Less of me, more of You//Más de Ti, menos de mí

Baní is the headquarters of the South central General Directorate of the National Police, the Central Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture and the South Regional Directorate of the General Directorate of Traffic Safety and Land Transport (DIGESETT).

The settlement by the colonizers in the Baní plain has its origins in the beginning of the 16th century, during the beginning of sugar production. In its vicinity there were several sugar mills near the Nizao and Ocoa rivers. One of the most important mills was founded by Alonso de Suazo, judge of the Royal Court of Santo Domingo, on the banks of the Ocoa River.

From 1680 to 1684 families from the Canary Islands spread throughout the fields nearby Santo Domingo, especially through the territories of today’s Baní. After a synod in 1683, a parish, dedicated to Our Lady of Regla, was erected in Baní to serve as a center of worship for the surrounding haciendas and estancias.

According to a book written on the founding families of Baní: Pimentel, Mejia, Rivera, Herrera, Ortiz, Garcia, Ruiz, Lara, Machado, Melo, Castro, Peynado, Sanchez, Dias, Pena, Jimenez, Caraballo, Bernal, Lluberes, Soto, Carvajal, Perez, Olivas, Aybar, Fernandez, Pereyra, Rodriguez, Enriquez, Gutierrez, Rojas, Leon, Gonzalez, Araujo, Nieto, and Cabral. In addition to these, the Báez and the Guerrero were a strong part of the establishment of the city.^[5]

The city of Baní was officially founded on 2 March 1764, when a sale contract for 374 Spanish dollars was signed between the parishioners of Baní and the del Castillo and Báez families, the owners of the land in which Baní was to be erected, under the auspices of the Spanish governor Don Manuel de Azlor. Father Manuel Franco de Medina, the parochial vicar, participated in this negotiation, representing the landowners, while General Pablo Romero represented the neighbors.

On the same day, the streets of the town were laid out the parishioners divided the land, laid out the streets, and began to build what would become their town houses, as in that time, people typically used to have a farm and house in the countryside and a house in the most nearby town. Also, the local parish was enlarged by adding a chapel.

In 1789 Baní was an ethnically homogeneous town, with a white population of Canary Islander origin that reached 2,000 inhabitants; the base of its economy was cattle ranching (mainly swine) and logging. Agriculture in that era was non-existent.

Despite the efforts of Governor Azlor, Baní would not have a town council nor autonomy from the city of Santo Domingo until 1810, because during the 1700s the Santo Domingo elite of Basque and Castilian origin disdained the Canary Islander population for their supposed “moral inferiority” and ethnic difference from Peninsular Spaniards. By 1810 much of the old colonial elite had fled to Venezuela due to the 1805 Haitian invasion.

After the Independence, the Central Government Board established a territorial division of the Republic in 1844, which made Baní a commune in the Department of Santo Domingo. In 1844 Baní was the headquarters of the “Ocoa Battalion” unit of the Dominican Army made up of soldiers from the region and composed of two Rifle Companies and one of Hunters.

Baní was connected by land with Santo Domingo through the royal road, being a narrow in a trip that lasted around 12 hours, which communicated with the south of the country through the communities of Sombrero, Matanzas, Sabana Buey and Palmar de Ocoa. To transport goods, the sea route was used using schooners, through coastal ports that existed along the coast.

January 23, 2026. Yesterday was the last day in Barahona, Dominican Republic, as per what I heard from the Holy Spirit to come to Bani, Dominican Republic. I did not get a lot of sleep, waking up every two hours, praying, going to the bathroom and then the alarm went off at 7 AM, as I had heard to tell the taxi driver that would pick me up to come at 8 AM, the suitcase was ready, the clothe I heard to wear was ready, as per what I heard to wear, made an instant cappuccino, ate a piece of carrot cake, gathered the garbage and got ready, after talking to the Holy Spirit and listening to the Bible as I got ready and ate. The taxi driver came and I asked if he could help me bring the suitcase down, which he did, he took me to the receiving money place, then to the bus company, I gave him what I heard to give him and I was led to ask if he could pray for me and then I was led to pray for him. At the bus company that was bringing me to Bani the Good News of Jesus was shared in the waiting area, after getting the ticket which costs $350 Dominican Pesos, as it was an express big bus. It took about 2 hours and a half to get to Bani, as it made a couple of stops and one was at a food stop where there was a bathroom which was a blessing. In the bus I handed the Good News of Jesus paper as led to give, that says in Spanish:

