WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?

Eight years ago Jim & Sue felt the call of God to pull up their roots in England and embark on a legacy of ministry here in the Dominican Republic. They discovered in many ways they were like the early pioneers as one of the first missionaries in this area. The Dominican Republic was a developing country whose infrastructure on the north coast was just emerging. It was necessary to travel 2 hours to Santiago to purchase furniture, household goods and even light bulbs. One small grocery store was found in Sosua with a limited supply of goods for sale at a premium price. Jim & Sue worked alongside Dr. Bob in Ascension village as it was being constructed to find ways to alleviate the one of the greatest needs of the people living there; hunger. It was a blessing for families to receive a modest block home from the Samaritan Foundation, but they were still poor and hungry. Enlisting the aid of out of country sponsors, a food program was started in which initially 12 families received some basic food staples three times a week to supplement their resources. The program continued to grow as more and more families were found to be in dire straits and sponsors were secured. The families were extremely grateful for the assistance especially when the sugarcane processing facility went bankrupt throwing most of the able bodied men out of work.

Sue’s heart reached out to the pregnant moms and babies to give them a healthy start in life. Their baby ministry tracked children from birth to 2 years of age which at times entailed bringing sick children into their home to nurse back to health. Many lives have been touched and changed forever including some special needs children…Junior & Martha are just 2 babies who without the caring touch of Sue would have been left to die. A hot meal feeding program was started in Feb. ’09 to address the needs of the most vulnerable: undernourished children and seniors those unable to fend for them. With startup funds provided by Journey ’09, they were able to purchase a commercial stove, freezer, and huge cooking pots that can hold 40 lbs of rice at one time.

Sadly, tragedy struck on Feb. 1, 2010 when Jim suffered a massive stroke at home which paralyzed him on his left side. Doctors reported that 85% of people would not have survived 24 hours after such a stroke. The Lord has been gracious to them and through much prayer and therapy, Jim survived and is walking again today with a cane. His wit and charm is ever present he is grateful for the opportunity to say thank you to all for your prayers and support, but mostly to his heavenly Father above. Unable to continue working in their ministry, God in his infinite wisdom already had a plan. Bill & Donna Reimer are doing a great job having taken over the daily work in providing for the hungry allowing Jim & Sue to concentrate on Jim’s recovery. Last week, for the first time since his stroke, Jim visited Ascension village to see his “family” once more before returning home. Tears of happiness and sadness were shed as good-bye was said. A chapter in their lives has ended….but we would like to wish them God’s blessings as they begin a new one with their family back home in England. You were an inspiration and will be missed greatly by your family here…both missionaries and Ascension friends. Dios les bendigas.