“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
Genesis 2:24
Glenys and Rodolfo have been together for over twenty years but, as is common in the Dominican culture, never legally married. Two years ago, they attended a marriage conference that we put on and one of the sessions was on what God says about living together and legal marriage. Glenys has wanted to get legally married for years but Rodolfo did not see the importance as it is costly to get legally married and they do not have the funds. After attending the marriage conference, Rodolfo told Glenys that he now believes it is important for them, as believers, to legally married. Glenys and Rodolfo saved their money and after two years, had enough to legally marry. Two weeks ago, they had their legal ceremony. Praise God for their obedience to God. They are a huge testimony example in their families, community and, especially, to their two kids, Paola and Randy.
Updates From the Ministry Departments
School Sponsorship
We are entering our very busy time of year with the Sponsorship Program. There are over 100 students waiting to be sponsored and we are praying that many will be selected and sponsored for the coming school year.
We have 186 students being sponsored right now and look forward to celebrating our nine graduates and all of our student at our annual celebration in July.
Mission Teams & Construction
We have had five groups come in the past two months. Sharyn’s brother and his family came for a two week visit. They came partway through another team’s time here and joined them working on Elicita and Jose’s house and then we were able to have a week of family time.
With the teams, on top of the evangelism done, construction has progressed on Elicita and Jose’s house and the addition that we are building at the Ministry Centre. This addition will temporarily house the ministry office while we construct a new Centre building and then be the Sunday School room for the church.
We have two teams in the summer and three in Fall. If you are interested in bringing a team, contact us directly.
Church
The church continues with Prayer Meetings on Thursdays and services on Sunday morning. The three elders take turn preaching. The church has an average of 30 people each Sunday and 10 to 12 at the Prayer Meeting.
Clinic
Dra Wendy, Nurse Mercedes and Mechy continue to work hard serving all the patients that come for consultation and help. Each patient is prayed for as they are treated. Thanks to donations brought by the team, Mechy is able to send patients home with goodie bags of toys, clothes and/or toiletries. Wendy and Mercedes average about 65 patients a week.
Praise & Worship Conference
Our conference was held in March, with teaching from Max Salinas, a missionary from Chile. Over 40 people attend with eight churches were represented and received teachings on many aspects of praise and worship in church services.
Staff News
Wendy, the ministry’s doctor, had a very big day on Feruary 29th and got married. All of our staff were in attendance and it was a great day to celebrate with Wendy, her new husband, Mauricio and all of her family.
Travel Plans 2024
Paul and Sharyn will be traveling to Canada on April 23rd for two months in Canada. The purpose is to move Samantha out of her dorm and to where she needs to be for a summer job, to be present to assist Noah and Samantha in various transitions, to share at churches or other functions that invite us to share at about what God is doing here in the mountains of the Dominican Republic.
If you would like us to share in May or June at your Chapel, Church or activity, please contact us directly soon as the calendar is starting to get booked.
United States – We have not been in the States since 2017 so a trip is long overdue to visit Chapels, Churches, and supporters in September. As we begin to make plans, please contact us directly as soon as possible if you would like us to come visit and share in your area.
Vehicle Needs
In our previous newsletter, we shared about our need for new vehicles. In the past two months, the minivan that we transport teams in has broken down four times and been in the shop for about four weeks of that time. The pick up truck has been in the shop again for some electrical and AC problems again. Please join us praying for funds to replace both of these vehicles. The priority is the minibus with the truck secondary.
Ministry Centre
The final permit needed is from the Ministry of Environment. Four weeks ago, the inspectors came to our ministry property to do a physical inspection as part of the application. The inspector shared that he was surprised to be at our location because usually, it takes four months from application before the inspectors are sent. In our case, it has only been one month! 45 days after the inspection, we will have this permit. We can then begin construction whenever we want. As soon as we have all the funding, we can start construction. We are still lacking about $30,000 USD for this project.
Praise & Prayer
- Praise God for Glenys and Rodolfo getting married and the impact of the marriage conferences we have organized and hosted.
- Praise God for all the current school sponsors and future school sponsors for the 2024-2025 school year.
- Praise God for the many groups who have come to serve with the ministry in 2024 and for the impact that the teams are making, bringing people closer to God.
- Praise God for protecting us and keeping us safe through many vehicle breakdowns.
- Pray for the mission team arriving on April 13th from North Carolina. This is the Wheelchair team.
- Pray for all missionary kids, including ours, that are transitioning into their adult lives. These kids need prayer coverage as many are struggling in many areas.
- Pray for continued growth of the ministry and that every aspect of the ministry will draw people closer to God.
- Pray for the needs of the ministry (vehicles, ministry centre, personal support for the Bransons).
- Pray for the owners of land that we feel we are to purchase for a ministry mission team house to agree to sell us the land at a reasonable price.