"We profess to be strangers and pilgrims, seeking after a country of our own, yet we settle down in the most un-stranger-like fashion, exactly as if we were quite at home and meant to stay as long as we could." Amy Carmichael

Over the past month or so, I have been on the move from place to place in the Dominican Republic and have not had a place to call home. But this world will never really be a home to any of us. When we long for a home in this world more than we long for our heavenly home, we have lost sight of what is the most important thing in life. Moving day by day, week by week, has shown me how much I need to long for my home with Jesus rather than a temporary home here on earth. We must long for our true home with the Father!

The first month here has been very fruitful. The first two weeks were filled with Vacation Bible Schools for the children in the community of Alcarrizos, a barrio outside the city of Santo Domingo. The children were told the story of Jesus as skits and puppet shows were performed and crafts were done with them. There was also much work as desks were fixed, poles were stuck in the ground, tables were fixed, playground equipment was painted and piles of dirt were turned into a ramp. Two different groups from the United States came down for a week each to serve the DR and their time here was blessed. I worked with these teams helping to organize their activities and guide them on their experience in the DR. I stayed with the teams at the camp and was blessed by their fellowship as well as being a part of the work they did in Alcarrizos. We also took them to a few of the sights in Santo Domingo including the beach, the market, and the Colonial City, which is home to the oldest church in the Americas and the oldest street in the Americas.

I spent the second two weeks with Medical Missions International (MMI) in an area called Barahona, about 3 ½ hours away from Santo Domingo. It was a group of over 50 "foreigners" from the United States and Canada who came together to form two teams: one surgical team and one medical team. I was placed on the surgical team and worked in pre-op every day for those two weeks. I greatly improved my skills for starting IV catheters. Over the course of the two weeks, I put in over 55 IVs for major surgeries done by one of our three surgeons. We were blessed to have two general surgeons with us and one OB/GYN surgeon. Our primary surgeries included hernia repairs and tubal ligations (having the lady’s tubes tied to prevent further pregnancy). These are simple procedures in the United States, but in the DR, we had to set up our own operating room and fully equip it. It was an amazing first day as we set up the two OR rooms and had 5 major surgeries. We were so excited to begin work and bring the Gospel to those that we came to serve. That day we had 15 people commit their lives to Christ in the hospital. What an amazing day. The blessings continued to flow through out the week and we did 75 major surgeries, 21 minor surgeries and had 42 people become Christians. God is so good!!!

The medical team went to a different spot everyday to reach as many people as they could in the community. They set up clinic at schools and churches everyday with three doctors, a pharmacist and an area for health education. Each person who came to the clinic went through each station, and the Gospel was presented to them during the health education time. The clinic consulted and treated over 900 adults and children all over Barahona. What an exciting and blessed week we had serving the people and bringing them God’s love through medicine!

Please continue to pray for safety and God’s blessing over the next three months as I continue to do God’s work here in the Dominican Republic. Pray for those who became new Christians over the past two weeks, that their faith would grow abundantly and that they would find a fellow group of Believers to worship with. Pray for the next weeks of medical missions as we go to different communities and share the Gospel with them.

God bless you greatly,

Brianna Esswein, RN, BSN