Holy Ground of Hispaniola

Merry Christmas From G.O. Kids

2011-12-13T09:11:00.007-06:00

Pastor Enelsido of Hato del Yaque with gifts 100 kids....

Pastor Rafelito in his office at Los Guandules with individual bags of "dulce" (sweets) for 120 kids....

Pasotr Nico of Los Perez with gifts for 100 kids.....
Pastor Gregorio of Sabaneta de Yesica with gifts for 100 kids....

Pastor Gumercindo of San Marcos with gifts for 100 kids....

Also distributed 100 gifts to Pastor Felix of Hoya del Bartola and.....

546 gifts to the children in our Santiago school......

Since I was leaving the Dominican Republic and under a time constraint, I was not able to get pictures for the last two locations. I dropped off the gifts and left immediately for the airport.

Over 1,000 children in seven communities received what may be their only Christmas present. All this provided through the faithful sponsors of the G.O. Kids! program. Thank you for your prayers, support, and love for the children of the Dominican Republic.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, AND PEACE ON EARTH!!!!

Joel

2011-10-13T19:03:00.022-06:00

Joel was born in 1990 with Down's syndrome. I came to know him when I began working for G.O. Ministries, he was one of the children in the Los Guandules nutrition center. When I meet him he was a "big" kid! He was sweet and just wanted to be with the other children.

When I visited the church in Los Guandules this May I saw Joel's mom. She told me that Joel was sick. I prayed with the mom and said I would stop by to visit him the next time I was in the community. The mother did not seem stressed or worried abnormally and told me he was having stomach problems. The next time I was in the community I went to Joel house to visit him expecting him to be fine now. When I entered the room where he slept with the rest of the family, I nearly fell over! What I saw was a boy who resembled one of the pictures I have see of children who are starving or had been in a concentration camp! He was now just a sliver of the boy he used to be!

He was laying on the bed with an IV bag suspended from the cross beam in the room. I began asking questions of the mom, much more specific questions! Joel had been "sick" for about four months now. A woman who lives in Los Guandules and knows a little about medicine had put the IV in. I went outside and called the G.O. Ministries doctor, Vladimir Canela, to inform him of the situation. I asked if he could visit Joel and try to determine what was wrong and what needed to be done.

Vladimir went to Joel's house and said that blood test were needed. The lab results showed Joel had a severe infection in his intestine and pneumonia. Vladimir ordered eight bottles of IV and six different medicines to be administered. Vladimir called in our newest G.O. Ministries doctor, Belsebeth Augustine, who happened to live not to far from Joel. Together they would alternate checking on Joel and supervising his care. After much work a vein was found and again Joel was on IV fluid....suspended from the beam over his bed....

Joel improved a little but then took a turn for the worse. More test were ordered and xray was taken. After the results came in, Joel was taken to the hospital. He was in the "observation ward" for four days. This ward reminded me of a scene from M*A*S*H. The beds are ancient, there is no medical equipment in the ward that I could see, HIPPA is not heard of and people passing by will stop and stare trying to determine what is wrong with the patient who is in so much pain. Once when I was visiting, a nurse came to check on our sick Down's patient. She asked Joel if he was better and he responded weakly 'yes'. She wrote this on her pad of paper and left, I guess she thought her job as done.

Joel continued to worsen, his stomach was distended, his legs were swollen. More xrays were done of his chest and stomach and he was transferred to the ICU unit. I thought this would be an improvement but the only improvement I saw was now there were only four beds in each room instead of the ward configuration. Joel continued in pain that worsened each day. The wife of the patient in the bed next to him would rub Vick's on his head stating this would help with the pain. Then Joel's mom pulled out a bottle of alcohol and would rub this on his chest also stating this would help with his pain. I was overwhelmed at the mixture of smells now filling the room and I was just sitting by Joel!

