Day 4 & 5 Summer 2016 Ministry in Full motion!

As the sun rises over Santo Domingo this morning I am writing this to update everyone on the progress of the mission here in the DR. Day 4&5 is included here as the nights have been late and the team has been gathering back quite late preparing for the following day. People are tired but overjoyed by the way God keeps "showing up" and blessing the people we seek to serve.

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As a quick Recap of Day 4 & 5 I will provide bite-sized updates on all our major Projects this Week. Please forgive me as there is SO much going on - most importantly lives being changed, both on the team and in the villages where we serve. 

HOH School Courtyard - Completely covered in Cement and now a great Gathering place for our School Community- It looks Awesome- I can almost imagine the kids playing during recess in this space during the school year.

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The new Building ( classrooms) Block by Block working along side a local team of Dominicans HOH is erecting this new classroom Space. It is safe to say that every team member has had a hand on a cement block used to construct this massive building. Block by Block our faith is strengthend as we watch God provide the energy and skill needed for this undertaking. 

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VBS... we finished our incredible VBS program at the end of Day Five - Get this, while a building is being put up only 50 yards away. VBS is in full swing !  Courtyards and Classrooms are full of hundreds of singing and smiling Kids. All receiving Christ's love with a dose of Fun , Music and VBS drama stories. I have seen the Smiling faces of the many Kids involved each day- they number in the hundreds.

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Isaiah 58- Food ministry is in Full swing with teams leaving each day to visit the poorest of the poor here in the DR. I have personally traveled 2 days with teams and I am impacted by the love and humble nature of the people as we get to have fun and do ministry all at the same time.  Where else can you organize a baseball game in 2 minutes, "create bases" out of Rocks and use Sticks to hit out of the park home runs?  Oh and by the Way the Chickens on the playing field are just one of the distractions. Nevertheless, the Americanos  can never seem to win a game against the Dominican teams, and there are no mercy rules either in this league ! After a great game of Baseball the team returns to the village with hot meals and food for families for the days to come. Clothes are distributed and a powerful message of Hope and Love is delivered by pastor Arnold in their language. All this against the backdrop of the beautiful DR countryside.

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The team is healthy and energized to continue to serve this week as we prepare for the Teen Challenge program, and visiting our Sponsor children. 

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Thank you for your Prayers and support as they are so needed and strengthen this team in supernatural ways, ways that only God can orchestrate. 

Be Blessed - we are  John D. 

Day 3 Summer 2016 The School Courtyard

Major construction today, as the Sun Set on Catalina the last of the concrete for our school courtyard was poured and leveled. A crew of over 20 men and some impressive concrete pumping gear, created a beautiful courtyard for our students and their families. It is because of your generosity that this was all possible. The School continues to be the hub for this community and your constant attention to this ministry makes upgrades like this a reality. Thanks for helping serve families with incredible community spaces.

-- We continue to be.. Blessed , John D.

Day 3 Summer 2016 Isaiah 58 Ministry Season Launch

Wow what an incredible opportunity to serve villages by feeding them a hot meal and providing them with food to take home to their families. Our teams visited the first of 5 villages this week and enjoyed games of baseball and tag with the children as well as visiting with parents and village leaders.

All this while delivering food and the message of hope found only in Jesus Christ.

--Be Blessed John D.

Day 3 Summer 2016 VBS Program Starts Today

Today we had the joy of working with approx. 700 children at our annual VBS program here in Catalina. The Children enjoyed crafts and several Bible Drama's played out by our talented volunteers. So much thanks to the teams of "short term" missionaries who stayed up late Sunday night to get all the Crafts, Props and Skits ready. Our VBS Program will run through Wednesday and bring joy to countless children in the area.

-- Be Blessed, John D

DAY 2 Summer 2016 Visiting Children's Hospital

This afternoon we headed to Robert Reid Children's hospital. If you know me, you know how emotional this was for me. There is nothing worse for me than to see sick children . While we were there we entertained the children with puppets, balloon animals and our singing as well as handed out many beanie babies. We also spent time praying along side the sick children and their families. After dinner many of us shared our days experiences and how it impacted us deep inside.

It was followed by us all working together prepping for VBS which starts tomorrow. We have 500 children attending tomorrows program. It sure is going to be a crazy but amazing day.

Out of respect for the children and their families we will not post pictures of the children in the hospital. The Hands picture above is of Angela in our group comforting and praying with a Mom who's child is in intensive care. So many stories Stay tuned.

God is good. He always is. Share on Social media with #hohmissions2016

• Rosemarie D

DAY 1 Summer 2016 Planning and Preparing

After a late night flight Friday into Saturday 60 people from this incredible team landed in the DR. We met up with our in country team to plan and prepare for the weeks ministry. With VBS, Construction, ISAIAH 58, Teen Challenge and Women's Health and Childbirth Education , this multi-talented team is ready for action.

For those of you who can not join us this week please continue to pray that lives will be changed and the message of Christ's victory would go forward.

Each day on this trip I hope to post an update of the days progress and select photos in the Gallery on the Handfuls of Hope Website. Check back daily. And if you share this information on social media please remember to tag your posts #HOHMISSIONS2016

Be Blessed, John D.

DR Journal - July 16, 2013

What an amazing day in Catalina!

Today was the first day of the 2013 Teacher's Conference hosted by Handfuls of Hope. Over the past three years,  our team has been blessed to have a team member who is a NJ Superintendent who is passionate about the Dominican Education System. Through an updated curriculum, our team is providing local teachers with limited resources access to updated curriculum and best practices to enhance the learning experience in the classroom. 

