Please Join Us in November

Interested in changing your life in ways you cannot even imagine? Join us on Givingthanks in the DR,  Village Church’s only all ages mission trip. This trip provides a life-changing opportunity to step outside of your comfort zone and experience the amazing beauty of God’s work in places where he/she is needed the most. Service activities include helping our Dominican partner organization, Fundacion Enciende Una Luz (Light A Candle Foundation or LAC), with health fair activities in batey sugarcane communities. 

Who Do We Serve & Where?
We serve Haitian sugarcane cutters and their families who live in remote “bateys”  outside of the city of La Romana. La Romana is the hub of the DR's sugarcane industry and also where we stay.
 
What Are “Bateys?”
Bateys are impoverished and remote villages (or shantytowns) that are owned by private sugar mill companies. They provide meager sub-standard “housing” (for lack of a better word) for the companies’ undocumented Haitian sugarcane cutters and their families. Haiti is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, so these folks have no better choice than to enter the DR for the readily available, dangerous and low paying sugarcane cutting jobs that Dominicans do not want. The men work 14+ hours a day without a break, six days a week chopping sugarcane with machetes and are paid approx. $2/day for this grueling and dangerous work. 

2021 Highlight Video by Autumn Sun, trip participant

2021 Day 2 Video by Fundacion Enciende Una Luz (Light A Candle Foundation - one of our Dominican partner orgs)

2021 Day 4 Video by Fundacion Enciende Una Luz (Light A Candle Foundation - one of our Dominican partner orgs)

2021 Day 1 Video by Fundacion Enciende Una Luz (Light A Candle Foundation - one of our Dominican partner orgs)

2021 Day 3 Video by Fundacion Enciende Una Luz (Light A Candle Foundation - one of our Dominican partner orgs)

2021 Final Night Beach Celebration

Trip info

• ​Trip Purpose & Who We Serve
• ​One-pager on what to know before you go & Hispanola quick history
• Light A Candle & VPC History​
• Light A Candle Instagram

From past participants

​​A life changing experience that I will cherish the rest of my life. The people in the Dominican Republic and VPC team were all truly amazing. Don't give it a second thought! Just go!

I really enjoyed interacting with the Dominican people and learning about their way of life. Being in the bateys for four days gave me a first-hand view of the daily tasks and challenges of the sugar cane workers and their families.

Don’t think about why you can’t – just go on Givingthanks and experience the people and culture of the Dominican Republic. We learned so much about generosity and hospitality from our Dominican partner organization, Fundación Enciende Una Luz (Light A Candle), and the people we met in the bateys. Regardless of your background, education or age, this trip has something for everyone. I promise this trip will change your life!

The Givingthanks trip was one of the best trips I have ever been on. We did so much in five days! Because I had already gone on two Youth Spring Break trips to the DR, I loved getting to see my Dominican friends again and to grow closer with the VPC people on the trip. Everybody needs to go on this trip. It does not matter who you are, this trip will change you.

Other Village service trips to the Dominican Republic

• Givingthanks: All-ages Health, Education & Medical: Lora Garrison, team leader
• Educational & Diabetes: Amy Christiansen, team leader
• Surgical, Medical & Health Education: Rita Luallin, team leader
• Tubal Ligation: Sarah Weekly, team leader
• Youth Spring Break Service Trip: Zach Walker, youth pastor/team leader

​About DRMP
Dominican Partners
Programs
Mission Trips
Media Library
​​Celebration Dominicana

Contact Us

Lora Garrison
Director of ​International Mission
913-671-2390​