Story originally appeared: April 4th, 2018
By: Timothy Kays
Ten members of the Life Changing Realities Fellowship (LCRF) packed their bags in late February for their annual mission trip to the Dominican Republic. Departing February 24 and returning March 3, the team expanded out beyond the leper colony where they normally served, but the work was still crucial.
“We went to an area called Nigua City,” said coordinator Eric Patterson. “That’s the area that we’ve been, but we didn’t go to that specific area. Actually, this one was a little further away from the leper colony, but it was still in the general area. It’s like a big city, and you can go in little sections of the town. It was all Nigua City, but it was just a little ways away from the leper colony that we usually went to.”
“Basically, we did the same thing as before. The local missionaries – they check and look for the areas in need – and obviously, there’s more people in need than you could shake a stick at. They go through a process, and they determine whom they’re going to build a house for. Their process here is they’re trying to maybe do a little more outreach to other parts of the city also, not just the leper colony.”
Again, the LCRF team brought their ‘Extreme Home Makeover’ skills from Northwest Ohio and Northeast Indiana, to one of the poorest nations in the hemisphere. Eric explained, “What we did was, there’s a family that we built a house for. We tore down the old one – if you want to call that a house – and then we started the foundation for the new building. I believe this family was five all together…a mother, and then I think three girls and one boy.” There were some hard cultural lessons learned in the process. “Most of the men over there aren’t involved with the families,” Eric said.
“It’s very rare that you find a man involved with the family like that. It’s somewhat similar to our society, but not quite. So all we did was tear down the old shack, and started a foundation for the new house, working with a couple of local contractors. Our job this time was just like the last time. Our goal was to get as far as we could on the house for the family. We didn’t get to finish it; there’ll be another team coming in, and they’ll actually finish the house.”
Building was not the only thing on the team docket, as they also met and spent time with the locals. Eric said, “We went to the local church that the missionaries are trying to plant there in the city. It was in Santa Domingo. They do what I guess you could call an outreach in Nigua City, but they’re mainly right there in Santa Domingo.”
“It was probably about a 45-minute drive from where we stayed to Nigua City. While at the church, we got to know a lot of the locals there. We talked about differences in religion. They have a lot of different influences, from Catholicism to Voodoo and witchcraft, so they’re very confused on what to believe.”
Looking back, Eric said, “It’s hard to say what would be a highlight of a trip like that when we saw people living the way that they do. I guess it would be just the kindness; you can just see it in their eyes, and how happy they are. You’re building a house…a garage or small shed for us over here. They’re very humble and happy, the families and the people that we dealt with.”
“They’re very thankful, and you can just see it in their eyes. I can only imagine somebody coming in there and telling them about God’s love, and they’re barely surviving, and then there’s an opportunity that we can go on there and actually show God’s love. They can see that, and you can see it on their faces.”
“One thing I did notice,” Eric continued, “…you know the kids don’t have any fathers. There’s very few male role models…good ones, anyways. It’s kind of like here; a lot of the kids are just starving for love and attention.”
The kids left a mark on Eric and the team. They were just one of the things that assured that when the team came home, they were very much different from when they departed just a week earlier. “I don’t think anybody could go down there and not be changed,” Eric said, pensively. “I’ve been in the military. I’ve been in different countries and I’ve seen how people live, and I’ve seen – I don’t know how to say it – that we kind of take things for granted over here.”
“We complain a lot, when compared to them you know there’s really nothing to complain about. And, you know, a lot of times our problems aren’t as bad as is what we think. I was able to take both of my boys with me two separate times. The first trip I took my oldest, and this last trip I took my youngest son…just for them to be able to experience how other people live.”
“I don’t know if everybody in the United States really gets the taste of that. I mean, until you’re actually there and experience it, it’s just like anything. You can see pictures. You can see the videos and hear the stories, but until you’re actually there and experience it, and see the pain in people’s faces and eyes…it overwhelms you.”
Eric believes that mission work is something that is a worthy endeavor. “I hope that maybe somebody else will be interested and want to go, or be curious about the Lord and the things that He can do,” he said. “They just need to contact the church. They do some other missions throughout the year too…they do some here in the States.”
“There’s opportunities to do stuff here in the States if somebody doesn’t necessarily want to go overseas. God puts things on everybody’s heart differently, and we all have different skills, talents and abilities that He uses for good.”
If you are interested in changing lives, including your own, the number to call is 419-298-1463.
Timothy can be reached at tim@thevillagereporter.com