In 1991, the Klein family moved down to the Dominican Republic with the goal to earn the right to share the Gospel by first caring for the physical needs of those hurting and then share about the healing love of God. From the very beginning of the first evangelistic outreach clinic, it was clear that the battle was not against flesh and blood, but against evil forces. The presence of voodoo, spiritism and black magic was prevalent in the Dominican. Looking at health issues from a medical point of view, left Gary with an incomplete picture with what he was going to see and experience. Showing the Jesus movie, the evening they arrived at San Juan de la Maguana drew a crowd of hundreds of people. As people watched the movie, it was clear that many had never heard the story of Jesus Christ. They knew they had come to a place where people really needed the Lord. As the movie finished, twelve people raised their hand and came forward to accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. The next day Gary worked into the night and treated 222 patients with a total of 30 accepting Christ! It was the beginning of an exciting period of mission work.

The mission has grown to include a much broader scope today. In addition to Medical Clinics, we are actively involved in church planting, leadership training, interactive youth and children's programs, prison ministry, sports clinics, and so much more. Gary and Cindy have six grown children and nine grandchildren all of which are active in Christian ministry. Although Cindy cherishes the time she spends in the States with her grandchildren, she also loves ministering with Gary and their adult children in the Dominican Republic. Training her Dominican and Haitian spiritual children and grandchildren in the way they should go is her passion. She has known many of the ladies she ministers to throughout their adult lives and has been a Sunday School teacher and Youth Group leader to their children. She has an active woman’s ministry, is the Sunday school administrator, a Sunday school teacher, VBS coordinator, Mission hostess, and helps with the other ministries as well.

After twenty-eight years, the focus is still on earning the right to share the gospel and bringing those who have come to know freedom in Christ into maturity as disciples. The mission has grown into a network of over twenty churches and is committed to helping them develop into independent mature churches.

Donny was born and raised on the mission field in the Dominican Republic. Donny has been training his whole life to continue in his parents footsteps to continue mission work. After high school, he took Bible Institute classes while starting new ministries.

Hanah grew up in the church in the small town of Auburn, Illinois. In 2008, Hanah went on her first mission trip to the Dominican Republic with her church. They were working with CDMM, building a house for a local church member that had just lost his house in a hurricane, and showing Christ’s love with children through Vacation Bible School. She fell in love with the country and decided she wanted to be a missionary one day. Also during this trip Donny and Hanah became good friends and remained friends. Hanah continued going back to the Dominican Republic every other year and her and Donny’s friendship continued to grow until they fell in love.

In 2015, Donny and Hanah were married and began working with Christian Dominican Medical Mission as partners. They had their son Elijah in 2019, and have been enjoying watching him grow up on the mission field. They focus on church growth and help to oversee all the churches of CDMM. They help to oversee the children and student ministries. The goal is to build up leaders and disciples that will go out and make new disciples. Their job is to equip the future leaders in the church of the Dominican Republic. They are excited about planting more churches in unchurched villages and making more kingdom workers.

Sara was born and raised on the mission field In the Dominican Republic when she turned 18 and graduated high school and went to Johnson University to attend college. There she attended classes for her dual major of Family Counseling, and a degree in theology.

Benji was born in the small town of Abilene, Tx but grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of North Texas. He was raised in the church where his parents were Children’s pastors and hosted home groups for years. In the year 2014 Benji began working as a Pivotal response therapist for Children on the autism spectrum, where his heart for people with special needs grew. In 2016 Sara began working at the same clinic where she and Benji became good friends and over the course of the next two years would fall in love.

In March of 2019 Benji and sara got married, and began to call TCAL Church their home church, where their love to serve others became something they loved doing with each other. That same year Benji visited the Dominican Republic for the first time and fell in love the people there! Over the next four years they would have conversations of possibly moving to the Dominican Republic. When David passed in Feb of 2023 the Lord began to clarify the calling and made it clear now was the time to move to the mission field not only to support Donny and Hanah, Partnering with local leaders but also to start new ministries reaching people for Christ.

I was born in 1952, the second oldest of the five Carlson children. Cindy is my younger sister and, even from the start, she was the most adventurous of all of us. It definitely takes faith and a sense of adventure to move off to a foreign land and become a missionary!

I was honored when Gary and Cindy asked me to be their Forwarding Agent. I was reluctant because I already had a full time job as an oil and gas accountant and 6 outstanding grandkids who keep me very busy. I like to spend my spare time at my cabin on the Medina River tubing down the river or kayaking with the grandkids. Cindy and Gary convinced me that I could do it and it wouldn't be that much work. Of coarse, I forgot that this was coming from two people who work harder than anyone I know. I am so blessed by being a part of this mission and look forward to retiring from my full time paying job in the fall and using my God given talents to be more help to CDMM and hopefully, be able to visit the Dominican Republic more often and serve beside the Kleins in some of their mission activities.