16 yr. girl, helping build church in L.R, D.R.

First Baptist Church Wallingford, CT

I found the following post in one of their web sites, from their 2005 visit.

(no comments)


Toni is a simple, illiterate Haitian man living on Batey Solano in the Dominican Republic. This remote sugar cane village is close to one hour away from La Romana, and is a few miles past Batey Lima.

As are all of the bateyes, this village is extremely poor. When our medical and evangelism team arrived on a Thursday morning, we learned that there were no churches to be found in the village. Not five minutes after we disembarked from the school bus, a large crowd gathered around Pastor Lubin as he shared with the people about the love Jesus has for them. Using a bullhorn we brought with us from the US, Pastor Lubin and Alex from the La Romana church (who translated the Creole into Spanish), led 75 people to faith in the Lord.

Later that day, around lunch time, a small group of us were out in the batey and spotted a large flag displayed over a small shack. It was multi-colored and not anything I had ever seen before. It was explained to us that his was the flag of the Voodoo religion, and it let the villagers know where they could go to pay for their "voodoo needs."

Now I know voodoo in the US is kind of a joke and not taken seriously. I certainly haven't seen it here at home and I can say that even during all of my times in the DR over the last 14 years I have never encountered voodoo or ever even noticed it. But to our Haitian friends it is a big deal, a false religion that worships "the god under the sea" and deceives people with charms, false promises, and evil.

As our small group was working its way back to the school bus for lunch, we ran into Toni, the voodoo priest in that village and a man feared by many. Villagers paid him to ward off sicknesses and curses, find lost items, and other voodoo activities. As Pastor Lubin started talking to him, Toni seemed embarrassed and awkward. This was only the beginning of what would become a life-changing experience for him.

Our group followed Lubin and Toni to the voodoo temple area, a series of benches underneath a huge Mapoo tree that had various voodoo symbols hanging from it (the skull of an ox, machete's, even a cross with red paint on it). There Pastor Lubin spoke tenderly to Toni about his need for Jesus in his life. Toni seemed genuinely moved, but also seemed troubled. Lubin translated and explained to us that Toni admitted he was lying to the people in the village and wanted to change his life, but voodoo was his livelihood. He had no other means of support.

Another 20 or 30 minutes passed, and as if a light bulb went off, Toni decided this was the time to accept Christ into his life. There he kneeled on the ground in the middle of the voodoo temple, and with Pastors Lubin and Bill praying, accepted Jesus as his personal Savior. People in the village, afraid of this voodoo priest, were apprehensively peeking around corners of the shacks to see what was happening.

Then an amazing thing happened, and if I hadn't been there, I wouldn't have believed it. As this man who "worshiped the god under the sea" was asking Jesus into his heart, the wind picked up and the clouds opened up with a heavy rain. A white horse tethered several feet away whinnied and fought against the rope. A large pig tied to a tree behind us suddenly began jumping, snorting and fussing. It was a "Biblical" moment.

When finished praying, Toni rose from his knees and in a wonderful symbol of his life, took down the voodoo flag flying over his house. He then removed the paraphernalia from the tree, and began bringing out all of the voodoo items from his house. This meant literally 90% of his personal possessions - alcohol bottles with snakes inside of them, a syringe, a cup full of animal blood, various crucifixes and other symbols of Christianity, etc. These items, along with the voodoo flag, were put in a pile on two tables underneath the tree. Toni then poured kerosene on the items, and with one match, his old life as a follower of voodoo was being destroyed.

In a display of the new order on Batey Solona, people from the village now filled the former voodoo temple. But they were there for a different purpose. Those who could read sat on the benches and read from the Gospels to new Christians and curious onlookers. The entire batey was changing before our very eyes.

The next day, our team brought several items out to Toni to help him in his new life. A new formica table was given to replace those burned with the voodoo items; fresh paint was applied to his walls to remove all symbols of a past life; 100 pounds of rice and beans with a scale and ziplock bags to provide Toni with a new business to support himself; and a radio so he could listen to Christian radio stations.

