Feliz Navidad y Muchas Bendiciones por el Ano Nuevo (Merry Christmas and Many Blessings for the New Year) from the Dominican Republic! Both our family here and the family of Dominicans here are wishing you and your family many blessings for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, our Lord & Savior…and many blessings for the New Year, too!
4 Wonderful Mission Teams came to be in mission with us over this past month!
The 1st team was made up of Bob Wynn, Director of Student Ministries and Walter Strathy, Director of Outreach both from Covenant Church. They both came to the DR for their first time to see the mission opportunities for themselves here and to do some planning to send other mission teams in the future.
The 2nd team was lead by Dr. Rich Rizzuti from Covenant Church. Rich has been here about 3 times before and is a plastic surgeon. Also on the team were Lee Quinn, PA, Frances Van Cleef, RN, and Becky Testerink, RN, from Covenant Church. Their mission was to meet with the officials at Buen Samaritano Hospital here in La Romana and to develop a plan to begin sending Medical Mission Teams to the hospital and to set up clinics at Pastor Isidro’s church. The 1st Medical Mission team is planned for June, 2010.
The 3rd team was from Amity UM Church from Chapel Hill, NC. Their mission was to assist Pastor Isidro and us in building a room on the new second floor of Isidro’s “Compassion-Covenant School”. This was done so that the water purification system could be installed downstairs in one of the older classrooms. The system was installed and we are producing 3,000 gallons a day of clean, purified, drinking water that we are giving out for free to the people of Barrio George! They line up every day with thankfulness to receive this free water. It’s such a joy to watch and be a part of this! The Amity team loved on the people in the barrios and batays and, to put it in their words, “We experienced the love of God and the power of the Holy Spirit for ourselves like we had only heard about before! It completely changed our lives to be a part of mission there! We’re coming back again!”. In fact, Pastor Isidro was so impressed with the work and the love that this team shared that he decided to name the water with a mission project: “Amity Water…Agua de Amistad”…and since “Amity” means “friendship” this fits really well with this project.
The 4th team was lead by Jennifer Johnson & Tammy Scherer with 11 people on that team. Their mission was “to love on people” here…and they really did that…with the Dominican pastors, the women cooks in the Upper Room, people in Isidro’s church, in Barrio George, Maria & Lucien in Barrio Duarte, and in one of the Haitian Batays. Jeff Daigle, Director of Communication at Covenant, was among this team who captured some wonderful footage to use back at Covenant Church. Also, Rebecca Thomas painted a beautiful mural on the front wall of Isidro’s church that everyone is still in awe of there.
We're preparing for another mission team coming on Jan. 3rd! This team will be made up of Candace O’Quinn, Mandy Nichols, Melissa Griffin, & Amber Taylor from previous teams.
Our Mission Resident Program will have it’s 1st missionary in training! Candace O’Quinn will be staying here in the DR from Jan. 3, until the end of June learning how to be in mission cross-culturally with us here in La Romana. She will be working with Pastor Isidro, Mey, and I…as well as the other Dominican folks…and will be learning everything from applying the Mission Principles to her own life to assisting me in leading the Covenant Church March Mission Team. She will be certified by Isidro and I through his church’s School of Mission when she finishes her time here.
God-inspired and God-blessed mission is continuing in the barrios and batays through our Step By Step With Jesus Mission here. If you would like to be a part of feeding the hungry, giving clothes to the needy, sharing God’s Word of salvation, hope, and love with some of the least, last, & lost with us here through your prayers and your generous giving…please contact me and let me know or Amy Bissette at bissettea@ecu.edu . And if you want to be a part of a mission team please contact me at marcosandmey@yahoo.com or Donna Sheets at donna@connect2covenant.com . Blessing to you from Marcos, Mey, John, Perla, and the rest of our family. And, remember to walk step by step with Jesus!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
November 2009 UPDATE
Isidro called Junior, an 8 year old Dominican boy, forward in a crowd of hundreds, to receive the first, five gallon, plastic bottle of clean, purified, free drinking water at the celebration to start the water flowing to Barrio George and Barrio Pica Piedra this past month. We found Junior on one of our Prayer Walks in the barrio who was drinking from a dirty bucket in the street because he had no other water to drink. He was just about passes out from thirst and was willing to drink whatever he could find because he was so thirsty and had no money to buy clean water. Isidro explained Junior’s need for water and everyone else’s need at the celebration as they all looked on with smiles that would light up anyone’s Christmas tree. After the celebration everyone received their own 5 gallon bottle to cheers and shouts of “Gracias a Dios” (Thanks to God). Some were so thirsty that they sat down on the ground and started drinking the free, purified water before they even took it home. With the Purification system in Isidro’s church we can now purify 3,000 gallons per day to give out. Junior will never have to be thirsty again…nor drink dirty water that makes him sick. And, as I stood there watching the people who were so happy and grateful to God for this water…I thought I heard Jesus whisper, “When I was thirsty you gave me a drink…”. Thank you all so much for praying for this, for giving generously to Step By Step With Jesus, and for coming to be with us here on Mission Teams so that this dream could be fulfilled in the barrio around Isidro’s church. Oh, and, Junior wanted me to thank you too!
