Report from Dominican Republic

Following worship on Sunday, the congregation was treated to a lunch and a presentation from the mission team, newly returned from their trip to the Dominican Republic.

The food was representative of the DR including lots of fruit and salad as well as a very spicy meatball over rice.  As you can see the table was full to overflowing and I saw some people going back for seconds.

The team then presented a report on their time away and how they saw the resources we had sent with them put to good use.  Building is always part of a mission trip to the DR.  Building with fairly primitive tools, including a bucket brigade to transport bricks sand and cement up, down and over rough terrain.  This year, the Big Project was a meeting room, with a cement floor, block walls, plumbing, and wiring, with a prayer room included.  With no compacter to prepare the ground, a truck, full of volunteers was driven back and forth over the gravel bed.

While the building part of the mission is big and exciting and tangible, there were other moments in the trip that left a lasting impression on our team and on the people they met there.  One of the ministers who will be using the prayer room, was a man who'd freely used drugs and alcohol before finally opening a Bible -- a gift that had sat on his shelf for years.  God's Word, led him to Christ and he is now a minister, preaching the gospel and working to save other young lives.

One of the joys of working in the DR is the children.  Our team was swarmed daily, by children who craved hugs.  In families that are too large, too poor, too broken there is often no time for cuddling the little ones.  Those moments of affection portrayed God's love for all His people, both the hugger and the huggee.

We also heard stories of the effectiveness of school sponsorships. The team personally met five people who are going to school because of sponsorships from people in our congregation. House Upon the Rock is a very hands-on organization. If you want to see what happens with the money you give, they'll show you. Our team saw the bricks that were bought with money they'd raised.  They saw the shelves filled to overflowing with the medicines they'd brought and they saw people receiving those medicines.  

And they'll show you how those donations answer prayers.

The last day.  Two weeks looks like a long time when you're on an overnight plane ride.  When you're involved in God's work, the time flies past.  As the team said their good-bye they were able to look upon the work they had done in preparing the floor and staring the walls for the meeting room.  Amazing accomplishments in only two weeks.