Bitter Sugar

We have long supported the work of William Decena, a former cane cutter of Haitian descent, in Batey 9. G.O. has helped him construct a church and establish a nutrition center there for the children suffering the most from malnutrition. We have recently broken ground on a new church in his community and just completed a dormitory there for facilitating short-term teams so that they may serve in the surrounding Bateys. This community consists of a people group of Haitian descent brought over from Haiti to be economically exploited in the sugar fields of the Dominican Republic. Poverty is difficult enough when it is circumstantial. In the Dominican sugar industry poverty among the peoples of the Bateys is the result of the bitter threads of nationalism, classism, and racism having been woven into a bitter cord of injustice. James 5 makes it clear that such injustice will not go on forever.

The Price of Sugar is a documentary chronicling the suffering and economic injustice placed on one particular Batey owned and run by a Dominican family. A Spanish Catholic Priest who has invested his life among these people has helped to organize the making of this film in an effort to bring to light the suffering of these people without a voice. The Bateys G.O. Ministries works in do not suffer to the degree that this Batey does but unfortunately there are many parallels and commonalities.

Please make an effort to see this film.

If you live in Louisville, Ky it is coming to Village 8 from January 18th to the 24th.

Here is the trailer:



Here is the link to the films website:
http://www.thepriceofsugar.com/

A Ministry Overview of 2007

Much has been accomplished in 2007 on the island of Hispaniola for the sake of the Kingdom. A church and nutrition center have been completed as well as a dormitory for facilitating teams in Batey 9 in the Southwestern part of the DR. In addition to that four new churches and nutrition centers are under construction. Below is our Christmas video highlighting some of that work. We are blessed to have a full year of ministry behind us and a very exciting year ahead. Thank you for your prayers and support, both financially and through your friendships.

God's Blessing and Provision for Our Family

We came back to the states in the summer of 2005 to very difficult circumstances. Our daughters' lives were threatened by a rare high risk pregnancy as well as a dramatic two and a half month premature birth. It is many of your prayers and the prayers of our Dominican and Haitian friends and family that helped to sustain us and the girls. They continued to sustain us through the discovery of our daughters' profound hearing loss and it's consequences. We have put a video together to commemorate both their survival as well as one year of listening with their Cochlear Implants. You have been a blessing to us. We hope this blesses you.

Grace and Peace,

Jeff & Vicki

Tropical Storm Olga Strikes...

As we prepared to celebrate the holidays Tropical storm Olga made an unfortunate turn. It cut right through the center of the island of Hispaniola from east to west. Typically these storms pass across the southern coast, failing to threaten the center of the island. Tremendous amounts of rain lead to record flooding in Santiago, the second largest city in the Dominican Republic. The receding waters will likely leave vulnerability to water born diseases as well as explosions in the mosquito population likely leading to a surge in mosquito born illnesses. The poorest of the poor live near streams and rivers. They are the most severely affected. But even those living a little higher up in the valleys were also overwhelmed by the loss affected by swollen and raging waters. The local churches affiliated with G.O. have been quick to respond to needs for clothing and other necessities. The video below was shot by Isiais, one of the Dominicans we work with. He was kind enough to go down to The Hole to survey the situation. Watch below.



Please pray for those who have suffered tremendous loss due to this storm. Those who lost everything already had especially difficult lives. This disaster will be an obstacle to overcome.

Scroll down to view other photos of Santiago under water in the right hand column.