Our specific purpose for this trip was to be a helping hand to Freedom International Ministries at Freedom Christian School, to be a part of the work that God is doing in San Pedro de Marcoris in the Dominican Republic.
This is the third Christian school that God has given me and Mike the opportunity to work with outside of the United States. We spent a summer working with missionaries, Mark and Karen Hedinger, in Tasquillo, Hidalgo, Mexico in 1998 at El Camino de Vida (Evangelical Institute). We later spent a month working at ECA (El Camino Academy) in Bogotá, Colombia in 2012. Now we got to spend a week working at Freedom Christian School in the Dominican.
Each school stands out with a very unique ministry, but I must say that this one just blew me away by all the different levels of discipleship and ministry taking place here. Such a well-oiled machine with so many working parts, between the ministries to the 373 students in the school, the bus drivers making their rounds to the (not easy to get to) villages, the families in the bateys (sugar cane villages), the grounds crew, kitchen crew, and cleaning crew, the mission teams who sometimes come through weekly, the Dominican teachers on staff, the interns who come as teachers or construction workers, the discipline team, the MK's on campus, the child sponsorship program that gives kids nutritional meals, school supplies, uniforms, and also funds their teachers' salaries, and the extra mentoring and discipleship that goes on at varying times through the week. What stood out to me more than anything (besides the level of organization to keep it all running smoothly) is the JOY that you feel all over the campus. It is a joy to serve the Lord here in this place.
This is the front entrance to the school. I've been told that the school looks different (and bigger) every time someone comes back, as it continues to grow and thrive with so many different missions team coming through week after week.
This is the fourth grade class that our church sponsors, specifically giving them opportunities to go on field trips!
This is the daily morning assembly that happens once all the students arrive and have eaten breakfast (which now includes some type of protein, thanks to so many children being sponsored). Precisely at 8 am, they start by singing the national anthemn while volunteers from one of the classes raise the flag.
This is a special drink that comes with breakfast many days.
These are the breakfast lines all ready for kids to arrive.
This is a full cafeteria filled with joyful kids bused in from the villages,
eating the breakfast provided for them.
We were able to join the kids for both breakfast and then again at lunch. The kids are served a full plate of food and are expected to eat every last bite. A few need a little encouragement to eat, but most have no problem!
Here is a picture of a village school where many of them would attend if not for Freedom. The educational level between the two schools is a night and day difference.
This picture pretty accurately gives a picture of the living conditions they come from. Even still, they are smiling.
This is our tour guide showing us one of the churches that opened their doors to lend space to Freedom missionaries who wanted to open a school for the village children.
Another church that lent its space for those first classes.
Freedom's very first classroom held in the village where it all started.
Thirty 3-year-olds came to class here. Many of those original 3-year-olds are now 11th graders at Freedom and will be the first graduating class a year from now. They have a good grasp of both Spanish and English, they have a solid Biblical foundation, and their education has already far surpassed that of their Dominican peers.
Another pic inside their village.
To live in these villages (bateys),
someone in their family has to work in the sugar cane fields.
More school pics.
A Kindergarten classroom.
The front entryway
The missionaries who serve here
A view from the roof.
The playground and terrace area.
The apartments that the missionaries live in.
The apartments where the single interns live (and the future apartments that aren't finished yet). Much of the construction is completed by youth teams that come in the spring and summers.
Most of the classrooms.
The top floor is reserved for secondary (7-11th grade).
A glimpse of our dorm room accomodations.
Unlike other trips the church has taken here, we were the only team here for the week. Melissa said that the dorm is usually full between our team and any other teams that are there at the same time. But we oddly had the whole room to ourselves, so we had plenty of space (and peace and quiet).
We each came with specific skills, but also with an open heart to jump in wherever needed.
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