Highlights of Highlights

Today's the last day in the DR! It's bittersweet to think about leaving our new and freshly rekindled friendships, while also very much looking forward to more consistent air conditioning. I will miss our nightly devotions where we reflect on the day and hear about others' days. These have been very impactful times where we wrestle to make meaning of the day's events. There are gratitudes, sadnesses, praises, and humor shared during these times.  The last couple of nights, I've been collecting headlines of each person's highlight of the day. I would like to share some of the highlights of our highlights from this week. 

Frank is great. 

That's how salesmen work.

I know you don't have a filter, but will you pray with me anyway?

A good dad.

I did enjoy the banana, yeah.

The chicken is pleased by the church.

There were some challenging children- Do you not understand Spanish??

She's got big pee-pee on her. 

I met Maximus Reyes!

Teaching David how to say squeeze.

Family on the motorbike with all the things.

Little kid voice "Bwebwedah" is their name. 

MUY BUENO!!

You've got to encourage the children.

Paul lead a birthday song for Julie.

Chased by cows. 

Water station teach-back.

Listening to Mike's highlight.

Connecting with moms at VBS and the happiness a pencil pouch can cause.

I planned my highlight today.

Duck shirt commentary.

Fanning friends.

Crockets.

What about the focaccia torture?

Is that a hot dog? Are those french fries? That pizza needs some ranch.

It's all on the record.

The dentist was pulling teeth right next to the blood pressure station and the numbers were definitely higher today.

A 2 year old girl won a mango-eating contest.

I pin-balled into the stove.

Celebrating graduations on the walls of homes.

I want to take Eddie home with me.

VBS was like perfecto. 

People wanted to pray with towels on their head and a hand placed on their head during the prayer.

Fun with bubbles. 

A toddler girl urinated in front of the toilet instead of in it. Maybe we should clean her feet?

You missed a spot here on the nail.

Relating to brown Jesus and Avatar Jesus.

Teachers sometimes force-feeding anti-parasite medicine.

Interpreters impressively speak three languages.

Can we pray for you? I've been looking forward to that part. 

We lost Teresa briefly, but then we found her. Which is good, so now we get to come back next year. 

We will probably quickly forget some of the contexts of these quotes, but the camaraderie shared by them will continue. The meanings of these events will persist in our memories of our time together in the DR this week. Thank you to such a great team this week. We are grateful for such a wonderful church that went on this trip with us in hundreds of different ways. We read our letters last night and loved seeing Trinity's encouragement and love. Thank you to our prayer partners this week. Thanks to Him who loves and encourages us all and called us all together.

- Hannah Bowers

Day 6 - Our Last Day in the Bateys

My experience this week feels next to impossible to put into words, but I will do my best. It was my first experience outside of the US as well as my first experience on a mission trip, and I have learned so much about myself and the world. This week has been absolutely filled with love, compassion, learning, laughing, sweat, hard work, humility, and new relationships made. God has been everywhere I look this week. I feel changed in a way that is difficult to describe, but tonight Teresa shared some text from the book she is reading titled "Celebration of Discipline" by Richard J. Foster and the passage relating to service and humility really summed it up perfectly. He writes about how service allows you to see the people you serve in a new light, you can not only see their position in life from a new perspective, but you can see their pain and you can now identify with the outcasts. To sum up our week I asked the team to put our heads together to crunch the numbers and determine the *approximate* number of people served (and other interesting statistics).

 - 145 water filters installed - I did not have the pleasure of working with the water team this week but based off what I have heard from others on the team this seemed to be the most touching mission. The team enters a home and with the help of interpreters demonstrate the use of the water filters, how long they last, etc. and then the team prays with them. Many of them get on their knees and cover their heads to receive the blessing, and one woman told Jessica, "Yes you can pray for me, I have been waiting for this."

 - 125 hygiene kits given away - Estella (one of the mission leaders) rounds up girls in the Batey to provide education/demonstration on use of the kits our church members have made. The kits, if taken care of well, will last the girls up to 2 years.

