Visit from the Dominican Republic
(continued)
New Life Church in Wanamingo invited Pastor Amos and his
family to visit as part of an ongoing partnership between
their churches. The past four summers, New Life Church along
with Faith Community Church in West Concord, have sent teams
of up to 23 persons to the Dominican Republic to work in the
church in Hato Mayor. Since a team was not sent this summer,
Pastor Amos and his family were invited to visit.
The Cáceres family has visited the USA
a couple times before, but this was the first time the
children have visited the Midwest. What most surprised them
were the large, productive fields of corn and soy beans, and
how quiet it is. (Hato Mayor is quite noisy!) They also were
impressed with the variety of desserts. Along with leading
their church, Pastor Amos and his wife are both M.D.s,
working in the local hospital. In addition, Pastor Amos is a
psychologist and his wife Rosa is a pharmacologist. Their
daughter Betsy recently graduated from the university with a
degree in pharmacology. She currently works at the
university doing pharmacology research. Their son Abdiel is
13 and greatly enjoys baseball (which is the #1 sport in the
DR).
The church Pastor Amos serves in the DR
is very dedicated. The people of the church provide
leadership for 8 smaller mission churches in surrounding
communities. Since more and more people have been involved
in the church, a larger building is needed. Construction on
a larger facility recently began.
Although the Dominican Republic is on
the same island as Haiti, the recent earthquake in Haiti did
not have a big impact on the area where Pastor Amoss church
is. They are located on the opposite end of the island. Most
of the refugees have gone to the other end of the DR. But
life in the Dominican Republic can be difficult at times.
The infrastructure is not dependable, with electric power
being intermittent and water supplies undependable. It is
the third poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.
While in the area, Pastor Amos and his
family were hosted by Chad and Sarah Hanson of Zumbrota.
They also were entertained for meals by several of the
families of New Life Church. They enjoyed a visit to Mayo
Clinic, the Goodhue County Fair, the Mall of America, and
the Science Museum of Minnesota to see the Dead Sea Scrolls
exhibit.
According to Pastor Pat McBride, a team was not sent in 2010 because of special difficulties the church in the DR was facing and because a pastoral leader was not available to lead the team. However, plans are underway to send a team in 2011. The teams typically are involved in construction, leadership training, evangelism, childrens work, and leading special programs.
The visit of the Cáceres family had a good impact on New Life Church, according to Pastor McBride. Their dedication to the Lord is a challenge to all of us. They brought a good reminder for us of the importance of sharing the Gospel message with people all around us.