News: Dominican Republic

Even as I write this update, Kelly and I are falling more in love with the Dominican Republic. Each day as we wake up, we know that a new adventure awaits us and while sometimes we stop to wonder what it will be, most days, we just go straight to reading God’s word with a bowl of cereal before venturing out. And, almost as if receiving an unearned reward, we find ourselves constantly amused and enamored with the life that swirls around us – it comes at a measured pace that is always oriented towards relationship first, all other priorities second.

COTN’s ministry in the Dominican Republic began in the summer of 1997 when we first came alongside the village of Algodon—a Haitian batey (pronounced BAH-tay). A batey (plural bateyes) is a shanty-town camp where sugarcane cutters live. Bateyes are found only in Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

Tropical Storm Noel has turned deadly as it hit the Dominican Republic yesterday, killing at least 20 people, while dozens more are unaccounted for as flooding and mudslides plague the region. Heavy rains continue to deluge the Dominican Republic, forcing evacuation from many of the low-lying bateys, including communities COTN ministers to. Little change in Noel’s strength is forecast during the next 24 hours. The National Hurricane Center expects Noel to briefly become a hurricane later in the week as it approaches southeast Florida.

I would like to tell you about one of my friends from the Dominican Republic. His name is Miguel. He’s a small, 13-year-old from Don Bosco, one of the bateys where COTN operates a school. I met him last summer when I had come to play basketball at the school. Any time the children were playing basketball, he was sure to be found close by. This summer I got the chance to hang out a little more with Miguel, and I found out more of his life story. Miguel hangs out with a group of boys at Don Bosco who write and sing Christian Rap songs.