The Barnabas Foundation...

I love February- it is a month of colors- lots of Dominican flags everywhere. We have Flag Day AND Independence Day in the same month (month of patriotism)!  And today is the day the DR celebrates its restoration of freedom from Haiti, in 1844.  Please continue to pray with me for the restoration of their spiritual freedom! 

It has been a great week so far- Dwight and Keith have been great conversationalists. We have covered everything from the Old Testament to Roger Clemens to Missiology.  We had a wonderful visit with Pepin yesterday and visited a potential work site in Santo Domingo. I appreciate your prayers for the preparation and for God's continued guidance.

I am off today for COLD country. I think I am excited about it. I saw some pictures in the Boston Globe that make me think that maybe it isn't all I think it will be.  I appreciate your prayers for safe travel and for God's blessing on the wedding weekend and especially my nephew David and his bride to be, Kristen. 

You can reach me in the States at 603-463-5783.

I don't know where to begin- I made a huge mess today in my kitchen- let's call it a chemical experiment that went awry (mainly because I didn't know what I was doing!).  Milagros and Carolina had to come bail me out because the fumes about did me in!  They called while I was in the middle of the worst part and heard my voice (and cough) and were on their way- what great friends!  It will take awhile for my floor to recover, hopefully not as long for my lungs. Let's just say I finally got the drain in the kitchen sink unclogged, and leave it at that!

That little experiment cost me attending the service in the Hole today- they were scheduled to have a guest preacher and were all set to lead it themselves so maybe it was a little divine intervention that I just not be there at all. They are getting enthusiastic about "flying solo" which is a good thing. (I think they are finally realizing what I have told them for a long time- they need to lead out and let me support them rather than wait for me to lead them and they support me.) I am anxious to hear what I expect will be a good report.

Villa de Yaque went well today- we are making plans for the basketball court and a well for the water purification system. Work will get underway tomorrow. I am praying that this project will bring them together and push them further along in reaching out to the community.

The Quest team did get home on Friday, by way of St. Thomas.  Apparently all flights to the continental US were cancelled in San Juan, PR so they hopped over to St. Thomas and caught a flight to Boston.  I am just glad they got home safe and sound and in time for their closing celebration!

All these cancelled flights have me a bit nervous- I am scheduled to leave the 27th for my nephew's wedding. When you have lived in a tropical climate for over 10 years, snow delays are hard to figure. Let's just hope I can get in- it won't hurt my feelings if I am delayed a bit coming back, but I don't want to miss the wedding activities!

Before leaving Wednesday, I have an exploratory team here from Richmond, VA. They will be coming in July with a team.  Please be in prayer for us as we dream together about how to involve their church and community in our ministry here in the DR. Pray for Dwight and Keith as they travel.

The Quest team pulled out of the parking lot at 12:45am this morning. I got a phone call at 4:15am saying they were safe and sound at the terminal, which wasn't going to open until 6am. (All that is Dominican time which right now is 1 hour ahead of ET.)  I imagine they were the first ones checked though.  Since I haven't heard back from them, I assume that they are in San Juan, moving to their gate to board the plane for Boston which leaves at 10am ET.  They land at 2:05 ET- ahead of the worst of the snow. Please continue to keep them in your prayers. They are pretty tired as you can imagine but we prayed for extra patience with one another during this trip.

What would a mission trip be without a little drama?  People who have been involved in missions will tell you the three essential keys to effective mission projects are FLEXIBILITY, FLEXIBILITY and FLEXIBILTY.  The Quest team is from New England and as you know, that region of the country has periodic winter storms- their flight tomorrow has already been cancelled!! And due to vacation time and heavy travel, they couldn't rebook their flight until early next week, EXCEPT one flight out tomorrow at 8am--- from Santo Domingo! So, they are in the process right now of packing up to load the bus at 12:30 for the trip down. They need to be there by 5am and they will probably get there way early- maybe as early as 4am but we want them to have plenty of time to be safe of the road and allow for any possible time killers- we want them to make their flight!!(Their orginal plan was to back up at 9:15am to be at the Santiago airport by 9:45am so this is quite a change for them!)

They were all excited when I left just a few minutes ago- they have learned the flexibility skill quite well. The Institute where they are staying was like a bee hive with excitement and activity!

Please be in prayer for their safety tonight on the road, for Alvin their bus driver, and for safe travels tomorrow.  Part of the Quest team has been in South Africa this week and that group is in flight right now too- please keep them in your prayers as well. That particular group includes one of my nephews so they are all the more special!

They had a good last day- we enjoyed a trip to Puerta Plata and saw some historical sites and enjoyed the beach. The best part was sharing with Simon and his family who joined us.  I know the Quest team has made its mark on their lives and the life of their community through their presence this week which will live on in the water purification program. 

