From Mischief Maker to Guardian

Today we had some great opportunities.  The morning we made one sponsored child visit and then returned to the construction site.  The cement foundation was completed yesterday and we were able to help lay the required courses of cinderblock to complete the foundation and base of the home.  The leader of the community association and the agriculture association are helping work on the house too.  We are grateful for the chance to help this family in need and work alongside these men showing leadership to the whole community. 

sponsored children grow up! 

Sponsored child, finally met in person.

Sharing smal gifts with sponsored kids.

McKearny family meeting with Filipe.

Construction marching on. 

Anna Rosa and sister

Lunch meeting with Cesar

More home Visits

As we began to get going with the work we received our first rain shower of the week.  It drove us all under cover for about 20 minutes as it really poured.  Must have been a site to the people here that we were so interested in taking pictures of a regular occurrence for them. 

During our lunchtime we shared testimonies amongst our team.  Almost every person no matter where they came from, Dominican or United States, has a time of rebellion or falling away from God and then returning to him in earnest.  We were reminded that no matter the circumstances, God is patient, and he will complete the work in us that he began.  We are all in process and he works things by his timing. 

We were able to get more information about the continuing organization of the community leadership that FH has been so helpful to do.  Speaking with Cesar, we learned that without Food for the Hungry’s help and encouragement there would be no mothers and parents group who was so influential in having the local school expanded.  That those leaders along with the community leadership as well as the youth group were able to find the right places to request the school expansion by FH’s direction.  Just a few years ago, these groups were in name only if at all.

 The basis of all this work is child sponsorship.  When children in a community are sponsored, the whole community benefits.  Schools improve, community leadership is empowered, families are strengthened, vision is spread, mothers are trained in basic healthcare and so much more.  These things could be so much more if more children were sponsored here in Sierra Prieta.  If you are interested, check out the link at the top right of this page to see children in this community who still need sponsors.  So much more can be accomplished with resources we take for granted at home.  Join us in making a lasting difference to the people of this community. 

In the afternoon we spread across the rest of the community to complete home visits to sponsored children.  Carlos, our teams coordinator, spoke about the significance of child sponsorship from a very personal perspective.  He was a sponsored child and the fact that someone so far away, cared enough to sponsor him and send letters and cards, was one of the things that God used in his life to draw Carlos to Jesus.  Spending just a short time with these kids can make a lifelong difference.

Another young man in this community highlights the reality that God is working here.  We have spoken about a small boy named Juan Armondo.  The first 2 times we visited, he was a constant trouble for us. Always trying to cause mischief.  But since that time, as we and FH have worked with him, and prayed for him he has grown to become a helpful and motivated boy.  He is 11 years old.  This evening as we walked to the church for dinner, he offered to watch over our shower water as it sat in the back of the pickup waiting to be unloaded.  When we returned over an hour later he was still in the back of the truck making sure there was no mischief done.  From mischief maker to guardian.  God is working here.

Also, pray for our brother in Christ, Edward and his wife.  He got a call today as we ate lunch together that she was about to deliver their new baby by Cesarean and he needed to go join her.  Edward is leading the FH efforts in Sierra Prieta and surrounding communities with efforts to work with Children and teach them about God’s love and plan for their lives.  We hope to learn that the new son Kevin, is doing great. Maybe, we’ll have a picture to share by the end of the week.

We welcome any comments.  Looking forward to hearing from you.