Andrews Story

Before I left for the Dominican Republic I felt God had given me the desire to write a book someday, but I had no idea what I would ever write about. While I was there I felt He was directing me to write about the mission trip in order to bring my testimony back to my friends, family, and church. I hope God will use this short story and the experience I had to show other people how rewarding a short term mission trip can be and challenge them to go on a similar trip.
Every October, Mission Emanuel organizes a trip that is open to individuals and smaller groups, while the trips earlier in the year are geared toward larger groups. I went to the Dominican with Cindy Sweeney and met her husband Jim there. The Sweeney’s are family friends from my church who work on the Mission Emanuel staff. The group was comprised mostly of people from North Carolina, Texas, and Florida. My roommate Daniel was from North Carolina. It was really enjoyable to be with people from different parts of the country.
The trip I took to the Dominican Republic was one of the greatest experiences of my life. The reason I decided to go on this mission trip was because I wanted to experience a different culture. I remember Jim Sweeney coming back from the Dominican and talking about his experience and how wonderful it was. When I saw pictures of people living in terrible conditions I’m ashamed to say I didn’t feel too bad about what I saw. I realized the pictures could never tell the whole story; I needed to experience them for myself. There were so many instances during my time in the Dominican where God revealed Himself to me in unexpected ways. He showed me how truly blessed we are to live in America. He also showed me that America is a bright beacon of hope to the world.
Day 1: The Journey
I woke up around 3:15 am and was surprised it was much easier to wake up than I thought it would be. Our plan was to leave around 4 am and we actually left on time. We jumped in the car and we were on our way to O’Hare Airport in Chicago. Dan and Kayla rode with us so they could drive the vehicle back home. Dan made some health cakes. Cake is the best way I know how to describe what we ate. They were all natural though and filled me up for the time being.
When we got to the airport we said our goodbyes and then Cindy and I were on our way.
When we were boarding the plane I went to sit in my seat, but before I sat down the man in the seat next to mine asked if I’d like to switch seats with his wife. He convinced me by saying his wife had an exit row so I would have more room. Since I’m tall, that seemed like a wonderful idea. I went to take my new seat, but before I sat down I realized my seat was between two Middle Eastern men. To be honest, I was a little uneasy about this. All these horrible scenarios played through my mind, but I tried to ignore them. During the flight, I began talking to the man on my left. I found out he grew up in Pakistan, and when he turned 18 he came to America for college. He has a master’s degree from Harvard and has traveled all over the world. He told me his father was a pilot for an airline in Pakistan, and he and his brother were once interested in flying as well. In June 2001 they began reading about flying but when 9/11 happened, they figured they should stop reading about it. He told me he lived in New York City when 9/11 occurred and he saw the second plane fly into the World Trade Center. It was his second day at a new job and only his fifth day in New York. He told me what the Taliban did was terrible and that America is the greatest country in the world. We talked about many different topics and about why I was going to the Dominican. He thought it was great that I wanted to help out in any way I could. We had an interesting conversation and I’m happy I switched seats.
We landed in San Juan in the afternoon and had some lunch. Cindy and I walked around and checked out a few shops while we waited for our next flight. I really liked the San Juan airport because it wasn’t very large or busy. When it was time for us to board the next plane we had to walk out onto the runway because the plane was fairly small. The weather was comfortable with not much humidity. It was much nicer than the cold autumn weather we left in Wisconsin. While we walked to the airplane we admired the mountains beyond San Juan. Puerto Rico is a beautiful country. The plane we boarded held around 70 people and had a propeller on each side. When the plane started, the propellers began to make quite a lot of noise. It was loud, yet soothing to me. Every time I board an airplane I give my life into God’s hands. I should do that more often. Flying isn’t my favorite thing to do but I believe God will take care of me. Every part of our travels had gone smoothly to this point, which we were both thankful for. I’ve never had a bad experience when flying.
We landed in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic a little less than an hour after we left San Juan. After we landed, we bought our tourist card and had our passports stamped. Then we headed over to the baggage claim and picked up our luggage. Praise God it made it there with us! After we had our luggage, we finished going through Customs.