Yesterday was a finishing up day of ministry. By 11am we had purified 250 gallons of water! The Quest team spent a great deal of time sharing the importance of being in the Word and prayer and meeting with other Christian youth with Simon's teenage children.  It has been an awesome opportunity for Melvin, yalissa and Claribel to be around other Christian young people. 

After a visit to the newly restored Monument to the Restauration of Freedom, lunch and a quick souvenir shopping trip, we were back out there to have our inauguration of the water purifier- we had an excellent turn-out, purified the other 250 gallon tank as part of our demonstration, gave out free samples of the water we had purified earlier and shared how the project would work to benefit the health of the community.  Along with sharing the good news of purified water, we had an opportunity to share the Living Word, in drama, sermon and music. 

If you haven't read 2 Kings 2:19-22 lately, read it! We read it last night and then showed the people how one cup of salt could purify the water- what God knew way back then, took us quite a while to figure out!  Please pray with us that as the people experience "healed water" they will also find healing for their spiritual condition!

It has been an interesting week- we have learned a lot about how to put together the water purifier system- it is actually very simple. The hardest part (and it wasn't hard, just time consuming) was building the platform for the tanks to sit on. Today we got the base built for a fence that will keep the equipment secure. Tomorrow all that is left for us to do is see it in action and train our three new "water technicians."

The Quest group has been GREAT at engaging the community children and youth. They had quite an experience playing softball today- when I left they were getting ready to play what looked like a SUPERSTAR team- keep in mind the Quest team didn't come as an athletic group so I think it was a stretch! But they had a good time and opened up some channels to share their faith which is what it is all about. 

This afternoon they had a service in the park- we were a little disappointed with the attendance because our big throng of folks didn't come- we discovered that even though the park is in the center of town and not really that far, it was too far for them to walk. But that is where we were directed to do it so I was content with the 23 youth and group of children. And, I was really pleased with the message the kids shared through their presentation and the energy and sincerity with which they shared.

Tomorrow at 4pm ET we will be having an inaugural service for the water system and a closing time with the community. Please keep this important time in your prayers.  Our work with the water system is just beginning.  Thanks for your prayers- keep on so we can finish strong!

We are gearing up for our baptismal service tomorrow.  What a way to begin our first water project- with the baptismal waters!!  I have met with the community leaders in La Canela twice this week, sharing the process of the Maguire Purifier and the Water cooperative plan.  You can see more about the purifier from New Life International at waterfortheworld.com.  Basically, it is a chlorination system. It has a very simple and low-maintenance cost which makes it very attractive to me for work in communities with scarce resources. Our plan is fairly simple:

1) Each family pays a monthly fee of roughly US$1 per person. A family of 4 would pay $4/month (120 pesos).  This represents a huge saving for the family because most families buy a jug of water for $1 EVERY DAY!  In our cooperative plan, they will be able to get as much water as they want which will enable them to bathe, cook and wash their dishes with purified water.

2) The community cooperative will have a committee that will oversee the collection of dues and administration of the funds.  They will pay an employee or perhaps two to maintain the water purification process.  With the remainder of the money, they will re-invest in community needs. 

I calculated today how things would work in Simon's neighborhood where we are starting. He estimates 200 homes in his area. If each family is 4 people, and all 200 subscribe, each month they will generate $24,000 pesos which is US$716.  If half of that goes to paying 3 part-time employees, they still will have US$350/month of funds with which to make community improvments!!  We talked today with other leaders in the community- pastors of other churches, etc. and if we can form more than one cooperative, they will have even more income. I planted the idea of giving some to their local fire department, Civil Defense unit, etc. to improve their services and equipment.  It is exciting to think about!!

There are several ways you can be praying for this project...

1) For Simon's family and the immediate community where they live, that these next few days as the Quest team shares their faith and works to install the purifier, people will realize their spiritual thirst and come to Jesus who overs living water.  We will be going door to door inviting them to a meeting to discuss the project as well as worship God through the dramas and music of the Quest team.

2) For the larger La Canela community and the spread of the water project, that it will be done in a way that brings Glory to God and serves as an instrument for better health and community development.

3) For wisdom and grace (on my part and the Barnabass Foundation leaders) in administering the project so that it stays true to the vision of clean water for the community as well as a "clean" source of income for community development. Very often the best laid plans get mucked up with the corruption that is all too prevalant in our society.  Our desire is to share God's love in this tangible way for the benefit of those least served by their government.

Please continue to pray for the Quest group- they have a return trip tonight and another trip tomorrow to San Francisco- I always like to cover their travels with a LOT of prayer!! Tomorrow afternoon is our worship service (4pm) during which we will baptize several folks.