York Rick Suzanne 1996 Dom.rep.

8/12/2019 York Rick Suzanne 1996 Dom.rep.

1/12

Rick a n d S u z a n n e Yor k M is s i o n a r i e s

Dominican UpdateFebruary 27. 1996 / Volume 24. Number 1

This issue: New medical vehiclereceived Area churchesgrowing in number Youngleaders headed to BiblecollegeGod continues to provide. MayMebe praised

6th Annual YouthConference

We were happy to welcomethe t e am f r om Christ In Y o u t hfromJopiin, MOforour6th annualyouth conferenceJanuary

4-7. It is a winter conferencefo r us bu t no co ldwea ther W ehad a good attendance and agreat time of learning together.The CIY group also led a session on Training Youth Workers that was very helpful.

One of the great th ingsabout camp is th e time of fellowship that the people have.There are only a couple oftimes a year that a large number of believers can get together and th e fellowship iswonderful, alongwith the singing, dramas, and fun times together.

We just had our first youthgathering at our camp propertythat is being developed. Over200 came for an all-day activity on Saturday, February 24.It was just a glimpse of whatthe camp can mean to ourchurches, but it was excitingto seel We are planning ourfirst camp in September of thisyear, Lordwilling. We re planning jus t a on e night camp aswe re expecting several hundred people and won t haveroom for ail of them to sleep.Some of th e leadership is alreadytalkingabout an allnightservice w h i ch sh ou ld b esomething

Medical Vehicle ReceivedIf you were at the North Ameri

can Chris t ian Conven t i on last su mmer in Indianapolis you probablysaw the ambulance/mobile clinict h at w a s a t th e FAME boo th . FAMEwas finally able to ship th e vehiclelast month and Gary Klein was ableto t ravel to Hait i to rece ive it . I tcame through Haiti because of th el ow e r t axes and much less hass lefrom the government to get it in .Gary travelled over with several ofth e workers from here , includingArsenio Jimenez, one of th e Haitian preachers, to get the vehiclea t Puer to Piet. The road there f romCap Haitian is only about 100 kilometers, but to ok ov er 9 hours todrive because o f th e terrible condit ions.

When Gary and the team go t toPuer to Piet th e b oa t w ith th e ambulance on it was unab le to dock,so they hoisted it overboard andfloated it to th e dock on a coupleof small boats Gary said he had

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neverseen anything like it and hadnot prayedso hard for a long timeIt arrived in one piece and alreadyhas been used in th e medica l evangelistic work o f th e mission here.The work that Gary and his familyare doing , a long with their Domin ican med ical t eam, is reallyexciting and ha s been a true blessing fo r the churches here. Theyar e always in need of medicinesa nd h er e a re s o me o f th e mo s t u rgently needed ones:

AmpicillinA nt i - d i a r r h e a lChi ldren a n d Adu l t v i tam i n sLotrimin topical creamP r e - n a ta l v i ta m i n s

Any medicine ca n be s en t to :Gary KleinP.O. Box37849San Juan, PR 00937-0349

Please continue to pray for thisimportant part of the ministryhere .


2/12

House ProgressWe've been working o n th e

house again since th e end ofNovember andwe're justa fewweeks away from being movedupstairs. We have ordered thef lo o r t il e and th e windows a rebeing made. The girls are excited about having their ownr ooms and I am e x c it ed a b o utgett ing books out of storagethat have been boxed up since1989 We should be upstairsby t he end of March, Lord willing

I t 's b e e n ^ l o t ^ fwo rk r -Bu i l d -ing something here always follows th e same adage: it takestwice as long as you think it willa n d a b o u t tw i c e a s mu c hmoney. So far, th e time it hastaken is about right. I figured ayear and it has taken two. Themoney is closer to being right,which is reallymore important.

We have been thr i l led wi t hthe response of a number ofour supporters and supportingchurches as they have helpedus build the house, debt-freeWe'll have plenty of room andt ha t wil l b e we l l used w i t h th enumber of guests that we haveeach year. We're thankful toeach of you who helped us finish this project arid we giveGod th e Glory

Summer Camp ScheduleWe're gearing up fo r another

busy summer with a number ofwork t eams coming down fromth e Uni t ed Sta te s . The t e amscome with a lo t of energy andthey dig foundations, mix concrete, carry water, lay block an da wide variety of other work.They also get a chance to minister by preaching, teaching, passing out tracts, working with themedical team, leading VBS programs and getting to k no w th epeople in th e local churches .

