Do you ever wonder how one side of an island can thrive while the other side is a dank sewer of despair? I mean I don't hear stories of disease and starvation from the Dominican Republic.
When you fly over the island, you can tell, even without knowing geography, which side is which. The Haitian side looks brown and barren. I’ve been on several short term mission trips to the Dominican Republic (DR). Poverty, crime, disease and hunger exist there. I don’t know all the answers, but maybe our tour guide of the old city of Santo Domingo had a good grasp of the answer. He said: “We are grateful to the Spaniards, because they brought us Jesus. He replaced the gods who required sacrifices of children. We are grateful to President Kennedy, because he brought us democracy and freedom.” Haiti has primarily lived under a dicatorship, and practices voodoo. The DR has primarily lived under a democracy, and is predominantly Christian.