Day 5 Pictures

Our staff of runners

Sue and John and a thankful boy they treated

The (hot and sweaty) pharmacy staff

A family with one of our doctors

Mary in the wound care center

A happy family after treatment

Carla encouraging her patient to help out

John and Anne giving testimonials

Pastor Nellie praying

Happy brother and sister after a joyful day

Day 5: Healing and Emotions

Today was our medical clinic day. Fittingly enough, both of our infirmed have fully rallied and participated fully today (but under many watchful eyes). These days are perhaps the hardest to explain and do justice. The abject need of the people that we see is heart wrenching, yet the ease with which they express their joy and thankfulness is humbling and spirit-refreshing. Then we had a church service that also played on a completely different set of emotions, within our mission family, as we rejoiced at a joyous occasion.


The blue church had been transformed into a field hospital, but as a tin structure on a hot sunny day, it quickly became referred to as “the oven” especially by those inside. With the addition of string, sheets, and clothes pins, the inside became 9 family exam rooms and a pharmacy. Outside there was traffic control, triage/wound care, and hygiene kit distribution. We set up a makeshift pharmacy with 45 medications on our formulary for the doctors to choose from. The 150 families that had been registered the previous days were brought in as a family to see one of the 9 doctors. Once “in the system” one of our mission team acted as a runner to escort the family through the process, bring prescriptions to and retrieve medications from the pharmacy, and keep their assigned doctor hydrated and in supplies. Additionally, every family that came through got a hygiene kit with general health supplies and some extra goodies. Outside we had a group of trained professionals from our own mission team performing general wound care on anyone that came in. To keep them in patients, a number of the teens were going door to door advertising the service we were performing and bringing them to the care area. All told, we helped more than 150 families get basic healthcare that we take for granted, and many more had wounds, from the very minor to the frighteningly major, cared for and treated with supplies not generally available to them.

After the hot day we returned to the orphanage to have dinner, and discuss the day in smaller groups—decompressing and going over the emotions and also our motivations for doing this kind of thing. We then went back to the blue church, which had been transformed back into a church, for an evening worship service. We led the church in both a Creole and a Spanish song, Mark preached a sermon, and we were witnesses to an exciting commitment and blessing. Two of our members, John and Anne, each gave testimonies to those present of their emotions for each other, and of what the trips to El Brisal have meant to them and their relationship. John and Anne had known each other as children, but lost touch over the years having gone separate ways. After a chance meeting, they began coming on FFP mission trips together, found love together, and became engaged—planning to wed later this year. There is much more to the story, but I cannot do it justice here. The pastors and the congregation prayed a special blessing on the couple, encouraging them in Christ and in their union to come.

Summary:

-I have lost words to describe the heat…”the Oven” paints the right picture. Some were calling it “the Sauna” but they were not the ones inside the building.

-lost bags: 0 (found bags: 1)

-church services attended: 3

-days hard labor: 3

-infirmed: 2 (but now recovered. Praise God!)

-Children Carla has selected to take home to NJ: I have truly lost count, but definitely triple digits

-Children Sue is disputing Carla’s claim on: 1 officially, but I think her number is close to Carla’s

-Young boys Pastor Mark has selected to bring home: 9 (at least, he wants to field a baseball team, and might need a bull-pen and bench…)

-local boys watching us on the work site buck naked: 2 (although there were a number of them at the clinic and in the wound care center as well today)

-Local women taught basic sewing: 8 or more…I’ve lost count and Sarah and Mary are giving private lessons too

-Families treated: 150

-Wounds treated: hundreds

-Coming unions blessed: 1

Day 4 in Pictures

Lauren taking care of the kids

Liz and Kara keeping the kids entertained

Carla and the master mason giving her

chiseling work the O.K.

Even the young bucks were pooped by lunch

Mark and his new friend

Sue and Valentin not looking quite so pooped...

despite a brutal morning of work

Brielle smiling and making friends with the

kids at VBS as always

I don't thing today's story was Zacheus,

but clearly this boy had heard that story...

The hair salon is open...

note:  you don't see me in this group!