Ourwork teams have invariablybeen a blessing for us, eventhough having teams is a lot ofwork fo r th e loca l hos t s and us.W e end up doing a lo t of drivingand translating and showing th elocal s ights to the people thatcome. Theyhave a chance to see

HolidayActivities

The holiday season here is always busy and t hi s year was noexception. We were able to p articipate in th e annual MissionaryRally at Thanksgiving in La Vega,about 25 miles from Santiago.Missionaries f rom al l ove r th e is

wh a t l if e i s l ike in th e rest o f th eworld and tha t is a great learning experience for them. Theygo b ac k h om e appreciating agreat deal more all of th e thingsthat you have in th e U.S. that weoften take for granted - like running water an d electricity all thetime They also learn that theChr i s t i ans h e r e are a lo t l ikethem: they love the Lord andlove to get together with believe rs to sha re wha t Chris t ha s donef or t he m .

Please be praying for us andth e many teams as they prepareto come this summer. We're hoping to get the dining hall roofedand the kitchen done, along withroofing th e second dorm and getting the basketball/volleyballcourt underway.

land gather fo r a day of fellowship and great food, with turkeyand all th e trimmings. We alwayshave a great time and it kind offills the vo id f or al l o f u s who areno t able to be w i th o u r rea l family during the holidays.

Christmas th is yea r was filledwith many activities at th e schooland in th e churches . W e had ou ryouth confer ence during theholidays so we didn't have muchvacation time, but enjoyed all ofthe special Christmas goodiesthat Suzanne prepared. Her fameas a c oo kie m a ke r is k n own inmos t o f th e c hu rc he s h er e inSantiago so when we're invitedto a pot luck dinner, she alwaysgets to make a cake or bake somecook ies


3/12

ible ollegeProspects

O n e o f o u r r e a l d e s i r e s isto have our young leaders aswell trained as possible. Wehave been conducting ourmonthly Leadership Trainin g Seminars e ac h m on tha n d will c o n t i n u e t o d o so.This program is very valuable b u t it is n o t t h e finala n s w e r W e n ee d m o re in -depth training t ha t o nl y aBible college ca n provide.

on e of our youngm e n R oberto Rivas atColegio Biblico in EaglePass, TX an d he is really enjoying hi s studies.

One of our other youngmen Israel de la Cruz, ispr eparing to go to Lincoln Christian College this coming fall.Hisnickname is Papo an d everyone that has b ee n t o visitknows Papo. He is a greatyoung m an an d ha s a greatfuture in church leadership.W e r e e xc it ed a b ou t h i schance to go to LCC andstudy. His English ha s improved dramatically in th epast several years and w ethink that he can do goodwork there. Please be praying for hi m as he begins th evisa process to go an d study.

One of our other youngpreachers Rafael Tiradoand hi s wife Ruth and theirtw o children will be goingto Colegio Biblico this fallalso. They are supported byt h e N e w T e s t a m e n t Christian Church in Keokuk, Iowaand are a fine young family.Be praying fo r them alsoplease.

C h u r c h News )T h e L o r d c o n t i n u e s t o a d d t o t h e

Kingdom t h o se w ho are beingsaved. We re especially excited tose e g r o w t h in a n u m b e r o f th echurches with baptisms being rep o rt ed e ac h m o nt h in almost al l o f t h ec h u r c h e s

Th e church in Arroyo Hondo here inSantiago, has been booming lately withnew growth many baptisms and full serviceseach Sunday. Last Sunday evening they hadto bring in more pews and seats for everyon e to have a seat. Tw o more preachers visited last week and needed more pews for their churches,th e kind of problems that ar e fu n to solve T ho se a re

School News )As y o u l e a r n e d in th e l a s t

newsletter I a m also th e Directo r o f th e Santiago ChristianSchool, where Emily an d Laurie

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have been going to s ch oo l f orthe past 5 years. This schoolyear has gone v ery w ell an dwe re really pleased w it h t he response o f th e teachers

p a r en t s a n d students. W eare seeing a lo t of positives te ps a nd a great atmosp h e r e at th e sch o o l thisyear and that makes myjo b easier.

