Meet the Crew
There are 9 people on the work crew this year.  When we get down to the DR on Saturday we will take a group picture and post hit here.

This year it's Paul Burns and Darryl Neff as the rookies.  Ad Boyer, Fred Bromm, Bob & Carol Light, Mark Schuster, Joe Stiles, and Gene Greiner make up the veteran contingent.

You may see some jokes, humorous pictures, and general goofiness at times on this site.  What we're really about is soli deo gloria.  Those words make up a Latin phrase that comes out of the Protestant Reformation and stand for "to the glory of God alone."  The reformers were careful to make God's glory the primary motivation for anything they did.  We are going down to the Dominican Republic for many reasons.  It encourages our missionaries.  It builds friendships.  We will laugh from the time we get on the airplane until the time we leave.  And yes, we will even build a building for the people of the community.  But our primary motivation is always to love God and give Him all the glory due Him by being obedient to Him.

Maybe you are scanning this site because you know someone who is down in the DR serving or maybe you're just surfing the web to see what this is all about.  Whatever the reason, can you say that you are motivated by a love for God and a desire to give Him the glory? That's why He created us, you know.  If you cannot say that then you are not a Christian.  What is a Christian?  How do you make God's glory your motivation?  It's by obeying the Gospel.  

The Gospel is the good news that all mankind are sinners and separated from a Holy and Just God.  Does that seem "good"?  Read on....  But God did not leave us in that condition.  He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to live the perfect life that sinners could not live, pay the penalty for the sin that sinners could not pay, and ransom lost sinners from the slavery of sin.  That is good news!  Because we can't save ourselves, God steps in and saves us!
Think about it.  Obey God's command...that is to repent of your sins and ask God to forgive you.  There is no sin that He can't forgive and no sinner He can't save.  Just look at me...I'm living proof!

Crew Lingo:

We don't want anyone to feel left our and not be able to share in the fun down here, so there are a few things you should know to be able to communicate with anyone who has been on one of these DR work trips.

1) Comrades:        What one crew member calls another...usually prefaced with "Dominican".

2)  "The Missionary":         This really is an affectionate name for our host, Richie.  It is also a universal word.  It can be a proper name or adjective.  It can even be an excuse - which is its most popular use.  For example - "I can't lift that.  I'm the missionary." or "It's not my fault.  I'm the missionary."  You get my meaning.

3) Mud:         This has nothing to do with dirt other than it's made on top of the dirt (or pavement or stones or any other surface we can find).  In the DR, most concrete is mixed by hand, with shovels, and on the ground.  We've given you a little demo at the bottom.  Just click on the video as it's worth about 157.32578 words.  NOTE:  See the official looking guy in the background?  Yes, even in the DR the supervisor wears a white hat!

4) pollo:         A  little Spanish lingo, there.  This is actually the primary food group pursued while in the DR, with pork as a close second.  The eating of pollo is not done with forks, spoons, or any type of utensil other than those 10 which God created us with.  The amount of pollo is not counted in pieces but in whole birds.  Unidentified sources have claimed that the ability to eat a minimum of 1 whole pollo solo is required to be a part of the crew.

5) "How are you doing, my friend?!?!?"          Standard greeting from one comrade to another.  Must be done at an audible level at least a few notches above any surrounding noises and with one hand extended straight up in a "high five" manner.  The voice inflections are difficult, so we've added some audio to help:


6) "How are you doing, y'all?!?!?!"          Greeting slightly modified to be culturally sensitive to our comrades who are originally from south of the border.



 







Click here if the video will not play.