La Crescenta Presbyterian Church reached across the globe, sending two mission teams into the field – one to La Romana, the Dominican Republic and one to the Vah Ki Indian Reservation in Arizona – in the early part of April.

The Dominican Republic team consisted of 43 people, with 19 of them being high school and college students. This marks the ninth consecutive year that the church has sent a team to the DR. The purpose of the mission was two-fold: One team works on construction, building a church and a school in a poor barrio in La Romana. The other team was a medical team that consistsed of doctors, dentists, nurses and volunteers. The medical team visits multiple “bateyes” which are small villages located out in the sugar cane fields. The residents have no running water or electricity and many of the men cut sugar cane for $10 a day.

This year, the medical team, led by Dr. Randall Wetzel of Los Angeles Children’s Hospital, treated approximately 1,000 patients including over 200 adults at a prison. The team also distributed thousands of dollars worth of medicine and medical supplies to the patients. La Cres Pres Pastor Andy Wilson and his wife Mary head up this mission each year.
The Arizona team consisted of approximately 30 people including 14 junior high students. This marks the 19th year that LCPC has sent a team to the Vah Ki Reservation. This year, the team worked on small construction projects such as painting and patio building for the Vah Ki Presbyterian Church. Team members distributed used bicycles to needy residents on the reservation. The team was led by church members Jerry White and Mike and Sue Pratt.

Contributed by the LCPC