How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it it written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good new!” Romans 10:14-15
God has called a team from Burry’s church to the Dominican Republic for the past 3 years. We feel blessed and honored to serve God in El Choco. Things usually remain the same there, everyone makes you feel so welcome, great hospitality from Dave and Yolanda, warm weather and always God’s presence.
Before leaving we spend a lot of time preparing, planning, and praying. We pray for the team to be like minded, that we would serve humbly and to always give God the glory.
One of our missions is giving pigs to people in need. We use this free gift that we want them to have as a segue to God’s free gift of salvation that He wants us all to have. Another mission we do is bringing medical supplies to the Monkey Jungle. They are a tourist attraction that bridges the gap between tourism and God. They use their proceeds to fund the free medical care they provide to the community in need.
While Dave and Yolanda’s house is remote, it is spacious and cozy. They are part of our team, working right alongside of us making sure our transportation, food, housing and all of our planned mission activities are organized and well panned out.
We have become very close with the local people and feel like they are family to us.
Each trip has been life changing for us. We pray that the gospel is spread not only throughout the El Choco area but around the world as well.
We can’t wait to see what God has planned for our next team as we hope to return to the Dominican Republic.
To God be the glory,
Burry’s church mission team
Yolanda and I spent the entire month of July 2024 in the DR. We brought in over 1000 glasses (mostly readers) without any issues from customs as we had let them know beforehand what we were doing and had addressed their concerns. During the month we gave out over 130 readers at 5 locations, and we donated over 700 to the Milton Moronta foundation as we did last year. Dr. Moronta said he had only about 20 glasses from the previous year, meaning he gave out over 900 since last year. This is a blessing for the poor in the DR as many cannot afford to buy glasses.
We gave out 36 bibles (Spanish and Creole) at various locations. We only have 4 left so this is a project we will want to continue in the upcoming year.
Loren S. came to our house for about one week and he helped with the distribution of glasses at churches plus he preached at 3 churches. He was even a guest on pastor Javier’s TV show. It was a blessing to have him with us on this trip.
Kathi Moore and her ministry team came for 5 days and she held a teaching conference at our place which was attended by local pastors and leaders. More came than what was expected and her message was very well received. She had planned to go to a church in Puerto Plata to present a message from God’s word there, but the heavy rains that day forced the event to be cancelled.
During this trip we saw our fair share of physical issues as well as spiritual attacks from the enemy. Yolanda fell twice and I picked up a stomach issue that persisted for the last 3 weeks of the trip. It certain seems like the physical issues and spiritual attacks were related. These appear to have been attempts to divide our team at various levels but thankfully the Lord helped us to re-focus and overcome these. In the end unity in love prevailed!
We were able to get many routine maintenance issues resolved despite me not being at 100%.
Our special thanks go to the following: those who financially donated to this trip (Tom and Cheryl B., Tim and Carol-Lynn D., and Claudia M.), Darla P. who donated 2 large bags of fabric for the sewing ministry there, Russ K. who has faithfully transported us to and from the airport over the years, Terry S. of Mission Vision who donated the glasses to us, and Jeff P. and Michael E. who looked after our house while we were away.
We look forward to see what God has in store for the next trip!
Our mission trip to the Dominican Republic in June 2023 was a blessing to all of us on the mission teams as well as those we were able to minister to. We experienced God working in many ways.
We brought in over 1,000 prescription and reader glasses (thanks to Mission Vision here in the USA). Although there was an issue with customs that delayed our receipt of the glasses, we received them with enough time to begin to give out to the poor. The issue with customs allowed us to meet an individual (Dr. Milton Moronta) who runs a foundation in the Dominican Republic that provides free health care to the poor, and thus began a relationship that we are certain will continue in the future. We gave him all of the prescription glasses and about one-half of the readers. In July he began the process of testing and giving out the prescription glasses.