It still hadn’t registered in my mind that I was in a different country. When Cindy and I entered the main atrium of the airport we saw hundreds of people waiting there for friends and loved ones to arrive. It was strange because there was an aisle we walked down with people standing on either side. We felt like we were walking down a red carpet. We couldn’t find Jim because he wasn’t there to pick us up yet. Cindy was trying to contact him while we were standing in the aisle. Then a police officer approached us and started speaking Spanish. At that point I realized I was in a different country and I couldn’t simply explain to him why we were standing there. We decided to get out of his way.
I was pretty hungry at this point so I walked over to Chester’s to order some chicken. I walked up to the counter to order and again realized I wasn’t in America. The menu was in Spanish and the people behind the counter spoke Spanish. I thought the number three combo looked good so I held up three fingers and said, “Tres.” Apparently I was unable to order a number three so through broken English, Spanish, and pointing, I ended up with some chicken strips, fries, and a soda. The clerk showed me on a calculator that my total in American currency was $3.50 so I gave him $10.00. I was expecting $6.50 in change but I got some pesos back instead. I gave him a tip because he was so patient with me since I know essentially no Spanish. He thanked me and seemed less frustrated with me. Since I didn’t know how to communicate with him I figured that was the best way to show some sort of gratitude. I felt after I tipped him we had a mutual respect for one another. He didn’t seem like he wanted to get rid of me anymore. He held his finger up so I wouldn’t walk away and he gave me some napkins and dipping sauce for my chicken.
Jim arrived as I got my food and we waited for a few more people to fly into Santo Domingo.  After they arrived and we loaded up the cars, we left the airport and headed for the hotel. Driving in the Dominican Republic is a whole new crazy experience. People ignore things like the lines on the road and red lights. I saw people standing in the back of pickup trucks while driving down the highway. People on motorized scooters and motorcycles made me the most nervous while driving there. They cut in between vehicles and sometimes drove the wrong way down the street.
It took us about 45 minutes to reach the Fiesta Dominican Hotel from the airport. I was extremely tired after a long day of traveling but I was thankful we made it to our destination safely. At the hotel there were stairs leading up to the front doors with waterfalls on either side. At the base of each waterfall there was a pool with turtles in it. When we got inside we went up to the fourth floor to a larger corner suite where I met about half the group. I was introduced to my roommate Daniel. Daniel was from North Carolina and he just graduated from law school. He had a wife who was pregnant with their first child. He was a really funny guy and made the trip a ton of fun. I’m really glad he was my roommate.

Day 2: Awakening
I woke up at 6:30 am to make it down to breakfast at 7 am. I got a plate of food and sat at a table by myself. I was enjoying the weather because we ate outside at a nice dining area each morning. When Daniel came out with his plate of food he invited me to join him and a couple other people at a table. I sat with Daniel, Ryan, Ryan’s wife Whitney, and Ryan’s mom Deb. They were all very nice and I enjoyed getting to know them over the course of the week. Each morning at breakfast someone would share a devotional and we’d get the day started off right with good food and a good word. Sometimes Pastor Lee would bring his guitar to breakfast and we’d sing a couple songs. He was from North Carolina and came down with a couple other men. While they were in the Dominican Republic they helped with the work projects but also visited children they had sponsored.
After breakfast we boarded our bus driven by Rudolfo and headed over to the Mission Emanuel mission for church. As we were driving, the city looked completely different during the day. Things that the darkness of night hid were now visible and out in the open. In the Dominican Republic it’s culturally acceptable to leave garbage lay wherever it’s thrown. The streets are littered with trash. I noticed houses that I hadn’t noticed the night before. Some were made of concrete but others were made of wood or whatever else they could find. Most of the houses had tin sheets for a roof. I felt compassion rise up within me for these people and tears began to well up in my eyes. God was already working on issues in my heart and we had just started the trip.
