Dominican Republic – February 13-20, 2008
Okay – so I’ve been threatening for quite sometime to share some of the highlights of this incredible time with everyone for a while now, and since I am in the car headed to South Dakota with about 6 more hours of “free” time ahead of me, I thought I would take advantage of what could be totally unproductive time and share a few thoughts and memories with y’all. I should make note here that this trip was made possible to us because of Randy’s parents, Art and Irma, and so all of these memories were made with and shared with them! Thanks Mum and Dad for an amazing experience!!!
Thankfully, I followed my own advice, and I actually journaled about lots of things so I would remember them. And boy, am I glad I did. During our time away, Kameron was at home with our niece, Megan and in the thick of “Sound of Music” rehearsals, so I actually journaled a list of “My Favorite Things”… here are a few of them…
- Palm trees – everywhere – even on the beach – it was one of those ‘postcard’ kind of beaches where the palm trees went practically up to the water, the sand was soft and white and the beach was huge and flat – great for lots of long walks – sometimes just me and my ipod with great music, sometimes just me and my thoughts about many things, but especially God and his amazing creation and the way he so often speaks to me through it, and sometimes, hand in hand with the love of my life (that would be Randy) savoring each romantic moment as we celebrated us and our love for each other. 
Okay – so I’ve been threatening for quite sometime to share some of the highlights of this incredible time with everyone for a while now, and since I am in the car headed to South Dakota with about 6 more hours of “free” time ahead of me, I thought I would take advantage of what could be totally unproductive time and share a few thoughts and memories with y’all. I should make note here that this trip was made possible to us because of Randy’s parents, Art and Irma, and so all of these memories were made with and shared with them! Thanks Mum and Dad for an amazing experience!!!
Thankfully, I followed my own advice, and I actually journaled about lots of things so I would remember them. And boy, am I glad I did. During our time away, Kameron was at home with our niece, Megan and in the thick of “Sound of Music” rehearsals, so I actually journaled a list of “My Favorite Things”… here are a few of them…
- Palm trees – everywhere – even on the beach – it was one of those ‘postcard’ kind of beaches where the palm trees went practically up to the water, the sand was soft and white and the beach was huge and flat – great for lots of long walks – sometimes just me and my ipod with great music, sometimes just me and my thoughts about many things, but especially God and his amazing creation and the way he so often speaks to me through it, and sometimes, hand in hand with the love of my life (that would be Randy) savoring each romantic moment as we celebrated us and our love for each other. 
- Cell phones! Yes, believe it or not, being away from Kameron that long, we did miss him and we were thankful for modern technology and the ability to call home.
- Seeing the countryside of a beautiful country on an excursion tour. Meeting sweet locals, buying a cool painting, and tasting and then buying some amazing coffee and chocolate from the local people who grew and roasted it.
More of “My Favorite Things”….
- Sun! Sun! Sun! Warm breezes, palm trees, flip-flops, swimsuits, wraps, tank-tops, beach that goes on and on and on…,
- Sun! Sun! Sun! Warm breezes, palm trees, flip-flops, swimsuits, wraps, tank-tops, beach that goes on and on and on…,
- A 75 (or so) year old woman walking down the beach – beautiful white hair, white bikini, bright pink lipstick, red hat and a great smile! BEAUTIFUL! – all this because she could!!! I love it!
- An incredible massage in a cabana on the beach and one more to go! A great Valentine gift purchased for me by my amazing man!
- Fresh fruit in abundance! Bananas with chocolate frozen yogurt in abundance! Passion fruit (chanelo), cantaloupe, watermelon, pineapple and did I say BANANAS! (They grow seven different kinds of bananas in the D.R. Yummy!
A Day that was probably “Our Favorite Thing”….
