will be having the high school graduation tomorrow which affect our services. We hosted the Martha Brae Basic
School Graduation with a house full of parents, grandparents and friends. It was a good afternoon with 12 graduating.
Mrs. Mack is sure of the two boys graduating that one will be the Prime Minister one day and the other one will be a Member
of Parliament. One boy read the scriptures and the other boy was the speaker from the class. Mrs. Mack and
I both were honored and she gave out the diplomas. Tuesday we were both invited to the Hague Primary School Graduation and sat on the stage with The Honorable
Mayor of Falmouth, The Minister of Education in the Trelawny Area, The Minister of Education over the island from Kingston,
the Honorable Dr. Harris who is a Member of Parliament, The Master of Ceremony (the English Teacher from William Knibbs School
in Zion), and the Principal of the Hague School. It was an honor to be part of the program. The graduation lasted
four hours. Wednesday afternoon little
Shane Kelly graduated from the Hague Infant School. Wednesday evening Bro. Shawn Kelly preached for us and ten youth went to the altar to pray. Please remember us in prayer. The devil does not like what is going on in Martha
Brae and he is stirring up problem all around among the youth and they stopped me on Wednesday and pulled by plates off the
van until I could get some work done. Shawn went right to work and we got them back by Friday afternoon. (A better
van cannot come too soon!) On Thursday
we had our evening meal with Bro. Frank Carter in Ironshore. We are preparing for a group of 13 coming from the Belmont Baptist Church in Conyers, Georgia.
They arrive, Lord willing, on Friday, July
11th. Mrs. Mack continues to work with
the high school drop outs two nights a week. She has seven regular students. Here's hoping all of you had a good, safe 4th of July, thanking God for America
and the freedoms that you enjoy. It was just another Friday here on the island. Mrs. Mack and I cleaned out the
bottom floor of the Hobgood House, carried junk to the garbage dump, and went to Montego Bay to buy groceries for the group
coming next week. Mack
& Marilyn Locklear Falmouth P.O. Trelawny, Jamaica 876-610-5899 876-824-7650 Website:www.missionsinjamaica.com "We live simply so others might simply live."
Dear Supporting Churches, friends and family, We have had a good week starting with Sunday. I enjoyed preaching both messages.
I preached from Daniel Chapter 1 on Sunday morning and Sunday evening I preached on Christ's sayings on the Cross. Monday Pastor Shawn Kelly and M.r Rodney returned from a months visit in the United
States. It was good to have Pastor Shawn back in the pulpit on Wednesday evening. Mr. Rodney said he had never
been shown such good hospitality in all his life. We wish to thank all of you (Rome Baptist Temple, Sherwood Forest
Baptist Church, Bro. David Wood, Bro. Tim Thompson, Bro. Archie Norman, Bro. David Salmon, Jean and Sherold Salmon, Archie
& Chris Medckie, Bro. Danny Mulkey, Kenny & Brenda Wesley and I am sure there are others I have missed) for all you
did to help make the trip an enjoyment and a lasting memory. Monday Mrs. Mack and I took our daughter, Merrimac and our grandsons to Negril for the day and Tuesday
we took them to Doctor's Cave and Wednesday afternoon we took them to Trelawny Beach and Thursday we shed tears as we
put them on the plane for Atlanta, Georgia after 28 days on the island with us. I cannot tell you in words how wonderful
it was to have them. On the flight
home, 30 minutes after they left, little Hunter (6 years old) burst into tears and when his Mother asked him what was wrong,
his reply was, "I don't want to leave." Friday Mrs. Mack painted the remaining iron bars in the auditorium on the inside and all the pews and tables
to keep herself busy and in the evening the youth played soccer on the grounds and met for the youth fellowship. This morning we are going visiting with Bro. Shawn. Pray for us as we prepare
for the morning service and the afternoon graduation of the Martha Brae Basic School. I will be the speaker. On Tuesday I will also be the speaker at the Hague Primary School Graduation. On July 11th the Belmont Baptist Church Mission Group will be arriving, Lord willing
with Bro. Johnny Raines as their leader. We are posting VBS signs around the communities that we serve and passing out
fliers. We love you folks. Our
