News & Updates Archives - Dominican Missions

Dominican Happenings Winter 2021

February 24, 2021 By admin

Relief Efforts

THANK YOU!

A Total of over 3200 Care Packages distributed since November

Debbie and her faithful team of missionaries have delivered over 3200 care packages of food to the 800 students and teaching staff in the last three months. She was accompanied by missionaries Sandy Poe, Chris and Doug Wilson, and Leomar Sirit. They also gift wrapped and delivered over 400 presents to students in the Haitian school programs as part of the Three Kings Day Christmas celebration. Families were given rice, beans, oil, sardines, etc.

This would not have been possible without generous donations from our friends in the States. The need for food during COVID continues. If you would like to help please call Debbie at our home phone 863-248-1119. Or email: lavegaschool@gmail.com.

Various Project Needs Met in the Past Year

It was amazing to see how the Lord provided for the Cutupu project (below). This is probably one of the most ambitious school projects to date (besides La Vega Christian School). This was built for the neediest school among the fourteen schools we are helping. 130 Haitian children were meeting in a dilapidated wood and tin structure, no more than 20 by 60 foot long. Seven classrooms were crowded into this building with their separate blackboards. Actually, if the weather permitted it, two classes would meet outdoors. There was no bathroom for the children or the staff. Permission to use the bathroom was asked of the neighbors in the tenement building next door.

The purchase of the property itself was a challenge costing $32,000.00 dollars. It is over an acre of land and was purchased planted with rows of banana and plantain stalks. As soon as a section was cleared for the building, we poured the footer and the columns for the foundation. Two teams came and helped with this, one from Colorado, and the other from Florida. As funds were provided we began to raise the walls for the sanctuary and the classrooms. By the end of January 2020 rumors of the virus began to filter in. Again finances came in and the walls, the roof and the floor were finished. Then in March everything was stopped by the government as a complete nation-wide shut down was put in place. No work could be done. Only pharmacies and grocery stores could be open. Finally, months later businesses were allowed to function again. From February 2020 until now no teams have been able to come and help and yet God used churches and individuals with a burden for this project to provide the finances to finish. $50,000 dollars later, it is ready to go. Nice clean bathrooms in place, and a nice kitchen setup only lacking for stoves and a refrigerator. Praise the Lord!

In Villa Altagracia teams came in late 2019 and early 2020 to help work on the second story area which would serve for the offices of the different ministries and staff. Recently I was able to visit and see the finished product. Our US teams worked extremely hard carrying materials to the 2d floor and digging footers under very difficult conditions. It was exciting to see this area come to fruition. You can see by the photos how nice everything was finished. In spite of the current living situation God is still on the throne and His kingdom advances!

Church offices and stairwell (above) completed in Villa Altagracia Project

On the Home Front:

We are doing fine, PTL! Our kids are fine and our 11 grandchildren are fine. We are a little nervous as it seems the virus is getting closer to us all the time. Our daughter-in-law Karina just got over it.

Watch our brand new video on our home page.

Dominican Happenings Summer 2020

June 18, 2020 By admin

Relief Efforts

Since March we have been busy delivering food for needy families. Early June we teamed up with Missionary Joseph Kim and his family to hand out 890 food packages for each of our Haitian students and staff. The funds raised were used to purchase rice, beans, cooking oil, etc. It was a joy to see the smiling faces of the children.

Cutupu Project Update

The COVID-19 saga took a toll on our Cutupu project here in the DR. We had all our teams cancel and lost our project funds also. We are still praying for the $9,000.00 needed to complete the school facility for the 130 children attending in Cutupu.

Cutupu Church Dominican Republic — Help us get this building ready before the next school year! 130 children need it.

Updates on Covid-19 Curfew in The Dominican Republic

We are going into the fourth month of the government imposed curfew here in La Vega. Businesses are beginning to open with some restrictions. Our students at La Vega Christian School finished the year online. Churches opened their doors for controlled fellowship and worship June 7th. The Rose of Sharon Church where we are active in ministry saw a good renewed attendance in spite of the obstacles of the last three months.

The Bridge English fellowship will continue meeting via Zoom until July. It is hoped that the University across the street will open up later this summer and the El Cafe Coffeehouse Ministry can start reaching out to the students again. Every one is still required to wear masks out in public, though not everyone is following these rules. Word of businesses closing down are starting to circulate. Certainly, it is not a time for the church to stop praying!

We hosted 12 stranded Guatemalan Missionaries for two months. The Guatemalan ambassador paid us a visit to check on them (in black suit).

Spring 2020 Quick Update from Your Missionaries Mitch & Debbie Martinez

March 30, 2020 By admin

Corona Virus Impact:

All missions team visits for the Spring and Summer have been suspended. We have been advised not to travel out of the country. As of this newsletter (March 17) 80 cases have been reported here. Please pray for a solution to this epidemic!