One morning we woke up early and made our way to a local bus station after a short taxi ride and then boarded a bus to go to Santa Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. After 3 hours of riding through the countryside and various towns, we made it. Our goal in being there was to see the ministry of Iglesia Communitara Christiana (ICC). Robert Guerrero is the pastor of this amazing ministry. We met Robert at a short-term missions conference in 2005, when we heard him speak of his incredibly relevant ministry and his “Kingdom” vision and philosophy we just knew that someday if we were ever in the D.R. we knew we had to see it with our own eyes because from what we heard from him it was something that really beat with our heartbeat and passions too! So… at the end of our bus ride in Santo Domingo, we were met by Charlene from ICC who took us to the church to show us around and introduce us to various workers and people. We started off seeing the preschool that the church runs. 67 children from age 0-5 meet in an area of 5 or 6 classrooms. Some of the rooms had 15-20 children each but the teachers did an amazing job and the rooms were calm and organized and the children were having a great time. The children are all from the neighborhood around the church and only a few families actually attend the church – the rest they are just trying to love and care for. And, the people pay what they can and if they can’t pay they aren’t turned away. Then we were introduced to some of the preschool administrative staff.
After this we walked over to “the gym” with Charlene, where we met up with Robert. On the way over to the gym, I had an amazing experience – I was walking with Charlene and there was this line of homeless people waiting outside this building. I, doing the typical ‘American’ thing, just kind of ignored there pleas for money and kept walking and talking with my new friend. When, God saw fit that I learn a lesson. In the middle of our conversation, Charlene said, “Wait, I’m sorry, I’m glad you’re here, but I need to talk to someone.” And she made her way back to that line of people and bent down and hugged and talked to a lady. I was moved to tears as I saw the amazing compassion she had as she touched the face of this lady and listened to her pleas and questions. Later, Robert told me that she’s the “Mother Teresa” of their church, but I was humbled and awed by the pure love and compassion she showed when I – didn’t! When we met up with Robert at the gym, he showed us around this amazing facility and shared with us story after amazing story of how God has used this gym and workout center to draw people to Himself. And, it has been so effective in raising up people and quality gym staff who are followers Jesus and then they are ‘released’ or ‘sent’ into the community to work at other workout places and to have an influence and kingdom impact in those other places. It was so amazing to me to see how they have used something so practical as a way to love and reach out to others. And to just be a positive influence in their community. Cool, cool stuff!
One man at the gym shared his story with us of how he came to know Jesus – living in an abandoned home after being kicked out of his own because of his drug addiction – he knew he had hit bottom and just believed in his gut that there had to be more. He found a Bible in that abandoned home and through that and the influence of another pastor and another church was introduced to Jesus. Then he met Robert and was so excited about the things that ICC was doing that he became involved in the ministry and ‘the gym’. Robert saw in him a gift of administration and management and now this man is the gym manager and just has an incredible influence in the lives of the gym staff and members. From a life of drug addiction and homelessness to being a positive impact for the sake of the kingdom. Amazing! God you are so good. I am so thankful for ministries and followers of you who love people and don’t write them and their potential off because of a ‘tainted’ past. But, instead, see the potential of a life redeemed by you. Lord, give me eyes and a heart like that for ALL people and not just the ones who are like me. Even though I’ve written quite a bit about the ‘gym’ ministry, words really do escape me in describing it. It was amazing, powerful, impressive – not because of any one person but rather because the kingdom of God was busting into the kingdom of darkness and the light cannot be stopped! Because of the presence of those followers of Jesus in that community people’s lives are being changed and redeemed! Incredible stuff!
So… after we saw the gym and heard the stories there, we walked with Robert back to the ‘church/ministry’ building. Another thing that was really amazing was how long it took to walk back. Not because it was very far, but because as we walked the number of people that stopped us to talk to Robert. He knew the people of his community – homeless, lower class, middle class, young, old – it didn’t matter, he knew them all. It was obvious that he loved his community and the people of his neighborhood. It was incredible to watch and it was an incredible challenge to me as to how I want to be a ‘presence’ of the kingdom in my neighborhood and my own circles of influence. As we walked he also showed us some properties – one the church purchased and one they would like to purchase by actually selling the recently purchased. It was exciting to listen to his passion and heart and hear about the vision for the future. When we finally made it back to the church, he showed us these beds that a team had helped to build. At first we thought they were bed frames just leaning against the wall of the parking lot, but, come to find out, they were actually mounted on the wall, folded down with legs that flipped down, and then they hand out mattresses to people to put on them – in short, a place for the homeless to spend the night. Slightly off the ground, covered with a canopy tarp in case of rain and specially for the homeless elderly – but given to anyone in need. What a cool concept- a church welcoming the homeless to come – no strings attached. We also saw the auditorium and heard a bit of the history of the ministry. I know that this was especially meaningful to Randy as he shared his heart and Robert shared his and he saw the 2 even begin to merge into a very like-minded feeling of ‘brotherhood’. After we saw the auditorium and heard of things like the free movie nights and free medical clinic and pharmacy, we enjoyed an amazing “Dominican” food lunch with Robert and his beautiful wife Damaris and their ministry partner Tom Yacina. It was such an amazing time as we felt such an instant friendship and connection with each of them because of our relationship with Jesus and the things he’s been teaching all of us about Kingdom living and Life. After lunch, we found out that there really were no options for a later bus that would be relatively safe, so after a brief time of prayer back at the church office and some goodbyes, we made our way back to the bus stop to head back to Punta Cana.
