OUR MISSION

The purpose of the mission is to provide a wide range of basic health services to the people living in an area severely lacking in basic medical care. The specialties of medicine, pharmacy, nursing and respiratory care, dental and optical will be utilized in providing this care.

The services provided will include basic health assessments, minor surgical procedures, medications, first aid and generalized health care, dental treatment, basic eye examinations, and fitting for eyeglasses.

The team consists of lay people, ministers, respiratory therapist, dental assistants, pharmacist, dentist, doctors, and nurse practitioners, nurses, and optical.

We stay in the community with the members of the church during our stay up in the mountains. In doing this we can interact with the people and learn more about them, and they in turn can learn about us. The cooks at the community school take care of meals for us -- so we enjoy authentic Jamaican food during our stay.

The team goes to the same location each trip and sets up a clinic at the church. They stay with people of the congregation and at a children's home run by the church. The cooks at the local school prepare meals for them.



Our next trip will be in 2009. Please pray that we will again be able to raise the money to make the trip.

The first mission trip was made to this area in Jamaica in 1999. Over 1200 people were treated for various health issues on this first trip. Subsequent trips were made in 2001, 2003, and 2005. During these trips and average of 1500 people each trip received various types of medical services. 500 teeth were extracted by the dentist, and over 300 eyeglasses were dispensed by the optical department. Over $300,000 worth of medications were dispensed along with the provision of a variety of healthcare services.

In April, 2007 a group of volunteers from the area made its fifth medical mission trip to Jamaica. The team is made up of doctors, dentists, an eye specialist, nurses and volunteers from Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Sikeston, Oak Ridge, one from Tennessee and a few from Southern Illinois.

These past mission trips have given us the opportunity to step out of our comfort zone and out of our seemingly "busy" lives to reach out to others and discover another dimension in life. We thought that we were going on this trip to give these people something -- and we did. We were surprised that we received more than we gave. These trips truly changed our lives forever.

Anyone who would like more information about the group or would like to take part in the next trip, contact Rhonda Sievers at 573-204-0625 or Gwen Maloney at 573-275-1275.