Accounts of Dominican Republic by a missionary newbie - Part 1 of several

I was in the Dominican Republic (DR) for the past 2.5 weeks, completing the practical portion of my ministry training at Mercy Ships, putting what we learnt in the classroom into practice. Since this is my first mission trip, and the first time to the Caribbean, I was both excited and nervous.

I’ll give an overview of the trip in this post. Descriptions of our work and my reflections will be given in future posts.

DR is a developing country in the Caribbean, sharing the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. As soon as I stepped out of the airport terminal, I was greeted by the humid tropical air. During the drive to our hotel, I enjoyed watching the lush green countryside and endless sugar cane fields go by. Over the next 18 days, I experienced many facets of this fascinating country. We were blessed with hot and sunny weather most days, while that was good for our work outdoors, it also meant I had to get used to the constant whiff of garbage and open sewer, slowly decomposing under the tropical sun. I had the opportunity to savour many local food, including avocados the size of cantaloupes and sugar canes that I chopped, shaved, chewed, and spit with sweet delight.

As with most developing countries, traffic rules and safety regulations are highly optional. It’s normal to pass on double solid lines with oncoming traffic. A family of four fits comfortably on a scooter. My favourite image was a guy on the back of a motocycle taxi, holding onto a birthday cake big enough to feed 30 people, uncovered, with candles inserted, wavering in and out of traffic en route to the party. I wonder if the white buttercream will turn a shade of grey.

During the weekends, we attended services at different churches, and I enjoyed the very lively and spirited worship. Just have to remember to bring a bottle of water as the service usually last 3-4 hours. We also went the beach, hiked a nearby mountain, and enjoyed God’s beautiful creations.

Despite liberal application of bug spray, I still got a lot of bug bites. By the end of the trip, you almost could play connect the dots on my back and legs. I must have left behind a lot of fat and happy bugs in the DR.

I’ll write about the work we did at the village in future posts. Stay tuned.