The VBS team visited two villages named Matanzas and Carreton to over two hundred people including children, youth and adults. 

In Matanzas, we ministered to over one hundred children and forty teens and adults. It was great to see how engaged and open this town was to hear the Lord.  To start off, the children, teen and adult ministries all occurred in non-Christian homes.  To think non-Christians would open their homes and backyards to host bible studies and sing praises unto the Lord is pretty amazing.  What was even more exciting was the woman who allowed the young women and mothers to meet in her home accepted the Lord today. 

When we arrived at Carreton, there was not one child at VBS.  Simply said, the team was discouraged.  Were any children going to arrive? Instead of sitting and waiting.  Some members of the team decided to venture out throughout the village and invite children to VBS.  Suddenly, a swarm of children walked towards the team- all excited to attend VBS.  Not only did we minister to over one hundred children in Carreton, we also ministered to a group of forty team - the largest group of teens in all the villages.  Twenty of them were young men between the ages of 12-20 years old.

HOH member sharing his testimony with teens in Carreton

Three members of our team had the opportunity to share their testimonies and spent time sharing God's love.  The coolest part was that all three testimonies were in spanish.  No translator needed. Jeff, one of the individuals on the team, explained, "For three Americans to speak for thirty minutes in Spanish is proof of God's spirit working through us to reach these young people and continue the work of God's Kingdom." These young men were engaged, hungry to learn more about the Lord. 

Back in Catalina, our construction crew was hard at work and committed to build the new school. We are excited to report that we are making great progress! The school buildings foundations are down, school walls up and the outdoor pavillion where students will eat lunch is underway. Still, it wasn't an easy process.  When the team arrived on site, a school wall collapsed overnight, there were not enough construction tools or supplies and the weather was extremely hot and no shade at the site.  People became discouraged and frustrated. Nothing seemed to go according to plan.  Then, one of the team members called "PT" (aka prayer time). Everyone stopped what they were doing, came together and prayed. It was amazing how prayer took our nerves away. We realized we had to give all our worries up to God.  After multiple "PTs," we found an electrical store to buy supplies we needed, the wall was up and everyone encouraged each other. In addition, our team also worked on renovation projects, painting the exterior and interior of the church building.

Wall of pre-k and kindergarten building goes up

As always, we ask you to join us in prayer for tomorrow as we prepare to visit two villages, continue construction projects and enter day two of the teacher's conference. 

DR Journal, Monday 7/15/2013

Hola a nuestros hermanos y hermanas!

Today was an amazing and God filled day. There were many children ready to learn in the village of Catalina and La Noria. The excitment on their faces showed abundantly and you could feel the presence of the Lord in every step we took closer to them.

Children of Catalina

We sang with them as they loudly praised to God. The sounds of their voices was amazing, it was beautiful, touching, it was God. The children sat attentively and learned about the story of David and Goliath, they all knew the story by heart and were thrilled to be able to participate in telling it with us. We helped them rehearse the scripture of Philippians 4:19 in Spanish and taught them how to say the verse in sign language as well.

Filipenses 4:19 / Philippians 4:19

Mi Dios, pues, suplirá todo lo que os falta conforme á sus riquezas en gloria en Cristo Jesús.

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

It was a challenge for them, but a challenge they conquered and had a lot of fun doing so. Creatively we exercised their minds with arts and crafts. Using the verses separated on colorful stickers, color coordinated tongue depressors, string, and jewels, we helped make a craft they were able to take with them to remember this verse and know they are watched overLydia and Lindsey helping a child with his craft by our Lord Jesus Christ. Its always amazing to see God's work of perfection in each and every one of them, allowing him to use us as his vessels.

We sat together and ate lunch, which was a great experience. The food was tasty and the people are wonderful. Spending time with them is a blessing because they are such happy and faith-filled people, no matter the circumstances.

As we rode the bus on our way back to the hotel in Santo Domingo, there were multiple opportunites to preach to people on the street as we sat in traffic. We

provided them with Bibles as we passed and let the Lord work in his time. Every moment is the right moment when bringing someone closer to him.

Men of La Noria

DR Journal Monday 7/15/2013 - Construction Team Update

Greetings from the sunny and tropical Dominican Republic .  Our first full day in the village of Catalina was super busy as the construction team sprang into action. Our major construction project is the Handfuls of Hope School building and the project is well underway. The foundation has been laid for the main school building, which will consist of five classrooms. The concrete floor is scheduled to be poured tomorrow but, before that can happen, the block foundation must be filled with dirt and tamped down to form a solid base for the concrete floor.

Truckload upon truckload of fill dirt was delivered to the site and our team worked tirelessly, shoveling, raking, and spreading the seemingly endless supply of dirt and rocks.  A front-end loader was supposed to be onsite but, due to mechanical  issues, the machine was not available, forcing the team to resort to plan B, moving tons of dirt and rocks by hand.

Finally, late in the day, we were able to arrange for a machine to be brought onsite and not a moment too soon as the hot sun had sapped our energy to the point where it seemed impossible to finish the job.

In the meantime, our carpentry team was busy preparing to start framing the walls of the new pre-school building which will consist of two classrooms and two bathrooms. As quickly as materials were delivered to the site, the team began cutting boards in preparation for assembly of the roof trusses. More updates to come...

Ahhh... Sean helps to cool Rob down a bit with a block of ice from the cooler

DR Journal, Sunday 7/14/2013

Hola from the Dominican Republic! 

It is hard to believe that after months of prayer and preparation we are actually here in the Dominican Republic.  Over the next few days we will be updating the HOH Journal to keep you posted on the amazing things God is doing during our time here.  While you may not be with us in person, we encourage you to come alongside us through prayer as we continue on this journey.

