Cienfuegos Medical Clinic

 

Hola Amigos! Greetings from Santiago.

We’ve had quite a busy start to the work week over at the Cienfuegos medical clinic. Working alongside Dr. Brendaliz has been such a joy as she shares her knowledge and skill sets with us as we help her serve the people in the village of Cienfuegos. Her clinic is situated in a very poor part of the community. Many people do not even have money for clean water, much less proper medications. The community is also filled with Haitians so the clinic is always full of both Haitians and Dominicans.

Dr. Brendaliz has been a wonderful example to us as she proactively demonstrates her love for Christ to her patients and practices medicine in her own community by providing anyone in need with medications and treatment at an affordable price. She is very enthusiastic about teaching us LIFT students any medical skillsets we are willing to attempt, (after much supervision and practice) even allowing us to do injections, sonograms and administer medication Poverty, people's needs, and lack of access to medical care causes things to be different than what we experience in our culture. 

On Wednesday’s we have a pregnancy clinic where expecting mothers can come and receive a checkup and a sonogram. Interacting with the women and attempting to communicate and gather information from them by using our limited Spanish has proven to be an interesting challenge for us. The women are very patient with us and find our grammar quite entertaining. We are often a source of amusement in the waiting room!

We have enjoyed doing house calls almost daily and visiting new moms, debilitated patients and seniors who are unable to leave their homes. Sitting inside of these peoples houses and hearing their stories and their heartaches has given us a better understanding of how these impoverished people get by and with resiliency sustain their lives. It is hard to not hurt for these people as we say our goodbyes and leave. What a blessing it has been to have a glimpse into these people’s homes and lives and be able to meet a physical need while praying for their spiritual needs as we share the love and hope of Christ through our joy and love for them.

-Kaytlin Darrah

All Things New

 Dear friends and family at home,

We have been blessed to see God’s beauty and glory this past weekend and I am so honored to give the update. On Saturday, LIFTers went to twenty-seven waterfalls, a popular excursion in the Dominican Republic. It was incredibly beautiful deep gorge with turquoise pools and exotic tropical plant life. It was also fully experiential as we were able to descend every waterfall, big and small, by climbing, sliding, and jumping. Some of our group members braved their fears of heights or swimming and we all marveled at such a beautiful and thrilling place that the Lord had made.  (See photos from previous blog, "Eudcation & Recreation")

This Sunday, we attended Comunidad Multicultural Church which hosts a diversity of people groups and do their services in English, Spanish, and Creole. In one part of the service the pastor talked about how we are all a part of one whole family and invited us to stand and hug a family member that we had never met before. One of the people I met was the worship leader who told me “Soy Tomme” (I am Tomme) to which I was excited to reply, “¡Mi hermano es Tomme!” (My brother is Tommy). God showed me that day how big and wide His family truly is. The love and faith I share with my brother Tommy at home is the same love and faith I have for my brother Tomme in the Dominican Republic.

Also this past Sunday, LIFT observed and practiced both the sacraments of The Lord’s Supper and Baptism. In the church service, we were reminded that Christ died for the joy of being close to us and because of his great love for the world. We were given instruction and encouragement to fix our eyes on him through the passage Hebrews 12:2. “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Our entire group is participating in a Bible study on this topic, it is being painted on the waiting room wall at our site in Quinigua, and we now have had a church service on this. Clearly this is something that the Lord is wanting to put on our hearts. So we fixed our eyes on Him as we broke bread together and proclaim Jesus’ death and resurrection until He comes. 

In the afternoon we all gathered at the base to witness the baptism of two of my brothers: Benjamin Smith and Porter DuHadway. Both of these guys have grown so much this past year and to witness a decision they made to be baptized was a testament to the work God has done in their hearts and the dedication they have to Christ. Watching them being baptized by their mentors, surrounded by the LIFT family was a barrage of emotions . . . inspiring, tearful, and joyful . This is what our faith is Christ is all about and the hope we have in him for new life, a family, a home, a hope, a savior. We are honored to be here and to see what God is doing. He is making all things new.

Con amor y en el nombre de Cristo,

Sam Nicholson

The city of Santiago

Base Up-Keep

With hearing other stories and reading some of the ones that have put on this blog, I figured that I should attempt to share a more mundane side of missions that does not often get recognized as an integral part of the work and service. What typically doesn’t get recognition is the maintenance and upkeep of the actual missions base where all the ministries are supported and sent from. Me and my team members, Gabe and Nicci, are working through sun and (a lot of) rain to help Alberto make the Students International base a better place to live and work from. This last week, we had the wonderful opportunity to dig up and remove a center island in the driveway, pulling up three small trees, breaking concrete curbs and removing the dirt from the center of it. In its place, this next week will include laying gravel, rebar, and concrete to pave over what we removed. This is very important because Students International currently doesn’t have the best area to park their cars, and what space they do have is under trees that could drop coconuts or mangos onto the staff cars. With the removal of the center island, we will allow for four or five more parking spaces for their teams, site leaders, and partners in the missions’ work.

