Read This First

If you have made it to this page then you either:

A) have a vested interest in the people of Sierra Prieta (you sponsor a child)

or

2) you have a vested interest in the team from Cornerstone Community Fellowship who is going there.

In either case there are some things that I really want you to be aware of as you try to follow our trip and the ministry that God does in Sierra Prieta.

The first thing is the very nature of poverty. Our preparation has been pretty extensive consisting of reading, Bible memorization, listening to sermons, team building exercises and training sessions. One of the most significant things to come out of our training is a better and more Biblical understanding of poverty than any of us had before. It would be really worth your time to listen to the podcast “Poverty Started Somewhere” found at http://povertyunlocked.com/2007/07/30/pu-002-poverty-started-somewhere-jul-30-2007/. It is a very general but incredibly Biblical perspective on where poverty comes from, what causes it and helps us see how we can be a part of combating it. The bottom line is that Poverty is a matter of sin destroying the way we were meant to relate to everything. They can be broken down into four different failed relationships 1) Failure of Spiritual relationship – our relationship with God 2) Failure of Social relationship – our relationships with other people 3) Failure of Physical or Environmental relationship – The way we relate to the physical world 4) failure of relationship with Self – A failed mental and emotional state that won’t let us see ourselves for what we are.

Poverty isn’t just a lack of money, or resources or opportunity. It’s the result of a failed and sinful system of relationships. Our desire in this is to help restore relationships so that people can begin to heal their perspective and overcome the obstacles they face.

The second thing I want you to grasp is what our C2C (community to community) relationship is about. The people of Sierra Prieta are not a project for us to complete or lost souls to save. They are a community of people we are PARTNERING with. In a real sense they are actually the lead partner. The sanitation project we will be working on has been chosen by them. If we don’t get it completed they will finish it. Each time we work on a project it will be at their direction. Food for the Hungry does have a community representative who works in the community to help educate and give advice to the community leaders but the locals themselves make the final decisions. Our primary role is to enter into healthy and encouraging relationships with the people of Sierra Prieta. For more on the value of relationships in overcoming poverty see http://povertyunlocked.com/2009/09/11/pu-040-walking-with-the-poor-sep-11-2009/.

For information about C2C relationships see http://povertyunlocked.com/2009/06/05/pu-036-church-partnerships-jun-5-2009/ and http://www.fh.org/help/churches/c2c.

The third and final thing that is so important to me and the team is that you, the people of Cornerstone, see this as a whole church undertaking. Already many of you are sponsoring children in Sierra Prieta. Already you are sending money and praying for a particular child or children and their family. This trip is the next of many steps we will take to be a part of God’s transforming work in the lives of this community. Pray, for us and the community, learn about what we are doing and why we are doing it the way we are, and prepare, you may be the next to go. Ask God if he would make a way for you to go on the next trip we take to the Dominican Republic.

My name is Greg Wilson. It’s my privilege to lead our team of 11 workers. We are the first missions team from Cornerstone Community Fellowship. I believe that we will find great blessing and great challenge. Our primary goal is to Glorify Christ in all that we do. I can already see him at work, can you? Are you looking with expectation?

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. (New Living Translation)