Jamaica
St. Andrews and Lauriston United Church near Ochos Rios

Early in 2004, we sent two delegates with another church to explore the possibilities of doing an on-going medical mission experience in Jamaica. A partnership was established and preparations were begun for the first mission experience to take place in 2005.

Team Jamaica 2008 Information
Jamaica Mission Experience
February 2-9, 2008
Mission Experience hosted by St. Luke's United Methodist Church

Donations are Needed!
Over-The-Counter medications and supplies are needed for the 2008 Jamaica Mission.
Please click here to view a list of needed supplies.

Our Mission
To share God’s love by using our time, talents and treasures to provide medical, dental and educational services for the people in small communities located near Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Our mission will help enable our partners at Lauriston and St. Andrews churches reach within their communities and provide for those who cannot afford medical or dental care.

A Medical/Dental Mission Trip
This will be the fourth medical/dental mission trip sponsored by St. Luke’s. In February 2005, St. Luke’s began a partnership with the United Church of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Our team was led by Steve Holloway. He has led mission teams in Jamaica for more than 20 years, and is on board again to lead our 2008 trip.

Two Locations in Jamaica
Patients will be seen at St. Andrews United Church in Ocho Rios and the Lauriston United Church in St. Ann, up in the mountains. The teams will work closely with church members and staff to coordinate patients as well as medical, dental and educational services.

Medial, Dental and Health Education
Medical patients will be of all ages with various ailments. We will deliver immediate care. We will not perform surgery. Dental care will mainly involve tooth extractions. Teeth cleaning is possible if we have a hygienist. We will also be conducting vision screening to fit patients with reading glasses. We will offer health education concurrently with the medical and dental care.

Who Should Go?
We need 4 doctors or nurse practitioners, 4 registered nurses, 2 dentists, 2 dental assistants, 4 pharmacists, 2 opticians, health educators and non medical people. Although this is a medical/dental mission trip, there is a need for many skills such as: caring, communicating and teaching. Tasks may include filling prescriptions, screening for reading glasses, taking information or helping with organizational tasks. You don’t have to have medical or dental experience, just a loving heart. There will be team training before you go, so you will be prepared. See attached training schedule.

Mission Experience Details
Use the following links for more information:
Trip Fees, Accommodations, and Tentative Mission Trip Itinerary
Pre-Trip Information (PDF)
Pre-Trip Team-Building and Packing Schedule (PDF)

Team Jamaica 2006, January 15-23
A group of 21 individuals traveled to St. Ann, Jamaica in January 2006 for the second medical/dental mission experience sponsored by St. Luke's. The make-up of the team was a mixture of medical and non-medical volunteers. During the week, the team worked side by side with congregation members of the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands to provide medical and dental care to people within the St. Andrews and Lauriston communities. A total of 949 medical patients, 362 optical patients, over 50 dental patients were treated over the course of 4 clinic days, with over two thousand prescriptions written and given to those in need.

Team members were lodged at the Madge Saunders Conference Center in Ocho Rios on the beautiful north central coast. The team gathered each morning for devotions followed by breakfast, then split up onto two buses to travel to the churches and set up the clinics. St. Andrews church is located in Ocho Rios, while Laursiton church is reached by a scenic drive into the mountains, several miles southwest of Ocho Rios. At noon, the women of each church provided team members with a delicious lunch which they had prepared. When work was done for the day, the team met back at the Conference Center for a wonderful Jamaican dinner and preparation for the next day's work; then it was time to relax for the evening and enjoy more fellowship with the whole team.

The partnership that was established with the warm, God-loving Jamaican people, and the bonds of friendship that were formed among the whole team, despite being split into two groups, are blessings that will never be forgotten.

Click here to view photos of the Jamaica 2006 mission experience

Click here for information about the February 2008 mission trip to Jamaica

Click here for an application for Jamaica 2008