Joel's veins had collapsed so an IV port was put in his clavicle area. This was done in his bed with me and Griselda present helping to hold Joel down during the procedure. While the port was being placed, people passing by came into the room to stare and again try and figure out what all the screaming was about. At this point the hospital doctor decided to try a different medicine. In the Dominican Republic hospitals do not provide anything, the patient has to purchase the item and then give it to the nurse. So the medicine was purchased from a pharmacy and then brought to the hospital. Only one dose had been administered when I next visited and noticed that Joel's breathing was slowing and labored. On the morning of October 10, Joel died.

Joel was born with a handicap, or at least the world would view it this way. Joel lived in a third world country, in one of the poorest communities, in a small house on the side of a hill with the rest of his family. Looking with worldly eyes, Joel did not have a chance!

BUT that is not the full story. Because of the work of Rafelito and Griselda, the pastor and his wife who work in Los Guandules bringing the love of Christ to this community, growing the church body with the support of their American partners through G.O. Ministries, Joel is now with Jesus!

Joel may have not had a lot by the world standard but he had everything by Jesus standard. Joel
was able to learn about God, experiencing the love of Christ in word and action. It was the love of Christ that brought Rafelito and Griselda to this community teaching of the redemption found only in Jesus. It was the love of Christ through the G.O. Kids! program to be able to provide food for Joel for many years. It was the love of Christ through the Dominican Republic and America church that helped the family buy some of Joel medicine. It was the love of Christ through his American sponsor also helping to purchase some more medicine for Joel. It was the love of Christ through G.O. Ministries having doctors available for the poor in the Dominican Republic. It was the love of Christ through church members who visited the family all through Joel sickness. It was the love of Christ through the church who provided juice, coffee, and crackers for the funeral. It is the love of Christ through the church who now stand beside the family as they deal with their loss.

G.O. Ministries seeks to empower passionate, local leaders serving inside their own cultures to Redeem people, Renew communities and Restore Creation by developing dynamic International, mutually transformational Partnerships.

THANK YOU!

2011-06-27T18:45:00.004-06:00

It has been awhile since I last posted something to my blog. This is due to the fact that I was traveling in the USA for a couple of months!!! It was a very busy time but it was also very rewarding and encouraging.

I want to thank everyone who took time to meet with me while I was visiting; from Rochester, New York to New York, NY, to California, to Illinois, and then to Kentucky! During my travels I meet with over sixty people, spoke at four churches and three Sunday School classes, meet with my life group in Kentucky, prepared for and worked the Kentucky Derby raising $52,500 for the ministry, and attended our stateside staff meeting! THANK YOU JESUS FOR YOUR PROVISIONS!!

Now I am back in Santiago and back to work! Also back to blogging, will post an update very soon! Peace and JOY found only in Jesus
Dianne

Phaeton

2011-01-30T07:47:00.014-06:00

Phaeton, Haiti. A small town, population around 2,500, in a northern bay of Haiti between Cap Haitien and Fort Liberte. It once was a major world producer of sissel, fiber used to make rope. Today the factory is gone with just a few of the buildings ruins remaining.

Today, G.O. Ministries is there to support and encourage Lucner Jean-Pierre and his wife Marie who live and work to grow God's kingdom in Phaeton Haiti. Phaeton has no running water, fresh well water is hard to come by due to infiltration of salt from the sea. No paved streets, dirt roads and dirt floors. No lights, and no electricity. I felt like I had gone back in a time machine when I recently visited there for four days with the rest of the G.O. Ministries field staff.

The people of Phaeton are fisherman. Every morning I would get up around 4AM and the fisherman would already be out in their row boats having dropped their nets for the day. In a few hours they would return with their fish to dry in the sun and sell to others. Then in the afternoon they would check and patch their nets getting ready for the next day.

Some of the children of Phaeton:

the boats docked for the day.

in case you were thinking of modern boats....think again.

the fish layed out to dry....

a little taste maybe?.....

then a walking tour of the city. Here some of the remains from the factory....

the small beach....

the children love to swim.

