The men and women of Paraiso waiting to be seen
Feb. 10, 2011 I missed the post for the last day of the clinic in Paraiso, so let me sum up. I will begin by saying that neither Debra or I can remember ever working with a team that worked as hard and as efficiently as this team. And through out the day there was always time to pray with the patients and share the love of Christ. In 4 days approximately 800 people came through the doors to be seen.
Friday morning, on the way to Cabarete for a little R & R, we were asked to stop by Colegio Children?s World. This was where the first two days of clinics were held; when we arrived the entire school, teachers and students came out and presented the team with a thank you card with a picture of the Teaching staff. The cards were hand made by the students. This may not seem to be much but it is a testimony to the love that this team shared with everyone. This is the first time in over 9 years we have seen this.
God used these men and women in a special way. May He receive all the praise and glory.
What a day! The MBC team moved from Playa Laguna to our village- Paraiso. Two stories of the day. First, Optometrist Dr. Jon Mesarch, set a new record for number of patients seen- 150. Tonight as I drove up for our service at church I saw many people wearing their new glasses. What a blessing.
Story #2: Sometimes individuals in a group get the opportunity to see exactly why God brought them. That happened today with Michelle. She works with birthing mothers and has a heart for having a womens clinic. Today, a young woman came to the clinic after giving birth about 12 hours earlier. She was initially told at the public hospital that she was only 4 months pregnant but insisted she was full term and about to give birth. She did and was sent home on public transport. When she arrived at the clinic she was still bleeding. Michelle was able to examine her, resolve her issues and check the baby and minister to the mother. Both are well tonight. Michelle has been a huge blessing to us and we know she was brought here for this young woman and her child. Thank you, Lord.
God truly does increase our strength and give us power to do His will. In only a two day period the team from Memorial Bible Church has seen, treated and ministered to approximately 500 people. What an incredible team. Optometrist Dr. Jon Mesarch has done over 200 exams; Dentists, Drs. Steve Brazeau and Jim Pawlecki with Hygenist Heather Young took care of nearly 80 men, women and children; and the medical team saw every single person. As we left today the question we heard the most was, ?When are you coming back??
We have two days of clinics in Villa Paraiso tomorrow and Thursday. Please pray for the team. Sara and her daughter Mikaela were sick today and several others were not 100%.
?They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint? Is.40:31ESV
At our Sunday evening service the medical/dental team from Memorial Bible Church was introduced to the members of Iglesia Paraiso. The team will be holding clinics in Villa Paraiso Wednesday, Feb.2 and Thurs. Feb. 3.
Friday we welcomed a team of dentists, nurses, an optometrist, a nurse practitioner, a dental hygenist and others to work with us for a week. They have come from Washington and Ohio. They already have been a great blessing to us and to the communities of Paraiso and Playa Laguna. Saturday the team hosted a childrens program in Paraiso. The Church was full of laughter, singing, crafts and about 200 kids. Today, Monday, Dentists Dr. Steve Brazeau and Jim Pawlecki and hyenist Heather Young took care of many kids and adults. Dr. Jon Mesarch, of Logan, Ohio, saw over 100 patients. Our translator, Ermis, received an exam and a pair of glasses. He is near-sighted. He was so excited. He told us he could see the grass moving in the wind and saw clearly a plane flying overhead. We had opportunities to pray with families. One young man, Gerson, told me he had not walked with the Lord for over a year and he prayed for forgiveness and a renewed commitment to Christ. God is good. We look forward to see His power again tomorrow as these men and women share God?s love in word and in deed.
August 21
We have been blessed to get to know more and more people in the village. This week we preached on ?being a new creation in Christ? because next week we have a 3 day drama presentation as an outreach for the village. Check out this link- we did a short video for our fundraising dinner in Medford last night.
How can she not capture your heart? God loves all these kids.
Where ?kids church? is held in Villa Paraiso
The Lord is good. We met an amazing servant of God in the village. Her name is Jacquline and she, with only two volunteers, holds kids classes every Saturday. She does this for all the kids in the village. They worship, read the Bible and learn Bible stories. Normally, she has 150-200 kids over a three hour span. Wow!
