Barnabas Task

We can transform dirty water to awesome drinking water

Nobel Peace Prize writer Garcia Marquez wrote in detail about the plight of the poor in Central and South America. He describes poor people as waiting for a letter that would never come, sitting in the dark talking of “distant” hope

I talk to my friends every time I go to a canal on the west side of Cien Fuegos, a “squatters rights” area and part of Santiago, Dominican Republic. What was once a novel thing, an American in Cien Fuegos, is now a common occurrence. I know families, kids, their dogs and cats. Cien Fuegos is an undesignated piece of land that has been chosen by the poor and destitute. It is a violent place. Human suffering, unjust acts against women, a subtle mark for human trafficking, constant corruption, theft and a seemingly inability to “look up” defines the area.

What about clean water that is drinkable? Water does exist in Santiago but you can’t drink it. Clean Water is part of three-tiered approach to this community. (Micro-Finance, Clean Water and Health Education)

Cold clean water for kids is the goal

I have watched children pull water from the canal where I have gained new relationships. The water is used to wash clothes, drink and cook. The canal is a nasty, infested cesspool that is used for bathing, as bathroom and drinking besides a “collect all” for anything you can think of.

Clean water means healthy kids. It is part of the big picture of Health Education. Will you help me fulfill a promise I gave to these new friends? I want kids to have a chance in life that includes a glass of cold clean water.

I explained to my friends we would bring clean water that they could drink some day. I thought of what Garcia Marquez wrote. They wouldn’t be waiting for a “distant” hope while in the dark, never to hold a glass of clean cold water. Some day isn’t soon enough for me.

1. You can contribute direct through Pay Pal on this website. Mark your contribution Barnabas Task Water Project.

2. You can participate in the outstanding golf tournament being planned for Sept. 18. It will be held at the beautiful Chestnut Hills Golf Course. The golf fee of $100 pays for your cart, two meals and 18 holes of golf.

Email or call Barnabas Task today to sign up with your foursome:
btwaterproject@gmail.com
260 466-3522

Help us bring clean water so kids have an opportunity for better health!

Checks payable to Barnabas Task Project-Water. After all expenses 100 per cent of all monies raised will go directly to the Barnabas Task Water Project. Not even a dime will be used for personal use or other project expenses.

Support Tom and Nancy. There, I said it! Up to this point I have never used our names in asking for financial support.  Barnabas Task has been promoted.  Who wants to promote self?  We sure don’t!  At the same time, without promoting what we do there is no way people can give intelligently.  We feel that God is receiving the glory for what we are doing.  Humbly, we place before you our need.

As Missions Pastor at Life Bridge Church in Fort Wayne, IN, we have walked with integrity, not asking people for pledges or cash offerings.   We are so grateful for the monthly support from Life Bridge. However, we need help from others as I write this post. We need a miracle.  In preparation for what lies ahead I have resigned as  Missions Pastor, a non-paid position.   We served with honor for three years.  Our sails are set.

Recently, someone suggested that church leaders were tired of missionaries calling them, asking for financial help.  It is a catch-22 isn’t it?  On one hand, we walked in obedience and have stretched ourselves  to respond to Haiti’s needs.  At the same time we have traveled to the Dominican Republic for one year now, laying the foundation.  Many doors have opened.

We have done this by faith, at great personal sacrifice.  Without investment there, we would not be able to give a clarion call to what our need is. Here’s the deal: This is not a job to us.  It is a calling that is beyond us. We are without doubt called to do what we are doing.

Although we have complete, written blessing from Foursquare Missions International as a denomination, we do not have one dime promised to us from them. Let me be clear.  I speak  without any rancor or disrespect.   Just the facts.  We understood that going into this.  Could it be that we are pioneering a new way for Foursquare and others?  I have been stripped of any dependence on anyone.

It is Him and Him alone. This is where we have come to.  For us to do what God has called us to, there needed to be an absolute dependence on Him.  What we see is the price that must be paid if we are to accomplish God’s purposes.  It is not a lesson to be learned once;  rather a lifestyle that must be lived.

