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Group restores church By DAWN SLADE Fifteen residents from Milaca, Princeton, Cambridge, St. Francis and Jefferson, Iowa spent 11 days in the Dominican Republic helping those less fortunate. The 15-person construction crew was formed when Mark Baas of Milaca contacted Don Wunderink of the Christian Reformed World Missions. Baas learned of 15 scheduled projects for the year. One of those projects was the Los Angeles Christian Reformed Church in the Dominican Republic, near Santo Domingo, in need of a roof. Before they could leave, though, the group needed to raise money - at least $7,500. After raising funds through emails to friends and relatives, letters to sub-contractors (Baas owns a construction company) and the Bethel Christian Reformed Church in Princeton, they ended up with over $10,000. Encouraged by his daughter, Tom Kittok (one of the crew) decided to raise money by promising to shave off his beard if he raised $1,500. He also added that for every $200 raised, he cut off an inch of his hair. Friends and co-workers put up posters and eventually raised the money. The beard came off and Kittok lost most of his hair as well (five inches in all). The participants paid for their airfare, room and board out of their own pocket. "Because of all the donations, a lot of people made the trip possible," said Norma Baas of Milaca. After waiting out a Minnesota blizzard, the group finally arrived at the Dominican Republic on March 14 to sunny, 80 degree weather. Once there, the crew was led by a Canadian, Max Van Til, who coordinates building projects on behalf of the ministry. A local resident of the Dominican Republic, called "maestro," also assisted. According to Mark, it was unclear if the maestro was a master carpenter or not - he didnít speak any English. Upon arriving, the group soon learned that a local school was also in need of repair, which included new walls, plumbing, toilets and a sewer system. The crew ended up building 17 cabinets and 10 tables for area schools as well. Construction in the Dominican Republic is quite different than the United States. Typically, a resident will begin with a wooden frame house. As they can afford it, they build cement walls around the outside of their wooden home, eventually putting a cement roof on top. Once complete, they remove the old, wooden portion of the home. The construction crew mixed cement footings by hand literally using the ground below their feet. The cement roof, which was what the crew put on the church, is put together with 2x4 forms and plywood. The cement is poured in from a cement truck and then left for at least eight days before the wood forms are removed. The 2x4s were "rented," to make the forms, often arriving with nails that had to be removed. And since the 2x4s they used were not always long enough, the crew would have to splice them together. "We all live in castles compared to them," Mark said. Working in crude conditions, Mark said one of the more difficult problems was the lack of room between the buildings. Another factor, the current privatization of electricity thatís taking place in the Dominican Republic. As an unsafe number of wires dangled from the electric poles, electricity was periodically shut off throughout the day, rendering power tools useless. The open sewer system runs through the streets and cars literally splash through them. With the exception of water placed in black, plastic tanks on roofs, there is no hot, running water. In spite of that, the crew was amazed at the cleanliness of the people, especially the children who wear uniforms to school. Julian Baas of Milaca said, "Even though the people live without hardly anything, theyíre clean. They come to church fixed up, dressed up and filled with joy to have the love of the Lord in their heart." If the children do not have a visa or a citizenship card, they cannot attend public schools. The rate for private, Christian schools is anywhere from 50 cents to $16 a month, based on what they can afford. Thatís often where the Christian Reformed World Mission comes in. It donates $250,000 to the schools annually. Norma said, "The children were always polite. They understand itís valuable to have an education." The schools are sparse, containing desks, chalkboards and chalk. The teacher has a lesson book, the students have none. They must recite or copy onto paper all that they learn. Since the school is small and there are not enough teachers, the Dominican and Haitian students must attend school in two shifts. One teacher will educate 50-75 students a day. Harv Schreur of Princeton said, "The one thing that struck me...we did some work and built some walls, but we couldnít communicate with them. But we enabled the local people to do a better job of reaching the children and the people with gospel." The children often put encouraging signs up on the building for the crew with messages like, "The teachers are very happy because of you," and "God will reward you for your work." Some things never change Mark commented on the construction methods in the Dominican Republic and how lack of education plays a factor. But Mark also said that the people there tend to do whatever their parents did, and their parents before them, and so on. Van Til told the group a story of a woman who would always cut the ends off a roast before cooking it. Her husband finally asked her one day why she cut the ends of the roast off. Her reply was, "Thatís the way my mother did it." So the husband asked his wifeís mother why she cut the ends of the roast off before cooking it. Her reply was the same as his wifeís, "Thatís the way my mother did it." Finally, he asked the grandmother the same question. Her reply, "Because that was the size of the pan." The same is true when it comes to the Haitian people who reside in the Dominican Republic. In church, the women sit on one side and the men sit on the other. Why? Because thatís the way their parents did it, and their parents before them. Back home, looking back Since returning to the United States, the crew members have a different perspective. "We think we have the right to so much - a nice car, a nice home, a closet full of clothes and food. You come back absolutely changed. They have so little, yet they are happy and content," said Norma. Julian has been to Mexico before so he wasnít all that surprised by the conditions in the Dominican Republic, however he said, "Iím still amazed by how easy we have it and how soft we are from the luxuries we take for granted." All appreciated a warm shower upon returning home and being able to brush their teeth with clean, running water. Schreur said he appreciated the assemblence of order back in the states. "Chaos is the norm there," he said. "It gives you a whole new perspective. Thereís so many people that can use our help. It sure opened my eyes. I think it caused each of us to re-evaluate, " Norma added. Mark added that all the members of the group would like to return someday, if given the opportunity to do so.
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