The last day

On Thursday, our last day in the DR, we had the opportunity to visit the church and school that Trinity helped build over several years in La Lechosa before heading to the airport. This was a very special treat for the team.  Several of the member poured blood, sweat, and tears into constructing the church and school in previous years.  At times, it felt like there would never be kids at the school.  But, this visit showed why we do these trips.  Over 500 children are now going to school and receiving an education thanks, in part, to Trinity mission trips.

It was the kids last day of school, so they were having class parties.  We were welcomed to the school with a special dance performance and then had some time to visit classrooms and talk with the school administrators. Words cannot adequately describe seeing the school in operation.

We also had some time to visit with Pastor Ramon at the church. It was a perfect ending to a very good trip.

Safely home

Thank you for your prayers and support.  The team just landed in Huntsville.  Our last morning in the DR was very special.  I will post more about it tomorrow,  but now is the time for us to get some rest.

Our final work day

Today was our last work day in the DR and was filled with a strong mix of emotions.  I’ll say more about that in a few minutes but let me begin with the basics of what we did.  The day started as usual with breakfast and then loading of the bus.  We always mention the loading without much detail but it does involve quite a lot of logistics as well as hefting and toting.  Lots of containers of medicine, suitcases full of VBS supplies, water filtration systems, and 20 to 30 thirty pound boxes of food supplements.  After a bit of a ride on an old school bus we arrived at Batay 20.  We then had to unload all of the same stuff.  Lots of hefting and toting again.  The medical team set up shop in one small schoolhouse, the VBS team set up in another small schoolhouse, and the water team prepared to walk around the batay and provide filtration systems along with the necessary training.  The medical team provided much needed medication to 75 people.  The water team provided 39 water filtration systems.  The VBS team shared the love of Christ with a good number of children with a variety of crafts and activities.  Each of the teams always shares the love of Christ with the people they encounter whether doing medical, water, or VBS.  One thing that was unique today for the water team was that the team visited this same batay last year.  This provided a great opportunity for them to assess the effectiveness of the distribution method and training.   After we returned to the Casa Pastoral we took a few moments to acknowledge the local team of interpreters, cooks, and medical professionals that we are helping to do all of the ministries that we undertake.  I mentioned earlier the mixed emotions.  One side of this is knowing that we will be leaving our good friends tomorrow and won’t see them for some time.  Another side is that we are all very tired and looking very forward to returning home.  While we were all processing all of this, the most exciting thing that happened today for me personally occurred after we had eaten and were having a brief team meeting and devotional.  This was intended to be short but the group quickly turned this time into a rather lengthy time of discussion about how those of us who have gone on these mission trips can do a better job of sharing our passion for missions with others.  I don’t know what will come next but I do know that the spirit of God was moving in our small group tonight and I’m very excited to see how this will continue in the coming months.  Please pray for us as we travel tomorrow and as we continue to process how God is working in each of us.

Thanks to all who have gone with us on the trip in so many ways, especially through your prayers,

Steve

PS. Since I have the nightly job of posting the blog, I am going to take advantage of the responsibility and add one message of my own...Take a close look at the pictures that have been posted.  You will see a lot of smiling faces.  While these trips involve a lot of hard work as Steve mentioned above, they are also full of fun moments and a lot of fellowship with others on the trip.  Start thinking now about if you want to be part of next year's trip. - Keith

Day 4

Today we traveled for an hour and a half on the school bus to a small baŕio. We gave out 45 water filters to families and saw 88 patients in the clinic. The clinic was held in a the baŕio's church. The afternoon was much busier than the morning. The people were so excited and eager to receive the water filters. Unfortunately, we did not have enough for all the families that wanted one. I worked with the VBS team. We did VBS outside between 3 homes. The children sat on tablecloths to listen to the story of the lost sheep and make a craft. They were so excited to get the pencil pouches Trinity packed and have juice and cookies. After morning VBS, we worked with our interpretor to teach young girls about feminine hygiene. We gave out 29 reusable kits for monthly cycles that were sewn by ladies at Trinity. The girls were so grateful to have them and will be able to attend school more regularly because of them. We also supplied 25 families with boxes of rice. It was a great day of showing love to the people of the DR.

Beth Woodard

Day 3

Today we got up bright and early to head to the batay. We loaded up the bus around 8:30 and headed over to Batay 22 with supplies for VBS, water filtration, and the medical clinic. We set up the clinic in the school building and held VBS right outside in the schoolyard. 

Mary, Keith, Mike and I were on the water filtration team for today. We did not have to walk around to each home, as many people gathered around to watch the demonstration of the filters and receive them. We gave out all of the filters to 38 households and 1 to the school before lunchtime. 

After lunch the water filter team split up between the clinic and vbs. I went with VBS, where we played with bubbles and beachballs, did a craft, sang songs and other things while the clinic saw more patients. A few of the girls even braided me and Beth’s hair. 

Our translators were an essential part of today, making sure the people receiving water filters knew how to properly use and care for them, as well as communicating the stories to the kids in VBS. So were the doctors that came with us to see people in the clinic. We left the batay around 4:30 and came back to the mission house for dinner. Today was a great day of Missions!

- Sarah Orton

Day 2

Today our Trinity Dominican Republic team was able to worship with Maranatha Baptist church which is around the corner from the Mission House that we are staying in.   We were given a warm welcome.   Glenn got called to the platform to give a welcome from Trinity to the Maranatha church.  He thanked them for their steadfast work La Romana.  The church worshipped in Haitian creole and Spanish.   The choir sang some hymns very beautifully without musical accompaniment.  The sermon was based on Hebrews 12: 1-2.  The pastor encouraged all to run the race fixing our eyes on Jesus in very clear, but fast Spanish. 

The group then returned to the Mission House for lunch. Some then stayed and prepped for the work tomorrow and some went to the very popular public beach.  We then got together for another delicious meal at the Mission House complete with coconut pie.  We then met for our nightly devotion led by Steve.

Day 1 Recap

Day 1

The arrival of our luggage proved very timely today in that we would not have had enough crafts for the 99 children we had at VBS!  The water filters were in those pieces of luggage as well so we were able to send a team out to distribute water filters to 24 homes in the same batey.  So we hit the ground running this afternoon!

The batay we went to was Las Cejas, which means “the eyebrows” – no one was sure why😊  But we did learn that it was the batay that Moises, the CEO at the hospital, grew up in.  Moises’ sister is one of our translators again this year and she was just a baby when their family left the batay and moved to La Romana.  It was a little surreal to imagine that they lived in the batay just like the children we worked with today.

When we pulled out the VBS supplies and distributed the hygiene kits this afternoon, we were struck by the number of Trinity folks who have made this mission trip possible.  Many of you cut out crafts and donated supplies, our Mission Kids group packed pencil packs, and others of you sewed the hygiene kits.  And your many prayers give us strength to do the work and patience to be flexible when things are not going as planned.  Thank you so much for making it possible for us to help here in the DR in so many ways!

We were also very aware of how much we need our translators.  We can bring some resources and information, but they are the ones who can connect with the people more personally since they speak the same language and they will be here to continue to help long after we leave. 

Tonight, Beth read from I Corinthians 3 about how Paul planted seeds in some hearts, Apollos watered them, but God is the one who made those seeds grow.  We are just a small piece of the process and are so grateful to work with you all at Trinity and our friends here in the DR to plant seeds and water for God’s harvest.

Day 1 Video Recap