W e h a v e a b o u t 5 0people working there sodealing with teachers adm i n i s t r a t i v e staff a ndparents makes for a busys c h e d u l e W e v e s e e nsev er al o f th e s t u d e n t s a ccept Christ as Savior thisy e a r a n d w e r e th ril ledw i t h t h a t


4/12

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5/12

Rick a nd S u za n ne York Miss i ona r i e s

Dominican UpdateJune 30, 1996 / Volume 24 , Number 2

Su Casa Project Finished Jon the 2nd f loor . We had beenhoping and praying to sell ourhouse in Puer to Rico, bu t itseemed like t ha twa s not going tohappen. We worked until the2ndweek ofJanuary 1996 and as Iwasadding and subtracting what wehad t o spend, I told Suzanne thatwe would have t o s top at the endo f t h a t week . The Lord had dif ferent plans and we got a call, thatsame week, from our good friend,John Reece, in Puerto Rico that hewas closing the deal on the housethere Praise th e Lord fo r His fa ithfulness

We w ere able to finish th e seco nd f loo r and as I wri te th is n ew s

This Issue: Su Casa ProjectFinished Work Teams ArrivefromtheU.S.I Camp ProjectProgresses. Election NewsSchool and mily News.Important mily and ForwardingAgent Information

letter , all that is left is for thek i tc h e n c a bi ne ts to b e ins ta l ledand interior doors hung upstairs,along with painting. We evenhave hot water I never thoughta hot s hower could feel so nice,but it really does We a re so thankful to th e Lord fo r His goodnessand to the many faithful friendsand supporte rs who made thi sdream become a reality We putth e house to a full t e s t last weekw h e n w e h ad a wo r k t e am f romErie, IL come and stay two nights- twenty-six people fit very nicelywith room to spare (not much)

As we sa y in Spanish, Mi casae s su c a s a We do w an t to encour age you to come and visit.We'd love to have you and wehave room fo r you

What started as a dream i n September 1993 has become a realityfor our family and the missionwork in the Dominican RepublicSuzanne and I first saw the property that we later bought in September of 1993 and immediatelyfell in love with the location, onth e edge of town but in t he country. We began to p ray very hard,seeking the Lord's will fo r that decision. We really felt that th e Lordwas le ad in g u s to build. Thee conomy and government ares table and w e th ink th i s is a wisei nve s tmen t fo r us and fo r th ewo r k .

We began to gather ideas on ahouse design and we wanted totake advantage of th e prevailingbreezes to help keep th e housecool, along with higher ceilings.We found a good draftsman whohelped us put together our ideasand we s tar ted cons t ruc t ion inJanuary 1994. We workedthrough May 1994 and then tookthe summer off as we beganworkon our camp pro ject . We sta rt edagain in Sep tember and workedt hr ough Decembe r 1994 andmoved in the first floor on Janua ry 11, 1995.

Since borrowing money here isprohibitively expensive (22-24%)per year)we worked until we ra nou t ofmoney. We didn't work onth e house again until November,1995. W e had saved a little anddecided to go ahead and jump in Suzanne, Emily and Laurie in f ron t o fou r new house


6/12

Work Teams Arriving From UWe never imagined the impact

t ha t c h u r c h wo r k t e ams wou l dhave o n th e w o rk he r e The Lordhas opened this door of ministryand what a blessing it has been.We have had five teams alreadythis year and will have seven moreove r th e summer Since o u r lastnews l e t t e r w e have en t e r t a i nedthree groups.

