10 | March 2026
Ohio DR Teams Continue Hurricane Relief in Jamaica
By John Heading, Ohio Disaster Relief director
Ohio DR replaced the roof on the Maldon Baptist Basic School.
It will take years for Jamaica to recover from Hurricane Melissa, the first category 5 hurricane to ever hit the is - land. Some people may never fully recover. Ohio Disaster Relief deployed to Jamaica in November 2025 and again the week of February 14-21. This time, our team stayed in the St. James area, just south of Montego Bay. We stayed at Maldon Baptist Church and worked next door on the church parsonage, a primary school, and a building that had been used as a computer training facility. Maldon Baptist Church is interesting. The church is one of three churches in a circuit led by a single pastor. This means each church hears a sermon by the pastor every third Sunday. On the other Sundays, a deacon leads the service. Our week in Jamaica was also an example of the co- operation in Southern Baptist Disaster Relief. The Ja- maican Baptist Union (JBU) partners with Send Relief, which organizes DR jobs through the Jamaican Baptist Union with the help of Project Coordinators Matt and Sue Stickel. The Stickels are Ohio Baptists who attend Guide Church North in Hilliard. Our team of eight worked with a second SBDR team of eight from California and North Carolina. Both teams worked together to complete the work at Maldon Baptist. We repaired the primary school, removing the damaged metal roof, replacing the missing roof framing, and in- stalling new metal.
However, we were in Jamaica to do more than replace the roof on a school building. We were also there to share the love of Christ. Our chaplain, David Bonnell, University Baptist Church, Beavercreek, had the opportunity to meet Sharon. She’s a helper at the primary school and a sweet-spirited be- liever. Of all the things she could ask for, she only want- ed a large-print Bible because her Bible was destroyed when the hurricane slammed into her home. We gave her an Ohio DR Bible.
Sharon and DR Chaplain David Bonnell.
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