Scores of Residents Benefit from Adventist Health Expo in Jamaica

By: Nigel Coke, Inter-American Division News

Nearly 300 individuals were the beneficiaries of a free health expo organized by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in western Jamaica on Saturday (Sabbath), February 2, 2019. The program, a part of the church’s Mission Project 2019 initiative, was held in Sam Sharpe Square in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and attracted hundreds of church members and community residents.

“What a joy and a great privilege to be here at this expo,” said Adventist Church president Ted N. C. Wilson. “We are seeing what God is doing through dedicated Adventist physicians and health professionals who have given their time today in service to humanity. They are willing to let Jesus use them just as He touched the lives of people.”

Wilson, on an 11-day visit to Jamaica with other church leaders from across the world to focus on health, referenced 1 Corinthians 10:31 and challenged those in the gathering that they must be careful of what they put inside their bodies and what they do with it, as he emphasized wholistic health.

A variety of health services were made available at the expo, including general check-ups such as blood, hypertension, and cholesterol screenings; pap smear; prostate; dental check-up; foot care; mental health; and pediatric and gynecological consultations.

“West Jamaica is proud of the commitment and unquestionable dedication of the members of the medical professionals who hold membership in our church,” said Glen Samuels, president of the Adventist Church in west Jamaica. “Not only do they give of their time voluntarily in alleviating the pain and suffering of citizens of western Jamaica without regards to church membership, but they also provide financial resources to ensure the basic needs of individuals for education and food on a normal, regular, and daily basis. We thank God for them.”

Delores Jones, a resident of the Tucker community in St. James, expressed her thanks for the expo. “It was great. I went to look about my feet, which are swollen from bad blood circulation, and I was able to get them massaged from the foot care section and then see the doctor, who not only gave me a prescription but advised me on what I should eat to prevent the problem,” she explained.

“I know that God is blessing this expo in an incredible way as people are pointed to the master physician and ultimately to accepting Him as their personal savior. What a joy to see God’s people at work in the name of Christ,” Wilson added.

Mission Project 2019, which started in October 2018, has so far completed 1,127 health outreach projects and expos throughout the 738 church congregations across the island and its institutions of Northern Caribbean University (NCU) and Andrews Memorial Hospital.

The church has also partnered with the national Ministry of Health through its Jamaica Moves and Adopt-A-Clinic programs as it seeks to make Jamaica and Jamaicans healthier and more productive.

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