Hoisting slopping buckets of cement to the roof

Our sewing instructor, students, and translator

Day 4: Hot and Heavy

Forgive the potential curtness…but we’re all wiped out…and I’ll get to the point (well, as much as I ever do)


Up early for breakfast and off to the worksite down four (same two due to illness and two that stayed at the orphanage to teach a class). With the weather and physical workload today, it was a group decision to have the under-the-weather members of our group recoup for another day—and they both seem significantly better for it, judging by their energy levels tonight. The class was an outreach to our friends down here, spearheaded by Sarah Ketchum. After two years in the planning, some donated sewing machines have been made available here at the orphanage, and she spent the day instructing the locals on some simple use and basic techniques. Mary Bond was her assistant for the day, and it went over very well.

On the worksite, what that meant was that some of the teens took over the responsibility for childcare and teaching for the whole day—but they rotated through. A number of them commented on the fact that it was much more difficult than they expected it to be, and much harder than doing it part-time as Sarah’s helpers. They did a great job though and the kids were thoroughly watched and entertained all day. Also, it was REALLY hot. I know that’s a silly thing to say to those of you in NJ today, but there was little relief from the sun, and the humidity was once again oppressive. Lots of heavy bucket loading, heavy dirt dumping, heavy cement mixing, hoisting heavy buckets of said cement to the roof, and spreading. Also, a few of our crew went to help register families for Tuesday’s medical clinic, a difficult task of getting forms filled out with often-reluctant patients and the ever-present language barrier, for the afternoon in the even-hotter church where we’ll hold the clinic tomorrow.

After dinner and a group study on our trip focus-verse (Philippians 2:1-11), we celebrated a difficult day with a trip to the (shout it loud with me) “JUMBO!” It’s a mission trip thing, and tradition. Jumbo is essentially the Dominican version of a super Walmart, and gives everyone to do a little shopping for whatever they forgot, are missing, or want to sample of the local fare. After returning, we broke into our small groups and dove a little deeper into the meanings and reasons of the passage and why we’re here. A lot of focus on how difficult we anticipate tomorrow to be, not from a physical perspective (though it will likely be 110-120 degrees inside that church), but past trips have taught us that it will be emotionally draining and leave us spiritually raw.

Summary:

-It’s just oppressively hot and humid

-lost bags: 0 (found bags: 1)

-church services attended: 2

-days hard labor: 3

-infirmed: 2 (but recovering nicely!)

-Children Carla has selected to take home to NJ: 23

-Children Sue is disputing Carla’s claim on: 1 (no change)

-Young boys Pastor Mark has selected to bring home: 1 (this is also a dispute of one of Carla’s)

-local boys watching us on the work site buck naked: 2 (but in fairness, the one from yesterday arrive fully clothed and demanded his 20 Pesos for the shirt AND pants. We gladly paid him.)

-Local women taught basic sewing: 4

Day 3 Pictures

Worshipping under the church tent

The site as we're about to start for the day

Dean swinging the pick-axe in the mud

Kate and Sarah reading bible stories in
Spanish to a rapt audience

Smiling faces looking out the short-lived window

Liz demonstrating her skills

The roof crew taking a quick break

Day 3: Things get Serious

We woke up this morning to a late breakfast of eggs and jello and the news that our expected trip to the botanical gardens wasn’t to happen due to a closure. Instead, a voluntary short walking tour of the surrounding neighborhoods in San Pedro was organized and led by our hosts. One of our crew took ill this morning, struggling with what we thought was a stomach bug. We all (minus one) went to a local church which was held under a big tent, complete with lots of singing, dancing, an alter call, laying of hands on those in need, and flag-waving—the differences in culture and style are still striking. We stood (and clapped and sang) for about half of the service in the heat. Even the pouring rain that came during the service didn’t cool things down, but rather made the humidity a little more daunting. During the service, another of our crew had a problem and fell ill. [I have been in contact with the families of both that are suffering, so if you haven’t heard from me directly, don’t worry…but your prayers would be greatly appreciated too!] We don’t know if it’s viral, bacterial, or related to heat exhaustion, but regardless it has been a strong reminder about being diligent sanitizing our hands and keeping hydrated.


After lunch, sensitive to the potential for over-exertion, we had a voluntary afternoon of work in El Brisal…much to my surprise, every person that was physically able chose to come and work for the afternoon. We had two goals today in our time on the drenched and soggy work site: get the ridiculously large pile of “dirt” into the building by the bucketload, as described on day 2, which had been soaked and pelted by rain to become a hard-packed mass that had to be chopped with a pick before it could be shoveled into buckets. The second job was to lay a course of block around the edge of the roof (with the blocks and the sand—for mortar—that we put up there the day before). Both missions accomplished (although there’s a bigger pile of fill to get into the building tomorrow…ugh). On another note, just before we left, Juan told us that one of the windows needed to be turned into a doorway. While many took turns, the most effective “deconstructionist” was Liz Wellman! Pastor Mark believes she may have found her calling and is currently looking to hire her out for summer masonry demolition projects. He can be contacted at the church office on or after July 6th.

