Santiago Story from tom hinton on Vimeo.

One, we wanted to do all we could to influence the starting of a church. Actually, everything we were doing from the beginning had that purpose. We built relationships with some incredible people throughout Santiago. I count them as dear friends, people you would love. We put relationship before anything else and believe all know who we are and what we stand for. The church has started. Cántico Nuevo is a reality. John and Diana Martinez were named pastors of the church at the Foursquare Convention in Santo Domingo on April 9. These connections we have made have become a bridge of friendship to John and Diana. The story continues. We were greatly blessed with a team of six young adults that came from Nashville, TN. We lived together, worked together and prayed together. My life is changed because of them! My hats off to their church, New Song, and the leadership/parents there. They did a fine job in preparing this great team for an incredible missions experience. They added such great value to the birthing of the church. I can’t say enough about them.

We facilitated Noche de Damas where about 200 ladies attended, hearing a message on Breast Cancer, Women’s rights, and the story of one who has been violated.  We also facilitated two back to back Healing Seminars, collaborating with Wind of the Spirit Ministries from Silverdale, WA.  We saw healings, deliverance and lives changed with more than 100 pastors in attendance.  More than 1000 people attended our final night of healing.

Second, we wanted to serve some way in Cien Fuegos, an area that is infested with crime, sex abuse, drugs etc. Many there do not have title to property let alone a birth certificate. We have established the Barnabas Project. (Proyecto Bernabé) The focus is three fold:
• Clean Water-The station has been built and equipment will be installed next week. 5000 people, 12,000 gallons a day. We are working with Water for the Children.
• Health Education-For three years we have brought medical teams to Cien Fuegos. After the second year, we made a decision for long-term influence. In that context, we are working with Indiana-Purdue University (IPFW) and Pontifica Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) to develop on-going health care attention in this area of more than 300,000 people. It is an historic first. We are connected to 160 barrios throughout Cien Fuegos but we will focus initially on about 5000 people with health care and clean water.
• Micro-Finance-Our goal of influence was the development of a cooperativa (credit union, loan institution) that is in the name of a Catholic priest, Father Ramón Dubert. Father Dubert was a well-known priest that died as a man of compassion. We found his initial paper work that he was developing before he died. After careful planning and hard work it is now registered in the country. I am very proud of the Dominican team that has put this in order.

We will receive a tremendous team from Life Pacific College, San Dimas, California. There is a program called IGNITE. We will work with this team of 15 for 2 ½ weeks through May 21. I am expecting great things. Thanks in advance to those that are sending them.

I close with one more thing. We feel we have been obedient to the Lord. Nancy and I have traveled back and forth for a season of our lives while she finishes her Nurse Practioner degree with emphasis in reaching the poor and deprived. We will close out our apartment May 25. Our mission here in Santiago has become bigger than what we ever dreamed and therefore we can easily say it is His cause and He gets the glory for all that has taken place.

After various speaking engagements that we have, the goal is to wait and listen to what God has next for us. I know that may sound trite. We feel that the Lord has given us this clear mandate for now. We will read, study, pray and exercise for a season. Nancy will continue her studies. We will still be connected to the DR, traveling there to encourage, meet with Health Education personnel, Water Station personnel and bring nurture to the new church; but for short strategic trips only.

Support for what we are doing and what we will do is needed more than ever. You can send offerings to Barnabas Task, 10917 Summer Chase Rd., Fort Wayne, IN 46818 or use the PAYPAL available on this website. Your gifts are tax-deductible.

If you have questions, write me. Let’s talk some. So grateful you stopped by.

He has broken me

In the course of several months I have read three biographies/memoirs. George Bush (Decision Points), Karl Rowe (Courage and Consequence), and Donald Rumsfeld (Known and Unknown). All three were at the White House at the same time.  All three experienced the political process, the economic meltdown, 9/11, Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanámo Bay, etc. from different lenses.  All three were correct in some fashion or another.  They quote and mis-quote each other. They agree and disagree. Lens. Perspective.  Paradigm.  They saw differently, remembered differently.  In that context though, government policy was directed and developed accordingly.

The books have humbled me actually.  As I reflect I have been wrong on occasion.  I have been mistaken and perhaps have not read or seen through proper lens, perspective and paradigm.  To whoever reads my post, please forgive me if that human inadequacy has touched you in any way. I ask forgiveness for my shortcomings and for any lack of consideration for you.

