|
News: June 2001 | |
| |
||
 |
|
|
|
| Another Successful Year at La Vega Christian School | |||
| THANK you for helping us have another successful year at La Vega Christian School! Our school year ended with enrollment at 254. To add to year end excitement there were three important things that were accomplished those last few days. * The year end fund raising fair was held with every class participating with booths and talent. * Our kindergarten Graduation was celebrated at a church near us.  |
* The acceptance and official recognition of our pre-school through eighth grade program by the Dominican government. Very few schools in the country can boast of such recognition within just three years of operation. Our new facility served us well. We will need the completion of a few projects such as the final work in the upstairs bathrooms, the drop ceilings for the second floor, and the addition of the basketball court this summer. With these and other small projects we will be in good shape for next year. We are gearing up for a projected enrollment of 350 students. |
We will certainly miss our volunteer teachers who came and helped us this school year. They gave a year of their lives to helping Dominican children and youth. We will miss you: Natalie Corp Jenny Bongiorno Theresa Simonetti Jennifer Hutton Indira Uchoa (2 yrs) Others that have helped and are still with us are David and Kymm Wilkinson, and Jerry Durr. Jerry has been with us from day one. We are convinced that it was the Lord in answer to prayer that brought these faithful helpers. Please continue to pray for the volunteers we will need next year. |
Prayer Needs: * Volunteers needed for the English program. * Finances needed to pay off existing school debts. * Pray for adjustments, as Mitch and Debbie and family return to the U.S. for 10 months of furlough and itineration in July. * Dominican staff needed for this school year. * Volunteers needed to help with Website and Newsletters. |
| Family Happenings | |||
| Our greatly reduced family this year made for quiet evenings. Only Paul (16) and Johnny (13) were with us. They both have been working hard at school. Sarah finished her first year at Southeastern College in Lakeland, Florida. |
Her first semester she was a little homesick, as it was her first extended time away, but her last semester she really got clicking. Her grades were great, and she is looking forward to returning there in the fall. | She will spend most of the summer in Maine helping her aunt and grandmother who have an art studio in Northeast Harbor. Joshua worked construction until the summer and then returned to his studies last month. He will be finishing his 2nd year of college. |
This will be a year of change for us as we will be returning to visit churches and supporters. Because of the continuing need for supervision on the school project, Debbie will be returning several times during the year, Lord willing. |
|
|
|
| Teams Continue to Have A Tremendous Impact!! | ||
| We were blessed with several varied and multi-talented ministry teams this year. Mitch had the opportunity to translate the testimonies of professional Christian base ball players that came and held clinics in La Vega. The best part was leading many young ballplayers in a prayer of commitment to Jesus. The team also ministered at the school. It was also nice to receive a three couple team from Indiana, that included Bob and Ginny Coulter from Robert Coulter Ministries. Bob held a three-day conference with Pastors from the La Vega and Santiago area. Mitch translated to over forty Pastors that came prepared to lead their churches to spiritual and numerical growth. |
Meanwhile Frank and Kitty Allenza preached at area churches, and gave a big helping hand to our friends in ministry, Louis and Fior Sollecito. And finally, Jim and Janet McAttee put their children's ministry experience to good use at La Vega Christian School. They held a week of chapels for each individual grade and saw many children raise their hands to accept Christ as their Savior. They also ministered in local churches and saw more than 200 decisions for Christ. At the end of March, Rev. Ted Griner arrived with a construction team from Georgia. Besides ministering in several churches, their main purpose was to put up the walls of a church in an area called Los Rieles. |
Their ministry, Helping Hands, raised funds this year, not only for the windows at La Vega Christian School, but also for the doors and windows of this new church start. The team laid block and mixed mortar while a group of thirty or so area children watched and helped. In June Steve and Janice Hastings came with 5 others from their church in N.C. to install the drop ceiling in the second floor of the school. It is looking so nice now! They also built walls to divide some of the classrooms to accommodate the growth. Maybe your church could come next year and help us build the third story. Thank you one and all. |
| On A More Personal Note: | ||
| This looks to be a challenging year for us. We will be returning to visit churches and supporters who have helped us over the years. I wish each one could visit us here in the Dominican Republic to see the impact your prayers and financlal support have had over the years. We left the U.S. nine years ago arriving on this island nation not really sure what the Lord had in store for us. It is wonderful to look back and see three churches that would not be in existence today if not for our church planting efforts. One of those churches is involved right now in planting two more in poor rural areas. Besides being involved in the construction of these five churches, Mitch was also involved in the rebuilding of three churches destroyed by Hurricane Georges in 1998. He was awarded a plaque from the Dominican Assemblies of God for rebuilding the first church after this hurricane. | He networked to help with the construction of six other churches in the country, including a Mennonite church, a Nazarene Church, and two Assemblies of God churches. The biggest construction project though was the 21/2 year long construction of La Vega Christian School. Debbie has been just about fully consumed with the development and coordination of LVCS, the first Christian school in this city of 250,000 for the past three years. It is extremely difficult to leave after just one year in our new facility. There is still so much to do. She will be returning throughout the year to insure its successful operation. There is no way to measure the impact of the fully Christian staff on the lives of the children entrusted to our care through this ministry. Over 75% come from unchurched homes, who have little Bible knowledge or information. They are attracted to the program because they see the need for a good moral base in their children's lives, |
and also because of the excellent English program which is taught by our volunteers from the States. Our goals in returning to the U.S. are to generate some financial help for the school which is currently almost 80% self-supported. Also we need to raise our personal income levels as it has been four years since we last itinerated. Mitch will also be sharing the vision for the development of a Television Ministry, and the need for partners in this undertaking. Please pray for God's blessing as we commit these goals to Him. We depend completely on the generosity of God's people to continue working. Will you consider sending a one-time offering to help with our relocation costs? If you are a regular supporter, will you consider raising your monthly gift to our ministry? Thank you! God Bless you, Mitch and Debbie |