When we arrived at Mission Emanuel, we waited for the church service to start in an area called Club Bamboo. Club Bamboo got its name because it’s located next to a bunch of enormous bamboo plants. It overlooks a valley and in the valley there is a small stream running through it. On the other side of the valley there is a mountain range that rises up and stretches on for miles. Club Bamboo was so great because it was in the shade and seemed to always have a nice cool breeze blowing through it.
At 9 am we went down to the church service under a pavilion that overlooked the same valley as Club Bamboo. What a beautiful place to have church! Praise and worship was so wonderful. It was amazing to hear the words in Spanish, yet I was able to sing along in English because I recognized the music. Something that really touched me was how the children sang along and worshiped God. That morning I really felt God working on my heart during praise and worship. Every song we sang brought tears to my eyes because our God is so awesome. The words we sang were words I needed to hear as well as sing to my Creator. The message was preached by a man from the Mission Emanuel team named Harvey. He asked us if there was something God was calling us to, that we felt unable or unworthy to accomplish. He used Moses as an example. God interrupted Moses’ life and asked him to return to Egypt to bring His chosen people out of bondage. Moses didn’t feel worthy or able to do the task but God was with him and helped him. God will do the same for us if we’ll be obedient to His will.
Once the church service was over, Jim Sweeney led the majority of our group down to the construction site where we’d be working for the most of the week. We walked through the gate that connected the school to the town of Cielo. The town of Cielo is a fairly small community. I felt very out of place walking through this community in the nice clothes I wore to church that day. Some of the houses were made of concrete while others were simply made of wood with a tin roof. There was a great deal of garbage in the streets and near the people’s houses. As we walked, I noticed the dogs in the city just lay in the street or in any place that was shaded from the hot sun. The animals were very skinny and people didn’t seem to pay much attention to them. I figured they had more important things to take care of than a pet. I also noticed a small Chihuahua that was missing an eye. I saw this particular dog nearly every day we were in Cielo. I felt bad for it but there was nothing I could do to help. As we continued to walk toward the work site we started going down a hill where the power lines hung extremely low to the ground. If I wanted to I could have reached up without jumping and grabbed them. Things are done a lot differently in the Dominican Republic than in America. Things we would make a huge deal of in America seem to go unnoticed by the Dominicans. It’s strangely refreshing; I wish I could better explain exactly what that means.
The houses we would be working on during the week were for two Haitian men and their families that had been doing work for Mission Emanuel for a few years. Their names were Marco and Luis. The thing that I learned about these men that I admired was that they were building houses for Dominican people. What makes that so special is the Dominicans greatly resent Haitians, yet these great men were building houses for Dominican families for years. It was a wonderful privilege to help build houses for these men. Over the week I watched them interact with Jim Sweeney and even though they don’t understand each other’s language completely, they still loved each other. The form of communication I could use with them was essentially limited to nonverbal communication. It was awesome! They are my brothers in Christ; someday I’ll be able to communicate with them using words when we’re in heaven together, unless I learn Spanish or Creole.
God began to work on my heart again while we visited Marcos and Luis’ houses that day. I watched my friend Daniel interact with some children who had followed us up to the houses. I thought I wouldn’t be able to act that way with the kids. They were laughing and having a good time. I felt awkward. The youngest person in my family that I see regularly is sixteen so I don’t get much interaction with children. All of a sudden there was a little boy standing in front of me. I guessed he was about three years old. He lifted his arms up toward me like he wanted me to pick him up and hold him. I picked him up and he threw his arms around my neck and rested his head on my shoulder. He clung to me so tightly. I felt my heart melt with compassion for this boy and tears began to well up in my eyes again. All he wanted was someone to love him. After a few moments I put him down and he did the same thing to Jim. This time he said, “Americano.” Tears came to my eyes again because this small boy’s words made me realize America is still a bright beacon of hope to a hurting world. That moment with him was one of the greatest moments in my life.
