Orphanage. Charity. Schools.
These are the three words that have inspired one local family to work tirelessly for the past eight years to make their life’s mission – moving to the Dominican Republic to do missionary work – a reality. The Metzger family embarks on their biggest leap of faith to date this month, making a permanent move to the Dominican Republic to serve the impoverished children and families in the third world country.
The seed for their mission was initially planted in 2005 when Todd and Melanie Metzger were vacationing in the Dominican Republic at an all-inclusive resort. Upon venturing away from the luxury resort the couple found a stark contrast in the surrounding areas – children eating from garbage dumps and malnourished Haitian children roaming the mountains, alone. The Metzgers quickly learned that many Haitian children cross the border looking for a better life, with migrants looking for work that pays less than $1 a day. As a result, most of the migrant population is left living in bateys, areas lacking in clean water, proper sanitation and access to medical care and education.
The lessons learned on that first trip to the Dominican Republic have stuck with the Metzgers, spurring them to take several short term mission trips to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Ultimately the Metzgers knew that they wanted to be there full-time, making the difficult decision to sell their home, end their careers and move four of their five children (their oldest has opted to stay in the States to continue with college classes) and themselves to the Dominican Republic to initiate programs at schools, churches and within the community.
The Metzgers have many projects and plans underway, including health care initiatives in the Dominican Republic. Melanie is a registered nurse and plans to use her training and skills to aid locals, particularly local children. Another long term goal is to build and provide a home for orphans; however, they are fully aware of the long-term scope of the project. “We don’t anticipate this project being initiated right away. We hope to give our family some time to adjust to life in the DR and to learn more about the government regulations and laws regarding orphan care before we start this project,” explained Melanie.
In a recent interview, Melanie went further to explain how difficult it has been to take an entire home’s worth of belongings and condense it into just two duffel bags for travel. A natural home-maker, Melanie is adjusting to the idea of temporarily being without a solid home base for a while, but was quick to emphasize just how thrilled she, Tom and the kids are to be seeing their eight-year long dream finally coming to fruition. Getting permission to move permanently to the DR was a long process, so much so that Melanie wasn’t sure at times if it would even happen. But with their house sold and the tickets booked, the Metzgers will be on their way in just a few short days.
For more information on the Metzger’s initiatives or to find out how you can help, simply visit www.terebinthtreeministries.com.
