CARY, N.C. — As Hurricane Melissa leaves behind a trail of devastation across the Caribbean, N.C. Baptists on Mission is mobilizing volunteers to assist with disaster relief and recovery efforts in Cuba and possibly Jamaica, where the Category 5 storm caused widespread destruction earlier this week.

A team from North Carolina that was in Cuba serving on a previously scheduled mission trip is already assisting with recovery efforts, according to a Facebook post by N.C. Baptists on Mission’s disaster relief ministry on Thursday.

“We have a team in Cuba helping with recovery efforts right now and will be sending three more along with possible teams to Jamaica,” the post said.

The team currently in Cuba includes eight volunteers from Mount Zion Baptist Church in Alexis, N.C. The team has been in Cuba since Oct. 24 serving alongside a local church and a Baptist retirement home in Santiago through Baptists on Mission’s longstanding partnership with the Eastern Baptist Convention of Cuba.

The group chose to remain in Cuba and ride out the storm alongside their Cuban hosts and began assisting with local recovery efforts as soon as conditions allowed after the storm passed. All members of the team are safe and have remained in contact with their church and N.C. Baptists on Mission leaders, according to Tom Beam, Baptists on Mission’s disaster response coordinator.

The team from Mount Zion Baptist Church, which includes lead pastor Nathan Morton, was approached about trying to leave Cuba before the storm hit, but they decided to stay and continue serving in a way they had not anticipated.

“Our team talked,” team members wrote in a post on the church’s Facebook page on Monday, which included a photo of the group. “Three things were obvious from our discussion. We do not worry, we trust our God who is creator of all, and we know we are safe in Him no matter where we are because we are His. That is the unanimous voice of the team. We will stay where God has placed us in this moment.”

With reports of collapsed homes, power outages and significant flooding across Cuba and Jamaica, Baptists on Mission is now preparing to send additional teams to respond in those countries. Three more teams of volunteers are expected to serve in Cuba, and Baptists on Mission leaders are making plans to assist with relief efforts in Jamaica.

Beam said travel arrangements and other logistics are still being worked out for the additional teams. Baptists on Mission officials are building a roster of individuals interested in serving in either Cuba or Jamaica. Volunteers must be in good physical condition and have a valid passport that does not expire within six months of travel.

Baptists on Mission is also accepting financial donations to assist with relief efforts in Cuba and Jamaica. Officials emphasized that 100% of financial contributions will be used by N.C. Baptists on Mission or forwarded to trusted ministry partners for direct relief efforts in those two countries.

To learn more, sign up to volunteer or make a financial donation, visit baptistsonmission.org/Hurricane-Melissa.

“We ask for your prayers for Jamaica, Cuba and other Caribbean nations as this severe storm continues to impact the region,” Beam said. “Your prayers, financial support and willingness to serve make a real difference in Jesus’ name.”

Officials with Send Relief, Southern Baptists’ global compassion ministry, said the organization is planning to send assessment teams into Jamaica by this weekend.

Hurricane Melissa brought catastrophic damage to Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti this week after making landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday as a Category 5 storm with winds reaching 185 mph — one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record. In Jamaica, powerful winds and torrential rain caused widespread destruction, ripping roofs from homes, toppling power lines and triggering landslides that blocked major roads.

Melissa made a second landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday morning before moving through the Bahamas. In Cuba, the storm left homes collapsed, roads blocked and numerous buildings damaged. Authorities said roughly 735,000 people remained in shelters as of Wednesday. Despite ongoing rain and power outages, early recovery efforts were underway in heavily impacted areas.

The storm is expected to pass through Bermuda as a Category 1 or 2 hurricane on Thursday night.

According to published reports, more than 30 deaths have been attributed to the storm in Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The number of deaths is expected to rise as authorities in various countries continue to assess damage.