The last time DCF took a trip to The Dominican Republic was in August of 2005. Our journey to La Vega, a small city outside Santo Domingo, was just as memorable as our last trip to The DR. After arriving on Saturday and attending a church service the next morning, we set up the clinic. For the next four days our team worked diligently and effectively from nine to five with a short break for lunch. We provided three services: fillings, cleanings, and extractions.
The hard work, heat, and humidity paled in comparison to the way we saw God give us joy throughout the week. With the help of a couple of long-term missionaries playing guitar and singing, we worshipped our Savior without ceasing. Just as we were concerned for a lack of patients, three more would walk through the door. On that note, I should say that we always had the perfect amount of patients. It was an ideal flow of patients: enough to keep us very busy, but not so overwhelming that we couldn’t spend time getting to know our patients and sharing The Gospel with them. We got the opportunity to share the unconditional love of Christ! What brings more joy than that?
On this trip, we go the chance to work with a number of patients from Haiti. A large number of Haitians illegally immigrated to The Dominican Republic after the earthquake in 2010. Generally, Dominican nationals have a number of prejudices concerning this group they feel has invaded their nation. Because of this injustice, the long-term missionaries we worked with have a ministry dedicated to the Haitian population in their community. Our last day of clinic was designated primarily for the Haitians. Although the language barrier was challenging to overcome, it was a joy to serve a people who have been treated so poorly in the past. The best part was that it was all for God’s glory!
After packing up the clinic, we got to spend a few hours on the beach relaxing and reflecting on the encouraging week we experienced. We had a wonderful, hardworking team. Our desire was to glorify God in La Vega, Dominican Republic. Without our Savior we wouldn’t have seen over four hundred patients and provided multiple services almost everyone with such overflowing joy. Go God! To Him be the glory!!