When we got back to our hotel, Mum and Dad headed to bed after a long day and Randy and I went for a walk on the beach where we talked about the day. Six hours of fabulous, life-changing interaction with our friends, Robert, Damaris, Charlene, Elizabeth, Tom, etc. – our new Dominican family that God saw fit to let us share life with for 6 incredible hours on a Monday in February 2008. Thank you Lord for providing the moment and the opportunity you gave us to ‘seize the day’!
The rest of our time in the D.R. was more and more incredible moments and unbelievable days of rest and relaxation in one of the most beautiful parts of God’s creation.
We look forward to see how God continues to develop our friendship and partnership with our new friends at ICC in the Dominican Republic. We’ll keep you posted in the future! Thanks for taking the time to read this! It moved me deeply and I hope I was able to share that with you effectively!
Shelly
(for the Schmors)
- An incredible massage in a cabana on the beach and one more to go! A great Valentine gift purchased for me by my amazing man!
- Fresh fruit in abundance! Bananas with chocolate frozen yogurt in abundance! Passion fruit (chanelo), cantaloupe, watermelon, pineapple and did I say BANANAS! (They grow seven different kinds of bananas in the D.R. Yummy!
A Day that was probably “Our Favorite Thing”….
One morning we woke up early and made our way to a local bus station after a short taxi ride and then boarded a bus to go to Santa Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. After 3 hours of riding through the countryside and various towns, we made it. Our goal in being there was to see the ministry of Iglesia Communitara Christiana (ICC). Robert Guerrero is the pastor of this amazing ministry. We met Robert at a short-term missions conference in 2005, when we heard him speak of his incredibly relevant ministry and his “Kingdom” vision and philosophy we just knew that someday if we were ever in the D.R. we knew we had to see it with our own eyes because from what we heard from him it was something that really beat with our heartbeat and passions too! So… at the end of our bus ride in Santo Domingo, we were met by Charlene from ICC who took us to the church to show us around and introduce us to various workers and people. We started off seeing the preschool that the church runs. 67 children from age 0-5 meet in an area of 5 or 6 classrooms. Some of the rooms had 15-20 children each but the teachers did an amazing job and the rooms were calm and organized and the children were having a great time. The children are all from the neighborhood around the church and only a few families actually attend the church – the rest they are just trying to love and care for. And, the people pay what they can and if they can’t pay they aren’t turned away. Then we were introduced to some of the preschool administrative staff.
After this we walked over to “the gym” with Charlene, where we met up with Robert. On the way over to the gym, I had an amazing experience – I was walking with Charlene and there was this line of homeless people waiting outside this building. I, doing the typical ‘American’ thing, just kind of ignored there pleas for money and kept walking and talking with my new friend. When, God saw fit that I learn a lesson. In the middle of our conversation, Charlene said, “Wait, I’m sorry, I’m glad you’re here, but I need to talk to someone.” And she made her way back to that line of people and bent down and hugged and talked to a lady. I was moved to tears as I saw the amazing compassion she had as she touched the face of this lady and listened to her pleas and questions. Later, Robert told me that she’s the “Mother Teresa” of their church, but I was humbled and awed by the pure love and compassion she showed when I – didn’t! When we met up with Robert at the gym, he showed us around this amazing facility and shared with us story after amazing story of how God has used this gym and workout center to draw people to Himself. And, it has been so effective in raising up people and quality gym staff who are followers Jesus and then they are ‘released’ or ‘sent’ into the community to work at other workout places and to have an influence and kingdom impact in those other places. It was so amazing to me to see how they have used something so practical as a way to love and reach out to others. And to just be a positive influence in their community. Cool, cool stuff!
