Today marks one month since Hurricane Melissa made landfall here. We’re still surrounded by the sound of chain saws, hammering, zinc being removed/replaced. Repairs in our area are going slower than we would have hoped. Reliable tradesmen are overworked and have jobs lined up for weeks. We’re hearing of several people who are not skilled workers who are ‘trying a thing’….taking jobs that they’re not skilled or knowledgeable about. People are anxious to try to get back to ‘normal’ as quickly as possible, but ensuring the work is done properly is going to take some time.
We’ve been able to assist with repairing 3 roofs on homes so far, in addition to the initial repairs on our church roof. We’ve completed installing the damaged ceiling in our sanctuary in Beecher Town also. I hope we can upload photos soon to our website.
We’ve identified 5 more homes and 2 of our sister churches (Ocho Rios and Pedro River Church of Christ) along with Beecher Town Church that are in need of repairs that we have decided to focus on in the upcoming weeks/months. We are still waiting on material lists and estimates from carpenters, as well as commitments as to when work can begin. Please pray with us that we can arrange to have the work done as quickly as possible. This is the rainy season.
Last week we were able to supply food bags for 175 students/faculty of the Beecher Town Primary and Infant School. In addition, we continue to provide food as needed for the community members who are struggling. Most hotels have not reopened; farmers’ crops have been destroyed…these are 2 of the main sources of income for our community members. We’ve also been supplying snack bags for children as needed.
School has not reopened in person yet in our community. There were health issues that needed to be addressed with vector control experts; there have been outbreaks of leptospirosis and mosquito born illnesses in other parts of the country, some nearby.
We still are without electricity. No credible word as to when it will be restored to us in Beecher Town. The pole and high tension wires are still down at the end of our driveway. Cell service is still unreliable. People have been stealing the diesel oil that was used for the generator to run the cell tower in the neighboring village, so the cell service provider stopped bringing it and it is not in operation. We are now getting signal from a tower over 30 miles away…thus the poor and spotty service.
Please continue to pray for Jamaica! Jamaicans by nature are hard-working people having a hopeful attitude.
They are highly adaptable to change and life challenges.
For the first time, we are witnessing a change for many. Those who lost so much are feeling hopeless and are having to rely on charity for their everyday essential needs.
There is an impending mental health crisis for many who are having trouble coping. Please pray that Christians will be able to minister not just to the immediate needs of food, clothing and shelter, but also to the emotional and spiritual needs of the hurting.
Good morning,
Jim and I would personally like to thank all of you for your generous donations to Outreach Jamaica hurricane relief during the matching fund opportunity. We are so humbled and grateful for each of you. We also are deeply grateful for all of the prayers that went up on behalf of Jacques and Bev and the people of Jamaica.
I will continue to give updates as they arrive. Bev has stated several times that phone service and WIFI are still very unpredictable.
Due to concerns of safety for the Blackwell’s, I will not be posting to amount the that was raised and matched for the relief funds. If you would like more information, please feel free to reach out by email or messenger. If you would like to support the relief fund, please ear mark it as such. This will be a long process of rebuilding and recovery.
Again, thank each of you for your continued prayers, calls, emails, and financial support.
Blessings.
Jim and Barb Gale
Forwarding Agents
Outreach Jamaica
There are small signs that things are beginning to resemble a more normal rhythm of life in our community. People who are fortunate to be able to are returning to work. Some schools in St Ann have opened back up so children are out in uniforms going/coming from school. Beecher Town Primary had a ‘soft’ opening for grades 4,5 and 6 on Monday…only 18 students came out. The principal, some of the teachers and I were there to hug, talk, sing and pray with the children. There is a lot of anxiety with the students and parents as many of the children lost roofs and possessions at their homes. Parents are out of work temporarily, or some possibly permanently, depending on their field of employment. The Ministry of Education Building officer hasn’t reached our school yet to confirm the damage, so no repairs can begin. We tried to start cleaning water out of classrooms but it has been raining, consistently for the past 3 days. At times it seems like no progress is being made.
We were able to finish some repairs on one of our church family’s house yesterday. They still need windows replaced that were broken out, but for now they are covered with tarps/old zinc and they can sleep at night without fear of getting wet when it rains.
We are still providing non-perishable food items for families in need. The head teacher has sent me a list of 60 students from the school community who are in need. We are praying weather cooperates so we can purchase items tomorrow, or that we can find someone with a covered vehicle large enough to carry the items up here for us.
Please pray for Jacques’ back. He turned around quickly in the store today and hurt his back (yeah, that’s all it takes sometimes) . There really could not be a worse time for him to be down. So much that needs done…
Yesterday marked one week since Melissa made landfall. Jacques and I are just beginning to see some of the photos of what’s happening in the south and western parts of the nation and we’re left without adequate words. Heartbreaking doesn’t even come close. We still dont have steady cell service, I’ve given up on trying to find out if/when it might be back up. We’ve been having rain almost every day…fairly hard rain earlier today for about an hour. People are trying to wash, clean out and dry out their homes and possessions, and some days it seems like very little progress is being made. Some people have been called back to work to help with cleanup, or to start to get some semblance of normalcy back. One encouraging sign today is that a truck from the power company came through the village taking note of line damage and downed poles. It’s reported that over 200 linesmen have been brought in to help with repairs and restoration of electricity so that gives some cause for hope that things may move faster than it has in the past.
