Mission Retreat

Today I participated in a retreat held at Hilkert Hall to meet fellow missioners and prepare for the upcoming Mission in the Dominican Republican. Quick facts about the mission:

-Location: Higuey, Dominican Republic (DR)
-Primary Language: Spanish
-Primary Religion: Catholic
-Most Popular Sport: Baseball :)
-More details can be found at wikipedia.com (Dominican Republic)

It was mentioned that there is a cathedral in DR that can be seen from virtually anywhere on the island. It is called Nuestra Senora de la Altagracia en Higuey.

We saw a lot of the area and conditions in which we would be working. This was done through several videos and picture slide shows throughout the day. The city of Higuey is located in lowlands in Southeastern DR, and to say that conditions are much different than what we have here in the U.S. is an understatement. Some of the suburbs of Cleveland are in far better condition that any of the pictures shown today. Not sure the name of the hotel we will stay in, but they say if it were rated it would get something like minus 4 stars.

We also had a chance to get in the spirit through music, song, and prayer. We prayed the rosary in Spanish and will continue this each day on the mission. And, we even did the Strengths Finder exercise to learn of each others natural talents and discuss how we could leverage them as we work together as a team before, during, and after the mission.

Activities on our list to complete include:
1. Rebuild a chicken coup
2. Set a foundation for a new Vocation Center (which will house a bakery, med center,and wood/craft shop)
3. Build a truss for the roof of the Vocation Center (to be used later)
4. Conduct a medical outreach program to improve nutrition and hygiene through preventative education

The remainder of our day included tips, suggestions on what to pack, etc. We will also be taking donated clothes and other items with us, so we will have a packing party on Sat., December 19th. I also need to complete Virtus training on this date.

We ended the day by exchanging self-addressed envelopes so that we may send each other prayers and well wishes to fellow missioners before we embark on our mission together.  This was a great day of prep, and I'm really looking forward to the trip!