October Medical Mission Trip

Medical Mission Trip
October 18-23, 2023

Trip Total: $1,690
Deposit of $390, due at application
Progress Payment of $600, due June 15, 2023
Final Payment of $700, due August 15, 2023

Handfuls of Hope partners with physicians, nurses, dentists, dental hygienists, opticians, and other medical professionals to help meet the medical needs of the underserved through medical mission trips. Our teams work side-by-side with local medical professionals who volunteer their time to help care for the poor. We provide medical attention in our makeshift clinic. For those who are physically unable to come to the clinic, we mobilize a smaller team to make house visits to different villages. Our team typically is onsite for 3-5 days, enabling us to care for thousands of individuals - men, women, and children. The clinic is a very busy clinic; we often see whole families at one time. We set it up in a way where nurses triage patients and follow protocol to treat them. If the patient needs to see a provider, the nurse will use clinical judgment to send to providers. On average, we can see anywhere from 400-800 patients/per day. The majority of care we provide is primary care.

2023 Summer Mission Trip

Summer Mission Trip

July 15-22, 2023

Our Summer trip to the Dominican Republic will include a wide range of activities as we partner with the local church in outreach to the surrounding villages. Our VBS program will minister to hundreds of children in multiple locations. Our Isaiah 58 teams will distribute food to the poor. We will have opportunities to minister to children in the children's hospital and at an orphanage. For the construction-minded, there are construction projects great and small, ranging from small repairs to painting, to masonry, to full-on raising of a new building. Who Should Go? With the wide range of activities planned, the trip is appropriate for all ages from pre-teens to "mature" adults.

Amount: $1890

Deposit: $50

Progress Payment #1: $500, due January, 15, 2023

Progress Payment #2: $670, due March 15, 2023

Final Balance: $670, due May 15, 2023

October 2022 Medical Mission Trip

Handfuls of Hope partners with physicians, nurses, dentists, dental hygienists, opticians, and other medical professionals to help meet the medical needs of the underserved through medical mission trips. Our teams work side-by-side with local medical professionals who volunteer their time to help care for the poor. We provide medical attention in our makeshift clinic. For those who are physically unable to come to the clinic, we mobilize a smaller team to make house visits to different villages. Our team typically is onsite for 3-5 days, enabling us to care for thousands of individuals - men, women and children. The clinic is a very busy clinic; we often see whole families at one time. We set it up in a way where nurses triage patients and follow protocol to treat them. If the patient needs to see a provider, the nurse will use clinical judgement to send to providers. On average, we can see anywhere from 400-800 patients/day. The majority of care we provide is primary care.

Amount: $1590
Deposit: $390
Progress Payment: $600, due July 1, 2022
Final Balance: $600, due September 1, 2022

2022 Medical Mission Trip

If you have never been on a mission trip before and are interested in what it would be like read this personal reflection by a member of our medical team that went down earlier this month.


I walked through the airport gate, instantly feeling the heat, hearing the language, tasting the air as I began to look to find my way.  I soon saw the bright blue shirt – Handfuls of Hope.  From that moment, I knew I was about to be a part of something great.  I stepped onto a bus full of strangers to me, yet instantly I belonged and we were family.

We first stopped at Mercado, the market.  As we entered, I heard “Lady!! Lady!” in every direction and I did my best to acknowledge them all, purchasing coffee and two beautiful wooden glasses from “the sweet Christian lady” everyone recognized.  Returning to the bus, we were driven through the streets of Santo Domingo and walked through places of history and importance.  

Our next stop was the school and the place we would transform into a place of health and hope.  Over the next several hours, tables were moved and chairs were stacked.  The pharmacy was set up and the medications and supplies were organized on the black plastic shelves.  Within minutes of driving from the school, a bright double rainbow appeared out the windows on the left side of the bus.  We all knew the representation of this perfect timing yet Don, our team leader was the one who said it best – “God’s Promises”.  He was undoubtedly here.

Every morning Don would bring us together to pray and give God thanks for allowing us to do His work.  On the count of three, we would wake the village as we declared “Good Morning Lord!”.  

