MADE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
These beautiful children would LOVE to go to school. Please give a child a chance by sponsoring a very special boy or girl. All these precious children live in the Dominican Republic. You really will be making a difference because by sponsoring a chid, he or she will go to school all day, be fed the only meal they will possibly eat in a day, get all their vaccinations, a uniform, a pair of shoes, books, and a wonderful education. They will also learn about a God who loves them! When you sponsor a child, it is tax deductible. ALL YOUR SPONSORSHIP WILL GOES TOWARDS YOUR CHILD AND 15% GOES TOWARD RUNNING KIDS ALIVE AND THE ADMINISTRATION TEAM.
Thank you for caring for the voiceless!
The Beginnings of This Lovely School
Our family was on a vacation in Dominican Republic about 10 years ago. We had a "divine appointment" with a missionary couple we met over a Thanksgiving dinner. I don't know how we ended up here....like I said....it was divine...They invited us to their “castle on the hill.” We shared a meal and talked about the needs of a Haitian village called Caraballo tucked away and hidden in the sugar cane fields of the Northeastern coast of Dominican Republic. The missionaries...BOB AND JANA... who are now are dear friends were telling us about their food ministry...a couple times a week, groups would come in from all over the world to help with distributing food to the Haitian children in this village. The children hung out all day with no shoes, maybe some raggedy clothes and would wander around...many went to the dumps to find food...you get the picture...The food ministry handed out a boiled egg, ham, milk, porridge to each child that showed up to receive food every week. They shared their love...
I asked BOB AND JANA about the kids’ education in this village. Obviously there was none...but forever???? There was none they said. They had been praying for a school...We felt moved...actually couldn’t stop thinking about it all the way home back to the good US of A and then some. The Lord was telling us to help build the school. So we did.
Read On.... It gets Good
We Meet Elio
Who is going to build this school for us? We scratched our puzzled heads...BOB AND JANA...directed us to ELIO. A successful businessman from Canada who got lost one day eons ago in the sugar fields of Dominican Republic. He literally took the wrong turn and ended up in a Haitian village...no electricity, no running water, shacks for a home....these people collected water in a big bin when it rained so they could drink clean water. They bathed in the stream nearby and many would get sick because that was their only source of water in town. Babies would walk around naked and toddlers too...The homes reeked of a stench but my family, and I hid it to not embarrass them. We were told ahead of time to not make any faces so to not rob them of their dignity. A family of 7 or 8 would pile into the size of a closet...and live...God where are you? Elio asked this question when he got lost in this village. He questioned God and asked him...if you are so loving...why do these people live like this? You know what God told him? Elio went back home and pondered this question, and he felt the Lord tug at his heart. “If you are so concerned...why donʼt you go back and help them.”
Huh????? This was not the response he was expecting....So Elio went back....he started doing the infrastructure for village number one...and helped put in plumbing so people would have running water and wouldnʼt get sick from the germs in the stream they drank from. Elio started building little concrete homes that people could sponsor, so families could live in a concrete home and not a tin shack. Village one, became village two, became village three, and four, and five...... ! So we met Elio, and he built the school.
oh it gets better....
The Surprise of the School
The school was up and running in a years time. A few of us tried to find sponsors for the children in the village. I had a little table set up at my local church and got some
sponsors on Sunday. Another gal in Canada also picked up some sponsors. Did I mention my mom is a prayer warrior? She had been praying for the school to be up and running with sponsors.....lots of them.... ! So my family and I were back in Dominican Republic
and who would the Lord provide as neighbors to us during our stay? KIDS ALIVE! The Trautwein family were on vacation and staying coincidentally right next door to us.
Mr. Trautwein...his name is Vic...worked for Kids Alive....an organization that takes schools, organizes them, finds sponsors, and the rest is history! Bada bing bada bang...the school was a bona fide real school with teachers, a principal, students...and the students learned
about the Bible, all the main subjects, ate a meal a day if not two, were given a pair of their own shoes, received their very own books, got all their vaccinations for the first time ever, and were given their pride and joy....a uniform!!! Which translates to clean clothes! Cʼmon....there is a God!!!! The school within a two years time housed 65 kids all with sponsors, all with books, vaccinations, a meal, a uniform...they were reading, writing, doing math, learning about Jesus, singing.....they looked happy! ! We visited the classrooms of the school, and my husband called out a few students and had them answer a math problem on the board...They answered correctly. These kids are learning. They will have a future. They will learn that their God loves them and has provided for them. Currently 180 children are enrolled. There is more room for more kids....
It Gets Better.....Read On!
Youʼve Got To Be Kidding!
So the school is up and running, Kids Alive has taken over...the rooms are full, kids are learning....Did I mention my mom is a prayer warrior? She was praying that someone from my local church would go to Dominican Republic and serve there in that village in that school. So months go by...and my lovely babysitter is getting married! Yeah!!!! She married this handsome fellow!!!! They tell us excitedly one day that they found a job...they will be missionaries at a school in Dominican Republic, specifically finding sponsors for the kids in Caraballo. My husband and my jaws dropped to the floor....Come again? Thatʼs right...they said they found something that fit them well...they would be going to Dominican Republic for two years to help find sponsors for the school. "And so they did:))) And my family and I visited with them when we were there too. Wow....what kind of God dowe serve? One that loves the poor....cares for them...provides for them....sends out workers to areas that need help...and fills up our holes in us as we help others and love them. So....Hereʼs where you come in....youʼve come this far....you canʼt give up now.... "Another floor has been added, and more kids are coming in...kids who without going to school do absolutely nothing...God has a purpose for each one of these kids...
Please help them find their purpose and make a difference. I have visited many of the KIDS ALIVE SCHOOLS in Dominican Republic. The teachers, staff, and principals love these
kids, care for them, and are so organized and skilled. 85% of your sponsorship will
go to the child you pick.
With much love and gratitude! THANK YOU FOR MAKING A KINGDOM DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF THESE CHILDREN!
Susan and my oldest
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