The Fire in Barranca

Dear Friends:

I felt compelled to write. This is part of the story of my life, from last week. Some things just happen, and they change us. Thanks for reading. There are photos on my facebook page.

love,  Debbie

Feb. 2, 2015 Barranca

I am visiting a community called Barranca where nine homes burned. Is is hard to imagine living in such a tiny room.   Yolanda lost her home, but I found her on a borrowed bed, with her pots and pans all over the floor, clothes soaking in soap in a black plastic basin, her dishes in a similar one. Clothes were hanging on nails around the walls, there was a clothesline with baby girl clothes. She told me she had recently had a baby. Where was she? In the hospital still, in an incubator, because she only weighed two and a half pounds at birth. She took public transportation into La Vega every day, which is about 30 minutes from Barranca, to breastfeed the baby.

I had brought 3 bags of clothes, a blanket, sheets, towels, washcloths, little shampoos and soaps. I was happy to leave it all with Yolanda, for her other 5 children, ranging in age from 2 to 16, and her dad, a pastor. But before we left, they asked Pastor Alex from the Rails church, who had led me here, to distribute the donations to the community, so that they wouldn’t be blamed for taking too much. That was after we prayed with them all and preached to them, thanking God for sparing their lives from the midnight holocaust. Surely God has a purpose in all this?

I posted a photo that night of the fire’s damage. I didn’t sleep very well. Then I remembered we had some clothes left over from the garage sale at school. I would find that in the morning…

Next day my dear friend Irene Serrano called. She is a missionary in San Francisco de Macoris, about 45 minutes from us. She had shoes, and clothes, and new socks and panties for little girls, and could she come today? Yes! It was Thursday the 29^th, the day Liberty Ministries went home. At breakfast I showed them the photos I had taken the day before. (They had been out souvenir shopping with Mitch all day.) Their hearts went out to the fire victims and right away Jeanette Porter gave me the money to buy every family a bed, and the group took up another offering. On the way there I asked Nicolas from school to go to the bed factory and negotiate a price for 9 beds. He got back to me on time. We prayed for all the families involved, then went to see the new university ministry location and prayed there. I said good-bye to those precious 9 ladies, and set off for school. Even though it was past noon, the factory hadn’t closed for lunch, so I put in my order for the beds. They promised to have them made by Saturday.

Around 2:30 Irene and Sam came over, and after we caught up with our lives, we started sorting clothes. I had a list Alex and Charley made, so we had a bag for each boy and girl, and the women. We decided to just sort out the men’s clothing when we got there, and fit the children for the shoes. They had some groceries, so we quickly arranged them into two separate bags, and Irene bagged the rice on the way to the Rails to pick up Alex. We stopped for some viveres, and decided on plantanos to take to the families. The man at the roadside stand was happy to sell all he had.  When he said 120 we quickly rounded up the money, but we were wrong; there were 120 plantains, at 5.5 pesos each, added up to $660 RD, or $15 US. At the end of the day, Pastor Alex got a bag of rice and the yuca that Irene and Sam had brought. He has to eat, too.

We gave a bag of groceries to Yolanda for her big family, and to a pregnant mom with 2 small children. Irene got right to work with her first aid kit, bandaging up burns, infectious sores, handing out pain medication, laughing and talking and even singing in Creole. That is after she made a video with her husband filming. What a pair of missionaries! I love how we could all work together: the Haitian pastor, the teacher at his school, the Serranos, me, the clothes who

Too Busy

When paperwork begins to pile up in unobtrusive corners of your house, then you know your pace of life needs some adjusting.
When filing of taxes, and monthly or quarterly reports are barely being kept up with, then you know that your rubber band is being stretched to it's limit.
When from morning to dusk the phone and visitors have managed to take up any time you had wanted to set aside to draw close to the Lord, and you begin to feel that you are losing ground spiritually, take it as a warning sign.
When ministries are beginning to lose their spark, and motivation is getting harder to generate, there is a good chance that you are pushing to the outer limits of your effectiveness.
When relaxing in an easy chair is way too comfortable, and suddenly you awake with a start, you know you are beginning to tire.
When you haven't updated your blog for months, that's just another detail that has fallen between the cracks.
What can you do?
Seek time with the Lord, seek time in His word, don't miss out on church services where a positive word can minister to you.  Humble yourself and ask for forgiveness and strength. Forgiveness, because you are relying on your strength and abilities to get everything done and not on Him. You will either fail or things won't be done the way they should be.  Later the weaknesses will appear.

