MCC Mission Trip – Dominican Republic

This song is a gift and a thank you written by the mission team members. This song is about our experience. It is titled 200 pesos and love. 200 pesos is very little (about $6 USD) and the point of the song is that if you come with what you have and love that God will use you to do great work.

First Day at the ICM School in El Tamarindo:

Second Day at the ICM School in El Tamarindo:

Third Day at the ICM School in El Tamarindo:

Our time with ICM Santo Domingo:

Photos from Jessica’s Camera:

Rev. Ken’s Photos:

Time in Boca Chica:

Thursday morning, as our team prepared to leave for the airport, Tim asked us to think on our flights home about one moment. One moment from the trip where each of us felt the presence of God, and to write about it and send it to the team upon returing home as a way to know each of us is safe. I thought I’d post it here as well, it seems relevant.  

El viaje de la mision de ICM, es algo maravilloso. Es una experiencia que me ha permitido ver a los hombres con ojos diferentes.

Dejame compartir un poco lo que he vivido durante estos dias de la mission. Pesonalmente puede ver que la vida no es solamente vivirla por vivirla. Es tratar de entrar en la vida de los demas para aportar un cambio; no radical pero si un cambio profundo. Ellos han podido donarnos una energia de reforzamiento que nos permite seguir lunchando y hacer mas dicipulos para Dios. Esa misma energia me ha dado mas ganas de proclamar el evangelio de Jesus. De hacer saber a los que tadavia dudan de su amor que ese hombre (Jesus) y Dios al mismo tiempo que ha dado su propia vida, para que el mundo sea salvado, para que los hombres regresen a la casa de Dios padre y madre.

Estos hombres jovenes y adultos, de esta mission estan tratando de continuar el trabajo de nuestro senor Jesus. Hermanos y amigos, con toda mi sinceridad les digo que la mission me ha permitido ver, que la decision que he tomado de ser miembro (diacono), y para el futuro un pastol de esa congregacion no fue un error. Es el proposito de Dios, y es lo que Dios quiere que haga con mi bendita vida. Con la vida que el me ha regalado. Ustedes que me leen, mi Dios, nuestro Dios, es maravilloso, puro, lleno de bondad, y el es el dueno de todas la cosas de mi vida, de su vida y de la vida de los demas. Durante estos dias de mission he comprendido cual es mi deber como hijo de Dios. Creo que Dios esta disfrutando del fruto de la mission.

Que mas podria decirles? Permitan que Dios siempre juegue con sus vidas, dejenlo decirles de cualquier manera lo que el quiere que hagan, por el bien de sus hermanos y por la llegado de su reino.

Que Dios los llene de bendiciones, y recuerden que el solamente puede regresarles el esfuerzo, el tiempo y lo que han invertido en esta mission. Asi ICM esta derribando murros y contruyendo esperanzas!!!!

Diacono Junior Duprevil

(Note: this blog was written on Saturday, 6/25/11, and is just being posted, so if you’ve been reading the blog regularly you already know the truth of what’s shared here.)

Buenos dias!

Yesterday I got to thinking about my many travels to various places on the planet. Then I got to wondering when the last time was that I traveled first class. After a bit of thought I realized that the one time I remembered having traveled first class may actually have been a dream!

Well, late yesterday afternoon it occurred to me that I’m traveling “first class” on this trip. Let me tell you what I mean by this. From the first one to the last one (if you want to characterize it this way) the young people we’re traveling and serving with during this mission experience are definitely “first class.” I say this because of the spiritual depth and zeal they each exhibit, and their willingness to freely share the gifts they have been given. What a blessing it is to be in the company of such an amazing group God’s children!

Somewhere in The Book Jesus said “the first will be last and the last will be first.” This has been, and I’m sure will continue to be, one of those experiences where I can say I was “first” (in that we are “seeking God’s realm first” in all that we are about here) because of the company I am keeping. I hope you’ll keep up with what’s going on with this “first class” group over the next few days. I believe we have some “first class” blessings in store, and you won’t want to miss sharing in them.

Paz

Esta tarde de regreso al hotel en Boca Chica, lei en la parte tracera de una guagua publica estas palabras: Solo Dios sabe porque……

Algunas veces nos encontramos con cosas negativas con las cuales tenemos que lidiar y no sabemos como hacerlo, porque nos pasan o para que nos serviran en el trayecto de nuestras vidas.

