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DONATIONS SENT TO GOOD SAM AS OF

June  2010

$100,150

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2010 Planned Tours

LINKS:

LA Romana Dreamin

Wallingford DR Team

Circle of 12

HAITIAN EARTHQUAKE RECOVERY

Reflections on going to La Romana

By Cyndi McNamara

A little background: I grew up attending First Baptist in Abington and I remember when it was time to celebrate our 100th Anniversary. The decision to do a hands-on mission project was to be a one time event.  I was pregnant with my 4th child so couldn’t go on that first trip.

Over the next 18 years for one reason or another I never went to La Romana; finally in 2005 I made my first trip. I met some of the most wonderful people like our translators John, Emilio, Jr, Tedo, the bus driver Salvador and the so many more local Haitians plus Americans who had come to help. I knew I wanted to return the next year.

The knowledge that a difference was being made in the lives of people to the Glory of God was something I wanted to be part of again. So in 2006 I returned and this time I stayed for 2 weeks. I had the unique pleasure of sleeping in a private room downstairs. My friendships with our Hosts the local Haitian people from the Maranatha church deepened. I now have a Dominican son, Wilkins; did laundry with Olear; tried to learn Creole from Jean Baptiste and Jasmine and so much more.

I went to new Batey’s up in the mountains, one the main road and back to some from last year. I had so many new experiences and I pray that it is God’s plan that I return in 2007.      

Here it is over 20 years since that first trip and we are still making annual trips to La Romana. Christians from all over the US from Maine to California to Florida and in between are now part of this Mission work. We have Amigo’s (friends) some of who were infants when our relationship began. The general health in the Batey’s has improved, a hospital building is now in operation where once there was a dump, there is a women’s dormitory at Casa de Pastoral. The men’s dormitory currently located beside the Maranatha Church hopefully will be over the Dining Hall in the near future.      

I feel like I have so much to learn about life for a Haitian in the Dominican Republic. It seems to me that the most difficult must be for those who have been brought to the Dominican from Haiti and find themselves living in a Batey, required to cut sugar cane all day and get paid $2 a ton? The company provided housing has no electricity or running water but I have been told that life in a Batey is better than life in Haiti. Children born to these people aren’t usually legal citizens of either the Dominican Republic or Haiti which means they are citizens of nowhere! From what I have been told these children are considered Dominican Haitians and if they move to the city (like La Romana) they can manage to get citizenship. Immigrants from Haiti are considered pure Haitians and are hated by pure Dominicans. Their quest for citizenship is expensive and lengthy. This is a problem that is bigger than life and something we all need to pray for God’s will to prevail. My personal thought is that we can best help our amigos by helping them help themselves. We can’t solve their social issues we can only support them in their attempts to help themselves.      

I think that it’s important for American’s to continue to go to assist the local people in the building of the hospital; however I think we need to work at involving them more in the process. We can build our relationship when we go by attending their church services; buying from Obadiah, (he paints and has local items for sale) and from Eric (a local artist); getting our hair braids from the local girls right there at Casa de Pastoral. There are many weeks during the year when there no one is staying at Casa de Pastoral so our friends need to earn as much as they can when we are there.      

There are needs all over the world and each person has to determine where God wants them to help. Personally I feel that helping in a small corner of the world I am really able to make a noticeable difference by being the hands and feet of Jesus. Please pray and see if God wants you to come to La Romana and you can come and have an experience for yourself. I am sure you will be rewarded by God.