Still no word as to when school here may reopen. Damage assessments have to be sent to the Ministry of Education, then their building officers have to make site visits to verify the damage before funding requests can be submitted. No light and no cell service makes remote learning impossible, so there’s no telling how far this will set back our students. Many are still behind from the covid shutdowns.
We plan to try to get to a functioning ATM tomorrow and to the grocery store. Unfortunately, there are reports of food aide being denied people based on their political party support.
We want to thank you all again for your prayers and support for Jamaica. This is going to be a marathon, not a short distance run to recovery.
PS. Please also pray that we can find a brake caliper or repair kit for our truck. We’re leaking brake fluid badly and haven’t been able to find one yet by calling around. We need it ASAP.
Prayer request:
Things are starting to get a little more chaotic in the areas that were not hit as hard as the western region. There has been a rush on gas stations, grocery stores and ATMs with people growing fearful that there will be shortages in areas that were not affected as severely.
Our generator went down last night. Please pray we can find the part to fix it. It doesn’t just affect our family, but ripples down to us not being able to help charge devices or keep food cool for other families. There is also a need do restock our pantry as all of the bags have been distributed and we have a list of more in need. We plan to try to shop today IF we can access funds and IF stores have food stocked.
I’ll try to update later. Our service is still spotty.
Woke up to rain again this morning. It’s still raining as I write. Had a man come to the house that needed some forms notarized by a JP. He’s a farmer from a neighboring village and in need of some temporary work, so he agreed to come Monday to start clearing the fallen trees from our yard. What we didnt lose last year during Hurricane Beryl, we lost this storm. We have only a few trees of any kind left. A neighbor’s trees fell and took out a large section of our perimeter fencing to the back of our property.
We were able to get to Jacques’ sister today. She’s still cleaning water out of her house and trying to dry things out. Fortunately she’s already been able to have repairs done to her roof so water doesn’t keep coming in when it rains.
Heard some disheartening news about damage to River Head Christian Camp where we hold our summer camps. The main hall/dining room…what we call “The Ark” is completely destroyed. There is some minor damage to some of the other buildings, but not serious from the initial assessment. Some of the ministers from Kingston will try to make a visit next week to see.
We’re looking forward to meeting with our church family tomorrow for worship. We hope to make tomorrow a true day of rest… no answering texts, I wont be making a report…just trying to have a full day of rest if possible and getting prepared for next week. Jacques says that my mind works “everything, all together, all at once”…I may be making him a little wacky with my mind and mouth jumping from one thing to the next. We both need some time to unwind. We will of course try to deal with any immediate needs that might come up during the day.
We thought our internet service was back as I started getting notifications coming in on my phone around 2:30 am this morning. I was able to get a few txt off before it went away again not long after. I heard on the radio again that both cell servers are down across a good portion of affected areas and it probably will be next week before Starlink is set up.
We were able to get to more of our members today for welfare checks and talk to a few others we had not had contact with yet. The reality of things is setting in for many…some are still running on adrenaline. We were able to assist a church sister with a mattress for her and her 2 grandchildren from our home. Hers was a 3″ sponge foam that was soaked during the storm. She had tried her best to squeeze out the water and put it out to dry over the past few days and rain kept falling. We were also able to distribute the last of the tarps we had and some additional food bags.
We began emergency work at the church building and manse. Got some of the zinc nailed down that had lifted up, and bought the last piece of zinc available form the closest hardware to replace one that blew away. The drop ceiling will need to be replaced throughout most of the sanctuary as they are water soaked and starting to warp. We had to bore holes in them to get the water out. It may have affected the lighting as well which we wont know for sure until power is restored.
The office/vestry will be a complete roof rebuild. We were able to pry a side door open and squeeze someone inside to move things around so we could open the door enough to see in. Looks like the boards are broken and many of the zinc cant be salvaged.
There is more damage to the zinc on the Manse than we had originally seen. The drop ceiling in one bedroom that we had just replaced last year is soaked and will need to be replaced. Several zinc will also need to be replaced. We’ll need to get a longer ladder due to the elevation before we can get a better idea on needed repairs.
Jacques was also able to do some more work today on our water system at home.
The airports are opening up tomorrow for aid flights to start coming in for the western end, and to allow tourists to leave. I believe the Kingston airport may be open for commercial flights. Information is still sketchy on some things.
I tried to send a few photos out today and they are still marked as ‘sending’ . Until those go through I wont try any more.
Tomorrow we hope to make it to Jacques’ sister, Pansy, who lives about 30 minutes from us (normally) to check on her. We heard she has some damage at her house. She is widowed and no children on the island so not sure how she’s faring. Heard that the road should be cleared enough to make it to where she is. We’ve not been able to reach her by phone or txt yet, but we know that she is safe.
