Growing up the son of a military man, I was used to being around persons in uniform, but this was different. It may have been the regal bearing of the soldier, the way he held himself ram-rod straight, or a slight aloofness in his posture. I knew there was something special about him. I was surprised to see that he was from the Dominican Republic. How was it that a person from a country that I... know nothing about was serving in the same army as my dad?
I find myself, once again, on the Fourth of July, in the Dominican Republic, remembering that Dominican soldier. In a country which was invaded by the United States not once, but twice in the 20th Century here was someone who committed himself to the same values, rules as actions as thousands of others. It may have been the first time I realized that the defense of principles of freedom and dignity, the safety of loved ones, and the desire for justice were not parochial, but ubiquitous.
We, here, your 2013 DR mission team, feel a real kinship with the gracious people of this country, this city, and this church who so generously share their lives with us. We live in a paradoxical time, in a paradoxical world. Globalization, the Internet, cell phones bring us closer together, yet they also have away of accentuating our differences. Feels like, in many ways, the more the world's peoples become more familiar with each other, the more polarized we become.
Today, here in the Dominican Republic, our friends will celebrate with us this, the birthday of our nation. We have been discussing our wardrobe, and will try to find, in what clean clothes we have left, articles in red, white and blue. I asked myself for a moment, "is that too jingoistic, are we acting like those 'ugly Americans' who think that the world revolves around what happens in the US?" And then I realized, the Dominican flag is red, white and blue too. A wise person said, "there is more to bring us together than there is to keep us apart."
We spent the past few days working with a family in the neighborhood below the Church, "Cristo Salvador." Dad, Papolo, mom, Dora and two teens will soon have their tiny house with a safe roof, a bathroom and a kitchen...for the first time. They have joy about the same things we do, they worry about many of the same things we worry about. Today, our Day of Independence, while we celebrate the good things about our country, we will celebrate the good things about this one as well.
I find myself, once again, on the Fourth of July, in the Dominican Republic, remembering that Dominican soldier. In a country which was invaded by the United States not once, but twice in the 20th Century here was someone who committed himself to the same values, rules as actions as thousands of others. It may have been the first time I realized that the defense of principles of freedom and dignity, the safety of loved ones, and the desire for justice were not parochial, but ubiquitous.
We, here, your 2013 DR mission team, feel a real kinship with the gracious people of this country, this city, and this church who so generously share their lives with us. We live in a paradoxical time, in a paradoxical world. Globalization, the Internet, cell phones bring us closer together, yet they also have away of accentuating our differences. Feels like, in many ways, the more the world's peoples become more familiar with each other, the more polarized we become.
Today, here in the Dominican Republic, our friends will celebrate with us this, the birthday of our nation. We have been discussing our wardrobe, and will try to find, in what clean clothes we have left, articles in red, white and blue. I asked myself for a moment, "is that too jingoistic, are we acting like those 'ugly Americans' who think that the world revolves around what happens in the US?" And then I realized, the Dominican flag is red, white and blue too. A wise person said, "there is more to bring us together than there is to keep us apart."
We spent the past few days working with a family in the neighborhood below the Church, "Cristo Salvador." Dad, Papolo, mom, Dora and two teens will soon have their tiny house with a safe roof, a bathroom and a kitchen...for the first time. They have joy about the same things we do, they worry about many of the same things we worry about. Today, our Day of Independence, while we celebrate the good things about our country, we will celebrate the good things about this one as well.
--Father Jim
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