The clock was ticking — YWAM’s next Deaf DTS (Discipleship Training School) was set to begin December 3rd. Hurricane Melissa had just torn through Jamaica knocking out the entire national grid, leaving the Montego Bay campus without any electricity. Desperate, they called and asked if it was possible to install an off-grid solar electric system. Within a week, a team with SonSet Solutions missionary Earl Hartwig and five other men arrived in Jamaica.
Working with materials already on hand, Earl led the team in the installation of an inverter, batteries, solar panels, and all the wiring; within five days the system was configured and providing electricity to two buildings 24/7. After that, the team cleaned and repaired three service entrances where the grid comes into the property, ensuring they would be fully operational when the grid was restored.
During his time in Montego Bay, Earl had the opportunity to meet and hear the testimony of Damion who is part of the staff at YWAM and attended the Deaf DTS himself.
Damion became deaf at a young age and spent years struggling to find acceptance. This led him to join a gang in high school — though he quickly learned this was a world he wanted to escape. Influenced by a Christian boarding school, Damion attempted to walk away, but this proved to be a dangerous process. Gunfire erupted in an attempt to kill him, but the bullets only grazed his chest and leg. Damion knew God had spared his life. He escaped from the gang and began attending the YWAM Deaf World DTS where — for the first time ever — Damion discovered genuine faith and true community.
Earl and his team came to Montego Bay to restore electricity, but what they found was a place where broken people were already being made whole — and keeping its doors open was a privilege they didn’t take lightly.
By Earl Hartwig and Bella Kratzer, April 2026