DR Dreams: DR Bibles & Bricks Youth Mission Trip
July 11, 2026 | Written by Shelley Lyons.
When I turned 40, I received the gift of a trip to the DR with Second Presbyterian. I had always wanted to go on a mission trip, and this was a great opportunity to make that dream come true with my church family. Once in the DR, I felt a full range of emotions: joy, kindness, connection, openness, laughter, and love, not only for those we sought to serve in the DR, but also those that I traveled with from Second Pres. God’s presence in that space flowed through us all. Our team quickly bonded through travel and experience, and it was such a wonderful time, that I returned two more times.
While I left on these trips, my family at home was patient and encouraging. My daughters were tiny that first year, Foster would have been 2 and Madelyn 5, and while a little hard for them to understand, Ken was great at telling them about Mom’s adventures. Over those years of travel, I was able to watch parents experience these trips with their own children, Jeff Smith and Olivia, Carolyn Sharpe and Ali, Ruth Robertson and Kate. These parents had both an experience with their children, and were also able to see how this experience was impacting their young, growing adults. I knew that one day, I wanted that same opportunity.
Fast forward 11 years, and last week, that second dream came true. Madelyn and I traveled with an amazing (vamp) group of people to San Juan de la Maguana. My heart was opened again, seeing the children in the DR, seeing their joy, despite their poverty, and connecting with the Solid Rock staff to create a trip always to be remembered, and then wished to be repeated. Yet, nothing compared to seeing this trip through Madelyn’s joy (as well as her fellow youth).
Day one, we walked to the barrio behind the Guesthouse and there was immediate connection with the children, despite any language barrier. The children immediately climbed aboard everyone, on their backs, on their shoulders, the higher the better. Such an open embrace, to those who are unknown, to those who have such different lives, and none of that mattered, to anyone. High fives all around, special handshakes and touching and fixing the girls’ hair, children showing us around the block, the boys tapping on the tin roof of neighboring houses because they were such giants on top of the boys’ shoulders. I couldn’t imagine a bigger smile on Madelyn’s face that first day, and those connections continued throughout the week, in each area we traveled.
Full circle and quickly our journey was ending, and so much had transpired in five enormously packed days. What started as an attempt to connect and explore, turned into an overwhelming gift of beauty, with each of us changed forever. None of us will ever forget those that we met in our time with Solid Rock, and the children we met along the way will never forget us. God offered a gift to each of us in this way, our connection despite our differences, our understanding despite our privilege, our smiles and laughs and hugs that carry us forward. I am so thankful to God for my experience and for the experience I saw again through Madelyn’s eyes. Two more years and Foster is next!