The Cutupu project on hold due to Corona Virus and suspension of US short-term mission teams.

Why is this project so important? In Cutupu we have over 139 Haitian children receiving an education in a building that should hold 40 or 50. It is a poor wood and tin structure with temperatures running in the 90’s during warm days. They have poor lighting and no bathrooms. They ask the neighbor permission to use their bathroom, or the boys find themselves a corner outside. Yet, incredibly, of the 14 Haitian school programs (800+ children) that we assist, this is one of the most orderly and organized. The location of the 6 blackboards shows you where the six different grade levels meet inside.

Education is happening here for these children who otherwise might not be able to attend a school. Why do they not attend a public school? They don’t speak Spanish, Dominican schools are full and over-crowded, and often Haitian children’s legal paperwork is incomplete. Without this program they would be home alone, or wandering their neighborhoods without supervision, or with their parents working in the fields. We are committed to providing a good Christian education; an invaluable investment for their future.
As of the writing of this newsletter the last of our funds for the Cutupu project will have been used to pour the floor for this church/school facility. WE would need approximately $9,000.00 US more to equip the bathrooms, the kitchen, buy windows and doors, stucco, and electrical work. If you or your church would like to help, please contact us at Vonage phone: 863-248-1119, or email Mitch at DominicanMissions@hotmail.com.

Sponsors are needed to help us continue to feed and educate these precious children. We are experiencing what averages to an $1800 a month deficit, which may not seem like much for a program that takes care of 800 children monthly and the salaries of the teachers and staff of the 14 education centers. Would you pray about being a regular supporter? We need 72 more sponsors giving at least $25 a month to overcome this shortfall. Your tax deductible donation goes 100% to support a child in school. You can send your check to TMCI, PO Box 1761, Columbia, SC 29202. Or to give online to DR Schools click here.

Calvary Academy Visits La Vega Again

The Calvary Academy Senior Class from Lakewood, NJ has been working with us on a once yearly basis since 1995 (25 years). It is a school tradition for them. This February they participated with dramas in the United For Him event at our school on stage. They ministered at 6 of the Haitian school programs, helped lay blocks for a parsonage, painted two churches inside and out, and ministered in local churches. Thank you for your faithfulness and help over the years!

Corona Virus Impact (Continued):

As of March 18th, all schools have been closed until April 13th by order of the president of the Dominican Republic. This will put a great economic strain on private schools. Please pray for the ministry of La Vega Christian School as financially this will affect the staff and operational budget. Pray the parents will be understanding and continue to make their monthly contribution for their child’s tuition.

Flights from Europe, China, Korea, Iran have been cancelled, and possibly by the 20th of March all flights from the US will be cancelled due to Corona Virus contingency plans being put into effect here. All but necessary businesses for public health are being asked to close.

Ministry projects have been halted and up to 9 short-term missions teams have been cancelled. We pray this pandemic will be stopped soon.

For Info on how you can give, call us at 863-248-1119. Your gifts are tax-deductible.

Fall 2019 – News from Your Missionaries Mitch & Debbie Martinez

November 28, 2019 By admin

As the Holidays approach, we want to give thanks to the many who so faithfully have prayed and given towards the work that is being carried out here in the Dominican Republic. We cannot fully express the joy we feel in knowing that your hearts are with us. After 27 years we still count it a very special privilege to have you as friends and partners in this ministry. It is God working through you that has helped us to touch so many lives here. May the Lord richly bless you!

Debbie translating for a medical volunteer with Caring Partners

It was exciting to have a visit this November from Caring Partners, an international ministry focusing on people’s medical needs and sharing the Gospel. Working with Pastor Gemuel Delgado in the Rieles area, and Pastor Roberto Hernandez at La Vega Christian School, they examined 930 patients at the respective church locations in four days. The pastors and volunteers also prayed with over 70 people to receive Christ into their hearts. What a blessing to partner with them that week.

It was so nice to have a visit from our good friends from South Carolina here last month. Calvin and Barbara Fortner came with Sharon Gossett and Grace M. Bell. It is always a blessing to show first hand the progress being made in the ministry. They have been supporting this work for many years

Pastor Leomar Sirit and his daughter Daniela

Rose of Sharon – Sunday October 27th we had 30 attending, our best turnout yet for the morning service. This is a struggling new church plant in a poor community where we had filled in as pastors the past year and we still attend. It needs prayer. We been blessed with a new Pastor Leomar Sirit who is committed to this congregation. He is an answer to prayers!

