Construction

Woodside’s purpose for the annual mission trip to the Dominican Republic (the DR) is simple: To continue to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in as many ways as possible to as many places as possible (my words, not an official church statement). We do this in the DR by various means: By worshipping together, hosting medical clinics, leading Vacation Bible Schools (VBS) for the children and working on a particular construction project, hand-in-hand, with our Dominican brothers and sisters. While each one of these allows us to work towards the overall purpose, it is the construction that the trip is most closely associated with. For one thing we work on the construction a good portion of the trip (6 of the 10 days this year). It is also how the annual trip is identified. Among other years there have been the years of the San Miguel trips: the medical center, the playground dig and the water purification building. Last year, 2009, was year one of construction for a new house of worship in the port city of Haina, or, “How we took down full grown trees with machetes”. (We in the Woodside sense. I wasn’t actually there in 2009). This year was year two in Haina, or, “How the walls went up, while the rain poured down”.



Now I don’t have a lot of experience in construction, but it seems to me that they might do things a little differently in the DR than they do back home. For one thing, in the two years I’ve worked in the DR I’ve yet to see any sign of construction plans, much less a blueprint. Obviously somebody has some sort of plan figured out because the buildings go up and we don’t seem to have walls that don’t meet or windows placed at the wrong places. We did have one outer wall this year that was laid at the wrong angle. However, upon recognizing the mistake, it was rectified by the simple act of knocking it down and resetting the cinder blocks in the proper line, all within a few hours. I can only imagine the amount of time that would have been spent fixing that sort of mistake here. Another item that seems to be missing is inspections & permits. I think back to the struggles Woodside encountered prior to the construction of the new worship room. Building permits, historical site approvals, and environmental impact studies – each controlled by a different set of people with different agendas and priorities. All add to the time and cost of construction.

But the biggest difference I’ve seen is the actual workers. Between the Americans and the Dominicans, we don’t have specialists that only do specific jobs. There are no union rules saying you can’t chip in wherever needed. You rarely see eight people standing around watching one person working. Ok, maybe when us Americans have just taken a group “agua break” and we’re getting ready to get back to work. Whether we’re passing cinder blocks in a “bloc line” or wheel barrowing sand, gravel or cement. Sometimes you’re a ditch digger and other times you’re laying and mortaring the blocks to the wall. Rebar has to be cut, bent and tied together. Sand, gravel & cement have to be mixed into concrete and then moved to the proper location. It doesn’t matter what job you are working on. The point is everybody realizes how every job is necessary for the construction to be completed. There was one time in particular when I was asked to do something that I haven’t done before. When I finished explaining that I really don’t know how to do it, the supervisor merely spent five minutes telling me what to do, watched me do it a couple of times and then he walked away. No classes, no seminars, no certifications. You learn; you make mistakes, you get it done.

And age is not much of a factor either. Our group of 38 Americano’s ranged in age from 5 (sorry Peter – five and a quarter) to 71. Sure there are some things that are a little too physically demanding for some. But I saw 10 year olds standing in a block line passing 35 lb blocks along with the adults. We tried to use common sense and split the youngest up in the lines, but they work hard – and are darn proud of it.

It’s the spirit, the desire to work towards a goal. It’s the way we worked with each other and watched out for one another. We all try so hard to keep up with our Dominican brothers and sisters. The big difference is that they are used to the heat and the conditions. They don’t seem to need as much water as we do, or as much rest time. I know from personal experience that you can over do it. And by the time you realize, it may be too late. If I had taken proper breaks two years ago maybe I would have avoided the dehydration. So this year I not only watched out for myself, but also kept an eye on others that I thought might be overdoing it.

And in addition to policing ourselves, there is always the sense that God is there, watching over us. I remember a few times swinging a block or throwing a rock just as little Peter walked by. And while I knew there was no way I could have missed him, unless God was nudging Peter aside, or deflecting the rock, each time I did miss. There was another time when I began to tire and I was carrying some rebar across a ditch. At the edge of the ditch the dirt gave away and I found myself falling. Despite the fact that it was a 3 ½ to 4 foot ditch – despite the fact that there was rebar laid at the bottom of the ditch and there was no way I could possibly come out of there without a sprained ankle, punctured leg – or worse, I came up with a couple of minor scrapes.

Would a mission trip to the DR be as memorable if we didn’t have the construction project? I would hope so, but it has become such an integral part of the trip that it’s kind of hard to envision the trip without it. However it is important for us to remember that it is merely one of the tools we use to build upon our relationships; with God and with each other. In that respect it is no more, or less, important than the other ways that we spread the word. Without Jesus, we’re simply putting up a building. With Jesus, we’re building relationships.


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