Teams making a difference this Summer!

Dear Family and Friends,

What a summer it has been! A big, bountiful, beautiful summer, with teams from Ohio, South Carolina, Colorado and Louisiana. We are blessed with the best people in the world!

One of the highlights was the big party for the Haitian students and their teachers in June. We had 14 schools represented with about 550 people in attendance. Thanks to Pastors Tim and Lisa Scarbrough and their team from Englewood, Ohio, we were able to give gift boxes to all the 80+ teachers and staff members. The kids played with their friends and participated in the program. We gave a certificate and Bible to the outstanding student in each school, then after lunch the kids went home with a small present. It was a big day for all of us. 

14 Haitian church schools represented

That same team left playground equipment in the churches in Rose of Sharon, Sabaneta, Cutupu, and El Faro Boys’ Home in Santo Domingo. Thanks for loving on all of us!

Our team from Charleston worked hard to pour a cement floor in the church under construction in Tireo, Constanza. We also visited the new building for the Haitian church and school in Constanza and prayed for them. We are so happy to see them in a more spacious and safer place.

The team from Rock Hill and Greenwood, SC held several VBS’s, in Sabaneta, Barranca, Rose of Sharon and Soto. God ministered to hundreds of children as they understood the plan of salvation. Our little Haitian children were all dressed up and waiting for us. They loved the face paint and balloons. What a joy to reach out with God’s love and see them respond.

Ministry in the flood affected Rieles area

The following week we received a group from Greenville, SC which touched the lives of almost 800 people in 4 days of medical clinics in 3 different locations, Rose of Sharon, Limoncito and Cutupu. We saw two women delivered from demon possession in a service. Everyone was very grateful for the vitamins and medication they received. We had a great time with Dominican young people who helped the doctors and with translating. We hope to continue to reach more communities with medical clinics in the near future. 

The team from Timberline Church in Colorado worked closely with the Palmer family in the Haitian churches in Limoncito and Cutupu. We’ve come a long way since last summer! Limoncito is so beautiful now with a new floor, stucco, paint, a bathroom and a kitchen. Thanks to Timberline we were able to purchase the house and property next door, so there is room for growth. Join with us as we pray for the Cutupu project as we still need land for the school there, they have over hundred students. 

Last Saturday we filled the arms of the pastors with school supplies, Bibles, first aid kits, record books, toys and rice. School starts on September 3 for most of the schools. Thank you for your part in making it possible to support these schools and their hardworking teachers and precious children.

We have included here a short 5 minute video highlighting some of the Haitian schools programs.

Volunteers Cody Norton and Ken Martinez

If you haven’t sent in a donation since last summer, please do it now. We depend first on God and then on the offerings of God’s people to operate these Christian schools. We also want to help Pastor Wilner start a new school in the community of El Pino. More about that in the next newsletter.

Please send your tax deductible donations to:

(See Links in blue)

Your Missionary Outreach 

Attn: DR Children's Fund                  

PO BOX 1761

Columbia, SC 29202

                  or

General Council of the AG

AGWM Project#8627  (note this on the e-form)

1445 Boonville Avenue 

Springfield, MO  65802  

         

God bless you, and thanks again!

To contact us: 1-863-248-1119 (home number).

Debbie's email:  lavegaschool@gmail.com

Mitch's email:  dominicanmissions@hotmail.com

College Students and Missions: Who will go?

With 3,500 university age attendees and 300 plus missionaries on hand, the December 2012 World Missions Summit in Fort Worth, Texas was awesome!  On December 28th-31st we attended the conference. We were invited to be host missionaries to represent the Caribbean area..

December 2012 World Missions Summit

It wasn't the numbers that made this three day conference great, it was the openness and response of the young people.  On Sunday morning, out of that mass assembly, 951 young people made their way to the platform (see this link) to say yes to the "Go for a year, pray about a lifetime" challenge. They went right up to the stage and shared where they felt God was asking them to go, or at least that they were committed to go wherever God would lead for a year.

On hand were displays dealing/w human trafficking, sex slavery, social issues.