The foundation has been layed in Santiago to initially plant two churches: one, a Haitian church and two, a church in the middle/upper class area of Santiago.  We are also developing  strong relationships with our friends in Cien Fuegos, a population of about 300,000 people, to develop Clean Water, Micro-Finance and Health Education.   With God’s help, we will start a Monday through Friday 6 am to 7 am radio program some time in July on a secular radio station.

Humbly, we ask you to consider giving to a calling that is making impact.  There are three ways you can partner with us.

1.  Barnabas Task: 10917 Summer Chase Rd., Fort Wayne, IN 46818

2.  FMI: PO Box 26776, Los Angeles, CA.  90026

ATTN: Tom Hinton/Santiago church plant.

3.  Pay Pal:  using the link that is on this page.



You will receive a tax-deductible receipt after receiving your contribution

Franklin is a Red Sox fan!

Franklin is a Red Sox fan.  He knows what is happening every day with his team!  He wears Red Sox shirts, has a Red Sox hat and I call him, “Big Papi,” named after Dominican baseball player David Ortiz.  By the way, I am a die-hard Red Sox fan.  It is fun to talk with someone who knows the score even before I do.

I love my new Haitian friend

He is the head guard at the apartment complex we have rented in Santiago, Dominica Republic.  He greets me each day as I leave or come back.  He serves everybody.

Franklin is from Haiti.  He knows I have  been to Haiti three times now. We talk about small things.

The apartment complex where we live  has never had “teams” come and stay there. Imagine, young adults, adults and students going up and down steps, yelling from the sixth floor, slapping “fives,” hanging, singing…playing.  Our street, E Leon Jimenez,  will never be the same.

Imagine for a man like Franklin, he has never had so much attention and love.  Teams that have been with me have made impact.  They left “relational equity” that I am able to connect to.

I invited Franklin to my apartment when the Michigan team was with me.  He was surprised that I did so.  It is not common nor  part of the cultural context.  We talked, laughed and shared.  For Franklin, this was new.  He was from Haiti.  He had another role in the apartment complex.  Tonight he was amongst friends.

I gently shared the love of God with him.  He lives in the Dominican Republic and supports his family in Haiti.  Franklin accepted Christ as Saviour on this night. We agreed to share this with his Haitian friends that live close by.  I will speak in Spanish and he will speak in French.  Haiti Bible Study.  So love this.

One of my new freinds in Cien Fuegos

As we make our way to start full time in Santiago, I have made a commitment to start a church amongst Haitians as well.

Who knows?  Franklin could very well become the pastor of this church.

Thanks for praying for us!

More than ever, we need prayer and financial support.  Thanks for your investment.  Please consider investing today in this incredible dream that God is unfolding.

Translating for Nic Mihailoff. We spoke to 60 businessmen.

Hosting a team from Ignite Foursquare was a delight this past week.  Laughter, connection and God’s amazing grace put it all in perspective.   Pastor Todd Sywrus, Nic Mihailoff, Tom Gordon, Doug Wilson and Robb Malcolmson added value to what we are doing here.  Great insight. Dude, can they eat!

Pastor Todd Sywrus spoke twice in Cien Fuegos.

We attended Parroquia San Ramon Nonato on Sunday morning.  The team from Michigan was with me.  We separated inside the church as to not be too obvious.  The team is doing what I would do here if by myself.  I am on a learning track, feeling, observing and discerning.  This would be the type of church I would love to see built here.  What a powerful influence it would be.

What a beautiful facility it was.  I was impressed with its cleanliness and open doors and windows.  People that attend this church seem to have consistent well paying jobs but there was a mix of others present who were distant.   What would happen if the prostitute walked in?

Meeting with businessmen in Cien Fuegos was a delight.  We spoke to 60 businessmen about growth in their  business. A commission has been formed to develop Micro-Finance.  Huge.  It has taken a year to birth this.

