What an incredible trip we had to the Dominican Republic! Our UBC team was Karol Peters, Robin Greene, Anne Thurman and me (Lora Doremus). I came home absolutely changed and filled with ideas for mission trips in the future.
Here's some of what happened:
Day 1: Sunday
We arrived in Santo Domingo in time to join the pastor and his wife for lunch at the church where we stayed. After a short siesta we attended the evening church service where about 100–150 people sang (loud!) and took turns quoting memorized scripture verses. We were very impressed. Then we listened to a couple of outstanding soloists and watched an adorable children's skit. After delighted applause for the children we listened to the pastor preach in Spanish. He was so expressive that I could tell he was talking about the return of Christ without understanding his words. The church services are held in a semi-outdoor setting with the breezes blowing. It was lovely.
Day 2: Monday
After a delicious Dominican breakfast we left to visit a Christian school to bring them school supplies and other needed things, but when we arrived we saw that morning and afternoon school was combined into one (so they were all crowed in) because a young man had been killed in a motor scooter accident and the funeral was that afternoon. They do not embalm so they had to bury him immediately. People were congregating in the streets and all was very somber.
Once we entered the school the children sang to us, performed for us, drew pictures for us, and basically made us feel totally welcome. We were surprised at how incredibly well behaved the kids were. We were told that going to school is a privilege and an honor and it is not taken lightly. We helped serve them a lunch of a piece of bread and a cup of juice. For some, that will be the only meal they get that day. The school desperately needs a new building, but the termites are so bad that a concrete house is the only kind of construction that will really last. Compared to US prices, the cost would not be much to do this. Probably less than $20,000 for a new concrete school!
While we were there we met Felix and Luis, brothers from Haiti who lost their parents in the earthquake. They are very fortunate to have been taken in by Pastor Leonel and his wife. The attitude toward Haitians is a little strained because of political reasons having to do with wars between the Dominicans and the Haitians over the past century. Apparently the US is not very sensitive to this. Illegal Haitian immigration after the earthquake is a real problem for Dominicans who barely have enough for themselves.
As we were leaving the woman that runs the school with her pastor husband broke down and wept she was so grateful for this attention and encouragement from Americans. It was very humbling. I will not soon forget the glorious smile on the pastor's face as he sang songs with the children about Jesus.
After a delicious Dominican lunch back at the church we made a trip to the grocery store and bought food for several needy families. I totally felt like Santa Claus delivering all these goodies to families with hungry children! And I should throw in that the families did not realize that we were coming and their homes were clean and well organized and their children were clean and well dressed. The Dominicans adore their children and all the kids we saw were so well behaved. These were families of Samuel's Fund kids....kids supported by the South Texas Children's Fund (of which Karol Peters is a board member). It was through this connection that we made this trip. One story that we heard after our deliveries was from the family of one single mom and 6 kids, ages 15 to around 5. We saw the mom a few days later and she told us that she did not know what was in all the boxes when we brought them. She had to leave for work so her daughters put the stuff away. She said that her second daughter separated out 10 percent of the food to give to the Lord. She gave it to poorer neighbors on their street. Wow.
After a delicious Dominican dinner we met with about 15 teachers of home bible studies. Some were helpers and some were experienced teachers and they are all very evangelical. When a young person comes to Christ he is discipled by the person that led him to Christ. If that person then leads someone else to Christ he is expected to then begin discipling that person. All of this is supported by the church. While we were there we got to hear about another young person who accepted Christ just that day!! Everyone was celebrating. Anyway, back to the teacher's meeting. I gave a short presentation that they can use in their classes about how to share the gospel that includes the Truth about God, the Truth about Sin, the Truth about Jesus Christ and the Truth about Man's Response (Faith and Repentance). It included hand motions to make it easy to remember. Then they decorated framed bible verses and a fun time was had by all! Those women know how to crack up and have fun!!
We went to bed exhausted and once we put our ear plugs in we could no longer hear that dog that wouldn't stop barking!