Three Wonderful Mission Teams Came in November To Be With Us In The DR!
The first team was made up of Walter Strathy, Director of Mission, and Bob Wynn, Director of Student Ministries from Covenant Church. They came to do a Scouting and Planning team to look at Mission Teams for 2010. Through their willingness to come and plan with Pastors Isidro, Santiago, Adolfo, etc. we will see many teams coming over the twelve months ahead. The second team in November was made up of Dr. Rich Rizzuti, Dr. Lee Quinn, Frances Van Cleef, and Becky Testerink, both nurses and all from Covenant Church. We visited the Hospital Buen Samaritano (Good Samaritan Hospital) in La Romana and made connections with them so that Covenant Church can start sending Medical Mission Teams over 2010. The third Mission Team was a team from Amity United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill, NC. This was their first time to come here and their focus was on building a room above Isidro’s school so that we could have space to put the Water Purification System in one of the downstairs classrooms. Isidro decided to name the Water System “Amity Free Water” (Amity in Spanish is Amistad which means Friendship). With all of these teams we did Prayer Walks in barrios and Haitian Batays, gave out food, clothes, and shoes to the poor, prayed for them, saw people come to Jesus, and found new friends among them. It was a great month for mission teams here!
Thanks so much for your love and your prayers for Step By Step With Jesus. If interested in sharing your time on a mission team here please contact Donna Sheets at donna@connect2covenant.com. And if interested in giving to help support the mission here so that people like Junior can have clean drinking water or little Maria so she can have clothes and food to be able to eat and go to school please contact Amy Bissette at bissettea@ecu.edu. And remember to take your next, right, and faithful step with Jesus….it will deepen your walk with God.
Blessings, Marcos & Mey & family.
Three Wonderful Mission Teams Came in November To Be With Us In The DR!
The first team was made up of Walter Strathy, Director of Mission, and Bob Wynn, Director of Student Ministries from Covenant Church. They came to do a Scouting and Planning team to look at Mission Teams for 2010. Through their willingness to come and plan with Pastors Isidro, Santiago, Adolfo, etc. we will see many teams coming over the twelve months ahead. The second team in November was made up of Dr. Rich Rizzuti, Dr. Lee Quinn, Frances Van Cleef, and Becky Testerink, both nurses and all from Covenant Church. We visited the Hospital Buen Samaritano (Good Samaritan Hospital) in La Romana and made connections with them so that Covenant Church can start sending Medical Mission Teams over 2010. The third Mission Team was a team from Amity United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill, NC. This was their first time to come here and their focus was on building a room above Isidro’s school so that we could have space to put the Water Purification System in one of the downstairs classrooms. Isidro decided to name the Water System “Amity Free Water” (Amity in Spanish is Amistad which means Friendship). With all of these teams we did Prayer Walks in barrios and Haitian Batays, gave out food, clothes, and shoes to the poor, prayed for them, saw people come to Jesus, and found new friends among them. It was a great month for mission teams here!
Thanks so much for your love and your prayers for Step By Step With Jesus. If interested in sharing your time on a mission team here please contact Donna Sheets at donna@connect2covenant.com. And if interested in giving to help support the mission here so that people like Junior can have clean drinking water or little Maria so she can have clothes and food to be able to eat and go to school please contact Amy Bissette at bissettea@ecu.edu. And remember to take your next, right, and faithful step with Jesus….it will deepen your walk with God.
Blessings, Marcos & Mey & family.
Christmas Opportunity
Dear Friends of Step by Step With Jesus:
Christmas is a season of opportunity. We embrace the chance to celebrate Jesus’s birth into our world and to honor our family and friends with gifts. And we can also take the opportunity to meet the needs of “the least of these” – both in our backyard and abroad.
