A Mission of Love to the Dominican Republic
POSTED ON May 20, 2009
Ginny with Estrella, one of her sponsored children.
Gilenny in her brand-new wheelchair!
Gilenny surrounded by balloons at the celebration of her 16th birthday.
Ginny and Jill Branham spent a day with Guadalupe learning new recipes!
My first mission trip to the Dominican Republic (DR) with COTN was in 2004. At that time I went as Deacon of Missions from Harbor Covenant Church (in Gig Harbor, Washington) to see if COTN was a ministry we wanted to partner with. Since my most recent trip, two weeks ago, was my eighth trip to the DR with COTN, you can see our answer to partnership was a resounding "Yes!"
Our church felt drawn to the batey of Don Bosco, which we have concentrated on, developing ongoing relationships with the children and the staff. Previous mission trips have consisted of medical teams, health care education, arts and crafts, construction teams, music ministry, pastoral training, working with the Challenged Children's Program and doing our prayer walks through the bateys.
My most recent trip was not your typical mission trip. I didn't take a big team with me. Jill Branham, (also from Harbor Covenant Church) and I had no agenda other than delivering a wheelchair which had been donated by our local Olympic Pharmacy in Gig Harbor to Jill's sponsored child, Gilenny. Jill had fallen in love with Gilenny on our previous trip in November 2008, and expressed her desire to sponsor Gilenny on the spot. Our hearts were moved by the need of a wheelchair that fit her properly. Upon our return home, Lois Kramer contacted Olympic Pharmacy who responded with a beautiful new wheelchair. Since we had no immediate mission trip planned and were excited for Gilenny to receive her wheelchair, Jill and I made a special trip to make this delivery.
Since Gilenny's 16th birthday was the day before we arrived, we were excited to give her a birthday party. Friends and family surrounded her with balloons, streamers, brightly colored therapy toys, and an amazing cake from the Barahona Bakery. We have never seen Gilenny so animated and full of joy as we did the afternoon of that birthday party. Also joining us in the joy of this occasion were some of COTN’s Dominican staff, including Malou, Maritza, Guadalupe, Daysi, Pastor Africa, Fernando, Yaneth, and Juange our interpretor. I'm not sure who was more filled with joy—Gilenny or me and Jill.
Another highlight of our trip was seeing my little sponsored child, Estrella, look me straight in the eyes—with BOTH eyes. She had recently had eye surgery from one of the medical teams who corrected her crossed eyes. What a thrill to see how our children are cared for!
Added to that highlight was receiving the information that my sponsored boys' mother had recently completed her education at university, and had a teaching job at a local school. How encouraging to see how the importance of education is catching on in that batey!
Since there were no other mission teams there during our stay, we were able to visit with everyone and feast in many of the staff's homes. What a delight to have that special time of developing deeper relationships with the staff! Guadalupe gave us Dominican cooking lessons in her home, which was a real treat. I must admit I was exhausted after three hours of just watching her do all that cooking as Jill wrote down the recipes and I took pictures. We are determined to try our hand at Dominican cooking now that we are home.
The drawing card that keeps bringing us back to the Dominican Republic is our love for the children, our trust in COTN and its commitment to God's call in caring for these children, and the amazing commitment of the COTN staff. What a privilege to encourage and work alongside those who give their all for God's Kingdom work. We envision many years of continued trips to the DR with COTN. Hopefully next fall we will find ourselves there with a dental team and occupational therapists to assist and teach in the Challenged Children's Program. What more can we ask of in life than to be in the middle of God's will and His call to help those in need?
Feeling blessed and privileged to partner with our God and COTN!