Yamasa 2002 Mission
Project
Following
are excerpts from the presentation to the Parish by the
participating group upon their return from Yamasa. The
initial scope of their work was to help renovate an old
wooden frame church in the Bate of LaMina.
The original
structure
"Sister Noelia and Sister
Mercedes greeted us at the airport and arranged
transportation. On arriving in Yamasa, we were taken to our
hosting families. Ed and Paul were staying at the Seminary
with Father Jesus - who, unfortunately, speaks no English,
so sign language became the norm of conversation. Lucy and
Charles were at Angela and Ramon's, a wonderful family with
two daughters and two nieces at home. Janet, Cathy and I
[Sue] were with Rosa Herminia, a widow who was the High
School Principal, her three teenage daughters, a friend who
stayed to help with the cooking and household chores, while
we were there. There was also a Peace Corps worker who
taught Science at the High School.
We did take Sunday off
for some R & R and with our Hosts and Carmen Garcia headed
to Consuelo for a visit and supper. On our return we
brought back Sister Susan, a gentle, loving person who had
been transferred there after many years serving the people
of Yamasa. Everyone sorely missed her. With Sor Susanna, we
visited Carmen’s medical clinic where she ministers to the
poor, and made many stops to chat as we walked along the
streets."
"The
original goal of the group was to renovate an existing
structure but our plans began to unravel the instant we
arrived in Santo Domingo. Sister Noelia informed us that a
church elder would be waiting for us in Yamasa with a new
proposal. The request from the community of LaMina was to
replace rather than renovate the existing chapel.
Their request was
justified for the termites had riddled all the structural
members. By lunch time of Day One, the structure was
dismantled, the roofing tin and the palm board siding was
carted off, the existing concrete floor was broken up and
removed, and the site was readied for a new foundation. A
materials list was prepared, orders were placed with local
suppliers, and construction began in earnest. Two local
young experienced construction workers took charge of the
project to ensure the structure was built the Dominican way.
A shallow steel reinforced footing was poured for a
structure measuring 20’5” X 29’9”. We worked in a support
role with the carpenters and ever-changing number of
volunteers. The two carpenters proved knowledgeable and
competent but it took time before their doubts about our
competency were allayed. All eyes were on Paul who wielded
the trowel like an orchestra conductor directing with his
baton.
By our departure time the
block work and the steel reinforced concrete columns were
complete. The steel reinforced 8” cap over the concrete
block wall was in the process of being poured. Leveling of
the soil inside the building had begun in preparation for
concrete floor pouring. Entrance column footings were dug
and the steel was ready for the columns.
The community of LaMina
must be given credit for their collective input. The ladies
and children who kept the water barrels filled. They carried
the water uphill in containers balanced on their heads from
the river, which was some distance away from the worksite.
The ladies and children who carried hundreds of concrete
blocks uphill from roadside to worksite. The men of all
ages who worked on the rebar, those who hand-mixed and
wheeled the concrete and those who later mixed mortar and
kept the block-layers continually in supply.
The funds left behind will
hopefully be sufficient to cover the balance of the
construction costs and once complete, this chapel will
assume the name "Our Lady of Lourdes".
"One thing
that became apparent early on in our visit to Yamasa and the
small country community of LaMina was that our visit was not
only about the church we were helping to build, but more
especially about person-to-person relationships.
Each day, as we arrived at
the site of the church, we became more acquainted with one
another ... men, women, children. The sharing of ideas, the
laughter at the awkward attempts at each other's language,
the hauling of and building with cement blocks and sand and
cement, became the bricks and mortar of our friendship
together.
We knew that our shared
effort would ultimately hold the presence of God in the
people, The Word and The Eucharist. What we did together
gave witness to the importance of our faith, making us truly
one as brothers and sisters in Christ. This reality
transcends language, culture and economic differences.
