Our newest village called Zion, which was started in January 2012….is growing again. Through an extremely difficult and long process…Mr. Medina has been able to secure water for the residents of Zion…but we are still waiting for the final confirmation that the electric lines can be installed.
The 20th home was built and dedicated by the most recent team from Toronto, Ontario. They were the hands and feet of Jesus throughout their week….not only on the construction site…but also in their ministry outreaches. Charity begins with homes but goes so much further.
By packing just the barest essentials for the week in their suitcases…they were able to bring over 100 new sheets to be distributed to patients at the local hospital. Many improvements have been made in the last few years at the hospital….an updated children’s ward, new nursing stations and most of the building has been repainted. The patients however, are still responsible for even the basic necessities of food and bedding…which created the idea of giving the patients a new sheet for their bed.
It seems like each week we come…the hospital has implemented new rules for visitors. The hours are now restricted from 10 – 3 daily, and appointments are necessary for groups to visitor…but a guide is also supplied. The latest rule that we discovered was that there is now a proper dress code in place and flip flops or sandals are not allowed as well as children under 16 years old.
All in all…we can see they do have the best interests of the patients in mind for which we can give thanks. Sharing a moment in prayer and giving a kind word would brighten any patients’ day.
Thank you for coming back and making a difference in another family’s life.
Infotep…a local vocational teaching school provided professional teachers to instruct the students in a variety of courses which teach many life changing skills. The students pay a nominal registration fee, but are required to commit to attending class each day of the course. While a grade 6 education is necessary for most courses and after discovering that many people lacked even this level of education….a literacy course has also been started.
From pot holders, oven mitts and tea sets….to curtains and complete bedding sets….the women have made incredible progress considering that they didn’t even know how to operate a sewing machine prior to taking the course. 
Petra chooses thread for a project 
Teacher Ana helps a student with her inquiry
After 4 months of cool, refreshing temperatures (26 daytime and 20 nighttime) ....we could feel the the change in the air....the air was so thick and heavy it felt like you could cut it with a knife....yes.....the humidity has returned. Yikes. 
For the past 12 years they have brought many teams to develop and construct an orphanage in Puerto Plata with the assistance of local Pastor Joel but have recently felt God’s calling to longer term missions in helping the poor.
Their first job entailed repairing the fences to keep out the cows that had been happily munching on the foliage and fertilizing the garden area. 
Afterwards they marked out the initial 10 garden plots of 200 square meters each which is large enough to feed a family of 4 throughout the year using staggered planting times and crop rotation.
A meeting was held to explain the garden contracts and the first plots were distributed to individual families. It will be interesting to see which edible plants will be grown on the individual plots. 
In the meantime, a test garden plot has been planted in Esperanza by the IN agricultural team and Ed and Sylvia which is overseen by 8 older men in the village. They used a layered planting strategy in which 3 different heights of plants can grow in the same spot ... tall corn, medium height bean plants, and low lying root vegetables. 
With this program of crop placement and rotation, we know everyone will be blessed. One of life’s biggest challenges for most the parents is ensuring their families have enough to eat and are healthy.
They were all eager to get dirty and started mixing the cement with their shovels…while the local labourers watched in amusement. 
But as we all know…teamwork is the best course of action. They made good progress on the 2 homes they sponsored but what can 9 men and 1 woman do in 2 days of construction? 
Their main focus of ministry kept them very busy…they attended local church services in the evening, visiting the sick in the hospital, fed every family in the village of Nazareth, and ministered to the poor in so many more ways. The team visited the locations where the two families currently live who were grateful recipients of their new homes at the end of the week.
Even though we don’t speak Italian….God provided a way each day for us to speak together. At the end of the week a traditional pizza party was held at the famous “Bologna” Italian pizzeria in Sosua attended by not only the team members but also the entire Italian neighbourhood in which we live. It was sad to say goodbye or “Ciao” for another whole year, but the Lord willing, they hope to return again next year.
For the next 7 weeks…10 teams came through our doors and we are grateful to each and every one of them for the contributions in labour, gifts and relationships they forged. Thank you very much to the Sipkens family, Living Hope CRC, the Atlas team from Sarnia 1st CRC, Dominican Journeys(x2), Marshall Memorial Church, GVE, Dominican Service Projects, St. Thomas’ Church, and the agricultural team from IN Network Canada. 
We received a phone call from our family on February 7th that John’s dad was extremely ill so John hopped on a flight two days later to spend time with dad while he was still alive. Jane followed him at the end of the week after completing the current 3 teams’ schedules. 
Eight days later, John said his final goodbyes to dad and returned to the Dominican in time for the next set of teams, but he was able to quickly see our newest granddaughter, daughter of Dan & Jeannette, who was born just a few hours before he was scheduled to leave. 
Two days later, on February 18, 2012, Bart Huizinga was promoted to glory to live forever in the presence of his loving Saviour just a few days after his 84th birthday. “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1: 21. Mom passed away in 2004 so this closes another chapter in our lives.
