Epilogue 2018

Final 2018 Post

After a final breakfast, prayers, hugs, and good-byes were exchanged with Pablo and Ruth. Genesis drove the team back to Santo Domingo for the 3:10 flight to Atlanta. They stopped at the usual tourist-trap market to barter with the vendors and 15 minutes along the ocean to view the beauty of the water and city one final time.

The final 24 hours is always bitter-sweet. Emotions range with the individual and the number of years served has a significant impact on that. While the home-coming to loved ones is looked forward to, the friendships that are being left until another year (or maybe not until eternity) will be missed. There's the memories and emotions of the past week; not so much what was done but with who and for whom it was done. It's always about the people. It's always about Jesus. A particular Jesus Film or ministry stop may be forgotten but not the certain little boy, elderly lady, or disabled man. There's no forgetting the people we served with that so humbly showed what faith is really like.

This was a very good team. Coherence and unity are critical in the mission field and this team was with one purpose and exercised much grace. While many were strangers at the beginning the bonds were formed quickly because the focus was Christ. Much was done this week. No trip to the beach and very few (if any) siestas. Rarely back to the hotel before 11pm and going again at 7am.

As with the Church body as a whole, this small team functioned using the gifts the Holy Spirit has blessed each individual. It may have been the soothing and healing touch of massaging crippled fingers or jumping rope with children. It may have been preaching the hope that is found with following Jesus or the physical energy needed to pour concrete for a new church floor. It may have been identifying a potentially life-threatening medical situation and putting into motion the events to see it through to a cure or blessing a family with enough food for the next few days. It may have been giving a disabled boy a bed so he doesn't have to sleep on a pile of clothes or showing a film under a bright moon on a dusty street in the middle of nowhere that depicts the life, death, and resurrection of the One we strive to serve.

The team is back to their normal lives now. It doesn't take long for the old routine to kick in. And while the reality of life in the U.S. may seem to overwhelm or at least shade one's faith to some degree, the team can hope to be inspired and blessed because of their experiences in the DR. Mission work should change a person. It should refocus the priorities in life and allow a person to see the world with a Biblical mindset. Believers want to share their hope and faith for the coming glory; not just with strangers in the DR but with friends and family here in the U.S. where it seems it may be needed the most.

In being forthright with our finances, following is a list of our major expenditures. No dollar amounts are given so as to protect the privacy of our ministry partners. As the needs far outweigh the funds available, prayer and discernment is used by the team prior to distribution. All monies are left in the DR as the team members raise their own funds for transportation, meals, and lodging.

Expenditures
- 6 church building projects (roofs, block walls, or concrete floors).
- 800 adult bibles
- 1500 children's bible story books
- 825# of beans, rice, and oil divided into 264 family-sized bags
- 1300 gospel tracts
- 3 yearly on-going feeding programs
- money to the team's church for fencing (Azua Mission International - AMI)
- money to another large church building project
- keyboard for a church
- speaker system for a church
- Love Offerings to our ministry partners for their services (translating, cooking, cleaning, vehicle usage)
- French-Creole Bibles for Pablo and Ruth in Haiti
- smaller price-tag items such as personal healthcare, equipment for the disabled, mattresses, medical needs, etc.

Ministry Events
- Jesus Film - 5 nightly showings with messages and worship
- Men's and Women's prison
- Special Needs School
- Compassion International School
- Disabled Center
- Marketplace
- Estebania (Wilfrido) feeding program
- Radio program
- Project 4 (Nelson's) feeding program
- Los Cartones - sweet rice feeding
- AMI - sweet rice feeding
- Joel's high school
- Heavenly Fire Church - preached
- Center for the Blind

2018 Cast of Characters

US Team:
Paul Flunker: Construction/factory worker; Appleton, WI - 14 yrs.
Dan Natzke: Dairy Farmer; Greenleaf, WI - 13 yrs.
Shawn Eckstein: Crop Consultant; Reedsville, WI - 11 yrs.
Christina Robokoff: Retired teacher; Green Bay, WI - 7 yrs.
Dean Meinholz: Dairy Farmer; Arlington, WI - 3 yrs.
Kim Meinholz: Nurse; Arlington, WI - 3 yrs.
Mike Brennan: Retired Police Officer; McFarland, WI - 2 yrs.
Crystal Schenian: Occupational Therapist; Reedsville, WI - 1 yr.
Sheila Olson: Occupational Therapist; Reno, NV - 1 yr.
Molly McGinn: Student; Green Bay, WI - 1 yr.