Of equal
importance to the time spent at the site of the church was
the time we spent elsewhere, simply being with people, being
welcomed into their homes and community. We shared in some
of the celebrations of their lives ... a baptism, a wedding,
the wake and funeral of a nine-year-old boy. We became
familiar faces at the small bakery and grocery stores and in
the streets of the families with whom we stayed. As we
traveled to and from the building site of the church in the
country in our old truck, people came to recognize us and
know us, waving as we passed, sometimes catching a ride ...
there was always room for one more in our family.
We shared
in daily Eucharistic Celebrations, trying in our limited way
to catch hold of the spirit and enthusiasm of their faith,
and the exuberance of their singing, so natural,
spontaneous, joy-filled. It was a privilege to be with them
as they welcomed and embraced us.
We came
away humbled by how little we shared in comparison to what
we had received!"
The
crew of Charles and Lucie Langlais, Sue Newton, Cathy
Britton, Janet Gow/duManoir, Paul Tremblay and Ed Stechishen
"One of the people we support through our
regular mission Sundays is Carmen Garcia. Carmen is a
beautiful woman who, as a nurse, has devoted her entire life
to serving God by helping His people, not only medically but
also emotionally and spiritually. With very limited
resources, she works endlessly, seemingly tireless, and
always with a smile. It is so very easy to see Christ by
knowing Carmen. On our way to Consuelo, we stopped at a
beach resort for several hours. We were all very happy to
cool off in the sea, but our pleasure in that day was
enhanced greatly because Carmen was able to be with us. Her
obvious delight in playing in the ocean and relaxing on the
beach gave us great joy. She could not recall ever before
having such a day that she described as being " so selfishly
for herself". She sends her gratitude, her love and her
prayers to each one of you for your continuing support and
compassion.
We were grateful that while in the DR we
were also able to join with the community in Antonce and
celebrate mass in our sister church-Our Lady of Good
Counsel. This is now a most lovely building with a
breathtaking view easily seen through the open windows. The
bond with our parish continues to strengthen. The gifts from
here-an anniversary picture of our church and a picture of
Our Lady of Good Counsel-were blessed by Father Jesus and
are now hanging on the wall behind the altar. For us, it was
deeply moving celebration and we missed those who had been
with us last year during the construction and not able to
return this year. The joy of the mass was infectious and we
were welcomed and embraced-figuratively and literally - by
all those present. In his prayers and homily, Father Jesus
gave thanks to God for the caring relationship that exists
between our two parishes. He and the entire community pray
for the soul of Rose Kenney, for Father Bill and his father,
and for each one of you."
"Perhaps one of the most poignant events of
all occurred on our very last trip in the old truck bumping
along the road from La Mina back to Yamasa. As we passed
through a community called la Joba, a small
man named Socrates, waving an envelope marked "Padre Bill",
flagged us down. We all dumped out of the truck and followed
him to a church-a dilapidated, patchwork building of termite
infested palm board and scraps of tin. On the inside, we
found small handmade crosses, flowers and drapings of
cloth-all to adorn this humble house of God. As Charles and
Socrates dialogued we suddenly found ourselves in the midst
of the entire community-men, women, children, babies. Each
of them in absolute silence watching our faces as they
listened to the conversation. And on each of their faces
-expectant hope. We had now come face to face with
people-people with inadequate housing, food or clothing,
people with so many material needs-who were asking for our
help, and the help they wanted was to rebuild their church,
a place where they could gather to celebrate their love of
God and God's great love for each of them.
Faith, family and friends. These are the
essence of our experience. And for the people we met,
the distinction between family and friends is blurred-they
become as one. And permeating every part of their lives is
their faith and trust in God. Even without understanding
Spanish, it is so very clear to us that they know the true
source of their peace and happiness.
I
leave each one of us with a question that came to my mind
several times during our visit. If someone with no
understanding of English were to attend mass with us here,
would they recognize-by the expression on our faces, by the
tone of our voices, by our music, and by our physical
relationship to each other-would they recognize our
Eucharist to be a joyful community celebration of
thanksgiving and praise to God?? What would your answer be??"
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