Kathie Moore was the first to arrive and she preached two sermons on the book of Ephesians at a church in Puerto Plata, and also preached an encouraging message at a church in Veragua. She came with us on a trip to visit Dr. Milton Moronta at a local church near Puerto Plata where he was providing free medical health care and giving out some clothes to Haitian residents. Her grandson Cole came with her. He accepted Jesus as his savior during last year’s trip and his growth in the Lord was evident on this trip. Plans are in progress for a pastor’s conference (2-3 days) at our place next July 2024. We are hoping to get 50-100 to attend.
A team of 8 sponsored by Burrys Church stayed for a week, with 6 of those returning from the previous year. They continued building relationships with various people here (particularly with our workers) as well as the mission team and support staff. They ministered to a poor woman who goes to the Choco church by fixing damages to her house, including a new bathroom. Pigs were given out and a local student was given a motorcycle so that she can get to school. All of this was done taking the advisement of Pastor Javier, relying on him to provide the right recipients for the blessings. They conducted children’s ministry in two churches. They even sang a song in Spanish at the Choco church. They continued their ministry activities with a pastor who operates an orphanage, and also a Haitian man they have been led to support with their love. They found new ministries in the Monkey Jungle church, Freddy Casilla’s bible college in Puerto Plata, and perhaps the Milton Moronta foundation.
Their team was extremely love and relationship focused, and unity was on display. They used locals outside of their “team” in their mission. They were intentional about letting the locals do more of the administration of resources. Words cannot describe the impact on our workers and their family due to the love that has been shown them, and much of that comes from the Burrys team.
113 Spanish bibles and 29 Creole bibles were brought in or bought locally by us and Burrys team. 52 Spanish and 21 Creole bibles were given out during the time of the mission. The remaining bibles are available for distribution at a later time, under the supervision of Pastor Javier as needed. He has already given out several since we left.
We donated some fabric to Pastor Javier, given to us by a member of our church, to continue with his ministry which helps to empower locals to support themselves.
As is always the case, some maintenance on the house was done but thankfully it was much less critical than 2022. The largest expense was electrical repair of the worker’s house and the conference center. During the next trip we will need to consider repair or replacing the rolling steel garage door as it is broken. There is some minor electrical work that is needed as well. Our thanks go out to the Burrys supporters who provided funds toward maintenance. Also, a thanks to those on the Burrys team who helped with painting. We expect to continue painting next year.
We donated $2759 to various churches as well as to Freddy Casilla’s bible college, Milton Moronta foundation, and Pastor Quirico’s ministry.
Burrys church made significant donations to various people (as well as to us) during this trip.
Overall, the trip was an enriching Christ-centered experience where we were working in unity and love as we ministered to those in need in the Dominican Republic.
Yolanda and I spent essentially the entire month of June 2025 in the DR. We brought in over 1200 glasses (mostly readers) without any issues from customs as we had let them know beforehand what we were doing and had addressed their concerns. During the month we gave out about 100 readers at 4 locations, and we donated about 1000 to the Milton Moronta foundation as we did the previous years. Dr. Moronta expressed his thanks as he includes giving these out during his ministry events. This is a blessing for the poor in the DR as many cannot afford to buy glasses.
We purchased over $1500 worth of bibles (Spanish and Creole) and gave out over half of these at various locations. Pastor Javier has given out some additional ones since our trip and we will need to purchase more for the next trip.
Loren S. came to our house for about one week and he helped with the distribution of glasses and bibles at churches. It was a blessing to have him with us on this trip. Our special thanks go to the folks who stayed at our house to take care of us and help with mission activities: Pastor Javier and his wife Ayda, Elba our fantastic cook, and Alexis M., our granddaughter.
We were able to get many routine maintenance issues resolved since there were no mission teams present with us this year.
Much of the house was overdue for painting and we had to upgrade our water supply system. Please pray that mission teams would be interested in coming next year.
Our special thanks go to the following: those who financially donated to this trip (Tom and Cheryl B., Tim and Carol-Lynn D., Holly M., and Rich N.), Darla P. who donated bags of fabric for the sewing ministry there, Terry S. of Mission Vision who donated the glasses to us, and Jeff P. and Michael E. who looked after our house while we were away.
We look forward to see what God has in store for the next trip!
