It's all COPacetic

The first week of April, the Dominican Republic had the distinct pleasure of hosting an unprecedented mission education team made up of 10 LCMS district presidents (or "DPs," representing nearly 1/3 of the Council of Presidents, or COP) + 2 dignitaries from our church body's St. Louis headquarters office. While the group indeed spent a week immersed in Dominican culture and numerous aspects of ministry in this place, the 11 sessions presented by different regional team members truly highlighted the work around LAC and even aspects of how the LCMS is Spreading the Gospel, Planting Lutheran Churches, and Showing Mercy globally. 

It was a treat working alongside Dana to coordinate the logistics of the event. A combination of factors made them a touch more complex than average, and tag-teaming just made sense; she was busy hosting two teams in March that I only had minimal interaction with, whereas I was essentially free to focus on this once the FORO wrapped up. One of my anticipatory to-dos was assembling welcome bags which I later dropped off at the DPs' hotel. On a personal note, I got a car wash before my first of several airport pickups! The initial agenda item we arranged and were on hand for was lunch + a cigar factory tour on Monday for a contingent that arrived on Sunday.  

OK, to be fair, I took this picture in the lobby and then left in favor of fresh air! 

Merry Christmas in March! The entire DR team was treated to this festive delicacy Monday night.

Our Volunteer Coordinator game was on point all day, down to the matching outfits. 

Tuesday morning's "continental breakfast" AM snack spread in the LAC regional office.

With the Rev. Dr. Bill Harmon, the only one of the DPs that I knew going into the week from a...unique (uniquely positive!)...experience at his former congregation during my initial network building tour.

You thought we were meeting at the regional office Tuesday? Same. Until the power went out and we had no A/C, WiFi, fans, or water pump (read: flush-able toilets). We hurriedly made the call to move everything, including our Bolivian lunch prepared by seminary wives Edith and Bety (pictured), to Iglesia Luterana Pueblo Nuevo.

Explaining pique macho (layers of French fries, marinated beef, sliced hot dogs, and bell peppers topped with a drizzle of mayonnaise and ketchup) before the DPs went through the buffet line.

 

Wednesday we were actually supposed to be at Pueblo Nuevo. I did a lot of this...

...but jumped into the conversation when the topic of short-term volunteers came up before the presentation I'd give right after lunch.

After some down time at their hotel, the DPs returned to Pueblo Nuevo for Lenten worship. 

After two nights in a row of meat, we opted for a pizza supper that night (yes, we made them try that most Dominican of all pizza toppings: corn). My Anglo side was irked when we had to wait ~45 min. despite making a reservation and even pre-ordering, but judging by the amount of leftovers, the food was worth it.

Thursday began with chapel at the seminary in Palmar Arriba. 

The seminary students each know enough English to introduce themselves & their families. Pictured is Edwin (Bolivia) sharing how old one of his three daughters is. 

That afternoon, we divvied up and set out on community home visits. My group visited two homes with Edwin. 

The owner of the second seemed to be quite the entrepreneur. She'd recently begun selling ice cream from a freezer on her front porch! I support small businesses.

#dinnerviews

Friday, we headed north for a beach house day. This has got to be one of my favorite spots in all of the Dominican. 

I wound up finishing TWO books before lunch. Afterwards, we circled up to debrief the week. 

One farewell dinner and two airport runs later, it was over as quickly as it'd begun. From the DPs themselves (read the Indiana DP's reflections here) to regional leadership, no one could say enough positive things about the balanced slate of activities, harmonious messaging, and seamless logistics (whether or not they seemed seamless to Dana & I!). As is typical, multiple colleagues asked what my next "thing" was, or if I'd get a brief respite. The latter! I don't travel internationally again until May 20, and while there is work to be done in terms of planning for summer teams in Belize and Jamaica, I welcomed my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew to Santiago on Thursday. They'll be here until Good Friday; watch for a post about everything we managed to do when it wasn't raining sometime after that. 

Until next time, blessings in Christ!