 Dominica, July 11, 2010
On Saturday, July 11, Missionaries Dan and Brenda Hopkins heard a knock and were surprised to open their door and find the Parliamentary Representative for their area. On the road were several large government cars. "The Prime Minister would like to visit with you," he said, "would that be okay?"
What in the world would the Prime Minister be doing here? We live in a small Caribbean Island, but we have very little government contact, especially with the Prime Minister.
"Sure", I said, "invite him to come in." He walked over to the large black car, said a few words, and the Prime Minister stepped out. As he walked up the driveway I could not help but wonder what he could want with me.
He is a tall, imposing person, but I relaxed a little when I saw a smile on his face. I invited him in and we sat down in the living room of our modest mission house.
"What brings you to my house, Mr. Prime Minister?"
"I just wanted to stop and thank you personally for the things that you and the Church of the Nazarene are doing in Dominica," the Prime minister said. "Your church is making a big difference in our country and especially among the Carib people. The work of the Church of the Nazarene has not gone unnoticed and we want you to know how much we appreciate it."
We reflected for a moment on what the Church of the Nazarene has been able to accomplish in the last three years in Dominica. After Hurricane Dean struck the island, Missionary Dan Hopkins was able to secure EC$134,000.00 for emergency food distribution along the hard hit east side of the island. Once a month for 4 months people were able to get basic food supplies while their crops made a comeback.
A brand new medical clinic was completed in Carib Territory with seven Work and Witness teams from the US in partnership with the Christian Children's Fund. The clinic is one of the finest medical buildings in the country and has facilities for emergency medical services, child delivery, dental clinic, and public and private pharmacy.
The church has refurbished areas of the local hospital and is in process of receiving medical equipment for the hospital and clinic.
A team of college students from Point Loma Nazarene University provided a badly need coat of paint to the Atkinson Primary School and built bleachers for their playing field. The Church has assisted the local government of securing much needed equipment for the playing field and will provide resource management and oversight of development of this important community asset.
I thanked the Prime Minister for taking the time to show his appreciation and shared with him the most important thing we are doing in his country. "Our primary purpose is to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and to see hurting and broken people transformed by His love."
"Keep up the good work", he said.
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