Todd Syruws preached twice in Cien Fuegos.  He did a wonderful job and was received well.

Through a significant relationship the right person was identified to contact for a piece of property to place a Water Station.

We met an EMT in Haiti from a Foursquare church in Gresham, Oregon.

Travel to Haiti was a fun trip with Nic Mihailoff and Phil Pritchett, both businessmen traveling with me.  Never a dull moment. Nic is a mentor of new developing business projects working with the University of Michighan.  Phil has been with me  on four trips and has been trained to take a Barnabas Task  team anywhere in the world.

Clean water is an issue in our world. This little guy had an empty water bottle. Broke my heart.

Haiti is tough to process.  I don’t have easy answers.  Planning for the medical team in May was a lot of listening at first.  Several times I pulled away just to process.  There are so many factors.  At the end of the day, we decided to place the May medical clinic close to the street, beneath a large covering provided by USAID. I had a brief conversation with the Director of Norwegian Church AID.  They will come to the clinic when we have it to observe.

We left Haiti with a sense of sincere desperateness.  It has happened before to me.  Who? What?  When?  Where? And How? seem to be trumped so many times it is hard to find the beginning.

We drove to Bonao to meet with John and Diana Martinez.  They are a wonderful Colombian couple that are  raising their own support to be here.  Foursquare Flint Ignite invested $500 in a new Micro-Finance business the Marinez’ are establishing to help raise the support they need to live here.  It would be patterned after a “Tent maker” philosophy with a strong edge for development and planning upfront so that it would be successful. They sell jewelry, cards, and other proto-types that will have their personal signature.  We are committed to this.

John and Diana Martinez will move to Santiago in November to join us in the church plant.

Supporting Barnabas Task is supporting what you have read.  We are grateful.  Plowing continues.  I have a vision that is clearly written on one page.

Habakkuk 2:2 says  ”For the revelation awaits an appointed time;  it speaks of the end and will not be false. Though it linger, wait for it;  it will certainly come and not delay.”

Habakkuk was forward thinking.  This vision was not about him.  It was for others.  They would carry the message.  It was other-people centered.   Others will benefit from what we are doing.  This is not my gig.

I understand this.  We are living in tremendous times.

Last night, we drank coffee and pondered the future with a young adult named Andy Martinez.  He expressed the need for relevance coupled with intercession.  He said, “what you are  attempting to do here in Santiago, Dominican Republic is noted.  People are hungry for what you offer.”  The vision tarries.  We are in place for the greatest move of God in our life time.  To Him be the glory and Honor.

I am writing a short post today.  I just arrived back in Fort Wayne with Kati.  She is back at school.  I am seeing a doctor in a short while.  I need to get my knee (leg) checked out.  It is wierd being back here. Contrast is defined as difference between two ideas or objects. Because of contrast between “here and there” there is a nagging in my soul for three reasons.

1.  Haiti-We must do something more.  We are placing emphasis on a Compassion Station on the border of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.  We are also organizing and collaborating with Associated Churches in Fort Wayne, IN to bring a team to Port Au Prince, Haiti, April 13-22.  As I write, there are other teams being coordinated to go to Haiti.  I will have dates soon.  If you are a doctor, physicians assistant, nurse practioner or nurse…. come help us bring hope to Haiti.  Make the call and do it!

2.  Project Bernabe (barnabas)-We have undertaken a huge project in Cien Fuegos, a “squatters rights” area of Santiago.  I spoke there last week.  I love those people and want to help in a way that is the best practice of what I can offer.  We are developing 1. Clean Water  2.  Micro Finance  and   3.  Health Education. A team of people are being formed.  Soon I will introduce them to you.  I am not and cannot do this alone.  Others are coming alongside the vision.