The f i rs t t e am c am e f rom L incoln Christian College. This groupo f 16 s tudents worked on a newbuilding for t he church in PuebloNuevo Mao, a bo ut a n hour fromSantiago. The o ld building thereis in very bad shape and the folksat the church had been prayingfora new building. In addition topraying, they were working Despi te being one of t he poorestcommunities thatwe work in, thec h ur ch w o r ke d a n d s aved t he i rmoney and bought 1500 blocksbefore th e t e ams ar r ived Tha twas an insp irat ionfor me and the \ f\work teams to see [j IXvthe people's sacri- B , ^ ,f ice an d de s i r e tohave t h e i r chu r ch

_built.__The churchmemb e r s wo r k e dalongside our workteams and made a |||bB||Amlot of progress.Thanks, LCCII Forthe fifth year in a prow they have sent ^a team during their -Spring break

As s o o n a s th eLCC t e am le f t w e rece ived a t eam f romthe Commun i tyChr i s t i an Chu r c hin Ft. Lauderdale,Florida led by Rich

and Alisa Franz. They continuedth e wo r k in Mao an d also wer e ableto travel to work with Gary Kleina n d t h e m e d ic al te am o n t h echurch bui ld ing in Las Canoas inSan Juan de la Maguana, in thesouthern part of the country. Thechurch in Las Canoas is a projectthat should be finished this year.Lord willing. The team from Ft.Lauderdale took good news abouto ur w ork to th e chu rch a t h om eand they have agr^d to begin supporting the work here on amonthly basis Praise the Lord.

We ve just finished with a groupfrom Erie, Illinois led by TerryGreen. Terry brought one o f t hefirst groups to work on our campproject in 1994 and they werethrilled t o come back and see significant progress made in the pasttwo years. About 1/2 of th e 26membe r s o f t h e te am h ad c om e in1994, so it was a warm reunion

wi t h t h e i r Domin i c a n b ro t h e r sand sisters They worked on thek it ch en a nd t he 2 n d d o rm and d ida lo t of work They moved andfilled i n o v er 90 tons o f fill dirt fo rth e f loo r o f th e do rm and k i tchens. They laid all ofthe block andpoured the columns of thekitchen bui ld ing so significantprogress was made just during thetwo weeks they were her e. Theyar e already signed up fo r anothertrip iiv 1998 and we re-Iooking fo rward to having them backThanks, Erie

Wor k t e ams are a lo t o f workPlanning work fo r and transporting and feeding 25-40 people iscomplicated, especially in a 3rdworld country We have reallyenjoyed having groups and gettingto know them and letting themshare in the blessings of t he workhere. They always say that theyreceive more than they give and Ibe l ieve t ha t is t rue

Work team from Ft. Lauderdale with medical team.


7/12

New Address forForwarding AgentsKen andJan Rutledge have been

doing a wonderful job as our fo rwarding agents for the past 14years and theyhave also been at th eBroadway Christian Church inMattoon, fo r those years. Kenrecently accepted a new positionin Lincoln, Illinois, so t hat meansthat our forwarding address forfunds has also changed. I t is as foll ows

Yo r k Donodn ic an Miss i onP.O. Box 631

Lincoln, IL 62656Please make sure that any checks

are s en t t o th is add re s s a nd m ad eo ut to York Domin ican Mission.Ken and Jan have been so faithfulin doing this work and it is a hugehelp for us Thanks, Ken andJan I

Election NewsWe thought thatwe had the elec

t ions all d o n e w i t h bu t none o f th epresidential candidates go t 51% ofthe vote, so there is a run-off election with th e t op tw o candidateson Sunday, June 30 . The firstround of voting w as the mostpeaceful in 30 years so we 're praying that this will be th e same.

Most of our churches are havingtheir Sunday services, with Communion, on Friday or Saturdayevening so that the church memb ers c an vote The women vo tef rom 6 :00 a.m. until noon and themen vote from 1:00 p.m. until7:00p.m. One of th e candidates is definitely more pro-evangelical, sowe're hoping he gets elected. Prayfo r a peaceful transition.

fogress ontinueson ^np ^What a blessing it is fo r us to see significant progress on a project

that is going to have a life-changing impact on hundreds and thousands ofpeople in the years to come. We'reworkingon the kitchenand 2nd dorm and finishing the septic tank. We hope to have twodorms usable bythe end of the summer along with the kitchen anddining halls with the walls up and roof on . Lord willing. We've go tgroups coming from severalchurches in th e U.S. and we're prayingthat the funds they bring will help us reach that goal . We'll alsobegin work on the volleyball/basketball court.