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it it written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good new!” Romans 10:14-15
God has called a team from Burry’s church to the Dominican Republic for the past 3 years. We feel blessed and honored to serve God in El Choco. Things usually remain the same there, everyone makes you feel so welcome, great hospitality from Dave and Yolanda, warm weather and always God’s presence.
Before leaving we spend a lot of time preparing, planning, and praying. We pray for the team to be like minded, that we would serve humbly and to always give God the glory.
One of our missions is giving pigs to people in need. We use this free gift that we want them to have as a segue to God’s free gift of salvation that He wants us all to have. Another mission we do is bringing medical supplies to the Monkey Jungle. They are a tourist attraction that bridges the gap between tourism and God. They use their proceeds to fund the free medical care they provide to the community in need.
While Dave and Yolanda’s house is remote, it is spacious and cozy. They are part of our team, working right alongside of us making sure our transportation, food, housing and all of our planned mission activities are organized and well panned out.
We have become very close with the local people and feel like they are family to us.
Each trip has been life changing for us. We pray that the gospel is spread not only throughout the El Choco area but around the world as well.
We can’t wait to see what God has planned for our next team as we hope to return to the Dominican Republic.
To God be the glory,
Burry’s church mission team
Yolanda and I spent the entire month of July 2024 in the DR. We brought in over 1000 glasses (mostly readers) without any issues from customs as we had let them know beforehand what we were doing and had addressed their concerns. During the month we gave out over 130 readers at 5 locations, and we donated over 700 to the Milton Moronta foundation as we did last year. Dr. Moronta said he had only about 20 glasses from the previous year, meaning he gave out over 900 since last year. This is a blessing for the poor in the DR as many cannot afford to buy glasses.
We gave out 36 bibles (Spanish and Creole) at various locations. We only have 4 left so this is a project we will want to continue in the upcoming year.
Loren S. came to our house for about one week and he helped with the distribution of glasses at churches plus he preached at 3 churches. He was even a guest on pastor Javier’s TV show. It was a blessing to have him with us on this trip.
Kathi Moore and her ministry team came for 5 days and she held a teaching conference at our place which was attended by local pastors and leaders. More came than what was expected and her message was very well received. She had planned to go to a church in Puerto Plata to present a message from God’s word there, but the heavy rains that day forced the event to be cancelled.
During this trip we saw our fair share of physical issues as well as spiritual attacks from the enemy. Yolanda fell twice and I picked up a stomach issue that persisted for the last 3 weeks of the trip. It certain seems like the physical issues and spiritual attacks were related. These appear to have been attempts to divide our team at various levels but thankfully the Lord helped us to re-focus and overcome these. In the end unity in love prevailed!
We were able to get many routine maintenance issues resolved despite me not being at 100%.
Our special thanks go to the following: those who financially donated to this trip (Tom and Cheryl B., Tim and Carol-Lynn D., and Claudia M.), Darla P. who donated 2 large bags of fabric for the sewing ministry there, Russ K. who has faithfully transported us to and from the airport over the years, Terry S. of Mission Vision who donated the glasses to us, and Jeff P. and Michael E. who looked after our house while we were away.
We look forward to see what God has in store for the next trip!
Our mission trip to the Dominican Republic in June 2023 was a blessing to all of us on the mission teams as well as those we were able to minister to. We experienced God working in many ways.
We brought in over 1,000 prescription and reader glasses (thanks to Mission Vision here in the USA). Although there was an issue with customs that delayed our receipt of the glasses, we received them with enough time to begin to give out to the poor. The issue with customs allowed us to meet an individual (Dr. Milton Moronta) who runs a foundation in the Dominican Republic that provides free health care to the poor, and thus began a relationship that we are certain will continue in the future. We gave him all of the prescription glasses and about one-half of the readers. In July he began the process of testing and giving out the prescription glasses.
