The Dominican Republic is an island of contrasts where rocky cliffs and mountain ranges tower to the highest peak, and valleys fall to the lowest-lying point in the Caribbean. It is a land that spreads from rain forests and fertile valleys to cacti-strewn desert regions.

The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. It is slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire and it lies between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic.

For seven long years, members of the Cienega church in Barahona, Dominican Republic, prayed and collected money with hopes of someday having a church of their own. Nevada-Utah Conference youth leaders were notified of the need and 60 youth and 20 chaperones responded to the call for volunteers to go on a 10-day church-building mission trip.

The night before construction began, the unthinkable happened when the treasurer of the Cienega church died of a gunshot wound in an altercation between police and military personnel. “This incident scared, but at the same time motivated, our construction crew,” reported Jonn Jordana, Salt Lake City area youth federation president.

The church was completed with the exception of the roof, which the local conference president, Saulo Vizcaino, vowed to have finished this year. The group’s efforts were not limited to building a church, though.

In addition to the construction crew, there was a medical team and an evangelistic team. While the construction crew built the church, the medical team treated patients late into the evening until every person seeking medical attention was seen. “We were 'healing' the sick just like Jesus would,” said Pam Lomeli, volunteer nurse from the Ogden, Utah, church.

The evangelistic team was also keeping busy. Each day there was street evangelism and vacation Bible school programs offered at six different churches. “We met with gang leaders and prostitutes. We wanted to share God’s Word with everyone we could,” explained Jordana.

There were also evangelistic meetings held simultaneously in three different locations each evening. There were 11 baptisms and more than 50 people made decisions for Christ. “I held nine meetings and people made decisions for Christ during this short period of time,” reported Sparks, Nev., Pastor Kingsley Palmer. “It was overwhelming seeing the Holy Spirit work in these people’s lives.”