Mission to the Dominican Republic: Mao Team
In July of 2021, we made a short trip to the Dominican Republic. Our purpose was to learn about new challenges our brethren face—to find out what’s working and what’s not working. We also looked for ways we could help, whether with prayer, finances, resources, advice, teaching materials, etc. But, since this nation has long been partnered with us in ministry, we also sought to deepen our relationship together. Over the many decades that this organization has been involved in the DR, many have come and gone, and there are new faces to meet and new stories to hear. This trip was about support and encouragement, but it was also about vision. After so many years together, we sought to establish what evangelism looks like for this nation now and for the years to come.
Sunday
We left for the Dominican Republic Sunday morning. Our team consisted of myself, Mike Kellett, Robert Ables, and Kyle Gilmore. I know we were all excited to go, as this was the first major trip outside the country since the pandemic began in 2020. Being able to meet with our partners is a vital part of our ministry.
We were to meet Adam and Stephanie Ables (who had previously lived in Neyba—one of the towns we were to visit) on this particular trip. Their knowledge and expertise of the area, plus their strong relationships in that community, would prove to be valuable.
We were also to be joined by One Kingdom’s Latin America Ambassador, Esteban Valle-García, who was flying in from Nicaragua.
Esteban, who has a deep love for the Dominican people, helped to provide insight into the culture, assisted with logistics, and also served as a translator. We arrived late Sunday night in the capitol city of Santo Domingo, and Esteban greeted us at the airport. It’s always great to see a smiling, familiar face when entering a foreign land. We arrived at our hotel in the downtown area and went straight to bed after a long day of travel.
Monday
We started the day with breakfast with our whole team. There to meet us was Manual Aquino’s son Gerson and his wife Cessarina. We met together as a group, as Mike Kellett led us in a morning devotional to prepare our minds and hearts for the trip.
We spent some time in prayer and then split up into two teams: Team Mao and Team Neyba. Team Mao consisted of me, Mike, Kyle, and Esteban, while Robert, Adam, Stephanie, Gerson, and Cessarina made up Team Neyba. Because our partners in the Dominican are so spread out, we needed to split up to reach both parts of the country. Mao is where our longtime partner Prudencio Rodriguez works and lives. It’s in the northern part of the Dominican—about a 4-hour drive from Santo Domingo. Neyba is in the southwest corner and is home to Manuel Aquino.
After a devotional and some time in prayer, we parted company and headed to our respective locations. Our team started the trek towards Mao, a city of about 200,000 people nestled in the northwest region of the DR. Once we arrived, we met Prudencio and his family for dinner and fellowship.
Prudencio Rodriguez happens to be One Kingdom’s longest running World Radio speaker. We began our partnership with him way back in 1976—he is the only One Kingdom partner to have worked with every single director in World Radio’s history, which is quite something.
And yet, he still has the energy of a young man. He welcomed us into his home and cooked an amazing traditional Dominican dinner for us. We exchanged stories and shared a bunch of laughs. It was a very encouraging night to be with who we consider to be family.
Tuesday
We met Prudencio early Tuesday to get started on a big day. On Tuesdays, Prudencio, with the help of his son Abner, records his World Radio broadcast and sends it in to the radio station. Due to the pandemic, the radio station that plays the World Radio program utilizes a skeleton crew and does not currently allow live broadcasts.
Prudencio records the program on his phone, edits it, and sends it in to be played on Saturdays. We got the blessing of being able to join Prudencio on his recording. Mike and I spoke about a study we’ve both been in out of the book of Daniel, and Esteban translated for us.
This radio broadcast reaches most of the northern part of the country, and it is a vital part of Prudencio’s discipleship ministry. It is a big reason why Prudencio’s efforts have been so successful for so long.
Later that night, we ventured to a small church in La Caida to meet with the brothers and sisters there. This is one of eight churches that Prudencio has planted in the region, and La Caida is a church made up of mostly Haitians.
In the Dominican, Haitians are, for the most part, not welcome. In fact, in 2013, the government began deporting Haitians and stripping them of their dual citizenship. Needless to say, it’s hard for a Haitian to feel at home in the Dominican even though their countries share the same island. So for there to be a church of mostly Haitians—ministered to by Dominicans—is a feat only accomplished through God.
Mike was able to preach to the church as they gathered to hear the Word—which had to be translated into Spanish and then Creole. One of the great blessings we received by being there was listening to the singing and seeing the hearts being poured out for Jesus.
Wednesday
We started the day by eating breakfast with the Rodriguez family. Naomi, Prudencio’s daughter, cooked us a wonderful breakfast and we again talked about Prudencio’s ministry, plans for the future, and we prayed about what God would do in the Dominican.
One of the great joys I got from being with Prudencio was seeing the young men he was discipling and teaching to preach the Gospel. In the eight churches he has planted in that area, he is only able to preach at one of them. However, he has trained new people over many years to lead the other communities of worship and to continue the groundwork that he has built.
We also spent some time in Prudencio’s garden. He certainly has a green thumb that I did not know about. He grows fresh avocados, cilantro, tea leaves, coffee beans, mangos, and much more. He gives a lot of his crop to his church family and to people in his neighborhood. He has even planted coconut trees and avocado trees at his church so they can use the fruit to help feed their community.
Once we finished our time with Prudencio and his family, we had to go to a clinic to get tested for COVID as the United States requires a negative test to get back into the country. By God’s grace, all tests came back negative.
Thursday
We met up with the Neyba team upon our return to Santo Domingo. We shared a meal together and spent time debriefing. It was great to hear from the other team and get their perspective. It seemed that we were both on very different trips (stay tuned for our next issue, where we will cover the Neyba team’s experience).
The one thing that we all left with was hope. Christianity in the DR is thriving, and in the two regions where One Kingdom is represented best, our partners are sold out for the Gospel and making new disciples daily. The one word that kept ringing in my head as I reflected on our journey was family.
Prudencio, his wife, and his kids have been our family for decades. I learned that Naomi came to the US when she was a teenager and attended summer camp here in West Monroe during her dad’s visit to White’s Ferry Road Church. She showed me a picture and low and behold, in the picture was my wife. She attended the same summer camp. We’ve always been family even before we knew each other. Jesus has a way of doing things like that. I can’t wait to go back and see my family again.