D Squad is in the Dominican Republic! We are currently serving alongside an organization called Mission of Hope in the city of Santiago. The purpose of this blog is to share why I am here, who Mission of Hope is, and what ministry looks like.
The Dominican Republic (DR) is the last stop on my race and it has been so amazing here already. Like I said previously, we are serving alongside an organization called Mission of Hope (MOH) and the ministry here has been impactful. MOH started in Haiti about 30 years ago and has expanded into several different countries to serve Haitian communities fleeing the poverty and devastation of their own country. In my experience, I have witnessed and heard horrible stories of what life in Haiti is like and it seems like the only option is to run. While in the DR, we serve both Dominican and Haitian people but partner with Haitian churches and translators.
In the DR, many Haitians are despised and mistreated. It’s disturbing to see this firsthand. The Dominican population generally dislikes the Haitians because they see them as invaders and inferior, but in reality, most Haitians have nowhere to go. I’ve heard stories of Haitians being round-up in trucks and being dumped somewhere out of the country. Most Haitians are afraid to get medical care or legal assistance for a variety of safety and unfair financial-related reasons. I met a woman one of the first weeks I was here and she was so angry and upset because walking home she was tormented by a few Dominican men. Little did they know, her husband had just passed and she could barely afford to feed her kids. This is just a small issue that is on this island compared to the widespread depravity and hurt I have and will encounter.
With this being said, MOH is dedicated to reconciling relationships between Dominican and Haitian pastors and churches through what Jesus would do: Loving as they are found. Not all Dominicans dislike Haitians, the Dominican culture is beautiful and their people are kind, but I will attest to witnessing a general separation and disgust between people groups.
MOH partners and does all ministry through local pastors and churches instead of implanting into communities and running themselves. Every ministry opportunity and event is run through local churches so the needs of the community are meant effectively and also support the local church. MOH is only a resource for pastors and refuses to make any decision without guidance from trusted community partners. For example, if the need of a community is water filters, MOH will provide filters to the local churches in which the church will give them out to the people that need them the most. This is how all ministry should be. MOH uses data found by the local community leaders and helps develop sustainable solutions to long-term issues like hunger, water filtration, etc.
As short-term members of the MOH team, our role is to be the hands and feet of the ministry. Every week, our squad meets with local pastors and translators all around the Santiago area to do SMT. SMT is strategic ministry time – basically meeting different families in the community and building the start of long-term relationships with the local church. Getting to know people for who they are has taught me a lot already and is something I would love to bring back to the US. While meeting people, we care about the whole person and treat them as humans rather than define them by their poverty just like I wrote in my ministry blog in Costa Rica, we are all broken and need a savior to be brought back together. Yes, I have seen some hard things during this time, but I have also seen the Lord work in ways that have made me so full (check our blog about big faith). If you have any specific questions about what SMT is like I would love to explain this to you because this type of ministry is different and super impactful.
The rest of our ministry is based on what the needs found in SMT time are. If there is a common need that the pastor identifies, we discuss that with MOH staff in which they will work with their team to see how that need can be meant sustainably.
Another ministry project that we are a part of is building a container home. Yes, we are building a home out of a big shipping container and it’s awesome! That shipping container is for our friend Guirimo who lives with us at the base. Manual labor is a favorite ministry opportunity for D Squad ever since our time in Louisiana with Samaritan’s Purse disaster relief.
Ministry so far in the DR has been amazing. Getting to know and be a part of this community has been a blessing and I’m so grateful for this opportunity. Thanks for reading this blog and as always feel free to reach out
Best,
Brent