I can't say enough about Amado and Ramona Grasescqui, ourcamp manager/caretaker, and their family. Theyare the best hoststhat any team could possibly have They always have a big smileand no job is too hard for them to get done. We're thrilled thattheir home is almost completely done. They cook and clean, buyth e food and help in any way that I need them to when we haveteams here. Our prayer request for them is a vehicle. We need tofix up their Suzuki jeep with a new front end and other repairs.The estimate is about 1500. If you or your church would like tohelp, let me know. Those of you who have been here and knowthem, know what special people they really are

School News JWe finished off the school year with a big rush of activities, banquets, graduations, award ceremonies, etc. It was a great first year

and I really feel th e Lord has confirmed His leading in taking thisextra job. We already have record enrollment for next year andmost of our teaching staff is coming back. I only need to hire onemore teacher and that should be in th e next couple ofweeks. Lordwilling. There was a real spirit of cooperation among the staff andwe're looking for more blessings from the Lord as we enter thiscoming year.

Emily and Laurie had very good years . Emily will be a Senior (Ican't believe that yet ) and Laurie will be a 9th grader and her classRepresentative on Student Council . Emily is also th e President ofthe National Honor Society.

Suzanne had a greatyearteachingKinder and also being the EarlyChildhood Supervisor and did a g reat j ob in ge tt ing that department organized and working efficiently. She also began workingon h er Master's degree through a program that th e school is sponsoring with Azusa Pacific University. Azusa sends a team ofprofessors h e re f or tw o weeks o f intensive c la s se s . I t' s a lo t o f ex tra workbut i t 'sa blessing not to have to travel to th e States to get thatgraduat e study.


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9/12

UpdateFrom TheDominicanRepublicRickand Suzanne York

November 1996

Dear Friends in ChristWe're thrilled with the progress that continues to be made in our mission work. We will be having theinauguration of two new church buildings this month Gary Klein and a church in Dallas have beenworking hard on a new building in Las Canoas. on th e south side of the country. We have a team comingthis eveningfrom Pennsylvania to begin and complete a building on the north coast in Sabaneta. The Lordis blessingWe do have several pressing financial needs that make it necessary to appeal for your help. They are:

1. We need to get the roof on the second dorm at the camp project We have the girdersup. and need the s teel roofing put on. The cost for materials and labor will be about 3,000.

2. We have a chance to buy some land for a building in Puerto Plata. The church therehas been waiting for years to get a building built and we really need to ge t one finishedfor them. Cost for thaitland is 6,000.

3. Our copier has given up the ghost. We purchased it used in 1991 and it has given usvery good service. We run several thousand copies a month for our Sunday Schoolprogram. We need a new one that can handle that capacity. Cost will be 1,800.

Your help is needed These immediate needs add up to $10,800. Perhaps you could give 1,000or 500 to help meet this need. Your giftwouldbe greatly appreciated, no msitter the size.Our family began our 25th year on th e field in August -We have seen time and again the-way-the Lordprovides for His children and it inspires us to continue on in His work. We love th e work here and th eDominican people. Thank you for your help that allows us to continue this ministry.In Christ

Rick a nd Su z ann e York

ForCorrespondence: ForPackages: Forwarding Agents:C/0 ynx Air-DR-STO C/0 ynx Air-DR-STO Ken &Jan RutledgeP.O. Box 56 1995W. Commercia l Blvd. Suite A P.O. Bo x 264Ft. Lauderdale, 33340 Ft. Lauderdale. FL 33309 Mattoon, IL 61938Home Phone: (809)580-1930 (217) 234-3146


10/12

Rick a nd S u za n ne York , Miss iona r i e s This issue: New ChurchBuildingsInaugurated NewSunday School CurriculumDeveloped Church on HaitianBorder Celebrates 2nd Anniver-saryl Family News andUpcoming Events.ominican Update

December 1996 / Volume 24 , Number 3

The York family wants to wishyou a very Happy New Year. NewYear s ce leb ra t ion in t h e Domin ican Republic involves a lo t of fireworks and p raye r services in thec hu rc he s to w e lc om e in t h e N ewYear. This year we will visit threeservices and fellowship w ith o urDom i n i c a n ch u r c h fami l ie s .

