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Making Headway on Projects! Fall 2022 Update

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We appreciate each and every one of our partners, whether you are praying for us or are part of the financial lifeline. We are so thankful for you and for God, for what he is doing here in the Dominican Republic. Wishing you a special Thanksgiving celebration with family and friends! 

Mitch & Debbie Martinez, Missionaries to the Dominican Republic

Project Updates

By the time you read this note, the Limoncito Sanctuary Project will be completed. Downstairs, the Haitian Education Center will finally have its own space for classrooms. A team from Evangel Assembly, MA will be with us to help partition the classrooms, and will minister to children and adults plus provide healthcare.

The El Hatico Sanctuary Project is moving forward and our goal is to have the sanctuary complete before the end of November. We are grateful for the funds we have received for this project. Hopefully within a week or two the floor, electrical, windows and doors should all be in place. This congregation will celebrate Christmas in a new sanctuary!

We are receiving funds for small homes for three pastors. Pastor Frantz of the Barranca project, Pastor Alex of the Sabaneta Project, and Pastor Danes of the Cutupu Project. These ministers work sacrificially and have tough living situations. What a blessing for them if we can help them. We are estimating a need for $11,000.00 each. Material costs are affecting us strongly. We have received $9000.00 thus far. PTL!! 

  • El Hatico Project Progress
    El Hatico Project Progress
  • El Hatico Project Progress
    El Hatico Project Progress
  • El Limoncito Project Finalizing!
    Limoncito Project Finalizing!

El Pino Needs a Building!

Our Haitian Education Center in El Pino has been under some pressure to move from the church where they have been meeting. Thanks to our donors, we were able to purchase a property and have the funds to start with the foundation. We will need $25,000 to complete this project; this will ensure 4-6 classrooms for up to 100 children. This Thanksgiving will you consider sending funds to help with the El Pino Education Center and Church Project? Your gifts are tax deductible. Pastor Wilner is committed to helping these children.

Without the school many children would not receive any education. Public schools are over-crowded and the Haitian children are last to be offered placement in a classroom. They don’t speak the language, and they may not have proper legal documentation They are part of the immigrant population fleeing the dangerous living conditions in Haiti. Debbie has been raising funds to support 15 schools with over 1000 Haitian children on a monthly basis. She believes it is a crime for a child not to be able to receive an education. Will you consider providing help? For $25.00 a month you can sponsor a child. If you would like to help with this project, or provide on-going support for the children’s programs, please email Debbie at lavegaschool@gmail.com or call her at 1-809-696-9928 or 863-248-1119. You can donate online at https://www.tfaforms.com/4840424 (under Donation Designation select “DR Schools – LaVega and Haitian”

Debbie at El Pino Shared Classroom
For Info on how you can give, CLICK HERE TO GIVE
call us at 863-248-1119. Your gifts are tax-deductible.

New Projects are Launched!

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We are humbled by the faithfulness of God’s children during this extended COVID period. We expected our budget to be badly affected. Instead, our supporters and supporting churches gave priority to making sure support to their missionaries continued. Thank you for your help and know that God has not overlooked your act of charity during this time. The Lord richly bless you! Thank you for partnering with us.

Haitian Program Needing A Boost!

The staff of 86 teachers, cooks, and administrators of the Haitian schools by faith have received a good salary increase this school year. We are trusting the Lord to touch supporters’ hearts to provide for this much needed raise. They will still be way below the national average. If you feel the Lord leading you or your church to help with this contact Debbie at lavegaschool@gmail.com.

Construction began on the El Hatico Project in earnest after the new year.

This project is one of the most ambitious yet for a Haitian School. When finished i t w i l l have 10 classrooms and hold 200 children or more. This is the culmination of the efforts of RIP Ministries to take care of the two schools that they sponsor. By combining the two into one building they will free up monthly expenses and provide an excellent facility for the children. Making Christ the center of the education program is the chief goal in all this. Mitch has been overseeing this construction project. 

The combined Faith Church ministries from Summerville and Charleston, SC, brought a team of men to make sure the building was ready for the opening of classes. They welded the tr usses in place and setup for the industrial metal roof that covers almost 8000 square feet of floor space. Classes started October 4th in the new facility. The next phase of the project is to finish the second story and then build the sanctuary that will serve as an auditorium for the school and a church for the Haitian congregation.

The Limoncito Project is moving forward with the 2nd Story Sanctuary addition.

Pastor Petit Techner has been waiting a while to see progress on this church project. They have been meeting downstairs in the same area used for the classrooms for his school program. 70 children meet here daily for classes. Every corner is used for a classroom. This area is also used for his church meetings. Unfortunately there are many columns obstructing the view of the pulpit area on this first floor. This building had been a warehouse before and had rows of columns supporting the concrete roof that will serve as a floor for the 2nd story. The 2nd story will expand the size of the sanctuary almost 25% and this without the obstructions of the columns down below. Currently the trusses and roof have been installed. We are hoping to get the exterior walls up soon and are still $5000.00 shy of projected expenses. If you or a your church would like to donate to this project, please call us at 863-248-1119, or you can email Mitch Martinez at dominicanmissions@hotmail.com.

Congrats to our daughter
Sarah Joy Rios
Ordained as a Minister
In October
in Massachusetts!

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

Spring 2021 Ministry Update

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Progress continues on the El Hatico Project.  This will be a 2-story structure with 10 classrooms for 200 children.  In a week or two we should see the walls rising on the 2nd story.  Our goal is to have the building ready for use by the end of August.  It will take some prayers!

We are starting to see requests for hosting short-term ministry teams.  This June we had our first team visit from Timberline Church in Colorado.  They went all out with end of school children’s programs for four of the Haitian schools. In Cutupu they repainted all the blackboards, all the school benches, and even built 8 more benches for the children.  This was a hardworking team of six. Their trip to Limoncito reminded me that we are still gathering funds for the badly needed 2nd story addition there.  Construction materials have increased on an average 40%.  We are estimating $22,000 for the cost of this addition.  We have received $10,000 and a promise of $3000 more.

Currently we are still living with curfews and mask rules but La Vega is one of four provinces with a late curfew because of the low incidence of COVID-19.  Your prayers are working!

short term mission trip to DR
A freshly made school bench thanks to the Timberline Church Ministry Team

On the Homefront

We had an opportunity to be in the States last month and were blessed to visit our children and grandchildren. From sunny Florida we travelled through North Carolina, where Paul, Nicole and their awesome four children live. We then visited Debbie’s dad, Mike (94 years) and his wife Roz in New Jersey. Then travelled near Boston to visit Sarah, Aaron and their five beautiful girls. They are all doing well. Our biggest concern is that COVID has held up Karina’s (Joshua’s wife) request for residency in the U.S. This means she can’t currently travel to the US. Their two boys are ready; Ken and Ethan have their US passports. Please pray for them, they have been waiting over 2 years now for this approval!

We found some stowaway grandchildren.

 

Haitian Schools Update

End of Year Parties – We are so thankful to our faithful supporters who provide funds to feed the children. More funds are still needed! Write me at lavegaschool@gmail.com.

These sweet girls above are thankful for a hot meal, a party and a gift to take home. Most of all they are happy they can go to school and learn about Jesus

The schools are growing

Pastor Gesner’s school grew from 12 to 20 to 45 in just two years. His landlord is building a bigger facility behind the present school.

Teacher Training – We had a successful teacher training on June 12. The teachers are hungry to learn how to effectively teach the children. They are determined to come, even like this!

 

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

 

Spring 2020 Quick Update from Your Missionaries Mitch & Debbie Martinez

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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.

 

Meet Mitch & Debbie in this short video…

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