Upon our arrival on Saturday afternoon, we visited a local orphange where we spent time with children with special needs. Many of these children were abandoned at infancy, and this orphanage is their home. We had the honor to talk and play with them; people raced with them in wheelchairs, strolled the hallways enjoying their company and helped them eat their snacks.  

A personal favorite moment was when we were blessed to hear the children sing songs.  One young lady named Lydia truly melted our hearts. Lydia is young girl who is mentally handicapped who organized a group of members from our team to sit in a circle and taught us hand motions to a song as she praised the Lord. Her love for God, and sharing His love, was easily seen. 

On Sunday morning, we had an amazing time together in praise and worship.  We were reminded to use our talents, resources and time for the Lord. This could not have come at a better time as we prepared to visit and minister to families at a local children's hospital. We aren't doctors or nurses, but we can spend time with these children and show them Gods love through smiles, music, conversations and prayer. 

At the hospital we partnered with a local church called Iglesia Bautista Internacional (IBI). In small teams of ten we visited various rooms with sick children and their families. The bilingual members of the church spoke a short message on Psalm 23, and closed in prayer.  We then distributed gift packages, stuffed animals and bibles, and spent time with the children. One of our team members learned to play "piedra, papel, tijeras" - or as we call it rock, paper,scissors- and lost against an eleven year old girl named Mari-Lu. She says, "It was the best loss of my hand-gaming career."  The time at the hospital ended with our team, nurses and even  the families from the hospital singing worship songs in Spanish through the hallways. Yes, the hallways. 

We are now back at the hotel about to sort and organize crafts that will be given to the 1500+ children we will meet this week through Vision Bible School (VBS).  It is going to be a late night. 

We will begin to post photos and personal testimonies from our trip tomorrow morning, so don't forget to check the HOH Journal throughout the week! 

Also keep us in prayer as we go out to minister and begin our construction projects. 

Que dios le bendiga (God Bless)!

DR Mission Journal

Sarah checks in with an update as the Eastern College DR team wraps up their week of service.

Hola! So I was asked to write another update about our trip so far. However, I am a procrastinator  of the worst kind. So, this morning, as I considered all the things I have to pack up before we grab a hasty breakfast and wave "adios" to this beautiful island, I was trying to think up a way I could use my words to bring glory to God AND give an idea of our trip--a way to express the things we have felt as we watched this week turn into a memory. 

But how could I do that? How could I possibly explain what it was like to feel the sun pierce through my dirty clothes as I tried my best to shovel cement into the wheelbarrow? The relief I felt when a small cloud would guard us from the sun for a minute as we mixed cement, and poured it into the cracks of the cinder block school? 

How could I begin to explain the poverty we saw in the two Haitian villages? The way some of the children looked like the joy for life had already fled their eyes? We passed out Beanie Babies and cross necklaces and crayons and did our best to show them the perfect love of Christ as we held them and colored with them and sang songs like "Father Abraham".

How can i explain the stark realization, as we drove away in our bus, that those beautiful people cannot ride away from their reality? But let me explain this: it was beautiful to hear that many of the villagers have the hope of Christ in their hearts, to know that I will see them someday in heaven, and we will finally be equally blessed, and our dirty, unfair world will be merely a distant memory.

I don't know how to express these moments and one million more to you all. We met the most genuinely loving, Christ-like people down here. We saw sadness and sickness, but we saw a plan that is much more majestic than our own beginning to unfold. and we saw hard work pay off as we rejoiced for the breakthrough in funding for the school--new hope for the children we have fallen in love with here! We saw hard work pay off as the cinder blocks began to look like a real structure rather than a taunting pile that told us we could never get the grueling work done. 

We felt tears on our last night in Catalina, the church service that wrapped up the relationships we created with the people we worked with, the people who fed us, the people who traveled with us to the beach: our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

I don't know how to express them to you, and maybe I don't have to. Maybe God is preparing a trip just as beautiful for you, so you won't just HEAR these moments, but you can LIVE them. Or maybe He is preparing the perfect situation for you to walk into--sharing the gospel with a friend-and you can experience the joy that only comes when we trust God to flow through us and to hurting people, because you certainly don't need to travel to a third world country to find suffering. 

So even though I can't express each of these moments to you, I hope you are encouraged to know that our work was all in God's name, and that He will use our human hands to create opportunity for the beautiful people of the D.R. 

God bless, and thank you.

-Sarah and the team

DR Mission Journal

This journal entry was written by Sarah, a student at Eastern College, who is serving with HOH this week in the Dominican Republic. -Don

Hey everyone! It's my pleasure to be reporting to you all about our trip to the D.R.

On Saturday, we arrived at the Santo Domingo airport around lunch time, after a late night/early morning of traveling. After getting situated with our luggage and becoming acquainted with our designated bus driver Marcos, we headed to an orphanage for disabled children. None of us knew exactly what to expect, and in all honesty, I was really nervous about the inevitably distressing emotions awaiting us at the home. And again, if I am to be completely honest, there WAS distress in some of the children. A lot of them were physically handicapped, and most had some sort of mental disability as well. It is never easy to see such diseases inflicted upon such innocent beings, but a deeper sadness took root because these children don't have parents to shower them with love and kindness. However, we serve a God of mercy and unfailing love, and we were able to pray for the kids, see their beautiful smiles when we gave them Beanie Babies and hugs, and feel the most beautiful love of Christ for His wonderful children. It was sad, and we all felt the ache that comes with compassion for those in the throws of disease and suffering. But God will make all things right in the end, and we can be assured that the children will someday be able to live in perfect peace and health with Christ. And for now, some wonderful ladies are taking care of them at the orphanage.

