Area: 4,111 Sq. Miles
Location: In the Caribbean, an island south of Cuba
Population: 2,713,130 (July 2004 est.)
Population Below Poverty Line: 19.7% (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 12.81 deaths/1,000 live births
Ethnic groups: black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%,
Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1%
Religions: Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%,
Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%,
Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%,
Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%,
other including some spiritual cults 34.7%
Literacy: total population: 87.9%; male: 84.1%; female: 91.6% (2003 est.)
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
Languages: English, patois English
Unemployment rate: 15.9% (2003 est.)

Kenneth and Eileen Terroade are missionaries in the town of Galina, Jamaica near the city of Ocho Rios, Jamaica. They left Newburgh, N. Y. in 1986, and started their ministry to Jamaica’s children. Ken was born in Jamaica and owned property up a hill in Galina. When the Terroades arrived in Jamaica all they had was the land. Kenneth personally built their home; and later built the ministry’s mission station. The land’s location led to the name, “Uphill Ministry” (which is not a legal name for charitable donation purposes).

Jamaica is one of the poorest nations in the West Indies. Very few families are intact. Young girls have children at a very early age. Sadly, not many are married to the father of their children. It is not unusual for people to be grandparents in their late 30s, but unfortunately those grandparents do not care for their offspring.

So many children grow up without family love that the Terroades do all that they can to care for and love on them. They perform Bible studies for the children every Saturday morning, and for teens on Saturday nights. They also conduct Bible training during the week; but more importantly the Terroades minister to the children on a daily basis whenever they show up on the Hill. They also work with the adults in town who need food and, of course, spiritual nature. As you can guess the Terroades have no standard hours for their ministry; and they serve wherever and whenever there is a need.

Today they rely fully on the Lord to provide for their needs. On Sundays the Terroades attend a local church for their own spiritual sustenance.