Trip to waterfalls

Had a fun day visiting the waterfalls in Bonao and a great dinner at Giovanni's and Kim's

Past halfway point of mission

Another beautiful day to work. 3 more construction days. It's going up and looking beautiful

Sabbath

Grand opening service today. The church is beautiful.  We finished the side walls.

Dental clinic

The dental clinic is amazing. 120 patients served  in the first two days!

Day 1....... Travel day

Surprises........

I'm not a fan of surprises. Whether it's a birthday celebration, a present, a meal or a day out. I'm just worried that people won't get it right. I'm not saying I haven't had some good 'not-Shannon-planned' times that have turned out to be OK......what i am saying however, is that if I had planned them they would have potentially been better. I'm usually quite good at staying away from being surprised. Nevertheless every now and again I am left in awe.

God being the kind of Being He is, does not take heed of my surprise preferences. Instead He seems to take great pride in showing me that He is the best when it comes to surprising me because he knows me better than I know myself.

So this trip was one of His 'Shannon surprise' moments.
I tried to know as much about my 'surprise' as I could but only the necessities were shared. I even went online to check out the reviews but they just made me think I was making a mistake in believing that this could be a good idea.
I only had three weeks between the opportunity being presented to me and the flight date so naturally..... I began to worry.

Am I making the right decision?
Will they allow me to have the time off work?
Will I find a cheap enough flight that will not cause to many problems?
Will I have enough time to gets all my things ready?
When I get there, will the food be nice, will the people be friendly, will the hotel be clean, will my clothes be suitable?
The list could sadly went on and on.
(I realised that I worry about every surprise and because I don't like worrying I naturally don't like surprises)

Now that I'm here....
Once again I've been shown that worrying is a waste of time. It doesn't help my situation in any way.

I've concluded that I usually worry about things that are out of my control and since I have no way of controlling them there's just no point worrying

I've arrived after getting the unexpected time off work, finding a reasonably priced flight and having forgotten my scarf. The food is fantastic and so are all the people. The hotel is clean and my clothes are fine.

I'm learning that I need to take God seriously...... When He says trust me I need to do just that as He knows what makes me content ; -)

Lesson #1
Be anxious for nothing x

Tres ojos

A fun day today with the church and a visit to Tres Ojos. Cool cave and lakes

Day 1

We had a great first day. The weather was nice and we finished almost 3 courses. The dental crew was amazing too. 50 patients on day 1

The great weigh-in

Weighed and measured all the bags and it looks good. Looks like everyone was good about not overpacking. Here we go. Safe journeys to everyone.  See you in DR!

Kylee Wong

Hello everyone, 

My name is Kylee Wong (I am the one on the right) and I will be one of the many youth attending this mission trip. I will be doing a vlog throughout this trip, so don't be camera shy! I'm willing to take vlogging advice from anyone; as I am new to this. I'm very excited for this mission trip, and I hope you guys are just as excited as I am. 

Roselyn Reyna

Hello everyone!

My name is Roselyn and i will be working with the dental and VBS teams. 

I attend Southern Adventist University and graduate with my nursing degree in December. I am originally from south Texas, about 10 mins from the Mexico border to be exact. I am beyond excited to meet new faces and grow in ministry with all of you! In this picture is my father and I. He is a huge reason why ministry is so important to me. 

Denise Cabanez

Hi I'm Denise, I'm helping in Construction and VBS. I'm 16 y/o, and love taking photos. This is my first mission trip and very excited for what awaits me in DR. In any way possible i am willing to help with. I look forward to meeting the rest of you! 

Beverly Snyder

I moved to Vallejo with my sister 5 years ago and now I am her principal caregiver.  Maranatha trip already scheduled for July so I am going with my friend, Nimfa, for the first time on a mission trip.  I like the idea of visiting the Carribean and helping out on the cook crew. God bless!

Nimfa Jimenez, Volunteer Cook

Praise the Lord as this will be my 3rd mission trip with the Vallejo Central SDA Church, but first with my beloved sister-in-Christ, Bev Snyder. I'm looking forward to take part in building a church in the Dominican Republic through Maranatha, spreading God's Word and enjoying His creation in that part of the world. Abundant blessings to all! From one of God's servant, Nimfa

Mel and Jessica Quiba , Dental Team

Hello, We are Mel and Jessica Quiba. We are both General Dentists in Benicia CA. We've been practicing for over 25 years. We are in the Vallejo Central SDA group. This is our third mission trip and we're excited and looking forward to providing dental services in the Dominican Republic. We think this is a great opportunity and blessing to serve others.