- 255 patients served in clinic - We learned a lot as a team about teamwork in clinic. We worked together to fill prescriptions and get patients seen/served in a timely manner. They were weighed, had their blood pressures taken, assessed by the doctors and dentist, and waited for their medications to be ready. Our wonderful interpreters (Eddy, Juan Roberto, David, Gilberto, Yuya, Emilio, and Manuel) helped do patient education about medications.

- 233 kids in VBS - Kids received anti-parasitic medication to start the day, followed by a bible story (translated by Estella into Spanish), and a related craft. Estella is a key part of VBS and is fantastic at getting the children in gear. I overheard her speaking to a particularly ornery group of girls who where just staring at her while she gave instructions and after a brief pause with no action from the girls she said, "Do you not understand Spanish?" She's the perfect amount of class and sass.

- almost 800 lbs of luggage - Each team member brought a checked bag with some of their belongings for the week and some extra supplies for the week, as well as a second checked bag full of only supplies for the week. Needless to say, we will be traveling MUCH lighter back home!

- 9 large pizzas - The number of pizzas orders tonight at dinner, which was way too many.

- 3 languages spoken - Several of our wonderful interpreters speak English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole in order to communicate with us and the people in the Bateys. 

- 1800 pounds - The amount of rice we helped distribute in the Bateys.

Many, many thanks to our church family who have been praying for us this week. 

Shelby Hogan

Day 5 - In a Bario

Day 5- Quisqueya Barrio

        Today, we had our furthest drive yet in our hot, bouncy school busses- a little over an hour each way- to Quisqueya barrio.  This is a large "neighborhood" of the city/ province of San Pedro.  Most of the people who live in Quisqueya are Haitian immigrants with very limited incomes and opportunities, so they still need all the services we have been providing.

        I worked in the medical clinic today, where we saw the most patients yet- approximately 90!  We saw babies through senior citizens.  Paul Orton and Shelby Hogan checked blood pressure before the patients saw one of the 3 Dominican doctors who traveled to Quisqueya with us.  Then, Lynn Hogan and I filled the "prescriptions" written by the doctors (mostly over the counter medications which these people struggle to obtain/ afford).  Every patient receives, at a minimum, vitamins and tylenol or ibuprofen.  Then, depending on their diagnosis, we also give them cold/ allergy medications, GI medications, antibiotic/ antifungal creams, and a few more specific medications as prescribed.  Each day, the 2 people filling prescriptions in the "pharmacy" struggle to keep up with all the prescriptions coming in. But also each day, people on other teams (water & VBS) that day come in and help us as it gets close to lunch time.  Dr. Hannah Bowers was one of those people today- she has been such a wealth of knowledge,  information & organization skills this week!  (And she worked in the medical clinic herself Monday and Tuesday). 

         After these hot days of work, we return to Casa Pastoral in La Romana for a delicious dinner prepared by the local staff here.  Then, after dinner each evening, we have gone around our entire group sharing our "highlight of the day."  Well, mine was easy today, and I must share here!  Before we had gotten started seeing patients/ filling prescriptions in the clinic this morning, the room was full of all our Trinity group, as well as 30 or so people waiting to be seen in the clinic. Paul Orton suddenly stood up and led the entire room in singing Happy Birthday to me- in Spanish!  Yes, I just spent my 58th birthday here in the DR!  The Casa Pastoral kitchen staff also had a delicious birthday cake for me after dinner, and Mike gave me a card signed by our entire team, as well as a locally made necklace. It was a great and memorable birthday!

        This week has been very special as all twelve of us seem to have worked together really well!  Whether it is counting pills, organizing the massive amounts of medicine, loading/ unloading busses, helping in the clinic after completing their other team responsibilities, or preparing the water filter systems each night, everyone has pitched in and helped get the work done.  We have felt your prayers, and we have felt God working through us to bring clean water, medical care, and Jesus' love to the people of the Dominican Republic. But as much as we want to be a blessing to the Dominican people, I always come away from this experience feeling like I've RECEIVED the blessing from these special people, and the rest of our group.  

