Team 2 has returned from a one-week mission trip to the Dominican Republic. The team of 17 members included 11 youth and adult participants from St. John's Church and School, as well as leader, Bill Hardy, who now lives in Bradenton, but has been an integral part of the Tampa Deanery mission project since the very beginning. It was Bill, Henry Woodroffe (this year a Team 1 member), and Sally Thompson who participated in the first trip by St. John's to Puerta Plata in 1999, a trip that was led by Deacon Bev and Pam Shives. The following year was the initiation of the Tampa Deanery Project.  With the conclusion of this year's trips, the Tampa Deanery will have made 15 summer trips with 3-4 teams.

After being greeted at the airport by Leland Baldwin and Miranda Harrison-Quillin (who, with Leland's son Baldwin Barnes, arrived earlier that day), Bill Kunkle (Executive Director, Dominican Development Group) and Karen Carroll, missionary in the DR, the group reunited with last year's driver, Michel, and headed to the Kellogg Center in San Pedro de Macorís, their home for the week. On the first Sunday, the group attended open air services, as the new sanctuary of Santa Cruz Episcopal Church in Santa Fe is under construction. The youth attended Sunday school with the Dominican youth and Father Felix invited Miranda to participate in the Dominican service. Birthday blessings included Bill Hardy, Gwen Connery, and Bradley French. After the services, helpfully translated by SAMS* missionary Cathy Donohoe, the group visited the construction site with Father Felix to see what their work for the week would be. However, they were also able to visit the local historic caves, go to the beach, and visit the Old City of Santo Domingo to learn some Dominican history.

They spent the week painting, cleaning, scrubbing, and scraping and with team work accomplished quite a lot. Every morning began with Daily Devotions in both Spanish and English with their Dominican friends. (St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Venice, FL, provided the booklets again this year.) The first floor interior has now at least one coat of paint, and the outside is mostly painted. Loads of debris were collected and carted into a far corner on the property. They worked side by side with our Dominican brothers and sisters. The youth, both US and Dominican, were able to forge relationships, even with the language barriers. Lunch was provided at the Santa Cruz Episcopal School across the street, with time for friendly games of basketball with youth and some adults.

After long work days, the missioners returned to the Kellogg Center for dinner cooked by the Dominicans, followed by recaps of the day, and evening devotions and sharing. These sessions were led by Leland with Miranda's help. Then it would be off to the "Malecon," a promenade by the Caribbean Sea for ice cream. On the last work day, presents were taken to a nearby orphanage visited by previous teams, and used vestments were contributed to the Dominican church.

This year most of the group attended outdoor church services on the second Sunday, so they were able to greet Team 3, and show them the work that they had completed. Bill Kunkle also attended, and complimented the group on how much had been accomplished. The group returned home Sunday night. 

The 2015 Tampa Deanery trip may be back to Santa Fe because there are still many more tasks to be accomplished. Visit our St. John's Facebook page or the Dominican Development Group page for more photos!

Participants from St. John's Church and School:

Team 1: Henry Woodroffe 

Team 2: Bill Hardy. Team Leader (formerly from St. John's), Sally Thompson, Carol Ihrig, Miranda Harrison-Quillin, Leland Baldwin and son Baldwin Barnes, Gwen Connery with sons Jake and Will, and youth Meg Courtney, Bradley French, and Michael Lennartz