We left the work site and started to walk back through Cielo to the Mission Emanuel grounds. On our way back some boys ran up to our group and started grabbing our hands. A young boy named Alexandro grabbed my hand and held it for quite awhile as we walked back to the mission. When my friend Daniel wasn’t holding hands with them he was giving them piggy back rides and high fives. The young boys in these communities don’t get much attention from their fathers or other adult males so they are looking for men who will pay attention to them. That’s why they clung to us and didn’t want to let go.
When we got back to the mission, some of us went on a tour through some facilities that Mission Emanuel uses to help people in the surrounding communities. There is a medical facility that helps people with basic medical needs. There is also a dentist office. They said they don’t have to pull as many teeth as they used to because the people have been taking better care of their teeth. It’s cool they are able to see changes like that start to happen because of the dentist office. Another facility they have established is a water treatment plant. This is awesome because they can provide usable water to people in the surrounding areas. They have also started a women’s co-op. Women in the community can come to the co-op and spend time with other women in the community. God has done wonderful work in the lives of these women by giving them an identity in Him. Through this co-op they have the opportunity to learn more about God and make income for their families. Mission Emanuel is doing so many great things and has much more planned to further God’s kingdom. As Jack Larson, the founder of Mission Emanuel put it, we have “secured a beachhead” in enemy territory. They are doing wonderful things in these communities but there are still many more hurting people in the Dominican. I like his analogy of a beachhead. The beachhead is the start of an attack. After a beachhead is established, new locations are targeted and conquered. That’s what is going to happen in the Dominican Republic, but the enemy isn’t necessarily a physical one.
We headed back to the hotel and got cleaned up. Some people went down by the pool but I didn’t feel like swimming. I did eventually go down by the pool to hang out with my new friends. It was really a strange experience. The pool area was beautiful and there was a DJ playing music. The reason it was strange was because of my experience that morning in Cielo. I had a difficult time accepting that such extreme poverty and such a beautiful hotel could exist so close together. To this day it doesn’t seem right to me.
For dinner we went to a mall that had a store called “Jumbo” attached to it. This store was correctly labeled “Jumbo.” It had 64 checkout lanes and most of them had a line of people waiting to be checked out. We ate dinner in the mall food court. I had chicken teriyaki and green tea which were both really good. After we returned to the hotel we had a meeting about the events of the day and what we would be doing the next day. After the meeting I learned how to play Skip-Bo with Ryan, Roy, Laura, Whitney, and Meredith. We had a ton of fun.

Day 3: Hard Work, Yet All Smiles
On Monday morning we got up and ate a good breakfast. We needed it because today was the day we started the work project. After breakfast we jumped in the bus and headed to Cielo around 8:15 am. Rudolfo was a great driver. He could fit that bus through spots I’d be worried to drive a car through. It was great! I don’t know how he did it!
The work that morning started with us carrying long pieces of rebar through the town of Cielo down to the houses we’d be working on over the next couple days. When we arrived at the work site, Marcos, Luis, and a couple other men were already working and mixing the concrete in the street. The concrete would be poured into wood moldings along the top of the houses to create bonding beams. We started off the day of work with a prayer and then started to mix the concrete. The first thing I did that day was help mix the concrete and then fill buckets which were passed up the line and poured into the wood moldings. This got tiring pretty fast. While I was mixing the concrete with a couple other guys, some cows came up the road behind us. Just as they were passing by, my friend Tom tapped one of them on the butt with his shovel. The cow proceeded to poop right next to where we were mixing the concrete. That wasn’t really an image I wanted to have stored in my memory. After that we kept mixing and passing the concrete up the line. I decided to switch with someone and I joined the line to help pass the buckets of concrete up toward the house. The weather was great that morning. It wasn’t very hot or humid and there were clouds to shield us from the sun. Even though the weather was nice, we took plenty of breaks to make sure no one got dehydrated. In a climate that can be very hot and humid, you have to force yourself to drink water even if you aren’t thirsty. If you don’t, you’ll pay for it later. At around noon we took a break for lunch.
Lunch was delicious. Every meal we ate while in the Dominican was very good. What made lunch the best was the hard work we did during the morning. It would have been good either way but after physical work it was amazing. We ate lunch under the same pavilion that the church service was held under on Sunday morning. It was a great view to have while enjoying lunch. The valley filled with trees and the stream running through it with the mountains on the other side wasn’t something I could get tired of looking at.