3.  Church Plant-Cántico Nuevo-We have a name for the church now.  Cántico Nuevo. (New Song) I am meeting and connecting with some incredible people that want to see something happen, a strong stamp of God’s grace and agreement.  We are sowing good seed and seeing it return. Every time I am there I meet with people and share the vision of what the church will be like. We have now rented an apartment in Santiago.  It is so well located I have to pinch myself when I think about it.  It was His choice.  The location is a center point of activity.  The street address is E. Leon Jimenez, known by everyone.

We will keep meeting with people, expanding our circle of influence.  Secondly, we will continue to have Encuentros de Conocer  (Get to Know Meetings) that are very relational.  Finally, we will soon begin Convivencias.  (Restaurant setting meetings where a meal is shared and a story of the Gospel is the topic of conversation.)

Kevin Delagrange and Kyle Norwood came from Fort Wayne to build bunk-beds for us.  They did a fantastic job. I wanted to be able to receive teams of people.   I am grateful to three churches;  Life Bridge in Fort Wayne, Grace Community in Kokomo, IN and Ignite Church in Flint, MI. They provided the funds for this. Mission accomplished except for three mattresses.

I have layed out a vision that is our pathway by faith.

Restless for the world that is mine.

Grateful!

(Note: Pictures taken by Kati who traveled me on this trip.  She was a great companion.  My hearts desire for her was to expand her world view through exposure.  More to come.)

I can’t predict the future!  Can you?  We were on our way to Jimani yesterday and stopped in Santo Domingo to connect with Foursquare missionary Charlie Finocchiarro who was leading a caravan of California Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’s) going to work with Convoy of Hope.  We stopped at a tollbooth to connect, exchange a few words and waiting for one more truck to come through the tollbooth.

I asked an Emergency doctor about my right knee that has caused discomfort before this trip.   The doctor examined my knee, looked in my eyes and said, “This has the feel of a blood clot.  If I were you, I would go to the emergency room or a clinic right away.” I guess I looked at him with unbelief because he repeated it.

I did not enter Haiti today.  Kati did. I entrusted her with some great men that I have become acquainted with.  Relationships that are being carved out here cross new barriers when you say, “I trust you with her.” Kati arrived in Jimani late last night, had a Malaria shot early this morning and is there now as I write.

I will go to Haiti but it was not in the “cards” for me right now.  Can I give you a perspective?  The apostle wanted to go to Asia but was forbidden.  I don’t know his reason for being forbidden.  (Acts 16)  I do know I did everything I possibly could to go but was forbidden for now.  I have a peace, not upset about it.  This is God’s thing.  Not mine.  Feels good.

Update: I went to a clinic in Santo Domingo.  The doctors’ prognosis was thrombosis of the vein.  He recommended 5 days in bed plus meds.  I opted to go back to Santiago, with my leg positioned straight.  Kevin Delagrange and Kyle Norwood drove me back to Santiago.  I needed them for this. Kevin drove on the most dangerous highway in the Dominican Republic. Last night, late; I went to a clinic in Santiago. A cardiologist gave me a shot in the stomach and said I would rest better at the apartment, which I loved to hear.  This morning, I went to the clinic and spent the day going from station to station getting x-rays and blood tests.  I wondered about Health Care here.  I needed the tests and needed to have my leg straight.  Oh well.  The bottom-line is that no thrombosis was found in the testing!  In all of this was a caring loving wife who just happens to be a heart nurse.  Nancy was my second opinion, on the money!

Kati will have an experience that not many her age will have.  She will see first hand and will give the initial report on Barnabas Task. I won’t.  But isn’t that the way it is supposed to be?  I love this.

Would you pray for the people of Haiti tonight? The Relief effort is going well, never fast enough for some “Grande, non-fat, vanilla latte” executive who writes from afar.  Our virtual “get it now” world is meeting the reality of an unstructured, geographic location let alone a country that has been pulverized by an earthquake.

Let’s pray for relief workers who are doing all they can in the Haitian capitol and in every other area they may be.  I know what they pray at night.  “God I did what I could do.  I rest in that.”  And sometimes they weep in private because of what they have seen or heard in public.