The church in La Romana also has committed to the "new life" on Batey Solona. They are traveling out to the village each Sunday afternoon to hold worship services. And Lord willing, our group will take part in helping to build a church for this batey during our mission trip in 2005.

http://www.fbcwlfd.org/DR2004/main.html

I am personally going through some trials and tribulations regarding some one I deeply care about who is not Christian. Miradors posting has consoled me. But my concern is that people's hearts have to be ready to listen to the message. It cannot be imposed.

I'm not a religious man and I don't mean to offend the evangelicals among us, BUT with a hundred pounds of rice AND beans, PLUS a scale AND some ziploc bags, I imagine I could have the entire village singing Danny Boy in a few hours.

Well I dont mind offending the evangelical among us. What rot. These people know nothing of vod?, its venerable history or cultural meanings. And with their silly "biblical" moment they just substituted their own superstitions for what they perceive to be a set of superstitious beliefs they never even bother to try and understand. And Charity!? One hundred pounds of rice? You kidding me? That is nothing. Oh, the radio is a nice touch . If Toni is smart he will turn the tables on these fools eventually. Meantime the "new order" is not so generous or progressive as it sounds. Ever listen to what these evangelicals preach or to their solutions for the bateyeros? Pure cant.

Deelt, I will let Mirador speak for himself, but I am not so sure he meant his posting as a consolation to those of you struggling with your non-christian friends. oh well, Irony is lost on the saved. But you know what, that is precisely the opposite of what Christ intended. What was the problem with the Pharisees, why did he take them to task and test their understanding through parable? Because they had lost the power to understand metaphor, to interpret scripture with a sense of irony and paradox. At least vod? has a healthy sense of the multifariousness of meaning and truth.

macocael, please do relate what you've heard these groups say to the people in the bateyes. I've heard what they say to people in poor urban barrios and it's shocking.

How someone can visit a batey and conclude that of all things a church is what the people there need, escapes me completely. But then, I'm just a godless heathen.

I dont think I can actually reply and keep my temper in control. There are missionaries here doing good work, I admit, but this group is not one of them. When all is said and done, I prefer the Catholic sisters -- they do real work in the bateys, they construct clinics, they see to the earthly needs of the people and they dont proselytize as much as the evangelicals. There are groups in La Romana and San Pedro, and I have visited their facilities and have been satisfied as to their priorities and their practices. I object to people who demand one's soul in fealty as the price of a hundred pounds of rice. They have no understanding of the bateyeros, no understanding of the culture, and no esteem. Their view is patronizing to say the least -- there is only one truth, the truth they bring to the unenlightened bateyeros. There is no dignity here, they take these abused, beaten down people and turn them into sheep. This is what Marx meant by Opiate of the people.

I am in fact a religious man, but I hate seeing religious thought degraded like this. Melanie I am sure is a well meaning kid as you say kingofdice, and frankly I dont think that really matters. Good intentions do not excuse peremptory acts of censorious judgment. As Freud pointed out, idealism has caused more harm to innocent people than outright evil. Melanie is just trying to do some good according to her lights, and I wish her well, but I wish she would learn to communicate better with these people and try to see the world from their point of view, instead of assuming that their culture is all wrong and needs to be replaced with something imported by a people whose interpretation of God and his works is a very very narrow one indeed.

Instead of building a church, why dont they think about bringing some kind of economic activity to the batey, find ways to employ these people? As one woman from batey la Valsa once said to me, "you know what our greatest illness is, do you??? It is lack of work!!!!" Truer words were never said. They dont lack God. God is with them. They lack work. Build a damn Factory!

k1w1 said:

Jaaaaeeeeeeeeezus save us! HAHAHAHA somebody get me a bucket!!
oooohhhhhh the voodooo's gonna get ya!

pathetic jesus mumbo jumbo. Burn 'em all ... bible / qoran / tanakh / voodoo manual

Heysuice can suck my weener!!!

(any questions how this heathen feels about it?) Jesus Wept

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Gee, I wonder why these threads that get on the topic of religion get shut down (closed) so fast. Can you refrain from posting this garbage, keep it to yourself, and possibly respect the OP and his intentions enough not to post it again here?

k1w1 said:

Jaaaaeeeeeeeeezus save us! HAHAHAHA somebody get me a bucket!!
oooohhhhhh the voodooo's gonna get ya!

pathetic jesus mumbo jumbo. Burn 'em all ... bible / qoran / tanakh / voodoo manual

Heysuice can suck my weener!!!

