Dominican Sunrise

Day 9 marked our last and final day in the Dominican Republic.

Last night, several of us decided we would usher in the last day of the trip by watching the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean from our beachside chairs at Playa Dorada in Puerto Plata. So at about 6 am this morning, a handful of us pulled our beach chairs right down to the edge of the tide as we found ourselves quietly watching the sun creep its way over the horizon with the Atlantic waves crashing before us. Those of us who positioned our chairs a little too close to the tide encountered a wet surprise when the tide that we thought was supposed to be going out, kept coming in and soaked us from the knees down! But it was worth it!! What a glorious start to our morning!


We then had breakfast together and once again, enjoyed rich fellowship and conversation with Hector and Patricia. How kind of the Lord to cultivate within each of us such affection for a family we didn’t even know nine days ago.

After a of couple hours on our own in the morning, we checked out of the hotel, packed up the van and headed to Santiago to board our plane for the U.S. – first to Miami and then to Minneapolis. This one-hour van ride again provided the opportunity for rich conversation and fellowship among the team and Hector and Patricia. We found ourselves deeply immersed in dialogue about US politics; biblical manhood and womanhood as it relates to leadership in the home and government; cultural customs that really are manifestations of sin even if accepted as cultural norms (i.e. not yielding to traffic signals, butting in front of people rather than extending courtesy to another person, etc.).

Once in Santiago, we experienced countless graces from the Lord from the moment we stepped foot in the airport to the moment we boarded the plane for Minneapolis. Our flights were on time, we made it through customs and immigration with speed and efficiency, all of our luggage arrived in Miami, and our layover in Miami gave us just enough time to do what we needed to do without any unnecessary waiting around.

One God Thing from today was experiencing and observing the affection between our team and Hector and Patricia as we said our goodbyes at the airport. Apart from Christ, is it humanly possible to develop such affection for people you have come to know in so a short time? I don’t think so. What a precious gift God has given us in the larger body of Christ.

In closing, if each of us were asked to note the highlights of this trip, we would fill pages in a journal. In fact, as this last day’s blog is being written, those journal pages are also being filled up. So if you have time, we’d love for you to take a few more minutes to read what we found to be highlights of our trip. We recognize you will not know the history behind these stories, but we hope that in some way, these highlights will draw you into this amazing experience we’ve just had in the Dominican Republic, and as a result, you will find yourself praising our Creator for the great things He has done.

Que Dios les bendiga. May God bless you.

Our last full day in the DR

Today was the first day without a gig and our last full day on the island, and it was a jam-packed day.

We check out of our hotel in Santo Domingo, piled into the van, and drove to Puerta Plata. On the way we stopped and spent a little time in a very poor community that Iglesia ministers in.

A youth group from Bethlehem Baptist built a small church building there last year, and families from Iglesia go there each Sunday to do Sunday school for the kids and pastoral home visits. It was a stark reminder of the poverty level in the DR, especially because our ministry there has been in areas with a higher standard of living.

Next, we went to a Dominican tourist hotspot called “27 Charcos.” www.27charcos.com This was easily one of the coolest experiences of my life. It’s basically a 2-hour hike up a mountain via a river/waterfall cut into the side of the mountain. We wore life vests and helmets, climbed straight up pretty high waterfalls, and swam through narrow mountain pools cut into the rock (all with the help of a couple Dominican tour guides). I felt like Rambo. Once at the top, we went back down the same path, except we jumped the waterfalls that we had previously climbed. Honestly, I think it was pretty dangerous. We were jumping 25-ft drops into pools that were really quite narrow, and the tour guides would warn us in broken English to only jump toward the right side of the pool because the left side was too shallow. Some of the waterfalls had been worn into natural waterslides, so we would slide for 15 ft and then dead-drop for another 15 ft. It was crazy. And there were no wavers, no medical team - and no real supervision at all. The tour guides would help us, but at one point my wife slipped while jumping and came very close to injuring herself, and the guide just turned to me and said “don’t do it that way, or you will get hurt.”

After another hour in the van we arrived at our hotel in Puerta Plata, which was a beautiful beach resort. Iglesia had arranged for us to spend the final night of our trip there with Hector and Patricia so we could have some debrief time with them. We enjoyed a late afternoon on the beach (Betty’s first time seeing the ocean!) and a wonderful dinner.


Over dinner we had a sweet time of reflection and sharing with the Santanas, and we were able to pray with them and thank them for all they had done for us.

Afterward, we went back down to the beach and spent more time relaxing and talking with each other. Everybody went to bed pretty early, but Jason and John and I stayed up and did a little late-night ocean swimming (the water there was incredibly warm) and ate the buffet. It was a really wonderful way to end our trip.

Thursday, August 28, 2008-Jesse's 35th Birthday!

