7th Annual Givingthanks in the Dominican Republic

Village Church’s All-Ages Service Trip

nov. 20-25, 2026

About the Trip

We believe God calls ordinary people to participate in extraordinary work. The 7th annual Givingthanks in the Dominican Republic is your invitation to step out in faith and allow God to work through you. You do not need special skills—only an open heart and a willingness to follow where God is leading you.

Givingthanks is a medical, healthcare, and health education service trip that is open to all ages. Each day for four days we visit a different batey (impoverished community of sugarcane cutters and their families) to host a community health fair with our Dominican healthcare & health education partner, Fundación Enciende Una Luz (Light A Candle Foundation). The health fair includes general medical clinic, children’s oral health, vision testing, hypertension testing and treatment, antiparasitic medication, children’s health and nutrition, beauty salon and barber shop stations, and a kids’ play zone, to name a few.

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Trip Details

Dates & Cost

Friday, Nov. 20-Wednesday, Nov. 25
Cost: Airfare + $500 for room & board (Some folks choose to arrive on Thursday, Nov. 19, because airfare is typically lower that day. Cost for this arrival date is airfare + $565 for room & board.)

Destination

La Romana, Dominican Republic, which is the hub of DR’s sugar industry. It is located on the southeastern coast between Punta Cana & Santo Domingo.

Travel Details

You are responsible for booking and paying for your own airfare.
Fly into either La Romana (LRM) or Punta Cana (PUJ). La Romana is preferred, but American Airlines is the only carrier that flies in and out of this airport.
For your departure flight to the DR, please try to book the earliest flight out (5-7 a.m.) so that you arrive in the DR before 4 p.m. If you arrive in Punta Cana after 4 p.m., there is a $100 transfer fee to La Romana. If you arrive in La Romana after 4 p.m., there is no transfer fee.
For your return flight home, please try to book a flight departing after 12 p.m. If you depart Punta Cana before 12 p.m., there is a $100 transfer fee to the airport. If you depart La Romana before 12 p.m., there is no transfer fee.
Passport books are required (passport cards are not accepted).

Accommodations

We stay at Casa Pastoral, which is a dorm compound affiliated with the Maranatha Church. This is where Village Church teams have been staying for the past 30 years. Women stay in one big dorm room and men are in another. The dorms have A/C that works about 70% of the time, very squeaky bunkbeds, two showers that sort of work and two fragile toilets that clog very easily. Casa Pastoral has a team of amazing women who spend the entire day cooking our meals. The food is delicious, and they can accommodate dietary restrictions.

About the DRMP

The Dominican Republic Medical Partnership (DRMP) has been a partner ministry of Village Church since the early 1990s. We provide free medical care and health education to some of the most marginalized human beings on the planet—our Haitian sisters and brothers who live in bateyes in the D.R. Bateyes are remote and impoverished communities of Haitian sugarcane cutters and their families. Most bateyes do not have electricity, clean water, access to healthcare, public transportation, or education past the 6^th grade. Haitians represent the largest migrant population in the D.R. and face significant inequity due to their ethnicity and the tumultuous history between Haiti and the D.R. There are between 300-400 bateyes in the D.R., 13 of which receive year-round healthcare services through the DRMP.