Adventist Leaders Visit Hurricane-Ravaged Jamaica to Offer Hope and Support

The scale of destruction left behind by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica “cannot be captured by the English word ‘disaster,’ ” said Glen Samuels, president of the West Jamaica Conference, as he surveyed the wreckage across the island’s western parishes five days after the monster storm struck.

“I’ve been through Gilbert,” he said, referring to the 1988 hurricane etched in Jamaicans’ memory for its widespread destruction, “but Gilbert was chicken feed compared to this.”

The Category 5 Hurricane Melissa tore through Jamaica on October 28, flattening homes, decimating infrastructure, and cutting off entire communities from power and communication. Among the devastation, church officials have confirmed the deaths of five Seventh-day Adventist members in the island’s western region.

Adventist leaders from across Jamaica and the Inter-American Division (IAD) visited the hardest-hit areas on November 2 to view the damage, stand in solidarity with affected members, and encourage relief efforts providing food, water, and spiritual care to thousands of displaced residents. Local church leaders continue working to locate members in the devastated parish of St. Elizabeth, where many remain without power or running water.

Immediate Response and Mobilization

Everett Brown, president of the Jamaica Union, described the first phase of the church’s relief strategy as an all-hands-on-deck mobilization to meet urgent needs. “This is one of the most heart-wrenching crises we’ve faced,” he said. “We’ve never seen anything of this magnitude in our generation.”

“The greatest needs right now are food, water, and basic shelter,” Brown continued. “Before the hurricane, we prepositioned a half million Jamaican dollars’ worth of food across the five conferences, and since then, ADRA and the union have been distributing supplies.”

He noted that more than 150 Adventist churches sustained significant damage across the island, particularly in St. Elizabeth, St. Mary, and Westmoreland. Nearly 200,000 members have been affected—out of the more than 340,000 Seventh-day Adventists in Jamaica. “We are planning a massive food and water distribution this week,” he said. “Many people are hungry, sleeping on wet mattresses, and have nowhere else to go.”

ADRA-Coordinated Efforts

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), both internationally and through its Inter-American Division office, is on the ground assisting with logistics and supply coordination.

Rubén Ponce, ADRA International’s emergency response coordinator in Jamaica and director of ADRA Mexico, emphasized that the collaboration with church entities has been immediate and united. “We are seeing church members opening their homes, volunteering in shelters, and mobilizing resources in record time,” he said. “It’s a testament to the Adventist spirit of service.”

Churches as Centers of Hope

In the West Jamaica Conference Samuels and his team have turned church facilities into storage and distribution centers. “We’ve ordered roughly US$70,000 worth of food, but that’s barely enough,” he said. “We’re trying to get more supplies while we assess the length of zinc sheets and lumber needed to help members rebuild their roofs.”

To restore communication, the conference is setting up solar-powered charging and data hubs in each parish capital, allowing members and the community to reconnect with families. “The silence has been devastating,” Samuels said. “We have pastors who still can’t reach their churches. But even in the rubble, people gather to pray.”

Samuels’ pastoral care goes beyond material needs. “Many are traumatized, questioning how a loving God could allow this,” he shared. “I tell them: God gets blamed for the devil’s dirty work. Yet it is because of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed. His compassion never fails.”

Division Leaders Visit Efforts

From the IAD headquarters in Miami, Florida, a delegation led by Abner De Los Santos, IAD president, together with vice president Balvin Braham and ADRA Inter-America director David Poloche, traveled to Jamaica to meet local leaders and witness the devastation firsthand.

“The damage is staggering,” said De Los Santos. “At times it feels as though we’re walking through a war zone. But we’ve prayed with our leaders and members, embraced them, and reminded them that even in tragedy, this is our moment to show practical love.”

De Los Santos called on the Adventist community across the IAD to pray for Jamaica and to contribute through ADRA and local church initiatives. “According to Matthew 24, crises like these—earthquakes, hurricanes, wars—are calls for us to act in love,” he said. “When the love of many grows cold, the faithful must respond with compassion.”

In the days following the storm, Braham, who also chairs the IAD’s Crisis Management Committee, has been tirelessly coordinating the church’s disaster response across Jamaica. He has maintained constant communication with local authorities to secure flight clearances for incoming aid. Working with Adventist World Aviation, he is arranging for a dedicated aircraft to transport supplies and personnel to remote communities, while also collaborating with the North American Division to mobilize skilled volunteers for the rebuilding of churches and homes devastated by Hurricane Melissa.

Looking Ahead: Faith and Rebuilding

Despite the losses and logistical challenges, hope remains strong. Brown reported that churches outside the disaster zones have already begun organizing food drives, while Adventists abroad—in England, Canada, and North America—are pledging support. “We have received calls from union presidents across the Inter-American Division, and they have pledged to support the relief efforts,” Brown said.

“The church cannot be silent when our members are in need,” Brown said. “We have to be there for them—not just in prayer but in action.”

As trucks rolled out from the West Jamaica Conference in Montego Bay toward the western parishes, Samuels watched volunteers loading boxes and tarpaulins. “We can’t replace everything they’ve lost,” he said quietly, “but we can bring light where darkness has settled. And that’s what the church is for.”

The immediate challenge, Samuels explained, is that the first round of distributions provides only enough supplies to last about two weeks. “The need is overwhelming,” he said, noting that volunteers are working tirelessly to repackage food supplies so they can be sent out again as quickly as possible. “People are just traumatized. You can see it in their faces. They’ve lost everything,” he said.

Samuels, whose home was flooded and still lacks power and water, said he has not stopped to evaluate his own losses. His priority, he explained, has been listening to church members, identifying the most vulnerable, praying with them, and providing support as they face days of uncertainty. “We need to get their basic needs and shelter first and move to providing counseling services soon after,” Samuels added.

A tour through the northern parish of St. Ann revealed churches with roofs torn off and sanctuaries flattened, leaders said. Of the 80 churches in the North Jamaica Conference, six were destroyed, including the Word of Hope Seventh-day Adventist Church, according to Karl Archer, president of the conference. Despite the devastation, members gathered on the church grounds to worship and pray on Sabbath morning, November 1.

At the Discovery Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church, where the hurricane had ripped off the entire roof and flung it several feet away, leaders stood at the entrance to pray for all members affected by the storm and relief efforts in the days ahead.

The original version of this story was posted on the Inter-American Division news site.