The work we have been doing is not all that different to what we would do back at CAMP-of-the-WOODS, on a day that we would be working a Grounds shift. As we are familiar with the amount of work that is required for something like what we are doing here in the DR, we recognize that things will fall into disrepair very quickly if they are not maintained. With a ramshackle workplace, the team cannot effectively do the work of the Lord in the community. I and my team are learning about this importance of reaching out to the community behind the scenes and looking towards supporting the sites and the people they reach. God has been teaching me to strive in strength and in dedication to the work He has put before me, completing it in joy so that it can be used effectively for current and future teams.

Noah Henry

Photos of the Construction/Base team:

Education & Recreation

 

Each morning Yocasta, Elizabeth, and Kasey unlock the gate to the school building and the students from the community are eagerly waiting outside with smiles on their faces, hanging on the gate railings, and catching fish from the canal waiting for class to begin. The Students International Education Center is located in Quinigua, Santiago and provides tutoring, preschool, and meals for children in the community. Yocasta and Elizabeth are both local Dominicans who teach the classes and Kasey is a Global Bridge student working alongside them for the year.

Students International seeks to support the community and share the gospel in multifaceted ways through the Education Center. They provide Children in the community with breakfast and lunch. Yocasta emphasized to us the importance of providing these meals. She told us that sometimes the children arrive at school fighting and angry because of their hunger and as soon as they eat, they settle down and act like themselves again. There are public schools in the community, but students only go for half of the day, because the government does not have enough money to fund whole days. Elizabeth, who teaches the older kids, supplements their education by tutoring the students in reading and writing skills. This additional education will have a long-term impact on their ability to communicate and provide for themselves and families. Teaching provides many opportunities to share the gospel and the heart of Jesus with a focused scripture passage through song, reading, and crafts. The missionaries are also able to earn the trust of families in the community as the family sees their genuine care and love for their children.

A group of us LIFT students have gotten to be a part of the Education Center this week. At the end of each day, we sing and dance to “Cristo es mi superhero” (Jesus is my Superhero), and then listen to "Way Maker" in Spanish. As we listen to the music and the kids sing along, the children know to line up at the back of the room, and all of us form a tunnel, and we silently pray for each of them and put a hand on their shoulders, and they slowly walk through the prayer tunnel. This time of prayer, though simple, has been such a reminder to me of God’s heart that longs to show His grace to each of us. As each child passes, I have simply been praying that they would know their savior, Jesus. Not only does this time of prayer reflect the missionaries genuine work and love unto the Lord, but it also seems to symbolize their dependence and trust in the Lord. Recognizing God’s deep love for these children and sending them home in prayer and trust, not in their own work, but in God’s protection and salvation.

Julia Haynes

LIFT on their day off (Saturday) experienced the fun thrills of canyoneering in the Damajagua River Gorge, followed with a scrumptious lunch buffet.  

For videos of this high adventure day go to the LIFT Discipleship Program Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/liftdiscipleshipprogram 

A Day in the Life

 

LIFT 45 in the Dominican Republic - Post #3

What have we been up to?

What does a workday look like while serving with Students International? Our day starts at 6:45 with quiet time until 7:15. During this time LIFT students have been working through a SI specific devotional. From 7:15-8:00, LIFT students lead a short worship set then hear a message from an SI staff member based on the devotional reading for the day, followed by breakfast and lunch pack for the day. At 8:45 LIFT, Global Bridge students (a study abroad program focused on missions), and SI interns load onto the bus and trucks and head for the different ministry sites.

Students work at the sites until 4 pm. From 4-6 is free time! During this time students can swim in the pool, go on a run near the base, play volleyball, set up hammocks, read or study, play games, etc.. It is time to spend building relationships with one another along with the other students and staff at SI. After dinner is team time. This has looked different almost every evening. Some evenings are activities centered around knowing more about the Dominican culture, some are for journaling and reflecting on our experiences, and others are classes on holistic ministry and learning how to effectively love our neighbors.

On Monday night, SI staff put together a Dominican culture night for LIFT where they taught us about traditional Dominican food, dress, and lifestyle. They served us “La Bandera” aka “The Flag” for dinner, a classic Dominican dish of chicken, rice, beans, salad and avocado. We also got a quick lesson on how to dance the Merengue. Que divertido! (What fun!)