thanks to all of you who faithfully support us, pray for us, and help us. We all serve a Great God! Keep in touch with us by e-mail and our website:www.missionsinjamaica.com. "We
live simply so others might simply live." Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack Missionaries:
Mack & Marilyn Locklear Falmouth P.O. Trelawny, Jamaica 876-610-5899 876-824-7650 Dear Supporting Churches, Friends and Family, We had a good attendance on Sunday morning with one young man being saved and 110 in
attendance. The Heirway Drama group from Berry College inspired us all with their spiritual wisdom in drama leaving
us all with some things to think about then and in the future. They were a real blessing to us. They taught all
the Sunday School classes and after their drama on Sunday evening the altar was full of folks praying. On Monday I drove the group to Spot Valley High School where they again had the devotion
time at the school. (Everytime we visit Spot Valley our hearts burn within us because we see such a potential for a
great work). After devotion we went to the Robin's Nest Children's Home and on to the Caribbean Christian School
for the Deaf in Eden-Lethea. In the evening we went to Scottie's for supper which was a real
Jamaican treat. We had pecan pie when we arrived back at Martha Brae for our mid-night treat. The group left on Tuesday which left a void in our lives. Along with the group
on the plane were Ms. Enett Anderson, our music director who is going to the states to sit with Mrs. Mack's 93 year old
Mother and Ms. Clarris Ruddock, our dear Jamaican friend. It was so quiet after having Bro. Doug McComas and Bro. Greg
Nelson with us from Sunday to Sunday and seven Berry students. We were thankful Merrimac and our grandson's are
remaining with us for 2 more weeks.
Needless to say, we had to rest for a day or two and get everything washed and back in order. Merrimac has painted Humpty Dumpty on the walls at the Martha Brae Basic School.
The outside walls are painted and the main classroom has a fresh coat of paint...Thanks to Merrimac and Mrs. Mack and the
7 from Berry College and Jeffrey, Andrew and Chris, our Jamaican adopted children. The English class continues for the drop outs from high school on Monday, Tuesday and
Thursday evenings. Merrimac has been a real help to Mrs. Mack since she is a master teacher with 15 years of experience. Our Wednesday evening prayer meeting was exceptional. I had a real liberty to
preach and the prayers offered up to God made me stand on my tip-toes. No one in the world can pray like a saved Jamaican. Our news from Bro. Shawn and Mr. Rodney are Shawn has poison ivy and Mr. Rodney has
trouble with a sinus headache. They have spent a week in Rome, Georgia, a week with Bro. David Wood in Tennessee,
a week with Bro. Tim Thompson in Alabama and are now just outside of Atlanta. We are looking forward to the return of
those two guys. I am preaching three times a week, visiting, driving the van to pick folks up, working with the groups,
playing with my grand children, studying and memorizing scriptures and all the other activities of the church. I am sure this letter is too long so I am quitting even though there is much to
tell. We love you folks. Thanks for sending us and supporting us and allowing us to represent you on the
Island of Jamaica. Pastor Mack &
Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might
simply live." See us on website: www.missionsinjamaica.com. Changes will be made in the afternoon. Missionaries:
Mack & Marilyn Locklear Falmouth P.O. Trelawny, Jamaica 706-410-1315; 876-610-5899 876-824-7650 Dear Supporting Churches, friends and family, As hurricane season approaches us, after a long span with no rain, we are having showers
each afternoon which the two of us welcome.
We have our daughter, Merrimac and our two grandson's, Daniel and Hunter with us for 28 days. We are having a great
time with them. Both of the boys are having a ball but every night they both tell me that they miss "Daddy." Bro. Doug McComas and Greg from W.V. arrived last Sunday. They are staying with
us and taking their meals here and Bro. Jerry Hatfield from W.V. has a group at the deaf work in Montego Bay and he joins
with us for some meals. On Monday we
had the Heirway Group from Berry College
and Tiffany Wesley from WinShape/Berry College to arrive. They have been a good team. On Tuesday and Wednesday
we all painted the main school room inside and the outside of the Martha Brae Basic School. It looks so good.