As we arrived, people were already in a line at the gate to enter.  They were all waiting for us.  For me!  From the time the gates opened at 9am until closing at 3pm, that gate was not visible due to the crowds of people.  Men, women, children.  Young and old.  Those who had come alone and those who helped their neighbor.  They would each sign in, be handed a piece of paper, given a number, and patiently sat at the picnic tables under shelter from the hot sun until their number was called.  Many waited for hours.  When their number was called, they would be brought to the nurse and/or doctor.  People came for headaches, stomach aches, infections, high blood pressure, rashes, and so much more.  There was a little boy with a burn/wound on his foot requiring treatment and wrapping every day (returning the next two days as well).  A very sick infant boy was brought in and while there was little we could do medically, he and his mother were given God’s love and heartfelt prayers.  Lab tests were performed for urine infections, pregnancy tests, and glucose levels to name a few.  The word and promise of God were shared with every person we saw. They would then proceed to the pharmacy for their Ziplock bag of 30 multivitamins and other medication ordered.  

At the end of the day, the tables would be moved, the chairs would be stacked and the papers counted.  We would return to the bus for the one-hour drive back to the villa.  Most of this time the team was quiet – partly from exhaustion, partly for reflection, and partly to pray for strength to do it again the next day.  I remember just looking out the window and looking at everything – the streets, the people, the small enclosures that were homes, the woman washing clothes in dirty water in a plastic pink child’s pool with a bar of soap as her husband sat with a baby in a plastic chair, and the two boys running barefoot and laughing as they jumped from a fence.  I remember watching the sun slowly set over the hills.  I remember hearing God say “Well done”.  

Over the three days we held the clinic, we had the opportunity to serve over 1300 people.  1300 of God’s children.  God has given all of us gifts.  Many say this longing for service is my gift.  I believe the gift of the people in the DR was their ability to gift us by allowing us to serve them.  They allowed me to use my gift and together we brought glory to our God.  We are brought together under that rainbow.

Traci B.
Trip Participant

Novation Church Trip Overview

Our team has been visibly changed by the experience. Through HOH, it was made possible for Twenty-one Christians to come together and serve the Dominican people and allow us the opportunity to live out Jesus’ greatest commandment: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. 

Upon arrival, we got to take in the breath-taking beauty of the Hispaniola Island. A coastal ride to our beach-side villa, a home cooked meal and a magnificent sunset over the ocean gave us the feeling of royalty! We were humbled by the servant hearts of the Handfuls of Hope staff and by God’s beauty surrounding us. Nothing motivates a servant’s heart more than to be served themselves! We were here to serve and felt so honored to be served as well. We were ready to pay it forward. 

As an American, we tend to forget we are part of the richest people in the world. We have so much money that we have convinced each other we should all have our own house. We should all have our own car. The more money we have, the more separated we choose to live. How many of us really know our neighbors? This question came to mind while walking through the villages and witnessing the huge family feel. Everyone knew everyone. They watched each other’s kids and hung laundry together. The sense of community was reminiscent of my parents’ stories of their childhood. 

During our stay, we pack 250 bags of food and deliver them to 5 villages across the DR. We play games packing the bags to make work fun and can’t help but speculate how many meals this food will make, how many people it will feed, how many prayers will be said over the food we are holding. Ultimately, we wonder, “How many people will be impacted by a few strangers?” God knows every single hair on our heads. He hears our prayers, and He nudges us to action. People like you and me who think, “What can I do? I’m not big enough to affect anything significant.” God doesn’t need to move mountains to make monumental changes in this world. One act of kindness always leads to another. He just needs you. 

Early in the week, we worked together to complete a few maintenance jobs at the Handfuls of Hope school. Painting the building and the basketball court gave our team an opportunity to build camaraderie and provide something tangible to the community. 

Mid-week, we ventured out on the streets evangelizing to anyone sitting outside. We were all assigned with a translator and all we had to do was invite kids to play sports. Seemed easy enough for a first-timer! I never had the courage to street evangelize but with the friendly setting and help communicating, I challenged myself to do something outside my comfort zone and wondered, “How many other hard things have I been ignoring lately?” 

When we got back to the Handfuls of Hope building, we started setting up nets and bringing equipment out of storage. Shortly after kids were playing baseball, basketball, volleyball, sack races, jumping rope, and even making bracelets. It was so much fun! Sports are a fantastic way to reach kids transitioning into adulthood. So many of us made it through our teen years because we had a great coach, great mentor, or great teacher present in our life. Isn’t that what God wants from us? To allow Him to be present in our lives. 