We returned to an eclectic dinner of spaghetti, french fries (with ketchup), and fried plantains—it was devoured by a hungry returning work crew. During our evening study, we had a stirring and emotional testimony from Valentin (a Haitian multilingual lawyer, pastor, and missionary we have been working with) about the day of the earthquake and its aftermath. [actually, it was chronicled in Feb. 1st issue of People Magazine] We sang a few songs, and studied Colossians 3—discussing our “team uniform” of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Small groups then dug deeper on that topic and discussed the day’s events, followed by some down time to relax and blow off steam.

Summary:

-We’re well settled in, getting into routines

-It’s kinda hot, and REALLY humid

-lost bags: 0 (found bags: 1)

-church services attended:  2 (but the second one was 3 hours long...so I don't know how to count that...)

-days hard labor: 1.5

-infirmed: 2

-Children Carla has selected to take home to NJ: 2 (no change)

-Children Sue is disputing Carla’s claim on: 1 (no change)

-local boys who insist on running after the bus, watching us on the work site, standing in ankle-deep mud puddles, and eating cheetos all while buck naked: 1 (we even offered him 10 Pesos to go home and put some pants on…he declined, I guess we’ll start the bidding tomorrow at 11)

Day 2 picture sampling

The building as we found it

Our team of eager workers, nobody's sore yet...

Clearing the back lot

buckets go up...

buckets come down (amid a mass of other work)

two of our rock-star roof workers

Reuiniting with old friends

...and making new ones

The local wildlife with our cement workers

And then came the rain....

Day 2: And it Begins for Real...

Here we go…up to an unseasonably cool morning, a Dominican breakfast of oatmeal and fruit…and strong Dominican coffee (did I mention it’s strong? And good!) Then off to the worksite for a day of hard labor. O.K. while I realize it was unseasonably cool…it was still hot, really hot. You know that saying, “it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity” that gets ya…well personally, it’s both. Driving to the worksite, it struck me just how much little El Brisal changed in just a year. There are now sidewalks on a couple of the major roads (mind you, there are no roads yet…but there are nice concrete sidewalks) and a number of block and cement buildings have replaced wood and corrugated tin huts—kind of amazing what piping water to a town will do, now all we need to do is get it clean.


So we arrive to find the building much as we left it, but now WITH A ROOF! Immediately we split into three teams. Team 1, sift that that fine gray sand, so that we can make finishing concrete out of it. Team 2, clear out the whole back and side lot of everything (weeds, rocks, glass, leaves, etc.) so we can burn it as garbage and have a nice yard. Team 3, you see that great big pile of brown sand? Good. Now get it all up on the roof. Oh yeah, and when you’re done, those 100 cinder blocks need to go up there too. Guess what team I was on? Well, at least I stayed relatively ground-bound, as these makeshift ladders (scrap wood nailed together, to whatever height is needed) certainly aren’t rated to take this authors weight. So instead I stood on a makeshift platform of the aforementioned blocks, and lifted the dead weight skyward from ground level to a brother up on the ladder who then put them on the roof. In hindsight, this was probably not the best warm-up…as I’m dipping into the Ibuprofen supply to write this and hopefully get some sleep.

So after very tiring morning, softened only by our high enthusiasm, we walked to the school for a lunch of chicken, beans, and salad (oh, and of course there was rice, it is the DR). Lunch was followed by a bible story and vacation bible school for the local children led by our teens. Singing, dancing, piggy-back rides, and an impromptu soccer game were on tap as well. Some ducked out a little early to head back to the worksite and get a jump on the afternoon. Oh yeah, so on the way to lunch, John Bond and I are passed by a dump truck filled with “dirt” (for lack of a nicer term…it was more rock than anything, and boy did it smell ripe) and he says “well, it looks like we’ve got some shoveling in store for this afternoon.” So we get to the worksite and Juan, our foreman (aka “Maestro”), says (or rather points and uses some rather emphatic hand motions) that the entire dump load (and as it turns out…a couple more) of “not clean fill” needs to get moved bucket-by bucket INTO the building, to build up the dirt floor and form a foundation for a cement one. All this time, there is a team putting (mutting and skimming) a finishing coat of cement on the ceiling and walls. Just as we’re wondering if it’s time to wrap up for the day, it starts to rain, which while refreshing, is not good for the piles of dirt, sand, and cement we have in the road…ugh. It’s just going to be that much heavier tomorrow.

