Arriving in Santo Domingo
Taylor Rapp serves with Social Services of Dominican Churches (SSID), Dominican Republic.
During my first couple of months in the Dominican Republic working with SSID, I was able to visit several of the surrounding areas, including Monte Plata and San Pedro de Macoris. In these areas, the focus was to educate people on proper hygiene and mental health when dealing with covid. SSID works with underserved groups in the DR (mainly women, children, and refugees) to help strengthen community relations and promote peace between the different cultural backgrounds that reside here. Getting to interact with the people there has been a great experience so far, and I feel that I learned a lot from my time here. Since then, I have mainly been working on research back at the office in Santo Domingo. This research has been helpful for individual projects but has also helped in creating safety plans to keep workers and partners working with SSID safe while in the field and the office. I have enjoyed this work so far and look forward to continuing here. Although I have only been here for a short while, I feel like I have gained a connection to the people and the culture here, and look forward to getting to know more in the coming months.
The Dominican Republic is a place like no other. I know it is probably expected that I say something like this because it is my place of service, but I truly believe it. Having been on several mission trips in the past (although, admittedly, for much shorter periods of time), I have gotten the chance to experience many different cultures. Like many of the places that I have visited, the people all seem to be friendly and welcoming, even if their Spanish is still a little fast for me at times. They are understanding differences and love checking in and hearing about the lives of those around them. This is a trait that I especially admire because we often get caught up in our own lives to the point that we forget about the whole world of people around us every day.
Taylor Rapp serves with Social Services of Dominican Churches (SSID), Dominican Republic. Taylor’s appointment with Social Services of Dominican Churches, Dominican Republic is made possible by your gifts to Disciples Mission Fund, Our Church’s Wider Mission, Week of Compassion, and special gifts.