June 2011 Mission Team
This January we started work on our Warehouse in the Dominican Republic. While this is a large undertaking and requires a lot of funds, the warehouse is necessary to safely store the rice and beans. Warehouse space is becoming very expensive in the DR and by owning a warehouse will allow us to safely store our materials as well as save money in the future.
Our work portion of the trip was to start the construction of the warehouse where we will store our food products for delivery to the Bateys. About three years ago we moved our warehouse into Franklin’s house on a temporary basis, and we are still there. As the Ministry has grown we moved into another of his rooms. Now he has only one bedroom and the bathroom left for himself, and we need more room. Franklin will be so happy to get his house back.
We had the foundation and floor installed before we got there. We started laying cement blocks from the floor up. We left there on Friday with the exterior walls about 6 feet high. The sun was so hot that we could BBQ without lighting the fire. And, most of us looked like we were the BBQ. What a great accomplishment to get done all that we did. Our long awaited dream is taking shape. Prayers are being answered. We are looking forward to seeing the building grow with each team
January 2011 Mission Team
This January, two teams went to the Dominican Republic to work on expanding a church in Batey 9
The church was a small building that the congregation in Batey 9 simply outgrew. What a wonderful problem to have that they needed more space for all the people coming to church.
Renovations to expand the church in Batey 9
This project almost doubled the size of the church as we built 3 new walls and put on a new roof. It was wonderful working with the locals who took great pride in adding on to their church
Support for Haiti
Last years January Mission trip happened to be scheduled just days after the terrible earthquake in Haiti. The Least of These Ministries was able to work with local Pastors to buy and send supplies into Haiti. These supplies consisted of rice, beans, corn meal, water and other essentials for those in desperate need. Volunteers helped pack the truck early in the morning to send supplies directly to a church compound Haiti where they could be distributed in a safe manners
Truck full of supplies
In June 2009, a small team consisting of 6 members went to the Dominican Republic to help pour concrete floor s in some homes in the Bateys. Most houses in the Bateys have dirt floors. When it rains the floor inside their home turns to mud. On many occasions we have seen people shoveling mud out of their home after a heavy rain.
This team helped to pour concrete floors into many homes. The people were extremely happy to have a cement floor. They are so proud of these new floors.
The team also took part in distributing the rice and beans to the different bateys.
