Words of thanks were given at the dedication to Lois, for starting this endeavor and especially to God for placing this on her heart to teach these ladies “how to fish.” 
Sales of the jewelry have steadily increased throughout the last 3 years making this a viable business which truly does Help Other People Eat. Ismaela’s son is one of the children to be blessed with proper nutrition because of their work. He was playing with a toy made from an old CD attached to a recycled sardine tin.
Please contact Jane at janehuizinga@gmail.com if you are interested in purchasing or selling the jewelry to help support this project.
In order to accommodate such a large team their work was divided between 2 villages. While some painted the jewelry shop, Lois taught the ladies new things to make, some repackaged three barrels of soup mix from the Ontario Christian Gleaners into family size portions, 
while others painted the entire school of Nest of Love in villa Emmanuel inside and out to make ready for the new school year that is fast approaching. During their afternoons, the team was involved in many ministry opportunities such as the children’s juice program in which Marilyn’s dramatized storytelling kept the children captivated while hearing about Jesus feeding the 5,000 and the showing of the Jesus film one evening. 
The resized soup packets were also included in the 225 bags of groceries that were given out in the village feeding in villa Esperanza. Below are just a few of the items included in the bags.
Pastor Dale met with some of the local pastors and presented each of them their very own Bible dictionary and concordance in Spanish. “This was one of the best gifts I have ever received” was their overwhelming response to this gift; something which they could never have been able to afford on their own. 
The days were long and hot, but very fulfilling. Many new friends were made and tears were shed when the team needed to depart for the airport. An early checkout at the hotel enabled them to spend their last few hours together after the shop dedication Saturday morning.John & I would personally like to thank First McKinney Baptist for their ongoing personal support for us as we serve in the Dominican Republic. It was fabulous to spend another amazing week with y’all from McKinney, Texas. May God continue to bless your lives as you have blessed us.
We hope to enjoy many walks to the park together and look forward to the times when she will venture out to visit us on her own. 
We are back in the Dominican for 6 weeks until the wedding of our son Calvin & his bride Natalie. One team from the U.K. is just finishing up their 2nd week here and another team from Texas is scheduled to arrive today. The RECYCLE H.O.P.E. jewelry shop is moving and exciting things are happening. Stay tuned for more details soon.
The next day, on a personalized walking tour of London with Jon & Debbie, we learned that all the major sites (Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the London Tower Bridge which the nursery rhyme is named after, the House of Parliament, the National Art Gallery, etc. etc.) were all located within one square mile and walking distance. 
High tea taken with Andy & Julie at the Luton Hoo, a small luxury hotel and former manor house was one of my favorite things to do. Scones with clotted cream and jam…our discussion centered on what really goes on first…the jam or the cream? Opinions were evenly split between the guys and the girls but when checking this important fact on the internet….the girls answer was correct……first jam and then cream. Unless you do as our friend Claire suggests…cream, jam and then more cream….mmm…..delicious.
A town birthday party and a visit to the public high school in Bewdley raised almost 2,000 GBP of support for the Nest of Love School here in the Dominican Republic. 
Visiting the Roman bath museum in the town ironically called Bath, and the famous university towns of Cambridge and Oxford (birthplace of Alice in Wonderland), along with numerous abbeys, cathedrals were just a small portion of the history that we encountered and enjoyed very much. 
Historic steam trains, diesel trains, the tube (London underground), buses and planes…all modes of transportation were used in our travels and we thank God granting us safety through them all.
John also presented 2 cheques to Nigel at the Mission Direct office for donations given from the fundraising events held in Bewdley. Thank you Nigel & Susan, Tim & Pam, Jon & Debbie, Andy & Julie, David & Sheila & Esther for the generous hospitality you graciously showed us while visiting. We enjoyed the Indian curries so much we are now hooked on it.
Even though our gracious and kind hosts, Biago & Cristina could not speak English…somehow we were still able to communicate. The primary languages in Brussels are French, Flemish, German and in this case Italian. The team provided us a very full itinerary enabling us to speak at 3 Italian churches and in a International Christian school assembly where children come from 25 different nations. Thankfully 2 team members, Michel and Paolo could speak English. They took time off work to be our guides for the week. 
