The power of faith

The bashful 20-something Erica Raymond of yesteryear would hardly recognise the assured, life-affirming 62-year-old she became.

Indeed, that young girl who blossomed into a former corporate regional sales director, who today guides professionals through self-empowerment coaching, mentorship, and ministry, marvels at how she evolved.

“When I went to church as a young woman, I would take a chair by myself and sit at the door. I wasn’t into people,” recounted Raymond, who went from an ordinary rural life in Parry Town, St Ann to an exceptionally accomplished director of sales across 21 Caribbean territories in her former role at Yello Media Group.

As introverted as she was, Raymond, the third of six children for her late seamstress mother and farmer father, possessed a knack for a great sales pitch. What was more remarkable was her ability to successfully close deals with difficult customers.

The talent came to the fore when the 18-year-old Erica was hired at Americana in-bond stores, owned by Gobin Chatani in Ocho Rios. This was in 1981, shortly after graduating from Ocho Rios Secondary School, now Ocho Rios High School.

“When the cruise ships came in, the passengers were taken to the in-bond stores, where I sold tablecloths, high-end chinaware, crystalware, and gold and silver jewellery. There were specific targets to be met on ship days. I would just hit it off with the customers and market the items very well. However, when I was finished, I would just go back into my shell,” she remembered of her personas that shifted from painfully reserved to an aggressive saleswoman in the blink of an eye.

Raymond spent six years at Americana before tying the knot with her husband, Boswell. She later relocated to Kingston, expecting the birth of their firstborn, Kirk. She went job hunting and landed an administrative position at a custom brokerage.

Shortly thereafter, she started a chicken farm business in Parry Town on her father’s property. The entrepreneur transitioned to opening a kiddies’ store in St Ann, where she successfully operated that business. The young family was temporarily transplanted to Dominica, where Erica and Boswell answered a spiritual calling to be missionaries. During their two-year stay in the Lesser Antilles island, they welcomed the arrival of their second child, Apryl-Jaye.

The couple moved again in 1996 when a fresh opportunity arose.

“My husband was invited to the British Virgin Islands for ministry,” she remembered. “So, we moved there, and eventually I was able to secure a job at Caribbean Publishing Company Limited (now Yello Media Group).”

It was here that Raymond truly blossomed.

“I started as an administrative assistant when the bankers’ boxes with files were on the ground. I would go in on a Sunday, after leaving work late on Saturday, to get things in order. They saw I had a flair for sales. I didn’t see it because I was extremely shy.”

The company assigned the newbie telesales marketer as a litmus test, and, much to her amazement, the target was exceeded. “I doubled it. They gave me the same target the next year, and I doubled it again. I was promoted to field sales, then as sales supervisor, and I stepped up to the plate,” a reflective Raymond recounts. “And then my boss called me in one day and said, ‘We want to send you to St Kitts to manage that market’. It was in shambles, and I went there and I fixed it. Additionally, I went around and fixed other markets as well, at which time my employers said, ‘We are going to make you senior general manager’.”

Offering an analysis of her career was from shy to sure, she posited, “I had to grow. I believe leaders are born, and I am one of them. I was waiting for somebody to pull it out and, with the grace of God and those around me, they just helped me to shine.”

An instrumental figure she credited in her professional development was Randy Ffrench, chairman of Yello, who she met at a leadership strategic planning sales conference that was held in Miami.

“Everyone had left the table and he asked if I was a believer. I shared with him my faith and my personal encounter with the Lord,” the devout Pentecostal shared. Beyond recognition of her strong faith, Ffrench’s vote of confidence in Erica’s impressive sales talent saw successive promotions coming her way.

“I began to excel and to prosper. I would top sales, and never missed a target. I grew from sales supervisor to sales manager to regional sales manager and then director of sales,” she revealed with great satisfaction.

On her upward trajectory, she attained both a master’s degree and a doctorate in psychology and counselling from Heart Bible International University.

Yet, after an accomplished 25-year tenure at Yello, Raymond decided to walk away, as she felt a greater need within her to start her ministry and help others to find their purpose and gifts, thus walking in their destiny.”I travelled extensively and gained a great deal of exposure. Being in the corporate space for a number of years, I garnered a wealth of experience and forged many relationships in the business community throughout the Caribbean. I knew that something was missing, and I felt a strong conviction to serve a higher calling. I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that I had a relationship with the Lord. He spoke to my heartand my husband and friends encouraged me. I knew within my own heart a calling was there, and hence the birthing of Eagles Deliverance and Empowerment Ministries International.”

Establishing a location for her ministry, Eagles Deliverance and Empowerment Ministries International, would present its own set of challenges for Raymond.

“We first started at a house in Portmore and then we moved to a shop space in a shopping centre in Kingston. We are now at a 2,500-square-foot suite in a plaza at 6 Red Hills Road. Our congregation has grown. It’s a group of professionals wanting something more. I didn’t go looking for them; they came looking for me. God sent them,” she shared of the five-year evolution of EDEMI.

The vision of the ministry, Raymond explained, “is to cater holistically for the individual. Therefore, if you have skills, we want to sharpen them, enabling you to become the best version of yourself, young or old. Whatever your deficiencies are, we try to meet you halfway. And, to God be the glory, any need that we have, the professionals among our congregation are here to fulfil that need with the help of the Lord. That’s a blessing.”

For Reverend Erica Raymond — who is also a John Maxwell-certified life coach and mentor — word-of-mouth of her spiritually inclined gift has travelled wide and far, with professionals overseas reaching out to her.

“With counselling I have to deal with a wide cross section of people, not only in Jamaica, but also in the United States, Canada, St Kitts, the British Virgin Islands, and the United Kingdom. It’s a slate of professionals, with each one telling the other about me,” she reasoned.

“I was told I have a calling to serve women. But I also believe I have a calling to serve men. It doesn’t matter the gender. There is something in me. I was very withdrawn and not wanting to stand before anybody, and now I can stand before hundreds of persons and touch lives; that’s the work of God. I attribute my success to Jesus Christ, my Saviour, my Lord, and my friend.

Last month, EDEMI hosted its inaugural goodwill initiative, a weekend dubbed Love and Care Day, at the Kingston Young Men’s Christian Association on Hope Road.

“We served 110 persons and provided optical, dental, and consultation with general practitioners. It was a resoundingly successful day. It was our way of giving back to the community and showing that we are a church that loves, cares, and gives. Our objective was to reach young children and the aged. We know that back-to-school is very difficult, as some parents need to get their children health-certified and ready for school. We also know that a lot of the elderly in our society don’t have anyone to care for them, and we wanted to assist both groups,” she said.

With an eye to the future, Raymond observed, “We are evolving. We were like a mentoring ministry, but now we are fully a church situated at 6 Red Hills Road, Suite #15. The vision is not to have a cathedral like other denominations, but to make a difference in the body of Christ by helping believers to become one with the Word of God. As a visionary, I have a mission with a vision to set the captives free.”

This fervent disciple of Christ is also currently writing an autobiographical, motivational tome titled We Have Greatness on the Inside, which she hopes to publish next year.

“It’s the story of how I became who I am today, the ups and downs, the challenges, the miracles, the grace, and the faithfulness that I have experienced… it is all God, that’s what it’s about.”