Start with a minute, then two, then five, in prayer or in the Word.  Work your way back again to a place of strength and comfort in the Lord.  Remember you are His child.  He'll work with you.

Jesus said "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me...For apart from me you can do nothing"(John 15:4-5, NLT).

Two churches have been built and finished during this time.

The Rose of Sharon Project is finished.

A covered multi-purpose gym has also been completed.

Our first graduation at La Vega Christian School under the new roof in June!

 The Bible Institute is nearing the end of it's 2nd year at the school with 15 students on the rolls. Many short-term ministry teams from the U.S. have been hosted this summer, they have made a wonderful impact on communities and churches.

Effective evangelistic conferences have been held.  A Christian magazine continues its month by month existence, though perhaps every two to three months now. Visit Revista Bendiciones at this link!

A third new church is being planted.

We are working with two different Haitian school programs.

And yes, I am working my way back to the true vine, where sustenance and strength reside.  His name is Jesus.

Celebrating the Dedication of the Ranchito Church Santuary

What a blessing to participate in the dedication service of the Iglesia Cristiana de la Comunidad de Ranchito.  The children's choir welcomed the 350+ members and guests that afternoon.  It was the culmination of many years of hard work and partnership for this congregation.

It was maybe 9 or ten years ago that Pastor Joselo Toribio had first invited me to minister in his church in Ranchito.  I was blessed by this congregation meeting under the tiny carport.  There were about 25 adults and children crowded under the roof and they were excited about their faith!  It reminded me of the "first love" enthusiasm of new Christians.  These humble folk, mostly rice 

Pitfalls of the Unreached People Groups (UPGs) Bandwagon

Sitting in a classroom full of missionaries and pastors in a Doctoral class on Missions Theology, I could not believe what was unfolding before me.  The pastor of a large church was boasting about how his churches missions dollars were only going to support missionaries working in Unreached People Groups (UPG) areas of the world.  The impassioned logical appeal of the professor had prompted this response from him.  The idea was being presented that all missions funds need to be channeled towards this purpose.  This was the final frontier of the church. Suddenly, I felt my ministry was being re-classified as unnecessary, or at best, of secondary importance.  The ramifications of this type of thinking could adversely affect the support of thousands of missionaries.

UPGs, or Unreached People Groups represent 1/3 of the world's population today. Most of these 4000 plus ethnic or language groups are located in areas (100 countries) where traditional Christian missionaries are not even allowed.   See, BIMI World Magazine Online, Volume 1, 2000 http://www.bimi.org/worldMag/100A4.php

The validity of my ministry, and the ministry of any missionary working in nations where more than two percent of the population was considered Christian, was being questioned. The two percent mark has been decided by organizations dedicated to "frontier missions" as the point when a missionary could say that their nation or people group had been reached.  (See http://www.peoplegroups.org/ )   In other words, once the 2% was reached, the national church itself could go on and evangelize the rest of the nation, and the foreign missionaries work was no longer needed there.