Contemplando hoy las activides con los ninos en la escuela del Tamarindo, pude darme cuenta de lo entusiasmados que ellos estaban. Todos tenian de 5 a 6 anos. Me facino ver como estos ninos tenian una alta expectativa esperando ver cuales eran las cosas que llevavamos para ellos. Esa actitud me hiso pensar que tal vez Dios los tiene a ellos ensenandome a mi que en la vida, las cosas no siempre son como nos gustarian que fuesen, pero jamas podemos perder las esperanzas de que las cosas mejoraran. Dios sabe porque pasamos por situaciones que a veces consideramos imposible, el siempre nos ilumina mostrandonos el camino a seguir y colaca angeles alrededor de nuestro camino para que este sea mas y mas llevadero.

Today was our first day at the school in El Tamarindo. I spoke with Rev. Barrera yesterday and everything was set. Finally, the day many on the team have been looking forward to for months is here. However, in true Dominican style we started the day an hour late. Amazingly, the kids did not seem concerned or annoyed. They had waited in their stuffy classrooms for us to arrive and I heard no complaints. Our team was anxious as they climbed out of the van. “Will my favorite kids be here this year? Will they remember me?” from the returning team members. “How will we communicate? Will we be able to pull this off?” from the newbies.

Everything was great. All the classes had fun. The teachers were immediately accepted. As I have been reminding the team for a couple days, everyone understands a smile. The children were smiling. The teachers were smiling. Our team was smiling. Rev. Barrera was a little annoyed that we were so late, yet even he came out of the school to greet each of us with a hug.

Today was a big change of pace from the activities of the weekend. We have spent the last three days getting to know the people of the church in Santo Domingo. Singing with them. Worshipping with them. Serving with them. Then last night learning with them. As often happens, we forgot about the details until the end. We had 6 speakers, the presentations, the projector and screen. We had an audience. We did not have a translator and the first presentation was about to start. Fortunately, a member of the church felt comfortable enough to volunteer to translate for the evening. He was flawless. The presentations were flawless. The audience was engaged and very curious about Angel’s transition and the reactions of Elyse, Jessica, & Junior to the natural disasters in their lives. It was powerful.

I am grateful that we had the opportunity to share the weekend with Wilken, Junior, Flor, and the rest of the church. There is always satisfaction in seeing the progress of your work and being able to quantify it as we did on Saturday morning. Being welcomed into the fellowship of the church and the community in Parque Duarte on Friday and Saturday nights gave me a peace that I seldom feel. This was a special and exciting time for me.

We are having trouble uploading pictures to the blog, so you can view the pictures from the weekend at this link. http://s285.photobucket.com/albums/ll75/MCCYouthProject/Activites%20with%20ICM%20Santo%20Domingo/

So I began writing this blog Saturday night. I have paragraphs written up about several experiences, beginning from my 16 hour journey down to the Dominincan and ending with how my Spanish is actually allowing me to get to know people here I have never been able to before, and it’s SO good! I have half of this blog hand-written in my journal, half in a word document. I tried to post some of it early this morning, but got distracted by good friends and good conversation. Then I tried to post it this afternoon, and got distracted by new friends and then the internet stopped working, and excuses excuses Rachel, I know. I kept saying “I need to post a blog, I need to post a blog, there are people at home looking for my posts, waiting to hear from me, I need to post a blog” and yet it just didn’t seem to be happening.

I may post what I had previously written at another time, but at the moment, something different is on my heart I want to write about. Our mission team consists of a group of people, drastically different from one another in many ways. Adults, teenagers, Dominican-natives. We span across the United States from California to New York, up into Canada, and down across the Dominican and Haiti. We all come from such different backgrounds and sometimes it becomes difficult for us to coincide as a single, united unit. When you bring together people with varying ideas, values, and passions, there are times when people butt heads, or don’t understand one another’s actions. And we have experienced this as a mission team over the last few days. And it has been a bit challenging at times, trying to figure all these differences out.

However, what I want to write tonight is to my mission team, my peers, my friends, and who I feel also has the title of family in my life. I am in awe of the ability we’ve had thus far to work through some of these difficulties. You all remind me of how important it is to look beyond people’s surface emotions and dive deeper into what may really be bothering or upsetting someone. I am reminded that in times of difficulty, sometimes all it takes to bring everyone together is a good ol laugh . I am being taught once again (for about the billionth time in my life) that prematurely judging someone only causes me to lose out on a beautiful spirit becoming a part of my life, able to provide insight and knowledge I do not have, but could have shared with this person had I only been receptive.

What is also great to be reminded of is that there’s always time to fix your mistakes, apologize for things you are not proud of, and move forward together with a stronger bond than you ever had before. That is what we have been doing over the last few days, and I am so proud of us figuring our relationships out and growing together as a team, in deeper relationship than before. And as we do this, we are also reminded that what we are down here for is so much greater and beyond us as individuals, that these small tiffs here and there are insignificant compared to the work we are doing.  