We have a little white trimming to finish on the outside and the doors to paint with enamel but will do that when school is
out and the children aren't on the play ground. The group have enjoyed Dunn's River Falls and Doctor's Cave for their fun days. They have ministered to us at the Riverside Baptist Church, the Girls Home in Granville,
the All Age School in Granville, the Youth Fellowship at Riverside, the Wednesday evening service at Riverside and will
teach the Sunday School classes tomorrow and will also be a part of the Sunday Evening Service. On Monday they will do the chapel program at Spot Valley High School, will visit the
Robin's Nest Children's Home and the Christian School for the Deaf in Eden-Lethe and will have the evening meal at
Scottie's. And home to America on Tuesday, Lord willing. Ms. Enett Anderson and Ms. C larris
Ruddock will be on the same plane with the group coming to the states. Pastor Shawn Kelly and Mr. Rodney have spent a week in Rome, Georgia, one week in Tennessee
with the Frontlines Global Missions and Bro. Wood and this week they are in Alabama with Bro. Tim Thompson. I have been invited to be the speaker at the Hague Primary & Infant School's
Graduation this year and the Martha Brae Basic School with have their graduation at the Riverside Baptist Church. We
as a family including Merrimac and the boys have been invited to the private school at Half Moon on Friday evening by the
Paul Muschett Family. Later in the
afternoon we will put some new pictures on the website:www.missionsinjamaica.com. We love all of you folks and thanks for all you do to help us. Pastor Mack &
Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might
simply live." Missionaries:
Mack & Marilyn Locklear Falmouth P.O. Trelawny, Jamaica 706-410-1315; 876-610-5899 Dear Friends, Family and Supporting Churches,
We had another wonderful Sunday. The Mission Team was here from Grace Baptist Church with several members of their choir
which ministered to us with music. They had four children with them that all sang for us also. Bro. Ronnie Vice
preached for us on Sunday morning. During the invitation we had two adult women saved and our attendance was 145. The
different members of the group taught in each of our Sunday School classes. After Sunday School we baptized 3 adults
in the Martha Brae River. Bro. DeWayne Franks preached for us on Sunday evening. The group left on Wednesday and it would have really been a let down for us except that our daughter,
Merrimac and our two grandsons arrived on Friday. They will be with us for 28 days. We are enjoying them.
Little Hunter got so excited when he saw us at the airport that he dropped his luggage and ran to meet us. Thursday afternoon Mrs. Mack and I made a trip to Granville in Trelawny to the Girls Home and the All Age
School setting up appointments for chapel for the WinShape/Berry Group and also made a trip to Spot Valley School. The
Spot Valley Community had grown so large that our hearts burned within us knowing that if we were 10 years younger we would
go there and start another work. The fields are white unto harvest but the labourers are few. We are now preparing and looking forward to tomorrow and the WinShape/Berry group to arrive, Lord willing
on Monday morning. Pray for us as we labor in the field, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so that others might simply live." Watch
us on our website:www.missionsinjamaica.com --
Missionaries to Jamaica Dear Family, Friends, and Supporting Churches,
Sunday we had 126 in attendance in Sunday School and Mrs. Mack led Alissa, a 20 year old friend of Mrs. Rodney's to the
Lord on Sunday evening. She had been visiting for 3 years but only for the Sunday morning service. Monday and
Tuesday evening Mrs. Mack taught her English class to 9 high school drop outs.
I know we are late with our letter but the internet is tied up and very slow on Saturday and Sunday in Jamaica and we have
had 19 guest this week from Grace Baptist Church in Tifton, Georgia. It has been a blessed week for us to have Pastor
Ronnie Vice and his wife, Mrs. Wanda, his son, David and his wife, Amanda and their two children, Nathan and Hannah Vice along
with 13 other members from Grace Baptist. They arrived on Wednesday
evening and we had real prayer meeting. The music was great! Our own Mr. Eddie played the guitar, Mrs. Wanda
played the piano and Bro. Dewayne Franks played the drums and the Grace Baptist Church choir sang. Thursday and Friday the group gave our church a face lift giving it a fresh coat of paint inside and
outside and also painting the outside of the bath house to match all the other buildings. Friday night Bro. DeWayne spoke to our youth group and all the group from Grace attended to help with singing,
games, etc. Saturday was visitation and 6 were won to the Lord.
