February - Reaching the Youth of La Vega

Please pray for this weekend and the next three weekends in February for the "United For Him" event.  We are asking the Lord for great weather, and a wonderful move of His Spirit among the young people attending. Please pray that all financial needs for the event will be met.

Elias Castillo

"Unidos Por El" (United For Him), is the youth event that your missionaries have been very involved with for the past four years.  In fact it is Mitch Martinez and Elias Castillo who are the executive producers of this faith venture.  It is a series of Youth Concerts every weekend in February, which have been organized to create a Christian alternative to the wild Carnival Festival which seems to envelope like a dark cloud the city of La Vega every year. . The spirit of partying, and promiscuity is promoted all weekend long.  Violence and vehicle accidents are par for this event.  Concerned that even children were being drawn into this event, we networked with area youth pastors and began coming together for a clean, spiritual, counterbalance for young people. From a couple of hundred young people, we have grown to over two thousand in these four years.  From Contemporary Christian music, to Christian Rap and Rock, there is something for every one in the family.  I am attaching a link to a video made at

Can a Missionary spend time at the Beach?

I hate to say it, but sometimes there are stereotypes about missionaries that don't match reality? The question of should a missionary enjoy a trip to the beach of course doesn't apply to missionaries working in landlocked countries (of course lakes and rivers have beaches too).  I hate to admit this to those of you who don't know where the Dominican Republic is, but yes we live on a beautiful Caribbean island.  The island was originally dubbed Hispaniola (Espanola) by Christopher Columbus, and was

discovered on his very first journey.  The Taino indians that inhabited this island, called it Quisqueya.  Today the island is split between two very different nations; French-speaking Haiti, and Spanish-speaking
Dominican Republic. The DR is the larger in land mass of the two.  Four fifths of this nation is

Holiday Visits

It was difficult to stretch two weeks in the states into our schedule, but it had to be done.  Difficult because there was so much happening in La Vega, and so many things that had to be put on hold.  We are coordinating the construction of the addition for the Rieles Church, and also in the process of setting up for the 8 day "Unidos Por El Youth Eventl"  in February (this is a Carnaval Alternative for Youth).
We are also applying for a Christian TV channel in La Vega. In December, Debbie was following up the process of obtaining water pumps from the government for the wells we had dug in the Rieles.  We now have three pumps in place thanks to Elias Castillo's help last week.  She has also been gathering toys and gifts for poor children in the Rieles area to be distributed for Three Kings Day celebration (Observed January the 9th this year).  A
wonderful partnering church in Boca Grande (UMC) shipped us 400 lbs of gifts.

 It was wonderful to have an opportunity to be with our children and grandchildren during the Christmas season.  Every three years our mission strongly encourages us to

Ministering in the Mountains of Constanza

Yesterday we drove up to the town of Tireo (2 1/2 hours from La Vega), bearing 150+ Christmas gifts for children.  We have been blessed to work alongside Pastor Felix Rivera for a number of years. He has a growing ministry in this area.  He had invited us to help in their annual Christmas program. These gifts were sent by a generous church from Wills Valley in Alabama that supports Pastor Felix and his ministry.  He has six After School programs he is developing in nearby communities. This is a program to augment what children are learning in the public schools. The purpose is to help children catch up where they are weak in their studies. He also provides a meal for these children on a daily basis. He has planted one church and is working on another in a community called Villa Hortalizas.

It is truly a beautiful drive.  Each curve on the road of the ascent reveals

The Power of Long Term Relationships

The blessing started Saturday when Faelo called me to say that his dad and mom wanted to come to church this Sunday. I had told him last week that I was willing to pick up his dad and take him to church if he wanted to come.  Faelo is a multi-talented individual (he just finished the rough-in plumbing on the addition to the Rieles church, and is helping us to hunt for a good deal for a van for the children's program, he has also traveled to Japan to bring in vehicles and parts).  He has been coming to the church for three weeks.  That makes him a church veteran, since this church started only three months ago.  You can read about it in our Fall newsletter posted at our website www.dominicanmissions.com.  The blessing for me wasn't so much that Faelo was reaching out to his family (which was great), but rather that his dad was willing to accompany

When Your Beggar Meter Needs Re-calibration

One of the difficult things that a missionary has to deal with is how do you respond to street beggars.  I am conscious that what follows may offend some, but please be patient with me, God is still at work in my heart.

 My Dominican pastor friend keeps a jar at his desk filled with 5 peso coins (equivalent to 12 US cents).  Depending on the look of the person who arrives begging at his church door, he decides how many coins to give. Interruptions are minimal as he gets one or two visitors an hour (this is heavier traffic than in a residential area, because his church is downtown).  Until I saw this, I pretty much avoided beggars as I didn't know how

All In a Days Work

I tried to write briefly last time and it stretched into two pages.  I am going to try numbering to see if it helps. Not!

1. Up at 6:30 am to make pancakes and coffee for  Pastor/Counselor D.F., who needed my help to make a 3-minute TV script for his ministry (he arrived at 7 a.m. sharp).  Debbie spent the night in the hospital taking care of one of our volunteers who was terribly dehydrated from stomach problems, and she wasn't here.  I knew that I would have a busy day and so I had him come by after dropping his daughter off at school.  Usually I am a night owl and am not up this early.  It is exciting to hear about the counseling center he is