Day Twenty-Four in the Dominican Republic

Well, we're having some internet connectivity issues tonight. I'm still able to post tonight, but no pictures. That's alright because there weren't any pictures today anyway. Today was a much needed day of rest. I had one meeting this morning--devotions with the Ministry Center Staff. Although I don't always fully understand what is being said, I still enjoy the meeting each week. I can see their passion for the Lord and their desire to know Him more fully. They always have a time of sharing after singing and scripture reading. Almost everyone shares something and there's some conversation following each person's insight. Today, they randomly broke out in song because the Psalm brought one to mind. It actually reminded me a bit of our Wednesday morning prayer group :-) The afternoon was spent at Steve and Sandra's house doing laundry, playing games, and hanging out. We packed a week's worth of laundry and there wasn't much opportunity for laundry in Guymate. So, we were in desperate need of clean clothes. It was also nice to hang out with Steve and Sandra for the afternoon. We played numerous games with them, took some naps, and did some reading. It was nice. After supper, we headed back to the apartment and got ready for bed. Like I said, we set today aside as a day of rest.

I also wanted to take the opportunity to give some back story on the Batey's in the Dominican Republic. By far, I'm no expert on them, yet I've found out some information during our time here. Like I mentioned in my Facebook post last week, the short definition of a Batey is a small country village where the sugar cane workers live. These small villages were created as Haitians crossed the border, looking to make some money working in the sugar cane industry. They were promised many things if they were to cross the border and work. However, many of the promises did not come to fruition. Many were promised lots of money if they were to work in the cane fields. That was not the case. Some were even promised work visas and some form of residency in the Dominican Republic. That didn't happen either.

The reality of the situation for many of the Haitian immigrants was very grim. They crossed the border hoping to make lots of money and were paid very little. They crossed the border hoping to have some sort of residency or work visa and didn't receive it. This made it almost impossible for them to get back into Haiti and they weren't accepted as citizen's or residents in the Dominican Republic. So, they became the like the Dwarves in The Hobbit--a people without a home. To make matters worse, the living conditions in the Bateys were not very good. The companies provided the housing but didn't keep it up and the building were poorly made. Many of the Bateys were designed like military barracks (and still remain that way). Then, after having all of these promises broken, many of the sugar cane companies refused the let the workers leave the Bateys. They basically said, "We let you stay here so you can work. The only way you can leave the Batey is if you are working in the cane fields." So they were trapped. You can about imagine how the living conditions get in a situation like this. You can also imagine the sense of hopelessness that begins to foster in a situation like this. I set this all up as "Part One" of a story. So, stay tuned for "Part Two" tomorrow to see how God is doing an amazing work in these Bateys--and using the Christian Reformed Church to do some of that work. That's it for tonight. We continue to thank everyone for their prayers and support. Keep it up. We will continue to pray for you as well. Buenos Noches!