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The Dominican Republic Episcopal Church has long been a partner and a part of our hearts and hands at Good Shepherd. This year was no exception, as five of our parishioners, now returned from their week in the barrios of Gautier and Boca Chica, can attest. Sunday's Scripture asked if we fit the mold of doubting Thomases. We knew the answer to that as we listened to Fr. Sandino say to his parishioners at the church of Santo Tomas: "For 20 years you have not seen but have believed that this church would amount to something. Today your eyes have seen it. There is not only a church, but a parish hall with walls, a roof, and our friends from the Venice deanery are here to paint and beautify it for you. And so, your dreams of feeding the poorest among you who work daily in the sugar cane fields and barely sustain their families have come true. They will have a subsidized hot lunch program for their children. Now our children, 80 strong, who have no place to learn of God's word except in overstuffed church benches with no place to write and no equipment to help them concentrate will have tables and chairs and small group rooms and a real chance to listen to each other and to their dedicated teachers."
Our week of work was not an easy week. We battled hot sun, downpours of rain, hours of reaching to ten foot ceilings with only two rickety ladders and bent rollers. We ran out of paint, and sometimes out of patience. Some of us worked on refurbishing tables and wondered if they would ever look and be functional. Some of us taught or tried to help teach 80 children who arrived in the afternoons for Bible classes with way too much pent up energy but who were trying things for the very first time in their lives-- things as simple as puzzles, connecting the dots, using a scissors, reading a Scripture passage from a card, singing from a song sheet. By the end of our week we joined in the joy of knowing that God had wrought a good thing in all of us. The building got finished. The tables and chairs beamed. The children sang their new songs, told us all they had learned about Jesus resurrected, and hugged and hugged us.
Truly we are partners in God's work in the Dominican Republic. Special thanks go to those of you who helped sponsor kids with scholarships, who sewed and collected clothes for children and families, who knit prayer shawls for the Home for the elderly, who sent treats and prizes, tools and equipment, who attended all our fund raiders to meet our goal of the $10,000 donation for this wonderful new building, and who prayed for our safety and for those we went to serve. A special thanks to Anita Marshall who worked so tirelessly to raise the needed money but was unable to travel with us. we wish her a speedy recovery and know that she will soon be ready for our next trip. Click here for a few pictures. |