I love you all more than words are able to describe, and appreciate you all being some of my best and truest friends. I feel like I can grow more here in the DR with you than I can in months and months back home. I learn so much from each of you, and feel wildly loved and accepted by this group…thank you for teaching me, and showing me love and care, and reminding me to be receptive and non-judging, just as Jesus did not judge or discriminate…I will work harder to follow in his ways.

I am reminded that our differences make us who we are, and that diversity in the world is a most precious thing. I am also reminded that the differences we have…they just sometimes don’t seem as important as all the values, beliefs, feelings, experiences, conversations, smiles, hugs, laughter, and tears we share.

Blessings and love to all those following our journey. Tomorrow marks our first day at the schoolhouse with the children…keep us and everyone in your thoughts and prayers.

Love To All…Rach

Today was the first time I seriously talked about the tornado in Joplin that affected my church family so much. It was extremely moving to be able to share it with all the people of mcc santo Domingo and with my mission team members. I felt so much love and support from everyone there. God can turn a bad situation into something helpful for someone else. After we left the church we went out to dinner, which was almost a disaster because me, elyse, and rachel almost ordered liver for dinner, thank god for Joel our driver who told us not to get it. As I was leaving the restaurant a very young boy came up to me and asked me for my half drank soda pop and it just hit me so hard. I could never imagine drinking a soda after a stranger but this boy was so happy, I thank god for showing me how important the little things are. Isaiah 58, I will always show you where to go.

With faithful love,
Jess <3

Today (actually yesterday, I started writing this blog last night) was the day of something truly wonderful for the people of Santo Domingo and for myself as a grateful witness and participant. The MCC there held their first public pride service (past attempts have been foiled by an insensitive police), and though I will take away many important experiences and new perspectives from today, this experience from which I just returned will likely have the most lasting impact on me. To further emphasize the profound significance of this event taking place at all, it should be noted that, at least according to our lovely Timón Helm, this was the first publicly held and approved gathering of LGBTQ people of faith in Santo Domingo and, I would assume, the Dominican Republic. Looking beyond that important fact, the service itself was, as my roommate says, “mágico.”

For one, I had the distinct pleasure–no, thrill; it was so exciting and fun–of being able to sing with the MCC Santo Domingo choir during the service. The music is the kind of music you want to sing every single day of your life in order to keep desperation always at bay. The people in the choir are accepting, hilarious, and some of the most brilliant singers I have ever heard (no offense, PMCC; you guys rock too). While they like to make jokes about my mixed comprehension of Spanish (sometimes assuming I can’t understand them do it, which always makes me laugh), they are affectionate and always try to include me in their conversations.

Then there was the sermon of the pastor of MCC Santo Domingo, and my roommate (so I was able to read his sermon beforehand and pretend that I had a very high comprehension of the Spanish language), delivered a passionate sermon about Rahab, the prostitute who was spared when Joshua and the Israelites took Jericho because she hid the spies Joshua had sent to the city from the king who wanted them dead. What he took out from the story is that if God decided that Rahab, who, as a prostitute, would be considered the lowest of the low in virtually all societies, would be the one to live out of the whole population of Jericho, it is a testament to the fact that God loves us all equally, unequivocally, no matter who you are. It is such a valuable message for the LGBTQ community and I daresay that I was near tears at several points during the sermon.

Other key events of the day include helping MCC Santo Domingo prepare and then distribute food for the starving people on the street. That was a sobering experience and the kind of thing I like to do at home too. I’ve also been forced to speak so much Spanish this trip, particularly with my non-English-speaking roommate and his church, that sometimes I forget that I speak English, as if I can only speak half a language. I even started writing this blog in Spanish. So it may be messing with my head, but at least my Spanish is finally improving beyond what was originally possible in the classroom. Maybe if I work a lot harder and get closer to fluency (a much revitalized interest of mine) I can finally start learning Arabic too. Inshallah, god willing.

All in all, this trip has been so inspiring for me and we’re not even really halfway through it. I can’t wait to relate the many stories of other days personally to my friends, my family, and of course my wonderful, loving church without which this whole experience frankly would not have been possible (thank you, Brandon).

I expect to return home with a wealth of new perspective which will vitalize and contribute to my goal of revealing to the world its own inherent Love and Beauty. While there will always be some source of resistance, the walls of intolerance and discrimination are doomed to fall just as occurred for the walls of Jericho.

Peace and Love,

Matthew Thompson