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Updates from Dianne

CHRI's Ministry Director Dianne Van der Putten and Compassion Canada in the Dominican March 24th-31st.

22,000 children have been sponsored in the Dominican through Compassion Canada. Dianne has been given the opportunity to travel with and experience Compassion's work first hand. On this trip, she will be visiting 6-7 projects interacting with the children as well as Compassion workers. Additionally, she’ll be spending time with individual families in their homes. Visit this page daily for updates on how to pray for this trip, the children in the Dominican, and Dianne.

Click here to sponsor a child today!

  

 

 LASTDAY in the Dominican  :-(

 

Todaywas as big of an impact as any other and we visited the Compassion main officefor the Dominican Republic.  We joined the Compassion team for devotionsand they have a department head give an inspirational message to everyone. Talk about passion and conviction for the word of God and the testimony offaith.  Following this time we had a tour and met each of the staffand they shared what they do and the heart behind.  Wow!  Fromthe Child Survival Program to Leadership Development; from Intake Programto Translation; they people believe 150% of the work Compassion is doingin this country.  Some staff even being former Compassion sponsoredchildren themselves.  There was much joy and fellowship together and as weshared lunch together we got to know individual staff personally.  

 

Wethen headed out to a Compassion project about 45 minutes outsidethe city.  This is by far the warmest welcome we havereceived to date.... and each project was wonderful in their welcome!  Wehad children greeting us immediately with hugs and inquiring aboutwho we were, exchanging names and yes, even ages.  There was a timeof worship with the talent of some of these children being truly amazing. One young girl sang a worship song with such convictionand talent, we also responded with enthusiasm in theapplause.  At the end of the worship time there were so many childrenclamoring for pictures with us, and giving hugs it surprised us.  

 

Wethen walk to the house we were to visit and were greeted by a mother andher five children.  One of her daughters is in the Compassionproject.  We asked the mother if the father was still part of the familyand discovered he had passed away three years ago in June.  Themother had been seriously injured while breaking up a fight between herson and another child in the neighbourhood and she had been slashed very badlyon her arm.  She now has limited us of the arm and hand.  How doesshe provide for her family?  She cooks and sells a fruit called fruitbread but life is obviously very, very hard.  It seemed to me thateveryone in the family sleeps in one bed, which was in deplorable condition. Ittruly leaves you staggering.  We had brought groceries for this family andas we were walking away from the house we saw the cook stove outside.  Itbasically was a few sticks of wood with a rust pot and a piece of tin lyingover top.  The mother removed the 'lid' to show us the fruit breadcooking.  This was going to be dinner for six people and in our eyes itwould have barely fed one.  

 

Lordhave mercy. 


 DAY6-

 

We went to a Compassion project and associated church for Sundayservice.  The church was full and that included the addedchairs.  There was wonderful worship music, singing, pantomiming, andpreaching from the Word.  The pastor and his wife invited the team to jointhem for lunch at the church.  I had a great conversation with theDirector of the Compassion project, the Pastor and his wife.  Theyanswered all my questions and God really opened up our hearts to love eachother and the ways in which He uses His body, with it's many parts,to accomplish the work that needs to be done in spreading the gospelmessage.  They are so thankful for prayer support, for the Lord to raiseup His workers for the harvest, for the fathers to be reachedwith the gospel, for the children in the Compassion projects to come to asaving knowledge of Jesus Christ and for the outreach ministry to grow in orderto reach their community for Christ.  It's very humbling to sit besidethese front line workers and to hear their passion for Christ and the witnessof their faith. 

 

 Day5-  LET'S PLAY BALL!!! 

 

TheNational sport for the Dominican Republic is baseball and they take it veryseriously and have produced some of the top professional baseball players inthe world.  One of the Compassion projects we were to visit challengedthe Canadians (us) to a baseball game and, in a moment of completeweakness, (or insanity) we accepted.  We brought baseball caps donated byHudson Bay Company, baseball gloves, donated by various listeners andprayer partners, hockey jerseys, just because.  Actually we figuredthat once they beat us in baseball, we’ll challenge them to a game of streethockey.  We anticipated playing children or young teenagers... here's howthe day 'played' out!

 

Wearrived at the baseball field and caught a glimpse of a baseballplayer, in full uniform, swinging the bat.  I gasped and I believe I canspeak for everyone on the bus - we went into shock.  These were notchildren or inexperienced teenagers... this looked like a professional baseballteam with full baseball uniforms.  There was even a baseball camp with 18- 20 year old young men going through pretty intensive drills. Yikes!  What had be gotten ourselves into?  Yup, we startedpraying for mercy, no injuries and for everyone to have fun...but let's behonest... we were nervous and a bit scared!  Then we saw the cheerleadersfor the DR team... and their fans started filling the bleachers. You thinkit couldn't get any worse...well we hadn't starting playing baseball yet.