1996 has been a very busy year,wi th a n umbe r o f wor k t e ams coming, leadership classes taught andour work at the Santiago ChristianSchool requiring a lo t of time. Welook back over the year and askou rs elv es , Whe re h as the t imegone? We were able to finish th esecond floor of our house (exceptfo r in ter ior doors) and we love it .We have a big balcony on the secon d f l oo r t h a t ove r l ook s th e b a ckyard and a farm behind our property. It is so peaceful and quiet,it's l ike l iving in another country.

1997 looks to be just as busy.We pray that the Lord will provideth e vic tor ies l ike H e has don e thisyear and the past 6 years here inth e Dominican Republic.

1997 - 1997 - IW

New Church uildingsInaugurated JWe a re t hr il le d to an n o u n c e

that two new buildings werededicated in October. Garyand Cindy Klein have beenworking with one of th echurches in Dallas, Texas tobuild a new bui ld ing in LasCanoas, in th e southern partof the country. The dedicat ion serv ice w as beaut i fu l andthe build ing seats about 250people.

W e h ad a t e a m f ro m th eChristian Church of CoganStation, PAd o w n a lmo s t a t th es a m e timto b u i ld an ew bu i l ding inSabane t a d e Yas i c a o n th enorth coast. They workedw i t h t h e t e am f rom W o r ldMission Builders. In 8 daysthey had gone from the floorto the dedication, completewith 12 baptisms during theinauguration service. What ablessing fo r the churches tohave f r iends f rom th e Uni t edStates come and work alongside them to ge t a much-needed facility built.

S i n c e w e c a m e i n D e c e mber of 1990, we have had over6 5 s ho rt term t eams f rom the

U.S. W e have w o rk e d o n ov e r2 0 c h u r c h con s t r u c t i o nprojects, church buildingsand parsonages If we include each of the on-goingprojects at th e c amp, over 30d i f f e r e n t onstru tionprojects in the past 6 yearsWhat a blessing for thechu r c h e s an d fo r o u r min i stry.

1997 looks like i t will be another year for more workteams, especially in the sum

m e r fo r o u rcamp / conf e r e n c e c ente r project.We're hoping to gett h e ca fe te r i a

and kitchen rea dy to use,along with the basketball/volleyball court. We have theoption on 12 more tareas ofland nex t to o ur p ro pe rt yth e re . T ha t s a b o u t 2 ac r e sand would make a great areafor our chapel. We're praying for fu nd in g fo r that ~about $4,000 US. If you canhelp, it would be greatly appreciated. We still have roomfor one or two more groupsth is com ing sum mer, butt ha t s abou t ail. Let me knowquickly if your church is interested in coming to work

In 8 days they had gonef rom the f loor to the dedi-catiotif complete with 12baptisms dur ing the inaugura t ion service.


11/12

New CopierPurchased w Sunday SchoolCurriculum Developed Jmentioned in my last newsletter that our old Sharp copierhad finally givenup the ghost.I bought it used in Miami several years ago and it hadworked well until this pastyear, when making copies waseasier by hand than gettingfrustrated by the copier Wewere able to purchase a newSharpmodel 2114 and it workswonderfully. Suzanne runs sev-erahthbu^nd copies regularlyfor our Sunday School programm a t e r i a l s

Speaking of Sunday School material, Suzanne has led in th eformation of our first Dominican-led and empowered SundaySchool development team. We are making th e shift from film-str ip projectors and programs to using videos and VCRs. Thereare more and more materials available, in Spanish, on videonow and are much more exciting and entertaining fo r the child r e n t o w a t c h

We purchased 5 VCRs and video players last summer. Theywill be used on a loan-out type basis fo r the churches. Several ofthe churches/preachers have VCRs, so all they have to take a rethe tapes. The-supervision team is completely led-now by theDominican leaders and it's been a blessing fo r them to assumec o n t r o l

