THE FACELESS DOLL
Nearly every souvenir shop in the Dominican Republic sells muñecas sin caras, or "faceless dolls." Many of these are nicely hand-crafted from terracotta or other simple materials and come in different sizes, styles and prices. Their only common feature is...well, their lack of any features at all (facial features, that is).
Ironically, Dominicans view a featureless doll as the best representation of themselves. The reason is that the population of this verdant Caribbean island includes Europeans, Africans, Latinos, Asians and just about everything in between.
The genius of the "faceless doll" is that it cries out for an explanation. Yet, an explanation of this nation's turbulent past is complicated. Discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492, the Dominican Republic (DR) shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. Its history has been plagued with treachery and peppered with tyrants. Though it currently enjoys political stability and the region's largest economy, this has not always been so.*
Since the days of Columbus, Dominican religious life has been dominated by the Roman Catholic Church. In its typically syncretistic fashion, Roman Catholic teaching accommodated the animism and superstitions of the DR's indigenous peoples; many of these are still evident today.
PARTNERING TOGETHER
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The Turners (BMW)
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The Webbs (GFMA)
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Biblical Ministries Worldwide will be entering the DR for the first time in a partnership between Jason and Erica Turner (BMW missionaries) and John and Kelly Webb, missionaries with Global Faith Mission Agency. The Webbs have served as church planters in Santiago, DR for six years. New Life Baptist Church is a thriving and growing ministry, and the addition of another missionary couple will enable the church to focus more on training national leaders, reproducing itself and precipitating a church-planting 
movement by Dominican believers. Next year we would like to conduct a survey of the north coast of the country, where there is still a number of large towns without sound Bible-preaching churches.
If you are interested in becoming part of a church-planting ministry in the Dominican Republic, please contact Area Director Rob Heijermans for additional information. If you wish to learn more about the Turners and their ministry, go to www.turnerconnection.blogspot.com.
*For an excellent summary of the Dominican Republic's history and current situation, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Republic.
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