Wilby and Lisa enjoying the tour....

more fish drying on a cactus fence around one house. When we looked over the fence there were piles of more fish drying. We knew they were there before we looked...the smell !!!

a closer look at some of the fish. Not sure about you but I don't see much meat on them to eat!

One day we went to Merlot, Haiti to visit the Citadelle LaFerriere. When the horse owners saw "blanc's" in town they literally came running hoping to rent their horse to us!

but we walked...up and up and up and.....! Up to the top of Bonnet a L'Eveque mountain, 3,000 feet up!

at first the path incline was average but it did not take long before it became very steep.

the views were breath taking along the way. Good excuses to stop and rest too!!!

Due to Lucner still recovering from his two broken legs he was put on a horse to bring him to the top. See him up ahead going no handed!!! hahaha

Also notice the Haitian woman walking up with the bucket on her head!!! Amazing!!!!

Saw flowers I have never seen before. This was hugh and the most brillant orange!!!! God's creation is so diverse and wonderful to behold!

see what I mean about the views.... !!!

and we finally arrived. Greeted by piles of cannonballs. All this work to build and it was never attacked!!!

365 cannons I have read...One for every day of the year! Took three months to get one up the mountain....hummm You do the math!

Lucner and I

the rest of the G.O. Ministries field staff.....

main vestibule of the fortress.

This is Haiti and this is a treasure but as usuall....no lights. We had to wait for our eyes to adjust.

they are trying to put up informational posters but for now many were on the floor....

this was where they made the bread..... Tim wants to order a pizza!!!

beautiful view from one of the cannon windows....

they said the mortor was made from quick lime, molasses, and blood from local animals. Maybe that is why the moss is orange.....

again, this is in Haiti so we were left to ourselves to room on the top of the citadelle!!

building in the corner has the prison in the bottom.... Would not want to be in it! Made me think of Paul and his letters from prison......

These designs were above the cannons and were used to house rainwater. When the cannons were hot they would could pull a plug from the bottom and cool off the cannon with water!

I finally found my section!

one of the cannons ready, aim....

And with that we walked back down the mountain and returned to Phaeton. Along with a little play day, we also worked in Phaeton. While there we built three bucket shower stalls, one storage area, a sewer holding tank, and an overhang on the pastors house.

Haiti is such a mixture everywhere you look. So very rich in history but in dire need of future hope....

This is what the Lord says: "You say about this place, "It is a desolate waste, without men or animals." Yet in the towns of Haiti (Judah) and the streets of Phaeton (Jerusalem) that are deserted, inhabited by neither men nor animals, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying, "Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; his love endures forever." For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before," says the Lord. Jeremiah 33: 10-11

Jacmel & Port-au-Prince - 1 Year Post Earthquake

2011-01-28T12:28:00.036-06:00

January 10 I left Santiago for Jacmel, Haiti. In Jacmel are many organiztions that G.O. Ministries helped immediatately after the earthquake, one of which was The Art Creation Foundation for Children. This organization has no Christian association and was established to help children develope their skills as artist enabling them a trade to support themselves and their family. In doing this they also help the children attend school and feed them during the week. After the earthquake Jacmel was in shambles and cut off from food supplies. The Foundation contacted G.O. Ministries for help to feed the children. The head of the organization said G.O. Ministries was the only organization that would help them without having any religious affiliation. Through this new relationship the Foundation invited G.O. Ministries to attend the one year rememberance ceremony in Jacmel. Please join me on this journey as we travel together through the photos below....

This is the main road leading to the Jimani boarder crossing, one of the three legal border crossing.

Lake Enriquillo runs along the road. Here it is off in the distance.

Dominican side of the Jimani crossing.

Now Lake Enruquillo has outgrown it's banks and has claimed some buildings.

the cholera hand washing station in Jimani...

all the vendors trying to earn money along the border....

traffic jam everywhere...no such thing as a line of cars...only masses of cars!