 

We puton our hockey jerseys and shook hands to the DR team.  Then it wasdown to business.  We were to be the first up to bat and while my team wasgetting ready I was recruiting a few young Dominican guys toplay on our team.  We had already recruited our bus driver and his threeboys, and our two translators.  Thank you God for willinghearts!  We played three innings before the DR team got the grandslam...but in our defense, one of our team, while diving for the ball in theinfield twisted his knee and had to be carried off the field.  By theend of the fourth inning the score was Canada 2; Dominican Republic 12

 

Wehad a lot of fun with our new friends and gave new baseball caps andgloves to the winning team.  They were quite excited about the gifts andin the spirit of good sportsmanship cheered for Canada and our team.  Itwas great fun all around.

 

Bythe way, we were so tired and sore after the game to challenge anyone to streethockey!

 

Wehad lunch at the Compassion project that had just won the baseball game. We enjoyed the company and food with our new friends and then set out on ourhome visit.  We visited the home where a young woman and her husband, whowere expecting their first child, had no place to live.  A brother hadtaken them in for a few days but his home, while very clean and tidy, was verytiny and only designed for one person.  We hoped to give themencouragement and bring food for this couple.  When we arrived we discoveredthat the young woman had her baby by C-section four days previous. She invited us into the tiny home and we got to see her new baby namedIris.  What a joy and she allowed me to hold her baby.  We didn'twant to tire her out and so only two of us entered her bedroom topray with her and the baby.  Shortly afterwards the father arrived andgreeted everyone.  What a beautiful experience and our heart is thatthey will find a home for themselves and their new family and the brother wouldbe gracious and allow them to stay until then. 

 

 


 Day4-

 

Todaywe had to travel outside the city to a rural community about 1 1/2 hours awayto a Compassion project, which runs the Child Survival Project.  It was asmall facility and has approximately 150 mothers with their children. There's a small playroom with children's toys and a crib.  In the upstairsassembly room they have training for the young mothers.  They learnnutrition, how to care for an enfant, health care, parenting, and to care forthemselves.  There were about 80+ mothers with children at the facility inthe morning when we arrived and it was such a joy to see them and thechildren. 

 

Followingthe training we distributed the teddy bears and heard the children squeal withdelight, saw their incredible smiles and shared a smile and hug with some ofthe parents.  What a joy to share with these women and encourage themwith the knowledge that people care about them.

 

We did one home visit to a young women of 18 who has a one year old littleboy.  The Compassion worker visits a couple of times of month to check onhow things are going in the home.  They read scripture together anddiscuss the meaning of God's word.  We prayed together as a group and alsoencouraged the grandmother who they live with.  She's a praying woman wholoves her family and cares for their needs as best she can.  Through theCompassion sponsorship they are able to have a roof over their heads, food onthe table, health care and hear about the hope that can be found in JesusChrist.

 

This evening we had a student in Compassion's Leadership Development Program by thename of William.  He is 24 years of age and in January will be graduatingfrom LDP as a General Doctor.  He'll then attend an 8-year Universityprogram to become a Neurosurgeon.  Praise God!  William is an inspirationand spoke of when he entered the Compassion project at the age of 7 andbasically grew up there hearing the message of God's love for Him.  Whenhe was 17 he committed his life to Jesus, his brother became a Christian as didhis mother and grandmother.  His desire is to be a voice for those whohave no voice.  This young man sponsors a child from Haiti. Praise God for the impact of the sponsorship through Compassion on this youngman and the multiplication effect that $35 a month has made in his life, hisfamilies, and all those whom he comes into contact with.  What aninspiration! 

 

 

  

 

 


Day 3 - 

 

We had an early start this morning and headed out to thefirst project of the day.  This project was much larger than others thatwe had visited with 320 children participating including a Child SurvivalProgram (pre-natal to 3 years of age).  The church has a very strongcommunity focus and the programs they have developed to reach thecommunity enhance the Compassion project as well.  They have a clinicon location with a doctor who works there in the mornings.  He donates histime and expertise to the clinic because he believes in the work beingaccomplished.  They want to grow the clinic and in house the lab, whichwill save them money.  They also have sewing classes for thecommunity, for a nominal fee to cover the costs of fabric.  They learn howto make stools covered in fabric, drapes and so much more.  Theysell these items and the money raised continues to develop thisprogram.  Then there's the restaurant that is owned and operated by thechurch, which raises money for the work.  If individuals come into therestaurant and cannot pay for the food, they bless them with the mealanyway.  We had lunch there and the food is delicious!  Thechildren sang us songs and made different presentations of worshipincluding dance.  There were three teenage boys that had their ownband and did merengue music with a rap twist.  There was a time togetherfor prayer, which was such a blessing to be part of. We then visited a family home, which was headed up by thefather, which is very unusual.  The young boy of 16 and his oldersister were home and the father was working.  The boy attends the churchproject and as we discussed the Compassion project and program with him heexpressed that he was not a Christian.  We witnessed to him and after somediscussion he gave his life to the Lord.  We prayed with him and thenfor his sister, who is a Christian, and has been the shining light inthis family.   The second project was in a very rough neighburhood but theSpirit of God was very evident in the project.  The welcome by allthe students, from the youngest to the oldest was beautiful.  There wasapproximately 100 children in this project and they were excited to seeus!  A donation of school supplies was given to the Director withstickers and lollipops distributed to the children.  What a joy to bewith them.  One of the teachers, who is there only part time, hasbeen through the Compassion project themselves and will be graduating inDecember from the Leadership Development Program.  His training isin Graphic Design and Web Development.  He gives back to the projectand teaches computers to the students!  We had the opportunityto hear his testimony, his hopes and dreams.  We encouragedhim that 'all things are possible through God'.  The presentation bythe students and teachers was very touching and the prayer offered up waspowerful.   

