The Dohms in the Dominican Republic!

Dear Friends and Family, Here is a message from good friends of mine who have known me since I was a little boy.

Here is their story as told by Melissa Dohms...

Servants of Yeshua: Melissa, Gordon, Glen, Rachel and Jesse Dohms
(Overlooking the beautiful N. Thompson River on a foggy October day)

Yes Lord, speak; your servant is listening!

We Know that God has spoken to His people in quite a variety of strange ways. The burning bush, the voice in the darkness that spoke to Samuel, but hearing that still small voice over the roar of a weed-whacker while working in the middle of a field laden with burdock really got our attention! Gord had been wanting to take the family on a trip to the south (any where south of the Canadian border) for some time and God laid it upon his heart that perhaps the Dominican Republic would be a good possibility. After discussion and prayer on the subject we will be going to live in Santiago, Dominican Republic from Jan. 8 – Mar. 28, 2008.

The inspiration for D.R. certainly did not come out of the blue though. Watching Shane grow up here in the North Thompson valley of British Columbia and seeing him embark on the adventures of ministry with Kristi has certainly been a blessing to us. They have come to inspire us with their love of the people of Hispaniola and their desire to meet the needs of the little ones over there. As Shane has traveled to and from the island we have faithfully read his blogs and kept in touch through emails and of course prayed for God’s leading on the Mercy League ministry.

Amazingly the details of where to stay, the passports required, and how to be involved in the lives of the Dominican Republic people has been totally orchestrated by God in a way that we could never have done ourselves. In Santiago we will be caretaking the Kingdom Builders Christian Ministry mission house that William Gomez and his family had looked after for several years. The leader of the Santiago mission was once a missionary to British Columbia and is a good family friend to my ministry parents. God re-connects people of the same heart. Shane has asked Gord to help organize work bees at the Puerto Plata house. God gives us purpose.

In the midst of all this will be the whole experience of taking three children, Glen who is 12, Rachel who is 10 and Jesse who will turn 8 while there, to a totally foreign environment. Vavenby is a far cry from the Caribbean life of Hispaniola. Part of our schedule will involve being tourists (escaping the Canadian winter), home-schooling our children, and settling into our new home. Our desire is that we as a family will bless those we come in contact with, that we can share with believers in another country and tongue, and to come away knowing that we were able to perhaps make a difference to those who are in need. Our local congregation Clearwater Christian Church here in B.C. is very excited for us and in full support of our going out in the name of Christ. Be in prayer for us as we continue to prepare for our departure date of Jan. 7, 2007, from Vancouver, B.C.

Donations can be made for MLI project: Gord and Melissa Dohms DR project by going to:

http:www.mercyleague.org

and clicking on the contact tab... look for the donations link.
(yes we hide our donations link on the last page of the website.)

New Project in Haiti for Street Children

Our good friend and fellow worker, Luke Wilkerson, had this to say about his arrival and first few days in Haiti:

Greetings from the lovely town of Laboulle, Haiti, just above the capital city, Port-au-Prince. As my dear cousin Jon says: “I’m loving ever minute of it.” I don’t know how in the world I was able to talk you people into supporting me to do this work but it really is a lot like paid vacation, so far. Today as I was walking through Petionville, totally surrounded by black faces, I had the realization that: “I just love being here in Haiti.” Seasoned missionaries would say that I am in the honeymoon phase of fieldwork. In other words, I haven’t yet gotten to the place where everything about this culture annoys me. But, I trust that I won’t ever get there.

When Julio picked me up at the airport and drove me up to his house, my first thought was that it was a little bit like what I would imagine driving through the Alps would be like. The views really are breathtaking up here. And the climate is surprisingly comfortable, too. I was very surprised the other morning to see my breath up on the mountain when Mario (Julio’s brother) and I went up to visit the Baptist Haiti Mission. It really feels a little bit like I am living in Gatlinburg. Only, it has rained a lot more than it does in Gatlinburg. By the way, please keep praying for me that I will not be bitten by any foul, Dengue-carrying mosquitoes. I have had really good luck in that I have been bitten very few times at all. Maybe three. But, it only takes one, you know. I am operating under the theory that missionaries that are living right wont get Dengue Fever.

