On the Sunday morning before I left for the Dominican Republic with Esperanza, a Christ-centered organization working to alleviate poverty there, I asked an adult Sunday morning class at church to include us in their prayers. After class, a woman approached me.

“Dominican Republic, tried to go there once, “she said, shaking her head. ‘Too poor. No way.” Her voice trailed off, her face grim.

I quickly smiled and said, ‘Well, we will bring hope!” She smiled back, but I could tell she was unconvinced.

Her words echoed through my mind as our team’s van bounced cheerfully down muddy dirt roads on the way to our first stop on a three-village tour. The reason for our journey there was to witness how microfinance loans are changing the face of poverty in the Dominican Republic and bringing hope to villagers by providing access to capital, business training, and emotional support.

We parked and wandered up a dirt path to find a bright blue tin farmhouse set back from the road. The villagers were already gathered under the draping canopy of an ancient wild olive tree. A table made from roughly hewn logs and topped with a pre-fabricated shower pan served as the desk. Chickens and pigs noisily went about their day as the loan officer and education coordinator took their places.

“Sentar! Sentar!” One woman insisted that our team members sit. She settled into the background as the Esperanza loan officer started the meeting.

Cultivating love

Everyone stood to sing a song of praise to God. Our first attempt at music was weak, leading the loan officer to tease that maybe this group was not gifted vocally. One of the farmers took up the challenge, stepped forward, and belted out a beautiful solo, “Quiero cultivar el amor,” which translates, “I want to cultivate love.”

His heart’s desire to cultivate love was a far cry from the hopeless opinion expressed by the woman I had encountered at church. This place was filled with hope and love.

After a brief sermon from the Esperanza loan officer, the education coordinator gave a health safety lesson. I have to admit, the message was hard for me to hear. Basic sanitation was an issue here; use clean water to wash dishes, wash your hands before eating, rodents carry disease. We take for granted what these people do not know. They listened with rapt attention. Any one of these lessons may be one that saves their family from fatal disease.

From poverty to hope to success

A woman stood to share her story with us.

Just a few years ago, her husband had left. Since then, she had taken loans from Esperanza and paid them back. She now owns the farmland where we sat. She sells gas to her neighbors, she makes ice cream, and she raises pigs. She is a successful business owner.

All of this is possible because of the low-interest loans, coaching, and education from Esperanza. This woman is now a leader in her community where hope, responsibility, and commerce flourish… and love is cultivated.

Under the same canopy of love

Sure, if we had just driven by, as we so often do, it might have been easy to jump to the conclusion that these people live in despair. But, when we got out of the van, sat under the tree, and celebrated God with them, we saw that these people live under the same canopy of God’s love that we do.

They hope as we do. They worship as we do.

We are all precious children of God. We are called to love God and our neighbor, and sometimes, this requires stopping and meeting them where they are.