Last November, an opportunity for a family mission trip to the Dominican Republic was announced at church. Having always wanted to do a family mission trip I reached out. Unfortunately, I was told the trip filled up within 48 hours. Fast forward to the end of April, I receive an email telling me that spots opened up for our family to go to the DR with Family Church June 4-10th.
After talking to Trevor and Kaylee, it was decided that just Kianna, Trace and I would be able to go. Trevor's work schedule was crazy in June and Kaylee had just signed up to take the SAT on June 4th, the day we would be leaving. She didn't want to change the date because she was taking a 6 week prep course that would be ending on the 2nd and then taking the test on the 4th. So crazy thing happened prior to our departure on the 4th. A tropical storm came through Florida on the 3rd, causing all SAT exams to be cancelled on the 4th. Since Kaylee wasn't able to come with us, we invited Brittney Comer, Kaylee's best friend from Iowa, to come spend the week with her while we were away.
Day 1: Travel Day & Getting Settled
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| Cafeteria |
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| Kianna's room with High School girls. |
This little sidewalk led to the rest of the complex and our room.
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| Trace and I stayed in the room on the left at the top of the stairs. |
I have to admit that going into our trip, I was a bit nervous because we didn't know anyone else. There were 43 people that went from Family Church, but we were the only ones from our campus in Jupiter. There are 13 campuses total and five campuses were represented. I really wanted to go on this trip for the kids. I wanted them to be able to experience serving others, experience a third world country, grow spiritually and hopefully make some Christian friends since most of their friends aren't Christ followers. It was tough traveling without Trevor and Kaylee, but I felt led to take this trip and knew it would be a great experience for Trace, Kianna and I.
Our first day was spent traveling. We flew into Santo Domingo, the capital of the DR. We drove about an hour to Guanacaste, east of Santo Domingo, to our facility with Score International, the missionary group we paired with while in the DR. We were happy to have air conditioning in our rooms and in the cafeteria. Kianna shared a room full of bunk beds and one bathroom with the high school girls. Trace and I stayed across the street in a private room with two bunk beds and our own bathroom. Nothing fancy, but private and cool. After arriving, we ate and got settled. It was a long day and we were pretty tired.
Day 2: Church, Sorting, and Dinner Out
We drove an hour to Santo Domingo to attend an International church. Everything was in Spanish, but we were given headphones and a translator interpreted everything into English for us. It was a great experience. Church was two hours long, so we got a little sleepy towards the end, but it was good worship and a solid message. My favorite worship song was "Santo, Santo, Santo or Holy, Holy, Holy". It was powerful. After church, we drove back to the Score facility and ate lunch. After lunch, a few of us decided to walk to a local ice cream shop and then to the beach. We didn't stay at the beach long as it was very dirty, lots of garbage and sargassum. The local kids were in the water throwing sargassum at each other. Later we prepped for the next day's activities by putting food into bags and getting ready for our VBS, then we had quite a bit of free time.
For dinner, we ate out at a nice restaurant. It reminded me of a Brazilian barbecue as there was lots of meat that we all shared family style. Trace is in boy heaven with all the middle school boys on our team. He especially likes Trey Christmas and Ben McPherson. Kianna hung out with her new friend, Olivia Reid. Trace stayed out until the 10 pm curfew playing basketball with the locals and his new friends.
Day 3: Sugar Cane Village & VBS
Today we had our first service day. We drove 45 minutes to the Sugar Cane Village and immediately were struck by the extreme poverty. They live in a village full of open air homes with dirt floors, no windows, electricity or indoor plumbing. It was full of young moms and naked babies without diapers. The ladies were on the front porch washing clothes by hand like in the old days.
We shared the gospel with them and prayed over them and then gave each family a bag of food. It was a challenge to communicate with them due to the language barrier until someone suggested that we play volleyball. The local kids were so excited because another team had just taught them to play a few weeks earlier. Kianna and Trace loved playing with the other kids, while other people from our team enjoyed cuddling with the babies.
A few of us also visited another nearby village composed of just one family and their extended family. I was one of those people. The second village was a little better off, as they had running water and electricity. We shared the gospel with them and prayed over them. I had the change to pray for a sweet lady named "Lady" before returning to the Sugar Cane Village to play some volleyball.
We left the village to go back to Score for lunch and to rest briefly. We then headed back to the Sugar Cane Village to throw them a VBS. They knew we were returning and one of my absolute highlights was seeing them sprinting after our vans as we were driving up. They were so excited to see us!
We had a few Spanish speakers in our group who put on a puppet show for the kids and their families. Afterwards, we did a butterfly craft with them, played games including more volleyball, painted fingernails and blew bubbles with them. Trace enjoyed playing baseball with some kids, while Kianna and I helped with crafts. It was such a fun day!