Anyways, I am living with a couple of complete jewels. Julio and Lucienne are the greatest I have ever met. When I got here, I found that they had rolled out the red carpet for me like nobody’s business. They actually had me set up to be in their bedroom and in their bed and they themselves had moved into the storage closed but I wouldn’t have it and I told them to move back out and I could take the closet. They did this reluctantly but this gesture has been the model for the way that they have treated me the whole time that I have been here. They are both in their late 30s and have never had kids but there are many, many children here on the property. Julio’s dad and mom had 11 children, all of whom live here on this one piece of property. Most of them have kids. I would say that there are at least 30 kids running around here. All of them beautiful and very well-behaved. The whole family seems to love the Lord. Especially Julio and Lucienne who laugh constantly. They sing hymns at night together after they pray before going to sleep. The one big surprise that I got when I arrived was in finding out that there is no electricity. I brought this big inverter with me and had planned to buy some batteries but there is nothing to charge the batteries. Well, not yet, anyway. We are hoping to get the city power hooked up soon. For now, showering by candlelight and reading with old-fashioned lamps will have to do. By the way, I am once again bucket-bathing just like in the D.R. for now as Julio has not finished his bathroom just yet.

Things have really gone fast just in these first few days. I arrived on Thursday and on Friday I met with a guy named Chris Leib who works with the Baptist Haiti Mission. (The BHM has a wonderful facility a few miles farther up the mountain from here where I am staying.) He had a lot of advice to offer and gave me a lot of his time on Friday. He was very helpful. One of the interesting things that he told me was that the HBM is going to offer a course for master’s credit through a school in Miami . The class will be on History and Philosophy of Education and only costs about 90 US dollars per credit. The best part about it is that I would be interacting with some of the top Christian educators in the country and as you all know, I have something of an interest in education in Haiti . Also, I went to a good-sized English-speaking church on Sunday and found out that not only do they have a nice grand piano but that they are and have been looking for someone to play it. This is really exciting to me, as I have been hoping that I might be able to get involved in music somewhere while I am here.

Things are pretty cheap down here. I got a nice cell phone for $59 US and I found out that I can text message the US for pennies. There are other things that are not cheap. For example, you wouldn’t believe what they charge to wash clothes around here. It is outlandish and I almost have a good mind to do it myself. But, not quite. If anyone has a portable washer that they could send my way…that would be most welcomed.

Well, I must be on my way so this will have to just suffice for my week one news letter. Please, please keep praying. Oh, by the way, congratulations all on the money that we made at the pancake breakfast.

Will talk soon.

Luke

Mercy League in Haiti

To the ones called out to make a difference in this world.

Some have a special ability to be steady and supportive while others are unable to remain satisfied with the status-quo. It’s like when the Good Book says that one planted and another watered but God makes it grow. (1 Cor. 3:6-8) We are all in this together. We can’t all go and help but we can all do... what we can do to help.

In a world with tremendous volume and increasing demands, the faint voices of the oppressed and suffering are muted. We have to listen more intently, set aside some of our time and tune into what God cares about. What we, in our heart of hearts care about, care about.

~that’s what I am thinking today~

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I was in “town” (Eugene, Oregon) a couple of years ago when my cell phone began to buzz in my pocket. It startled me (I though it was a bee, again) I pulled it out of my pocket and answered it. It was Luke Wilkerson. He was asking about Haiti again. He was planning a short mission’s trip with his brother across the country. He needed contacts and advice and I was on his list. He is a very magnetic sort of person. I find myself quite interested in his heart and vision because he is so interested in what is on his heart and what he needs to do to accomplish his vision. We talked for about half an hour and he said that I could expect more calls from him soon.

This has been happening ever since then. We have been talking about a vision Luke has for a self sustaining agriculture boarding school for street children (boys at this point) from Port-au-Prince. It is a perfect vision and greatly needed. Luke and I met together last summer here in Oregon. Luke prayed much and garnered much council. He invited a very capable group of people in the Knoxville, Tennessee area (as well as other friends and family) to form a board to oversee and support him as he moved forward.

He did it!

Luke picked up and moved stakes September 26, 2007. He is staying with some wonderful friends of mine in a little Haitian family settlement in the mountains overlooking Port-au-Prince. He has taken much precaution and listened to good council throughout this process. I am very proud of my friend Luke Wilkerson.

We are now partnering with the Mercy League HAITI Board and it’s membership.

To those serving on the Mercy League Haiti board and your supporters!

Congratulations!

Welcome to Mercy League!