2010 Adelante Youth Mission - Misión Joven Dominicana

In March of 2010 our team of missionaries along with Dominican missionaries traveled to the northern coast town of Cabarete.  Our mission consisted of our three main concerns; construction, medical clinics and education, along with visiting an orphanage and many homes, distributing shoes, clothes, school supplies etc.

During our 2010 mission week we …​

  • Built 6 homes
  • Repaired 8 homes
  •  Supplied much needed medication to five medical clinics in the area
  • Worked in several public schools helping the teachers with ideas for improving their teaching methods in addition to learning from them and their methods
  • Visited many homes giving out shoes, clothes, school supplies, etc. 


Missionary Reflections

"This was something that God was calling me to."

​My first mission trip to the Dominican Republic took place in March of 2010.  I was a freshman in college at Grand Valley State University and had absolutely no idea what I was going to do for my week off at spring break.  One Sunday at church, I heard about the mission that Fr. Joe would be leading to the Dominican Republic to work with those less fortunate and I knew that this was something that God was calling me to.  I was nervous about going because I knew no one that was going and it was to a place that I had never been, but I decided that it was now or never.  I traveled to Puerta Plata in the Dominican Republic where the missionaries from the United States worked together with the Dominican missionaries for what ended up being a life changing week.  - Kristen Hayes
 
In my sophomore year of college, I had never felt so lost and broken.  I was searching for something to heal me, and before I could comprehend God's plans for me, I was in the Dominican Republic.  The mission trip was the start of my journey to heal, although I didn't realize it at the time.  I spent the week working in the medical clinics, distributing medication to people who would have otherwise no opportunity to receive healthcare or medicine.  I also spent some time in a small village, painting houses and helping with small odd jobs.  It was there that I realized that there was no standard or boundary of happiness- that it could be found in the darkest, dirtiest huts and even in the eyes of hungry children.  I came back to the states with a completely different mindset on life, love and faith.  It was the best transformation I've ever experienced.- Bridget Maguire

Gallery of pictures from 2010
Click on any picture to enlarge and scroll