Dominican Republic Mission trip

Hey everyone! I come to see that blogger would just be a way better way to connect with others. A lot of the people I have met in the DR use blogger =P

WELL! I am back from my 2 week mission trip in the Dominican Republic and it was an amazing experience. It blew my mind to see how Jesus was the exact same person in the DR as he is here in the states.

The week before I left was a tough one for me (to say the least). I was worried about not having a good experience which just so many burdens on my heart. I prayed that God would just let me forget about them for the two weeks so I could be of better use. I thought it be better that I just deal with them when I come back. To my surprise, God met me in my pain and suffering in the DR. He opened me up to this incredible understanding of true love and true happiness.
So let me share a little bit about what happened.

This is the beautiful city of Jarabacoa. It is the main city we were working in. Notice at just how green everything was. It was weird coming back to the states and not seeing that much green.

Here was our main base. We were the first summer team to use the base after its completion just last year. Pretty fancy eh? haha it was funded by a very generous donor and thank God. The basket ball course to the right was a great place where some people in the community could come and play to get to know the ministry better



So, Yours truly was was assigned to serve the community at the art site. Here are some pictures:

This is where are art site base was. Here is where we had all the paint and other stuff to carry out our ministries such as...

Art in the park with inner city kids. The boys I am with here are shoe shine boys. They wait around all day in the park to see if anyone would shine their shoes for them for about 50 cents. Given how young they are, this is not what a typical kid would like to do in the park. So, the art site would create art projects for them to do in the park and we just hang out and play with them.


I thought it be fun for them to do that one art project where you use your hand to make a chicken. YEE YEE im soo fresh =P haha naw actually it looked like they had a lot of fune with that.

Next is probably the biggest project we have at the Art site

Here you see a the art team painting murals in a slum called El Callejon. This is squaters land (land that basically anybody can just come on and start building homes) that was created after the hurricane George in the 1990s. The hurricance devistated the land and it became a place that was open to the poor to come and live on. On one side of the slum you have a golf course and on the other side lives a very wealthy man. Funny isn't it? The man built a wall for legal reasons; he wanted to make sure none of the poor people would come onto his property and build homes. The wall itself is logical, but it has become a symbol of "This is how far you can go. You are not wanted here. Stay away from us." A daily reminder of how isolated they are from acceptance.

SO the art side thought it be great to turn this wall, a symbol of division and hate even, and draw murals on it turning it into a symbol of God's love and and to minister and share biblical truths with non traditional images.

This is my mural. Top left is the phrase "Donde estas Papa? " which translates into "Where are you daddy?" Before drawing the murals, we walked around the community to learn more about it. It broke my heart to learn that it was nearly expected that fathers would walk out on their famalies. It was not uncommon for a young mother to have 4 kids all from different fathers and non of them are taking care of their kids.

That is just not right....

So the mural challenges men to step up in the community and walk away from the pollution of the world (gambling and alcoholism are typical things the men would be involved in there) and turn their hearts back to their famalies, their wife and kids, through the direction of Jesus Christ.

Upon learning about this, a young by name Mikael connected with my mural. One of my site leaders Nate told him the meaning of this mural. He starred at it and told Nate to tell me to finish the painting the kids (at that time i didn't even start yet). I asked why the urgency? And Nate explained that Mikael's father had walked out on his family when he was very young.

At the moment the whole ministry just proved itself to be God influence and God was moving artist to minister to this community. I can not express the great amount of meaning I felt when God use this mural to minister to this child. And better then that, that mural is still up today and Hopefully it will continue to minister to the community and challenge men to take up their responsibilities as fathers.

I also just had the greatest ounce of wisdom giving to me by God when i was thinking about what i was doing. This wall was meant to be an obstacle. BUt the ministry made it something that would help people overcome obstacles...so the question GOd asked me is "Ben, what are you doing with the walls other people have put up against you?"

That i will answer in another blog. But yes all in all this was a great ministry. I STILL HAVE so much to share but I think I'll save it for another blog.

I just want to leaving sharing this,

This was the team that challenged me, held me up, prayed for me, help me see God's plan, and ministered God's love to me in so many ways. It proves that true love is shown where God is the center. The boston team defenitely had Jesus and the Center and i was blessed to reap the benefits of peace, hope, fath, and love by being such great people.

So let this be a lesson, with great people by your side and a community centered on Jesus, One can change the world and your life can be changed for the best.

Keep growing in community everyone! I'll be sure to share more next time =)

God Bless,
Ben