What Happens When We're Not There

As a long-term volunteer on short-term mission trips, I miss our Christian siblings in the months between our trips. When we first started going to the Dominican Republic in 2000, we had very little contact with our new Dominican friends between trips. These days, phone calls are easier to make and the internet has made it possible to send and receive email, and even to instant message with the people we visit each summer.

This past week I received two amazing emails. One was the thank you message translated and copied here:

Dearly Loved Father Jim,

May the peace of Christ and the Holy Spirit fill you with blessings and the same blessings to the sister church of St. Anne’s. The church of Cristo Salvador joins me in thanking you for the help that you have given to the children, the young people and the older people as well.

Thank you for all the love you bring when you visit us, thank you for the VBS that draws more than 200 children. They enjoy the same friendship and love that you offer to the church and my family. We always enjoy a sermon from Father Jim, God bless him, and God bless Denise, the priest who accompanied the team this year.

The people of Cristo Salvador see that I am not alone. Thank you. They all see that I have people outside of Santiago who help me proclaim the Gospel. It makes me happy to see Martha and her team working at Cristo Salvador. Thanks to St. Anne’s for sending these people to clean, paint and to fix houses of the poor.

I know that God will especially bless the donation that you have sent me for the shelter program. Many children and some older people come to eat and get the attention they need. Without your help, none of this would be possible.

Gracias, muchas gracias, Padre Jim, Martha and all our brothers and sisters at St. Anne’s.

With much love,
Padre Hipólito
Cristo Salvador
Santiago – La Yaguita del Pastor

The second message was amazing... Father Hipólito's church has been selected to receive a grant from the United Thank Offering. The grant will be used to buy a house which will be renovated and used as the new home of the children's shelter at Cristo Salvador! When the next mission team visits, we'll be putting finishing touches on the new shelter.

So, short-term mission trips may be the seeds of long-term relationships. What a gift it is to see those seeds grow, indeed, to flourish. Thank you, God!