Water station ready for equipment

Planting a church in Santiago and serving the people of Cien Fuegos have brought me to this place of humble brokenness.  I am a different person, I believe, and the preface for this report must be the love of God.  He loves me so deeply that he has broken me, changed me, and caused me to reflect much.  I am not my own.  I am at a good place.

We taught more than 100 pastors

We hosted two healing seminars with Larry and Audrey Eddings and their team from Washington state. They did a fantastic job teaching the healing power of God, providing ample time in small groups for application and process.  In our second seminar we had more than 1000 people in attendance the final night.  More than 100 pastors received this clear simple teaching, taking it back to their churches.  It was a multi-denominational event.

The Water Station is built. Installation of the purification equipment begins on April 2. When completed, this gift to the squatters’ rights community of Cien Fuegos will deliver 12,000 gallons of water for approximately 5,000 people. A solid group of some extraordinary Dominican friends now regulate the station.

The church Cántico Nuevo is a reality.  A group of people meet weekly, while potential exists for a separate group to form soon.

John and Diana Martinez

Developing emerging leaders meet weekly.  John and Diana Martinez, the pastors of the church, are leading with grace and wonderful wisdom.  Continue to pray for them. They also need financial support.  What an investment.

Finally, a new network has been established between the Catholic University in Santiago and

Compassionate medical care

Indiana/Purdue University (IPFW) in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  The goal with this network is to establish ongoing health education for the community of Cien Fuegos and subsequent medical, training, and teaching teams on a quarterly basis.  Why not dream that these Dominicans can have medical care like they have never had before? I believe it can happen.

If I am a fool, I am a fool for Christ.  I believe that change and increased influence come through daring to believe and due diligence coupled with a clear proclamation that   mercy can re-write lives. God planned it that way, and Nancy and I have set out to follow this plan.  We are fulfilling what we set out to do.

Water for kids

In his book, The Principle of the Path, , Andy Stanley, writes “Direction…not intention…determines our destination.”   We all need a clear pathway.

More than  one year ago a pathway, a clear-cut direction was created for the Barnabas Project in Cien Fuegos, Dominican Republic.   In that context I wrote on one page the idea of serving a very  poor community of 300,000 people with Micro-Finance, Clean Water and  Health Education.

The goal from the beginning has been to foster on-going community development through strong just relationships.  We have worked from six principles:

1. Sustainable solutions
2. Active participation
3. Shared Vision
4. Servant Leadership
5. Effective Institutions
6. Restoration of Cien Fuegos

Our success story has been anchored to the direction we established in the very beginning.

Barnabas Task is attempting to establish three churches and develop the Barnabas Project.  This article is about  Clean Water, part of the broader based Barnabas Project, our attempt to influence a community.

Clean Water

I know that clean water is so very important.  Lack of clean water and simple hygiene/sanitation skills are the  cause of a large

Clean water means improved health

percentage of deaths worldwide each year.   Imagine the vulnerability of children who helplessly fight against diarrhea,  dysentery and other life threatning diseases.

It is a huge issue in Cien Fuegos.  I have asked the insane question, “What could I do?”  “What could we do?”  “What if….?”

“What if” is becoming a reality.  After more than one year, a piece of land right next to the canal that borders one side of Cien Fuegos has been given for the express purpose of the Barnabas Task Water Project.  (Proyecto Bernabe)

Relationships and Ownership

We are working closely with local businessmen and church leaders so this project does not become a failed attempt to help.  That is, there is community involvement and commitment.  The local Businessmen’s Association has adopted the Barnabas Project.  There is agreement from the Cien Fuegos Pastoral Association. These groups will lead.  Calendar plans include health care teams, hygiene/life training teams, smaller  community health fares etc., all which connect to the direction we have taken.

Our goal is community involvement in every area.  Perhaps that is why the Clean Water Project has taken so long.  When I start hearing what “we can do” from local pastors and business people, I feel like dancing.

