Dear beloved sisters and brothers in Christ,

Some years ago in the Dominican Republic, a boy was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. He said, “A driver.” Drivers have their own truck. They make money carrying carloads of people over the rutted roads between villages and, on special occasions, to the city of San Juan de la Maguana. A driver was an important person.

When you ask the village children today what they want to be when they grow up, they have a different answer. They say, “Doctor” or “Engineer” or “Teacher.” 

What changed?

Since 1983, our Diocese of Orlando has been sending people and money and resources to our Sister Diocese in the western mountains of the Dominican Republic.

We have built four elementary schools: Centro San Pablo, Centro Sagrada Familia, Nuestra Senora de Altagracia, and Centro San Francisco de Asis (now closed). I am especially proud of the five-room San Maximilian Kolbe Middle School built in 2010 at the cost $21,000, about the cost of a Toyota Camry.

These schools are ranked 66 out of 5,515 schools in the Dominican Republic. The 420 students receive top notch education. We sponsor dozens of students to attend a boarding high school. Plans are in the works for vocational training.

Girls have a future other than becoming pregnant in their young teens and working the fields. Boys have a future other than becoming a driver. They can take good jobs that give back to their community. They can raise their families from poverty.

A sweat equity program similar to Habitat for Humanity has built hundreds of simple block houses with indoor plumbing and a concrete floor instead of dirt floor. A few even have solar panels for electricity.

We subsidize home water filters made of two two-liter plastic bottles joined with a carbon filter that provides clean drinking water without parasites. Over 30,000 water filters have made a real difference. The children are no longer plagued with chronic diarrhea that affects nutrition and brain development.

There are two ways of doing missionary work.

Some give to the Missions by going. Katie Seymour, a member of Nativity, has visited the villages of the Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana. She will be at all the Nativity Masses this weekend of September 24-25 to tell us about the faith and life of the people. She will dive deeper into our mission work with a special presentation from 10:15-11:15 a.m. Sunday September 25 in the overflow room in the church.

Others go to the Missions by giving. Every year, all Catholics in the Diocese of Orlando have the opportunity to financially support our work in our Sister Diocese.

Look for the special Sister Diocese envelope in your October envelopes. Bring it to Mass this weekend. Or give online securely at nativity.org/giveonline. 

For my birthday this Sunday, the best present would be funds for our Sister Diocese. Nativity normally collects $8,000 to $12,000. Why not $21,000? It has been done before.

In Christ,

Father David