DR Team:
Pablo/Ruth: Cooks from Puerto Rico, missionaries to Haiti
Natanael: Clothing shop owner; interpreter, main DR liaison, preacher
Genesis: Bus driver; driver, preacher
Wilfrido (Miguelina): Dentist; pastor, community leader at Haitian village in Estebania
Anderson:  (Julian Joaquin) Pastor
Daniel: English teacher; translator
Joel: School Superintendent; translator, preacher
Nelson's: Husband and Wife (Nelson and Areceli Concepcion) Pastors at Project Four
Daimler: Driver, helper
Alan: Translator, helper
Sandi: Pastor, helper
Cesar (El Jefe): Construction boss

Friday

7am came early but the team is living on Holy Spirit fuel right now going into our final day. After breakfast the team went to the beach to visit Rodney and Roddis at the YWAM center (Crystal, Sheila, and Molly went by scooter). The next hour was worship and praise led by YWAM staff. This is always a powerful time as the team is balancing physical exhaustion with the emotions of the week. Listening to the beautiful music in the open air room with a gentle ocean breeze and the sounds of the sea in the background is a perfect time to reflect and ponder the past week in the presence of God.

Rodney gave us a run-down on current operations at YWAM. The team is always amazed at his faith and attitude and the many "God stories" he shares. Besides the DTS student training, their ministries are weddings, prison feeding and witnessing, traffic police, street kids, church work projects, pastor conferences, and prayer ministry in the park.

After a quick stop to drop off a cane to a blind man the team went to the Nelsons at Project Four. As this is one of the team's continual feeding programs, the team helped serve food to over 150 children and stayed to play games and do crafts.

During the morning the team received news about the important headline of the day in DR. The helicopter that landed Thursday night next to the showing of the Jesus Film was not due to mechanical issues; that was a cover story for the real reason: Joel. Because of ongoing issues between the teachers and government all 18 superintendents in the DR were fired and replaced by Friday morning. Our own Joel was one of those replacements and a helicopter with security personnel was sent for his benefit. Look back to a past blog to what this author called Joel: the real deal. He will now oversee approximately 600 schools in the Azua area!

Friday afternoon means a stop at the center for the blind. Blindness in the DR has ramifications far beyond what a blind person in the U.S. may have. There are limited resources to help those with disabilities and just being mobile is a significant risk. The sidewalks are uneven and full of holes, there are no crosswalks, a deep gutter usually separates the street from the sidewalk, and many obstacles are randomly scattered (not to mention many cars, trucks, and scooters. Crystal, Sheila, and Kim massaged hands while presentations and prayers were made. Donations of walking sticks from the Lion's Club along with audio Bibles from the team were made. It never ceases to impress how this group of individuals continues to strive for (and achieve) success.

The next couple of hours was spent running last errands and preparing for tonight's going-away party. Some of the team got a few minutes of rest or started packing for the trip home.

The team always hosts a going-away/thank-you party for our local ministry partners on the last night. Pizza is shared with laughs, introductions, messages, prayer, song, and a lot of hugs. The Dominicans come dressed in their best and it's an emotional time saying goodbyes never knowing if it's for the last time or not.

A final debrief was held and the team got back to the hotel some time after midnight to pack and get ready for a 7:30 breakfast.

Spent but blessed...so much done....so much emotion

Thursday

Today started early with the van leaving the hotel at 7am to visit Joel's school south of town. Joel has been one of our interpreters for the last few years with a day job of high school principal. This young man is the real deal: strong in his faith and family values; a real leader who represents what we are all about. His translating is strong, he's not afraid of physical work, and he delivers a solid message. He asked us to come to his school to see how they start their mornings. 