Chris tmas Time i n theDominican RepublicThis is our favorite time of the year - and not just because

i t 's C h ri st m a s t im e I t i s also o u r c o o l e s t w e a t h e r a n d it 'sjust delightful. On our cold winter nights it gets down toabou t 58 degrees at our house and we have to bundle upThe longer you live here, th e colder i t seems to feel duringthe winter The days are wonderful with the temperature

about 78 and th e sun out. Missionary l ife isrough, but someone has to do it

Roast pig and roast goat are favorite mealsfo r Christmas Tve family dinners. As youdrive along the highways on December 23and 24, you'll see hundreds of pigs beingr o a s t e d a n d s o l d a t r o a d s i d e s tands . C h r i s tmas presents are usually saved untilJanuary6, which is Three Kings Day. Fireworks arealso a big part of the holiday season and itc a n s o un d l i k e a r e v o l u t i o n o n C h r i s t m a s E v e

a n d N e w Y e a r s Eve

Property in PuertoPlata NeededT h e c h u rc h i n P u e r t o P l at a i s o n e

of the older churches among theC h r i s t i a n c h u r c h e s h er e i n t h e D ominican Republic. Jose Pichardohas been the faithful preacher therefo r a number of years. His brother,Luis, r ecen tly t ook ove r that rolewhen Jose moved to the church inImbert. The body of believers thereh a s m e t i n r e n t e d f a c i l i t i e s i n B a rri o Los Sufridos (which means the Suffering Ones and, believe me,it's an appropriate name).There is a new housing subdivi

sion being built outside of t ha t barrio, but close enough for th e memb e r s t o r e a c h T h e n e w s u b d i v i s i o nw i l l b e m o r e m i d d l e c l a s s T h e r ea r e stil l s o m e c o m e r l o t s a v a i l a b l eto buUd on for about $5250 US. Wereally need your help on thisproject. Please use the enclosedenvelope for any contributions forthis project.


12/12

Our family continues to dowell. Emily is now a Senior inHigh School and will be attending Lincoln Christian Collegenext year, Lord willing. She sgetting excellent grades and istaking an Advanced PlacementChemistry course, which hasbeen h e r h a rd e st c o u rs e everLau r i e is o n th e S tu d en t C o u nc i l a t s ch oo l a nd a l so is o n th eHonor Roll Both of th e girlswere also on the volleyballteam this year.

Suz ann e c on tin ue s to w o rkhard a t teaching Kinder and su

Family Newspervising the Pre-School classesat the Santiago Christian School.She will be taking next year of ffrom working outside the home,for th e first t ime in several years.She has also been working on herMasters Degree f rom Azusa Pacific University and will be ableto w ork o n th at a t h om e.

My schedule contin ue s to b efull with overseeing th e missionwork and the school. I recentlytravelled to Springfield, IL fo r theI l l ino is Chr i s t i an Te e n Conv ent ion and t hen on to Nashville, TNfo r a schoo l admin i s t r a to r s con

f e rence . Suzanne w as ab le tospend some t ime in Ohio withh e r mo th e r w ho ha s b e en il lrecently. It was cold Ihaven t be en in snow fo r se veral years and I about froze todeath We were glad to getb a c k h o m e to o u r wa rmwea th e r .

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Upcoming Events Church on Hait ian Borde rCelebrates 2nd Anniversary Ilease be praying for our 7th annual youth conference in February.Christ in Youth , f rom Joplin, MOwill once again be leading this conf e rence .

We re already anticipating a greatsummer o f 1997 with a numbe r o fwork teams working on our camp/conference center project. Pleasepray for the teams and their safetravel and impac t on the churcheshere .

I Just got back last night from a long day with a visit acrossthe Haitian borde r a t Juana Mendez (Quanamente), Haiti Iwas able to walk across th e b ord er bridge and m eet th epreacher, Bro. Arsenio Jimenez. We then travelled by motorcycle to t he church and started the service at 10:00 a.m. andf inished at 3:30 in th e afternoon.

Now, I have been accused of being long-winded, but I onlypreached about 1/2 an hour. The church had invited a number o f other churches to come and ea ch church had broughttheir choirs , several of which marched through the neighborhood singing before winding the ir way into th e church building. It was a glorious celebration and the time flew by. That sgood because I was sitting on a bench that was about 6 incheswide The congregation is growing and we ar e looking forproperty to buy and build a bigger building.

Thanks to each of you for your support in 1996 and maythe Lord continue to bless you. We are loving our work andpray tha t th e Lord will continue to give us s trength and endurance to keep working fo r His cause in the Dominican Republic.

York Rick Suzanne 1996 Dom.rep.

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