Ozama was In-tents

Halfway through our time together, the MOST team & I shifted clinic locations, and thus hotels to save hours in traffic. 

Dana and I realized a) whoever decorated the Hodelpa Caribe Colonial shops at IKEA; but also b) it's adorable! 

Bus devotions AGAIN on the way to our first "culture day" stop. MOST's MO is to save teams' last day in-country for a cultural excursion, but as has worked well in the past during similar trips, I opted to use sightseeing as a midweek transition.

I'd toured the Cortés Hnos. chocolate factory museum before, but never the factory factory. 100% would do again. Lunch was delicious as always but cemented the fact that the "Choco Lounge" is going to become an order ahead kind of place. 

From there, we swung by the Columbus Lighthouse, which I'd warned the team wasn't what they were imagining. I've been there many times, so I found a breezy spot to catch up on some messages while they wandered the exhibits. The detail on the lampposts lining the interior hallway caught my eye; it's the emblem in the center of the Dominican flag. 

Is Columbus buried here? You be the judge. 

Told you I got a little devotion-happy in my picture taking. Everyone was comfortable after a rooftop pizza dinner in the Colonial Zone, so we flowed right into business.

Enough fun and games. Blessedly, a few of the stations including mine were outside under pop-up tents at Iglesia Luterana Pan de Vida in the Ozama sector. It was still hot, but a little air movement makes a big difference. 

Pastor Lucas (left) and a small contingent from Amigos de Cristo drove across the city to support, while Rev. Sergio Maita's wife Yoxa (center) graciously volunteered on her birthday!

After Pastor Maita did his spiel with one group of registrants, he'd hand out tracts and Gospel bracelets to the next. 

Yoxa showed us more of her kind heart and generous spirit in hosting the team for a noche de arepas that night and serving up her own cake! 

I had no idea what was going on, but the after dinner competition looked fierce.

The morning of our last clinic day, Dana obliged me in walking to a nearby church I've driven by countless times and find absolutely gorgeous. Our bus driver informed me it's where Juan Pablo Duarte, one of the DR's founding fathers, was baptized. I'm eager to go back and explore the many statues in the churchyard sometime when the gates are open.

The couple that gets their eyes checked together stays together (like Pastor Maita's parents). 

At the end of my rope after a long, hot week, I eagerly engaged Pastor Maita's 11 year-old daughter Irene as a "pointer" at the bitter end.

Thanks be to God for this team's grit, unflinchingly positive attitude, and respect for the dignity of each and every patient. Their trip was the first joint one of its kind for both organizations (MOST Ministries and LCMS International), and I look forward to exploring how more of the same might help carry the Gospel further afield in the months and years to come. 

Until next time, blessings in Christ!