Feb 05, 2019 | Montego Bay, Jamaica |
Registered Nurse Carmen Spence-Richards takes the pressure of a resident of St. James who benefitted from Mission Project 2019 Health Expo at Sam Sharpe Square on Saturday, February 2, 2019. [Photo credit: Nigel Coke]
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Nearly 300 individuals were the beneficiaries of a free health expo organized by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in west Jamaica on Saturday, Feb. 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 and community members.
“What a joy and a great privilege to be here at this expo,” said Pastor Ted Wilson, president of the Adventist World Church. “We are seeing what God is doing through dedicated Adventist physicians and health professions 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.”
Pastor Wilson, who is 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 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.
Various health services were available at the expo, including general check-ups such as blood, hypertension and cholesterol screenings; pap smear, prostate, dental, foot care and mental health, and also pediatric and gynecologist 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 Pastor Glen Samuels, president of the 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, was happy to express her thanksgiving 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,” explained Jones.
“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,” Pastor Wilson added.
Mission Project 2019, which started in October 2018, has so far completed 1,127 health outreach projects and expos throughout the 750 church congregations across the island and its institutions of Northern Caribbean University (NCU) and Andrews Memorial Hospital.
The church has also partnered with the Ministry of Health through its Jamaica Moves and Adopt-A-Clinic programs as it seeks to make Jamaica and Jamaicans healthier and more productive.
