Hola! Caroline here! 
Juan Bosch, Dominican Republic
On Wednesday this past week Alex and I, along with our team mates Brittany and Rick, went to Juan Bosch to do follow-ups on the water filters we have been distributing. Juan Bosch is, to say the least, the poorest community I have ever seen. The homes looked like they were barely staying together, most people’s “bathrooms” were a bucket behind a curtain, and all but one of the houses we went to had a dirt floor and holes in the roof. No one in this town has running water. There is a single spigot at the front of the community that everyone uses to get any water they need for the day. Many people in the community said that they used no more then five gallons in a week, because carrying the water all the way up to their homes was too cumbersome.
We were going in to homes that have had their water filter for several months now, and we were simply checking to see if they have been helpful. We asked them questions like “How long have you had your filter?”, “Have you noticed and improvement in your families health since having your filter?”, “How often do you clean your filter?”, and so on. We would ask our questions, Rick would translate, and we would write down our answers in a notebook. It was all rather straight forward and most of the day passed with no surprises or excitement.
In that community there were only three houses that didn’t have a filter in their home, and so we spent part of our day going to those homes and installing them. The very last house that we went to before lunch was one of these houses. As we were walking up to the house we saw an elderly man, named Tato, sitting in chair with a five gallon bucket in front of him. Considering we use a five gallon bucket for our water filters I assumed that is what it was for. I soon saw however that he actually had that bucket because he was quite sick, and several times while were there he would lean over to spit up in it. Even beyond just being sick Tato seemed almost completely comatose; he was staring out the front door with no comprehension of what was going on around him, he would not look any of us in the eye, and the only movement he would make was to clean up his chin after spitting up in his bucket.
Tato lives with an older lady (I am not certain how they are related) and her son. Her son suffers from mental issues, and Tato is unable to walk on his own. There is a young man who comes over every day to move Tato from his bed to his chair and back again. All four of these people were there as Brittany went through our generic presentation on installation and maintenance of our water filter. When all was said and done we asked them if they had any prayer requests; the lady asked for healing for her son and for Tato, and the younger man who helps them asked for healing for his wife who has a brain tumor.
As I began to pray I felt the holy spirit moving and leading me to pray more, but instead I prayed something short and generic and then simply said “amen”. Then we picked up our packs and walked out of the house. As soon as I stepped out of the house I knew that I needed to pray more for the people inside, but I was too afraid to say something to the group. Luckily Rick was listening to Holy Spirit, because almost as soon as we left the house he said “I want to go back and pray some more”. To which I heartily agreed.
What transpired after that I have a hard time even putting to words. We walked back in the house and I sat down on the floor next to Tato and put my hand on his arm. I started to pray out loud while Rick translated and everyone else prayed silently. I started praying that Tato would know how loved he is; that he would know that he is not a burden to his family; that he was cared for and that the Lord sees him as a precious son. As I prayed for him I began to cry. Partly because I was so overwhelmed by the father’s love for this little old man and partly because my heart was breaking because this man didn’t know just how loved he was. As I looked into Tato’s face, his eyes still not meeting mine, I saw that he too was crying.
We stayed in that home praying together for a half hour or more. I honestly don’t even know what to say about that time. In that space, I felt the holy spirit moving, and I felt so close to this little family despite the fact that we could not even talk to each other without a translator. It has left me speechless and in awe of how much my Jesus loves his children. It has reminded me of why I am here. Yes building houses and giving out water filter’s is wonderful and good, but I have started to long for the opportunities where I can sit next to the sick, sick in body and mind and soul, and just tell them that Jesus loves them and that they are cared for more than they could ever imagine.
After all, that is what this is all about.
*UPDATE: On Friday the other half of my team, Holly, Candice, and Michelle, went back to Juan Bosch. Rick went with them again (because he is our translator) and he checked back in with the family. Holly reports that Tato seemed full of life! He was smiling, waving, looking them in the eye, and interacting with the whole group! We are still praying for his physical healing, but to me it’s clear to see that there has been a real change in his heart. Praise the Lord!!!
