Mission: Dominican Republic - A True Re-Set for Me

 The day had finally come – June 7 – leaving for the Dominican Republic out of Tulsa International – My suitcase was bulging. I was heading to another country with 6 women I barely knew.  (No small concern for me)

I first picked up a brochure in mid-April about a “Hope for Her” ladies Mission in Jarabacoa, D.R.  I have a great deal of respect for our Mission Minister, Amy Cenea having been in a Bible Study group with her and decided I might think it over.  I waited a week to even mention it to Terry, having sort of dismissed the idea as not the best time for us.  Terry immediately jumped on the idea and said I should go – that this was “right up my alley” and in my spiritual gift mix.  The next morning in my quiet time I told God I would need to have some sort of sign. 

Within two hours – I got an email from Amy inviting me to go. . .

My friend, Carol, said “God is in this”.  My friend, Judy said, “This is what you are all about”.

Our kids jumped on it and said – “Mom do this!”  We want to share in this.

So I started prepping, reading the packing list,  taking longer and longer walks to build stamina, and wondering if at my age how my endurance would hold out.  I packed and re-packed.

We left early morning Wednesday June 7– headed to Dallas – had a 2 hour layover – then on to Miami – and had an extended layover after the plane’s AC was broken and we had to de-plane and wait for another – then landed in Santiago, DR about 10:30pm and drove an hour to the campus of Mission of Hope.

By 1:00 am we finally dozed off and were awakened early with loud voices coming from the cabin adjoining ours. 

'HOPE FOR HER' FOCUS FOR THE WEEK:

We began and ended each day in the beautiful open-air chapel with worship and a message from John 15, focused around the word "Abide".  40 women singing praises was an uplifting experience.

THURSDAY: 6/8

The first day we were encouraged to step away from all we had left behind and went on an excursion to a beautiful waterfall to put it all before the Lord and ask Him to fill us.

It was a 600 meter dissent to the beautiful spot where we were going to spend our quiet time and then have lunch.  I would have probably passed on the whole thing if I had known what was involved – but so many of our team were there to lend an arm or slow down for me. 

I do have to say that I felt it in my glutes the next couple of days – but it was a beautiful experience.

Mr. Rogers always used to say – “Look for the helpers.”  Sweet new friends were always there to assist should I need help.  The whole thing of humid weather and the steep dissent to the falls really affected my balance.  My endurance improved as the week wore on – but there was so many kind women helping steady the course for me if I needed it.  Gradually, I got acclimated.

I found myself saying Philippians 4:13 - "I CAN do all things through Christ who STRENGTHENS ME" as I climbed back up the 600 meters to the top.

Terry used his wide-awake time in the middle of the night to pray for my trip.  He covered all the bases praying for me while I was gone and wrote the most beautiful emails to me while I was away.

I so appreciated the care these churches put into the decor of their churches.

We then went to a local church for ministry time with their members – visiting people in the community and giving them water filtration systems.

Some in our group delivered groceries to the contacts who were in need of food.  The woman that we met welcomed us and we were able to encourage her and her neighbors with scriptures and prayer.

FRIDAY – 6/9

Friday morning was a special time of ministry to the minister’s wives and ministry leaders at one local church.  We had a time of sharing, a catered brunch and then followed with ministry time in the local area.

I was fortunate to visit with a pastor's wife from one of the churches in Santiago.

The woman in whose home we visited had hardly left her home for 25 years – seldom going out.  Her son, who lived with her, was an evangelist.  However, she came to our women’s day on Saturday.  We had a great time of prayer and visitation as we introduced her to the water filter that we had brought for her.

We returned to campus for dinner, gathering and then packed 250 hygiene bags for the ladies who were coming to campus for our women’s day.

SATURDAY 6/10

This day was a special day that 250-300 Santiago women and teen girls had been invited to. Many preparations had been made to help the ladies feel special - nicely set tables, flowers and gifts.  Air conditioned buses brought 270 women and girls along with 60+ children.  The meal was catered and our team of 35 North American women served them.  Though there was a language barrier, our love for them was shared with hugs smiles, and the help of translators. 

I met this young girl when she came up to me and said in limited English, "You're a cute grandma."

From there, we used our cell phones - her's with translation to talk.  She asked about my G'kids and their sports.

It took a great deal of planning to bring such a large group of women and children to the Mission of Hope campus.  Vanessa Johnson (on the right) who has worked on the island of Hispaniola with her husband, Brad,

for 25 years, has such a heart for women and believes in lifting women up to give them hope in Jesus and through Him, empowering them to live their best lives.

SUNDAY 6/11

We attended Pastor Magadala's church in Jarabacoa.  Her husband used to Pastor and now has dementia and she pastors two churches.  She suffered severe injuries from a car accident a few years ago and is able now through her faith to minister without pain medication.  She is 73 years old and is serving the Lord in beautiful ways.  Her message was about Elijah on that Sunday.