Kevin Delagrange and Kyle Norwood have been a great blessing.  Every morning they have devotions.  They are journaling and contributing in every discussion.  Love them.  They are bro’s.  Anyone that knows me would recognize that calling someone a “bro” means they are family and I would go to the wall for them.  I feel the same from them.

The bunk beds are completed.  Today, Kyle and Kevin brought the extra lumber to the home and back yard of Jose Lino, a faithful worker with Barnabas Task.  Jose lives in Cien Fuegos where a young adult team will be pouring cement in March.  The lumber will be used to support the walls as the cement is being poured (by hand.)  Pretty cool huh?

Spoke through Skype with the Board of Associated churches early this morning.  How cool is that?  Loved meeting people for the first time through Skype.

That’s the way it is!

Grateful!

“When He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion

for  them, because they were weary and scattered,

like sheep having no shepherd” Matthew 9:36

We had a tremor about 6:30 this morning.  I have never danced at 6:30 in the morning, but I did today.  In another room, Kati slept like a baby.  What a wake-up call. It’s been quite a day.  I have talked to the right people in Jimani, a border town that has become the passageway for many Health Care workers attempting to get into Port Au Prince, Haiti.  The Port Au Prince airport is “open” and then “closed.”  Eventually it will open.   I have talked briefly with my friend Charlie Finocchiarro about his recent trip to Port Au Prince.  The city is jammed with workers.  Thus, Jimani has become a center-point for workers and for Haitians fleeing from their homes looking for a better place to rest their heads. The guys are progressing with the bunk beds.  I am so grateful for their sacrifice in being here.  Soon, we will have a place to house teams. The first step in Disaster Relief is the collection of information.  It is fluid and ever changing.  Some organizations and denominations do not do relief work but rather collaborate with others.  Yet again, there are other organizations that are Disaster Relief oriented and somehow the joint efforts surge forward together.  Information collecting eventually becomes information you can count on.  There is no exact formula but there are some significant principles in the process of determining what to do and when:

1.   Information This is primarily gathering information to the following questions: Who? What? Where? Why? How? When?

2.   Analysis What are the physical and medical needs?  Is the in-country medical system functioning?  In the case for Haiti, it was quite weak before the earthquake.  There are factors that hinder accurate response:

1.  Logistical-communications and transportation

2.  Organizational-Leadership is not in place or are not informed.

3.  Technical-Individuals with skills or expertise are not available.

3.  Diagnosis To be arrived at jointly between local leadership on the ground, national leadership, Regional Representatives and emergency relief providers utilizing both the information and the analysis provided above. Information + Analysis = Diagnosis This part of the process is significant because it helps discover the precise need: although it may be obvious.  It is like a doctor who collects information, gives analysis and finally gives a diagnosis.  Final diagnosis includes:

1. Type of injuries-number of persons involved, severity
2. Survivors in need-age, sex, psychological stress.
3. Environmental Health-water supply, sanitation.

4.   Strategy What plan works for Haiti?  The strategy will need to target a specific segment or area as any organization can’t possibly be the solution to all nor be in all places at the same time.

Today, I made plans for a team to come to Santiago in March.  It is a young adult team from a Wesleyan church.  Perhaps going to Jimani, the border town, would make sense in the big plan.  Don’t know.  I made transportation arrangements today for the team.  I checked in with Penelope Bravo, a follower of Christ, the new Foursquare church we are establishing in Santiago.

Kati and I also had lunch with 28-year veteran missionaries Paul and Eileen Allyn.  They have a wealth of information to draw from.  It’s fun when Paul and I drink coffee together or have lunch.  Our phones are constantly ringing. Kati says I am in meetings all day!  I have been in a few.  The payoff though is good information.  Here’s the deal.  We leave today (Thursday) for Jimani, Dominican Republic.  It is a five-hour drive.  We have some great contacts there where we will be received well.  We will access Jimani as a potential Compassion Station.

