Photos by Karen Workman

Story by Donna Fisher from reports by Karen Workman and Ardell Graner

Twelve days, ten team members, four different demonstration sites, seven cooking demonstrations — UM Missionary Ardell Graner called the most recent Solar Oven Partners mission to the Dominican Republic “a wonder, a blessing and a significant opportunity” in impoverished small towns in the southern region. 

Photo: Solar Oven Partners work team spent 12 days in the Dominican Republic on the most ambitious oven-building project to date. Team members: Karen Workman, Meri Martin, Brenda Hare, Ruth Jost Harding  (Front Row).  Phil Lint, UM Missionaries Gordy & Ardell Graner, Dave & Mary McCaa, Jerry Suko, Randy Jost, SOP Director Rick Jost (Back Row).

“It is a small step to amend the damage to our earthly home. Also the solar oven gives people who have few economic resources a chance to save money spent on fuel for other necessities in their lives,” Ardell wrote on her blog.

Before the team arrived, a sea container full of solar oven components had been shipped from the Dakotas and delivered to Santa Domingo. 5000 black enamel cooking pots (3 per oven) had been ordered from Mexico and also arrived according the schedule. But Dominican custom tax was ridiculously high and so was the daily storage fee. Without enamel cooking pots, the scheduled cooking demonstrations couldn’t happen.

“We had to wrestle the government bureaucrats until the final hours of the last day, but the pots were finally liberated from taxes, but we did have to pay storage,” Ardell reported. “We met Rick and the solar oven team at the airport (on March 7) with the good news that the pots had been liberated from government captivity the night before and we all rejoiced.”

Photo: Ardell’s enthusiastic work and the assistance of women team members got ingredients mixed and placed in the 10-12 solar ovens we used daily in fairly record time,” wrote SOP team member Karen Workman. “What a lively, joyous adventure in very, very sparse, bare kitchens of various churches— working side by side with Dominican women."

Veteran team member Karen Workman has seen both the extensive planning that precedes a Solar Oven Partners team’s arrival and the unexpected stress of last minute glitches. She rated the experiences of the March trip a resounding success.  The success of the mission trip came about thanks to the assistance of the Spanish-speaking missionaries and the Graners who are North Dakota natives.

Oven-building and cooking demonstrations in the communities of Batey 7, Duverge, Mella, and Jaquimeyes illustrated joyful chaos as adolescents, children and adults all came to see what the solar ovens and cooking demonstrations were all about.  “The result was great as there are now 90 more families with a solar oven,” Ardell Graner wrote. 

Click here to follow Ardell and Gordon’s work in Dominican communities.

Learn more details and see more pictures from the March trip at Solar Oven Partners on Facebook and at the SOP web page.

Your continuing contributions buy materials to make oven components at our Volga, SD, and Moffit, ND, workshops and help our Volunteers in Mission team prepare for another trip to the Dominican Republic of wonder, blessing and opportunity.

Volunteer to serve Solar Oven Partners through the 10,000 Miracle Offering. Volunteers can serve at workshop sites in North and South Dakota to assemble and package oven components as well as general maintenance and upkeep.  Volunteers can also serve at the main office in Brookings, SD, by helping out with mailings and other administrative duties.  For a joy-filled, faith-strengthening, mind-expanding experience, join a SOP Volunteer in Mission team to build ovens in the Dominican Republic. 

Click here for all of the details on the10,000 Miracle Offering.

Solar Oven Partners from Dakotas UMC on Vimeo.