Hurrah for Isreal!
2007-04-05 13:11:41 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Does anyone know much about it?
2007-04-05 13:12:07 · update #1
2 year Proselyting mission. He's 19 years old.
2007-04-05 13:21:12 · update #2
Cool! I'm so happy for him to go on his mission. I am from the Dominican Republic and I can tell you that besides some conflicts the DR is a beautiful country. It's true, it is a poor country but not so poor. I lived there until I was 15 years old and I would say that it is like average, not too poor, not too rich. It is true that there are soem problems with the haitian border but it is not a big deal, haitians go there trying to find a better life and better jobs and they live in very poor places and have financial difficulties. In Santo Domingo, the capital of DR there are amazing houses and buildings, beautiful parks, the downtown area is soooo beautiful, near to the downtown is the Temple which is BEAUTIFUL, believe me.... it is.
Sadly some things are not doing very well in my country (politics) and yes, there is delinquency too but nothing bad is going to happen to you if you aren't are at the wronf time and in the wrong place. It also depends on what kind of people you're mixing with. But in the news and the media you will only see the bad things that happen, sadly they only show the negative part of everything but the people in my country is very nice and helpful, the temperature is great! it will never be too cold or tooooooooooo hot, hmmmmm.... well, in the summer there are some days that you'll feel as if you were in a microwave, an oven or something like that. Your brother is going to be fine, just warn to be carefull and watch his personal things because the there are some bad people around too and when they see a foreign person and see them acting politely and good as missionaries does they would think that they do carry lots of money or expensive things (like watches, etc...) and they could try to assault him (sure, depending on where he is going to be). The bikes..... most missionaries uses a bike for transportation there and it is very common to hear jokes about the mormon missionaries stolen bikes; it's true, some bad people there steal them the bikes. Tell him to have nothing to fear about and don't pay too much attention to the negative details that ppl have writen here. I just told you what he is probably going to be expeting.
Good luck to your brother!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If he goes to the right place, he will love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2007-04-06 11:05:45 · answer #1 · answered by Love Yahoo!!! wannabe a princess 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
My only experience in the Dominican Republic was when my unit went in with the 82nd Airborne during the 1965 uprising.
I spent the first tour in San Ysidro and the second tour in Santo Domingo. I saw bits and pieces of the country during the latter part of the second tour, to include the fringes of Haiti when I heard the voodoo drums start up at nightfall. I skedaddled from there!
As mentioned by others, the country is most beautiful, surrounded by the seas, but is dirt-poor too. The Dominicans are a good people eking out a living the best that they can. Ice cream vendors back then would sell marshmallow cones--sickeningly sweet, but a second cone always beckoned.
Of course, Spanish is predominate on the island and I believe your brother will enjoy his mission there. Apparently, the political scene is somewhat restful provided missionaries are allowed to proselytize.
When possible, I joined two other U.S. soldiers and met at an ambassador's home for sacrament services each Sunday. We had military representatives from all of the South American countries. So the LDS faith is in the country.
Added: Oh, yes! The spiders! One had bit my right hand while in San Ysidro and it had swelled as large as my knee.
2007-04-05 14:12:56 · answer #2 · answered by Guitarpicker 7 · 6⤊ 0⤋
Apparently there is some controversy there over immigrants from Haiti. The official religion is Roman Catholic. Protestants first came as migrants from North America in the 1820s. West Indian laborers added to their numbers in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. By the 1920s, the various Protestant groups had organized nationally and had established links with North American Evangelical groups. The main Evangelical groups included the Seventh Day Adventists, the Dominican Evangelical Church, and the Assemblies of God. Protestant groups expanded, mainly in the rural areas, during the 1960s and the 1970s; Pentecostals made considerable inroads in some regions. With minor exceptions, relations between Protestants and the Roman Catholic majority were cordial.
Most Haitian immigrants and their descendants adhered to voodoo, and practiced it in secret because the government and the general population regarded the folk religion as pagan and African. In Haiti voodoo encompassed a well-defined system of hierology and ceremonialism.
2007-04-05 13:19:59 · answer #3 · answered by Martin S 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
WOOHOO!!! Arriba...no wait, that's Mexico. Anyhow..
He's going to have a marvelous experience! That's so cool. It's a very poor country. But the people are so nice. And he's going to learn to Speak Spanish with a Carribean accent...they drop their "s" sounds at the end of words and sometimes in the middle of the words. And they talk FAST!!
The people are really nice. They love music and dancing (too bad for him!) And the food is different but fabulous!
He'll probably have a maid. A lot of these Latin American countries do this...it helps the families by providing income and helps the missionaries by providing them clean clothes, house and so on.
It's hot there. He's going to go through more white shirts than he's ever seen in his life! And there are taranulas that hiss. And other exciting bugs. Tell him not to get too close to Haiti.
Good luck to him!
2007-04-05 17:08:13 · answer #4 · answered by Fotomama 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
The DR is a beautiful country. It is on the same island as Haiti. It is not as violent as Haiti, but it is by no means a safe place to be. It is pretty dangerous. People in the DR are (generally) kind people, pretty typical latin hospitality. The DR is a poor country. Ummm...check out the CIA world factbook for more specifics. It has a lot of info.
2007-04-05 13:17:20 · answer #5 · answered by surfchika 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
That's awesome!!! Tell him congrats!! I don't know much about DR, except it's really poor and it's connected to Haiti. I know that in Haiti there is a lot of political unrest, but I don't think there is much in DR. The food is pretty good, but tell him to be careful about the water!! The people are really sweet, and they are pretty good about being polite to missionaries. It is HOT there!! So tell him to take a lot of deodorant and shirts!!! Bug spray might be good too. I know there are some really weird bugs there, and huge spiders!! That's pretty much all I know. I know it's really pretty there, and the scenery is great!! Tell him to take loads of pictures! Good luck to him! I'm sure he will enjoy his time there, and will love his mission!
2007-04-05 17:23:03 · answer #6 · answered by odd duck 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
I think that means he'll be part of the MTC "phase program" that means he'll spend half his MTC time in Provo, and half his MTC time at at center in the Dominican Republic. It's supposed to be great for learning Spanish.
I just know that from some of the other kids I knew in the MTC (went to Portugal myself).
Anyway, congrats to your brother :)
2007-04-05 13:17:13 · answer #7 · answered by daisyk 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
My brother in law served in the Dominican Republic!!!
gw
2007-04-06 05:06:22 · answer #8 · answered by georgewallace78 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I will keep him in my prayers that he will be able to spread the Gospel of Christ in his assigned area and that God will Bless him and keep him safe.
2007-04-05 13:36:15 · answer #9 · answered by Country girl 7 · 5⤊ 1⤋
it's very poor there. they are in the caribbean, sharing an island with haiti.
2007-04-05 13:15:55 · answer #10 · answered by njyogibear 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