People ride on anything and everything. I tried to take a picture but the people turned and told me no. People in Haiti no longer want their picture taken as they believe money is made on every picture and none goes to them... Some people were stronger in their feelings and one small group actually threw rocks at me to stop taking pictures. I was not even taking their picture but they knew some Haitian would be in the picture who was not getting paid!

they had to build up the road to keep the water from taking over. Worked in some areas...

did not work in other areas!

look at the truck up ahead. That is how deep the holes are!

We finally reached Port-au-Prince. Taptap's everywhere!!

men carrying a coffin down the road.

putting the coffin in the pick up truck at the top of the picture...and everyone keeps on doing what they are doing....

over the top of this taptap...one of many tent camps....

this is a barbershop, phone shop. You can pay to use the phone by minutes... The whole building is probably 3' x 6'

dust is in the air everywhere. Many Haitians wear coverings around their nose and mouths.

a political protest as we drove by

political signs everywhere....

now we begin to cross the mountain range to Jacmel....

the mountain air was cleaner and you can still see the air over Port-au-Prince....

a small town market in the hills .....

We reached Jacmel and found our way to the ACFFC. This is their main gate.

The garage area which the children have painted and use...

in the courtyard another child works on his drawing...

inside the building in the main entrance....

We then found a restaurant in a home to have lunch. While we ate the dogs surrounded our table waiting for the table scraps.... dog to my right....

dog to my left....

back at ACFFC, Romano shared some of his soccer skills with the boys...

There are four rooms where the children spread out so they can eat. This is one of the rooms

another of the rooms....

another of the rooms.....

After lunch the kids started on a new paper mache project...

In memory of the earthquake the children have done mosiac designs on a wall by the beach. This section shows the tree of life....

different angle of the tree of life.

This section faces the beach ....

We also had time to walk around Jacmel. They have done a great job in cleaning up!

The city did not wait for government help. They worked on their own to rebuild and remove rubble.

We walked for some time before I found a tent still being used to house people...

Yes these women asked me for money for the picture...

home made charcoal...the main burning source in Haiti....

only saw one amputee while we were out....

a small remaining tent city in a small park by the beach....

the center of the tent park....

a few more tents remain....

Romano said he remembered this building and it had been totally distroyed. Now it has been rebuilt...

walking along the road parallel to the beach

and a few more tents by the beach.....

they too had rallies in Jacmel...

At 4:53 pm on January 12, 2011 the memorial service began. Many people spoke. One man thanked God for protecting the people of Jacmel. In the next sentence he also thanked all the other mystical spirits who also protected Jamel.....
people talked, people sang, videos were shown, and candles were lit...

Judy Hoffman, founder of ACFFC.

The next day we left Jacmel and went back to Port-au-Prince.... another tent city...

one of the many large baskets of bananas from the mountains taken to town to sell...

a main street in Port-au-Prince....

Romano purchased minutes to make a phone call on the street.....

Now many women work in construction in Port-au-Prince as there are not enough workers. Here we were sitting in from of the police station which is being remodled

Franklin Graham had just visited Port-au-Prince....

then we meet up with Philippe Eduard. He is a counselor who returned to Haiti after the earthquake to help people with trauma counseling. He is supported by G.O. Ministries.

streets....crowded...people everywhere....

this building is sliding off it's foundation but still not torn down....

rubble everywhere....

in front of the Presidential Palace... Too many tents to see it though!

more traffic....

the people all look so tired....trying to survive...just trying to survive another day!

one guy trying to sell furniture along the road.....

the remants of an aid tent....

these men are fixing shoes by the road...

another person trying to sell clothes....

another political note written.....

the only power equipment I saw while in Port-au-Prince....one jack hammer....

more rubble...more walking...

going up into Petionville......

in the middle, look closely....another tent city.....

and another tent city......

