2018 MISSION TRIP
Possible Projects
Julia and I were in El Pedregal from October 28-31, and during that time we discussed possible projects for the 2018 trip with Padre Ramón Canela and his wife, Ivelisse Espinal de Canela. Leidy Rosario helped us as a translator during those meetings.
All of us agreed on this list of possible projects that we could undertake, depending on the number of the 2018 team missioners and their talents:
1)
Repair and repaint the wooden playground structure that we built with the Nebraska team in June 2014. This Nebraska team has been repainting the playground structure every summer since 2015, but will probably be going to a new work site and not returning to El Pedregal in 2018. The playground is showing lots of signs of wear now, and needs to be refurbished annually.
2)
Paint individual cartoon characters and murals on the perimeter walls of the school and pre-K center. If time permits, paint designs on the hallways of the school.
Some photographs of the existing wall paintings and the current state of the playground are in
this album.
3)
Teach Vacation Bible School based on the 5th Mark of Mission - "safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth." We would use the DR diocesan approved curriculum for this. The number of children in VBS would probably be limited to 60 or so, perhaps the younger children. Although the Episcopal school would not be in session while we are there, Padre Canela said that the school teachers would come back to help us with this and that we could use the church and school classrooms as in 2017.
4)
Sewing classes using the sewing machines we brought several years ago. Four of those machines are in good shape. Leidy's husband, Jesús, is a professional tailor and would help us teach those classes. The classes would be limited to 8 people.
5)
Make friendship bracelets with the village teenagers.
6)
Veterinary clinic, one for the village and perhaps another half-day clinic in the city of Jarabacoa in collaboration with an established dog rescue program there.
7)
Half-day splash party for the children of the school/village. Since Padre Canela and his wife are new to the Campamento, we have given them a set of photographs of splash parties in earlier years, and Leidy and her cousin, Mariella, both veterans of many splash parties, will be helping to assemble all of the needed supplies.
8) A low priority, but if we had enough missioners and time available, we might repaint the swing set and benches on the front lawn of the Campamento, and perhaps also paint the benches and altar in the fire circle at the bottom of the steps leading to the basketball court and the school.
Comments on any or all of this are welcome. Our contact information is at the bottom of this message.
The next step will be to ask for formal commitments to join the 2018 team. Watch for an announcement about that on Friday, December 1. We would like to have the team formed by December 15 so we can proceed to the next step of establishing a budget for the trip based on the final list of projects and the supplies needed for them.
As a reminder, the dates of the 2018 trip are June 23-30, Saturday to Saturday. We intend to follow the same flight path as in 2017, using Delta from Valdosta to Atlanta and then on to Santo Domingo. The option of starting the trip in Atlanta will be there also. Given the size of the in-country transportation we will be using and other logistical details at the Campamento, the team will be limited to 18 missioners.
Julius
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For general information about the history of Christ Church's mission work with our friends in the Diocese of the Dominican Republic,
click here.
If you have questions, please email or phone us.
Your friends in Christ,
Julia and Julius
1521 N. Patterson Street
