Hello!

We just finished our last day, and it was great. We woke up and got ready for the day before splitting up. Jeff and Caleb went to a meeting with one of the local pastors, and Mike and I (Ben) headed up to work on the house. After we finished our appointments, we met back up and got ready for a meeting over lunch with a Russian couple that we met prior in the week. The lunch was great! We built a bond with them through laughter and sharing of our lives. They really warmed up to us. Mike has plans to get in touch with them next week. Next, we started to get ready for the movie ministry. Caleb and I were going to the movie ministry and Jeff was going to teach at the Bible College. Everything went so well!!! We are ready to get to bed and look forward to being with you all again on Wednesday.

God bless you and thank you!

iReach Dominican Republic

Wow! Another great day with many blessings. We went to church first thing this morning. Caleb did worship at the English speaking church while Jeff and I (Ben) went to visit the Russian Orthodox church. The Russian church started at 10am and the English church started at 10:30, so after Jeff and I had visited, we jumped on the back of two taxis (mopeds driven by the locals) and headed back to the English speaking church. We were able to get back in time, and were so blessed to worship and hear the Word. After church, we grabbed some lunch and went back to the house. Mike and Jeff had an appointment to go back to the prison, which left Caleb and me stranded at the house for two hours. We used this time to re-energize before heading back out to the Haitian church. The Haitian church was a beautiful experience! We (not us) worshiped in Creole, which is a dialect of French. The people were so in love with God, and really encouraged us. Jeff taught in First Peter about hope in the midst of trials and tribulations. This  blessed the Haitians and encouraged them to keep an eternal perspective. They live in terrible conditions, total squalor. The only thing that can give them hope is their faith in Jesus. We can praise God that He is helping them and blessing them. Tomorrow is our last day, and we are looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us.

Thank you and praise God with us!

iReach Dominican Republic

Today was exciting as we started by returning to meet with the Russian real estate agent. He wasn’t there (again), but after calling him, he started to head our way. It was definitely worth the wait… he had a vast insight into the local culture and the many different neighborhoods. After meeting with him, we left with very realistic ideas pertaining to prices and locations. After this, we ministered to a young boy who lost both his parents (separately). He is in a very tough place because he lost his parents during a critical time, and now most of the help programs would say he is too old (he is 16 years old). He works the streets shining shoes to buy food. He is just barely scraping by and has no identity within society. However, one-year-ago he committed his life to Christ and was baptized. He is a good boy and needs our prayers.  

We grabbed some lunch and headed for the prison to minister to the inmates. The people in the prison were very humble and serious about their walk with the Lord. We worshiped with them and prayed. We did a Bible study with the group from Matthew 26:14 – 27:56.  The study encouraged them to know that Jesus not only loves them, but He also knows what they are going through. Many of the men in prison have been forsaken by their wives, family, and friends, just as Jesus was forsaken by His disciples and the one’s He loved when He was crucified. The prisoners were blessed and encouraged. As we left, it started to rain. Unfortunately, the rain prevented a movie ministry we had planned, which was very disappointing. The movies are shown outdoors, and the speakers, projector, and electrical equipment do not mix with the rain. We are getting ready for another big day tomorrow.

We love you all and pray that you are blessed! In Christ…

Hola, my dear friends,

This morning we went to speak with a Russian real estate, but unfortunately the agent was not in. Our hope was to discuss different apartments in areas where there are opportunities to minister to both the Russians and the locals. As the real estate agent was not in, we used the time to visit a friend of Mike. His name was Jean Carlos, and he lived in a very poor part of town. There were huge, abandoned complexes (though they were not abandoned). Squatters have moved in… many of these are women that are trapped in the sex trade. There is an awful cycle that has been occurring in Sosua. Women here are born in squalor and have almost no opportunities. Prostitution is an easy way out, but like most sin, very entrapping. Many of the women have four children (the product of their trade) in a small shack that doesn’t belong to them. At this point, they continue work to support their family without a husband. Very sad… and the number of women in this situation is staggering. They need the Lord’s help!!!  After this, we packed up and headed for the (garbage) dump. The dump is a place where many Haitian refugees live. They live there waiting for garbage trucks to pull in and dump the trash. The Haitians work through the trash looking for items that will allow them to live another day. We drove up and served them soup, speaking to them in Creole/French. When they were done with the soup, we gave them ice cold water, filling up all bottles they had (most were the plastic water bottles that were thrown away). It was AWESOME! After this, we would went to Alex’s house (Russian friend) for lunch. It was a traditional Russian lunch that included Borsch and cabbage.  After this, we went with Alex and met some of his Russian friends, including a very good contact that provided much insight into the logistics of moving into the Dominican Republic. We ate supper at a Dominican restaurant and took a walk downtown. We finished the night by worshiping together and look forward for a good night of sleep. Please enjoy the pictures below...

We appreciate your prayers and God bless!   

iReach Dominican Republic

Hello and God bless!

We had a fantastic time in the Dominican Republic today! First, we met up with Mike’s Russian friend who took us around town. We met many different Russian people, and had many conversations in Russian (not me, but Jeff and Caleb). It was a huge blessing for us. Then, we had a traditional Dominican lunch, which is rice and beans with chicken. Supper was Spanish food. Very tasty!!! Once it got dark, we started our movie ministry. It is difficult to describe in words, but the was Lord was working in both us and them! We walked around the surrounding nieghborhood speaking our (very) limited Spanish while inviting people to a “pelicula”/movie. Many showed up and saw the movie, which was Christian based. One young man came up to me during the movie and asked if he could have a Bible. He said he was not Christian, but that watching the movie moved him to learn more about God. We didn’t have a Bible, but one of the local pastors took down his address and will follow up. At the end, Caleb shared the Good News with them and prayed with them. It was very powerful and everyone was blessed. This was a very fruitful day that the Lord had made for us. We will continue to be blessed and ask for your prayers. Tomorrow seems like another busy day.

In Love…

iReach Dominican Republic

Hello Brothers and Sisters!!!

Jeff, Caleb, and me (Ben) have arrived in the Dominican Republic today to spy out the land. We have had a hard travel period, followed by a full day of exploring the city, and then ending with dinner at a local missionary couple’s house. It was a full and wonderful day!

For those who do not know, the Dominican Republic (DR) has a very large Russian population. They move in the area as a stepping stone to move out of Russia into the U.S. or other countries. Since Jeff and Caleb spent 13 years in Russia and speak fluent Russian, we thought it good to go and spy out the land with Mike Williams, a local missionary who knows the city intimately. We left Pocatello ID at 6:30pm on Tuesday. We flew all night and arrived in the DR the following day at 1:30pm. None of us slept well, and we are very tired. Pray for us!

Mike picked us up from the airport and we started driving around the town. We looked at the church project that Mike is starting. We also saw some other churches that are already ministering to the community. We stopped by and prayed for a Pastor that recently donated his house to a Haitian Church. We prayed because he has an inoperable brain tumor. It was clear that he had a peace that passed all human understanding. We watched a group of kids play a spirited game of baseball (using a doll’s head as the ball). We visited a carpenter’s shop and saw the work he did for the community. We also saw the adult education program and could see how it benefited the community. The Lord is working mightily here. On our way back to the house, we connected with a young Russian couple and gave them a ride to their house. They blessed us with their company, and we got their contact information.

We finished the night by eating at a local couple’s house. They are missionaries in Sosua (the town we are at). They blessed us and encouraged us! It was truly awesome! Please keep praying for us. We will update you soon!