My dear fellow pilgrims,

I was so strongly and positively impacted by so many of the experiences of my recent pilgrimages to the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua that, for the sake of brevity, I am going to choose only those experiences that left an indelible mark on my soul.

Dominican Republic

In an area called El Cercado, we inaugurated at least four housing projects, but one stands out over the others. We went into a village that the world had forgotten, or perhaps it never knew it existed. So remote was this place and so bad were the roads to get there. The village is called Abre la Yayas (Open the Yayas — no one seemed to know exactly what these were.) The people have lived there for generations in what I can only describe as horrible poverty (extreme poverty seems too mild a term). The horror of the poverty was well matched by the intense beauty of the setting. Surrounded by verdant mountains, nature showed off the glory of God’s creation. Our eyes were drunk with the exceeding beauty of this place.

Someone reached out to these destitute people from beyond the grave. Jeanette C. Rowe, one of our generous donors, left a large legacy of love for FFP at her passing on to eternal life and her family decided to build a village of 54 homes in her memory — the Jeanette C. Rowe Memorial Village. I was fortunate to share with Jeanette’s sister, Marie, and her nephew, Matt (Marie’s son), the emotion of witnessing with them the transformation of this place from wretchedness to unrestrained joy. One of the grateful villagers, a short, strong and stocky woman kissed Marie repeatedly and hugged her, frequently lifting Marie off the ground. The adrenaline and emotion of the moment allowed Marie to survive unharmed! :o)

We later met in their brand new chapel (yes, they now also have a place of worship!) and the happiness and energy portrayed in their singing, dancing, and praising God are difficult to capture in words. Many of the villagers spoke beautiful words of gratitude to God, to Jeanette, and to us for being present with them at that time. When Matt spoke, he promised that his family would perpetuate his aunt’s generosity to this village. There were many moments of laughter and many moments of tears for all of us who shared in this uplifting experience that proved the transformative power of Christian love. Jeanette had to have been smiling as she enjoyed the warmth of God’s embrace.

The next week, I returned to this very place with a large group of our speakers, and there was a great encore of joy and song and dance and laughter. In this second inaugural celebration, the little children placed their hands on the heads of our priests and pastors and blessed them. A picture of Jeanette was permanently installed in their chapel and the priests and pastors then went out and blessed the homes of these humble and jubilant people.

On the next day, a Wednesday, I witnessed the unveiling of the most exciting development project that I have ever seen in my years at FFP. It was a collaborative effort between FFP, the Taiwan Mission, who supplied the expertise, and De Mi Casa A Tu Casa, a foundation led by Arturo Castro, that was in charge of construction and supervision of the entire project. This place, known as Trinity Tilapia and Agricultural Center and Villa Francia, gives meaning to the old cliché, “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” The first thing that caught my eye was what looked to be an Olympic size swimming pool, which was actually a beautifully constructed cement pond for the farming of thousands of tilapia. A similar pond of half the size was to be used for the farming of thousands of shrimp. Laboratories were constructed where the project would be able to produce its own fingerlings for the rearing of these desirable products. There were four or five large structures for the cultivation and protection of exotic plants and an area reserved for the cultivation of bamboo, with a workshop where the local people were being trained in the production of bamboo furniture. The samples on display were exquisite. Then there were five enormous structures that were to house 20,000 laying hens at full capacity, which would mean an eventual egg production of 18,000 — 20,000 eggs per day! Additionally, there is to be a goat project and a rabbit project. The Hawksley Rural School has been built there, together with a large multi-purpose Training Center and offices for the management of the entire project. This magnificent project will give employment, hope, dignity and a chance at a new life to hundreds of the inhabitants of that area. “My cup runneth over.”

On the Thursday, we visited one of our Angel’s of Hope homes, sponsored by FFP, called Hogar Escuela Santo Domingo Savio (named after the well known boy saint). Here we met an outstanding young man. He had no hair on his head and all his visible skin was horribly scarred by fire. This young hero was badly burnt in his successful attempt to save his two year-old sister from the same fire that disfigured him so badly. His outward appearance was totally eclipsed by his inner beauty and sweet personality. It was heartwarming to hear him talk about his love of soccer and to see him always surrounded by a number of friends who were obviously truly fond of him and spoke about his talent on the soccer field.

I returned home the next day with a greater love for the poor and also for the priests and pastors who so passionately speak on their behalf.

God bless you.
Angel