Jamaican Mission Team Delivers Supplies, Support To Sister Parish

Ordinarily, getting a flat tire on a narrow, winding, rural road miles away from any town would be a harrowing experience. But for the 14 members of the St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church’s Jamaican outreach mission team, the event was just the first of several miracles they would experience from October 18–24.

Approximately an hour after volunteers landed in Montego Bay, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mandeville passenger van they were riding in got a flat tire. The driver, a jovial American now living in Jamaica, pulled over on the shoulder-less road, and within minutes, at least six Jamaican men appeared with the tools to change the tire. Within less time than the team would have waited for AAA service in the United States, the helpful Jamaicans had the missionaries back on the road headed to their destination, Our Lady of Dunsinane Shrine in Mandeville, Jamaica.

As the second-poorest country in the Caribbean, Jamaica is a study in contrasts. All-inclusive resorts blanket the island’s northern coast, yet scattered throughout the country are communities in poverty, many of which fall within the boundaries of the Diocese of Mandeville in south-central portions of Jamaica.

St. John the Evangelist formed a Jamaican outreach team 11 years ago and volunteers have since made nine trips to island. The Severna Park church adopted two parishes and schools within the Mandeville Diocese - St. Margaret Mary and St. Philomena - with St. Philomena Basic School, a preschool in the remote village of Portland Cottage as their project school. St. John funded the college education of its principal and head teacher, Suzette Anderson, and provides the school with spiritual support, food, uniforms, salaries and supplies. It also maintains the school facilities and subsidizes the tuition for the nearly 50 students.

Anderson wept tears of joy when the St. John’s crew arrived on October 19, and welcomed friends old and new with open arms.

“It is always wonderful to spend a few days with all of the people from St. John the Evangelist,” said Anderson. “They work so tirelessly and always have smiles on their faces. They show us how much we are loved.”

The team’s full agenda included mass and breakfast with Archbishop Charles Dufour, a tour of Gift of Hope - Mustard Seed (a care community for disabled children within the village of Manchester), a tour of St. John Bosco Career Advancement Institute (a Catholic-run institution for neglected, abused and abandoned boys), and visits to St. Margaret Mary Church and School, and Annunciation Church and School.

The missionaries spent the majority of their time at St. Philomena Basic School where they worked on maintenance and construction projects, including cleaning the entire school, upgrading the library, restocking teacher and student supplies, and repainting the chapel. The outreach team also funds and builds a home for a needy family while in Jamaica. This year, the new three-room home was for a young mother, Shandeen, and her children.

Participating in his third Jamaican mission trip, Joe Golden of Pasadena said, “I keep coming back for the joy of the people and overall genuine humanity on the great island of Jamaica. The people are very warm and welcoming. The welcoming children fill you up with powerful feelings of joy and love that cannot be expressed in words; you have to experience it for yourself.”

Bob Cohn has been with the outreach mission team since its inception. At first, he didn’t know what to expect. “My Jamaican kids were babies [and] now they’re young adults,” Cohn said. “The altar boys have graduated college and are looking for work. It’s hard to leave, knowing that we’ve been but a brief respite in their difficult lives.”

Others, like Barbara Perez, experienced an “amazing” first mission trip. “The camaraderie among the group, the warm and giving people of Jamaica, especially the children, touched my heart in ways that will never be forgotten,” she said.

Just as the volunteers were sad to leave, the Jamaican residents were sad to see them go. “Today I said goodbye to 14 wonderful people who willingly gave their time to share fellowship with us,” Anderson said. “I am thankful that they answered God’s call and offered themselves to be used in such a special way. I want to say thank you to them and to St. John the Evangelist for your generosity, your kindnesses, your love and wonderful words of encouragement.”

Officially proclaimed the pied piper of Portland Cottage, Golden could be found imitating the sound of the goats roaming free in the community. “The most memorable thing for me was just making a simple goat sound and then seeing the children gather around me and call back. Every time the kids saw me, they wanted me to make that goat sound,” said Golden. “When we left, they asked if they could come home with me. They have no idea how much I wish I could.”

Members of the 2018 trip included Gary Dinsick (team leader and original member), Bob and Jeanette Cohn, Victor and Barbara Perez, Ned Wall, John and Dianne White, Tim Abell, Joyce Cornett, Joe Golden, Judy Tacyn, Bonnie Klocke and Tom Dushel.

The Jamaica outreach team would like to thank family, friends and parishioners who donated supplies or financial support, which were delivered to St. Philomena and St. Margaret Mary schools. Each member fully funded their own travel and accommodation expenses.

To learn more about the St. John Jamaican outreach, or to learn how you can help, visit www.jamaicaoutreach.weebly.com.