GALION — David Connell and his family have made a unique decision. The Connells are leaving behind a home, David’s stable career at Therm-O-Disc in Mansfield, family and friends to serve an international mission.
This faith-based mission aims to change lives in the Dominican Republic.
“The Connell family is doing this because of their unwavering faith that God can change lives, families and communities, especially among least-reached groups of people,” said Christine Gfrer, a colleague of Connell’s at Therm-O-Disc. “He and his family will be a part of developing native leaders and helping guide their strategy as they convert their vision into reality, multiplying its impact.
“The lives of the Connell family will drastically change when they relocate in a few months, but that is nothing compared to the impact they will make on the communities they are helping. To say they are an inspiration is an understatement.”
We asked Connell, Director of Business Development & Marketing at Therm-O-Disc, through Emerson Commercial & Residential Solutions, a number of questions about the mission. His responses are below.
RICHLAND SOURCE: Can you introduce us to your family?
DAVID CONNELL: I am 47 years old and live in Galion. I work at Therm-O-Disc in Mansfield as the Director of Business Development & Marketing. Even though my wife, Stephanie, and I both went to Ohio State, we actually first met at Therm-O-Disc back in 1997. We now have three children, Melina, Celia and Will and they attend Lexington schools.
RS: What is Stephanie’s background?
DC: My wife grew up in Ontario and received a Journalism degree at Ohio State and then a Teaching certification at Ashland. She worked as a high school English teacher in Columbus until we had children. Several years ago, she began working again at our church in the missions ministry.
RS: How will this impact your careers?
DC: The decision to move our family to another country certainly changes our career plans. Stephanie has ended her employment in order to make preparations. I too will end my employment at Therm-O-Disc to pursue this new venture. We have made a four-year commitment and are not sure how things will go after that.
Will we need to stay? Will we move to a different country to continue the mission? Will we return to the US and try to find employment again? I have thought a lot about that last question … a 50-plus-year-old trying to find a new job is neither easy nor a sure thing.
RS: What type of educational transition will your children have to make?
DC: Our kids are 18, 15, and 13 years old. Their safety and their future were without a doubt the biggest considerations with which we wrestled. How would living in a Third World-culture with different languages and education standards impact the trajectory of their lives? Certainly it would. Do we teach them? Do we trust the local schools?
At the same time, we also recognized learning a second language and getting cross-culture experience would likely enrich their lives in ways we couldn’t measure. They all excel at school now getting very good grades so we feel confident they will adapt and be able to come back to college in the U.S. when they are ready to do so.
RS: Do all members of the family know Spanish?
DC: My wife took Spanish in high school and college, and all of our kids have been taking Spanish classes in school as well. I’m probably the weakest of them all, but Duolingo has been a huge help! We will all go to a customized language school once we move to the Dominican, which will definitely accelerate our integration.
RS: When do you plan to leave and return?
DC: We will go to month-long training in North Carolina in March. After that, timing to get to the Dominican Republic will depend on when our house sells, visas come through, customs clearances, etc. … but we expect no later than June. Our return will depend on where things stand in 2023.
Will we need to stay? Will we move to a different country to continue the mission? Will we return to the U.S. and try to find employment again? It is unknown right now, but we will assess everything then.
RS: Where will you be living specifically in the Dominican Republic?
DC: The Dominican Republic is on the east side of the island with Haiti on the west. We will live on the south side of the country, just north of Santo Domingo. Originally we intended to live in the poor rural village we have visited for several years, but there isn’t much housing there and nothing became available. We are currently working with local friends to help us secure a place to rent a little closer to town.
RS: What triggered your decision to embark on this mission?
DC: That is a long story, but I would say this … On Feb. 3, 2012, my wife experienced a severe traumatic event that led to our world being shaken as it challenged us to the core physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Sleepless nights and fear-filled days became a reality. At times our experiences were very dark in nature, and we cried out to God, to Jesus for help; asking for protection, for relief, for healing.
And then there were long stretches of silence, when we did not understand what he was doing and questioned not only his goodness, but even his existence. And yet, along the way there were also times when God did show up in amazing ways, supernatural ways that we were able to hold onto, which gave us encouragement and hope to keep going during the difficult times. It was a battle I never would have imagined.
Coming through it, God broke us. We began to realize that we really didn’t have much control in life, and then we wondered, what was our lives all about anyways. We reached the point of saying, OK God, whatever you want us to do we will do, wherever you want us to go we will go. Once we came to that point, God began opening new doors.
We had been sponsoring a child in the Dominican Republic for multiple years through the organization Partners in Christ, and they asked if sponsors wanted to go visit ‘their’ child. We thought it would be good for our kids to get exposure to a Third-World culture and decided to go.
Two things impacted us so heavily on that trip. One, Stephanie experience rest and peace like she hadn’t experienced in nearly two years. And two, we fell in love with the wonderful people the village. So the following year, we went again … and have done so every year since. During these trips, we saw the issues and needs there: the chronic poverty, the broken families, the need for education, the dreams struggling to be realized, the darkness of voodoo, etc.
As our love for the people began to align with our willingness to actually serve them, God began opening doors for us to go do it. Then we had to make a big decision … will we actually do it?
RS: Do you have a list of goals or tangible results you expect to accomplish while living there?
DC: Once we decided we will go, God opened more doors with other organizations that engaged us with the entire region across the Caribbean and all of Latin America. So we now have a Dominican plan and a Regional plan all focused around a common vision. Ultimately, we believe a truth-filled walk with Jesus and the development of skills for leaders and individuals can transform lives, families, and communities that produce goodness in a society.
Dominican Goals:
Provide an English education to children and adults (very important in helping them get higher paying jobs).
Provide leadership training to local leaders.
Build relationships with US and global organizations who can help meet specific strategic program needs.
Regional Goals:
Develop a team of missionaries located in strategic countries / areas across the region.
Have team members develop and equip local leaders to help them fulfill their vision when it aligns with ours.
Build relationships with US and global organizations who can help meet specific strategic program needs.
RS: Whose idea was this and what was the reaction of the rest of the family when moving to the Dominican Republic was proposed?
DC: Once we knew that we knew that we knew that God was in this and was in fact driving it, my wife and I wrestled with all the many variables and potential outcomes. We obtained counsel and input from many people and prayed fervently. Ultimately, with both trembling and excitement we decided … let’s do this!
RS: What special skills do you or your family members have you hope to utilize on this trip?
DC: My wife will utilize her skills and experience as an English teacher to teach English. I will utilize my job skills and experience in strategy development and global team management to lead missionaries across the region, drive strategic initiatives, and continually measure results.
RS: Anything more you would like to explain or detail that we didn’t ask you about specifically?
DC: Not sure how you could weave this into it, but we do not get paid anything for this and have to raise all of our own finances for living expenses, work/ministry expenses, travel expenses, everything … and we would welcome any financial support to meet our on-going budget needs. Contributions would be tax deductible and can be made on our webpage (www.converge.org/give/209737) or checks can be mailed payable to: Converge, 2002 S. Arlington Heights Rd., Arlington Heights, Illinois 60005, Reference: Connell – 209737.
RS: We certainly want to wish you good luck on your trip!
Christine Gfrer: The employees of Therm-O-Disc are amazed by Dave’s story.
