Zach Schantz
Something I have learned from my time serving in the Dominican Republic and getting to know those who serve here full time is that long term ministry is hard. In their jobs there’s no such thing as the instant gratification that is such a part of living in the states. On the spiritual side it takes time and commitment to build the relationships needed to share the love of the gospel. On the physical side it often feels like there’s so many people that need help that the small daily tasks, whether it’s handing out medication, or playing soccer with the kids, or fixing a door that doesn’t close quite right feels like taking a drop of suffering out of an ocean of it. And it’s exhausting. Even as a foreigner who is only here for two weeks before getting to go back to the states and recover in the AC we have without the constant onslaught of mosquitoes that are in the DR it’s exhausting. But for these people who have committed their whole life to serving the people here and do not have somewhere to go back to but after the two weeks they have just another two weeks serving in the heat and humidity. As you could imagine this would start to weigh down on people, even the people who are strong and dedicated enough to make the commitment to the mission. Thankfully there are things that can alleviate that weight such as teams like ours coming in and assisting as much as we can and every once in a while there’s a big moment or milestone in their ministry that helps them and everyone with them see how much of an impact they have really made.
At the site I am stationed at this year, Appropriate Technology, where the seemingly small repetitive task is over the course of two days we built and install large concrete water filters which are often the only way for the people who we deliver them to get clean water. This week I was lucky enough to be a part of one of those large milestones as we built the 400th filter last Friday. It’s not just the people who get the filters who benefit, all the communities around the filters gather to use its clean water resulting in thousands of people benefiting and only the Lord knows how many sicknesses and diseases the clean water has prevented. But 400 people/families/communities getting clean water isn’t the only mission of AT. The far more important ministry is Alex, the site leader, telling those 400 families about the water of life and the amazing love of Jesus Christ. Which is how he and the rest of the people with Students International, full time and temporary, are able to joyfully work day after day doing one seemingly small thing after another.
Michael Bryant2026-06-30T22:59:23-04:00