Day 3: Tuesday
After a delicious Dominican breakfast we headed to another grocery store and purchased food for our visit to an orphanage. We bought dry goods and stopped by a fresh market for veggies and fruit. After a side trip to get ourselves and our driver some frozen yogurt, which was awesome, we headed to the orphanage. By the way, I loved our driver, Theo (Tay-o). It was because of Theo's name that I understood my first joke in Spanish. I asked the pastor where Theo was: "Donde esta Theo?" and he yelled, "Donde esta Feo!" (feo means ugly). I got it without any explanation. I was very proud of myself! (The pastor and the driver are on teasing terms, obviously!) We really appreciated our Dominican driver because the traffic will turn your hair gray after your heart attack! There are apparently no rules! We were in very good hands and glad to have Theo!
Anyway, back to the orphanage. There are 12 boys and 1 girl at this small house. The girl lives with the pastor's family and the boys live at the house with a house mom. The youngest resident is adorable little Samuel, who was rescued from a trash can by a passer-by. The other kids have similarly sad stories. It was fun to spend time with the kids and watch them play the games we brought for them. Our guide, Rebecca, who works for South Texas Children's Home and is a Dominican, was wonderful with the children. What an awesome smile she has! And contagious Christian love! We shared a meal together and found it hard to leave. These kids need a lot.
After a delicious Dominican dinner we joined a gathering of women who are the moms of Samuel's Fund kids. They asked us parenting advice and we quickly realized that they could help each other much better than we could help them. It was good for them to get together and encourage each other.
Day 4: Wednesday
After yet another delicious Dominican breakfast we headed to the Dominican version of Costco and loaded up the car to take food and supplies to another school. When we arrived we learned that they had just run out of food that morning and were wondering how they were going to feed all 60 children. Like I said earlier, for some of these children, the meal they get at school might be the only meal they get all day.
I absolutely fell in love with this school and with these children! Each class did some kind of performance for us, sang to us, danced for us...We sang for them too! Then we had a birthday party for the October birthdays. As we were leaving we found out that they had just received news that they had been waiting for—for over 14 years! It had something to do with being recognized by the government as an accredited school for the first time, or at least they were headed in that direction. I was unclear on the nature of the message except that it was a miracle! Two miracles in one day for them. And we got to be there for both of them! There is a lot of work that we could do to help these teachers. They need refreshing, encouragement, ideas, and resources. UBC could help them tremendously. We were told that organizations like to help the children, but few think about how to help those who live there and teach the children on a daily basis.
Later we stopped by a Women's Conference and Karol gave an encouraging message to the women through an interpreter. I asked one woman how she was doing. She pointed at Karol and said in English, "Happy!"
When we returned to the church we prepared for our last night in the D.R. We were finished with our work and decided to go out to dinner in Santo Domingo. We took advantage of public transportation and headed out. The ride in our two taxis were probably one of the funnest things we did. Seven people squeezed into a tiny car. I heard that you "bond" on mission trips. We definitely bonded while sitting on each others laps! We also got to ride the new mass transit train. When the horn sounded you had better be on or off. If you weren't, too bad! It was great fun! We enjoyed a lovely meal in a nice little cafe in downtown S.D. including really yummy frozen lemonades, chocolate cake and pecan pie.
Day 5: Thursday
After our last delicious Dominican meal, cooked faithfully for us by mi amiga Maria Luisa, we had to say goodbye and leave. It was hard to leave. But it is comforting to know that we will be back soon. Just as we were heading out we found out that a young man had just received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. We got the chance to hug him, congratulate him and his brother, and welcome him into the Kingdom of the One Who Saves. We stopped by El Mercado (market) to shop for souvenirs on our way to the airport and then we were headed to Miami.
If you have ever considered going on a mission trip, may I highly recommend this one. We will be taking a group back some time within the next year. We will need people with a heart to equip Christian teachers, and we will also need people to play with the kids while the teachers are being equipped! It will probably cost around $1500 total. Start saving your pennies. You will not be the same person you were before. I'm sure not the same. I left a chunk of my heart in the Dominican Republic.
