In 2006 my wife and I went on a sponsor tour to the Dominican Republic. Before our trip, we thought we knew what Compassion did, but our understanding of the ministry fell far short of what we saw.

When I came home from that trip, I signed up to be a volunteer child advocate. I made coffee mugs with photos of my sponsored children on them, and I spoke of the kids often.

“Hey Patterson, you know those kids that you’re so fond of? ”

“Yeah, Norm.”

“I think we should sponsor one of those kids as a shift.”

I explained to Norm that a typical child sponsorship is under $40, but then I told him about the Leadership Development Program. I suggested that if we were able to get 12 firefighters together, we could sponsor a Leadership Development Program student and it would cost only $25 per person each month. (more…)

Gualey, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Like in any place where drug smuggling is done, a strong clandestine support structure is needed. A list of packers, sellers, messengers, gunmen, guards, lawyers, policemen, drug-storage-home owners and front men are supposedly kept on payrolls, and the financial benefits are still enough to make the capos richer.

Gualey is no exception.

“Drug trafficking is a very strange behavior,” says Pastor Rodríguez of the Church of God of Gualey. “I’ve stayed worshiping over night at the church and seen the vehicles enter the community and leave. You can see the moves.”

(more…)