We felt a similar ache when we visited the Children's Hospital on Sunday. After sleeping off our jet lag and enjoying devotional time by the poolside of our hotel, we headed off with Beanie Babies, tracks, and crayons for a day of ministry at a children's hospital. We met with another Christian ministry who comes into the hospital on a weekly basis to serve the children and their parents through prayer, visitation, and preaching of the word. We each split up and went into different areas of the hospital. My group went to a room for children with Pulmonary diseases. Again, it was really upsetting to see kids of such a young age suffering so greatly, but God was able to renew my strength and just offer the kids more perfect love of Cristo (Christ in Spanish:). David, from the other ministry, preached the gospel to the parents of the sick children, while we handed out Beanie Babies and tracts, along with verse cards. We then prayed over the children and their parents, and played with them as much as we could considering their circumstances. One team member mentioned that the best part was seeing the children's faces positively glow as we handed them the stuffed animal. Again, another example of how Christ's love can shine simply and beautifully even in the most seemingly pain-stricken places. After this, we went to a church service in Catalina, the village we will be serving for the majority of the week. The service was beautiful-our team member Eveny, a fluent Spanish speaker and Dominican native, translated for us. We sang a couple songs for the church (quite sheepishly), but even though we were timid and unsure, the congregation seemed to love it.

Today, we laid the foundation for a school Handfuls of Hope is building. Using cement mix and concrete blocks, we laid foundation for TWO different buildings. The sun was hot and our skin is STILL gritty, but we were really productive and were rewarded with delicious Dominican cuisine from "Mama", an incredibly hospitable and loving woman from Catalina. But more than all that, we were able to sacrifice comfort to help build a vital piece to a really great ministry--a taste much sweeter than the fried yucca that I will more than likely try to smuggle back to the U.S. :) thanks for the prayers, all! We could do this trip using own strength, but because we have so many prayers and most importantly- the power of God-the trip will have an impact with more true joy and peace than our own strength could ever created. Dios te bentiga! (God bless you!)

-2013 D.R. Team

DR 2012 Mission Trip - Day 7

It is 10:30pm on Saturday as I post this update on yesterday's activities.

Friday was our final day in Catalina and it was a wonderful (and very long) day. As we dragged our tired bodies back to the hotel, there simply was no energy left to write and post the day's blog update.

What a truly remarkable week this has been. Pictures can not capture the magnitude of what has occurred in this small village, 50 minutes outside the capital city of Santo Domingo. The church that sits alongside what is now a major highway connecting the capital to Catalina, Boni and beyond, is now a major focal point along this heavily trafficked roadway.

The 40ft. long steel container that sits roadside now serves as a billboard for the church. Kim R. & Zack J., two of the most amazing high school seniors you would ever want to meet, took on this massive project. Blessed with Kim's incredible artistic ability, the container is now a vibrant blue with two hands clasped together and the church name, service times and a scripture verse. The container is in full sun most of the day so they coined the phrase, "Painting on the surface of the sun!" What a privilege it was to watch them painstakingly hand write it all out, paint and edge every letter. It is a work of art! Thank you to all the helpers who assisted Kim in this project. You are all shining examples of a genuine work ethic as unto the Lord!

Mama's garden is a Catalina show piece. Mama is still mourning at her sister in-law's house adjacent to hers but she was willing to come outside yesterday and see her new garden, and memorial tree for her brother. To see the look on her face as she rounded the corner of the house with Diana C. at her arm was a sight I will not forget. I felt so humbled at this moment to be a part of this gift to her. Pam I. and Dawn L. along with an incredible team of Donna L., Sue and Sara C., Mary J., Melissa F., Alejandro and many others her over-run garden was transformed to a "Better Homes and Garden" picture. New planters and plants full of color. Mama was overjoyed with one plant in particular with bright pink flowers. She said, "I see these throughout the village and always say, 'I would love to have one of these they are so colorful and pretty and now I have one!" How amazing that a shrub that cost 10 US dollars brought her such delight at a time of such intense sadness for her. The mock water feature and memorial mango tree brought her to tears as she shared, "I have always wanted to do something with this side of my garden but never had the chance." The mission team all initialed 2 stone tiles and Kim inscribed a Scripture verse about living water from John and placed the three tiles in the memorial garden. This beautiful woman of God who has blessed and ministered to us for years was now blessed with a special gift just for her. She repeated over and over again how much she loved us and felt our love.

With our VBS team done with their amazing work in the villages with the children, teens and mothers, they focused their attention on helping the projects finish up and their extra hands blessed our weary bodies. 70+ "Americanos" bustling around the church buildings, Mama's house, the HOH house and the container made a roadside exhibition. Horns would blow and people wave at us. Pastor Vernon's church is now known as the place God and the Americanos love! What an amazing testimony to unity amongst believers and what the family of God can do when they come together as one in Christ.

In the afternoon many of the VBS group went to Pastor Vernon & Nancy's to "feed a village." This is a practice we have done for the past few years now where we purchase bulk rice, beans, baby items and repackage them into family portions. Then typically we go to that village and sing songs, visit with them and hand out the packages. This year they were invited to Pastor's and we entertained them with songs and cold drinks and their food packages. To see their smiling, grateful faces just brings tears to our eyes and overflowing hearts.