In the late afternoon the group went to Falmouth and Bro. Ronnie, Bro. DeWayne and myself all preached on the streets
of Falmouth while the others passed out tracts. Sunday morning
was another special day. We had 145 in attendance in Sunday School, 2 saved, one came for baptism and we baptized 2
women and Mr. Dixon's Dad. The revival continues..... Today the
group ministered at the Hague Primary School and the rest of the day they will be playing at Dunn's River Falls.
In the morning they will go to the Martha Brae Basic School for the registered nurse to check the children and on to Montego
Bay to the straw market, to the Pizza Hut and Doctor's Cave and will have the evening meal at the famous Schottie's. On Friday our daughter Merrimac, and our two grandson's, Daniel and Hunter will be coming to visit with
us for 28 days. They have not been since Hunter was 8 months old and he will be 7 in October. We are excited!! Pray for us as we labor here among the Jamaican people. We love you folks, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live." --
Dear Friends, Family and Supporting Churches,
I'm sorry our letter is late but we could not get on the internet yesterday when it was time to write.
We had a good Sunday with 132 in attendance and two souls being saved, an adult lady and Mr. Dixon's
Dad. On Monday and Tuesday evening Mrs. Mack started her school for
drop outs from high school with 9 young men and women in attendance. It is so sad that this group does not know
a subject and predicate in a sentence. She spent both evenings working on the same problem and maybe many more to come. On Thursday of this week, Pastor Shawn and Mr. Rodney made a trip to Kingston and both got a 10 year
visa. They will be coming to the states on May 22, Thursday evening and will be there until June 24th. We are
still trying to contact David Wood, President of Front Line Global Missions in Newport, Tennessee and Pastor Tim Thompson
in Alabama. If you are reading this letter, please e-mail us. Thanks. This week Bro. Shawn and Mr. Rodney put a ceiling in our kitchen in the Hobgood House. Mrs. Mack, Bro. Shawn and myself went visiting for three hours on Saturday in Zion, Grantville, and Martha
Brae. I will be taking over the bus route during Bro. Shawn's absence.
Thursday evening the ladies had their monthly fellowship with over 20 in attendance. We are having good reports from the BORN AGAIN VAN II. When the van comes to pass, Mrs. Mack has a story
to tell you about answered prayer. We are now preparing for 19 guest
from Grace Baptist Church, the Vice Family, from Tifton, Georgia to arrive on Wednesday, May 21st. Please pray for them
as they fly and travel the Jamaican roads. We love you
folks, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack Watch for us on website:www.missionsinjamaica.com "We live simply so others might simply live." --
Missionaries to Jamaica Missionaries to Jamaica May 3, 2008 Dear Supporting Churches, Friends and Family, NEWS FROM JAMAICA: We enjoyed Pastor Dave Wood, three others from White Pine, Tennessee being
our guest in the Hobgood House. Pastor Wood preached on Sunday morning and five were saved and Sunday evening one of
the other pastors preached and another one was saved. We are so glad to be a part of God's work in Jamaica. We celebrated three birthdays this week; mine being on Tuesday. I turned 72 years old. Marilyn
was 70 on Thursday and Bro. Shawn was 30 that same day. We are all blessed to be well and still serving the Lord. Changes have been made this week in our website:www.missionsinjamaica.com. Have a good weekend.
"We live simply so others might simply live." Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack --
Missionaries to Jamaica April 26,2008 We had a good week and especially a good Wednesday Evening Prayer Service with Pastor David Wood
and three others from White Pine, Tennessee staying at the Hobgood House and visiting and working among us. We hope
that they have enjoyed there stay and will come back often to help us.
