News: Dominican Republic

Swapping his baseball bat for a stethoscope may have been one of the most natural transitions Salomon ever made. The young Dominican athlete-turned-medical-student just finished his second year of university, and is excelling in his studies. This talented third-baseman from the Children of the Nations (COTN) I Love Baseball program (ILB) will soon be providing health care for his countrymen. “I want to be a doctor because I believe that I have a calling to serve others, and through medicine I can put this gift into practice,” he says.

Update: Aug. 29, 9 a.m. PDT – Daniel Vallon, COTN's country coordinator in Haiti, reports that the families COTN serves in Haiti are safe. Two families, however, sustained property damage during the storm. One family lost their sugarcane and corn crops, while another had parts of their roof blown away. Please continue praying for each of the families we serve in Haiti and the Dominican Republic as they recover from the storm.

In July, Fran Muller went on her first Venture trip to the Dominican Republic with Children of the Nations (COTN).  Her team, from Summit Church of Orlando, Florida, was there to hang ProVector flowers—plastic flowers that attract and kill mosquitoes in order to decrease the risk of malaria and dengue fever—and share the gospel door-to-door.  It turned out to be much more of a learning experience than she expected.  Here are her reflections on the trip:

Since the birth of Children of the Nations' I Love Baseball (ILB) program in 2008, Yamina Perez has provided perhaps its most vital component: food.   Because malnutrition is dangerously high in the Dominican Republic and children often go without meals during their day, one of ILB’s priorities is to provide its players with enough nourishment to keep their bodies strong, healthy, and ready for optimal athletic performance.  This means Yamina will rise with the sun to begin the long process of cooking for these young baseball players.