The construction team labored intensely all day, including a team of 10 that came out at 6am to get an early start. The roof is complete, walls painted, ceiling fans and lights in place, the donated sound system up and running, banos (bathrooms) cleaned and ready, benches and chairs brought in and placed on cleanly swept and mopped floors. Our team rushed back to Pastor's for showers or "baby wipe showers" (which amazingly removes oil based paint from the skin and smells much better than turpentine!) and we all put on our church clothes. The worship service of our two cultures coming together is a favorite part of the mission week. Singing in both Spanish and English, Pastor preaching, a beautiful testimony shared by Haley H. and interpreted into Spanish by Janet W. was so heart wrenching and beautiful. As you looked over the group it was a mixture of white, DR brown, Haitian black and it was so very beautiful. There was a drama skit and a concert with Kim, Bethany, Becky L., Lydia C. and by Beker at the end singing our favorite two songs. As always we end in tears and long hugs.

We then bussed over to Pastor's and were blessed with a 11:30pm quick supper then back to the hotel by 1am for a much needed sleep. There is SO much more to tell and I will be collecting stories Saturday at our beach day! Get ready for some amazing blessings as I recount individuals experiences and life changing moments that will touch your heart! Dios te Bendiga! God bless you!

DR 2012 Mission Trip - Day 6

Thursday, July 19, 2012

"For even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Mark 10:45

What an incredible day to serve others!

This group of amazing people are such a blessing and true example of what it means to have a servant's heart. Another day of glorious blue skies and billowy white clouds. God has provided a steady breeze each day cooling our skin that is working in the blazing sunshine. I have never seen so many filthy dirty, ridiculously happy people as those serving on this mission trip. We are covered in cement and saw dust, paint, dirt, sunblock, bug spray, wet bandanas, and loving every minute! So much went on today there will have to be a blog of stories to follow. But for now the highlights are:

VBS was as busy as ever ministering in adjacent villages with Bible stories, songs, hugs, warm smiles and lots and lots of children! Each darling face is eager to hear about Jesus, who loved the little children with all His heart! It is a common sight to see our youth with two or three Dominican children on their laps, climbing their shoulders, swinging from their arms. The sound of laughter and music carries all the way back to Catalina! The team's boundless energy is such a joy to see and brightens us all!

Heavy construction will complete the massive additions, roofing and platform side room projects by tomorrow afternoon. The church walls are all painted with one coat of paint, with a second being applied tomorrow. Mounds of dirt were shoveled, loaded and brought to us from a local sugar cane village to fill our newly made plant box. The cement block, skim coated box measures 16' long by 4' wide and will be a beautiful curb appeal for God's house.

Light construction is so excited to see the plants be installed tomorrow by two team members who are landscapers by trade. What a blessing! Mama's garden is absolutely beautiful and although she is still in mourning for her brother, she did see some pictures of the progress outside her house and she broke down and cried. She assured us they were tears of joy and gratitude! The 40' container is almost finished with 8' high hands, one brown and one flesh color, holding each other, joined together in Christ!

Pastor Vernon's ministry main floor is completely painted and gorgeous. We were delighted to be served dinner there this evening, the first missionaries in the finished space!

Todays was "Fiesta" day and at 3pm a large group of us teamed up with our Catalina family and prepared for the community guests. Tables were set up for face painting, balloon animals, games and prizes, music and fellowship. Our Catalina church family prepared 1,700 hotdogs, packaged cupcakes and an orange drinks for those in attendance. There wasn't a single morsel of food left over. All of this is free to the community and is a wonderful testament to our love of Jesus and His love for people.

 Ironically, what ended up being the highlight of the event was a quick passing downpour that sent our community guests scrambling for cover. An enormous tarp had been brought to the Fiesta that was the size of an olympic size swimming pool. Quickly, our team all grabbed sides and corners of the tarp and lifted it as high as our arms could reach so our guests could run under and stay dry. The community children looked at all of us in amazement as we got soaked, smiles on our faces, keeping them dry.

Immediately after there appeared in the sky directly over head a double rainbow! We had God goosebumps!! Truly incredible! We put many of our San Jose guests on our buses to drive them back to their village safely and we all walked back to Pastor Vernon's house for a late dinner, exhilarated by God's blessing upon us all.

Please pray for our music and drama teams as they have practiced so diligently for tomorrow night's worship service in Catalina. For our construction teams and our VBS team who will be joining in all day tomorrow to ready the church and Mama's house adjoining the Handfuls of Hope House for our time of worship together. This will be the first service held in the newly expanded space and we get to praise and worship our Lord together, united in Him!

Buenos Noches!

DR 2012 Mission Trip - Day 5

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

The half-way-day is typically challenging but from all accounts today seemed to be a highlight for many! A team of 10 headed out early in preparation for the two day teacher's conference where 75+ teachers were in attendance. They will resume again tomorrow and our teaching professionals are so excited at the outcome and fantastic response to what they are sharing. A tremendous amount of prior preparation and attention to details from our ladies is making this such a success and blessing to so many! We'll be sharing more details of the teacher conference in tomorrow's update.

We were so happy to have our final team member arrive today, welcome Bethany S.! She had to take her nursing exam, then boarded a plane for the DR because she couldn't think of missing this trip for anything! We love you Bethany! You are an incredible example and inspiration!

The Heavy Construction team have completely erected a new roof, ready for the final tin sheathing tomorrow. The wood "addition" to the block addition is now in place ready for a new roof to be sistered into the existing church roof and the newly constructed one. What an amazing process! This group of men, women and teens would impress the most professional construction sites in the USA!! Two side preparation rooms will be added on the new platform where Pastor Vernon will preach from. A beautiful new sound system, donated by a very generous Handfuls of Hope supporter, will be put in place, all in preparation for our worship service on Friday night! Fantastic job, team. Your genuine love and respect for one another is such a testimony. Thank you all for what you do!!

