Mission of Mercy treats 600
Published:Friday | December 23, 2016 | 4:28 PMChristopher Thomas
More than 600 homeless and indigent persons of various ages, benefited from the Trumpet Call Ministries International’s tenth annual Mission of Mercy Christmas Outreach programme, in Montego Bay.
Volunteers overseeing the Christmas treat outreach programme were kept busy as residents flocked to the group’s headquarters at Howard Cooke Boulevard where they were treated to free food, clothing, and medical care.
Trumpet Call Ministries’ senior pastor Mary Wildish said that the 14-year-old church, which began its annual outreach to Montego Bay’s less fortunate in 2006, saw a steady turnout of residents making use of the venue’s facilities up to 2:00 on Friday afternoon.
“The turnout is more than good, it is excellent; and we are having a hard time controlling the crowd. We opened the doors before 10:00 this morning, and people have been here since,” said Wildish. “We let them in, in segments, and we have already served hundreds of people, and there are more outside waiting and more to come.”
“We have clothes, shoes, toys, sheets, bedspreads, food, a hair salon, a medical tent, a bounce-about for the children…and so we are just reaching out to the city of Montego Bay, just blessing the city, and letting the people have hope that somebody cares,” Wildish added. “People have donated all across this city to make this possible, and hundreds if not over a thousand people today will be passing through this church to be blessed for Christmas.”
Wildish said that each year the church hosts two major community fairs in Montego Bay, including the Christmas treat.
“Every year we have two huge fairs; one is a back-to-school event, and the other one is at Christmas time where we reach out with God’s love and peace to a city that is bleeding,” said Wildish.
Trumpet Call Ministries International also has an ongoing bi-weekly feeding programme which benefits more than 200 families within Montego Bay. The church also regularly provides clothing for the destitute and homeless, and gives medical assistance to inmates at the Freeport Police Station on a bi-weekly basis.