The roaring wind and raging torrents of rain hurled by Hurricane Melissa had subsided into eerie stillness when ABWE missionaries Caleb and Charity Gibbs emerged from the shelter of their house to survey the devastation.
They and their children—like the Jamaican population—had endured the long hours of October 28, 2025, huddled in a dark interior room as the catastrophic Category 5 hurricane pummeled the island nation.
The eye passed east of their home in Montego Bay, causing severe flooding and destruction throughout western Jamaica. The death toll rose to 102 across the Caribbean.
Caleb and Charity’s thoughts immediately turned to helping others. With no electricity, water, cell service, internet, or possibility of navigating obstructed roads, their options were limited.
“We just started where we were,” Caleb explained.
Both the church where Caleb serves as assistant pastor and the Christian school where Caleb and Charity serve as chaplain and reading specialist, respectively, are located within a mile of their home. Despite sustaining major damage, both served as meeting points for people in the community.
“We were able to share in their stories, to listen, cry, hug, and be there with the love of God for those who desperately needed it,” Caleb continued. “A lot of our work became finding out who needed help and then either delivering it or working with others to get it delivered.”
Ministry partners in lesser-hit Kingston arrived with supplies loaded in a 15-passenger van. After Sunday services, congregation members—themselves suffering loss—remained in the roofless building to repackage and distribute the aid.
Even as day-to-day ministry shifted, their mission remained the same. “We came to Jamaica to help churches, especially pastors, to train their people in the faith and equip them to reach their world,” Caleb said. “As we packed bags with people from our church, supported by another church, we saw that reality in motion.”
When roads cleared, Caleb and ABWE Live Global missionary David traveled to assess damage at dozens of churches planted or trained through ABWE ministry. Many national partners lost homes. Twelve church buildings were obliterated. With help from generous donations to ABWE’s Caribbean Compassion Fund, surpassing $100,000, they have supplied water filters, generators, and solar lights; outfitted a Bible college for temporary housing; organized construction teams from North America, and sent eight 20-by-40-foot tents so churches can continue gathering.
Amid the crisis, the Gibbs family has witnessed increased openness to the gospel. “Prior to this, Jamaicans would not let people into their homes. But this has literally broken down walls and allowed for real conversation and real honesty about physical and spiritual needs.”
Attendance at their church has increased, and humanitarian aid has led to countless opportunities: while distributing food and toys in one neighborhood, they received an unexpected invitation to begin regular Bible studies at a children’s home.
Caleb prays that God will continue to use them during the long rebuilding process to bring Jamaicans to Christ, observing after additional flooding, “[A]fter the rain shower was a rainbow, and it reminded me of the promise that after the storm comes hope.”