We visited 5 villages throughout the week and at every village, we were welcomed with joy, laughter and even singing! The curiosity of the children and willingness to try to talk took away the fear of making a mistake. With a constant language barrier, we relied a lot on body language and facial expressions to understand each other. The innocent smile of a joyful child makes you feel like you’ve seen the face of God. 

Every part of the trip has rolled around my mind multiple times and every time, I think of another reason to go back. I want to encourage every single human being to go on a mission trip if given the opportunity. It is life changing to see the way someone else lives, to bring a little bit of joy into their lives and allow them to share in our lives and bring joy to us. 

Novation Church
Trip Participant, Jamie Pander

2022 Summer Mission Trip

Summer Mission Trip

July 16 - July 23, 2022

Our Summer trip to the Dominican Republic will include a wide range of activities as we partner with the local church in outreach to the surrounding villages. Our VBS program will minister to hundreds of children in multiple locations. Our Isaiah 58 teams will distribute food to the poor. We will have opportunities to minister to children in the children's hospital and at an orphanage. For the construction-minded, there are construction projects great and small, ranging from small repairs to painting, to masonry, to full-on raising of a new building. Who Should Go? With the wide range of activities planned, the trip is appropriate for all ages from pre-teens to "mature" adults.

Amount: $1,690
Deposit: $490, due upon registration
Progress Payment: $600, due April 1, 2022
Final Balance: $600, due June 1, 2022

2022 Medical Mission Trip

Medical Mission Trip
March 30, 2022 - April 3, 2022


Handfuls of Hope partners with physicians, nurses, dentists, dental hygienists, opticians, and other medical professionals to help meet the medical needs of the underserved through medical mission trips.  Our teams work side-by-side with local medical professionals who volunteer their time to help care for the poor. We provide medical attention in our makeshift clinic. For those who are physically unable to come to the clinic, we mobilize a smaller team to make house visits to different villages. Our team typically is onsite for 3-5 days, enabling us to care for thousands of individuals - men, women and children. The clinic is a very busy clinic; we often see whole families at one time. We set it up in a way where nurses triage patients and follow protocol to treat them. If the patient needs to see a provider, the nurse will use clinical judgement to send to providers. On average, we can see anywhere from 400-800 patients/day. The majority of care we provide is primary care.
 

Amount: $1,490
Deposit: $490, due upon registration
Progress Payment: $500, due January 30, 2022
Final Balance: $500, due February 28, 2022

Medical Mission Trip

Medical Mission Trip
October 6, 2021 - October 11, 2021


Handfuls of Hope partners with physicians, nurses, dentists, dental hygienists, opticians, and other medical professionals to help meet the medical needs of the underserved through medical mission trips.  Our teams work side-by-side with local medical professionals who volunteer their time to help care for the poor. We provide medical attention in our makeshift clinic. For those who are physically unable to come to the clinic, we mobilize a smaller team to make house visits to different villages. Our team typically is onsite for 3-5 days, enabling us to care for thousands of individuals - men, women and children. The clinic is a very busy clinic; we often see whole families at one time. We set it up in a way where nurses triage patients and follow protocol to treat them. If the patient needs to see a provider, the nurse will use clinical judgement to send to providers. On average, we can see anywhere from 400-800 patients/day. The majority of care we provide is primary care.
 

Amount: $1,490
Deposit: $490, due upon registration
Progress Payment: $500, due August 6, 2021
Final Balance: $500, due September 6, 2021

Summer Mission Trip, July 31 - August 7, 2021

We are back! Our Summer trip to the Dominican Republic will include a wide range of activities as we partner with the local church in outreach to the surrounding villages. Our VBS program will minister to hundreds of children in multiple locations. Our Isaiah 58 teams will distribute food to the poor. We will have opportunities to minister to children in the children's hospital and at an orphanage. For the construction-minded, there are construction projects great and small, ranging from small repairs to painting, to masonry, to full-on raising of a new building. Who Should Go? With the wide range of activities planned, the trip is appropriate for all ages from pre-teens to "mature" adults.

Amount - $1,650
Deposit: $450, Due June 15
Progress Payment: $600, Due July 10
Final Balance: $600, Due July 25