Relief Delivered in Jamaica

Hurricane Beryl, a Category 4 storm, rumbled through the Caribbean and hit the island of Jamaica on July 2. The storm was the second strongest in the country’s history, with 145-mph winds whipping the southern coast.

As Pastor Junior Subratie observed the trail of destruction left behind from the storm, all he could do was pray.

“When I drive through and I see the needs of the people, I was just saying, ‘God, they need help.’ We were not in a position to help them the way they are to be helped,” he recalled. “So, we were just walking and praying and hoping.”

Aluminium roofs were strewn across yards, while telephone wires and poles blocked the streets. The behemoth Beryl caused power outages across large portions of the island. Many will continue to endure the summer heat without air conditioning as electricity is not projected to return for months.

Three days after the storm had subsided, Samaritan’s Purse DC-8 aircraft delivered life-saving aid, including 100-foot rolls of tarps and hygiene kits. Less than two weeks later, two more 40-foot containers of supplies, this time with solar lights and water filters, arrived to the island on a barge. Utilising our Operation Christmas Child church partners in Jamaica, our team quickly distributed the supplies to 217 churches who, in turn, delivered the items to the hardest-hit areas of their community.

Pastor Junior personally distributed Samaritan’s Purse items to people in need around his church in Rocky Point. One of the beneficiaries had lost his entire roof, leaving only the walls behind. After receiving a Samaritan’s Purse tarp from Pastor Junior, the homeowner was able to cover the ceiling, keeping the inside of his home dry.

“The eyes of these people are almost empty because they’re so downtrodden, they’re so knocked down,” said Greg Pisesky, a Samaritan’s Purse disaster relief specialist working in Jamaica. “But yet, when you see them getting everything from water to a solar lamp, they’re elated.”

A Prayer for Mercy

Simone and her family had huddled together in their friend’s home during the storm, which was concrete and offered more safety than her home in the marsh. What started as a light rain and hot breeze turned into an intense thunderstorm and howling wind. As water began pouring in through the windows, Simone pleaded with God.

“My daughter was crying. I was trying to be brave but at a point, tears started falling out of my eyes,” she recalled. “And we were there saying, ‘Jesus, Jesus, have mercy upon us.’”

He graciously heard her prayer. When the winds took a breath and the rain lightened, Simone returned to her home with her husband, children, and grandchild. While the structure of their house remained upright, their wooden kitchen door and part of their aluminium roof had been blown off. A musty stench wafted through the house, presumably from the standing water that remained.

While the hurricane may have caused severe damage to her material goods, Simone’s faith remained unshaken.

“He is a really, really great God—powerful, mighty, faithful, wonderful,” she said through tears. “But when I look upon You, I say, ‘God, it is Your will. Have Your own way.’ Because it must be a purpose. It must be a reason why I’m here.”

SIMONE SHOWS OFF HER HOUSEHOLD WATER FILTER SUPPLIED BY SAMARITAN’S PURSE.

The following Sunday, Simone attended church with her family where the pastor gifted them with a Samaritan’s Purse solar light, water filter, hygiene kit, and tarp. These items were quickly put to work.

It may be months until electricity is returned to the community, but with the solar light, Simone and her family are now able to see at night as well as charge their phones.

Following the lead of the good Samaritan, Simone and her pastor began tending to the needs of her neighbours.

“We go and we hand out water to people and we encourage them,” Simone recalled. “I said to them, ‘I’m handing you a bottle of water. And God continue to bless you as we go through our storm.’”

The Vital Role of Church Partners

Pastors all around Jamaica used the storm as an opportunity to care for their communities by distributing aid from Samaritan’s Purse and sharing the Gospel.

“All of them have been amazing,” Pisesky said, referencing the pastors. “There are some that have gone above and beyond, allowing us to use their churches as distribution points, and then getting the word out to other pastors.”

Pastor Junior said he has seen greater unity among churches and also senses a greater interest in the Christian faith after the relief efforts.

“I believe there will be an impact based on what we have done,” he said.

Please join us in praying for local churches as they continue serving the devastated island and answer Jesus’ call to “go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37).

Samaritan’s Purse has completed our disaster relief work in Jamaica but continues with efforts in other areas of the Caribbean.