After lunch we headed back to continue the construction project. During the afternoon there was essentially no cloud cover. The house was providing us with shade during the morning but now we were exposed with nothing to hide us from the heat. We had to make sure everyone drank enough water. My main goal was to avoid sunburn. I was very thankful I didn’t get burned at all during the trip. Despite the heat and lack of shade, I was impressed that no one complained at all. Everyone did a fantastic job and stayed positive. We continued the work we started during the morning and finished ahead of when we expected to be done.
When we got back to the hotel I needed to clean up. I had dried cement all over my clothes and my arms and legs were pretty dirty from getting splashed with wet concrete. It felt good to do a hard day’s work because it was going to help two great guys each have a home.
For dinner that night we went to an Italian restaurant and had lasagna. The food was very good. They gave us some pastries for dessert which were filled with some sort of custard. After we left the restaurant we started walking back to the Fiesta Dominican Hotel. On the walk back I noticed all the nice condominiums and nice cars parked inside the gates. Again I wondered how all this wealth and poverty could exist so close to each other. We stopped at a dessert stand called Yogen Fruz. I loved this place. It’s a frozen yogurt dessert so you don’t have to feel bad about eating it. My favorite mixture of fruit I had in the yogurt was strawberry and cherry. I’m pretty sure we went to Yogen Fruz four or five times on the trip. It was a great ending to a great day.

Day 4: Buckets and Baseball
On Tuesday we went back to the work site to pour the bonding beams for the second house. We got there around 9 am and began mixing the concrete in the street again and passing buckets up the line. The type of work we did on Tuesday was the same work we did on Monday, which was fine with me because it was a great workout. Some of the people who had been there to help us with this project the previous day were out in the towns visiting families and sponsored children, which was extremely important. The thing I like about Mission Emanuel is that they focus a great deal on building relationships. On the work site, building the homes was important but building relationships with the community and other people on the mission trip held just as much importance. I think too many times we can get caught up in a task and forget to build any friendships. I’m glad we were able to get the job done and build relationships at the same time.
After we ate lunch we went back to work on the home. Once we started working, a couple kids came by and started lifting buckets of concrete and passing them up the line. They helped a great deal and did a great job. It was fun to have them there with us.
During one of the breaks we took, I walked into the house we finished the previous day. I stood in the hallway because it was nice and cool. After a minute or two I walked into the room at the end of the hallway. On the floor in the room I saw a gnarled piece of wood with nails stuck in it. At that moment this piece of wood reminded me of the cross my Savior was crucified on. I thanked Jesus for what He did for us when He died for our redemption. It’s amazing how God can use such a seemingly small and insignificant thing to remind us of something so awesome.
That night the leaders of Mission Emanuel set up an outing for the group to go to a baseball game in Santo Domingo. From what I understand baseball is the most popular sport in the Dominican Republic. When we got to the stadium we headed inside and everyone went to find some food for dinner. I went to a pizza stand and ordered a couple pieces of pizza for only 200 pesos, which is about six dollars. I couldn’t believe how cheap the pizza was at a baseball stadium. After I got the pizza I went to find my seat. The group was seated behind home plate about a quarter of the way up the bleachers. These seats were great but I don’t think there was a bad seat in the stadium. It was very interesting to be at a sports game like that and not understand anything the announcer was saying. The Dominican people were really fun to be with because they get excited about everything. When anything good happened during the game you’d have thought someone just hit a grand slam when they only hit a single. The crowd would go crazy and they’d blow loud horns that made the stadium sound like a beehive full of angry bees. I’m not a huge baseball fan but going to that game was a ton of fun.