Jesus wants you to know that He loves you. He wants a relationship with you. Jesus is the way, the truth, the life, and the only way to God. If we repent and proclaim Jesus as our God and Savior, we receive the Holy Spirit, are baptized by immersion in water, and begin a new life where we have forgiveness, we are never alone, we become the Lord’s legitimate sons and daughters, healing, purpose, eternal life, and much more. Talk to Jesus and surrender your life to Him; He wants to hear from you. Go to this free link on Google: Less-of-me-more-of-you.com and search for the Study and Discipleship with the book of Matthew.

When getting off the bus there were many stores, but the people in the store right in front of where the bus dropped me off were led to help with the suitcase, and get me a margarita, which is what they call this motor taxi looking small car in this town, in other towns it has another name. I was tired by then, but kept going as the room was not ready, as it had been rented the night before. The person in charge of the online renting app assigned me another room while the room I would be in was getting cleaned. I was led to leave the things and ask the same margarita driver who was led to give me his number in case I needed transportation, to take me to one of the supermarkets and he dropped me off. In the store I was led to get a watch and this one not to give away unless the Holy Spirit tells me so, as it has happened with the other ones, there was also a spiritual reason why there as the woman had been praying for the Lord to send her someone to buy something, so I was led to share the Good News of Jesus paper, get the watch, pray for her and give her a hug when leaving. I was led on what to get as there is a small fridge in the room and a small coffee maker, where I could heat up the water to make the oatmeal, instant coffee and tea. The items were bought as well as lunch, with me sensing to sit and eat there, it was to share the Good News of Jesus out loud at the food court and sit with two ladies that needed to understand the Good News and hear other testimonies, I was led to pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit for one and her body, as she is around 86 years old and has such a big faith.

The margarita driver came and picked me up, coming inside to help with the cart. One of the ladies gave me her number and she was so amazed of how the Holy Spirit moves; she also shared that she lives close to the town my daughter was born in and how the Holy Spirit gives some kind of familiarity when HE wants to share something with us. The Holy Spirit is the biggest connector, all for the souls in the Great Commission. I was led to drop off the items bought to then go do the hair shaping and hair color, as I had heard to get them done here in Bani, and it was also for the owner of the salon to receive Jesus as her Lord and Savior, and the woman that works with her, as well as be anointed with the Holy Spirit, she was also led to make me the insulin and cinnamon tea, as she has a small electrical stove in the salon and a pot. We spoke and then I was so hungry and tired that I was led to take a shower and eat the food that had been bought at the food court that was left from lunch. I cried and cried, being touched by the Holy Spirit, as I have been led to stay and have been in so many places, all for the souls in the Great Commission. I was also reminded how one day before all of this my daughter and I watched a movie about a man that was sent to a country and my daughter said: ma I could see you doing that, the gift of prophesy in her.

