Dominican Republic: A land of Contrast

 This picture is expresses in an image what it was for us our trip to the Dominican Republic. The painting was drawn by Maria Eugenia, the wife of pastor Atilio Leon. The beauty of this scene talks about our time there.

A time of Contrast. I have never seen poverty as I saw in RD, but I never saw richness as I saw in the RD. I saw spiritual poverty and need, and I saw the abundant blessings God has bestowed upon this country.

I was invited to be the preacher in a couples retreated in Jarabacoa hosted by the church of pastor Atilio in Santo Domingo. The topic of my conference was "Harmony in the Christian Home." We spent a three precious days in a hotel situated in the mountains of Jarabacoa. The fellowship with the brethren was precious, we made new friends, and the Lord touch lives and hearts. This was just the beginning of our trip there. After returning to the main city we spent time of fellowship with our beloved friends Atilio and Ianka and their children. We met several families of the church and had the opportunity to enjoy precious time of re freshman, fellowship and the exquisite cuisine of the Island. Santo Doming is a city of contrast. Some times I felt as if I was in the United States, other times I felt as if I was in the mids of a country stricken by poverty and need.

One highpoint of our visit there was when we had the opportunity to spent a day in the ministerial work of one brother inside the poorest neighborhoods of Santo Domingo. We visited the Bateis, the little towns where the poor stricken Haitians live and work. There we were able to see  two children orphanages, a nursing home, and several little churches that where being constructed using  plywood and little more. When we saw the nursing home we could not stop our tears from our eyes as we contemplated the needed conditions that those people were living. It was a Christian nursing home. the elderly people that were there were "rejoicing in the Lord" without complaining for their lives or situation... it was a humbling experience for us and a great challenge.

The Lord gave us the opportunity to have a special meeting at the church of pastor Atilio. I gave a message to the men of the church, while Rosa shared the Word of the Lord with the ladies. We had also the opportunity to visit some other Independent Baptist churches of the fellowship. I was impressed by the strong ministries they had, the big buildings they own, the Christian schools that they were developing, but specially I was impressed by their love toward the Lord and the lost souls.

In our last four days in the Island, we travelled four hours by car going across the "Cañaberales", the sugar cane fields where hundreds of Haitians work for less than forty dollars a month. It was a dangerous route that took us to a contrasted location at the end of our trip: Punta Cana.

During three days and two nights we enjoyed a time of spiritual refreshment in another conference for families. This time I was not there to preach but to "rest" and receive. More than a hundred couples where there receiving the teaching of the principles of God´s Word for the family. Pastor Jose Mayen was the host of the conference. We enjoyed a precious time of communion with with and his dear wife.

We came back home with a heart full of contrast and gratitude. We learn much about the ministry and work of the Lord in other countries. We realized we had a tremendous privilege of serving the Lord in this "mission trip" abroad. It was in did a part of our own ministry and we thank the Lord for each of you that through your prayers and loving support made possible for us to serve the Lord even beyond our borders. Thank you so much for been coworkers in the service of the Lord.