February News...Haiti and Mark's Upcoming Visit

Hola! From Marcos, Mey, John, Perla, and Candace O’Quinn! Yep, Candace is my first “mission resident student” living here in the Dominican Republicwith us in training to be a missionary for 6 months. She is in the “Mission Resident Program” we have just started and learning a lot about what it means to be a missionary. She also went with us on a mission trip to Haiti last month where she got to experience Port Au Prince after the devastating earthquake there. Here's a note from Candace about the trip:

Our trip to Haiti was interesting. Marcos, Mey, Pastor Isidro, a Haitian friend named Denni and I traveled to Haiti about a week and a half ago. We were anticipating utter chaos and despair. The news stations here showed footage and reported stories that left us expecting to see an astronomical amount of destruction; we didn't really expect to find much of a city left when we got to Port Au Prince, to say the least. It was a very long drive to the capital of Haiti from La Romana- 13.5 hours there and 9 hours back. Haiti, we discovered, is a masterpiece that displays Papa God's artwork through glorious mountains that cover the whole country. It was a very calm journey through the Haitian mountains- we didn't see any injured persons or any destruction; we only passed a small number of people traveling away from Port Au Prince.

When we finally reached Port Au Prince, things were very calm and quiet, all things considered. We drove around the capital and saw a fair amount of buildings that had collapsed or been damaged from the earthquakes, but not all. There was still a fair amount of the city left standing. Many people were camping outside in tent cities- they didn't want to be inside in the event of another earthquake. We were able to find and connect with two different churches in Port Au Prince and distribute the supplies we had brought between the two. Pastor Isidro is hoping to begin to build relationships with these churches and send missionaries from his church monthly to encourage and support our brothers and sisters in Haiti, so that was awesome!

For me, personally, Haiti was a shock for three reasons:
1. The lack of total destruction that we had anticipated and heard about- we didn't find, which was wonderful. Praise God we had over-anticipated things, and it wasn't as bad as we thought it would be!

2. The actual state of Haiti as a whole was also shocking. I have visited a number of Haitian batays here in La Romana, all of them neighborhoods consisting of one room shacks made from trash, or tarps, or sheets. I had not stopped to realize that the whole country of Haiti would probably be like that, however, so as we drove, I was taken aback at how very poor Haiti truly is. But then I have also been thinking about the beauty behind that. Jesus didn't have electricity or running water in His house, either. They had to draw water from a well then just as they do in Haiti; they had to take baths in the rivers then too. Homes in His day were probably very similar in size to the Haitian homes...a lot of different thoughts that all led to this question: "Is it really all that bad, how the Haitians live?" So, I continue to mull this over in my spirit and every now and then Papa God squeezes the sponge that holds my thoughts to add something, or take something away, or show me something else. It's a beautiful process :)

3. Haiti is the most breathtakingly, divinely beautiful country I have ever seen. I wish ya'll could have been in the guaguita (van) with us on our drive back. We drove next to a river, with crystal blue water, for over 100 miles. We were so close to it, we could have driven right into the water, if our drivers had felt daring. Beyond the river was a lush meadow, green and billowing as Jesus breathed into the wind. The meadow blanketed the foot of those glorious Haitian mountains that stretched the whole length of our journey. And as we drove, we got to watch Papa God set His sun behind His mountains- a vision I will carry with me for the rest of my life :) You could feel, in a very tangible way, God's joy in that place, how He loved to play there. And that was only the left side view!

On the right side of the guaguita we drove right next to another mountain range, snow white and close enough we could have touched it. In the side of this range of mountains were...caves! Tons and tons of caves! And many of the caves had little lagoon-like ponds in between them in the road. It was as though Papa was saying "Look! See how marvelous! I made this for you! I painted this for you to find! Oh, how I love you so!" It struck me as God-ronic, how the poorest country in the world is the one most full of His beauty and divine thumbprint. I love the way He works :)

Denni went with us to Haiti and has a story to tell as well. I first met Denni when he was 15 years old. I went with a Covenant Church mission team to build a church in Barrio Duarte where he lived. He became a believer in Jesus through the street drama that the mission team did while there. Now, he is 21, and went with us to Haiti on our mission trip as our interpreter. And, to put it in his words: “To be in mission on this trip is the best thing I've ever done…to give back to my people in mission. I will always remember being in mission with you. And it was all because you came to help build a church for us…”
-Candace

A mission Team from Covenant Church came in January, led by Mandi Nichols…with Amber, Moth, and Candace. They focused on a Prayer Walk in Barrio George, a Haitian Batay and teaching baseball techniques to young boys who are a part of Isidro’s “Covenant Red Sox Baseball League” where there are 300 boys participating.

I am preparing for my mission trip to Covenant Church & other parts of North Carolina from Feb. 12th thru March 1st. I will be visiting a number of churches and preaching/teaching in NC while there. I will spend the better part of a week of my trip around Covenant Church…ending with me preaching there on Feb. 27th & 28th…and with a workshop on “Dominican Dreamin” at 2pm at Covenant Church on the 28th. Please come if you can. I also hear that we will be doing a “Prayer Walk” in the Redemption Zone in West Greenville, too on Saturday morning, the 27th. Join us in mission if you can.

Click here to view Mark's schedule while he's in the US.

Imagine Yourself in Mission in the DR
Just imagine…..receiving a letter from a child that you support through Compassion International at Isidro’s church that says, “I could not go to school or eat without your help…thank you so much! I love you!”

Just imagine…..stepping out of a gwagwita (van) in the DR and being greeted by cheers and hugs from the children, teens, and adults there as you arrive to help build a Mission House for future mission teams on Isidro’s grounds at his church.

Just imagine…..making friends for a lifetime among your mission team members who go to the DR with you…and with a special Dominican youth there.

You need to be a part of this mission here! Why? Because Jesus is calling you to be involved in mission too, because in order to grow deeper as a believer and follower of Jesus, you need to put action to your praise and prayers, and because we need your help here, too. You can get involved in two ways:
1) If interested in coming to the DR on a mission work team, you can contact Donna Sheets at Covenant Church at donna@connect2covenant.com.
2) If interested in supporting us by your prayers and through your generosity in giving, you can contact Amy Bissette at: bissettea@ecu.edu.

Thanks so much to those of you who are supporting us already!

Gratefully until I see you in North Carolina between Feb. 12th & March 1st…

Grace & Blessings,

Marcos, Mey, John, Perla, the rest of the family…including Candace too!