Dot and Virgil Youngblood assisted a team of doctors in mission effort sponsored by South Texas Children’s Home

Beeville, Texas – Four Texas doctors and five support team members recently returned from a successful medical mission trip to the Dominican Republic sponsored by South Texas Children’s Home (STCH). Dot and Virgil Youngblood of Mineral Wells were part of the team, which held ten clinics in and around Santo Domingo March 8-15.

The trip was Dot Youngblood’s first trip to a third world country. “It took a couple of days to look beyond the conditions of poverty that surrounded us and begin to just focus on the people and their needs,” Dot said. “But the people were wonderful and so beautiful, and the team was able to treat 1,658 men, women and children while we were there.”

Virgil Youngblood was also taken by the Dominican people and their graciousness. “Even though they were poor and didn’t have the nicest clothes, we found that the people were always clean,” Virgil said. “It was amazing.”

Other team members included: Dr. Rick D. Edwards, Dr. Barbara Estment and Dr. Tim Carter from Corpus Christi; Dr. Tom Ashy from Victoria; Sandra Downs of Beeville; Doretta Brown of Corpus Christi; and Joanna Berry, South Texas Children’s Home vice president of family ministry and international childcare.

The clinics were held in chapels, homes, a community center, a school, under trees and even at a city dump where many people lived. Malnutrition, anemia, and fungal diseases accounted for more than half of the issues due to polluted water, poor diet, lack of education about nutrition, and little money to buy food.

“We discovered that some stomach pain complaints were actually due to hunger because of lack of money for food, which the children were embarrassed to admit,” Dot said. The couple also assisted as doctors treated many for parasites, as well as some with infections, hypertension, pre-eclampsia, an ulcerated knee, compound fractures, chicken pox and even a serious gunshot wound. Vitamins and prenatal vitamins were also dispensed to most of the children and the pregnant moms. Interpreters helped the team teach about the importance of boiling water, keeping wounds and sores clean, wearing shoes, and including the most available vegetables in their diets.

“In the village of Yamasa, where the Dominican Christians have been holding Bible classes and teaching on health and nutrition regularly, less anemia and parasites were found among the people,” Dot said. “Education is so important.”

The Youngbloods felt that getting the right vitamins was one of the most important health needs, especially for the children. “The vitamins help boost the children’s immune systems and give them a hope for a better life,” Dot said. “STCH plans to take a greater supply of vitamins on future trips to follow up with the efforts of this first team.”

Although South Texas Children’s Home has been leading international mission trips to the Dominican Republic for the past couple of years, this was the organization’s first medical mission effort to the area.

“Whoever was praying for us did an amazing job,” Virgil said. “For us to be able to go like we did – from early in the morning until late every day was a miracle.”

Funds for the trip, along with donated supplies and medications, came from participating doctors and team members as well as from other interested individuals and churches around Texas. In 2007, after devastating flooding displaced more than 130,000 Dominicans from their homes, STCH contributed $5,000 toward disaster relief and channeled another $10,000 towards relief donated by churches and individuals.

Todd Roberson, STCH president and CEO, said that STCH’s relatively new international ministry is a natural outgrowth of the 56-year-old organization’s vision and longtime commitment to caring for children and strengthening families.

“Ministering internationally stretches us beyond our borders to needy families and at-risk children in other countries,” Roberson said. “Dot Youngblood serves on the South Texas Children’s Home Board of Directors and it was wonderful for her and Virgil to take part in this trip. We appreciated the spirit, dedication, gifts and all the hard work of the whole medical mission team as they ministered to the Dominican people.”

“The team God put together for this mission was perfect,” Dot said, “with the blend of all our personalities and strengths. We came together as strangers and we left as friends.”

South Texas Children’s Home is a multi-service organization offering basic dependent residential childcare at campuses in Beeville and Goliad, family counseling offices in Victoria and Corpus Christi, and international/humanitarian aid in the Dominican Republic. It is a licensed childcare facility regulated by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services but relies solely on the generosity of individuals, churches, businesses, foundations, the Baptist General Convention of Texas and other organizations for funding.