2018 MISSION TRIP
Julia and Julius in El Pedregal
October 28-31
Julia and I plan to visit El Pedregal from October 28-31 prior to going to Santo Domingo to represent Bishop Benhase at the retirement celebration of Bishop Holguín (the current diocesan bishop) on November 1 and the installation of Bishop Quezada (the incoming diocesan bishop) on November 4. We plan to be home on November 7.
I was able to be in El Pedregal overnight during an earlier trip to the Dominican Republic from September 27 to October 4. Accompanied by Padre Sánchez, the Dominican Episcopal priest who visited Christ Church in August, I met with Padre Canela, the priest now assigned to the Campamento, and had a preliminary discussion of possible projects for our next mission trip from June 23-30, 2018. In no particular order, these project options included the following:
Vacation Bible School
Bracelet making with local teenagers
Resurfacing the basketball court
Painting murals/cartoon designs on the school perimeter walls
Constructing attached bathrooms for one or more houses currently using an outhouse facility
Refurbishing and repainting the wooden playground structure
Painting in the school classrooms
Sewing classes (using the sewing machines we donated a few years ago)
Installing solar panels on the roof of the school or dormitory
Veterinary clinic
Splash party for the children
Although the school will not be in session while we are there in 2018, Padre Canela said that the teachers would come back to help us with VBS as they did in 2017.
Comments on any or all of these possible projects or others not mentioned are welcome. These discussions with Padre Canela will continue while we are there from October 28-31, and when we return we will start the process to decide on the projects we will actually undertake. Everyone interested in joining the 2018 team will have a part in those decisions. We will also move forward on booking our airline flights and formally signing up missioners for the 2018 team.
Speaking of the next trip, the 2018 and 2019 trips will be the last where Julia and I serve as team leaders. When we come back from the 2019 trip, I will be almost 75 years old, Julia and I will have gone on 10 mission trips, and it will be time to step aside. We have already informed Fr. Dave and the Christ Church Vestry about our plans, and now we wanted all of you to know them also. These next two trips will be a time of transition, where we will be working closely with anyone who would like to take our places in the team leadership. We intend to stay active in mission work in the Diocese of the Dominican Republic after 2019, but in other roles.
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While I was at the Campamento overnight on September 29-30, I had time to check out the house we built for Leidy and her family. As Leidy reported earlier, the house was in great shape, and suffered no damage from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. In particular, our foreman, Euclides, placed the house's foundation high enough so that there was no flooding from the storm rainfall. The rainwater flowed around the sides of the house but did not get onto the porch. The roof and windows were also tight, without any leaks from the rain and wind.
The house is already in use as one of the sites of Padre Canela's "home church" events, where he gathers with neighborhood residents for Bible study, singing, and worship. Leidy has hosted at least one such event, and probably will be doing more along with other members of the local Episcopal congregation.
I did not have time to visit inside the school that we support with 70 scholarships, but I did observe the morning assembly for prayers and the Dominican national anthem at the flagpole. Enrollment is about the same as in 2016-17, and in general the school environment seemed the same as in recent years. In particular, there are lots of happy children enjoying the daycare building that we renovated several years ago, and our wooden playground structure is still the focus of schoolyard activity.
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As soon as Julia and I get home on November 7, we will prepare to attend the 2017 convention of the Diocese of Georgia hosted by Christ the King Episcopal Church in downtown Valdosta from November 9-11. We will be representing all four of the Diocese's DR mission teams at that event and will have a display table with information about the 2017 trips and the schedule for the 2018 trips. If you would like to check out the annual report for all four teams to see where our Christ Church team fits into the larger picture of our diocese's companion relationship with the Diocese of the Dominican Republic, click here.
More information on this companion diocese relationship is available
here
.
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
