Your Mission if you choose to accept it...

Shane sitting on the fresh-water cistern coming from the mountain

Friends and Family of Mercy League,

I realize that is has been some weeks with little activity. This is how it happens in a volunteer organization...

As you know, I have been traveling back and forth from Oregon to Florida, and the Dominican Republic in an effort to solidify our mission project, and find some work in the Haitian community in South Florida. I resigned, my position, as minister of Lorane Christian Church last January, and have been working "side jobs (construction related etc...) to try to fund these endeavors, as well as, keep up with the cost of living. I was also trying to raise support on a monthly basis to help with the financial burden of working for Mercy League instead of finding a paying job. Well... I strongly disliked fund-raising, and subsequently didn't do much of it, thus the family suffered financially, which can be very discouraging.

I have given up on my bid to raise personal financial support. It was too humiliating, even for me. I end up funding the major portion of what Mercy league does, save a few very dedicated individuals (you know who you are) and that doesn't work well... Don't worry, I am no longer in the depths of despair... I have already been there and back. : ) That is part of seeing a project like this through to the end.

What I would like to do now, is to ask my Mercy League supporters to consider supporting the cause in a different way. First, to raise support for a journey to the D.R. and back, and second, YOU consider going on my behalf this Fall.

Mission 1: Journey to San Marcos, Dominican Republic

Who: 1-3 Individuals (Mercy Leaguers)

What: San Marcos children's home project

When: Fall 2008

Where: Journey to San Marcos, Dominican Republic

Why: Report on progress, deliver supplies, supervise work

How: a. Signup, or b. Donate to Fall Journey 2008 (I can’t go in the Fall)

Cost: $1500 per person plus materials (you and I will donate, and 1-3 people will go)

This is the best I can do while I try to make a living and pay for grad school. I've given up on raising personal support, at this point, but the work still needs to be done. So… let’s all chip in and send one of you in my place this Fall (We are leaving dates flexible until we have our “sojourners” in place).

We have a staging site in Florida, where we meet and are briefed for the journey, and then you fly to the Dominican Republic for 7 to 10 days. (All food and lodging are included in the $1500.)

Please visit the donations page of this site and put some (tax deductible) funds into the Fall Journey 2008 Fund…

Keep the faith,

Shane

No News is Good News? Not so much, this time...

Dear family and friends,

It has been awhile since I last posted anything. It has been a difficult month for Mercy League Dominican Republic... Well, more specifically the Gomez family in Puerto Plata.

William and Jacquie Gomez are friends and partners with Mercy League. William was involved in a motor-vehicle in May that ended in the death of a young man driving a motorcycle. William is devastated. He was put in prison, and settled with the family. He will be paying settlement to the family of the young man. This was settled quickly as the family of the young man was known to William (he and the boys father were acquaintances through the ministry in the area).

I was unsure how to approach this topic, and have been waiting for things to settle down a bit. I called William several times and tried to commit some time to encourage him through this difficulty in his life.

William is carrying on with his work to the poor in the Dominican Republic, though I am sure that he and his family could use ongoing encouragement.

If you would like to send William some encouragement please email him at:

wrafaelgomez@yahoo.com

Keep the faith,

Shane