I have always celebrated my birthday with family and this was the first time to celebrate away from Terry and our children and grands.   Last Sunday – the Church we attended had a practice of calling the birthday celebrant to the stage and speaking verses of scripture over them.  They then sang “happy birthday” all in Spanish, of course.

The verses that were spoken over me by various members were:

Joshua 1:8, Psalm 20:1, Psalm 112:1, 

Habakkuk 3:17 & Isaiah 41:10

My response:  "It's a great day to be 73!

We returned to campus and were joined by 80 women for a ladies open house for the Jarabacoa women who live near campus.  Over 50 of these women were Haitian women who because of their immigration status have to live in hiding.  Coming out to this event could be dangerous for them – at the risk of being turned in to the authorities.  Their smiles were big, their babies beautiful and we loved on them like we had the ladies from Santiago on Saturday.

Venna and Dana wear many hats: translating, leading worship with their strong beautiful voices coordinating the day's activities and over-seeing all kitchen prep.

Monday 6/12 Serving Day

Monday was our service day and we could could choose to work in food distribution, painting one of the dorms, or community outreach.

Our team painted Monday morning and worked in the commons area in the afternoon.  (that is where there was the best breeze)

We peeled up CoVID stickers  - AND 100 pounds of potatoes.  Tamin and Cindy found ways to touch up painting the gutters and clearing the webs in the outdoor pavilion.  Amy found a wasp net helping with this project - she was stung and recovered nicely in a short time.

 Tuesday 6/13

Was our excursion day to the local coffee processing warehouse where we got to see the whole procedure from the plant to the product.  We all bought bags for our family back home. 

We wrapped up the day with a trip to the river club to enjoy the resort and relax.

I was impressed with Mission of Hope on so many different levels.  I will share some of the various aspects in this next section.

 The Mission – The Four-Fold Purpose

As Vanessa shared the history of their work on the island of Hispaniola she laid out the dimensions of the work they seek to do.

First and foremost - caring for the children, women and men in need through Church advancement - working under the leadership of the local churches, academic support, nutritional support as they supply food to thousands of children a day in Haiti, and also supply medical care through clinics that occur during the year.

The Children 

These ladies brought their beautiful children to campus.  Many of our ladies helped with caring for them.  We saw grandmothers, aunts and big sisters all helping the mothers with their kids.  

More than 25 years ago an orphanage was started in Haiti.  Vanessa and Brad, current Mission of Hope leaders went to Haiti as newlyweds and visited this orphanage.  "Junior" a young boy attached himself to them.  .  . they soon became his parents and today he is a Marine serving in the United States.  Some of those young children serve with MOH now in the Dominican Republic. 

Our Team

I was blessed to be united with this incredible team of amazing women from Redeemer Church.  From Left to Right -- me, Jill Marshall, Tami Roach, Riley Marshall, Andrea Stevens, Cindy Bruere, and our Mission Minister, Amy Cenea.

 It was delightful to watch this mother-daughter team as they served during the week.

The Campus

This campus was purchased by the Green Family (from Hobby Lobby*) about a year ago.  They have poured millions into the whole island - first to Haiti over the years and now helped to establish this campus within the last year.  I met young families who are working with Mission of Hope on site and based out of Austin, TX. They are passionate about their calling.

*The Green's efforts in Haiti include schools - both elementary and technical schools.  They are now building four training schools in four specific career fields which Redeemer Church will help to maintain.  

Psalm 84 comes to mind - 

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs;
    the autumn rains also cover it with pools.[d 
They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion

We arrived at the campus in the middle of the night and were excited to see all that awaited us the next morning!  Just outside our door was a mango tree full of fruit!  

Sleep was intermittent most of the time because of the temperature.  Though it was in the mid to upper 80’s the humidity kept us feeling sticky.

On campus we were able to find beautiful verandas that had great cross breezes and spent our free time chatting and enjoying the view.

All our meals were served in the open-air commons.  The kitchen staff very capably served 50-75 at a time.

Beans and Rice with chicken are often a part of the main meal.  We found the staff worked hard to prepare some Western type meals.

 Ministry with Redeemer Sisters-

A young woman who had undergone a very hard time in ministry in New Zealand shared the past year of extreme trial and conflict.  Since 2018 she and her family have been in 3-4 countries serving on mission. 

 The word I heard as she spoke was "WASH HER FEET".  God brought to mind a time when a grandmother and her granddaughter did that for us, as well, during a difficult time. I acted on it - though it is not something I often do. . . 

 We were privileged to minister to her as a team of women who love God,  love this young servant sister and believe in her calling.  

 

Wednesday 6/14

We headed for home after a farewell breakfast in the chapel and enjoyed a sweet reunion with our families

I was birthday blessed by my family to be a part of this incredible mission for a brief week in the Dominican Republic.  It has been a long time since I have been on mission in a third - world country.  Each and every time God opens my eyes to all that HE is doing to reach the Nations for Him.