The Light Construction team was busy finishing the painting of Mama's metal garden fence in a rich black sheen, and her memorial garden is coming together beautifully! A group worked exhaustively on removing a huge pile of cement block chunks alongside Mama's garden and it looks fantastic!

The shrubs and flowers were purchased at a local nursery who gave a generous 20% discount when we told them what we were doing. It is such an encouragement when you see fellow Dominicans respond so favorably to our being here to help those less fortunate in the outskirt villages.

A dynamo team worked exhaustively all day at Pastor Vernon's, nearly completing all the painting from the ceiling down, including the front porch and stairwell. The large room just gleams, ready for ministry and a blessing to so many with Bible studies, youth gatherings, etc.

The morning VBS session was held in Catalina and, in the afternoon, in Santa Rosa. The girls shared that the Catalina children are so full of love and appreciation for this annual event with their American friends! Santa Rosa is a new location for VBS this year and our program was warmly received.

Six teenage boys accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior today, to the delight of the teen boys ministry team. The Lord is good!

While walking from Carreton back to Catalina, our group stops to pray with "Georgie", a member of the IBCJ Church, who is stricken with cancer.

We had our first rain on the drive back to the hotel. Everyone changed quickly and converged on the hotel pool which had been granted us extended access as it closes daily at 6pm. We were joined by a bus load of our Catalina family. What a joy to see everyone laughing, splashing, and mixing together like best friends do! Everyone then gathered under the tented platform for pizza, soda and singing. The blended voices of these two cultures came together like a symphony that lifted to heaven above! The love for one another is so real and evident and our 25 mission trip "newbies" all have blended right in as if they had been on every trip prior! Only the family of God can look this authentic and alive in love and compassion!

We are all so excited for Thursday! We will head out early and scramble to start wrapping up all the projects. The afternoon will be our "Fiesta" which is a free festival for the community. Details about this work and fun day to follow tomorrow evening! As hot as it is here, we enjoyed a steady breeze though the sun felt well over 100 degrees but from what we are hearing...New Jersey is sounding hotter and more humid than here! You all should have come down with us to cool off!

DR 2012 team send their love and hugs to our family and friends! Keep the prayers going; we truly covet each and every one!

DR 2012 Mission Trip - Day 4

Greetings from sunny Dominican Republic!

What a wonderful day we had in Catalina!

The construction team worked like a bee hive full of worker bees all buzzing around knowing what their jobs are and getting it done. What a cohesive group! It is a sight to see as our Dominican family come up alongside our very diverse group and just blend as if we had worked together every day for decades. The new roof rafters, joists and trusses went into place so quickly and the back wood constructed room is being assembled onto the back of the church addition.

It is truly amazing what can get accomplished when hard working, loving people come together as one. There are no egos, no agendas, only a deep desire to help this Christ centered church and forward the gospel to Catalina and the surrounding villages.

The Light Construction team got much accomplished with more of the church front and side getting painted, a cement block wall skim coated for painting tomorrow, scraping and wire brushing of the metal fence in front of Mama's house. We are so excited to make this a flower garden for her to enjoy, and bring some joy to her during this time of deep mourning of the loss of her beloved brother. The entire DR team chipped in to buy Mama a beautiful mango tree that will be planted in her garden as a memorial tree in honor of her brother along with colorful flowers and shrubs. Precious teen girls spent hours gathering piles of river rock for us to use as landscaping in the new garden.

Our VBS Team ministered to children in two villages, with a morning session in the Village of San Jose and Carreton in the afternoon. Songs, a Bible story, games and crafts, all make for a super fun time for the children. Best of all, however, is the way our team is able to share the love of Christ with kids through their smiles and hugs. It is pure joy.

The road side 40 ft. metal shipping container that has been used for storage but an eye sore for some time is being transformed into a beautiful "billboard" announcing the church's worship times, ministry offerings and a scripture verse for all to see on this heavily traveled highway. What a blessing!

Some of our precious women spent all day preparing in an adjacent village for the upcoming teacher's conference. This is such an amazing opportunity for the teachers to attend as they typically have very minimal access to curriculum resources and supplies. Approximately 80 teachers are expected to attend. This should prove to be one of the highlights of our trip, and for so many hard working teachers in the DR.

7pm arrival back at the hotel followed by much welcomed showers, then a delicious buffet supper.  We had a brief wrap up meeting and were treated with special music. Kim L. sang a beautiful song, "Speak for Me" accompanied by Jared G. followed by Beker accompanied by the Lambertson  sisters in harmony, singing "Lord I Give You My Heart" and "Alabra Dios" with Don I. on guitar. What a way to end a fantastic day of ministry!!

Prayers for Wednesday as it is notoriously the "hit the wall" day. Fatigue starts to set in, we are all more comfortable with our surroundings, and satan tends to look for opportunities to shake up the unity that has been getting tighter and tighter. Father, protect us from the evil one and his traps and may tomorrow reign victorious for You and You alone! Amen and Amen!

DR 2012 Mission Trip - Day 3

Monday, July 16th, 2012 - Our first "official" day of ministry in Catalina, Dominican Republic.

Our schedule of events for today got a real test of being "flexible-flexible-flexible." With great sadness we received word that Pastor Vernon's beloved "Mama" had lost one of her twin brothers who had just passed away. Their culture is for friends and family to gather for a day of mourning followed by a 4pm funeral service. Fortunately, Mama's youngest son, Beker and his wife Melissa were with us, and planning to spend the day serving in Catalina with our ministry team so they instructed us on what to do. After a few phone calls it was confirmed that they still wanted our group to come out to Catalina.

