What he saw gave him the impetus to launch Orphanage Outreach. So I thought that instead of taking all of these medical teams down, what if we brought primarily non-medical people down and try to make a difference. How little it would take to really improve these kids' lives. That is what we have been doing. Since its beginnings, the organization has sponsored 25 trips to the Dominican Republic.
Most missions are about a week.
The 1997 schedule has featured 13 trips, many of them related to holidays, including two Thanksgiving mission trips, one week after the other. An Arizona contingent has made it an annual venture. Work done this year includes building two rooms to the Nagua orphanage, drilling a well, lighting a basketball court, sponsoring 1600 eye exams by 17 optometrists from Alabama, building a chicken coop, replacing a roof on a kitchen and dining room, supplying food and clothing and other items that allow orphanages to stay open.