They had
been trying to find a Baptist work on the island where they could serve and thanks to Bro. Wesley Hutchins he gave them our
name. Today I feel compelled to write on "Mission Trips, Why
all the Bother?" First, there are unexpected but important benefits from a trip to a less developed country.
You will return to the United States with an increased appreciation of your country and your God-given blessings you enjoy
here. Second, you will return with an increased burden for and understanding
of worldwide missions. You will find out that missionaries are regular, ordinary people. When visiting with
us you will watch us and the Jamaican daily living our lives, and work and experience our struggles and difficulties. Third, you will be forced out of your comfort zone. A mission trip will present new spititual challenges
that will help you find out you can do more for Jesus than you previously thought. Finally, the most important thing will be an increased burden to win the lost. Though the week
at times maybe difficult, the blessings will outweigh the burdens. It will not be a vacation even though we will have
some fun day trips. The Hobgood House and Riverside Baptist Church will not have air conditioning, nor hot water and
sometimes you may feel defeated by the mosquitos, overall you will be ready to return. Keep us in your prayers as we have a busy summer ahead of us, starting May 21 through August 13th. "We
live simply so others might simply live." Watch for us on our website:www.missionsinjamaica.com. We love you folks, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack Missionaries to Jamaica April 19,2008 Dear Friends, Family and Supporting Churches,
Sunday we had another young man, Nicholas saved and we are all rejoicing as God is still working at the Riverside Baptist
Church in Martha Brae. Mr. Eddie from Zion is coming every Sunday
and playing the guitar for us. He is very musical and is also very good on the keyboard. Pastor Shawn and Mr. Rodney are going to put the ceiling in the church kitchen. Bro. Shawn has
not felt like it this week due to having two teeth pulled which have not healed properly. He went back to the dentist
to have his gums sewed up and he is on an antibiotic. We have
been back and forth on the phone with Pastor David Wood from Tennessee. He and three other men are coming to Jamaica
this week and will be visiting us at Martha Brae and also our Basic School. We heard from Bro. David Vice this week and the group coming from Grace Baptist are getting excited and we
are back and forth on the telephone and internet making plans for there trip to Jamaica arriving on May 21st. We are also rejoicing that a couple from our home church are planning to go on deputation and come to Jamaica
as Missionary Helpers and work with us. We will with hold names at the present time due to the fact that they have not
told the church, only our pastor and myself. Have a great day tomorrow
and we are praying that souls will be saved all over the world. Look for
us on our website:www.missionsinjamaica.com. We love you folks, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so others might simply live." --
Missionaries to Jamaica March 22,2008
Dear Supporting Churches, Friends and Family,
This week Jamaica has been under a Tropical Depression with some rain but it looks like our Easter Sunday will be a
pretty day as we look back towards the resurrection of our Lord. It is a Day to be Remembered in the life of every Christian. In Rome, Georgia we have been through a week of tornadoes which hit our County of Floyd and several farms
and homes were wiped off the map and a life was taken in the storm. Downtown Atlanta was also hit with much damage being
done there. On Saturday in Rome I lost a beloved Aunt Vivian Barton,
a devoted, faithful Christian that lived in the Riverside (Celanese) Village. God gave her a long life of 88 years.
This week in Rome our home church will be starting its Mission Conference
on Easter Sunday running through Wednesday evening. The guest speaker is Alan Barker with Macedonia World Missions. This evening we will be changing our letter on our website and putting on new pictures of the Martha Brae
Basic School, the children and the men from W.V. putting on the new roof. We are grateful for all they have done to
help us in the past and now. They are the group that put the roof on the Hobgood Building, and the roof on the
bath house, and the front porch on the Hobgood House. They have been a real blessing to us as well as many other
of you. Our summer is full this year from May 21 through August 13th
with groups coming to paint, work, and do VBS. We pray that
souls will be saved tomorrow both at Riverside in Martha Brae, our home church in Rome and in each of your churches where
you will be worshipping. We close with a grateful and thankful
heart, Pastor Mack & Mrs. Mack "We live simply so that others might
simply live." Look for us at www.missionsinjamiaca.com Missionaries to Jamaica |
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