Day 2: 2025 Dominican Republic
The building begins!
We had a great first full day at Mission Emanuel in the town of Cielo. When we arrived at Mission Emanuel, we met our translators and received our construction projects. All the West end group went to the site of a home that was in the beginning stages of being built for two sisters. Their mother’s home is a short distance from their home and was built by Mission Emanuel previously. A few people started mixing the concrete and the rest of us formed an assembly line to carry buckets of concrete to be poured for the footers of the foundation of this future home. We were joined by Haitian men who helped us shovel, mix, and oversee the concrete dumping.
After a while, another project was introduced to a handful of our group to help build a new wall for another home that Mission Emanuel is constructing for a family.
We gathered back at the mission and enjoyed a huge lunch of rice, beans, chicken, and salad catered from local people in Cielo. We finished the afternoon with continuing our morning construction.
Our afternoon was spent resting and playing in the pool and soccer field back at the hotel, dinner, and an evening meeting where we discussed our day.
what we observed:
Kids in the neighborhood who came to meet, visit, and talk with us
How much work we actually got done
Friendships with Dominicans and Mission Emanuel staff that go beyond the language barrier
So many smiles amidst the heat
HOw we saw god at work today:
Seeing God connecting all the people on this trip
Protection from serious injury
Joyful energy
The Dominican patience as we jumped in and messed up and took time to figure out the construction process
God connecting Nashville to the Dominican people through new friendships only founded on God’s love
prayer requests:
Pray for God’s church, that we would have eyes to see the bigger, global church as we worship with the Dominicans as John preaches (with a translator!)
Pray for our time as our schedule allows us to meet and pray with people in their homes
For God’s protection to keep people well and free from illness heart