This is the exterior of the Good Samaritan Hospital in La Romana. We are working on the fourth floor, which is under construction even as patients fill the first two floors.
Half the group went with the Good Samaritan Hospital work group. Many of those with us had been there 2 years ago and were amazed at how much construction had happened. The hospital waiting rooms were filled with people waiting for treatment. We worked on the 4th floor roof. The third floor is still concrete, but clerks were working on concrete blocks organizing patient records. In a corner room, the hospital laundry was in full throttle. The story of the hospital’s humble beginnings is a great one, but even more interesting are the stories of the many people whose lives are part of that history. During breaks, we learned the stories of our translators. In the evening sessions, we learned the stories of people whose lives are part of the ongoing mission: Fred, Christy, and the now deceased Pastor Phanord. It’s Monday night and we are sorting clothes, bagging pills for tomorrow’s clinic. As we head to bed, our minds are filled with the faces of the hundreds of people we have met, people like you and I, who God so loved.
Paul Bailey
Pastor
Eastwood Baptist
Syracuse
The contrast between the second floor and the third floor, still under construction at the hospital.
American Baptist Mission to La Romana 