Julie Wills 

        

Day 4 - Batey Lima

Facts and Feelings

Today we went to the Lima Batey (bah-TAY). The bus ride is about 45 minutes each day (so far) but the distance is only about 15-20 miles. Our bus driver, Yuya (or Frank) is an expert at navigating the dirt roads and mud puddles. Today we crossed a concrete bridge barely the width of the bus and the creek was up to the bridge. There's no safety rails, which made it look just like the bridge on the gravel road where Gary is from in Morgan county. The landscape was more hilly and I over heard the comment, "It looks like when you cross the state line into Tennessee, but we are NOT on I-65!"

I rode both trips in the seat with Crystal, who is a 28-yr old Haitian and her role is registration of everyone who comes in to the clinic. We made great use of the iPhone Translate app, taking turns speaking into my phone. "Llama" and "llama" do not mean the same thing haha. She was born in Haiti, and has graduated from school, but cannot attend 'University' because she is Haitian. She wants to be a nurse. 

The stats report for today is:

• 38 water filters installed and all of the families were prayed with by our team, including one woman who stopped them in the street and said, "I know you're out of filters, but will you pray for me?"
• 77 patients seen at the clinic (double yesterday's count). This does not include the children who get anti-parasitic syrup and a dum-dum sucker when we first arrive on site 
• 12 children at VBS in the morning who heard the parable of the lost sheep
• 26 children at VBS in the afternoon who heard the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet. 

At the end of the day we are hot and tired from the 88 degree weather with 68 % humidity. (By comparison, it was 38% humidity in HSV today. I checked.) We enjoy a home cooked meal by TaTa and the sweet kitchen ladies, three times a day. She serves a fresh fruit juice in ice cold gallon jugs on the table each night - mango, passion fruit, lime, cherry. Truly a cup of cold water in the biblical sense.

 But my favorite time of the day is the team meeting after dinner. Because we are a small-ish team, we can each share our favorite thing of the day. It varies from each person and their assignment for the day, clinic, VBS or water filters. We laugh about and respect our strengths and weaknesses (clinic vs. VBS). But the commonality and community we share with one another, the growing together as our entire focus is here and we are not encumbered or distracted by work or school or errands, is most meaningful for me. We are a small piece of the story in this much bigger story of the work here in the DR, and with the three other teams overlapping with us this week. Your story, our story, God's story, coming together in the Republica Dominica!  

Lynn Hogan

Day 3 - Out into the Bateys

    This morning we met all of our interpreters and doctors that went out to the batey with us. We were able to learn some about the life of the interpreters as we rode out to the batey. We also learned that the scariest thing on the island is not a snake, but actually a centipede that can clear a whole village just by appearing. 

    I was part of the VBS crew today. We had 70 children for VBS and we did it in a school's cafeteria. It was un poco loco. The lesson was on how Jesus will find any sheep that is lost and then throws a party when the sheep is found. I read the lesson in English while Estella, our VBS interpreter translated it in Spanish often with motions. The story concluded with the comparison of Jesus's love for the sheep is like his love for us. Then, the children did a craft where they put cotton balls on a sheep outline and glued a head on it. Many kids said they were done and their sheep was headless. I would point and say cabeza aqui. 

    After the sheep were reunited with their heads, it was snack time or crazy time depending on how you look at it. Then, it started raining. The principal of the school we were at came to us and told us we need to leave because the dirt roads out to the batey would be hard to travel on as the rain continued. Most of the team, VBS and medical, were at the same batey, but our bus was at a different batey with the water team. We did not get stuck, the roads actually have a ditch system that allowed run off instead of road puddles!

After lunch, we played with bubbles. Three of us had bubble wands and the burbujas were flying through the air. We also painted nails. Several girls wanted to play with my hair that was contained in many pins, buns, and hairspray. I declined and my tangled hair stayed put. I was also asked a multitude of questions, most of the children's questions were incomprehensible by my limited Spanish.   

On the bus back home, I believe many members of our team took a siesta or they were deep in a contemplative state. We got back to Casa Pastoral and nap time was the main event of the late afternoon.