Praise the Lord for another day to be in the Dominican Republic! We had a break this morning and Hector and Patricia took us to “Altos de Chavon,” a gorgeous tourist area comprised of giant amphitheater made of stone as well as other stone architecture. This village paradise is located on the edge of large cliff overlooking a scenic river view. Built in the mid 1900’s, this area was designed to show tourist the natural beauty of the Dominican Republic. Notable artists who have performed at this outdoor amphitheater include Frank Sinatra and our very own Hector Santana. Here is a link for more information about this place. www.altosdechavon.com


We also ate lunch at “Altos de Chavon” where we celebrated Jesse’s birthday. At the end of the meal, the waiters of the restaurant came to our table delivering some cheese cake, with candles, and singing “Happy Birthday” in Spanish.

With our bellies full, we headed back to our hotel to get ready for a brief radio interview and then concert at Manuel Rueda Hall of fine Arts in Santo Domingo. This concert was bittersweet because it was our last one for the trip. The venue was a more formal theater atmosphere and the concert lasted about 2 hours long. We all had so much joy and pleasure with this gig that it seemed to just fly by. The highlight of the concert was to have Hector sit in with us on the electric bass for one of our songs and then Jason led the audience in singing “Happy Birthday” to Jesse. After the concert, God continued to pour out His grace to us by giving us the opportunity to visit with the audience and hear how blessed and encouraged they were.


To finish the evening, around 10:30 pm, Hector and Patricia decided to take us out to eat at a Mexican restaurant called Don Nacho (a glorified Taco Bell), where we ended with another birthday cake for Jesse, this time Dominican style (prune and dulce de leche filling), compliments of Hector and Patricia. It was very fun to wind down and to reflect upon the concert. Looking back over the week, the greatest fellowship that has happen amongst the team has taken place at our meal times together. Thank You, Lord for this sweet camaraderie with the team and Hector’s family.

“Life’s Little Victories”…the sucker story by Karin Heitzman

Everyone should appreciate this but all of us moms will understand this “One-of-Life’s-Little-Victories” moment that I was able to be a witness to.

You need a little background to see how this comes full circle for little Betty...

Back on Saturday when the band played on El Conde street, Betty was a magnet to people walking by. One was a grandma who stopped to tell us about her grandchildren and to meet adorable Betty. She gave Betty 5 pesos…apparently because her level of cuteness demanded a gift.

Now let me take you to the van ride on Wednesday heading to the Colonial City to walk around some historical sites before our evening gig. The conversation went a little bit like this:

“Mom, I need a sucker.” Betty proclaims
“Honey, I would love to give you a sucker, but I don't have one and I just can’t give you one right at this moment.” Answers Kristyn.
“But Mom…I really would like to have one now.”
“Betty…there is nothing I can do about that right now. I’m sorry.”
Betty turns to Karin whispering… "Karin, I need a sucker.”
Karin replies, “I will keep my eyes out for one.”
“It really should be red, yellow AND white” Betty instructs.

Suspiciously quiet time passes…

“BETTY! Why are you licking my arm?” asks Kristyn in an understandably surprised tone.
Betty replies, “I needed SOMETHING to lick.” In an understandably “DUH” tone.

More time…

“Why am I still getting wet?!” Kristyn asks while Betty is rubbing her recently licked finger on Kristyn’s arm
Betty, “I STILL don’t have a sucker!”
She was clearly driving home her desperate need for a sucker.

The van stops and we spend some time wandering around some amazing sites. Beautiful architecture, historically significant homes and monuments, when we come across a retrofitted baby stroller now being used as a vendor’s candy cart.

Now, you need to understand...Street vendors are selling cell phones, jewelry and services like shoe shining or window washing. This is the first candy cart that I had seen. It is late, and none of us have any pesos so the chances of there being a sucker, finding a way to purchase it, and finding the owner of the cart were slim from anyone’s point of view.

Steve suggests we keep walking because Betty hadn’t brought it up and she didn’t notice the cart. But not KG! She subtly walks by and sure enough! A row of suckers! In her consistently growing recollection of her Spanish skills she asks the vendor (who finally showed up) how much the suckers were. “5 pesos” the street vendor replied. KG reaches in to find the coin from the generous grandma we met back on El Conde street and the transaction is made! I have never seen a kid so happy to get a sucker. Well done Kristyn. Challenge extended, challenge accepted, challenge accomplished!

The room key lost itself to me

Today marks the end of day 5 (Wednesday) and our day was packed! We woke up bright and early and made appearances at three different schools, all private. Each school’s venue for us to play at was uniquely different - a music class, an all school Christian assembly, and an outdoor playground for the students’ free time. It was a tiring morning but very fun playing for all the students. The best news came on our drive to lunch when Hector told us that it was a near miracle for us to be able to play in two of the three schools. He explained how it is next-to-impossible to try and get the gospel into these schools and that the teachers and staff at both schools were very pleased with our music and presentation and have invited us back whenever we want to go! What a great grace that God would give! We were all so excited to hear about that…

Steve started to feel a little carsick on the way home and we dropped him off at the hotel to rest up before the night’s gig. We all got to sleep some and rest before the night where we were planning on heading into the Colonial City before our gig. The Colonial City features lots of embassies from different countries, monuments, memorials, and an awesome nightlife!



