Zach's first trip outside the US/Canada was to the Dominican Republic during his first year at Calvin Seminary to work on a building project for a church damaged in one of the hurricanes that often hit the island. While there, Zach met Haitians living in the "batays" or sugar-cane plantations. These Haitians were the underclass of Dominican society--without immigration status or legal rights--they were forced to live and work in the cane fields for nearly nothing. Those of us who know anything about the island of Hispaniola have heard that Haitians are generally treated as second-class citizens in the Dominican Republic. However, a few weeks ago, Zach saw with his own eyes how the Gospel is changing this perception. Pastor Camelus Anger (the "g" in "Anger" is pronounced the same way as the "g" in "giraffe," NOT "g" as in "gaffe"), a pastor in the CRC of Haiti, has built a relationship with a pastor from an international Baptist church in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Zach participated in a worship service which was the dedication of church (see top) built with the assistance of the Domincan Baptist church. Zach was shocked to see a bus full of Dominicans, about 25 in all, debark and start shaking hands, hugging and laughing with the Haitians in attendence at the church. The service was a celebration of how God is removing the "dividing wall of hostility" between Domincans and Haitians (Eph. 2:18) who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This experience was a tremendous encouragement to us and a demonstration of how powerful the Gospel is to change the hearts and lives of us all. We pray that the new church at its pastor, Dieuseul Lacroix (pictured above standing next to the pastor of the Domincan Baptist Church).
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