Mission informational meeting...
Might God be calling you to consider going on our next mission trip to the Dominican Republic? On March 25th from 3:30 - 5:30pm there will be an informational meeting at First Baptist Church, Wellsboro.
If you're in grade 9 or up, please come and hear about the trip and have your questions answered about any details. For more information about the meeting, call the church at 570-724-4681 or email us at fbcwellsboro@epix.net.
D.R. Mission Trip Report...
Our mission team is excited about returning to the site of our last trip to the D.R. when we went in January 2006. We praise God for what He allowed us to accomplish in Los Colinas outside of San Pedro where Pastor Tanis and his wife Esther, along with members of the Church for All Nations, hosted us.
The site consists of a two-story building which house's the pastor’s family as well as provides rooms and a dining area for visiting work teams. There is also a smaller, single story building which can house additional people. The church building consists of a tin-roofed, tarp-sided structure. The hope is that eventually a more adequate church building can be constructed.
A school, the only one in the area for the children, is now a reality since over time our team as well as others have worked to put the building up. More work on it is needed, however, and we hope to work on other needed projects at the church's compound.
Our medical team will return as well to conduct clinics in different bateys (villages where sugar cane workers live). Assisted by local translators, doctors and nurses see between 100-200 patients at each site. Volunteers from our team will work in the “pharmacy” distributing medicines and vitamins we bring along.
Often we have the opportunity to minister to the children in the area around Los Colinas. The kids hear Bible stories, sing songs, play games, and much more. Many friendships are formed between the kids and our team.
In addition to these things, we hope to take money donated for the trip to buy medicines, construction materials and tools, pay for some local workers and for materials bought prior to our arrival, among other things. If God moves you to make a donation for our mission trip, we'd be happy to give you more information. Just contact the church at 570-724-4681.
We will work hard but the Holy Spirit will be hard at work in us as well. The people endure severe squalor as part of daily living. Sugar cane workers must cut two tons of cane a day by hand, from 7AM to 6PM, all for just a couple of dollars a day. Access to health care or education is almost nonexistent for the majority of the Haitian immigrants we minister to. It is a humbling experience to come from a land of plenty to a place of almost unimaginable poverty. We have been blessed beyond our ability to comprehend. Yet even in such conditions there is a vibrancy of faith and an interest in the Scripture that is truly moving. Prayer is more than just words to these people, it is a vital force they rely upon to overcome the spiritual warfare (they face voodoo influences) and social challenges they deal with. They sing God’s praises with a zeal that inspires and they are interested in reaching others with the salvation message. It can truly be said that we benefit every bit as much from fellowshipping with them as they do from our work there.
Thank you for your prayers and financial support of this mission trip. We trust that God will sustain and guard our whole team. As God brings them to mind, pray for our brothers and sisters in the Dominican Republic, that the school we helped build will provide the education they so desperately need, that their living conditions would improve and that the Christians there will be able to reach many with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