Day 5: Patience and God’s Timing
Wednesday morning started out with the work crew going to visit a school in Nazarette. We’d be helping renovate the bathrooms at this school on Thursday and Friday. When we arrived, we met with Rosario de La Cruz, the school administrator. She talked a little bit about the school and about how they teach the children in a Godly environment. Then we went into a few different classrooms to see the kids. It’s difficult to put into words how adorable these kids were. They were all so excited to see us there. The joy and innocence of children is a wonderful thing. They love without holding back and they don’t seem to have a worry in the world.
During the afternoon on Wednesday we headed back to the homes of Marco and Luis to help build a dividing wall between Luis’ house and the neighboring house. I had never done masonry before in my life but I didn’t think it would be too difficult. There is a little more to it than I originally thought. It’s very important that all the blocks stay level, otherwise the overall structure of the wall could be off. It was definitely an interesting experience. It was hard work but I enjoyed it. We only worked on the project for a couple hours that afternoon because we had to get ready for a cookout that evening.
For dinner we had hamburgers and hot dogs. Jim and a couple other guys grilled the food for the group. We ate dinner in a room above the school in Cielo. It was a great meal and I enjoyed talking with everyone and getting to know them more. At one point during the meal I walked over to a window and looked out over the town of Cielo. I saw some people talking in the street and it hit me that this is their reality. I thought about everything I’ve taken for granted over the course of my life. I realized I have nothing to complain about. That being said, I think it’s awesome what God is doing through Mission Emanuel in the surrounding areas. They are bringing the hope of Jesus to the Dominican Republic.
Once we finished dinner, we went down to the pavilion and had a wonderful church service. Praise and worship was awesome. I love the fact that I was able to sing along with the songs that were sung in Spanish just because I could recognize the music. The sermon that night was preached by Bill Randolph who is the day to day operations manager. He preached about being patient and waiting on God’s timing for the plans he has for our lives. So many times we want things right away. We say, “God, your will be done in my life but could you hurry up with it because I don’t enjoy the waiting.” We should never try to hurry through preparation time because I believe in doing so we will actually slow down the process of what God wants to do in our lives. It’s ironic that our impatience will keep us from learning necessary lessons and in turn cause us to wait even longer for God’s will to manifes

Day 6: Never Be the Same
On Thursday morning we were scheduled to go to a leprosorium and visit the people there. I didn’t know how to feel about going to this place. I knew it was going to take me far from my comfort zone. That being said, I’m very happy I went. It was one of the best experiences of my life.
The drive to the leprosorium took about 45 minutes. We spent the ride there laughing and joking around with each other. The drives with the group were always fun. When we arrived Jim gave us a brief history on leprosy. He explained how these people have been cured but what was lost before their treatment will never return. One of the side effects of with the disease is the people can’t feel pain. If they hurt themselves in any way, depending on how serious it is, they could die. They need to be at the leprosorium so people can look after them. Before going to this place I thought Leprosy was a disease from Biblical times. I had no idea people still contracted it.
It was great to be able to visit with these wonderful people. We brought them cookies, toothpaste, soap, and other toiletries. The first lady I was able to talk with was named Nini. She was a sweet woman. It was a great blessing to pray for Nini with a group of people. While we were praying the translator would translate the prayer for her and Nini kept saying, “Gracias, Senior.” It was so awesome to hear how thankful she was to God for everything she had been given. She might not have many material possessions but because she has eternal life, she is greatly blessed.
After praying for her we went into one of the other rooms where a couple guys lived. One of them was named Miguel. He seemed so happy to see us. We were able to pray for him and his roommate while in their apartment. Everyone we came in contact with was so friendly and they all seemed happy.
Once we were finished talking with Miguel and his roommate, I stepped outside and walked up to a group of people that were talking with a different woman. I don’t think I ever got her name. I noticed that she didn’t have any fingers and she was very skinny. My heart went out to this woman. We began praying for her and I felt tears come to my eyes. At that point it was as if the light bulb went on for me. I had a revelation of where I was and what I was actually experiencing. Up until that point it seemed like a nursing home. It took my mind a minute to actually comprehend the whole experience. These people live in this compound, they have lived through a terrible disease, their bodies are damaged and broken, and they are here because they have no one else to take care of them or no one else is willing to care for them.