We grabbed our church bro, Oral, early this morning and started rounds of our members who we can get to. There are still a few we haven’t b been able to get to yet. People who have roof/window damage are beginning the process of trying to move things out so they can clean and dry out. It is a daunting task, as rain was drizzling throughout the morning and we are having thunderstorms this afternoon. After getting a better assessment pf some immediate needs, we decided to try and make the trip to Ocho Rios even though the road wasn’t open. (it is now, one lane and dodging downed trees and poles that couldn’t be completely cleared from the road).
Ocho Rios has much less damage than we had thought. Roads were fairly clear pf water and debris. amd several business places were up and running. There is no electricity, so traffic lights are out. Jamaicans have NO concept of a 4-way stop so that was fun!
We were able to purchase some staple food items for several families we’ve spoken to that were out of food. The store wasn’t fully stocked but we were able to get enough for the next few days for several people and will keep going back as needed. As time goes on, I’m sure the list of those in need will continue to grow if people aren’t able to get back to work soon.
Hardware stores were swamped with people trying to access materials for repairs. In 4 hardware stores we visited, we were only able to purchase 6 tarps. None know when more would be arriving. I’m assuming that most of the supplies are being sent to the western part of the nation that was so devastated. We were able to deliver four of the tarps before thunderstorms picked up.
Right now, we’re trying to meet immediate needs… that is being food. We are trying to help get larger items moved from houses, helping with tarps where most needed, charging devices (even though there is currently very, very limited service) and just trying to comfort and encourage people. Some just need someone to listen, cry with them, pray with then, and reassure them that there is hope on the other side of this. My heart breaks when I look at these people who we love with our whole hearts who have lost so much, even though they didn’t have much to lose.
Shelice will be going to the church tomorrow to start the process of cleaning water out and letting it air out. We’re hoping that at the same time someone will be replacing the lost zinc back on the roof of the sanctuary. The office area is going to be a major repair project as some of the 2×4 and 1×3 boards are broken and several of the zinc will not be able to be used. We are planning to meet for worship Sunday morning either in the sanctuary or in the fellowship hall, depending on how clean up goes.
Jacques and I will continue daily being out in the village to hep where are able and trying to get a better handle on what will be needed for longer term recovery and how best to move forward. Please pray for wisdom and discernment for us. Also please pray for us to have patience and let God move in the hearts of our Jamaican people.
ADDITIONAL UPDATE THIS AFTERNOON.
More than 20 cargo flights are expected as relief pours in from across the world following Hurricane Melissa, Transport Minister Daryl Vaz said Friday. He said that the biggest challenge now is managing logistics to reach the worst-affected areas. Vaz also confirmed that eight to ten US helicopters are en route to support relief efforts.
WIFI has still been spotty, so they are receiving messages, then service goes out again.
Thank you all once again for your continued support and prayers!
Cell service is worse today than it was during the storm. Having major issues getting texts out and no phone calls since late morning.
We did make it out of our neighborhood this afternoon and there is some serious damage to many homes. We made it to the majority of our church members homes. and 90% have varying degrees of damage to their roofs. Giving thanks that there were no injuries…some loss of entire roofs.
The damage at our church isn’t as extensive as we had heard, but the roof to our office collapsed into the room instead of blowing away and has blocked the door so we can’t gain entry. We’re trying to find a carpenter who can help us assess what needs to be done. We went to a neighboring village to a hardware store, and he had sold out of zinc nails, nails, tarps, etc. before the storm so we couldn’t get any supplies. We will try another place tomorrow. We have probably 4″ of standing water in the sanctuary and will need to start getting that cleaned out tomorrow.
The main road to Ocho Rios from here is blocked with multiple power poles and trees so we would have to drive almost an hour each way to get down there. We are not even sure anywhere is open so until we can confirm, we won’t waste gas to try to go down.
We started cleaning up at our house. We lost 2–650-gallon water tanks during the storm, one can be salvaged, although damaged. The other one is broken clear up the side, so it is not usable. Jacques did some plumbing work and has something rigged up so we can get water inside for now instead of having to carry it by buckets from our main cistern (which is totally filled up, Praise God!)
The sun came out for a while but it’s starting to get overcast again. We are not sure if anyone will take us up on our offer for a place to sleep tonight. The fear of looting is still as strong as it was before he storm. Most of the people just do not wnt to leave their homes.
We thank you all so much for reaching out to check on us. We’re safe, but it certainly was an anxious 8+ hours of battering winds and heavy rain. We may not be able to personally respond immediately to everyone who has texted or emailed us, but thank you all for your prayers and concern.
We will be out as soon as it is safe to assess damage to our property and the rest of the village. We may not be able to share photos immediately as we have limited cell service and no WIFI currently.
“The sun come up, it’s a new day dawning. It’s time to sing Your song again. Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me, let me be singing when the evening comes! Bless the Lord, oh my soul, worship His holy name.
I also wanted to let people that have Facebook on social media, I have set up a page for updates called:
Outreach Jamaica Hurricane/Relief updates that I would welcome you to join. At this time, we have been contacted by an individual that has generously offered to do a matching gift for funds raised to help with items that will be needed to emergency relief and rebuilding. This offer is going to end November 7th. If you would like to donate, please go to http://www.outreachjamaica.org and follow the links.