So we all boarded the buses and with a truck full of ministry supplies we headed for our beloved Catalina. Due to the circumstances, we were not greeted with the usual "fan-fare" and hundreds of eager children who would have walked miles to attend Vacation Bible School in Catalina that day. Instead, with VBS canceled out of respect for Mama and the family's loss the VBS team played with local children and did some painting at the Pastor's house. The construction team just hit the ground running and within minutes ministry bags were unloaded and stored, tools were out and buzzing and the church roof project was underway. The Light Construction Team could not begin the landscaping project as originally planned so, instead, began scraping and applying a fresh coat of paint to the front of the church.

It was truly amazing to see 75 people just "shift gears" and adapt so beautifully. Soon our Catalina family began arriving to shower us with warm hugs and love-filled reunions. The church and community volunteers began arriving and soon it was a DR/USA combined effort! What a beautiful sight all to the Glory of God!!

This sign welcomed us "home to Catalina A creek that runs alongside the church was quickly relieved of mounds of garbage and broken tree limbs and leaves. Bright colors now adorned the face of the church and the church expansion was underway. Our Catalina family had already begun the enormous task of expanding the church building and it was so exciting to see our team come in and pick right up as if they had been there all along.

 Before we knew it, the lunch bus came and we all reunited at Pastor Vernon's for the most delicious home made meal of fried yucca, chicken, potatoes, carrots, a delicious salad, cake and coffee. A five star meal prepared with love and kindness! After paying our respects we all gathered onto buses and left Catalina to honor the 4pm funeral service preparing to start.

About fifteen minutes away from the hotel in deep traffic one of our buses broke down. Eager to get back to the hotel several of our team offered to walk the rest of the way so that others could stay on the one bus. As they headed off we could see them all handing out tracts to people commuting home from work or walking along the busy roadway.

 As our bus inched along it was in awe that we watched from our window seats all the people who had received tracts, stopped and reading them intently! A broken down bus quickly became an incredible blessing to countless others. We will never know this side of Heaven how many came to faith in Christ from those tracts. Not a single tract was seen tossed on the ground! Incredibly, the bus arrived at the hotel only two minutes ahead of our faithful walkers! Showers and a quick swim in the pool revived us all for dinner and a meeting to plan for our Tuesday in Catalina, and getting back on schedule.

Bob E. gave a brief sermon on some thoughts and perspectives he wanted to share from past mission trips he had attended. What has stuck with him over the years were the profound words of a young boy he spoke with who shared with Bob, "The only thing that matters is Jesus in your heart!" Such wisdom for a young boy, who had no real material blessings but all the wealth of Glory because of his faith in what is to come! Bob read Psalm 96 and encouraged us all to have a "fresh new song in our hearts" tomorrow as we get to minister in Catalina. He reminded us that we can do missions because of what Christ did on the cross for us. His final challenge: How is God  transforming me into a better worshipper of God? Begin now to start to live your life as an act of worship to the Lord!

Blessings of restful sleep and that God would touch those who are struggling with sore throats. May His Spirit empower us for the work ahead and that we would be granted divine opportunities to share the good news of the gospel message with those whose hearts are prepared to receive. Hallelujah! What a Savior! 

DR 2012 Mission Trip - Day 2

Sunday July 15, 2012.

The group enjoyed breakfast followed by a dynamic worship service outside. We opened with incredible worship songs of praise led by Don I.  We reflected on some of the words of the songs we sang, particularly the bridge to "Here I Am To Worship" that says, "I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross."  We then read Psalm 103 and confirmed again that our statement for the week and life is, "Praise the Lord!" Because we get to do this ministry!! Don C. preached on Abram being called fourth by God and how he was faithful to do so, and settled in Bethel. But when the famine came he relied on himself and took his family to Egypt, out of God's will. How many of us are in our own "Egypt" in our lives? Don challenged us that when we are in "Egypt" we miss God's power, His promises and His peace. It's time to get back to "Bethel" in our lives. Don had smooth rocks collected by our Catalina "family" and sent to the hotel for us to each take one along with a black permanent marker and write on the stone what is keeping us out of "Bethel" and in our "Egypt." We had ten minutes of quiet individual prayer and then were encouraged to bring our rocks to the front "altar" of stones and give up to God whatever is keeping us from His will in our lives. God says in Scripture if we don't give Him our all we give Him nothing. After service we prayed for healing for those who were not feeling well physically or spiritually.

We had some pool time, followed by lunch, then preparation for Robert Reed Children's Hospital. Bags of Beanie Babies and hand puppets were loaded onto buses along with balloons for balloon animals and instruments for music. Upon returning back to the hotel, many shared their hospital experiences. Some of them so deeply moved by their experience, they could barely speak. What some shared:

Paul R. said the older child patients really enjoyed the puppets and the Beanie Babies handed out to each child are always a huge success.

Kyndra M. and friends visited with Mom's whose children were in the ICU. There were about 15 parents in the waiting room so Kyndra and a few others sang songs and prayed with them. They were warmly received and appreciated.

Tom W. said his heart goes out to all the parents, families and children in the hospital. "They really wanted our prayers for their children. That touched my heart. We witnessed to some of the parents but one mother was open and honest and said she knew all about Jesus but wasn't ready to make a decision because she feared being harassed and discriminated against by her family and friends who want her to party with them." Tom shared with her that none of us know if we have another "tomorrow" to make that choice for Jesus. Again, she understood that but the pressure was so strong. She knew her children loved Jesus so that was enough for her for now. "That is so hard to deal with," Tom stated, "there isn't much more you can do after that other than pray!" Tom also noted that the encouragement from the local church that teamed up with us to assist in translation really made the experience more impressive. Two local churches have made it their Sunday mission to alternate Sundays so that each Sunday of every month there are groups visiting the patients with juice and cookies.