After another nice (rice and chicken) dinner, we sang songs in English, Spanish, and even learned a new one in Creole. This was followed by a study from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, about living with and adopting the culture of those you wish to minister to. As Christ came to our world, we must learn to adapt to and do things “the Dominican Way” if we hope to get to know our friends better and work together Mano y Mano. This was followed by small group discussions and time of prayer. On tap for tomorrow are two special treats, plus an afternoon back at the work site. First thing in the morning we have the opportunity to go to a local botanical gardens, and see some of the local tropical flora and fauna. After this, we will be worshiping at a bigger church here in San Pedro, where a number of our hosts here at the orphanage are members and worship. This is a first for our mission teams, and are anxious to worship with them in their home church, and experience a little more of the lives of these generous friends who do so much for us while we are here.

One message I promised to deliver: Happy Birthday Paige Corry! And your mommy misses you.

News: We were pleasantly surprised to get a call that Lauren’s suitcase was found and was delivered to the orphanage this afternoon. Yay for underwear, shampoo, and peanut butter!

Summary:

-We’re settled in, still safe and sound

-It’s still really hot

-lost bags: 0 (found bags: 1)

-days hard labor: 1

-serious injuries: 0, battered and bruised: 32

-Children Carla has selected to take home to NJ: 2

-Children Sue is disputing Carla’s claim on: 1

Day 1 Pictures

 

Pizza at the airport

Packing medicine

Assembling hygene kits

Preparing for worship

Praising the lord, Dominican style

Carla and Brielle, with a friend that may make his
way to NJ if they get their way.

DAY 1!!!

Where to start….well, as day one comes to a close, I am struck by one thing…the most difficulty we had was BEFORE WE LEFT NEW JERSEY!!! Who’d have thought that? Well, if I told you it was Newark airport that caused the problem, probably all of you (if that actually is anyone).


So, more information than anything today: Up at 3am, load the van, pick up my charges on the way to the airport, pull up to Newark’s international departures at 5am on the dot. First ones there! (I know, that’s hard for any of you that know me to believe). Over the next 20 minutes the rest of our party of 30 arrived. Lesson learned: even if the nice people at the Continental Elite check-in tell you they’ll let all 30 of us check in there as a group…well, they’re not telling you the truth. So, an hour later we’re finally checked in, an hour after that, we’re finally through security…Do the math, we were late for our 7:10 flight. Luckily (no, seriously, I’m saying this), God saw fit to have a security emergency shut-down of the airport to stop all flights from leaving. So, we were the last folks on the plane and we finally departed. (Oh yeah, our plane was actually the cause of the security “issue” in the end).

We arrived in Santa Domingo…and one of our bags didn’t arrive…but the other 55 or so made it just fine. Pizza in the airport for lunch. To the orphanage, unpack, pack up and organize medicines, and assemble the hygiene kits for our medical clinic day. Meet at 5:30 for our first meal of the year at the orphanage (Saffron rice, barbecue…well, meat let’s call it, and salad), get on the bus in church clothes and then a truly unique worship experience in “the blue church” in El Brisal. Worshiping with our Pentecostal Dominican brothers and sisters in a boiling tin hut church is an unexplainable and impactful time that really defies words. Then back to the orphanage, a large group time of singing and reading of Psalm 139, and then our first small group study of the trip.

Well, that’s about it. Summary:
-we’re here and safe
-it’s hot
-and we’re turning in early for a day of construction tomorrow
-lost bags:  1
-church services:  1
-medical issues:  0
-days of construction:  0
-Children Carla Corry has selected to take home to NJ:  1

Why? To Serve, as we were served.

Our theme passage for this year's trip comes from Philippians Chapter 2:

Imitating Christ's Humility:


If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Hope Summer Dominican Republic Mission Trip: El Brisal 2010
The purpose of this blog is to track and post the experiences of the Hope Church summer missions team on the 2010 mission to the bario of El Brisal in the Dominican Republic. We will try to update it with content and photos while "in country" and maybe more once we're back. Depart 25-June, return 3-July.