2020 Renewed Vision
Without even the CRACK! of a starting gun, the 2020 decade arrived, racing down the corridors of time. On January 7, STCH Ministries International hosted the eighth annual Vision Trip in the Dominican Republic. Christian leaders, donors, board members and staff from several of our nine ministries received invitations to review and renew—review what God has been doing, and to renew Vision for the ministry and each participant in their own lives.
The invitation read in part,
Catch an overview of what God is doing in the Dominican Republic through STCH Ministries and individuals and churches like yours! Visit schools and orphanages and ministry sites, which though poor in resources, are rich in faith in an all-sufficient God! It will renew your vision of what faith in God can accomplish.
Was this purpose accomplished on the Vision 2020 trip?
Landing first in Punta Cana, we visited the first children’s home STCH Ministries had built. Over the last 10 years, dozens of boys have passed through the La Romana boy’s home—some becoming permanent residents, while others experienced a loving, Christ-centered home until a safe kinship placement could be found. The team enjoyed painting cinder blocks to make decorative planters and giving the inside walls a fresh touch of paint. A group of ladies from the team made a quick trip to the grocery store to fill their pantry. Although their pantry shelves are frequently bare, this was not a great concern for them, since they daily trust God to provide all of their needs. Their testimony? God is a faithful God.
We continued the next day to the town of Higuey. About 20 years ago Miguel, a taxi driver, was delivering clients to various restaurants for their noon meal. He was moved with compassion for “ninos de la calle,” known as street boys. Abandoned by their families, numberless boys daily scavenged through piles of garbage containing uneaten food scraped from patron’s dishes. Miguel talked to some friends. After long hours of prayer and planning, 18 fellow-Christians, without any financial backing, formed a board, by faith. They named their children’s home, “A Better World for Abandoned Boys.” Soon they began to accept boys into a rented house. Food trickled in—donations of eggs, oatmeal, plantains, rice and once in a while a chicken to share! About 4 years ago STCH Ministries began to minister to the Home, traveling over three hours to do Bible classes, medical clinics, sports activities and share food. Eventually, through a series of miracles and generous donations, the Vision Trip team celebrated the opening of their first home with them. God provided not one, but two buildings. The buildings provide three apartments for boys and their house parents, plus space for their administrative functions.
As we traveled throughout the island, we saw many more examples of what partnership between mission teams and Dominican ministries could accomplish through faith. At Raquel’s school, we saw a former chicken shack transformed into two new school buildings. Today it has twice the capacity to provide a Christian education to over 200 children trapped in poverty. Uncounted children and their families have come to saving faith through their outreach. Similarly, when we originally met another school in Villa Altagracia, a sun-bleached banner hung above the over-crowded school housed in a shabby apartment. “Educando para la Eternidad” (educating for eternity) proclaimed their motto. God saw their faith, and led STCH Ministries, in partnership with mission teams, donors and churches, to build a two-story building. Today many more children are “educated for eternity” in a facility worthy of the God they serve. By faith, plans for an additional pre-school building have already been drawn.
Faith-activated ministries and projects included a transition home for orphans who age out of the Monte Plata home. At Guaricanos we worshipped with over 200 children in a new auditorium. In partnership with others, STCH Ministries replaced the leaky tin roof with cement, enabling the construction of the auditorium. The home of three children with alcoholic parents was changed as mother and dad came to faith in Christ. Reconstructed from the ground up, the family now proclaims faith in Christ visually, louder than any megaphone, “God’s power to redeem and restore!”
We experienced faith personally one evening as we shared a meal with a Dominican family. Crowded knee-to-knee with dark-skinned brothers and sisters speaking a language we could not understand; the humble home was filled with the glory of God. The faith we shared in Christ transformed our surroundings into a mansion fit for the King of Kings. We were reminded that wealth is not the stuff we own or the house we live in. These people possessed priceless riches of joy, faith in God who meets every need, and in peace of heart and mind.
Their stories of perseverance and patience challenged us to examine our faith in what God can accomplish in our lives. They prayed and worked, prayed and waited and prayed and continued to believe. 12 years to receive government permission to build a church, 18 years for a permanent home for orphan boys, many more years for the salvation of a spouse or a dad. By contrast, we live in a microwave culture. The baked potato is ready in 5 minutes…popcorn only takes 2. God reminded us that His purposes cannot be denied. He has always been and will continue to be faithful. He cannot deny Himself.
Vision and faith—each essential for any work to succeed, to stay on track, to win the prize, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” Vision to plan, but perhaps more importantly, faith. Faith sustains perseverance through the obstacles and patience to wait for God’s timing. Faith empowers boldness to step out of the boat and provides courage to take a step when you cannot see the end results. Faith that enables trust in God’s promises, and releases flexibility and creativity to find another way when the way seems blocked.
One participant declared, “I have been challenged—no more excuses! When God calls me to do something, I will step forward boldly, in faith.” This is a worthy goal for each of us to place at the top of our prayer list as we journey through 2020.