Collaboration

What do I know about clean water?  I understand the concept and the need  for community involvement.  However Pete Connor is the one that will provide the expertise and skill to place the first Water Station that will bring clean water to more than 1200 homes, full time, all the time, for life.  Pete is the founder of Water for the Children.  (http://www.waterforthechildren.com)   I am so grateful for

On cleared land-Pete Connor and I

his heart and willingness to bring his engineering skills to the DR transforming dirty canal water  to drinking water,  utilizing  ozone technology.

Collaboration is huge. This is the cornerstone for change in countries around the world.  We must work together.  The connect of local churches, local business people, Water for the Children, Barnabas Task, the wonderful people that live in Cien Fuegos and countless people that contribute through prayer and giving make the journey what it is.

Direction…not intentions…determines our destination.

Here’s the takeaway:

Before the Water Station is even built I have walked amongst the poor in Cien Fuegos by the canal.  I have developed friendships.  I have mourned with these friends who have lost loved ones. Trust is established.  Health Education has been taught in homes.  This connects to other homes and all of a sudden there is a network of people that are hearing  about a Water Station and good health habits.  Volunteers come forward  to help anyway they can.  When we cleared the land for the future site, it was a

Unity is coming to Cien Fuegos

community event.  As I spoke to community people about a faith in God, they responded because I knew them, would see them again and again.

Community leaders, business people and church people are sitting for the first time together, talking about a hope and a difference that can be made in an area of the world that is all about “squatters right,” violence, rape, abuse, human trafficking and desperateness where the rising of the sun is the only known quantity or allegiance they have.

Clean Water, the Water Project,  is bringing unity.  The destination is more than I ever dreamed.

Please give to Barnabas Task today.

Please give to Water For the Children today.

Jim Westerfield (right) taught businessmen in Cien Fuegos.

Hope you are doing well?   Traveling to the DR for a year,  every month,  (praying, connecting and plowing) has been quite a journey.  As I reflected on this past year I recently looked north toward a mountain range that separates us from Puerto Plata.  It was pouring rain but I could see the silhouette of the mountain range.  In that moment, I sensed what seemed to be an affirmation of the Lord; “Good job.”  About fifteen seconds passed and I then heard, “Keep plowing.  Walk humbly.”

I have been living in Santiago, Dominican Republic for a month now.  A lot has happened in a month.  Some really cool stuff.  But can I take a moment and share with you what I have been reading and thinking about?

Karl Rove, in his book entitled, “Courage and Consequence,” wrote something that jumped out at me.  He wrote about campaigns.  “Everything in the campaign had to be measured against goals…if you did not measure an activity it tended to remain undone.  We set goals for everything, then set things right where we were falling short.”  (Page 35)

I have asked different people what they would do if they were I.  Where would they start?  How?  When?  One answer has “stuck” with me.  Jim Tolle, pastor of a large southern California church said,  “Everything needs a reason and therefore a follow through for that reason.”  He was talking process.

Peter Greer and Phil Smith, in their book, “The Poor will be Glad,” have written many excellent things in their book.  They have helped me believe in what we are doing.  (Micro-Finance, Clean Water, Health Education)  In their book they too have challenged all of us with measurement.  Peter Drucker said,  “You get what you measure.”

I am on a mission  to establish some kind of measuring stick so that spiritual and social development progress can be looked at through indicators that force me to say, “Good job.  When?  Need to improve.  Why?  Missed the mark.  How?  Increase/Decrease allocation.“  We could make a longer list.  Wise stewardship with adequate standards and goals is an accountability needed.  I might add that it is difficult to quantify in another culture.  However, if what “they” are doing or what “I” am doing has no effect,  how will we know to change without some sort of guide?

In the Health Education world, a term is used frequently.  It is a measuring stick for the medical profession.  It is called “evidence based practice.”  I like it.  Makes sense.  Why follow myth or history past.  Let’s use concrete evidence.

We must walk with wisdom.  We must be risk takers but constantly discern the road ahead.  Besides help from God that I don’t discount at all, there is a real need for constant evaluation.

What about you?  What do you think?  Has what I have written helped  you in what you are doing?  Have you taken the time to evaluate your job, your church, your business, and your person?  How do you measure up?  Have you established any measuring stick?  Is what you are doing “evidence based?”

Write me.  I want to hear your ideas and thoughts.

Coming soon: Updates on the  Dominican and Haiti church

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.

Grateful. Thanks to Matthew McGrady that prepared this video for you.

“>