Work
in our companion diocese, the Diocese of the Dominican Republic
The Lord has truly blessed the companion relationship
that the Diocese of Western Louisiana has with the Diocese of the Dominican
Republic.
The centerpiece of the work has been medical/dental
and construction teams that traveled to the Dominican Republic each summer
since 1999 to work in the slums of Barahona, a sugarcane processing city.
In this impoverished area, where no medical help is
available, the medical/dental teams have treated thousands of men, women
and children and dispensed almost 10,000 prescriptions.
Our construction teams built homes, outhouses and worked
on the construction of a church for the neighborhood in which they were
working.
| The
Dominican Development Group The Dominican Development Group is a partnership between the Diocese of Western Louisiana, the Diocese of Southwest Florida, the Diocese of South Carolina along with the Dominican Episcopal Church for the development of the Dominican Church to further its development and to make the Dominican Church self-sufficient. Such close cooperation maximizes the impact of the financial support and on-the-ground work done by medical and construction mission teams. |
The
mission trip that was meant to be
by Dr. Richard
Campbell
The diocesan mission trip to
Barahona, Dominican Republic on July 9-16, 2005, could accurately be called
the trip that was meant to be. While two major hurricanes, Dennis and
Emily, lurked near us, not one problem arose to affect our travel. As
with any trip, airline delays are to be expected and this mission trip
had more than its share. However each time one of our flights was delayed,
our corresponding connecting flight was delayed also and no flights were
missed and all our baggage arrived as well. Bishop MacPherson,
who along with his wife Susan were members of the team, credits his timely
intercessions as reason for our successful, if not un-harried, flight
connections and our safety. I'll not question!
This year's trip contained the largest medical contingent
yet to go to Barahona and the Church of Jesus Christ the Pilgrim. It included
five MD's, a pharmacist and pharmacist tech, various nurses and assistants,
as well as two "tooth fairies."
The team bonded immediately and worked with amazing
skill and efficiency. Our first day in clinic was spent setting up and
seeing our old friends at the church. One of the joys of this trip is
that by going to the same area, we are able to renew acquaintances made
over the past six years and yes, they are truly our friends. Financial
contributions from individuals, hospitals, churches, and businesses made
it possible to equip a well-stocked pharmacy to supply the hard working
care providers. Drawing on these resources and their own reservoirs of
stamina, they were able to treat an astounding 1181 patients in clinic.
The team had a total of 29 individuals performing all
sorts of tasks from translation to moving patients from one station to
another. There were no slackers and the smiles and hugs from the patients
made it a true joy to serve. Patients who required long-term care were
referred to clinics in the area of which there are a few. Fortunately,
most of the patients were able to have their chief complaint resolved
by the medical team.
Having Bishop MacPherson and Fr. Robert Dandridge along
to bring spiritual healing was one of the most meaningful aspects of the
clinic.
Joyfully serving was a large contingent from my home
parish, St. John's, Minden, plus others from Minden, Shreveport, and south
Louisiana.
Over the years, we have been able to make donations
to the church we are serving and see where enormous improvements have
been made. This year the church now has a water purification system on
site, which is of gigantic benefit to the community. This was made possible
by the donations of St. John's, Minden. We were able to provide funds
to the church again, as well as to our sister church, Epiphany in Santo
Domingo, to the missionary couple, Bob and Ellen Snow, and funding for
a seminary student who grew up in the church we are serving.
Plans are in the works to bring a sixteen-year-old young
woman with a horrible jaw tumor back to the United States for treatment.
Many thanks to all of you for your prayers and support which made this
mission trip most successful.