I am not sure how to put into words the emotions we all experienced on our team build in 2024. It’s heart breaking to see the living conditions that some people have endured over the course of a person’s lifetime. Chistino raised three children in a shack made of pallet boards, and scraps of metal with a dirt floor.

When we met Cristino what struck me most was his humility and his smile. This man had endured a lifetime in living conditions most of us have never had to experience.

The challenge we faced before building this home was finding the deed or title to the land. We would not be able to build unless Cristino could prove he had ownership of the land. Unfortunately, no title or deed was found. Through the help of a local Pastor and some local lawyers and many months of research we finally were able to secure the title and deed of the property to Cristino and the work began.

There are a few requirements we have before building a home in the Dominican Republic. Thankfully of the many years of doing this kind of work on the North Coast we have established some great relationships with local builders, and church leaders.

Nothing we do could be done without their help and involvement.

We make it a requirement that all every home is built by both paid professionals and volunteers both in the Dominican Republic and the team we bring from outside the country.

We hire a local builder who understands the requirements and materials needed to start and complete the project. Together with a local pastor and church volunteers come together to remove the existing structure and to begin the foundation of the new home build.

When our team arrives we help complete the finishing work of the new home.

The end result is have a celebration time of singing, prayers, and handing over the keys to the new home owner. When Cristino received his keys to his new home we embraced each other with tears, laughter, prayers, and singing.

I have never seen a man weep with happiness like Cristino. He was overwhelmed by the friendship and generosity of both his local neighborhood, his church, and our team. We have built many homes over the years but this one time seemed to be the most impacting of all of our builds.

All I can say it thank you to everyone involved. Humanity is fully alive when we come together share our love for each other with acts of kindness and generosity. This is truly a miracle of God happening right before out eyes…

Again thank you to all who donated their time, money, and talents to make this home come true for Cristino. God Bless you all.