On Wednesday night, we heard from Miguel, the director of SI Santiago, about the history of Dominican and Haitian relations. Miguel and his family, although Dominican themselves, spent 9 years living and doing ministry in Haiti. Miguel is passionate about God’s calling on Christians to love one another regardless of ethic allegiances. We are all one in Christ. We share in his body and blood together. We are all redeemed by grace. As he spoke, he educated LIFT on the ethnic tensions between Dominicans and Haitians explaining the history behind it. He graciously answered questions and shared how his own misconceptions were broken apart after living and falling in love with Haiti; a country and people he was told he was supposed to hate. We ended the evening with a time of prayer for Miguel and asking from peace and reconciliation on the island between the two countries.

Miguel and his staff are an amazing team whom God is using to bring light and love to the island of Hispañola.

-Izzy Oliver

Here are some pics from the Early Childhood Development Center:

 

More from the Appropriate Technology Site - building water filters:

 

Clean water, living water!

        LIFT 45 had smooth travels on Sunday by vans to JFK and a direct flight to the Dominican Republic.  They arrived at the Students International base outside of Santiago just in time for a delicious dinner.  After a morning of orientations sessions on Monday, the students have been going out to work with the missionaries at the various ministry sites: 2 medical sites, appropriate technology, women's social work, boy's sports site, early childhood education, construction, and media.  

The following is a post from Alex Brown at the appropriate technology site:

        The barrio in Lo Salado in Cienfuegos is home to over 2500 families living in poverty, most of which do not have access to clean water. Seeing this need, Students International Santiago has paired up with a local pastor named Alex Jimenez to help change that.   He creates fast, long term gravity filters which he puts out into the community. The filters take around a month to make each, first he must pour the concrete form which takes 2-3 days to set, and then must sit with water in them for 18 days to ensure that there are no leaks.

        People in the community request his water filters.  Alex identifies those with the greatest need.  He sells each filter for 500 pesos which turns out to be around 10 dollars. It is best to sell them, so the people value them and take ownership rather than just receiving them for free. Along with the filter, Alex also installs the filters, cleans and maintains them, and moves them for the family if needed. This is a great way to build trust and relationships over time with the families in order to share the good news of Jesus Christ.

        In our short time here thus far, we have helped Alex deliver and install 2 filters in homes, and there are now 266 filters in the community of Cienfuegos, which means that 1 in every 10 families now has access to clean water.  His goal is to reach every home in the barrio and get to know everyone in the community. After teaching the families about how to use and maintain the filters, he shares about his relationship with Jesus, invites them to church then prays for them.  He continues his relationships with families with follow-up visits.  It is our prayer that Alex would be able to continue his work making and selling filters, and that the filters would be an avenue to share the hope of Jesus Christ with the people of Cienfuegos. 

An Invitation to Join LIFT 45

LIFt 45, Dominican Republic Blog Post #1

In preparation for our short term mission trip to the Dominican Republic, LIFT 45 has been taking Spanish classes and classes on holistic ministry.

We have also been raising support for our trip to be funded and donations to be given to the different ministry sites we are serving in. This week, we as a LIFT community are participating in a rice and beans fast to prepare physically and spiritually through discipline and for our hearts to be humbly alongside those we serve. The fast began on Monday morning and ends on Friday.

In our time studying global poverty and poverty alleviation my eyes have been opened to the broken relationships the world has with God, ourselves, others, and the rest of creation. One of the privileges I didn’t realize I had was to always have food to eat and lots of variety in food that others do not have. This is my first time fasting like this and I’m growing closer to the Lord and with other LIFTers as we eagerly and prayerfully anticipate our trip. I have been looking forward to this for a long time as a lot of what we do here builds up to the experiences we will have seeing the power of God and learning about a different culture. So we prepare and pray for the Dominican Republic and for the missionaries we will be with. 

Today in our Holistic Missions Practicum class, our director, Tim Trezise, reminded us that we are going on this trip as learners. This important aspect of all missions is talked about all the time in our classes and in LIFT required readings, The Hole in Our Gospel and When Helping Hurts. So we are excited to serve and share the gospel, but we are also going to learn from people in the Dominican Republic and cross barriers to live, dress, eat, and speak as they do. LIFT is so excited to be leaving early this Sunday morning to partner with Students International in Santiago.

I would like to ask you the reader, “will you join with us?” Would you be willing to pray for the Dominican Republic, and worship God with us as we serve in his mission for his kingdom being spread to the ends of the earth? Thank you for being a part of our team and for lifting your voice to our Heavenly Father. 

For the Glory of God! Para la gloria de Dios!

Sam Nicholson

We will be posting about every 2 - 3 days once we are in the DR, from March 27 - April 12.