Kristin Hamner's Page
Life in the Dominican Republic is ever changing. I have been changed. A one-year commitment to serve here with the Foundation for Peace has morphed into four and a half years right before my eyes. And they have been years of growth, of struggle, of challenges, of victories, of disappointments, and clearly years of blessings.
I recently spent about a month and a half in the states caring for my beloved grandfather as he was dying of cancer. It was the hardest thing I have ever been asked to do, but my grandpa taught me so much during that short period of time we shared. As I returned to the Dominican Republic, I felt as though my passion had mysteriously been renewed for the work and ministry. I felt like I did four years ago when I first arrived in the Dominican Republic. I had been excited, passionate and ready to change the world, but at the same time I was completely ignorant of what I needed to do and how to get it done. Now I felt that same passion and excitement with four years of experience that told me how to get things done.
God is good. I knew that my grandpa's illness would break my heart and cause my family pain, but I never imagined that in the midst of all of that, that my Savior would renew in me my desire to serve others and to better know God's heart. But that is what God has done.
The summer was my favorite summer thus far. Sure there were some kinks in the system, and we were constantly inventing solutions to random issues that came up, but God was faithful and I saw lives change. I saw my interactions with people differently. I made new friends and felt God at work.
A friend of mine, Rev. Joseph Johnson, said, "While God can do miracles alone, God often chooses partnership with human beings." I know of no greater privilege that we are given in this life than participating with God in His miracles. I want to share one special story, which exemplifies this principle. A young boy named Norman who lives in a batey near Barahona had fallen off a donkey, and he broke his leg in the accident. It was casted, but never set correctly. It healed badly. After an operation to fix it, his bone became severely infected. As the infection spread, his foot began to curve and shrivel. The teachers at his school wouldn't let him come because they feared he had something contagious and was a danger to the other children. Norman had always been an outgoing kid, now he was isolated and the other children feared him. His family had nowhere to turn and didn't know what was really going on. They were taking him to a doctor in Barahona, but he wasn't getting any better so they did what they could, and they prayed for a miracle.
God in His faithfulness sent a group of doctors from the states. They contacted me and asked for help in setting up their medical clinics. I had been to Norman's batey in previous years, and God laid on my heart that we needed to go there. I knew nothing of Norman's situation, but God did. When one of the doctors saw Norman and assessed his wound, she told me he needed months of IV antibiotics to have a chance of saving his leg. She also had contact information for an orthopedic surgeon in the capital.
We called and explained the situation and he told me to bring Norman in. Well, this is no small task. As Haitian descendants, Norman and his mother have no legal citizenship. They were born in the Dominican Republic, but without paperwork it is illegal for them to travel to the capital. I had heard of recent arrests of people who were transporting Haitians and was pretty sure I had no desire to end up in a Dominican prison. So, I prayed and God laid it on my heart that He was working in Norman's life. So I left the capital bright and early and headed to Barahona. I was nervous. I had money in my pocket to pay off the guards if necessary. I had my mission ID card. I had my explanations and my tears all ready to go. As I left the capital, a gorgeous rainbow stretched from one end of the highway to the other. I looked at it and said, "Ok God, here we go".
I picked up Norman and his mother and we left for the capital. When we arrived at the first check point, the guards were busy investigating a large truck. We arrived at the second check point and they had a bus stopped and waved me on. At the third check point the area was empty. I was sure this time I was gong to get stopped! I pulled up with my most innocent smile and waved at the guard, and with a smile back he waved me on.
When we arrived at the hospital, Dr. Nelson looked at Norman's leg and scheduled immediate surgery. After the operation he told us that if we would have come in even a week later we might not have been able to save Norman's leg. As always, God's timing was perfect. Norman had about two inches of infected bone removed from his leg and was placed on an external fixator to bone straighten his foot and extend his bone to fill in the space. We were told that the process would take at least a year. Now, six months later, they are already removing the fixator, because he bone has grown quickly, so quickly that Dr. Nelson says that he may have a new record for bone growth.
I don't know what God has planned for Norman, but I do know that he was about to loose his leg and possibly his life, but that God put hundreds of little pieces together and soon Norman will be able to walk and play like his siblings and that he will have a tremendous story to tell about how God has worked in His life. I feel blessed to have been a small part of the miracle that God is doing for this precious little child and his family.
Many times, I find myself asking God what I could be doing anywhere else that would compare to what I get to do here in the DR. I have yet to find that answer, so I am waiting on the Lord. If He guides me elsewhere, I will go, but I feel blessed to be right here right now!
The staff here in the Dominican has changed a lot over the years. We started out with 2 my first year, we then grew to four and now we are 7 including 2 long-term volunteers and 5 full-time staff members. Life is exciting
I stay busy as the Director of Missions with groups coming year-round to serve. I invite anyone reading this to join one of our mission trips and see how powerfully God is moving in and through His children
Blessings,
Kristin