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Missionaries Profile

Dominican Republic

Access to potable water supply: 79%

Per capital income: US$5,507

Life expectancy: 67.2 years

Religions: Roman Catholic; Protestant; other

Languages: Spanish, Haitian Creole

Ethnic Groups: The majority is of mixed ethnicity, others of Caucasian or African ancestry

Location: East of Haiti on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean

Size: 18,680 square miles, or 513,115 square kilometers, or about two-and-one-half times as large as New Jersey

Population: 8,581,000 (2001 est.)

"I find incredible joy and fulfillment in working with children," says Kristy Engel, who uses her skills in nursing and education in medical ministry in the Dominican Republic.


Spending time as a mission volunteer in Haiti helped Kristy to realize that God was calling her into medical mission. After completing nursing school, she returned to Haiti and worked in pediatrics at Good Samaritan Hospital in Limbé for eighteen months. Now she works with the Good Samaritan Hospital in La Romana, Dominican Republic, ministering to Haitians who are among the poorest in the country. She travels daily to batey (work camp) villages and barrios providing medical attention where so many have been unwilling or unable to offer these services. "I also work with my dog, Kobe, to teach children proper hygiene by brushing his teeth, bathing him and brushing his coat," she says. "Most of the children know my dog’s name better than my own!"


Kristy believes few people enter the field of medical ministry because of perceived hardship and often-volatile work environments. "Unfortunately, this means that many people around the world will suffer and die due to lack of medical treatment," she says. "I have found that God has given me a greater sense of His purpose through nursing on the mission field."


Kristy also leads many American work teams that minister to the needs in the Dominican Republic.