Dominican Missions

Your Missionaries to Dominican Republic

  • About Us
    • About Missionaries Mitch and Debbie Martinez
    • Ministry Network
    • What We Believe
  • Dominican Republic Mission Trips
    • Short-Term Missions Trip Info
    • Mission Trips Expenses
    • Mission Trips FAQ
    • Dominican Republic Facts
  • Ministries
    • Ministries Overview
    • La Vega Christian School
      • Ruthie Martinez Children’s Fund
    • Child Sponsorships
    • Construction Projects
    • Biblical Training & Equipping
  • How to Help
    • Sponsor a Child!
    • How to Help From The United States
    • How To Help In the Dominican Republic
  • Contact Us
  • News/Updates
You are here: Home / Archives for haitian schools

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

Haitian School Update Spring 2019

March 14, 2019 By admin

Dear Haitian School Sponsors,

Haitian Student working diligently!
MORE PHOTOS BELOW!

I wish you were here to see the joy and excitement on the faces of these children! In spite of difficult circumstances, crowded classrooms, hard benches, and long walks, the kids love to be in school. They are happy to have friends and a safe place to learn. And they love to eat, too!

At one school we visited this week I saw a lady with one leg, on crutches, with a basket on her head. The director told me she lost her leg in the earthquake in Haiti. She brings snacks for the kids to buy, and then cleans up the playground afterwards. I wish I had taken her photo, but I was too choked up. My ankle is still bothering me, and it’s hard to walk, so I can understand her discomfort and admire her initiative. That school does not have a sponsor. We are praying about helping the director with $480 a month to pay the teachers.

When the Calvary Academy students were here last month we visited several schools, where the students performed skits and songs, and did crafts with the kids. They loved it! They also painted Alex’s school and church in Sabaneta, and came for an evening service. They were so moved when the Haitian congregation prayed for them. They couldn’t understand all the words but they knew the Spirit was there.

In Barranca the students painted decorations that Pastor Frantz wanted. The new computer lab is finished and the new classrooms are painted. The students there were so happy with the toys the Calvary students brought. Such joy all around!

We hadn’t visited the Ciudad Universitaria school in a while. They meet in the afternoons. The students did a program on the basketball court and then they did their crafts. It just takes a little bit to make a huge impact in the lives of these children.

We had a big disappointment last week when we went to fence in the new property in Cutupu. A lawyer was waiting for us, claiming that the property belonged to her grandfather’s inheritors, and she was going to bring a lawsuit against the people selling to us. That was a shock! We spent more days looking, and God willing, will close this week on a much bigger property with space for the church, school, a soccer field and garden. Please pray for the funds needed to complete the building.

Thank you for your sponsorship, which makes it possible for over 800 children to receive a Christian education and nutritious food. We are honored to be your missionaries.

See below for photos.

God bless,

Debbie and Mitch Martinez

100% of donations go directly to pay school expenses for the children. Your tax-deductible offering may be sent to:

TMCI

PO BOX 1761

Columbia, SC 29202-1761

or call about automatic drafts. 803-799-0502

Calvary Academy students painted the Sabaneta church and School
This sweet girl wanted a picture with me
Calvary ministering to students at Ciudad Universitaria.
Balloons, toys, bracelets, crafts!
Students at Idovil’s school.
Rice and beans coming up!
Two classes in Cutupu currently meeting under a tarp.

Filed Under: News & Updates Tagged With: Child Sponsors, Child Sponsorship, haitian schools, La Vega, Mission Update, Missionary

Reaching Towards the Future in 2019 | Missions in La Vega Dominican Republic

March 8, 2019 By admin

With your help, the year 2018 was one of the busiest and most fruitful years of ministry for us in La Vega, and 2019 looks to be no different.

Below you can see the plans that have been drawn up for the new Cutupu Church/School. We are so excited about this! The facility will help educate 130 children that are currently meeting in a very poor and inadequate rented facility (seen below the plans). We are believing for the church and classrooms to be built in 2019, we will need $29,000.00 for the construction of the facility.

Some students study under a tarp at the current Cutupu facilities

In El Cafe (in the mountains of Constanza), a new sanctuary is awaiting doors and windows for it’s inauguration.   Funds are already coming in for these two projects. Meanwhile, the “Raising the Rieles” Project is still waiting for the resolution of the land title before construction can begin to re-locate flood zone families. Please pray with us for this! Seventy to a hundred families will be affected positively for the Kingdom of God.

The Rose of Sharon Church in Barrio Inco

For the past year we have been serving as interim pastors in this church. How wonderful it was to be able to baptize six new believers! We are still a young congregation but we have a faithful nucleus hungry for the Lord.

