One of Esperanza’s most prominent characteristics is that it meets its associates where they are, both figuratively and literally. For example, associates do not need to have to have a perfect credit score in order to receive a loan. In fact, most have never even had a bank account. Additionally, Esperanza’s loan officers frequently go to extreme lengths to provide support to the organization’s associates.

In Hato Mayor, many associates live in communities an hour or more away from the branch office. Despite this, loan officers make the trek down backroads and over mountain ridges to reach these associates to ensure that they are realizing their incredible potential and experiencing the power and hope of Christ.

My first full day in the office, Josué, a loan officer in Hato Mayor, invited me to accompany him to his BDE meetings in Peña Alta (a community located high in the distant mountains). I excitedly accepted his offer. Little did I know, this seemingly routine visit was about to turn into a Dominican adventure.

Josué told me that we would be going on a three hour trip─leaving at 9 AM and returning around noon. The trip to Peña Alta would take about an hour each way on Josué’s motorcycle (by the way, I had never ridden on the back of a moto before–especially not for over an hour on rough backroads, so this was sure to be an adventure.) We started the trek to Peña Alta and left Hato Mayor behind in the dust clouds of the moto.

About 20 minutes into the drive, our dust clouds quickly vanished…our back tire had ruptured. Josué and I dismounted the bike  to survey the situation. Upon seeing the damage, the loan officer glanced at me and said, “Well, let’s start pushing.” I realized that not even this flat tire was going to stop us from making it to Peña Alta.

Josué and I pushed the moto for about fifteen minutes before I had broken a heavy sweat and was starting to wonder how we were ever going to make it all the way to the community. “So where exactly are we going again?” I asked the loan officer. He stopped pushing and took a step back. Pointing through the trees, he looked at the tallest mountain on the landscape, foggy in the distance. “We’re pushing this moto all the way up that mountain? There’s no way we make it by dark.” I thought to myself. Josué matter-of-factly shrugged, and we went back to guiding the moto up the hill.

Just as the heat of the day was becoming unbearable, we saw a structure in the distance–the outskirts of a rural community. There, we found a mechanic, who graciously repaired our flat tire, and Josué and I were on our way to Peña Alta again. The paved road soon disappeared, and quickly after, the dirt road disappeared as well. We were slowly driving along an unkempt path that guided us across streams and along mountain ridges. Finally, Josué told me to get off the moto: we had gone as far as we could on the bike. From here, we would travel on foot. We walked through a dense wooded area and along more ridges until we found a cluster of tin homes nestled into the terrain. There were crops planted on terraces and freshly-washed clothes hanging from barbed wire fences. This was our community. We met several individuals–all of which welcomed us into their homes with warm hearts.

This community was tucked into a corner of the mountains that I never would have been able to find, an obscure location that few ever visit. That afternoon, I understood for the first time what Esperanza means when we say that “we work where the most vulnerable live.”

On that eventful Thursday morning, I learned how intentional and passionate this organization is about empowering those crippled by poverty. They spread the hope of Christ and provide opportunity to those who see none on the horizon. I helped push a moto for 30 minutes up a steep mountain. I rode along a back road so narrow that I could reach out both arms and feel tree branches on each side. I walked along astonishingly high mountain ridges. All to find and serve a quaint community of associates who are now improving their businesses, supporting their families, and growing in their faiths with the Lord.

The Word of God says, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” No matter how far we must travel, no matter at what cost, no matter how difficult the journey, we must persevere to love our neighbors where they are, to support them in their endeavors, and to share with them the hope of Christ that sustains each of us in every day of our lives.