The Hartsocks: Dominican Republic Mission Trip

Ben and I went on our first mission trip with a group 19 others from our church June 22-29. I am still processing everything we saw and did. It was an amazing trip. No distractions, just focusing on God and serving others. A huge confirmation that this is what our family needs to be doing. I am so thankful to have been a part of it and look forward to where we can maybe go next year. Hold onto your hats, this is going to be a long post...

Just some general information...Our group worked with Score International. They have "bases" in several different countries and basically house and provide local connections for mission teams to come in. They have a main campus in Juan Dolio, DR that used to be a hotel. It now serves as housing for groups to stay. This is where we had training, ate dinner every night, had church services...

There were probably eight other groups there during the same week, so Score was full, but they had a house that was donated to them down the street that just our group got to stay in. It was very nice. No air conditioning except in the bedrooms, except ours didn't work very well. After about the second day, Ben resided to the fact that God had placed him in that room for a purpose. He persevered very well.

Creatures...there were lots of bug bites, lizards, dead worms on the bed, spiders and some sort of flying ant or termite things that came on, literally like a plague one night after it rained. Those things were everywhere!

DAY 1: Saturday-Travel Day

We ate lunch at Score, got settled in the house, ate dinner at Score and met with some of the other teams.

DAY 2: Sunday-Church at Villa Espana, medical orientation, clinic supply sorting and prep for the week.

All the ladies of the group

Church at Villa Espana, outside of San Pedro

Note the baptistery behind my posing husband. Also note the "you are weird" look given by recent high school grad, Jessica. I think all those girls have a different opinion of what NFL players are like after meeting Ben.

Dustin, our mission pastor and group leader, was dying to get these empanadas. We are glad he enlightened us.

This is Dr. Bob. Bob isn't a medical doctor. But he did work as an ER nurse in the states. He does have his doctorate in Theology. He's been in the DR for many years now and runs the Score clinic. In this neck of the woods, Bob is a medical doctor. Here we were game planning for our three days of medical clinics. Our team assisted a medical group from Pensacola. I worked triage. Ben was more or less a bouncer, managing the crowds.

DAY 3: Monday-Medical clinic at Villa Espana

Bagged water. Just bite off the corner and guzzle it down. Lots and lots of it, please.

Lots of houses that look to be abandoned, but are really a work in process. They just build as they have the money to do so.

While half of us were doing medical, the other half of the team was out doing village visits, playing with the kids, doing VBS type things.

Their version of Walmart

DAY 4: Tuesday-Medical clinic at Villa Maranatha, Score Night (games and church service with all the teams)

Ben got to share with a baseball team and teach them some strength and conditioning techniques.

DAY 5: Wednesday-Medical clinic at Monti Cristi nursing home, church at Los Montonas

Kids were throwing rocks up into this mango tree to get a mango to eat

Sugar cane fields at the end of the village

99 years old

Sweet Gisela. She told us she had Jesus in her heart, that the outside didn't matter, only what's in the inside.

Blanco, one of the bus drivers, prided himself in continually catching bees and putting them in your face. He thought it was really funny. I don't understand how he did it.

Los Montonas was the first village Hebron was a part of. Men from this church stepped up to start pastoring several new churches in surrounding villages.

Emmanuel House. Basically a before and after school program started by one lady, initially in her small apartment, now she has this nice, big building. Hebron had two girls serving here over the summer starting up a special needs program.

DAY 6: Thursday-Pesitos de Jesus (orphanage) and sight seeing in Santo Domingo

Visiting Pesitos de Jesus (little footsteps of Jesus), an orphanage for abused girls, started by one lady, Dalma.

Sightseeing and eating in Santo Domingo

When Columbus sailed the ocean blue, he landed in the DR. This is the first church of the Americas.

The first street of the Americas.

A church with an eternal flame to represent important people of their country.

Not sure of the accuracy of this story, but supposedly the Germans donated this building to the DR and if you look closely and not at the plus signs, you can see a swastika sign.

Christopher Columbus' sons house

Dustin had Ben shared that night at Score about being "in rhythm" with God

DAY 7: Friday-Our 10 Year Anniversary!!! The Lily House, house visits in Honduras and devotion on the beach

The Lily House takes in prostitutes (and their children), rehabs them, teaches them about Jesus, teaches them a trade (jewelry making, hair and/or nails, bakery) and gives them the opportunity to get on a better path. This day some of us assisted in the "preschool" with the centers and played with the kids. The other part of the group was asked to play guinea pig to their grand opening of their salon and bakery. They asked for honest feedback so that they can provide the best service to incoming Score groups to make money.

Ben's little buddy

My buddy Jefferson, we threw the football for a long time

Village visits in Honduras

We sat for about an hour here sharing our testimonies, them sharing their stories. As soon as we got there they went into their houses and brought out chairs for us and (apparently) some super strong coffee.