I lost track trying to count them!

the cloud of dust...always there..choking everyone.....

The bus station was next door to the US Embassy. Lines on both side waiting, hoping to get visas......

So how do I summarize my visit.... People are herded like animal trying to find transportation to buy groceries, clothes, or go to work. They are coughing on all the dust in the air and do not have enough to sustain their health appropriately. People looked hopeless... I have now seen what hopelessness looks like.... It looks like Port-au-Prince... BUT I it is not over! We serve a much bigger God! Please pray without ceasing for the people of Haiti.... That is their hope!

You were tired out by the length of your road, yet you did not say, "It is hopeless." You found renewed strength, therefore you did not faint. Isaish 57:10

Kingdom Expansion

2011-01-16T09:21:00.027-06:00

Yesterday I received a phone call from Griselda, Pasor Rafelito wife in Los Gundules. She told me there was going to be a baptism today! I was excited to go and hoped that Evelin would be baptized. When I arrived in Los Guandules not only did Evelin greet me with the news that she was going to be baptized but her mother, Juaquina had decided to also be baptized along with three other people! I think at that point my heart burst!!!!

Rafelito and Griselda have worked in Los Guandules for so many years pouring out the love of God and modeling what being a Christian looks like. I remember Juaquina from the first time I visited Los Guandules. She used to sit on her porch and watch everything.

Then she started to come to church sometimes, then to activities, then more involvement and now, our sister in Christ who we will get to spend eternity with!!!!

I also remember Evelin. She used to sit on the porch drinking with her friends not even caring to watch what was going in on across the narrow street at the church.

Then one day she began coming to church. After several months she became very sick and could not walk. A group that was visiting from Kentucky went every day, twice a day and prayed over Evelin asking for God's mercy and grace for her. At one point men had to carry Evelin in and out of church. During her illness the church stood by her taking up a collection and giving her money to help pay for some of her medical expenses. People who have so little of anything and struggle just to survive, out of the love of Christ, gave what little they did have. A few months later Evelin was waiting for me eager to show how she could now walk! Today she walked right into the open arms of our dear Lord!!!!

As I waited with the people to leave for the baptism, I wondered where Rafelito was with his van. Then Griselda arrived and told me the van did not work when they got up, a dead battery. She asked if I could help with transportation. Rafelito said he did not know the battery would go bad but God did and that is why I was there. We piled in what we could and some people took public cars while some decided to stay back. Then off we went to the river. Yes that is correct...the river.

I looked at the river with it's current and trash and thought how many Americans would be baptized if they had to go to the local river. Yet how many people have not yet gone to the nice, heated, clean baptismal waters to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit that Jesus has promised each one of us? We make it so easy yet for some it is till a hard choice....

After everyone had arrived Rafelito began by speaking to the group and reading scripture.

Then Griselda lead us in songs. My excitement was building as the time was coming closer for these five souls to be received...

One by one they walked into the middle of the stream where Rafelito spoke more to them before they knelt down in the water and was enveloped in every good thing that God has prepared for us!!! The sun came out at just the right time and my tears of pure joy were streaming down my face as fast as the river current!

Juaquina ....

Oderris ...

Gaspar ....

Palmira ....

and Evelin !

After everyone had been baptized, Rafelito gathered them into a circle for prayer. When he was done we all erupted in cheering, clapping, and screaming for joy!!!!

Even though there was a great deal of work from Rafelito and Griselda which lead to this day, many others have also played a roll in these baptisms. All the Americans who came and shared and prayed and loved. Everyone contributed something which helped to lead to today. To all Christians I ask that you now join together to welcome into our family our newest members; Oderris, Juaquina, Evelin, Palmira, and Gaspar!

Please continue to keep them lifted in prayer as they begin their new journey. This is just the beginning.... In fact tomorrow the church in Los Guandules is meeting together to go door to door sharing their love for Christ and working for more Kingdom growth!!!

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on eath has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Matthew 28:18