My Sunday in La Romana

DR Trip Nov. 2010—Journal Entry #2
Our first trip on Sunday morning was out to Batey 205 to visit Pillar and Francisco, an elderly couple who live alone out in the middle of miles and miles of sugar cane. Their batey was displaced and they remained where they are because they have a cement house that will withstand hurricanes, has a door, and has a roof that doesn’t leak. Having met Pillar a year ago, I couldn’t wait for my friends from Watkinson and my family to meet her. If Pillar were born in the U.S in an earlier era, I can see her being a grand dame, or a matriarch. She is smart, incredibly emotionally generous, and profoundly faithful. While all 23 of us were welcomed into her home to visit, she chatted away en Espanol, while numerous members of the team snapped photos of her house, its surroundings, and most especially of her. With the benefit of our translator, we were able to communicate very effectively. Pillar found the youngest in the room, held their faces in her hands, and made a point of telling them how beautiful they are. Francisco was very quiet, mostly shooing away their very curious dog, until it was time for us to go and then he wanted to pray for us. The heart of his prayer was that despite the fact that the government has forgotten the poor, he was thanking God that the people in the room had not. Many were moved to tears.

Sunday afternoon was spent packing meds, nearly 2 hours of us meticulously counting, bagging, and labeling pain relievers, vitamins, blood pressure pills, and Tums. After which, some took a walk around the area, but I opted for a siesta. I was excited for the evening ahead. After dinner, we traveled to Kilometer 6, one of several very poor barrios (suburbs) around the city. Our destination was Beraca Baptist Church, a Haitian church led by Elsa Phanord, the widow of the mission’s founder. Despite the fact that the service was two-and-a-half hours long and in Créole, the faith of the very poor congregation was evident. The 40-person-strong choir was excellent, singing complex harmonies and complicated arrangements (quite frankly, the choir director blew away anything I’ve seen in the U.S. in quite some time). While numerous children came to join us in the pews, the highlights for me were getting to address the congregation on behalf of our group (what a privilege!) and watching as Hayden amassed a collection of about 7 boys who were practically sitting on top of each other to be able to sit with him and point and giggle silently together as the church service went on. Hayden handled it all with eagerness and charm. I was proud. After the offering was collected, people went crazy, dancing and singing at the top of their lungs. I couldn’t help but think about how churches in the U.S might be transformed if we learned to give so enthusiastically…doubly remarkable when they have so little, and we so much.