Kim Haas, Maranatha Project Coordinator

Hi Everyone!  I work for Maranatha Volunteers International!  I have been helping group leaders plan their Maranatha mission trips for over 5 years. I am blessed to have the privilege to serve God in this way.  I am always happy to answer any questions about Maranatha.  I am praying your mission trip will be a big success and that you will be a blessing and be blessed.  Thank you for serving!!

Mission team, partial

Happy Sabbath everyone! I'm super excited about this mission trip and especially the team that is coming together.  We made some good progress planning our efforts today. Really happy to see Pam today. Pam has been the cooking leader for two Maranatha missions. Adding to an already strong cooking team this is really great. And believe me a strong cooking team should make everyone happy! Great ideas from our spiritual team and great to have such a diverse group.  Looks like we will have another great VBS program. Great to have translators who just joined Lily Matthew Michael Danielle Roselyn.  Dr. Mel and Jessica are relieved to have Jayne and Roselyn to support the dental clinic. It's hard to believe it. I did not expect to be saying this but we have a strong construction team too. When I went to DR In April there were 13 of the people on the current team. Today there are 34 and maybe more. God has continually provided. After AY today I realized I didn't get a picture of the group so here's a picture of some of us. Looking forward to seeing more posts. Continue to pray for: a few passports we are waiting for, finding an economical way to transport the mobile dental units.

Celeste Wong

Hi ~ My name is Celeste Wong and I am 19 years old. I just finished my first year as a freshman at Pacific Union College. I am daughter of Arleen and Lenson and sister to Kylee Wong. During the mission trip I will be in charge of the crafts station for VBS.  I'm very excited to meet everyone on the trip~!

Amjad Ali- Spiritual Group Leader

My name is Amjad,

I just graduated from Pleasant Hill Adventist  Academy and will be attending Pacific Union College this fall to study Theology. It is my desire to be a Pastor in the future, God willing! This will be my first mission trip and I'm very excited! I know God will bless us and keep us safe!

Matthew Guevara

Hi I'm Matthew. I love music, sports, and animals. I plan on being a Veterinary Surgeon. I am a recent graduate of Pleasant Hill Adventist Academy where I attended for 13 years. I'm going to Pacific Union College next fall and will major in Biology to begin my efforts of becoming a Veterinary Surgeon

Vivian Dixon - group photographer

Hello!
That's me on the right, on the left my daughter Sophia and in the middle my granddaughter Tatiana. They live in Oakland.
I am so looking forward to seeing friends, making new friends and being a blessing to our host.
I was a member of the Vallejo SDA (hope to always be a part of Vallejo SDA).  Now living in Hurdle Mills, NC I am a proud member of Hillsborough SDA. Retired. Thanking God for that.  Enjoy almost everything that is Godly.  At present I am Communication Leader for my church and that is a new and challenging area for me yet perfect. I do like talking. (smiles)To all a great mission trip.
 

Jayne Nelson - group medic

Hi everyone,

Update: Great news! My daughter Emily will be coming with us after all! 

My name is Jayne Nelson. I live in Grand Terrace, CA (near Loma Linda). I am an Occupational Therapist at Kaiser Permanente. This is my first Maranatha Mission trip. I will be joined by my 2 step kids, Michael and Danielle (back row in pic). My husband and daughter were not able to get the time off work. We had planned to go on a different trip, but it filled up so I chose this trip from the Maranatha web site. I think the Lord must have had this one picked out for us all along. I am excited to meet everyone and excited to be fulfilling a long held dream. 

Sany Rajagukguk - Safety Officer

Hola. This will be my first Maranatha mission trip. Born and raised in Indonesia, I am now in San Francisco working as a scientist in the fields of aging and cancer research.  In my spare time,  I enjoy traveling, reading, doing laundry, and car maintenance work.  By the end of July, I might add construction work to that list....emphasis on "might."  I believe God hand picked the people in our group, and this trip will bring immeasurable blessings. 

Lenson Wong - Group Coordinator

Hi, I'm Lenson Wong and I am participating in the mission trip with my wife, Arleen and two daughters Celeste and Kylee. We live in Hercules, CA. This is the third Maranatha mission trip that I have coordinated. I am the President and Founder of an engineering company that designs and services robotics and automation equipment for manufacturing. I like to run, bicycle, kayak and scuba dive. I am looking forward to working alongside all of you on this project, specially chosen by God.