We visited two families from the project.  The first was a single mother with 6 individuals livingunder one roof.  We walked a very narrow and steep alley to her homeand then climbed very steep, rickety steps, much like a ladder, up to thehome.  Dangerous is an understatement!  This mother impacted each andevery one of us.  She is a praying mother who passionately loves herchildren and sacrifices daily for them.  She gave up her schooling asa future lawyer when her oldest daughter developed mental illness andtoday this daughter is in school and studying Physiology.  Sheknows first hand the power of forgiveness and healing for herself and herchildren.

 

 

This mother washesother peoples clothes to earn some money and to feed all six people.  Shehas to walk great distances to accomplish all that she needs to do and when weglanced at her feet, she had very poor shoes on.  Our Team Leader withCompassion, I'll be donating my running shoes and thick-soledsandals to her prior to leaving the Dominican and I pray it will be ablessing to her.  We left groceries with her and prayed, laying handson her and the children for God to bless them each and keep them in Hiscare.  Her parting words to me were that it is better to be rich in Spiritthan in material things.  What an example to live by and witness to uswith.  Thank you Jesus.

 

 We made an impromptu visit to another family and the grandfather was home with the children.  His prayer need was that his wife was in hospital for surgery and his daughter was with her for support.  The son-in-law passed away last year from stomach cancer and his daughter and three children came to live with him and his wife.  He sews to earn money to keep food on the table.  The place where they live has a tin roof that leaks and sometimes they have 6 inches of water in the house.  The landlord is forcing them to move and they have no place to go.  This very urgent need was prayed through with him and we left him and the children with a few weeks of food.  It doesn't seem to be enough and we wish there was more that we could do.  

 


 

 Day 2 -

 

 Afterbreakfast and two cups of coffee to help me wake up the team met fordevotionals and prayer before heading out.  The first stop was at agrocery store to purchase groceries for each of the eight families we'llbe visiting.  We purchased rice, sugar, oatmeal, flour, powered milk,chicken bouillon, vegetable oil, black beans, spagetti noodles, spagetti sauce,spirial noodles, cornflour, and cookies. 

Wealso purchased a double / twin bunk beds on behalf of a couple that had visitedthe Dominican a few months ago and felt compelled to help a mother andher two children.  We delivered and set up this bed as well asremoved the old bed.  This seemed to attract the people in thecommunity who came and helped with the set up.  The motheris a brand new Christian and her son is part of the Compassion project. 

Wethen visited a Compassion project and visited the classrooms and interactedwith the children.  They loved the shiny stickers that I brought and ofcourse the candy!  What a treat!  We then gathered in the church fora presentation by the children, and they stole our hearts with their songs andskits.  They prayed for us with thankful hearts for the visit, but we arethe ones who are thankful and humbled by their love. 

Wevisited two family homes from this project.  The family I visited kept a cleanand tidy home with hand made crafts decorating the walls of the home. They have three chickens out back which provide eggs for the family.  Themother works at the Compassion project and the father is sometimes employed inconstruction.  They were blessed by the food we provided, which will last them the next several weeks.

Endof day and arrived back at the hotel at 7:00PM.  Praise God for a full daywhere He opened my eyes to see His mercy and grace at work through the ministryof Compassion Canada.  Thank you Lord and please bless each of thechildren, teachers and families that we met today.

Thankyou Lord for my missing piece of luggage being found and delivered to my hotelroom today. 

 

 

 


 Day 1 -

 

 Getting ready to leave on the Compassion trip and wasup at 2:30 AM after getting about 2 hours sleep. Left my home at 3:30 andarrived at the Ottawa airport at 4:15.  Checked baggage and was in the airat 6:15AM.  Travelled to Chicago and then Miami where I met up with KarenTaylor from Compassion Canada and the rest of the team.  Arrived in theDominican at 1:00AM and was starting to get my second wind!  Itdidn't last but I made it to the hotel, checked in and hit the pillow at1:50AM.  Oh, by the way, one of the pieces of my luggage was delayedbut hopefully will arrive tomorrow morning.  This piece of luggagehas the Teddy bears and baseball gloves!  Please pray everythingarrives safe and sound! 

 

 


teddies_web.jpg80 hand-made teddy bears from Teddies for Tragedies

Knit with loving care by the members of the Kanata Teddies for Tragedies Chapter and donated to the children of the Compassion Projects in the Dominican Republic.

Click here for more information on Teddies for Tragedies.

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