A Mission of Progress

Our mission in the Dominican Republic is a multifaceted operation.  Our main mission is the support of a guardaria, which is essentially a place that serves as a free daycare to preschool age kids and offers them two square meals a day (that they would not receive at home).  I have a million adorable pictures and stories of those magnificent kids from my trip this past week, but I wanted to share some pictures of the things we do and places we go aside from the guardaria. The pictures from the guadaria can be found HERE.

If you have read some of my past posts, you know about the three boys young men that we took in who were essentially street kids.  They have been in private school and living in a safe little apartment since July (so for about 6 months now) and they are doing so well. I am so incredibly proud of these boys.  Their grades are excellent and they are learning so much.  They have grown and changed so much and I am so blessed to call them my dear friends.

Although I could go on about how proud I am about these boys forever, I will cut it short (but be prepared for more updates in the future!).  This trip was the greatest that I have every been on.  Our group had a much different vibe than any that I have gone with in the past (maybe this is because my parents and I were the only ones under 60 years old) and I loved almost every minute of it.  There was a bit of heartbreaking news, but overall, the experience was very positive, inspiring, and motivating!  We went to some places that we had not previously visited and experienced more of life close to the Haitian-Dominican border.

One of the days of the trip, we set out towards el campo (the underdeveloped countryside) with the intentions of bringing medicine, clothes, and shoes with a local priest.  We ended up at a Catholic retreat center outside of an adorable little town called El Cercado and it was absolutely phenomenal.

Due to a miscommunication and time constraints, we did not end up in el campo until the next day.  We dropped some clothes and some of the extra toys off from my friend’s toy drive at a home with a half dozen orphan girls.  We also stopped with the priest to administer the anointing of the sick to a woman who was 101 years old.  She lived in a cute little house with a horse and a bunch of piglets.  (Just to clarify, the animals did not live in the house with her!)

I am so excited for my future in Las Matas de Farfan.  As I mention, this trip left me very inspired.  Although the progress and positive occurrences were a large part of what inspired me, some really awful news really pushed me to want to do more for these people.

The 13 and 16 year old prostitutes that I had mentioned before both are pregnant.   The 16 year old one has AIDs.  Neither of these girls is in a good situation and I wish more than anything that I could do something to help.  I want to be able to provide support and resources for these girls that will help them through the current situation and educate them on how to avoid them in the future.  I feel so powerless since I am so far away, but one day I hope to be able to make a difference.

Stay tuned for my post on the guardaria! To check out more posts on mission work, click here.