Kathie Moore was the first to arrive and she preached two sermons on the book of Ephesians at a church in Puerto Plata, and also preached an encouraging message at a church in Veragua. She came with us on a trip to visit Dr. Milton Moronta at a local church near Puerto Plata where he was providing free medical health care and giving out some clothes to Haitian residents. Her grandson Cole came with her. He accepted Jesus as his savior during last year’s trip and his growth in the Lord was evident on this trip. Plans are in progress for a pastor’s conference (2-3 days) at our place next July 2024. We are hoping to get 50-100 to attend.
A team of 8 sponsored by Burrys Church stayed for a week, with 6 of those returning from the previous year. They continued building relationships with various people here (particularly with our workers) as well as the mission team and support staff. They ministered to a poor woman who goes to the Choco church by fixing damages to her house, including a new bathroom. Pigs were given out and a local student was given a motorcycle so that she can get to school. All of this was done taking the advisement of Pastor Javier, relying on him to provide the right recipients for the blessings. They conducted children’s ministry in two churches. They even sang a song in Spanish at the Choco church. They continued their ministry activities with a pastor who operates an orphanage, and also a Haitian man they have been led to support with their love. They found new ministries in the Monkey Jungle church, Freddy Casilla’s bible college in Puerto Plata, and perhaps the Milton Moronta foundation.
Their team was extremely love and relationship focused, and unity was on display. They used locals outside of their “team” in their mission. They were intentional about letting the locals do more of the administration of resources. Words cannot describe the impact on our workers and their family due to the love that has been shown them, and much of that comes from the Burrys team.
113 Spanish bibles and 29 Creole bibles were brought in or bought locally by us and Burrys team. 52 Spanish and 21 Creole bibles were given out during the time of the mission. The remaining bibles are available for distribution at a later time, under the supervision of Pastor Javier as needed. He has already given out several since we left.
We donated some fabric to Pastor Javier, given to us by a member of our church, to continue with his ministry which helps to empower locals to support themselves.
As is always the case, some maintenance on the house was done but thankfully it was much less critical than 2022. The largest expense was electrical repair of the worker’s house and the conference center. During the next trip we will need to consider repair or replacing the rolling steel garage door as it is broken. There is some minor electrical work that is needed as well. Our thanks go out to the Burrys supporters who provided funds toward maintenance. Also, a thanks to those on the Burrys team who helped with painting. We expect to continue painting next year.
We donated $2759 to various churches as well as to Freddy Casilla’s bible college, Milton Moronta foundation, and Pastor Quirico’s ministry.
Burrys church made significant donations to various people (as well as to us) during this trip.
Overall, the trip was an enriching Christ-centered experience where we were working in unity and love as we ministered to those in need in the Dominican Republic.
Yolanda and I spent essentially the entire month of June 2025 in the DR. We brought in over 1200 glasses (mostly readers) without any issues from customs as we had let them know beforehand what we were doing and had addressed their concerns. During the month we gave out about 100 readers at 4 locations, and we donated about 1000 to the Milton Moronta foundation as we did the previous years. Dr. Moronta expressed his thanks as he includes giving these out during his ministry events. This is a blessing for the poor in the DR as many cannot afford to buy glasses.
We purchased over $1500 worth of bibles (Spanish and Creole) and gave out over half of these at various locations. Pastor Javier has given out some additional ones since our trip and we will need to purchase more for the next trip.
Loren S. came to our house for about one week and he helped with the distribution of glasses and bibles at churches. It was a blessing to have him with us on this trip. Our special thanks go to the folks who stayed at our house to take care of us and help with mission activities: Pastor Javier and his wife Ayda, Elba our fantastic cook, and Alexis M., our granddaughter.
We were able to get many routine maintenance issues resolved since there were no mission teams present with us this year.
Much of the house was overdue for painting and we had to upgrade our water supply system. Please pray that mission teams would be interested in coming next year.
Our special thanks go to the following: those who financially donated to this trip (Tom and Cheryl B., Tim and Carol-Lynn D., Holly M., and Rich N.), Darla P. who donated bags of fabric for the sewing ministry there, Terry S. of Mission Vision who donated the glasses to us, and Jeff P. and Michael E. who looked after our house while we were away.
We look forward to see what God has in store for the next trip!