This creates some serious discussion. Should missions dollars be withdrawn from all ministries not directly related to reaching UPGs, as proposed by the pastor mentioned above?  Since UPGs were considered to be the final and ultimate unfinished task of the church, how important could anything else be? This was the implication.  The country I work in was reported by Operation World as being  9.1 % evangelized/evangelical.  I work with a great team of missionaries involved in helping to fill church needs, and to train local Christians to evangelize their own nation.  We help in Bible Institutes, since very few of the pastors have advanced degrees in Theology.  We help provide training for Christian teachers and administrators in Christian schools, and have been instrumental at starting Christian schools in different areas of the country.  We help churches to train their own leaders and develop discipleship programs for their adolescents and youth.  We are on the ground floor in fostering the sending out of Dominican missionaries to the needy areas of the world.  Together we are contributing to the acceleration of the growth of the church in the Dominican Republic.  And we do it because God has called us here, and not to a specific Unreached People Group.  I respect and highly admire those who have indeed responded to a call to reach out to the UPGs, but our real value as missionaries is not based on where we go, but rather on our obedience to our call wherever the Lord might lead.
Spending charts show very little missions funds are currently being spent on reaching UPG groups.  Is this a sign of the need for a drastic shift in missions funding to these areas? Also, there were pie charts showing how few missionaries are working in the less than 2% evangelized area of the world, represented by the UPGs. This would seemingly support the great need for finances and man-power to these areas.  However these figures can be misleading as the vast majority of the UPG's are actually in nations that are closed to traditional full-time missionaries. This would certainly contribute to the picture of a great financial chasm between the two.  Since there are so many nations that do not allow traditional missionaries and their projects, it would be normal for less money to go towards support of on-going efforts into those countries. The fact that traditional missionaries are not allowed, can also explain why there are fewer missionaries working in these areas. Again I must

The red area (where most UPGs are located) is largely  where traditional missionaries face closed doors.

reiterate, that I certainly want to encourage support of UPG missions efforts, however not at the expense of the good work being done in the rest of the world by dedicated traditional Christian missionaries.

That missionaries have successfully crossed the 2% number barrier and are still working effectively and fruitfully in their respective nations seemed to have been overlooked in class that day.  The vast majority of these missionaries feel that God has asked them to work where they are, this call factor seems to have been forgotten in the discussion.  I want you to understand that as a missionary and a missions teacher, I am committed to present the plight of the UPG's and to challenge young people to go, but not at the expense of the valuable work being done by traditional missionaries. When I travel

Rose of Sharon Educational Center Beginnings

It was a year and a half ago when with a two thousand dollar donation we were able to help in the start of a Haitian school in La Vega.  You can see the impact of this program on the smiling faces of the forty children that regularly attend the program.  These are children who without the school would be

 either closed up in their homes while their parents worked or else out on the streets with no supervision.  Often they speak no Spanish, have no legal papers to attend public school, and cannot afford the uniforms to attend the public school. Their future would be bleak.  But they have hope now.

Just a few weeks ago we were starting to let friends and supporters know that we were looking for some land where we could move the current Haitian school, and start a Dominican church. The building is on a very small plot of land.  Pastor Juan Ortiz, the director of the school, found a great property to move to in Barrio Inco.  That very Monday we made a commitment to buy the property within the week with only half the funds on hand, and if need be, to finance the rest with the owner.  But by that Friday all the funds we needed had come in and we closed on the 
property at 6:00 PM that evening.  It was amazing how the exact amount of money we needed was provided at the last minute.   Now we have purchased the land and we are praying for teams and finances to put up the new building.  As you can see in the photo below, 

the current wooden building needs some help.   It will continue to serve the 40 + children, until the new building is built. Missionary Ryan Pauly (his name is the link) on his blog did a great job of sharing some of the history of this project. I invite you to visit his site.  He has become an integral part in the process of the development of this school. 

. One of our La Vega Christian School (LVCS) graduates is studying architecture at the university and has made some concept drawings for us of the new school.  He was a sponsored child at LVCS, and of course we are quite proud of him. Below is one of his renderings of the future school. The new building will have an industrial kitchen, a large dining area where church services can be held, and four classrooms with the potential of caring for 100 students, with a nice playground area outside.

Aside from the facility serving for the formation of a Dominican Church in the area, we are looking at the possibility of developing an after-school remedial learning program to help Dominican children keep up with their studies.  There is an almost 40% drop out rate after 6th grade in the public school system.  Already $5000.00 has been pledged towards the building.  Estimates are that the 50’ by 80’ building will only cost $48,000.00 to complete the first phase. We are counting on construction teams from the U.S. to help us with this project. We are amazed with how quickly the Lord has been supplying funds for this project. We believe that with God's help it will be built very soon.  