After rejuvenation, it was dinner time! (I've joked that I should write this blog like the youth write Passport blogs, they tell you everything they ate that day.) I'll just say we are eating good and someone on this island is a cake making genius.

After dinner some of us prepped water filters and some counted pills to prep for tomorrow. This is a great team of goofy people that are ready to serve. They are playing spoons, or tongue depressors, next to me and I have FOMO, so I bid you farewell and buenas noches. 

- Jessica Haywood

Day 2 - Connections

One of my favorite things about our mission trips to LaRomana is the friendships that we have formed over the years with our Dominican family. So many people at the mission house great us with "welcome to your second home." Walking through the front door of the mission house yesterday did feel a little like coming home. Seeing the familiar faces of Estella, Willie, Moises, Marcus, Emilio, Tata, and so many more has been heartwarming over the last two days. This morning we had one of our favorite interpreters with us, Estella. Estella has worked with Trinity since our first trip to the DR, and today we got to meet her daughter for the first time. Esglennes, Estella's daughter, is four years old. The last time Trinity was able to work in the DR, Estella was pregnant with her. Seeing her made us realize just how long it has been since we have been able to visit our Dominican family.

We worshiped at Ebeneezer Church this morning. Trinity helped with the construction and dedication of the church over ten years ago. Seeing how much the Dominican community of Le Lechosa cherishes, takes care of, and continues to invest in their church was such a treat. The best part, though, was being able to worship alongside them. Lynn shared tonight in our devotional time that she recognized the song Power in the Blood (in Spanish), and we discussed how connected it made us feel - living so far away yet so connected with the same faith. After service, we blew bubbles with the children and laughed with them. Their smiles and laughter are so beautiful.

Following service, we walked over to the school that Trinity helped build for the children of Le Lechosa. The school is now complete with 3 levels and educates over 400 children through six grades. It was very exciting to see that they have added a preschool wing since Trinity's last visit in 2019. It is amazing that even through COVID, the mission work here has continued to help and serve the community. They have plans to add a playground to the school next.

After our tour of the school, we headed to the beach. We had fun spending time together as a team and enjoying the cool ocean water. It has definitely been hot and extremely humid, so this was a welcome break!

This evening half of the team worked at the mission house getting setup for VBS, Medical, and Water mission tomorrow in the batayes. We were sorting medicine, drilling holes in water buckets, and getting VBS supplies organized. The rest of the team went to church at Maranatha. Today is Mother's Day in the DR, so they enjoyed watching the children sing to and celebrate their mothers and listening to a Spanish sermon. Paul explained that the sermon was about Moses's mother. We are so thankful that Paul and Hannah speak Spanish!!

We are headed to bed for an early start in the batayes tomorrow. We are praying for God's love to touch everyone that we encounter tomorrow. 

Beth Woodard

Day 1 - Hey Hannah, where does this go?

    Today we spent a majority of the day cleaning the medical closest. For me I was mainly taking medication and writing the expiration date with big numbers on the bottle. Then it would be sorted into what the medicine was used for. Finally, it would be taken to the medical closet where it would be put into storage; however, when we arrived yesterday we discovered that the medicine closet was a disaster. There was medicine and suitcases all over the place, and water had gotten into the medical closet, so it smelled like mold and mildew. Therefore, our first task was cleaning the medical closet, then putting medicine into it. Now, at the end of the day, the medicine closet is looking very clean, and mostly filled. 

Christopher Woodard

 PS - The day was spent continually asking Hannah about different medicine types, what it treats, and what box it goes in.  Hence, we heard "Hannah, where does this go?" a lot.  

     Some of the other small things we did today included visiting the hospital and some trips to JUMBO. The hospital looked much more complete then it did 5 years ago. The first 3 floors were completely done, and the fourth and fifth floor were in progress and looking good. The guys started our days off by taking a trip to JUMBO where we bought about 20 tubs for storing the medicine, and some other smaller things. Then, after the hospital visit most of us went to JUMBO to buy small things like snacks. Most of us went to Bon, a frozen yogurt shop, which was pretty good. Finally, we ended the night by finagling a cake out of the kitchen ladies.