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You are here: Home / Archives for Cutupu

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).

Filed Under: News & Updates Tagged With: Coronavirus, Covid-19, Cutupu, Joseph Kim, Relief Efforts, The Bridge

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.

 

Filed Under: News & Updates Tagged With: Calvary Academy, Coronavirus, Cutupu, Dominican Republic, haitian schools, short-term missions

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