Mira wept as she stood with me at the bottom of the hill that had been home to the community of Westmoreland, Jamaica. Before Hurricane Melissa, there were about a hundred homes built on this hillside, but now not even one remains intact. 

As the storm was drawing near, Mira begged her parents and siblings to leave the house. Mom eagerly agreed, but Mira's father and brother refused to leave home. They had stayed through previous storms, and they were confident they could withstand Melissa too. 

Mira's brother joined us as we spoke, carrying down a 30lb propane tank and a suitcase of all he could salvage from his destroyed home. He set everything on the ground as he reached the bottom of the hill, gulped down a bottle of water, and introduced himself. 

"What has this been like for you?" I asked him. He told me that the storm started like a typical storm but it soon became worse than anything he or his father had imagined. When the house began to come apart in the wind, he and his father huddled in the bathtub. He could see all their belongings flying around as wind and rain swirled around them. Eventually they crawled under the floorboards to hide until the storm was over.

Now that the storm is gone, Mira and her family thank God they are alive, but they are still in shock at the complete level of devastation. With no clear idea of how to move forward, they are scavenging for every last possible resource, pulling nails from boards in the hope that they may be useful. There is nothing else left.

There are thousands of families like Mira's in Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti, who are overwhelmed and in need of help and hope. The needs are immediate - food, water, shelter - but they are long-term, too. These families will need help to rebuild, and they need to know that God sees them and cares for them. 

Your church can be a part of sharing the love of Christ on the islands impacted by Hurricane Melissa. Pray for long-term, like-minded partners for us to serve alongside in Jamaica. Pray for good communication and effective ministry in Cuba and Haiti where we have partnerships from previous responses and from GlobalFingerprints. And please give to help sustain a long-term disciple-making response in these communities so that we can share Gospel hope with families like Mira's.