Thursday July 8th
Nick and I went out this morning to survey the damage from last night?s storm. Wow! Trees down, power lines down, the beach area where we do ministry has lost several rooftops and many branches from the almond trees. In some areas the entire canopy of trees is gone. We had to help clear the road of trees just to get to the beach. Nick went to help with the clean up. We found out that when the clouds are green it means intense storm coming. A friend from Texas said when they see the clouds green they start watching for tornadoes. It had to be close to that. Check out the pictures of the beach. Roberto, a Christian friend, that works at the beach told us that he was trapped inside one of the shacks. All he could do was pray.
Wednesday July 7th
Had a great meeting with John, Samaritan Foundation, and Nigel Hyde, Misssion Direct today. The doors for construction of the Trade School are wide open and we meet later this week to discuss the schedule and work out more details. God brought Nigel along as a possible partner in the area of work teams and finances.
There is no program, daily or otherwise, for the kids of the village. The meeting hall stays locked and is only open when the foreign teams come. There is a interim Pastora (female Pastor) that comes to the village most nights but as of now there is no Pastor in the village.
Tonight one of the worst storms we have ever been through here came through. Nick and I were in the car and could not see out at all. Thunder, lightning, torrential downpour and winds of about 50-60mph attacked the area for nearly an hour. Our house flooded, power went out and is still out.
Tuesday July 6th
We went to Villa Paraiso today. What a change from the last visit. There are many more houses built and many more people living there. The church and the meeting hall/childrens church are complete. The school is under construction and the goal is to be done before school starts this fall. We are to meet with John Huizinga, the head of Samaritan Foundation here in the Dominican Republic, and the director of an organization called Mission Direct tomorrow. The Samaritan Foundation are the builders of the village.
Sunday July 4th
After almost 27 hours of travel we arrived at Puerto Plata Int?l Airport. We were greeted by hot, humid weather and the smiling face of our son, Nick. What a joy to be back. We found our rental house and got settled. Tomorrow we take care of the mundane ?got to do?s? and then we are off to check out the ministry areas.
After what seems to be an indeterminable amount of time we are finally going to the Dominican Republic. Our plans are to be there the first week of July. Lord willing, other than a committment that we have in July we will stay and be able to begin the work of preparing the courses and schedule for the Trade School in Paradise Village and see our friends at Encuentro. Yeah!
Just quick follow up to yesterday. We have been notified that there has been a trip made to Jimani, on the border of Haiti and the DR, by a missionary family from Santiago. The purpose of the trip was to assess the possibility of establishing a ?tent? hospital for Haiti refugees. Jimani is approximately 30 miles from Port au Prince. President Leonel Fernandez has eased the prosecution of illegal Haitian immigrants in the DR in order for families to find each other. One of the main crossing points will be Jimani. We are following up on the information to see if this may be the open door for us to be able to help. Donations for this relief effort we are starting can be made to Island Light Ministries, c/o Rogue Valley Fellowship, 2399 S. Pacific Hwy., Medford, OR 97501
As we all know the disaster of the earthquake in Haiti continues to worsen. Our missionary experiences began in Haiti and the impact of the poverty of that country has never left us. Please pray continally for these wonderful people. We must pray for the spiritual renewal of the individual and the country.
Also, pray that the roadblocks, that are making the release and distribution of critically needed supplies almost impossible, will be dismantled. As always, the problem is the government of Haiti. Normally it is due to corruption and graft but now it appears that the problem is due to the fact that there is little or no government left. This creates a very difficult situation but there is an opportunity to put into place a new government group that will move beyond corruption, greed, selfishness and embrace open service to the people.
Island Light Ministries is working with Helping Hands International, www.helpinghandsinternational.net to put together teams and supplies that are ready to travel to Haiti. We are working now so that as soon as the country is open we are prepared to leave. We ask for prayer and help.
As opportunities open and specific needs are made known we will pass them on to you. For sure there will be needs for medicine, food and clothing.
God bless you.
We have completed our web page and extend an invitation to everyone to check it out. It is www.islandlightministries.org. At this site you can find out about the vision that the Lord has given us for ministry in the Dominican Republic.
Check out the site and let us know what you think.
Debra and I wish you a blessed Thanksgiving. Give thanks to the Lord for He is good.