May 2017: ¡Saludos de la República Dominicana!
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in…” Matthew 25:35
Greetings from the Dominican Republic! Global Ministries’ partner, Servicios Sociales de Iglesias Dominicanas (SSID) has been working in the Dominican Republic since 1962. Now with programs and initiatives in Haiti, communities throughout all of Hispaniola benefit from the ministry of SSID. With a team of regional and local leaders, SSID fulfills the biblical call to care for the poorest of the poor. SSID recognizes the need to fulfill God’s desire to care for one another.
The most recent program of SSID was a training workshop called “Celebrating the Family.” The aim of this workshop is to create space for attendants to address their individual and familial needs as well as think about the future in some capacity.
This dream of the future proves difficult when many basic needs remain unmet. A repeated phrase throughout the workshop was, “You can’t hear your thoughts if your stomach is screaming.” Meaning, it is difficult to ask families to dream of their future when they do not know if they will eat today. There is both a mandate from scripture and a daily call to tend to the deepest and most immediate needs of our neighbors. This reality grounds the work of SSID.
From local connections to international relationships, SSID has a balanced approach to meeting the world heart-forward. There is no compromising the gospel message for the sake of individual or bureaucratic gain. As political tensions rise around the world, it is ever more important to stay rooted in the power of community. Please join in praying for our roots – those that nourish us most immediately, and those that connect us to our brothers and sisters around the world.
Toni Reynolds serves with the Servicio Social de Iglesias Dominicanas (SSID) in the Dominican Republic. She serves as an assistant for program coordination. Her appointment is supported by Week of Compassion.