We carefully move forward, trying to be sensitive to what God is doing, and what He wants to do in this community.  It is in a very needy low income area of the city of La Vega. Christianity is about helping people spiritually and also in tangible physical ways.  Good works help to qualify the message of hope in Christ that we bring.

If you feel led to help with this project call us at 1-863-248-1119 (US Vonage phone), and we will be glad to help answer your questions.  Or email me at mitch@dominicanmissions.org . 

Unidos Por El / United For Him Event a Success!

It seems that the event is getting better and better.  Our largest crowds ever,  from the first day when Isabelle Valdez sang, to our last night with Edgar Winter leading the youth to a commitment on their knees. [Please visit the link above to Facebook to see a video of the closing call] As I looked out from the stage at this crowd, I was touched by the seriousness of their faces.  400 young people kneeling on the grass for over an hour, praying to God.  Many with tears running

down their cheeks.  90 young people signed a list to each lead 10 people to a commitment to Christ throughout the remainder of this year.  That last Sunday we saw over 2000 people attending at one time.  For the first time we had three buses drop in, one from Ranchito, and two from Santiago.  The word is beginning to spread.  Our goal is to see Christian youth inviting their un-churched friends to the concerts instead of visiting the carnaval celebrations.

Debbie's favorite nights were Saturdays, as after the worship team and the guest musicians ministered, we had a different speaker share the Gospel message to the young people.  The messages were outstanding.  Ricky Gell, Gemuel Delgado, Otoniel Bonilla, and Zoila Garcia challenged the young people to live for God.

The good news is that we have paid off all debts for the event. The Lord came through again this year.   These concerts were offered free and depended completely on donations.  We are thankful to people like Ted Krupski,  Felicidad and Alec Pyron, Living Waters Worship Center (Green Cove Springs, FL), Calvary Academy (Lakewood, New Jersey), Ryan Pauly from Transition Ministry, and Calvin Fortner (Greenville, SC), for their contributions.  There were also some local area businesses that helped to

Unidos Por El Youth Event Ready To Launch

Our event is featured on the front cover of BENDICIONES Magazine 

   Every February in La Vega, our city is host to the largest Carnaval celebration in the Dominican Republic. 

 Carnaval is a type of Mardi Gras celebrated in our city every weekend  (Saturday and Sunday) during February.

  Over 300,000 visitors participate in the weekend  long parties and concerts.  Later in November a large amount of "children of carnaval" are born, to single young women who don't even remember having relations with anyone as they were so inebriated those weekends. Many young people die during February of motorcycle and car accidents, again attributed to imbibing high amount's of alcohol and drugs.  There are no age restrictions for purchasing of alcohol, though age drinking laws do exist.  There is no enforcement of these laws, as you can see from this link to a video we made.

Unido Por El 2013 Promo _ Your chance to transform young Lives for Christ _ Anti Carnival from Elias Castillo on Vimeo.
 

As a result of the negative effects of carnaval on the youth we have created a Christian alternative to the event that we call "United For Him" or "Unidos Por El".  At the same time that the parades and 
concerts are happening in the city, Christian Artists and youth motivational speakers challenge young people to a life dedicated to God at the La Vega Christian School campus.

Opening up this year, the first Saturday will be Isabelle Valdez. 

Last year over three thousand youth attended the Unidos Por El event.  Financially we cannot charge anything as the carnaval events and concerts are offered at no cost in town.    This brings me to  the reason I am writing this blog.  For us to host the event we depend  mostly on donations.  We currently have raised $3,800.00. Local businesses have also helped in the past with $2,000.00.  We still will need $9,200.00 to cover the costs of this event.  Every year I make this appeal, and by the grace of God, and the generosity of his children, the costs of the event have always been covered.  Will you or your church consider making a one-time offering to help with this event? Please contact us at 863-248-1119 ( or mitch's cell 809-757-9928), for more information.