Zach J. shared, "As the group was getting ready to leave the hospital, Sean L. started playing a Spanish song on his guitar and Don I. joined in. The group formed a line and filed out singing the song. To their delight, parents, doctors, nurses and staff all came out of rooms and stood in doorways to watch and even sing along. Even mobile patients stood holding their IV bags, smiling and singing as the group filed out of the hospital."

Faith M. one of our teens handmade 50 pillow cases that she got to dispense at the hospital. She had the joy of bringing some into the children's cancer ward.

Don C. held an adorable abandoned baby and stated, "This is why we need to get the Handfuls of Hope orphanage up and running so we can be the conduit between the hospital and Christian families both in the DR and USA to get these abandoned children into loving homes. We were overjoyed to discover later that the baby was adopted today by a Christian family! Hallelujah!

We joined together for dinner in the conference room and discussed our Monday trip to Catalina!! Our real "home base!" We have 25 first timers on this trip, with 26 different churches represented in our group of 75. We have 28 males, 47 females and 45 of them are under the age of 25! Remember...the youth are our "secret weapons" and it will be so exciting to see how God uses them in a mighty way the next several days in the villages.

James M. closed our evening out with a reading from Matthew and a challenge to go that extra step further as Christ did for us. Rob C. has provided everyone with index cards to share encouragement with those we see doing something special and notable. This is such a wonderful way to edify one another.

Prayer Requests:

Pray for Pastor Vernon, his wife Nancy and "Mama & Papa," Vernon's parents as they have prepared exhaustively for our arrival. Pray for all the helping hands who attend Pastor Vernon's church and have become our dear friends and God-family

For our traveling mercies as we travel in 2 buses 50 minutes out to Catalina to greet our Dominican family! We will hit the ground running with hundreds of children awaiting our arrival

Many mothers and children will walk for miles to be there for the Vacation Bible School program

Pray for the teens who will have their own VBS program

Pray for the Mother's who will have a craft and Bible teaching time

Pray for the teacher's conference and training

Pray for the construction teams as they work on various projects

Pray for light construction - landscaping team

Pray for all our VBS helpers, leaders and attendees

Pray for open hearts, changed lives and hope in our Savior, Lord and King!

DR 2012 Mission Trip - Day 1

Hola from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic!

Our group arrived safely on Saturday and were quite the sight in the "sea" of royal blue t-shirts brandishing the name, "Handfuls of Hope DR 2012" on the front and on the back, "One Spirit, One Mind - Philippians 2:2, 'Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.' "

After collecting mounds of ministry suit cases, carry-ons and backpacks the group headed off to an orphanage that is the home to 25 disabled orphans. Some were blind, in wheelchairs, disfigured, and all in need of a loving word and gentle hug. Ray J. from the group shared how one of the little girls, named Lisa, who was around five years of age,  was such a spit fire. He admired her will to overcome and even proclaimed she would be a future female Billy Graham!

Tommy W. shared how we tend to think God needs us to carry out His work but He has people all over the world caring for others because He puts it on their Hearst to do so. Don C. commented how each year we see how the youth become our "secret weapon" because they are so approachable and are so at ease to just get right down on the floor and play with these precious orphans and bless the hurting children here in the DR.

Janet W. said at first when they all arrived at the orphanage, she felt bad that they didn't have gifts or supplies for them but then she quickly realized all they wanted and needed was human interaction. She had the awesome privilege of sitting with a 19 year old girl who looked about 15, and shared the gospel with her in Spanish. The girl was so moved by her love and kindness that soon she was nestled up against Janet, hugging her and interacting. This girl had been at the orphanage for 6 years without any family or friends to come visit her. Janet noted that there are indeed material needs there such as art therapy, and structured events for daily activities. Janet was so moved when this dear girl shared that, "Jesus says be patient, one day you will have a day of victory!" Janet shared, "This girl gave me the gift, she taught me that all she wanted was love, touch and my time!" Sue C. noted that getting books to the orphanage so that the children there could be read to, and talk therapy would richly bless them. I think we will certainly be looking to collect coloring books, paints and brushes and other art mediums to bring to them to help brighten their worlds. So very little can make such a big difference to these little ones, to whom Jesus referred to as "the least of these."

After a sad farewell, the group boarded buses and headed to the local downtown market. This is truly an authentic experience of Dominican goods and wares shopping. After getting the group safely to the hotel, we all met for a buffet dinner at 7:30pm followed by the group all coming together in the meeting room. There, mounds of bags and suitcases of ministry items such as medical and school supplies, construction tools, clothing, Beanie Babies and mothers' gift bags for the hospital were sorted and piled up ready to go bless those in need! An information meeting followed and we were delighted to be taught the fruits of the spirit in sign language by Laura W. and the Spanish translation of each by Magda Y.

A wonderful start to what should be a most amazing week as we "get to do this ministry!" A pleasant night sleep to all, here in the DR and our friends and families back home. We covet your faithful prayers and please know that your thoughts and prayers are what sustain us to do this work for the Glory of God!  Please check back each evening or early morning for our daily updates. Some will be posted quite late as we will be staying later in the village of Catalina certain nights.

Sunday, July 15, 2012 schedule:

9am breakfast at the hotel

Group Worship Service out side 10:30am

Free time

Group lunch

3:00pm leave for the Robert Reed Children's Hospital

Dinner

Meetings for construction, light construction, VBS, drama & music