(any questions how this heathen feels about it?) Jesus Wept

Click to expand...

Puerile, was this childish drivel necessary?

Whoever monitors this thread needs to do so.

Shame, because it discredits legitimate questioning of the activities of these cults, and prevents intelligent debate about the subject.

Chirimoya said:

Shame, because it discredits legitimate questioning of the activities of these cults, and prevents intelligent debate about the subject.

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I completely and totally agree with you. While I do believe in God, I don't believe in church, and wish these religious groups would find better ways of using the funds they generally extort. They've seen what is needed in these and other villages, so one really needs to question their motives (which is a joke in itself) here. That being said, my beliefs have nothing to do with the OP's intentions, and I believe his intentions are good. I haven't yet read Mirador's post, but I will find time to later, because I can always make time for Mirador's posts - I think we'd be banging our heads to argue religion any further, so it's probably best in these cases to stick to the OP subject.

k1w1 said:

Jaaaaeeeeeeeeezus save us! HAHAHAHA somebody get me a bucket!!
oooohhhhhh the voodooo's gonna get ya!

pathetic jesus mumbo jumbo. Burn 'em all ... bible / qoran / tanakh / voodoo manual

Heysuice can suck my weener!!!

(any questions how this heathen feels about it?) Jesus Wept

Click to expand...

That's a real childish response.

The OP and the young woman's good intentions are not being questioned.

I only wish that this desire to improve the lives of batey dwellers and poor humans in general would be channelled into something that really makes a difference, as macocael pointed out. It's not as if there aren't any organisations out there doing really good, sustainable development and lobbying work - they're the ones people could be supporting, either by donations or voluntary work.

Many of these religious groups are reversing these communities' development potential by transmitting a message that poor people should accept their lot, and that their reward will come in the afterlife. People are not encouraged or helped to challenge injustices, or work to improve their lives.

The handouts they receive reinforces their helplessness and passivity and stunts their motivation to overcome poverty through their own efforts.

Women are told they must not use any sort of contraception, not even 'safe period' abstinence. In that sense even the Catholic church is more progressive and pragmatic. Women are also told they should remain in marriages even if their partners are abusive.

None of this is condusive to development or overcoming poverty.

It can only leads to the belief that these church groups have some sort of agenda that involves preserving the unjust status quo.

Excellent post, Chiri. I like the way you think.

Believe me, in the bateys the Catholics are much in advance of these evangelical groups. There are two groups that i know of in the East that are doing marvelous work, with practical ends in mind. They understand the population they serve much better. The ideology of these other groups is inhibitive, counter-productive, and often just feckless, because it comes out of a context that is wholly irrelevant to this particular situation, that is, the situation of the bateys.

I shouldnt blow my top, but I have seen these kinds of intervention here and elsewhere, and I have just gotten a bit tired of it all. Good intentions, frankly, dont count for much in this world if they are not backed up by rational action and knowledgeable handling of the situation. In fact, I would go so far as to say that good intentions coupled with ignorance can lead to disaster.

You want to make a difference in this world,then do your homework, learn about the people among whom you are working, learn their language, respect their values and their culture, appraise the situation properly.

Like I said, the bateyeros dont lack for God; they lack dignified work.

You know the old saw: give a man a fish and he eats for a day; teach him to fish, and he feeds himself thereafter. Well in this case, we need to teach but we also need to provide the materials whereby these people can lead productive lives. This is an enormous undertaking, and frankly none of the NGOs working there now have managed to do this. Finally, we need to integrate them into the mainstream, instead of perpetuating their isolation.

Anyone Wonder Why We Don't Accept "Religious" Posts?

Thanks to all who contributed!
K1W1,I do think that you went "over-The-Line"! Makes me wonder what you were thinking,or maybe "Drinking"! No need to condem the "Faith" of anyone,better to just be mute! I don't want to be near you when "God" strikes you dead.I think you may have PI$$ED Her off!

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CLOSED!