At 8am the kids line up by age and gender in the courtyard to raise the flag, say the pledge, listen to a piece of scripture, and then pray. Yes, scripture and praying in a large public high school! The students then sat in the stands in the basketball court while some members of the team gave messages. An impressive start to the day.

Back at HQ Pablo had a large brunch fixed (no lunch today). Empanadas, bacon, pancakes, eggs, mango, and pineapple.

Crystal and Sheila led a devotion on trust and discipleship before we had guests from Compassion. Three representatives from the district office in San Juan wanted to discuss using AMI for a future Compassion School. The interest from both parties is very high but details in building design and pastorship need to be resolved first.

Early afternoon was Dan, Nataniel, and the ladies visiting the woman's prison in Bani, a town about an hour towards the Capitol. All the girls witnessed to a very attentive audience. Meanwhile the guys met with El Hefe at the hardware store to purchase building materials and check out the progress on a couple of projects.

Supper was a big spread at Nataniel's which was in combination with his daughter Emily's birthday. Dean, Paul, and Mike did a sweet rice feeding for the children at Pastor Sandi's church; a building Paul helped build on his first trip 14 years ago. The kids sang and performed some skits.

Most of the team then met at a nearby basketball court to show the Jesus Film. The kids in attendance were a little distracted as a military helicopter needed to perform a landing in the field immediately adjacent for mechical reasons. Messages were given and worship songs sung afterwards.

Nataniel, Shawn, and Crystal went to a church service during the Jesus Film. Crystal witnessed and Shawn gave the message on Scriptual Authority. What Shawn and Crystal did not know was that this small church was in a temporary building and the team had funded a floor for their new church. The pastor stated that the team  "provided the miracle they had been praying for" so giving the message at this moment was very timely and well received. Isaiah 52:7 was the pastor's response. Very humbling; even more so when we drove the pastor home about 5 miles as she could not afford a scooter ride ($1) and often walked that distance in flip flops for the multiple services per week they have.

Back to HQ for debrief and the hotel shortly after 11:00.

Wednesday

Today was construction day. The day began with breakfast at 7:30. Pablo spoiled the team with empanadas. Kim led a devotion about our call to serve and ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

While the team is funding 7 separate building projects this year, the singular project they are helping with the labor is pouring a "garage" floor by Pastor Anderson. This area will be used as a temporary church until his membership increases to the point where he can expand (he doesn't own a car anyhow).

Paul, Dean, and Mike stayed to work while the others visited the Special Needs School where they shared messages. At 12:30 Chris, Crystal, Sheila, and Molly went live-on-the-air on Radio Azua. Every day for a half hour Nathaniel hosts a Christian radio program (on a secular station). The ladies discussed their faith journeys and while a bit nervous to start with did a fantastic job of sharing.

A late lunch was at Anderson's and the next hour or so was either canvassing, taking a break, or running errands. Beans, rice, chicken, salad, avocados, and pineapple punch were enjoyed.

Another delicious Dominican Pablo and Ruth supper and the team headed out for the Jesus Film. They ended up in a remote and hilly part of town and showed the film on the exact spot as they did in 2008. El Hefe directed them to this location as the pastor is new and it's another very poor area. The hillside setting was gorgeous under the full moon that was shining down on us. About 50-75 of mostly children watched the movie and Jesus sketch, listened to messages, and sang with the team. While our language differences may be a barrier to communication, worshipping Jesus is universal and warm hugs ended the night.

Poverty, poor nutrition, lack of transportation, lack of medical care, and less-than-safe living conditions all lead to various forms of sickness, disease, and injuries; the team sees cases every day without having to look hard. With 3 team members having medical training this allows better recognition of the most serious conditions. Tonight was the 2nd night in a row where a life-threatening condition may be made well if our prayers are answered.

Many topics needed to be discussed so the debrief went long and the team arrived back at the hotel around 11:40 to get ready for a 7am start on Thursday.