Hoya del Camito
????Our program in the neighborhood of Hoya del Camito in the city of Santiago is doing very well. On the 30th of November, we held a barbecue at our church for our kids and their parents. Not all of the families could come, but there were over thirty kids and adults present. We had a great time. For entertainment we played a variety of games, such as pictionary and dominoes,and we gave out prizes. We also hung a sheet for a screen and used a projector to show the cartoon movie, Ice Age. It was a relaxed and enjoyable time for everyone.
????About a dozen adults from the church volunteered to help us. They donated food, prepared it, and served our guests. Our objective was to introduce our kids and their families to church members, and give them a positive taste of what church community is like. These families have not been active members of any church. Their only contact with a spiritual lifestyle has been through Seeds of Hope.
????In order to make a lasting change in the lives of our kids, we need to directly influence their home lives. Therefore, we need to draw their parents and siblings into a church community where they can hear the Word of God preached and where they can make friends with other Christians who can help them grow in their faith. We are planning to conduct a Bible study for the parents of our kids in the near future. As they grow in knowledge of the Word of God, they will be more likely to join a church.
Discipleship Training
????We now have three older girls (ages 15, 15, 13) who have matured spiritually beyond the other kids in our group. They are eager to learn more about their faith, and Wendy will be starting a discipleship program for them after Christmas. In this program the girls will be given in depth instruction in the tenants of Christianity. Wendy will cover topics, such as the nature of God as our Father, the nature of sin, salvation through the grace of Jesus, developing a prayer life, and being a new person in Christ.
St. Bede?s CCD Classes
????Once again Seeds of Hope has been blessed beyond our expectations by the faithful benevolence of the young people in St. Bede?s CCD Classes, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. If you recall, these amazing kids and their director, Dr. Denise Prochownik, sent us Easter presents this past year. Well, they out did themselves for Christmas. They sent us 80 lbs of toys, baseball gloves and hats, puzzles, jump ropes, crayons construction paper and clothes. They also paid the one dollar per pound shipping charge for flying their gift to the Dominican Republic from Florida Agape Flights, a missionary air mail service, flies in our mail from the U.S. We not only thank the CCD youth, we take our hats off to their parents and religious education instructors who taught them ?it is more blessed to give than to receive.? Their thoughtfulness will brighten Christmas for a number of impoverished children in our city.
More Blessed to Give
????As you know, your donations are our life blood. What you contribute to us, we use to run our programs and maintain ourselves. We live frugally, yet we feel truly blessed. God constantly opens our eyes and our hearts to others who have so much less than we do. Therefore, we have made it a practice to stretch our funds to help families outside our Seeds of Hope programs as we encounter their needs. As you bless us, we bless others.
????We have taken on another family to support on a monthly basis. The family are cousins to Wendy. They live about an hour away from us in the campo (country). Their home is a two room shack with a tin roof. They do not have running water, and they cook their meals outside over a fire. The husband cannot find work, and they have two children, ages 6 and 3. We are supplying them with $ 30.00 worth of basic food staples and items for the children each month. We will make sure the children receive special presents this Christmas.
????An even more deplorable situation recently has been placed in our laps, as if God is testing or challenging our commitment to assist others. Two Haitian families have taken up residence in an empty field near our apartment. We can see from our bedroom window their pathetic attempt at making a home for themselves . They are squatters who have nailed old boards, tin and cardboard together to build a shack. The entrance room contains a rickety table and a couple of wooden chairs. Sheets divide the remaining space into two bedrooms. The floors are dirt. They also cook outside over a fire. When we through out the large cardboard box used to ship the gifts from St. Bede?s, it quickly became an interior wall in their shack. They have a home only until the owner of the property evicts them.
????The living conditions in Haiti are so much worse, these people prefer to live like this in the Dominican Republic. Here, at least, the men can find occasional jobs as cheap laborers at ten dollars or less per day. We have befriended them and taken them large bags of rice and beans. Once again, we will do what we can to help them on a monthly basis. Because of your generosity, we also will be able to provide their children with gifts for Christmas.
????The needs of people around us are so great, tears come to our eyes after we visit with them. However, God has blessed us in you, our faithful supporters. Your prayers and financial donations are accomplishing much good in the Dominican Republic. We thank you for partnering with us in our mission to the poor.
????Wendy and I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May our Heavenly Father bless all of you and your loved ones. May he protect you and guide you all the days of your lives.
Please send donations in the name of
Nick Serianni to
75 Lake George Avenue
Ticonderoga, NY i2883
Email: NSerianni@compuserve.com
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