One man at the gym shared his story with us of how he came to know Jesus – living in an abandoned home after being kicked out of his own because of his drug addiction – he knew he had hit bottom and just believed in his gut that there had to be more. He found a Bible in that abandoned home and through that and the influence of another pastor and another church was introduced to Jesus. Then he met Robert and was so excited about the things that ICC was doing that he became involved in the ministry and ‘the gym’. Robert saw in him a gift of administration and management and now this man is the gym manager and just has an incredible influence in the lives of the gym staff and members. From a life of drug addiction and homelessness to being a positive impact for the sake of the kingdom. Amazing! God you are so good. I am so thankful for ministries and followers of you who love people and don’t write them and their potential off because of a ‘tainted’ past. But, instead, see the potential of a life redeemed by you. Lord, give me eyes and a heart like that for ALL people and not just the ones who are like me. Even though I’ve written quite a bit about the ‘gym’ ministry, words really do escape me in describing it. It was amazing, powerful, impressive – not because of any one person but rather because the kingdom of God was busting into the kingdom of darkness and the light cannot be stopped! Because of the presence of those followers of Jesus in that community people’s lives are being changed and redeemed! Incredible stuff!
So… after we saw the gym and heard the stories there, we walked with Robert back to the ‘church/ministry’ building. Another thing that was really amazing was how long it took to walk back. Not because it was very far, but because as we walked the number of people that stopped us to talk to Robert. He knew the people of his community – homeless, lower class, middle class, young, old – it didn’t matter, he knew them all. It was obvious that he loved his community and the people of his neighborhood. It was incredible to watch and it was an incredible challenge to me as to how I want to be a ‘presence’ of the kingdom in my neighborhood and my own circles of influence. As we walked he also showed us some properties – one the church purchased and one they would like to purchase by actually selling the recently purchased. It was exciting to listen to his passion and heart and hear about the vision for the future. When we finally made it back to the church, he showed us these beds that a team had helped to build. At first we thought they were bed frames just leaning against the wall of the parking lot, but, come to find out, they were actually mounted on the wall, folded down with legs that flipped down, and then they hand out mattresses to people to put on them – in short, a place for the homeless to spend the night. Slightly off the ground, covered with a canopy tarp in case of rain and specially for the homeless elderly – but given to anyone in need. What a cool concept- a church welcoming the homeless to come – no strings attached. We also saw the auditorium and heard a bit of the history of the ministry. I know that this was especially meaningful to Randy as he shared his heart and Robert shared his and he saw the 2 even begin to merge into a very like-minded feeling of ‘brotherhood’. After we saw the auditorium and heard of things like the free movie nights and free medical clinic and pharmacy, we enjoyed an amazing “Dominican” food lunch with Robert and his beautiful wife Damaris and their ministry partner Tom Yacina. It was such an amazing time as we felt such an instant friendship and connection with each of them because of our relationship with Jesus and the things he’s been teaching all of us about Kingdom living and Life. After lunch, we found out that there really were no options for a later bus that would be relatively safe, so after a brief time of prayer back at the church office and some goodbyes, we made our way back to the bus stop to head back to Punta Cana.
When we got back to our hotel, Mum and Dad headed to bed after a long day and Randy and I went for a walk on the beach where we talked about the day. Six hours of fabulous, life-changing interaction with our friends, Robert, Damaris, Charlene, Elizabeth, Tom, etc. – our new Dominican family that God saw fit to let us share life with for 6 incredible hours on a Monday in February 2008. Thank you Lord for providing the moment and the opportunity you gave us to ‘seize the day’!
The rest of our time in the D.R. was more and more incredible moments and unbelievable days of rest and relaxation in one of the most beautiful parts of God’s creation.
We look forward to see how God continues to develop our friendship and partnership with our new friends at ICC in the Dominican Republic. We’ll keep you posted in the future! Thanks for taking the time to read this! It moved me deeply and I hope I was able to share that with you effectively!
Shelly
(for the Schmors)
PS - Please check the previous post below for more pics.....thanks.
