Caring for body and soul in the Dominican Republic.

By Irvin and Nancy Heishman

The germ of an idea began to grow when Paul Mundey heard pastor Anastacia Bueno Beltre preach at the 2005 Annual Conference. Beltre is pastor of San Luis Iglesia de los Hermanos (Church of the Brethren) in the Dominican Republic. Mundey heard in her sermon the excitement of her dynamic and resilient faith, and wondered how the church he pastors in Frederick, Md., could become involved in the mission in the DR.

Frederick Church of the Brethren had previously sent members on mission trips to Latin America but had not connected with Brethren mission projects. Through a series of communications, we considered plans together for how a group of Frederick members could visit the DR and become familiar with the Brethren mission.

In March 2006 a group of five people from Frederick, led by pastor Bill Van Buskirk and medical doctor Julian Choe, visited the DR for nine days. The experience was a rich blessing for the church in the DR and was personally transforming for the group from Frederick.

The group traveled first to Fondo Negro, a small congregation in the southwest DR. Church members gave them a tour of the community including the beautiful Yaque River, where many go to swim and bathe. The group also stayed overnight in the homes of congregation members, a "stretch" for Americans given that not all homes in the DR have indoor plumbing or other comforts. The Frederick group offered children's activities, sharing simple crafts like a "salvation bracelet." This activity facilitated a clear sharing of the gospel message and yielded delightful interaction with the children.

The group then headed back to the area of the DR's capital to spend several days with the San Jose congregation. In contrast to Fondo Negro's semi-arid rural location, the San Jose church is located in the middle of a desperately poor community surrounded by abandoned sugar cane fields. This type of community is called a "batey," which means a community where Haitian immigrant workers are housed for the sugar cane industry. In San Jose the sugar industry has been abandoned, so residents eke out a living with limited, low-paying seasonal work in a near-by palm oil plantation.

Frederick members felt called to respond not only to physical needs but also spiritual needs. In planning their trip they designed a combination of activities to reach out to the whole person. As Van Buskirk put it, "The first day was physical saving. The next day was soul saving." Although several group members had participated in mission trips before, they were shaken by the desperate poverty in San Jose. Under the direction of Dr. Choe, the group was prepared for medical outreach. They had brought 100 pounds of medicine, focusing mostly on treating dysentery and parasitic conditions and offering much-needed vitamins.

While this treatment was effective in the short-term, the group realized that these problems will continue to plague this community and others like it. Parasites can be treated, for example, but if people are drinking contaminated water, they will soon have parasites again. For this reason, the Frederick church is interested in forming a longer-term relationship with the mission in the DR, specifically in the area of health. "We don't just want to do a hit and run," said Van Buskirk in an article in the "Frederick (Md.) News Post."

Dominican church leaders are considering the possibility of developing a preventative health ministry in cooperation with the General Board and congregations like Frederick. Let's dare to pray boldly that God will open the way for this ministry to become a reality in 2007.

--Irvin and Nancy Heishman are mission coordinators for the Church of the Brethren General Board in the Dominican Republic.

Source: 7/19/2006 Newsline
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