There are a band of brothers there from various churches and denominations in Jimani.  We will stay in an Episcopal church there, sleeping on the floor.  We will leave early Friday morning for Port Au Prince.  We will “look and see” and then go to an exact target location where Barnabas Task is going to put its’ emphasis.  Our first team there will be from Associated Churches in Fort Wayne, IN from April 13-22.  I am sure the door will be open for other teams.  We need doctors, nurses, construction workers and caregivers.  Father Dan Layden, an Episcopalian priest, will lead the team.  He will do a terrific job. By 10 pm, Friday, we will be back in Santiago.  I am taking Kevin Delagrange and Kyle Norwood with Kati.

Grateful!

Haiti is messing me up.  It’s neither comfortable nor part of my daily routine. It won’t go away.  It is already the poorest country in this part of the world.  Unemployment is about 80 per cent.  Average wage is $2.50 an hour.  It lacks the infrastructure and moral compass for turnaround.  And now the earthquake.  It is a catastrophic and epic blind side that woke up the world.

I had other plans and goals.  I had projects and focus.  But the phone rang off the hook at our house.  I was scheduled to already be in Santiago, Dominica Republic.  What could I do?

That’s when friend Paul Allyn called representing more than 200 pastors in Santiago.  He asked if I could teach “Responding to Disaster Relief.”   An organization called Associated Churches which represents more than 150 churches in Fort Wayne, IN called and asked if I could represent them, setting up a possible relief effort in Haiti.  I have been in touch with my missionary friends and colleagues Charlie Finocchiaro and Dave Stone.  I am asking questions.

So I write tonight, the first of my daily posts from the DR. I hope to be in Haiti by Thursday.  I will evaluate, connect, assess, feel and probably weep.    I know what my role is as I go.  People want to help, but where and how will they do so?  Who do they connect to?  I want to be a pointer to help caregivers do what they do.  A Barnabas.

I know we will initially go to the DR/Haiti border to connect there.  Is it feasible to set up a Compassion Station there?  (Tents that serve a greater purpose of assisting an already overstaffed hospital in the area) Evidently, refugees are fleeing Port Au Prince by the thousands.  Will they come to the Dominican border?  If so, what could be done?  One part of Disaster Relief includes finding a niche where no one is and  “set up shop.”  Hear it.  They don’t need me in the capitol city right now.

I will travel as well to Port Au Prince if we can.  It is part of analysis.  Kati is with me. I wanted her to see and feel.  Pray for her.  She has a heart of compassion. I will ask a lot of questions, do whatever I can to serve others and make some connections for future trips.  What can I do from the DR side to serve my fellow man there?   This is what I know:

Immediate Response-A quick 24 response to attend priority needs to save lives.

Second Day Response-Normally to less accessible areas where there is no water, food, shelter, and clothing.  Security is an issue.

Third Day Response-Restoring lifeline systems.

Four to Five day Response-Collaboration of Health Trends.  Health professionals talk.  They look for trends and predictability.  They know before it happens too.  Partnerships are formed.

Short Term Response-One to six months of ongoing compassion.  Depending on the magnitude of a disaster, the first four above markers are functional and fluid.  Many in Haiti will not have been touched for the first time.

Long-term response-Six months to a year introduce construction, new systems of living.  Many NGO’s and relief agencies have left by now. You can’t predict this!  About 7 am in a restaurant recently, one remarked, “it’s going to be a long haul.”

Why outline this for you?  I want you to learn.  I want you to know that giving and praying must not let up, that somehow in this matrix and timeline there are people that will be touched with human compassion.  Somewhere in Haiti tonight, compassion will make a difference for the first time. Someone will die.  Someone will drink his or her last drop of water.   Someone will be saved from rubble.  It is relative.  We must do what we can do and jump in the cycle of giving hope.

I am all messed up.  Would you give to Barnabas Task?  We need your help now more than ever.  We are coming along side, pointing, encouraging, and getting dirty. As this was being written I connected a group of doctors and nurses that will be in Port Au Prince in February.  A doctor called me from Los Angeles to coordinate meeting me in Santiago.

