Happy Easter!
We hope that this weekend has been a good reminder for each of you of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, and the hope we have in His resurrection.
We wanted to do one last update before we head back to the Northwest in two months, to apprise you of what we've been up to, and to let you know our present needs.
The photo above shows us with Mike and Mary Pinkerton, the directors of our mission agency, Be One Together, who came for a visit in March. It was very encouraging and affirming to have them here.
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Ministry Updates
Last week was a busy one for me (Tonya). I was finally able to visit an orphanage in Santiago I'd heard about awhile back. It is called Fundación Red de Misericordia (Foundation Network of Mercy), and they take in children when the government has deemed it necessary that they be removed from their homes. They currently have about 100 children, and I am going to be helping out one afternoon a week with the preschoolers, doing a craft and reading stories. I'm excited about this opportunity!
I was also able to accompany a group of women from our church for a hospital visit last Saturday. Some of the younger girls dressed as clowns, and were doing little skits, while one woman used the Wordless Book to share the Gospel. We also handed out the Gospel of John, clothes, toys, and lollipops. It was so neat to participate in such a needed outreach. I hope to return again, both on my own and with the small group, as they would like to return on a somewhat regular basis. If you would like to contribute to this ministry, purchasing coloring books and packs of crayons from the Dollar Store would be super helpful. I hope to take a big box of them back to the DR with me after our visit to the US this summer.
Ben continues to teach English at the prison in the nearby town of Moca. He has also begun teaching English to a man here in La Vega about once a week. And he is also looking into the possibility of teaching English at the prison here in La Vega.
Skatechurch is going well, with a steady attendance of around 10 kids each week. They make us laugh and they love to participate in the Bible time each week.
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We are excited for our trip back to the Northwest in less than two months, and will be arriving exactly 23 months from the day we left Portland to move here! We are looking forward to visits with family and friends, driving without fearing for our lives, a break from the heat, and some of our fave foods we've missed!
Here are some of our present needs:
-Our account at B12G is getting low, and we have some big expenses this summer, including airplane tickets for our flight back to the DR at the end of August, cost of living while in the US, plus all of our normal bills back in La Vega.
-We are still looking for potential places to stay this summer. We are able to stay with Tonya's parents all summer if necessary, but they are also hosting Tonya's cousin, and the commute to Portland is a bit of a drawback. Let us know if you know of any possibilities for us to stay closer to the Portland area.
-We still need a vehicle. Some people from our home church generously offered us the use of their car for one month of the time we'll be there, so we still need one for the other 5-6 weeks.
As always, thank you so much to all who support our ministry here in the DR. We can't wait to see all of you this summer! We will be doing some support raising while we are there; please let us know if you have a church or community group where we could share about our ministry.
See you all soon!
Love, Ben, Tonya, Jolie, Ivan, Samuel and Melody
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Tonya and the group of women from our church who visited the hospital.
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The orphanage Tonya plans to start helping at beginning next week.
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We celebrated Samuel's birthday at the end of March.
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We celebrated Marlin's birthday yesterday, and we are hosting an enchilada party for some friends tonight. We are thankful we didn't end up having to move, and grateful for all the ways we've been able to use the patio.
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Our church had a women's event recently, and the pastor's wife asked Jolie to sing a solo. She did an amazing job!
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