March happenings...

It is always fun to update our blog because it gives us a chance to look back over the last month and reflect on our lives, how the hand of God and his goodness was present in so many ways.

We are so grateful that our home continues to be a gathering place for many. We helped one of our young missionaries, Lisa, with a goal of hers to work with pre-teen Dominican and Haitian girls in the neighborhood. We (Cherry, Rachael and Rebekah) helped Lisa host a get together in our home where the girls made peanut butter cookies, a first for many...


then gathered in our living room while Lisa shared a lesson on the joys of giving to others (Rachael and Beka helped sometimes with translation) and then the girls went out into the neighborhood and shared their freshly baked cookies with some of the elderly members of the community. A great evening!!


We had a great visit from some good friends and great ministry supporters, Rick and Laurie Studer from our home church. We toured many of our ministry projects with them to help them see where they might be able to help. They were a great encouragement to us and the ministry and they seem to have found a pastor here that they can partner with to help him fulfill his ministry dreams--a GO partnership in action!!


We continue our visits to pastors up in the mountains which is always a treat for us. Pastor Fabio and his wife Antonia welcomed us with typical Dominican hospitality--a great meal and great fellowship.




We also hosted four teams this month!!! So much happens during those times...on so many levels--We feel very blessed to be a part of it!! Our home church sent a team led by Dr. Tom DeWeert to put on a three day medical clinic in a predominately Haitian community here as well as help with construction and feeding center work. Our home church also partners with the pastor in this area.
Enjoy the video of this team's trip below...


And....our Rachael turned 13!!!! officially a teenager or a "senorita"--We had cake and ice cream at our home with both teams who were here plus all the GO Ministries staff--a total of about 35 people---a great celebration...




Dave, along with many Dominican and Haitian men here, are anxiously awaiting the Men's Adventure weekend being led by the men's ministry of our home church the end of April. Please keep this event in prayer---it can be one of those times that plant seeds to change many lives, many families and many communities throughout the island!!!

We thank you for your love, support and prayers. Please check out our prayer, ministry support and thought for the month sections to the right...

Que Dios los acompane,

The Dave Schwulst family

February ministry news

As the month of February ends, we have now been on the field six months!! And much is becoming more familiar and easier for us though we have much to learn. It really is a wonderful stage to be in and we are so grateful to God for bringing us here and to you all for making it possible to do what we do!

Here are a few highlights of the month...Hope Springs Church, who partner with our pastor Edward, conducted a wonderful pastor training program using Celebrate Recovery materials to help our pastors meet the needs of those suffering from drug and alcohol addictions and other "habits and hangups" (as they say!!) that keep us from living the fullness of life that God intends for us. We had up to 40 pastors participating and we ended the week with a baptism of a dozen young men at Hogar Crea alcohol treatment center--two pastors from the US church helped pastor Edward and Dave conduct the baptism--a beautiful display of a GO partnership at work!!











Next, we invited all the GO sponsored pastors who live in Santiago and surrounding areas to celebrate Valentine's Day with their wives with a dinner at our home. We made things very special for them as couples and as pastors working together for a common purpose. We were all blessed and plan to continue offering these types of gatherings to encourage them in their marriage and ministry.





Dominicans love to play games!!! The pastors were very creative (and competitive!!) in using toilet paper to dress their wife as a bride!!



And kissing was encouraged!!!



Pastor Romano used our home to host a leadership gathering/meal for his church that serves a Haitian community here in the city---they all seemed to enjoy Dave's grilled hamburgers and we enjoyed encouraging this new church plant!!



One of the last teams we hosted this month did a combination construction/medical clinic with a doctor and nurse from the US church that partners with pastor Eddy in the mountains outside the city--Dave and I were able to drive them up to visit pastor Eddy and his family and share gifts their church sent for this family---another beautiful example of GO partnership at work!!



And in the midst of all the ministry, Rachael and Rebekah are the proud owners of two new daschund puppies, thanks to our missionary friends in Santa Domingo!!



Please check the side sections for our prayer updates. We look forward to the Eastview teams coming down in March and April---we are praying for you!!! We still are in need of more teams to come work this fall--if you, your family, or small group want to come help, please contact Vicki at our Louisville office.

With Love and Gratitude,

The Schwulst family