PROJECT UPDATES:

Cutupu – Church and school: Walls are up to bondbeam height (Top of windows) and columns have been poured. The next step is to lay three lines of block above the bondbeam and start on the roof. We have funds on hand for the roof and are looking for help with the floor, windows, and doors. Later comes plumbing. electrical, and kitchen. 130 children are truly needing this new building. $8000.00 still needed.

Sabaneta (Pastor Alex) – The school wing is almost complete. We are finishing up the kitchen and the electrical work still needs to be done. The new bathrooms and kitchen are functioning. The cook gave me the biggest smile for her new kitchen. Previously the director’s office had been the kitchen for the 70+ children. $ 1200.00 for electrical.

Limoncito – This school is functioning great with 45 children. Pastor Pettit Techner has moved into the parsonage and is leading the congregation. The next stage for this project is to move the sanctuary to the 2d floor, and leave the school on the first floor. The slab is already in place for the new sancturay, we anticipate $15,000.00 needed to complete this 2d phase. This is a great project for a missions minded church (hint).

Ranchito – Sunday School Addition This church has a great sanctuary but no classroom facilities for Sunday School. They have been using the Sanctuary for four makeshift classrooms every week for the past six years but conditions are tough as only blackboards divide the classroom spaces. We need $5000.00 to start this project. This is for the foundation of the new wing.

For Info on how you can give, call us at 863-248-1119. Your gifts are tax-deductible.

Summer 2019 – News from Your Missionaries Mitch & Debbie Martinez

September 9, 2019 By admin

Summer short term missions teams continue to have a great impact in local churches with outreaches and construction help. Special thanks to Living Water Fellowship, Kissimmee, FL, Greenville First, SC, and to New LIfe AG, Grand Ledge, MI. Also in May, a team from the Univ. of Maine (Augusta Campus) kicked off our summer.

Health Awareness Talks. The University team from Augusta, Maine, did an outstanding job helping children in various schools understand the importance of dental hygiene and other health issues. They were well received by the parents and school staff attending. It was their first visit to the Dominican Republic, we hope they will visit again.

New Life A/G worked in Villa Altagracia where they dedicated their time to the construction needs of the House of Prayer Church. They were responsible for adding the 2d story to the administrative wing of this church. They did some heavy work under very hot conditions.

They also teamed up with a Dominican construction crew to put in all the divisions in cement block for the office and bathroom areas of the church on the 2nd story. We so appreciated New Life’s positive attitude and strong work ethic. It was great to see the results after a hard week of work. And they also ministered in area churches while in the country.

The Living Water Fellowship Team was on here for the end of the year party for the 14 Haitian education programs. There were 700 children at this event. Debbie was so happy to have this team with their servant attitude assist her. They also ministered in area churches, and put on work gloves and helped with the foundation work of the Cutupu church mentioned on our header above. It was hot grueling work and they never complained. Thank you Living Water!

Greenville First conducted Vacation Bible School at various local churches and also helped with construction needs. There are many churches in this country that cannot afford a special summer program for the children.It is a great blessing to help the kids learn the Bible lessons that they can apply in their own lives. We encourage churches to come and host the VBS programs here in the Dominican Republic. The team also poured the floor for the Good News Haitian Church in Sabaneta, and helped with the foundation work of the Cutupu church.

Volunteers will be missed!
The Palmer family returned to the United States after serving the Haitian Schools and the International Church for two years. They will be greatly missed.

We will also miss Sallie Wham who faithfully worked with the English program at La Vega Christian School, and also worked with the Children’s program at Rose of Sharon Church in Barrio Inco. Debbie will surely miss her help in that program.

La Vega Christian School (LVCS) is always on the look out for volunteers willing to give a year or more of their life teaching English in a Christian environment. At LVCS they have freedom to impart spiritual truth as they teach. Our volunteers don’t have to speak Spanish to teach here. If you are interested in applying for a short term mission at LVCS contact us today.

Short term missions teams are encouraged to network with us to impact local churches, schools, and communities! We cannot overemphasize the impact that church teams have had on our ministry here in La Vega. There are more than 40 building projects over the years that could not have been accomplished without the help of these gracious US teams. The Cutupu project above needs help today. If you or your church would like to help, visit our Dominican Republic short-term missions trip webpage for practical guidelines to prepare for your visit.

Congrats to Pastor Aaron Rios
Aaron Rios was installed as Lead Pastor at Garden City Church in Beverly, Mass. He is our daughter Sarah’s husband. It was great to be on hand for this event during our summer visit to the U.S. Previously he was an associate pastor for 4 years at New Life Church in Leominster, Mass.

1,800 Missionaries Attending
We found ourselves attending a world missions event in Orlando with 1,800 other missionaries. The Assemblies of God World Missions organization said history was made as missionaries from 160 nations gathered for encouragement and edification. Outstanding speakers such as Dick Eastman from Every Home for Christ challenged us to prayer.