We headed over to our gig at Casa de Teatro, a jazz club that has Wednesday night jam sessions and other events throughout the week. From the moment we walked into the club, we were all super psyched to play – what a hip club! Just a few days earlier, Paquito de Rivera brought his band into play! (in case you didn’t know, he’s a pretty big deal…) For us to have the opportunity to play in the club, Hector had contacted Fernando, the man in charge of the Wednesday night sessions. The two know each other because Fernando gave Hector is first gig when he was 16! Fernando invited us not only to come and enjoy the music, but to play a set of our own music before the jam started. So we proceeded to do a set of over an hour’s worth of music and it was a TON of fun.


Great playing and great enjoyment – thank you Lord! It was also quite hot and sticky in the club, evidenced by John’s shirt:

Overall, we had a great night playing and meeting the different musicians and people in the club. We headed back fairly late at night to get as much sleep as we could for tomorrow’s day. We’re all looking forward to tomorrow and the three main things that will take up our day:

1) we are going to visit Altos de Chavon, a small ‘city’ of sorts located on the bank of a beautiful river
2) we are doing a radio interview at night for the jazz radio station in Santo Domingo
3) lastly, we will play our final gig of the tour, and our biggest/most publicized yet! We are expecting a large crowd in a formal setting with a great acoustically-sound auditorium and great lighting (Karin’s getting photo-happy already!). Most of all, we’re anticipating God’s hand in our music and through our songs and Jason and Suzanne’s explanations of them.

Looking forward to tomorrow!

Tuesday…and a HUGE surprise for Karin

Today started out like most others, except we were in Santiago instead of Santo Domingo. We grabbed breakfast and then loaded up into the van to head to a Christian school in Santiago. Patricia and Hector had brought their kids along to Santiago because of the possibility of Gustav becoming a hurricane and they didn’t want to be apart from the kids. Once we got to school, we found out that Jorge, Pamela and Hector all were skipping school for the day! They were pretty excited-especially Hector since it was only his second day of school!

Once at Santiago Christian School, the guys set up and started playing for the school kids during their lunch periods. The children in the school LOVED the music. In fact, some even collected “tips” for the band! Several groups came to eat and enjoy the music. Then one teacher asked if the band would play for his class. So they stayed another hour to play for them.


One “God Thing” for the day was once we got to the school, the elementary school principal came out to watch the band and hear the music. Karin was walking around taking pictures (of course!) and suddenly was face to face with the principal. She was shocked because the principal looked really familiar, but Karin thought there was no way she could possibly know her. After a few more glances, Karin just had to ask her if her name was Eileen Baas. IT WAS!! Eileen Baas was Karin’s piano teacher during high school and was her church’s organist in Milaca, Minnesota! Eileen had moved down to the DR just a few weeks earlier to be the school’s principal. She said that some of her friends had retired, but she felt like she had another adventure to do and so she took the job at Santiago Christian School. It was a huge surprise, a great taste of home and just one of those little blessings from God…the icing on the cake!

After we left the school, we went to lunch at a great little restaurant and had some great fellowship with the Santana family. Suzanne shared a devotion from Hebrews 1:1-4 that was just a great reminder of how amazing our God is and the grace that He has bestowed upon us.


Next, we headed to the Centro De La Cultura Ercilia Pepin, which is a school/cultural arts center. The people who came to this gig were so interested in jazz and the stories behind the songs. It was really neat to hear Jason’s heart and the history of the songs in English…and in Spanish (through Suzanne). Afterwards, many people wanted to hear more about how the guys got into jazz, how often they play, where they work, what other musical ventures they are involved in. It was once again and incredible demonstration of the heart of the Dominican people. They want to be invested in your life. They want to know more about you. They are sincerely welcoming and warm.

After we packed up from the gig at the cultural center, we needed to pick up our luggage at a pastor friend of the Santana’s home. We thought we would just pull up and throw the luggage in, but the family had prepared hot chocolate, cookies and bread for us. We went inside and were able to just relax and spend time together. It was so refreshing.


The father, Newton, took Karin outside to show her his backyard so she could take pictures. Then he jumped up into trees and picked some fresh guavas and avocados.



The avocados were huge…as big as Jason’s hand!

Eventually, we needed to say goodbye and head back to Santo Domingo. I am continually amazed at the people we have met so far. The people of the DR have truly blessed us.

Here we go...the rest of the posts from the trip!