Once we were finished praying for her, everyone gathered in a commons area. We sat and talked with the residents a little more. The man I spoke of earlier named Miguel sat next to me. He was a friendly elderly man and I really liked him. He had such a happy smile. After a few minutes one of the men on the trip with us named Pastor Lee broke out his guitar and we sang a few praise and worship songs together. Once we were done singing, one of the residents of the leprosorium closed in prayer.
As I write this, images of these amazing people come flooding into my mind. They are burned into my memory forever and I’m thankful they are. I remember during Jim’s introduction he said our flesh wants to run from people who are hurting but we are called to care for them. It would be easy to sit back in our comfort zone where things don’t stretch us but then we would miss out on being a blessing to hurting people. I feel I was blessed by being in the presence of the people at the leprosorium. Right before I stepped back on the bus to leave I stopped, and tears began to come to my eyes again. I realized at that moment my life was going to be changed forever.
Once we left the leprosorium the work crew got ready to go to the school in the town of Nazarrette to help add on to the bathrooms. We rode from Mission Emanuel to the school in the back of a pickup truck, which was pretty fun. When we arrived I started hauling cinder blocks from a back entrance of the school property to where they were laying the walls for the bathrooms. After we had a nice pile of blocks started we had to move sand from the same back entrance up to the area where they were mixing the concrete. I helped lay a few blocks that afternoon but mostly I hauled materials for the people laying the walls. We only worked a couple hours that afternoon.
That night the group had a great evening planned in the Old Town of Santo Domingo. We were able to go to a couple stores in the area and I bought a couple souvenirs for my family. After we went through those stores we went on an intriguing tour of Old Town Santo Domingo. There were so many great landmarks we visited. The one that sticks out most in my mind is an old church that had a lot of great people from the Dominican Republic buried inside.
The thing I remember most in this building was the painting on the ceiling. It depicted angels and demons fighting for our souls. Who’s winning the fight in your life?
After the tour we went to a great restaurant. They had the best fruit punch I’ve ever had. The food was really good and I enjoyed spending the evening with the friends I’d made over the course of the last week. After dinner we had a meeting in the Sweeney’s large corner suite. When the meeting was ending there were a couple prayer requests that were brought to the group’s attention. The prayer I will remember most was the one for a family in Cielo. The woman and her family needed another bed in their house because they didn’t have enough places to sleep. From what I understood the whole family was sharing a bed. There was a mother and at least two children and one of their grandparents living in that house.

Day 7: Answered Prayers
It was already Friday. The week went way too quickly. I enjoyed my time so much and now it was the last day of the trip. On Friday we were scheduled to work at the school in Nazarette again but we had an unexpected task to finish before going to the school. That morning an individual walked up to Jim Sweeney and gave him some money. The person told Jim that he needed to buy that family a bed. Jim took the money and bought a new bed for the family that we prayed for the previous night. God is so awesome!
When we arrived at the Mission Emanuel headquarters near Cielo we headed for the family that needed the bed. We got to the house and walked inside. The house was a small two room house. The walls were made mostly of wood and the roof was sheets of tin. The floor was a simple slab of concrete. You could see outside through some holes in the walls. We fit as many people into the house as we could and then a couple people said a prayer and blessed the bed. The person I remember most at that moment was the mother who lived in that house. She was holding one of her children and she looked so happy that they were going to be given a new bed. I remember how thankful she sounded when she prayed. I couldn’t understand much of what she prayed but I do remember her saying, “Gacias Senior” a couple times in a peaceful voice. Once we were finished praying we brought the bed into the house. I was blessed to have been able to help move the new bed into their bedroom. When we were moving it into the house I passed through a curtain that separated the two rooms. I noticed a small television, the other bed and a couple of other pieces of furniture. When we had the bed fully in the bedroom I remember wondering how they were going to fit everything in that house. The whole second room would basically be for the beds but I realized that didn’t matter to the family. It was awesome to be a small part of that answered prayer.