La Vega Christian School Celebrates 20 Years of Service

With 350 children the school celebrated it’s 20th anniversary with a special service recognizing so many of those who have helped in the formation of this school. So many short-term mission teams from so many U.S. churches came and donated labor and finances to make this school a reality. Local pastors and church families have contributed and supported the school over the years. This year we will graduate our largest class with 35 seniors.

Reaching out to bless 14 Haitian Education Centers

Through the Haitian education centers 795 children are receiving an education that they would not receive otherwise. As donations are received the salaries for all the teachers in these centers are being paid. As funds permit, either snacks or a meals are served in each center. If you are interested in helping to support this outreach please contact Debbie at 1-863-248-1119, or her cell at 1-809-696-9928. Her email is lavegaschool@gmail.com. For $25.00 a month you can invest in the future of a needy child, and “change a life forever!  Learn more about becoming a sponsor here.

Filed Under: News & Updates Tagged With: Child Sponsorhip, haitian schools, La Vega, La Vega Christian School

What God is doing with Haitian Schools in Dominican Republic

May 1, 2018 By admin

This short video shows the children and facilities of the different Haitian schools in La Vega that we have been working with. These ministries that help some of the most forgotten and overlooked children in the country wouldn’t be possible without support  from people like you. THANK YOU!

God has used people all over the world to help bring funds to pay for facilities, improvements, chairs, desks, teachers’ salaries, food, and more. God has also sent missionaries to be on the front lines helping with the logistics and daily programs offered by these schools.

If you would like to donate or increase your donation amount, Send your check to Your Missionary Outreach, PO BOX 1761, Columbia, SC 29202.  or use this page: How to Help from the United States 

DR Haitian School Showcase 2018

Filed Under: News & Updates Tagged With: Child Sponsors, Child Sponsorship, Dominican Republic, Feeding the Hungry, haitian schools

Child Sponsor Update February 2018

February 13, 2018 By admin

Dear Sponsors:

We have a lot to share with you this month. Thank you for opening your heart to enable a poor Haitian child to attend school. We recently received a grant to start feeding the children in the schools where that wasn’t happening. It has meant a flurry of activity for us, and lots of smiles and warm bellies for the children. First we had to buy plates, spoons, cups, dish drainers and boxes to contain the food. We had tables made and are still buying more. One of our Haitian pastors, Odima, found a man who makes stoves for the big pots they use, so we purchased one for the Rancho Viejo school and another for Limoncito. We had to buy those big aluminum pots with lids, spoons for stirring, and gas tanks. Then pitchers for making juice and serving trays. Everything is so colorful! The pastors found women to cook within their churches.

74-dominicanmissionsprojects2018 68-dominicanmissionsprojects2018 72-dominicanmissionsprojects2018

At first we were buying food weekly until the cooks knew how much they needed. Now we are trying to buy the food monthly or twice a month. The menus include rice with black beans and sardines, (delicious, a little girl told me last week), chicken soup, cream of wheat, corn meal with milk, oatmeal, bread and hot chocolate, crackers and cheese, spaghetti with cheese or salami, and more. Thankfully I have the help of other missionaries to help with all the shopping and delivering. Believe me, when you start adding 30 pounds of rice, 10 pounds of dried beans, 20 pounds of sugar, and all the rest, that shopping cart gets heavy!

27710173_10155704448039143_7381308694910457224_o 27748289_10155704448579143_4339356219634985643_o 27625479_10155704448854143_4596297519719332926_o

Some prayer concerns:

  1. We still need to finish the classrooms in Barranca. Mitch recently posted a short video about the work there. (Watch it here)
  2. The new classrooms in Sabaneta are full of happy students. We  need funds to finish off the sidewalks and the stucco work.
  3. Idovil’s school is overcrowded with 110 students in a three bedroom home. We are trying to find a bigger place for the school to meet. His wife is pregnant with their 4th child and due any day. Thankfully they were able to move into a nice little house just a block from the school.
  4. Pray that the teachers apply what they learn in our workshops.
  5. Many of the families are so desperately poor. This month we were able to donate washing machines to 6 Haitian families. The men need work. The women need hope. They all need Jesus.

Again, thank you for being part of this ministry. I pray the Lord rewards you for you generosity.

For the children,

Debbie and Mitch Martinez

Send donations to Your Missionary Outreach, PO BOX 1761, Columbia, SC 29202

Write Debbie at lavegaschool@gmail.com or call at 863-248-1119.

Filed Under: News & Updates Tagged With: Child Sponsors, Child Sponsorship, Dominican Republic, Feeding the Hungry, haitian schools

Give Online

Meet Mitch & Debbie in this short video…

Will You Sponsor A Child?

Will you sponsor a child?
Click here to learn more about Teach Feed Love.

Copyright © 2023 · Dominican Missions - Missionaries to the Dominican Republic