Devotions: John 4:31-34 by Pastor Robby Christmas.
Emanuel House is in Quisqueya and is a private school dedicated to serve special needs kids and the poorest of the poor. In the DR, kids don't get educated in the public school system if they don't have a birth certificate and if they are special needs. This school and the teachers are great.
We had the opportunity to throw them a mini VBS. We did the puppet show and played games with them. The special needs kids were precious.
In the afternoon, Kianna and I headed to Josiah's House, which is a ministry that houses kids who have been neglected and/or abused. Josiah's House was very nice. It was well manicured and had at least four houses on the property. Each house homes about eight kids and pairs them with house parents. The kids learn about Jesus, get educated, and all their needs are met. It is a great ministry. A few of us were needed to paint one of the two story homes nearby, while the other group played with the kids and still others visited another home called Lily's Home and did a VBS for them. It was a great day!
Devotions: 1 Corinthians 13:11, Luke 2:41, 1 Timothy 4:12 by Pastor Aaron Fillipone
Day 5: Delivering Bunk Bed & Josiah's House
Today was another great day! We divided into groups in the morning. Some went to finish painting the house we started yesterday. Trace helped build eight twin sized bed frames with some other guys. Kianna and I went to Jumbo, a huge Walmart like store, to purchase a few items. At first it seemed kind of lame, until we decided to purchase items for those we have met. We bought teacher supply kits for each of the teachers at Emanuel House. We bought a volleyball net for the kids at the Sugar Cane Village. We also bought some baseball bats to give away at Josiah's house. It was fun buying things for those we've met.
In the afternoon, we reunited and delivered the beds to eight families from Emanuel House. Some were teachers there and others families that attend the school. We got to pray with each family, share the gospel with them and share our testimony with them. Trace was asked to share his testimony and did a great job! I'm so proud of him! The family Trace and I delivered beds to, had two shacks for a home with an extended family living in them. They were much like the Sugar Cane Village homes with dirt floors and no running water or electricity. I can't image sleeping on the dirt floor. I imagine as many as can try to cram into that twin sized bed. So sad!
After delivering beds, we went back to Josiah's house and got to play with the kids. I enjoyed painting nails, making bracelets, playing spike ball and volleyball. Trace and Kianna enjoyed playing soccer. It was a good day!
Devotions: Luke 9:23-26, Phillipians 2:4 by Pastor Jimmy Scroggins
Day 6: Boat Ride, Snorkeling and Catalina Island
Today was our fun day. We took a boat to Catalina Island. On our way to the the island we stopped and snorkeled for a big in turquoise water and clear visibility. Then we got to swim ashore and do a little cliff jumping. It was a very short jump, like 10-15 feet. Then we finished our journey to Catalina Island where we spent several hours.
The kids and I ordered fresh Pina coladas served in a hollowed out pineapple. They were yummy! Then we did some shopping. We got some jewelery. I'm pretty sure we got ripped off as we spent $140. I found a beautiful necklace with matching earrings made out of a local stone. We were served a buffet lunch and then hung out in the ocean. I got a 20 minute massage on the beach, which felt amazing despite the privacy. It was an interesting experience!
Devotions: Numbers 13:21 by PBA Intern
Day 7: Trip Back Home
Today we packed up our stuff and headed into Santo Domingo. We shopped at a local market that was a bit intense as all the shop owners invited us into their stores.
From there, we drove to a very cool street that looked newer and more appealing. We walked the street in search of lunch options. On our way, a man asked me my name. I hesitantly told him, "Keri". He then asked about the "God With Us" shirts we were wearing. He asked if we were religious. I hold him yes , we are here to tell people about Jesus. I asked him if he believes in Jesus. He said yes.
Trace, Pastor Tyago and Pastor Brian were with me. We stepped aside and I shared the gospel and my testimony with him. Pastor Brian prayed with him. We learned his name is Nelson and he struggles to have faith because there is so much evil in the world. I shared the three circles with him telling him that evil is not part of God's design. It was a very cool, very exhilarating conversation. Thank you Jesus for leading Nelson to talk to us! Let the seeds planted today be watered and grow until he comes to know you as his personal LORD and savior.
From there, we found an empanada restaurant where we ordered some unique empanadas. I ordered one with shredded beef and plantains and another with chorizo, cheese and corn. One was good, one not so good. We then took a long, hot walk in search of our vans and headed to the airport to fly home.
This trip was fantastic! We've all met a lot of amazing people and gained some new friends. I hope and pray we won't forget what we saw here or the lessons we learned. I'm so thankful to have been given this opportunity with Trace and Kianna. I saw them both grow this week and they were blessed with new friendships.
