Made in the Image of: Notes from the 2024 Givingthanks trip to the Dominican Republic

by Michelle O’Neal

In November 2022, I spent my first day in Batey Magdalena as part of the Givingthanks service trip (a joint effort of the DRMP of Village Church and the Light a Candle Foundation). It was a joyful day with brothers and sisters and two of my children. Our group of Americans got news of yet another school shooting in the States—I cannot now recall which one, there are too many to catalog. We were in a ‘third-world country’ where compatriots had warned we could be unsafe. Indeed, we were surrounded by abject poverty and oppressive circumstances, yet rarely do these people resort to violence. In fact, it was a place where we felt completely safe and held; a village named after Mary Magdalene—devoted follower of Jesus, who was present at his crucifixion, burial, and is also believed to have been the first witness to his resurrection. The thin space here is palpable. Every person I have encountered at Batey Magdalena has mirrored a facet of Jesus’ nature.

“They would beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more”(Isaiah 2:4).

During this recent 2024 trip, I spent another beautiful four days washing feet and hair, holding hands, providing fluoride and cavity treatments, crying, praying and others offered me the same and much more. I walked around with my hands outstretched and eyes open—feeling the reverberations of profound peace. I witnessed my friend Niove save a stranger’s life. She told me simply and humbly: “I would hope someone would do the same for me or my family.”

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’” (Matthew 25:40).

Culture, language, borders, governments, are no match for God’s relentless love. God’s love dissolves barriers; they never existed in the first place! They are manufactured by humans. And they remain thanks to those in power, who perpetuate fear and grow wealthy when distrust and conflict are status quo.

Jayson is 19. The same age as our oldest son. These two first met in 2022, when they were 17. Ian and Jayson made a connection. Jayson is an artist. For this child, I have prayed; for his safety and his well-being. We found him this year, thanks to a 2022 iPhone pic and a child’s help! And there was much celebration: “Jayson is found! He is alive and safe. Not deported to Haiti! God is good.” But also, grief: “He is here. Still in the batey, this bright, beautiful boy, full of potential. Still cutting sugarcane. With no way out.” Two remarkable teenagers with impossibly different lives because of where their birth mothers happened to live in 2005.

Yeni is 11. She has a quiet, reserved nature. From the minute we arrived, she followed like a shadow. The other girls her age dismissed her. At the nutrition station, after they learn about healthy eating, children are offered a piece of fruit or an avocado. Yeni shared a segment of her orange with me. Need I tell you how sacred that is? It felt like a gift more precious than gold.

I washed and styled her hair in our mobile salon (see photo). She asked for my phone number (and gave me her father’s number). Yeni asked me for a bag of food rations, which we typically give to adults. I asked our Light a Candle teammates if we had enough and they said yes. As she walked away, she turned every few paces to look for me. My daughter did this same thing as she walked into elementary school. She would pause every few steps, look over her shoulder and wave, before disappearing into the building. The uncanny parallel between these two girls pulled at my heart. Yeni made ‘heart hands,’ but only one side of the heart, so I could make the other side. I did. As she turned the corner, I wiped away tears. She found me one last time that day but that story pains me too much to retell. She messages me on WhatsApp almost every day: “Te amo, mi amor, Michelle. Como estás?”

Luis is 54. He was a gifted tailor in a Haggar suit factory in the Dominican Republic before it closed. Now this man cuts sugarcane December through April with a machete for a few dollars each day. His options in life may be limited but his creativity still soars. It is nearly impossible to silence an artist. He collects and creates beauty from clothing and other things people cast out. Luis—who speaks English, Creole, and Spanish—proudly modeled some of his creations (see photo). If he lived elsewhere, I believe that Luis would be lauded as a genius, a master of this craft—his works ensconced in museums. Or perhaps affluent people would pay thousands to wear a Luis original to the gala or on the red carpet.

We are one. human. family. When someone says, “illegal, refugee, alien,” what exactly do they mean? Non-human? Is Yeni, not a child of God? Jayson and Luis, not our brothers? Every person is created in the image of the Divine. To dismantle inequity and privilege, start here.

There is transformative power of being in close proximity to those who live and see the world differently. Author Sharon Brous calls this power “bearing with-ness” in her 2024 book “The Amen Effect.”  She reminds us that, “the work is not to fix, but to love.” Let us all commit to the effort of drawing near, learning and unlearning, and connecting from a sacred place of vulnerability and reverence. And seeing Jesus in the eyes of each person we meet, and perhaps, in the periphery, a glimpse of God’s promised day, too.