The Final Exit...

As we depart from the D.R. - please be cautious of the overhead exit signs....See you all soon!

A day in photos...

Once again, an amazing day...we spent the day at DR 503 - engaged in home visits, lunch and best of all - an afternoon playing with the kids! Below are some of our favorite pics from the day....

Message from Shane...

In the short time that we have been here, we have truly seen the work that the Lord has done in the lives of these children and the staff of the DR. We are so fortunate to work for such a great organization. Jeanne and I have sponsored a child for 9+ years with Compassion and seeing what a difference it makes in the lives of the kids, their family and the community and giving hope to the otherwise hopeless is..............well........................incredible! I guess the best word to describe this adventure thus far is WOW! Just know, the work that is being done by you at the GMC is bearing fruit beyond our imagination.

3 Full Days!

Normally, we do our best to do a daily recap - however, as you may have noticed, we did not have an internet connection for the first couple of days. Special thanks to Haley for her guest appearance on the blog.

After a looong and somewhat uncertain day of travel, we arrived in Santo Domingo around 11:30pm on Monday night. Praise God that the tropical storm brewing in Florida did not keep us from this amazing experience!

We started Tuesday morning with a visit to the Dominican Republic country office where we were treated to a special chapel program by the children of a nearby CDSP project. It was a wonderful opportunity to worship together in two languages!


Following chapel, we toured the DR office and enjoyed lunch with the staff - then it was off to DR 387 for an afternoon learning about the Child Survival Program. We were able to take part in a community meeting with over 30 CSP moms & babies all learning together about vitamins and nutrition.
That evening, the Country Staff treated us to a wonderful dinner where we learned in detail about each of Compassion's core programs.

On Wednesday we set out bright and early for Santiago. At DR 500, we toured a Child Development Center and served lunch to the children. This was no small task as we dished up hundreds of plates of food! What an incredible amount of work that happens daily on behalf of these precious little ones.

We went from the project to a vocational center where we saw how they are teaching the young teens vocational skills through a beauty salon, computer lab and kitchen. The day ended with an LDP dinner in the evening where we were blessed by the testimonies of 2 participant's in Compassion's Leadership Development Program.

Tomorrow is another full day! Here's a couple more pics to enjoy...

Message from Tawanna...

Here we are! After only one full day of being here in the Dominican Republic (DR) our hearts, my heart is being filled by the Holy Spirit. This is the first chance we’ve had to blog and that might be a good thing. I say that because Monday was a blessing just getting here in spite of the potential hurricane in Florida. Tuesday was absolutely powerful. In my heart is forever etched an eight year old boy affectionately called “Pastorsito”, which means “Little Pastor”. We’ll share more about him later. We met him during the morning worship at the DR Area office with others from his project and their Pastor Josaphina.

Lots of wonderful information was received from and given to the area staff. What a blessing to see how our efforts back in Colorado Springs are received and processed. After a delicioso lunch we were off to visit a CSP (Child Survival Program). We sat with a large group of moms and their children as they learned about vitimans, what they are and why they are vital for the entire family.

Then off to the home of one of the CSP moms. What a wonderful experience. The hope and joy in their eyes was contagious.

Today we’re on our way to Santiago to serve and have lunch with the children at a CDSP (Child Development Sponsorship Program). After that we will do a little shopping for our friends and loved ones (that’s you).

Until next time, may the peace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be with you. ~ Tawanna

Message from Ben...

I have to say that this is my first time blogging on anything or even knowing what a blog site actually is!

Needless to say, I have had a fabulous time taking the photos and seeing first hand the amazing handiwork of God through Compassion. Visiting the CSP program made me appreciate the work being done here and how it impacts not only the mothers and their new born and young children, but how it has a rippling effect to the community as a whole.

Beyond that, this trip is really bringing our group closer together with discussions and fun games that people play on bus rides. How many fun ways do you use to entertain a group of eleven adults trying to pass the time traveling across the DR countryside? “I’m on a trip to the DR and taking….”

We’ll post more pics real soon.

Message from Bethany...

Wow, words really don’t describe the people here. This beautiful country is filled with beautiful people with an incredible heart for our Lord. They love our God and they aren’t afraid to show it!

They wear their love on the outside...the kids are happy and and laughing. God is working here. Its humbling to see just how much they love God here.

As I look out my window at the beautiful mountains, it reminds me of home and our own beautiful mountains and I wonder, what can I take back and how can I empower others to have the same passion and love that they have here?

My prayer is that my own teens could have this same passion and fire for God and how can I empower them with that same fire.

I love you all and miss you a lot, see you soon ~B~