First Baptist Wellsboro has a long history of support for work in the Dominican Republic.
This page outlines our history, and serves as a virtual gallery for the many plaques of recognition that have been received throughout the years.
A Short History
(This short history is taken from a detailed history written by Peg Thomas, who served as the main coordinator of the trips from 1998–2020. Her longer history of the work can be read here.)
Teams from First Baptist Church of Wellsboro (FBC) have visited the Dominican Republic (the DR) on a regular basis since 1985. In the beginning, they worked with a young Dominican Republic/Haitian Pastor named Jean Luc Phanord to build a church for the Haitian people working in the sugar cane factory in the large city of La Romana, a port city for large ships and a nearby elite vacation resort in the DR. Having escaped to Miami, Florida during the reign of Dictator Francois (Papa Doc) Duvalier, he learned several trades and was called to return to the DR as a missionary to the Haitian people who had fled the ongoing unrest in Haiti.
God had given him a vision: to reach out to the extremely impoverished Haitians living in small, squalid sugar cane villages called bateys (pronounced: bah-TAY) where they received no health care, no education, and little food. With most of his family still living in the United States, he appealed to them for help in building a larger church. Thus began connections that continue to this day.
Throughout the 1980s and ’90s, FBC participated in biennial trips to provide construction and medical assistance. Led by Dr. Ardell Thomas and Dr. Don Shaw, teams would conduct day-long clinics, dispensing medicines and care to families living in abject poverty.
It was during the 2001 trip that Peg Thomas met Tanis and Esther Derolus, who had begun a school teaching 150 children in their home in the barrio of Las Colinas. Tanis shared the Gospel on the streets and held church services in their home. He shared with Peg the deeply moving vision God had given him: to build a large church, a school, a dormitory, a pastor’s house, and a medical clinic in Las Colinas, and to carry the Gospel message to the Haitian people living in the barrios around San Pedro de Macoris. Soon after Peg’s visit, land was acquired, a septic system was installed, walls were built, and construction began.
In 2002, Colegio Evangelico Moriah opened with children in pre-school through grade 8. A 2nd floor was added to the school in order to accommodate more students. Friends of Colegio Moriah was formed in the US to coordinate fund-raising and to help meet whatever needs might arise.
Since then, FBC has participated in construction projects and sent medical teams to the DR every other year, working to grow the school and to provide basic health care to those who have no other access to it.
Recognition Plaques
