PROVO, Utah — Days after deadly Hurricane Melissa tore through the Caribbean, parents of missionaries in Jamaica with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are struggling to communicate with their loved ones.
The Kingston, Jamaica, mission in particular has members spread across the island nation.
“There’s one mission for the whole island, and some other Caribbean islands, too,” explained Provo resident Kyle Fuller. “So the Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas are part of the mission, too. Mostly everybody is on the Jamaican island.”
The church’s website shows that Jamaica holds 18 congregations, six wards and 12 branches, with a total membership of nearly 7,000 people.
Fuller's son, Kampton, is currently serving a mission in the country’s east side. Other parents have been worried as they wait to hear from loved ones stationed in the hard-hit western area of the country, some of which is just now being accounted for in places like Montego Bay and Savanna-la-mar.
Fox News reports the storm knocked out power to much of the island, flooded neighborhoods and severed communications.
Fuller said the mission leader had them well-prepared, and his son had spent days gathering essential supplies and then waiting to see how Melissa would strike.
“[For him] it’s more of just an eerie feeling, wondering what happened to the mission on that other side, because they probably haven’t been able to leave their apartments and check out what’s going on until today,” Fuller said.
Kampton is safe and well, but Fuller shared how it’s been a concerning week for him and others in Utah who can only watch and hope for the best.
“It’s been heartbreaking to sit here and wait,” said Fuller. “They’ve told us it’s just a communications issue, but they didn’t know, right? So your heart pounds and pounds and pounds waiting to hear from these other missionaries.
“It’s such a small mission, it’s just that island, and so they are a family."
According to Fuller, mission rules state that missionaries can only typically contact family on preparation days, or “P-days”, which are held once a week. He believes there was likely some uncertainty among the missionaries as to whether or not they could check in with loved ones in the wake of the storm.
As the missionaries look towards recovery in the coming days and weeks, Fuller said an email from their branch president indicated the missionaries are eager to serve, and some have already started assembling care packages for the country’s wards and branches. Fuller is unsure what those tasks will look like for his son.
Fuller is asking his fellow Utahns to keep thinking of the sisters, elders and all who are in Jamaica as the country tries to pull together after such devastation.
“The biggest thing I’ve seen is how good the people of Jamaica are,” he said. “I really do hope people keep them in their thoughts and prayers.”
