The world is bigger than Springfield-- DR Mission Trip 2011

Dominican Republic Mission Trip 2011

Just a little background info before I get started--My family sponsors children through this organization (Children International) and they offer the sponsors to go visit their “children.” If you are interested in hearing more about this opportunity feel free to email me (: 

Last winter as I was sitting down with my family for dinner my parents broke some exciting news to my sisters and I. It is not what you would expect. No, they weren’t adopting a child. No, we would not be moving. No, someone had not died. Rather, they told us that they had officially booked a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. 

Most people wouldn’t understand why this was such a monumental moment in my life, but I am sure that if they were to go on the same trip as I did, they would feel the same way.

When the time came for us to leave, my whole family was more that ready to go. For me, I was ready to get out of Springfield, and enjoy my spring break but now looking back on that, I had made a quite naive assumption. 

On the trip I saw poor to a whole new level. I was lucky enough to be staying in a nice part of town, but the areas surrounding it where nothing like it. 

Every morning my dad and I would wake up and go for a run in down town Santo Domingo. I immediately learned that their “downtown” is nothing, and I mean nothing like our “downtown.” There is no such thing as driving lanes, stoplights, or certified cars. One of the taxis that we took had a shattered windshield, so destroyed that you could barely see out of the front. I was certainly confronted with a number of new experiences that made me adjust my regular comfort level. 

I learned how privileged I am.

I learned how so little can go such a long way.

I learned that neither wealth nor appearance defines a person.

I learned that no matter where you are, or what you have, who you are with is what matters most.

I learned that yes, people need help, but more than that, people need love. 

After being exposed to the needy in the Dominican Republic I realized how much I can help. Simply playing with the children on the playground made their day. Reading them a book made it that much better. I realized that I can use the talents that I have to help the needy and show them love. 


I have a great life. I live in America. It really can’t get better than that. I have a house, food to eat, and an education that is better than 99% of what the rest of the world is provided with. When I got home from the trip, it is safe to say that I never saw a hot shower, or a cooked meal, the same. I am treated like a queen in comparison to them. 

Spending time in the Dominican Republic showed me what I can do for others and how I can make an impact. Even though I am only a high school junior I would love to take a year off after college and go volunteer in a foreign country. Who knows if this will actually happen, but the trip certainly showed me how much I love interacting with people who need help. 

My parents gave me so much more than a trip. They gave me a new perspective to life.