Step by Step’s ministry is thriving, as Mark and Mey and their co-laborers serve the Dominican people daily in the name of Jesus. The needs are overwhelming at times, but they continue to trust the Lord to provide the means that allow them to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the barrios and batays.
We are so thankful for the support you have given Step by Step in the past year, and we hope that you will join us this Christmas with an outpouring of love to the Dominican people. Below we have compiled a list of specific giving opportunities that can bring you closer to the Savior this holiday season.
We welcome you to choose specific needs that you would like to meet with your donations, and designate a loved one to receive it in your name. If you choose to give gifts through Step by Step, we will send cards to the designated recipients telling them what you have given in their name. (For example, Mary Jones has given 20 bags of rice to Step by Step With Jesus in your name.)
If you choose to give an undesignated donation instead, we will use it to meet the greatest needs. You can also give an undesignated gift in someone’s name as a Christmas gift, and we will send cards for those donations if you wish.
To partner with Step by Step this Christmas, you only need to send the information below in a note, along with your check written to Step By Step With Jesus, to the following address:
Step By Step With Jesus
2375 Sir Eugene Ct.
Greenville, NC 27858
Emmanuel! We rejoice in the hope of the Christmas message, and we are so thankful for your generous willingness to make Step by Step part of your Christmas celebration.
Joyfully,
The Step By Step With Jesus Board
Please indicate in your note what you would like to provide (use the information below).
Step by Step With Jesus Christmas Giving Opportunities
--For a donation of $25, you can provide one of the following:
--Food for a family of four for three days
--Four pairs of pants and four shirts
--12 gallons of purified water
--For a donation of $15, you can provide one of the following:
--20 pounds of rice to distribute in the Haitian batay
--One day’s wages for a Dominican man who has lost his job or is unable to work for physical reasons
--Five loaves of bread, five dozen eggs and five bags of powdered milk
Example:
I would like to make the following Christmas gifts through Step by Step:
1. Gift:_________________________________________________
In honor of:___________________________________________
Honoree’s address:_____________________________________
_____________________________________
Christmas is a season of opportunity. We embrace the chance to celebrate Jesus’s birth into our world and to honor our family and friends with gifts. And we can also take the opportunity to meet the needs of “the least of these” – both in our backyard and abroad.
Step by Step’s ministry is thriving, as Mark and Mey and their co-laborers serve the Dominican people daily in the name of Jesus. The needs are overwhelming at times, but they continue to trust the Lord to provide the means that allow them to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the barrios and batays.
We are so thankful for the support you have given Step by Step in the past year, and we hope that you will join us this Christmas with an outpouring of love to the Dominican people. Below we have compiled a list of specific giving opportunities that can bring you closer to the Savior this holiday season.
We welcome you to choose specific needs that you would like to meet with your donations, and designate a loved one to receive it in your name. If you choose to give gifts through Step by Step, we will send cards to the designated recipients telling them what you have given in their name. (For example, Mary Jones has given 20 bags of rice to Step by Step With Jesus in your name.)
If you choose to give an undesignated donation instead, we will use it to meet the greatest needs. You can also give an undesignated gift in someone’s name as a Christmas gift, and we will send cards for those donations if you wish.
To partner with Step by Step this Christmas, you only need to send the information below in a note, along with your check written to Step By Step With Jesus, to the following address:
Step By Step With Jesus
2375 Sir Eugene Ct.
Greenville, NC 27858
Emmanuel! We rejoice in the hope of the Christmas message, and we are so thankful for your generous willingness to make Step by Step part of your Christmas celebration.
Joyfully,
The Step By Step With Jesus Board
Please indicate in your note what you would like to provide (use the information below).
Step by Step With Jesus Christmas Giving Opportunities
--For a donation of $25, you can provide one of the following:
--Food for a family of four for three days
--Four pairs of pants and four shirts
--12 gallons of purified water
--For a donation of $15, you can provide one of the following:
--20 pounds of rice to distribute in the Haitian batay
--One day’s wages for a Dominican man who has lost his job or is unable to work for physical reasons
--Five loaves of bread, five dozen eggs and five bags of powdered milk
Example:
I would like to make the following Christmas gifts through Step by Step:
1. Gift:_________________________________________________
In honor of:___________________________________________
Honoree’s address:_____________________________________
_____________________________________
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