Once we were done moving the bed into the house, we headed down to Marcos and Luis’ houses. We went to their homes so we could pray over them as a group. Before we started praying I was crouched down in the street in front of their houses and I saw the little boy who had wanted me to pick him up and carry him on that Sunday after the church service. He saw me crouched down and ran up and hugged me. I picked him up again and carried him around for a few minutes. While I was carrying him Cindy Sweeney told me that the boy I was carrying couldn’t walk a couple years ago because he had bowed legs but through surgery and physical therapy at Mission Emanuel he can walk and run. Praise God, that’s awesome! As I write this I can still picture him running up to me. It was great to pray a blessing over Marcos and Luis’ homes and all who enter them. I know God is going to use Marcos and Luis and their families in a mighty way in the Dominican.
We started to walk back to Mission Emanuel and while we were walking through Cielo a few children started walking with us. A couple of the younger boys grabbed my hand as we walked through the town. It’s amazing how different our culture in America is from the culture in the Dominican. I’ve never had anything like this happen to me before. When we got closer to Mission Emanuel the group stopped and spent some more time with these children. We didn’t want our time with them to end. I was sitting on the curb with the boys that held my hands as we walked through the town. Alexandro began playing with my hair and hugging me. All these kids want is someone to love them. We were with them a few more minutes and then we left Cielo to go back to the school in Nazarette to work on the school bathrooms.
When we arrived at the school we began laying more blocks for the new bathrooms. Marcos and Luis could lay block much quicker than we were able to but I know they appreciated the help. While we were working the children at the school had recess. This was a definite distraction from the work we had to do. It was so fun to play with the kids at recess. I remember my roommate Daniel was sitting by the water jug and a few children gathered around him. They started playing with his hair and it started our really nice but then they started pulling on his hair. It was hilarious to watch. Later that day Daniel said he wanted them to stop but they were having so much fun and their laughter was so enjoyable he just let them keep pulling his hair. While this was going on I was sitting on a pile of cinder blocks watching Daniel get mobbed. Then a couple little girls came up behind me and I turned around to see them. When I did that, they giggled and moved to the other side of me so I couldn’t see them very well. Then I turned the other way and they did the same thing. They were so adorable. I remember one of the little girls had the cutest smile and she would giggle and laugh at everything Daniel and I did. After the big group of children moved on, a little boy came up to me and leaned up against me. The younger boys instantly admired the men in our group. I was disappointed when recess was over. Spending time with the children in the Dominican was my favorite part of the mission trip. After recess was over we went back to building the walls for the new bathrooms. We worked for a few hours and then went back to our hotel to get ready for the evening meeting and dinner.
For dinner that night we had Papa John’s Pizza. I couldn’t believe it was the last night of the trip. After we ate dinner we had a meeting about what impacted us throughout the week. Everyone on the trip had been impacted by something that week. It’s interesting to see how a group of over twenty people can be impacted in different ways by God. We were all on the same trip but different experiences tugged on each of our hearts.

Afterword
The trip home was the best travel experience I’ve ever had. All our flights went smoothly and there were no delays. When we got to San Juan, going through Customs took us literally a minute. Our flight to Chicago from San Juan was about twenty minutes shorter than it should’ve been and when we got to the baggage claim at the O’Hare airport, both our bags were next to each other on the baggage claim right when it started sending luggage out. Then we went outside and a few minutes later my parents and my cousin Rachel picked us up and we were on our way home. It was an awesome day of travel.
Now I’ve been home for about three weeks. I’m back to work and everything is going well. I understand my job better than before I left and I feel I’m starting to fit into a role at the company. While I’m working and it’s a slow day, I think back to my mission trip to the Dominican. I think about people I met and I wonder how they’re doing. I hope God blesses me by giving me the opportunity to go back there again. I would really love to take a group of people with me next time. If that sounds like something you would be interested in, feel free to contact me and I’ll get you information on the trip. I feel it’s an experience everyone should have once in their life. Pray about it and see where God leads you.
I would like to give God all the glory for everything I’ve written in this short story. He created me so I don’t feel I can take credit for anything I do.