After the first evening service, we were treated to a pizza dinner with all the members of the Batista d’Espoir (Ambassadors of Hope) team and organizing committee. Picture this…28 of us in a tiny ristorante pizzeria served one of the finest Italian meals ....antipastos, pizzas, & tiramisu. Michel explained that to the Italians in Brussels...…eating is a sport; you must pace yourself because more food keeps coming and coming.
Brussels and Brugge are probably two of the most beautifully, historic cities in Belgium. Centuries old and home of the historic chocolate quarter and fine Belgium lace where almost every shop sells one or the other. 
Brussels is also the home of a long time favorite children’s book called Tintin. 
The magnificent town square dates back to the 12th century. Brugge is considered little Venice due to the canals that wind through a portion of the city streets. We climbed a tower 366 steps high to get an amazing view of the city.
On our last day in Belgium, Michel & his wife offered to take us on a day trip….it was a 2 ½ hour drive to Amsterdam or 3 hours to Paris. Never having been to Europe before and wanting to explore a bit of our Dutch heritage made the choice rather simple. So off to Amsterdam as tourists the 4 of us went. Avoiding the numerous bicycles, trams and many, many tourists (John thought there was no one left elsewhere….they all went to Amsterdam that afternoon) we saw canals, heritage buildings and the infamous red light district. No windmills, dikes or wooden shoes but that beg to answer the infamous question…would you go back? And the answer is definitely yes, but next time to the countryside.
The next day immediately after church we rushed home to have a quick lunch (a delicious 5 course meal again) and then depart for the airport to return to England. The men of our host family were all flying to Sicily from a different airport in the opposite direction that same afternoon to vote in the Italian elections so a cousin who speaks very limited English took us instead. 4 countries in 4 days….Holland, Belgium, back to England, and then Canada. Whew. What a whirlwind trip but would we do it again? ABSOLUTELY. We feel very privileged and thankful to have had this opportunity to spend time with so many mission volunteers on their home ground and sharing God’s work in our lives.
History abounds in this first city of the New World which was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492. Walking the first street called “calle de las damas” and exploring the historic sites during the 2 hour buggy ride was a refreshing break indeed.
Two more teams arrived last week to finish off the season that both have lots of stories to tell. The Lakemount Church team was led by one of our finest leaders Rob, visited an orphanage in Puerto Plata where Martha….a dear child to Jim & Sue, just celebrated her 3rd birthday on Sunday lives. Sister Mercedes has welcomed Martha into her home alongside 18 other children who call her mom. A visit to church in the woods, a hospital visit, building, dedicating and moving a family into their new home in villa Esperanza were highlights of their experience. God blessed them in all they did.
The whole school was treated by the team to a hot lunch prepared by Evely and her volunteers. 
Winners of the Christmas card contest received their rewards during a special presentation and then an afternoon of sports was held with the team members. 
Memories and friendships will not be soon forgotten. 
Tomorrow John & I are homeward bound, just in time to celebrate Mother’s Day with our kids. Shortly afterwards we are heading to England & Belgium to speak at numerous churches and partners in missions of The Samaritan Foundation. Who knows…we may even have an opportunity to see the queen!
Caleigh age 14: 
This program feeds 250 children in the village. On Wednesdays & Fridays they serve a brunch to the young children, and on Mondays they serve breakfast to the mothers and babies along with the young children. The thing I find very confusing is that none of these kids complain about what they are given. In Canada if a child is given a food they don't like they simply refuse it and ask for something else. Also, everyone in the Dominican is so happy with the bare minimum whereas in Canada everyone is always complaining about not having the latest technology. I noticed how different the people there live, seeing all the tin houses compared to the brick houses in Canada is very odd. Another thing I found baffling about being there is everyone wants to be at school. Here in Canada most kids are always complaining about the workload and homework where as a kid in the Dominican would never complain about that type of thing because they know that they are so fortunate to have the opportunity to even be going to school. 
In general going to the Dominican made me realize how fortunate I am to live the way I do. Seeing other people live with so little and seeing how happy they are made me more grateful for everything I do have. I think it was really good for me to go there because I realized how much I take for granted and it saddens me to think of what these people would give to have half of what I and others in Canada have. I think more people should get to see what it is like for people here so that they realize how lucky they really are. This has been a once in a life time experience and I doubt I will forget it for a long time.
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. 
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. 
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.