My eyes teared up.  The missions baton was being passed on to a new generation.    My mind went back to the wonderful missions chapels at Southeastern University (Lakeland, FL),  where in response to a challenge to missions, I would find myself going forward and kneeling again and again in commitment to Christ.  In the midst of so much materialism and self-absorption that we see abounding in society today, here was a group of representatives from the younger generation saying they were willing to sacrifice and to take up this cause of world missions.  What was the cause?  There are two billion people in this world who have not heard a clear presentation on the importance of faith in Jesus Christ, because there are no Christian workers near them. Who will go to these dark regions of the world? I am convinced that man is a spiritual and emotional being,

The difference between short and long term missions?

From time to time I see "full-time missionaries" come to the field who clearly were not prepared for the experience.  They may have had a wonderful experience with a 1 or 2 week missions team visit to a needy country, and inadvertently thought, "This is great, I want to continue this full-time".  The problem is that you cannot compare a short visit with the total commitment involved in giving a year or more of your life to missions work overseas.

Short Term missions team from Calvary Christian School ministers at La Vega Christian School

For example, when you are hosted by missionaries, you are usually housed in a safe furnished environment (even when not staying in a hotel), your meals and meal times are all arranged.  You are transported (you are not driving) to wherever you will be ministering or serving.  And you are surrounded by your wonderful friends from your local church.  I know I am generalizing some, but bear with me.  Church services have all been arranged ahead of time.  The cooks have been given

Extreme Home Makeover in the Rails?

VIDEO TS mp4-YouTube sharing from Elias Castillo on Vimeo.

How did this all start?  Debbie shares in her own words::

I took Scott Steelman of Global Effect by Jennifer’s house in the Rails, to see the 2 beds we had bought for her family after the floods.  Josefina, her mom, was so thankful and sweet. On his way back from visiting Miguelina, Josefina pulled him aside and mentioned she didn’t have a stove. He called me that afternoon and asked if we could get her a stove maybe instead of painting the house. But I had my heart set on painting her house.

Jennifer, her mom, and 4 siblings

I asked the ministry team of 12 young people from Glad Tidings AG, Reading, PA to help us with an Extreme Home Makeover. They thought Ty was coming with the bus….(from the TV show).  But I said no, you will be doing the EHM. They loved the idea, and later on, told me it was the favorite part of their trip. The team filmed and edited the EHM video.We arrived around 9:20 a.m. on Wed. June 20, 2012. We took some photos and video footage, saw that Josefina had cleaned the house, and then sent her packing to her mom’s house. Then we applied base paint to the inside and outside of the house. The pastor had his crew of young people from the church, including Ranel, Anthony and Ezequiel, digging a trench to keep the water from flooding again. A team of girls picked up 12 big bags of trash. Elias came to plant moringa trees and some flowering shrubs. Then we 

Recruiting Missionaries for La Vega School

La Vega Christian School is celebrating 13 years of giving instruction, from pre-school through high school.  Today nearly 500 students are enrolled in our program.  From humble beginnings in a four bedroom house to a three story structure with 32 classrooms and a staff of 75, the school continues to expand.    This is the first year that Debbie has left the directorship (her new director is Ada

La Vega Christian School

Santana), while she concentrates on the Ruthie Martinez Children's Fund (RMCF).  RMCF is a program that provides aid and education scholarships to needy children. 

But I am getting sidetracked.  The purpose of this entry today is to recruit US volunteers to come and help us with our English program.  

Below is a video that is great to show anyone who is praying about working overseas as a missionary. 

Our school year is from August through early June. We offer a daily class of English for all grades, and intensive English classes in the afternoons.  One of the keys to making a good English program is to have missionary volunteers teaching these classes.  A key to good language learning is to hear the language spoken by a native speaker.  Every year the Lord touches someone's heart to

Current News Updates from La Vega

The United For Him youth event ended the last weekend of February with over 2000 young people in attendance and 30 young people publicly asking Jesus to take control of their lives.  Every weekend was outstanding.  The Christian artists and musicians all shared testimonies and encouragement from their hearts.  It was amazing how many had come from very poor beginnings, and tremendously adverse situations.  They were truly a testimony of what Jesus can do with a life that is given to him.

Romy Ram, Nestor Ortega, and Ironman, three Urban musicians that ministered from the heart!

 On hand for that last night was the Calvary Academy Senior class from Lakewood, New Jersey.  They performed some exciting dramas, and their team leader David Murphy shared a challenging spiritual message.  They were with us for a week and ministered in different churches and public