Dustin’s Dream hosts 8th Heavenly Birthday
The night before he was killed in a home invasion in Dec. 2011, Dustin Chamberlain told his parents he wanted to be a medical missionary. He did not get to see his dream come true, however, his family and friends have worked hard to fulfill that dream by starting the Dustin Chamberlain Memorial Foundation better known as Dustin’s Dream.
On Saturday, Dustin’s Dream hosted Dustin’s eighth Heavenly Birthday Celebration. The event was held at Camp Siloam’s Cedar Hall. This year’s event featured special guests, Pastor Saul and Dr. Layla Perez, and their three children Olivia, Bernabus and Elisabet. Dr. Layla runs the Heart of Love Clinic and Pastor Saul runs the church next to the largest garbage dump in Central America according to Don Chamberlain, Dustin’s father.
Dustin’s Dream built and funds the Heart of Love clinic in Guatemala City. The organization pays 50% of the clinic’s expenses (the other 50% is funded by Life of Hope Ministries from Joplin, Mo.) and also provides medical scholarships to Siloam Springs High School students, according to Deondra Chamberlain, Dustin’s mother, and one of the founders of Dustin’s Dream. Every year, the organization hosts a heavenly birthday party to commemorate Dustin’s passing and to raise funds for their missions.
Several quotes by Dustin’s friends were read by Gary Comiskey, emcee for the evening.
“Dustin inspired me to live my life better by the way he lived his life, by the way he treated others,” Kyle Teague wrote.
“His faith was real. He had an eternal perspective that most 16-, 17-, 18-year-old kids just don’t have,” Dylan Henson said.
“It did not matter who you were or how old you were, Dustin loved you and he would do anything to help you know Christ,” wrote Austin Comiskey.
Dustin’s sister, Danae Chamberlain, said God has taken a tragedy and turned it into a triumph. Danae, who has been on several mission trips to Guatemala said the mission gives a person a lot of perspective on the Lord and the people that are His children.
Along with funding the clinic, the Chamberlains have flown down to Guatemala to work in the clinic, pass out food and meet any other physical or spiritual needs of the residents of the area.
“It’s just quite an experience for someone who has never been on anything like that. I mean there’s no way that you can describe it,” Don said.
After a hot dog and chili supper, guests were treated to a presentation by the Perez family. Dr. Layla described through a translator her daily routine to the audience. She said the day starts at 3 a.m. when people begin to arrive at the clinic. At 5 a.m. the staff will hand out tickets to the crowd. The clinic gives out 50 tickets and those people with tickets are the ones who will be seen during the morning. At 7 a.m. the clinic opens its doors according to Dr. Layla.
“So around 7 a.m., we open our doors and we start taking vital signs, checking symptoms and just seeing what’s going on with the patients. Then at 8 a.m. they have them go see the doctor,” she said. During that time, other staff members will hand out 50 more tickets for the afternoon session.
Dr. Laya went on to say the clinic staff sees so many patients that they lose track of time. At noon, the staff takes a break and make sure they have seen all 50 patients and that the pharmacy is done, Dr. Laya said. After all of this is done, they will go to lunch.
During the afternoon, they will see another 50 patients she said. The afternoon is a little more relaxed and they have time to see all 50 patients according to Dr. Layla. She added that the clinic will normally see 90 to 100 patients per day. Deondra said the clinic sees over 10,000 patients annually.
During the time that patients are waiting to see the doctor, the staff will come and talk a bit about Jesus and pray with them Dr. Laya said. She also said that after seeing the doctor, patients are led to the prayer room and they are visited by members of Pastor Saul’s church who will pray with them. After they are finished praying they will go down to the pharmacy and pick up their medicine.
Pastor Saul was asked by Gary Wheat, pastor of The Assembly in Siloam Springs, what the future looks like for the ministry. Pastor Saul spoke about how thankful he was for the impact his ministry has had on the communities in Guatemala. He added that his church is working to build leaders and people that will help lead those places all around the city.
“Our dream is that these communities will continue to grow and will continue to expand the Gospel and we’ll have leaders of people that will share the love of God with their community,” Pastor Saul said.
Another dream is to expand the church’s ministry for alcoholics and drug addicts according to Pastor Saul. He went on to describe how the ministry presently witnesses to addicts, but they want to go beyond that. According to Pastor Saul, the church wants to find a place where people can come in and receive rehab.
After the Perez family spoke, Comiskey introduced the new executive director for Dustin’s Dream, Chris Borkert. Borkert introduced his family and spoke about how special it was to get to know the Chamberlain family and the board, and meeting the Perez family.
“I am very honored to be a part of this next chapter for Dustin’s Dream Foundation,” Borkert said.
After Borkert finished speaking, the first part of the auction was held. Several pies and homemade items were auctioned off. The two items that received the highest bids of $1,000 was a cherry pie and cinnamon rolls both donated by Jill Teague. This was followed by the Hero awards, which are given to people who have contributed a lot of time to the ministry.
This year’s winners were Dillon Butler, one of Dustin’s best friends and Dustin’s Dream’s unofficial auctioneer; and Bob Draughn. Draughn’s son, Austin was Dustin’s room mate in college and Draughn himself took part in several mission trips to Guatemala. The night ended with the conclusion of the auction.
According to Deondra, the preliminary total from the auction and donations is $23,000. Deondra said they were extremely happy with raising over $20,000, but they are still looking for monthly donors who are able to help with the missions and to meet the commitments of 2020.