It was my second time
going down, and it still did not cease to amaze me. To describe this experience
in words is really a difficult task. An experience of such stature really
cannot be put into words, but to understand it, one has to embark on the
journey themselves. You can hear all the stories as I did, but it really
doesn’t prepare you for what you see and what you experience.
What we actually do down,
physically, isn’t that hard of work. We painted two churches and some book
shelves for the school. We also brought a meal to an outside community Los
Lanos. It was communities such as this where I saw the unsightly living
conditions. Many of them weren’t wearing shoes on their feet, had dirt under
their nails, and their living spaces were but a one room space among 8 others
in what was called a batee.
We brought down about 6
or 7 suitcases full of clothes and distributed them to the 3 different outside
communities we visited. It was chaos once started handing them out. Hands were
grabbing things left and right. It was overwhelming. They were so eager to
attain these new but used clothes. We managed to organize the distribution to a
point, more so the next time we went to hand them out.
At one community, I
noticed a man sitting a ways away from the clothes distribution so I took a
pair of pants that looked about his size and brought them over to him. He
seemed very grateful, smiling at me in thanks, my answering smile was grand,
overcome with emotion by that I could make a person so happy.
We also handed out
toothbrushes and floss along with the clothes. What was astonishing was that
many of the kids didn’t even know what to do with the toothbrush. Very
few, if any, had any clue what the floss was. I remember watching one little
boy actually try to eat it. Funny as it was, it was troubling to watch, knowing
that this simple health convenience to us was, but a mystery to them.
The most important
element of our trip, as it always is, was the relationships we made with the
people. The families we lived with, and I speak, I am certain, for everyone
else, as well, in saying this, really become a second family to us. After my
two trips there, I really do consider it a home away from home.
But even aside from the
families, each and every person we came in contact touched me on a level I
never would have thought possible. Their smiles, their joy in seeing us, it
touches a part of you that sometimes may not be so prominently about back here
in our ordinary lives.
One thing's for certain
though, the Dominicans are not to be pitied. I see them and I see pure, genuine
happiness. With what little they have, they are still extraordinarily happy
because they have one another. We find ourselves in a very materialistic
society, but what really brings happiness is the closeness of others. It’s a
simple lesson that is taught to each and every person that goes on this trip.
And so I highly recommend
that each and every one of you in this church today consider going on future
trips. Even the most type A people can get something out of this trip. It opens
your eyes to what’s going on in the world outside our privileged lives. We have
so much more than we realize and so the burden lies with us to share what we
have with those less fortunate.
If this trips doesn’t
seem like it’s for you I eagerly implore you to participate the Adopt A Child
program. This would entail sending $120 to a child in Don Juan each year to pay
for their breakfast and lunches at school. It’s a great program for people who
wish to send their help but cannot actually go on the trip.
And with that, thank you
very much for your time and I hope you’ll seriously consider helping out our
fellow Dominicans in any way that you can. Thank you.
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