FURLOUGH

It is that time of year again where we need to return home on furlough to visit many churches and supporters, but also for garnering support personally in order to continue the work in the Dominican Republic.

Saturday, May 23, 2009 we were able to attend the graduation of our 2nd son, Paul, from Redeemer University College with his BA Honors in the Business program. What a joy it is as parents to see your children flourish not only in their studies but also in the Lord. Gracias a Dios!

We look forward to spending time with our children, their spouses, parents and siblings and having the opportunity to recharge our batteries.

LAS CHICAS

Last week we were honoured to host 3 young ladies from the Hamilton area who just finished their university semester and wanted to go on a mission trip to the Dominican. Marissa is studying nursing and was able to spend two days assisting Dr. Lambert in the clinics in villa Esperanza and also in Congrejo. She even got to go out on an emergency call with the doctor.

Marissa, Lindsay and Miranda visited the sick, fed the hungry, helped with the rebar and the painting but their highlight was spending time with the children; helping out in the school, providing and serving the students’ lunch, teaching them how to do cartwheels or just playing games. What a blast! The hospital visit and a trip to the Mustard Seed orphanage for disabled children brought tears to their eyes. But all work and no play is not good so there were fun times at the beach and waterfalls and interacting with another mission team that was here at the same time. These daughters of our friends livened up our household with their enthusiastic chatter and eagerness to serve. I never knew how different it is having girls instead of boys only.Cooking dinner for us was so much more than KD and hot dogs. Steamed broccoli with cheese sauce, chicken fettuccine alfredo, mm mm, it was delicious. Thank you so much ladies!

H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Eat)

Due to the unrest in villa Ascension at Christmas time, Jane has taken some time off to re- evaluate the HOPE sewing program there. The program was suspended because of my fear of driving through the sugar cane field areas alone along with the uncertainty of not knowing if the unrest will strike up again. Approximately 160 families or two thirds of the total families, both Haitian and Dominican had fled from their homes in villa Ascension including most of the ladies that I worked with. Many of the families have since returned and found that their homes were looted and ransacked and all their belongings were destroyed. In some cases, these homes were subsequently sold by an unauthorized person to other Dominicans for a paltry sum of money of which it ended up in his own pocket. Only a few of the orginal group of ladies remain living in villa Ascension.

It has taken a few months of denial, fear, anger and self evaluation for me to realize that at this point it would be better to empower one of the local women to run the sewing program. Darline, the translator I used previously, has agreed to teach a new group of women basic sewing and embroidery skills while I stay on as an administrator of the materials that were donated and sent on the recent container. The unreliability and lack of electricity in the building has caused some times of frustration but I guess it means they need to be flexible and trust that the Lord will provide. The program will continue for a trial period and we pray that it will be successful. Please continue to pray for the families that were displaced by the unrest, that they may find peace and joy once again.
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In the meantime, Jane has been overseeing a craft program in villa Esperanza; the newest community being built by the Samaritan Foundation. In March 2009, when the McKinney team came down to work for a week in villa Esperanza, four ladies were chosen to learn how to make the paper bead necklaces and earrings under the supervision of Lois and a fine, young man named Luckny.

Francia, age 36 has 4 children; Maria Rosa, age 26 has 2 children; Luckny, age 26; Juan Maria, age 29 has 7 children; and Ismaela, age 17 is pregnant with her first child. Now each morning while school is in session, they gather in an available room in the school to create beautiful jewelry. The items are available for sale to visiting mission teams who also bring some back to Canada, the U.S. or England to sell to others. A great big thank you to Lois for teaching them well and being their resource person who markets their products back home in the United States.
Recently rug making was introduced to three young ladies who are looking for a way to support themselves and their children instead of the alternative choice - prostitution.

Yuberkis, age 17 has a 2 year old child; Argentina, age 16 has a 2 year old child also; and Jocelin, age 17 is pregnant with her first child; learned very quickly how to make placemats, and rugs using a simple “toothbrush method” and are enjoying their new skills in creating beautiful things. What an opportunity has been presented for us to share the love of Christ! Please consider becoming an “Ambassador of Hope” by purchasing and/ or selling their products to help feed their children.
Pray also that the hearts of these 7 women will be receptive to the Holy Spirit and accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour.