The Return

A few years ago a friend of mine kept raving about the ribs he was getting from a certain steakhouse that he went to. When I finally got the chance to go, I found that he wasn’t exaggerating. The service was great, the sauce was fantastic and the meat literally fell off of the bones. A few months later I went back, with a real desire for some tasty ribs. What a major disappointment. The service, the ribs, even the wine just didn't seem to be anthying more than ordinary. Maybe I just picked a bad night or maybe my memory filtered my original visit and made the experience something better than it actually was. Whatever the case, I definitely had a less pleasant return.

As I prepared for my second trip to the Dominican Republic (the DR) I wondered how it would compare with my first trip in 2008. I had such a great first experience that I was concerned that the return wouldn’t match up. I quickly realized that making this type of comparison would be a major mistake. First of all, if I were planning to make this a multiple trip experience (and I do) then I would be setting myself up for eventual disappointment. Whether a dinner, a concert or a trip you will eventually reach a point where it doesn’t measure up to a previous time. To put that into perspective: I have yet to visit the afore mentioned restaurant for a third time because the disappointing visit is more recent than the successful one. I don’t want the DR to be the same.

But there is another reason, a more important one. When you go on vacation you’re spending money to get yourself a good time; to see interesting and new sites; to have fun or maybe relax. You go to a concert or a show, and pay to be entertained. You go out to a restaurant and pay for a dinner in order to take it easy, avoid your own cooking and cleaning duties, and to be served. And that is how you measure the success or failure: How it affects you, or how you are served by the experience. The primary purpose of a mission trip is to serve. I can’t expect things to be arranged for my pleasure. People that met me two years ago aren’t likely to remember me. I know enough not to expect the comforts I have at home. In short, there is not going to be a brass band awaiting us. We are there to help build a new house of worship. We’re there to establish, or grow, relationships with our brothers & sisters in Christ – Americano or Dominicano. We are there to serve God.

I'm glad that I put myself in the proper frame of mind before I left. The weather wasn't great. We had downpours during the first three days of construction and brutally hot days the last three. The meals aren't coming from five star restaurants, although I can't complain about them. It's hard to prove how hard we work, in very hot weather, and come home weighing the same, or more, than when we left. And, as we have to do any time we go there, we have to spend much of our time reminding ourselves not to drink, or brush your teeth with the water. And how important it is, even after washing your hands, to load up on the purrell because the water you just used to wash the soap off your hands, holds the possibility of making you sick.

Yet none of that matters. What matters is the rising of the walls of the House of Worship that we're building. What's important is the smiles of the kids at the worksite, at worship or at VBS (Vacation Bible Study).
What makes you feel special is the 852 men, women and children that are seen at the all day medical clinic that we sponsor. And what justifies our time there is the 10 to 20 brother's and sister's that give their lives to Christ at the Compagna, a revival service one night on the streets of Haina.

So was this year better, or worse, than 2008? I'm not really sure. And to be honest, it doesn't really matter. I came home feeling that God blessed us, as he did in 2008, and that means we were doing his work.

Oh, and remember when I said earlier that there wouldn't be a brass band waiting for us?



It wasn't brass but they sure made us feel welcome as we left the airport in Santo Domingo.

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