In the supermarket where I was also led to sit with the two women one mentioned that I gave them a sense of being like a nun without the nun clothe they said, they mentioned they felt the sanctification the Lord had done in me and the obedience, which being that they proclaimed to be Catholic nuns are the closest they had known as people who fully give their lives to the Lord. One of them mentioned that I reminded her of the scripture that says: “Many are called, but few are chosen”, it is a scripture that took me sometime to understand, which is a phrase from Jesus’ Parable of the Wedding Feast in Matthew 22:14, meaning that while the invitation to salvation or a high purpose is extended to many, only a few respond with the necessary faith, repentance, and obedience to be selected. It highlights the contrast between hearing the call and truly responding to it.
Key interpretations and contexts include:
Biblical Context (Matthew 22:1-14): In the parable, a king invites many to a wedding, but some ignore it while others are hostile. The final “chosen” are those who attend, symbolizing those who accept God’s grace and are “clothed in righteousness”.
The Call vs. The Chosen: The “call” is the general, widespread invitation of the gospel to everyone. The “chosen” are those who accept this, representing a smaller group that genuinely follows.
Requirement for Faith: Being “chosen” is not just about being invited, but about accepting the invitation with a faithful, sincere heart, as opposed to a casual or “ho-hum” attitude.
General Interpretation: Beyond its religious origins, the phrase is often used to mean that many people are considered or apply for an opportunity, but only a few are ultimately selected, often due to qualifications or dedication.
The phrase emphasizes that while the opportunity for salvation is vast, only a small portion takes the necessary steps to secure it.

Last night I heard where to go today and what to wear, which was to the jail, prayed, listened to the book of Proverbs, put some breakfast together, as led by the Holy Spirit, went down to give a scripture from the Bible I heard for the salon owner to read, called the margarita driver and went to the jail. In the jail, there were two officers sitting and one was the opposition, making jokes about me getting him a microwave and the other trying to direct me to where I needed to go. I was led to go into an office, gave the Good News of Jesus paper to the people working inside and everyone that passed thru and the officer said to go to the gate and ask to go in the jail, which they said had about 800 inmates. I was led to give everyone the Good News of Jesus paper as they passed by, including the inmates and police officers, and people they were also bringing in. Two pastors were called who are two men that rose while incarcerated, to do church services on Saturday’s and Sundays, and today they seemed to be having an activity as they shared with me when they came out. I was led to pray for them, for the anointing of the Holy Spirit and to encourage them, give them an offering as heard for whatever they needed and was led to leave, giving the Good News of Jesus paper to everyone as I was led, walking out to take another margarita, who dropped me off where I could get lunch and dinner, where is about two blocks from where the Holy Spirit has me, and they also do delivery. When I arrived to the room with a bathroom, I heard to shower, living everything to that had been done to the Lord and then earing half of the food bought to eat the other half later. I do end up kind of drained after going out there, but the Lord recharges and keeps me moving, as a lot comes out when out there in the Great Commission, with all the spiritual moves. There is a lot of deliverance too.

This last picture is of the nations that have gone into this page today, which the Holy Spirit led to be created with HIS leading for the souls and the Great Commission. The place the Holy Spirit has me in is in the center of the town, very busy in the day and night. The Holy Spirit places us where HE needs us to be for very specific people. Thankful for all that are praying for both my daughter and I, who are also of monetary support and those who will be, as you can read, all for the souls in the Great Commission.

Please be of monetary support, to become partners of this Great Commission, for the rent, light, transportation, food, needed items for the time with the disciples and all that is needed to do the Great Commission, no amount is too little or too big. These are the different platforms or ways to send the offerings: Zelle is Lourdes K Delacruz: Lourdeskdelacruz@gmail.com. CashApp: Lourdes Delacruz: $Lourdeskdelacruz, Venmo: Lourdes Delacruz, @Lourdes-Delacruz. Revolut: Lourdes Delacruz, @lourdeh0t5. For BHD bank(Dominican Republic): 36436030019, Lourdes De La Cruz, BANRESERVAS: 9603622008, PayPal: Lourdes Delacruz, @Yonkers16, Western Union: Lourdes Karenina De La Cruz, you can send me a message thru WhatsApp, thru the number at the end of this message, to ask me what country and state I am in, and to send me the receipt with the amount, your information and the tracking number, once the money is sent to: Lourdeskdelacruz@gmail.com Or contact me thru WhatsApp: 849-428-6776

Thankful for those the Holy Spirit leads to read, share and subscribe to this blog, all for the souls in the Great Commission. Make sure to go into the Less-of-me-more-of-you.com page for more teachings and testimonies. How is the Holy Spirit speaking to you thru these blog posts?

Watch this short video till the end, he speaks in English: