The latest team traveled to Barahona, Dominican Republic in November and was able to complete many tasks on the orphanage. They removed construction debris from the building and then transported over 1,100 concrete blocks to the third floor of the orphanage. As if that wasn’t enough, the team also had to haul enough sand and water to the third floor to make the mortar in order to lay the 1,100 concrete blocks! While in Barahona, the team was also able to sand and paint walls in the orphanage.

When ROW starts a project, we do our best to see it through to completion in as timely and cost efficient manner as possible. We are reminded in Philippians 1:6 (Amplified) of a wonderful promise from God regarding completing a work that has begun:

“And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.”

We must be faithful to fight the good fight of faith each day and continue to do so until the Lord calls us home or until He returns. This may include seasons of doing nothing but being faithful to the same routine tasks each day. It may also include seasons in our lives where the Lord requires us to take steps of faith and move outside of our comfort zones. Would you consider praying and asking the Lord how you can help ROW complete the orphanage in the Dominican Republic?

I spent the Thanksgiving holiday in the Dominican Republic and one of the stops I made was at the orphanage. The walls are up, they have been stuccoed and the building looks like a million bucks. The wiring and plumbing must first get finished before we can even begin to think about bringing in beds, towels, sheets, clothes and the children. We need your help in finishing this project and getting these children off the streets of Barahona in the Dominican Republic.

I would dare say many of us are able to envision dreams for our future and we might even be pretty good at laying out plans to make those dreams come true. However, how many of us are good at actually following through and seeing those dreams become reality?

The same instructions Paul gave the church in Corinth as found in 2 Corinthians 8:11-12 still applies to us today:

“Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.”

Let us choose today to follow through with our good intentions. Take all that passion, drive, motivation and willingness and allow God to bring to life those unfinished plans, those half completed projects and those well meaning promises. Partner with us today to complete this orphanage and by doing so you will be fulfilling the dreams of these children, which is to have a home they can call their own.

Why was it a challenge for ROW to hire two new staff members? Like many non-profit Christian organizations, we survive off of the generosity of Christians around the world. Accepting his new position with ROW was a leap of faith for Keith, who left behind a very solid career to follow the leading of the Lord.

I humbly ask our supporters to add one more pound to the ton and consider supporting the work of ROW, whether that means contributing to Keith or David’s efforts, the completion of the orphanage in the Dominican Republic or one of our many projects around the world. There are so many who count on ROW and we in turn count on you.

God fully expects His children to love and care for one another. Sometimes this entails giving financially to support a fellow believer who is unemployed, contributing resources to missionaries abroad or pooling our time and talents to help a new church plant get off the ground. The Apostle Paul reminds us in Acts 2:44-45 (NKJV):

“Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.”

These verses do not instruct us to merely help those in our particular church body. We are to go beyond the four walls of our church and help believers in need, whether this means crossing denominational barriers or crossing oceans to minister to fellow followers of Christ. Remember, everything we possess is really only on loan from God’s vast storehouse.

Once this orphanage is completed, hopefully in six months, these precious children will then be given an opportunity to be raised in the love of the Lord, they will be educated and they will be given a chance at life.

Sometimes living in such a prosperous nation as the United States it is difficult for us to fathom genuine poverty. We can’t quite grasp people scrounging through dumpsters for food, how they can sleep on cardboard boxes on streets and how they can live such a hopeless life each and every day. As Christians, we must never forget that all God has given us, time, relationships, money, etc., are all on loan for use in this life. Let us strive to fulfill Acts 4:32 (Amplified), which states:

“Now the company of believers was of one heart and soul, and not one of them claimed that anything which he possessed was [exclusively] his own, but everything they had was in common and for the use of all.”

I urge you to not hold so tightly to your possessions that you miss the many opportunities the Lord provides to minster to others. We must recognize that God owns everything. Because of His vast love for us, He chooses to bless us in many ways so that we in turn will be a blessing to others.

We have made great progress on the orphanage in Barahona thanks to numerous volunteers. We only have around 7,000 concrete blocks left to lay. Additionally, we need to place a roof on the building and complete the inside. Would you like to be a part of this wonderful undertaking?

Just pack your bags and I will let you pay your way to the Dominican Republic. I can promise you dusty, hot and sweaty labor, but, with a chance to cool off in a nearby swimming pool. You’ll experience true manual labor with no machines, just hammers, chisels and lots of “elbow grease.” You’ll drink tons of water, interact with numerous smiling kids, and, if time permits, you might even get a chance to lounge on the beautiful beaches, which are surrounded by lush jungles and the blue/green waters of the Caribbean Sea.

We learn about the true heart of worship and serving Christ in James 1:27 (Amplified):

“External religious worship [religion as it is expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world.”

Praying for orphaned children around the world simply is not enough. Christ gave all to us and He fully expects us to give all to Him. The way we accomplish this is being His hands, feet, voice, etc. to a lost and dying world. Prayerfully consider how you might be able to assist ROW in completing this orphanage and getting over 100 children off the streets and into a loving home.

I was walking through Batey 7 recently and noticed a crowd of people who were shoved inside someone’s home. Everybody was agitated and very excited. I stood at one of the openings in the house where a window would normally be and I began taking pictures. I finally was able to ask, “What’s going on?” With amazement in their eyes, people began explaining that somebody spilled their coffee on the stove and the puddle that formed was in the shape of an angel.

They were convinced that God was going to visit them soon and I certainly agreed with them. We are told in God’s Word, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” (Hebrews 13:2, NKJV) However, we are also cautioned to not worship angels, which are in fact created beings not equal to God. In Hebrews 1:7 it states:

“In speaking of the angels he says, ‘He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire.’”

Angels are indeed as powerful as the wind and as fire but they are merely messengers of the Son of God. Christ’s power and influence is far superior to that of angels. No doubt we have angels that surround us and protect us, but we should never worship them because we are to not have any other gods before the Creator of the universe.

Be careful today to not worship or place your trust in anything or anyone other than God. Horoscopes, tarot cards, Ouija boards and psychics cannot provide the guidance and direction that you need. Christ, and Christ alone, knows the very hearts of every person and He knows the future and details of each of our lives. God is ever with us and He is worthy of our praise.

The children took Gene’s hands and began walking through their neighborhoods, where he saw homes with thatched roofs made out of mud and he got a glimpse of the sanitary facilities these people had to use, which were just beyond belief.

That man’s heart was deeply touched. I am sure that he will never be the same. If you decide to join Rivers of the World (ROW) on a trip to the Dominican Republic, I promise you that you will return home with an entirely different perspective on life and I would dare say that your level of compassion would be much greater. I will go so far as to say that you would actually feel this way if you joined us on any of our trips overseas.

Ponder for a moment Proverbs 27:19:

“As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.”

We don’t have to go around telling people that we are a Christian. They will automatically know by our level of concern for others, how we speak to people and the measure of mercy we extend. What is truly within our hearts will be reflected in all that we do. Choose today to feel the pain of others deeply, to look upon the needs of others with a heart full of compassion and to offer words of hope, healing and love to anyone who may be struggling.

It is time to get serious about this project. These children have experienced so much turmoil and instability over the last year and we must respond by providing them a safe home where they will receive an education, food and health care. They will also receive in abundance the love of Jesus as displayed by those who will care for them in the orphanage. Just imagine the little lives that can be reached for Christ once we get these children off the streets and safely and securely into a loving home.

Frankly, we need your help. I just returned from the Dominican Republic where I was accompanied by Gene Krcelic, president of the Premier Foundation, based in Piedmont, S.C. We spent time with Pastor Pedro Kery Johnson, who is assisting with the construction of the orphanage. During our time in the Dominican Republic, we were able to lay some cement blocks, however, over 7,000 more cement blocks need to be laid. An estimated $150,000 is needed to finish the construction of this orphanage. In addition to financial support, we need manpower. Would you consider volunteering a week or more of your time to hop on a plane and head to the Dominican Republic and assist ROW and Pastor Pedro in building this orphanage for these children in need?

If we truly desire to be followers of Christ, it will require more than a verbal commitment on our part. We will receive many blessings when we serve the Lord, but often those blessings will only come through sacrifices on our part.

We have a wonderful promise from Jesus found in Luke 18:29-30:

“’I tell you the truth,’ Jesus said to them, ‘no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.’”