Please know that your giving today is allowing me to do what I am doing.  It is making a difference.

Note:  Today, Kevin Delagrange, Kyle Norwood and Jose Lino (A loyal faithful worker for Barnabas Task) bought lumber and began cutting to make bunk-beds.  We bought mattresses as well. I finally purchased an ORANGE (the company) cell phone. I spoke to more than about 200 leaders in Santiago about Disaster Relief. The city is organizing well and has plans for short and long range plans.  I told them of the need for medical now and other needs later.  From the meeting came an obvious call to keep meeting.  There is a real sense I have of unity amongst the pastors.

Grateful!

When we celebrate the 2010 Christmas there will be a new church in Santiago, Dominican Republic.  I believe that.  For more than two years we have been going to Santiago with medical teams, prayer teams and investigation teams.  Each time the circle of influence there has expanded.

Three things have marked our time there:

Prayer

Fasting

Connecting

God spoke to me about Inside/Out; that He would watch over things and give me direction if I took time with Him and that He would form/create a pattern.

This seems to be working.  A rhythm has brought success that equates to “God works.” Imagine that?!  For the first time I am publicly sharing in writing what God has spoken to me. I have bounced this off of about 15 people whom I respect. What God has spoken is a bold declaration and I speak it humbly.

Vision for Santiago, Dominican Republic

To be people of influence so that others know Christ.

The most effective agent for influence is a vibrant and strategic church, which becomes self-supporting, self-governing, self-propagating and self-sending. Secondly, we desire to influence through just relationships (meaning–without agenda) with those that have need and in so doing encourage community development.

1.  Vibrant and Strategic Church*

The location for the church is a middle-upper class area that is notably non-evangelical with a population of about 250,000.  This area was carved out with prayer and fasting, investigative questions, and significant consultation. We will influence this area with the establishment of a vibrant and strategic church.  Long-term strategy includes the development of emerging leadership as they develop others who in turn will be people of influence establishing other leaders and churches.

2. Community Development**

We have brought Health Care teams to the Cien Fuegos neighborhood, considered to be the poorest area of Santiago.  More than 200,000 people live in this area.  There are neither titles to properties nor official representation to the city.  In effect it is a “squatters rights” domain.  After much prayer and reflection, the “best practice” is to encourage the establishment of on-going community development with others in this area, in lieu of establishing a church. Three areas of focus are:

1.  Micro-Finance                                                                                                

2.  Health Education

3.  Clean Water

Six principles of community development and just relationships include:

• Sustainable Solutions–local resources and skills
• Active participation–vision sharing, decision making
• Shared Vision–a dream that is Kingdom minded
• Servant Leadership–listening, learning from each other
• Effective Institutions–opportunities that fit shared vision
• Restoration of the city–people restored to God and each other

*We just had our first Getting to Know Meeting at the Hotel Almirantes in Santiago.  (El Primer Encuentro de Conocer)  What a joy it was to share vision with those who had expressed interest.   (Picture at top left) These meetings are part of the unfolding vision for starting a church in Santiago.  Information and Connection.  I shared three main values for the church.

• Amar a Dios (Love God)
• Amar a los demás (Love Others)
• Servir el mundo (Serve the world)

**I shared these principles with Cien Fuegos community leaders recently.  It was historic in that I was told they had never come together like this in the past.  (Picture to the right) Relational equity and doing good has paved the way for everything that has taken place and will take place.

Health Care Team-Santiago, Dominican Republic from tom hinton on Vimeo.

The medical team that we brought to the Dominican Republic was pretty incredible. We  saw more than 500 patients, many come to Christ, at least three confirmed healings and an awesome expression of love.  Besides the medical team, a group of men replaced a roof and a wall of a home as a “random act of kindness.”  The woman living in the home has six children.

The eternal results of the team cannot be quantified.  A foundation has been set in motion to speak to neighborhood leaders  about community development during the month of December.