Accounts of Dominican Republic by a missionary newbie - Part 3 of 3

In short, this trip exceeded my expectations.

During the first few days, after witnessing the poverty and the disheartening living conditions, I became very negative and skeptical about our efforts. What can we possibly do in 2.5 weeks to have any long term impacts in these people's lives? We may be able to provide short term fixes, but they will not be sustainable after we leave. So why are we here?



After much prayers and sharing my struggles with others, I came to the realization that although we may not have the perfect solution for the situation, our Father in heaven does. He has the perfect plan for the Haitian refugees, and I was simply called to do my part in His plan. I needed to trust Him more. With this new perspective, I took on a different attitude towards the mission. I was energized and eagerly took on new roles and challenges. I participated in different activities and reached out to a wide range of people, both in Villa Ascencion and in the surrounding communities. In addition to being a lesson and opportunity to strengthen my faith, DR also offered a good transition from living in the 4th most developed country in the world, to a country that did not even make it onto the UN’s Human Development Index ranking. I now feel better prepared physically, mentally, and spiritually for the challenges and adventures that lie ahead in Liberia.

Accounts of Dominican Republic by a missionary newbie - Part 2 of 3

Most people go to Puerto Plata for its tropical weather, sandy beaches, and low cost of living. However, 20 minutes from the all-inclusive resorts, a very different reality exists. Dominican Republic (DR) shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. Years of civil unrest in Haiti results in a large number of Haitian refugees in DR. These Haitians have no legal status in DR, and are often subject to discrimination. They live in slums, often makeshift shacks built on top of garbage dumps. Their deplorable living conditions in DR are often no better than what they left behind in Haiti.

The focus of our trip is various projects in Villa Ascencion, a village started by a Canadian philanthropist five years ago to help some of the poorest people around Puerto Plata.

I spent most of my time on Team Rabbit, where we taught the locals how to raise rabbits for food, and helped them build their own rabbit hutches. Since it is crucial for them to take ownership of the project, they were responsible for the actual building of the hutches, while we provided material and assistance. During the building phase, I observed a wide range of personalities and mentalities. Some were highly motivated, excited about this new opportunity to improve their lives. They took care and pride in building their hutches, and even helped others to build theirs. However, there were also some who demanded that we do the work for them. I was inspired and encouraged by the motivated ones, and saddened by those with no desire to put in the effort. I was also impressed with their resourcefulness and creativity. Since we did not have enough tools for each team, they had to share. Some decided to resort to local tools for the task at hand, such as using rocks to pound nails, and machetes to cut wood. In the end, we built 55 hutches, and distributed rabbits to all participants. I was really pleased with the result.

In addition to Team Rabbit, I also got involved with several other activities. I played with the kids, hiked around the village, installed a computer at the village council office, made the first ever map of the village and presented it to the council, helped with a mobile clinic by being an unregistered nurse, unlicensed pharmacist, and a mean looking bouncer at the door.

It was a busy trip, a fun trip, and one where I grew a lot. I’ll reflect on the trip in my next post.

Safe and Sick in Africa

Hello everyone, my luggage and I made it to the ship safely Sunday night. However, I've been sick as a dog, a coughing, phlegmy, achy dog.

I caught a cold on Friday night, the night before le grand depart. Perfect timing! Then the flights just made things worse. The cabins were freezing. I was shivering the whole time. Usually I love flying, but there was no joy in any of the 4 flights I took last weekend. In fact, I was almost led to believe Chicage and Brussels are on 2 different planets! The supposingly 8 hr flight went on forever and ever and ever. It doesn't help that they're showing Apollo 13 on the screen, that movie goes on forever and ever and ever too. I would sleep for a little bit, wake up due to aching back / cramped leg / coughing fit, look out the window and it's pitch dark, look up and Tom Hanks' wearing a spacesuit doing something, go back to sleep, wake up again, still dark outside, and this time Ed Harris is saying something to somebody. Repeat the above about 100 times. That's my ORD-BRU flight in a nutshell. It was the most pain I have ever endured in a seated position.

I didn't remember much about the rest of my trip. I was so numbed by pain and discomfort the chaos at the Monrovia airport didn't bother me at all. I was just thankful that the journey was finally over.

Although the journey may be over, my sickness certainly isn't. I saw the crew doctor today, and he prescribed some medication. So hopefully it'll clear up in a few days. I never thought I would become a patient before spending a single day working in the galley. On the other hand, I got to spend some time on the hospital deck, and I'm impressed by the professionalism and passion of the medical staff.

Lesson of the day: Don't fly when you're sick, but if you must, you have my deepest sympathy.