These orphaned children are in desperate need of shelter, food, medical care and more importantly, love. Seek the Lord and ask Him how you can play a part in helping these children. It may require you to part with some of your money, to sacrifice time in prayer or to physically leave your home and family and go to the Dominican Republic to help with the construction of the orphanage.

I sent my young staff member, Drew McIlreavy, down there to check on the team. He had to fight his way through the mobs and the mess of the hurricane. Drew located the team in Las Robles, where their job was to provide clean water to the over 2,000 residents. A water filtration system was built; more than 500 families were fed through the beans and rice ministry; hundreds of children were taught English; and construction was done at the church orphanage that will house 100 children.

Are you a genuine servant of Christ? See if your life measures up to John 12:25-26 (Amplified):

“Anyone who loves his life loses it, but anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. [Whoever has no love for, no concern for, no regard for his life here on earth, but despises it, preserves his life forever and ever.] If anyone serves Me, he must continue to follow Me [to cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying] and wherever I am, there will My servant be also. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”

How far are you willing to travel to meet the needs of people in desperate need? Are you willing to risk giving up time, money, reputation and even your life to ensure others hear the Gospel? If not, perhaps you should pray and ask the Lord to help you to become a better servant of Christ.

The January 2010 earthquake in Haiti resulted in catastrophic events throughout the country. One result was numerous children who suddenly became orphans. Many of these street children wandered across the border to the Dominican Republic. That was the need. What was the solution? Teams traveled to the Dominican Republic in early October and November.

ROW is building a home for 100 of these orphaned children in Barahona, located in southwestern Dominican Republic. Walls for the second floor of the orphanage are going up. Once we get these children housed in a safe environment, we will be able to provide nourishment for their bodies and spiritual food to help them heal and overcome the painful memories of the earthquake.

We can attend church everyday that the doors are open, fast weekly, read the Bible and pray daily, but if we do all these things and forget to minister to the poor, the widow and the oppressed, we do these things in vain. If we have truly been transformed by the blood of Jesus Christ, it will compel us to live beyond ourselves and seek out those in need. Do you want to know how you are to live as a genuine Christian? Read Isaiah 58:7:

“Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”

Go and do likewise.

We have also received correspondence from many people suggesting a name for our new maternity ward at the hospital in Punta Gorda, Belize. The new facility will serve as a Christian witness to expectant mothers by providing good education, pre and postnatal care and evangelism. Let me share a couple ideas for a name for the maternity ward. How about “Moses’ Basket” or “God’s Gifts Hospital.” Both of these names are just incredible as far as I am concerned.

I want to thank everyone for responding to our recent requests regarding the orphanage and maternity ward. There are numerous needs and equally abundant opportunities to serve around the world and ROW needs your help. Take time today to pray and ask the Lord if you are to give financially to those in need at home or abroad. Perhaps He is prompting you to move out of your comfort zone and travel to a remote area and give of your time and talents. One thing is for sure, we all can pray for ministries and missionaries serving around the globe.

No matter how we choose to serve the Lord, we must reflect the light of Christ that is within us. Christ tells us His purpose for leaving His heavenly home and journeying to our home on earth. In John 12:46 it says:

“I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”

We are utterly lost in this dark world if we do not know Christ. If you truly have a relationship with the Lord, then you will naturally feel compassion and overwhelming concern for those who don’t know Him. Shine so brightly for Jesus today that it compels others to escape the darkness of their lives.

Pastor Pedro is just a scream! He has been busy traveling back and forth between Barahona, Dominican Republic and Haiti assisting in the aftermath of the earthquake. He came up with a new phrase that basically signifies his attitude about his experience. Instead of simply saying that something is bueno, which means “good” in Spanish, Pastor Pedro says, “Super bueno!”

Try that today. No matter what you are facing in life, take a deep breath and declare, “Super bueno!” Better yet, try saying, “Glory to God!” We know that God is in control during the good and bad times so we should strive to give Him all the glory whether we are down in the valley or high on the mountaintop.

Praising God in the midst of difficult times enables those without Christ to see the joy and peace we possess from having a relationship with the risen Savior. We are told in Matthew 5:16 (NKJV):

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Every time we display integrity, high moral standards, pure speech and motives, we bring glory to God and we draw attention to our Savior for all to see.