On St. Eustatius, Adventist Church Donates Mirrors for Improved Traffic Safety

From left to right: Officer Maritza Patrick, Chief of Police Robelto Hodge of St. Eustatius, Renatta Caurius, head elder and Roland Lopes, personal ministries director of the St. Eustatius Adventist Church, pose for a picture after a short ceremony where church leaders handed over safety mirrors on July 17, 2018. The mirrors will be used to assist in road safety across the island. Photo Courtesy of St. Eustatius Adventist Church

July 31, 2018 | St. Croix, US Virgin Islands | NCC Staff/IAD Staff

Seventh-day Adventists on the Caribbean island of St. Eustatius recently donated traffic mirrors to enhance road safety across the island. Church leaders donated 10 safety mirrors to the local police station during a short ceremony on July 17, 2018.

Newly appointed Chief of Police Robelto Hodge expressed his gratitude to the Adventist Church for partnering with the police in its attempt to make the roads safer and more user-friendly.

Hodge was quoted in the Daily Herald Newspaper as saying: “These mirrors will save lives, and part of the Police Department’s duty is providing safety,” to the Daily Herald news media. “We are tasked with the role to secure the safety of the public on the roads.”

Many safety mirrors were damaged with the passage of Hurricane Irma nearly a year ago and had not been replaced, said Pastor Virgil Sams of St. Eustatius Adventist Church, the only Adventist church on the island. “The church saw a need because there are a number of blind corners where you will have the occasional traffic accident,” said Sams.

“The church believes in being proactive so when there is a need that the church can afford to fulfill, it does not wait for the government to act,” said Sams. That’s exactly what the congregation of more than 476 members wanted to do as they collected funds to buy the mirrors.

“Our mission as a church is not limited to within the four walls of the church building, so we do our best to patronize the ministry of Jesus, ministering to the needs of people,” said Sams.

The church is continually engaging in community outreach activities every month, said Sams. There are community clean up days, assisted painting of homes for the elderly, and the church recently started a soup kitchen which operates twice a week. In addition, the church operates a charity clothing outlet for the less fortunate on the island. The church also donated funds to assist families affected by Hurricane Irma last September.

“We are helping to build a positive image of the church, where the hearts of the inhabitants of the island would be softened towards the gospel message,” Sams said.

St. Eustatius lies in the northern Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies, southeast of the Virgin Islands, and has a population of more than 3,800 people living in the 21 square kilometer island.

To learn more about the Adventist Church on St. Eustatius, visit northcaribbeanconference.org