anticipation

In looking back on the last year I realize we have been waiting in a state of anticipation about what the future holds for No Longer.  Almost like we've been on the edge of our seats and doing everything we can to be patient.  At the beginning of this journey we felt God calling us to do something for the weak, for the vulnerable, for the oppressed, for the least of these in the world.  The only "problem"?  We had no idea who or where our focus would be, but we knew we wanted to be obedient and remain faithful despite the uncertainty and questions.  And, oh, was it worth the wait!  God never disappoints when you earnestly seek Him and wait patiently for Him to guide your steps.  We have some big news to share and it's the answer to the biggest questions we've faced...  WHO and WHERE will we be serving and loving and defending?  Some of you might be tempted to scroll to the bottom to find out the answer, but I think if you read through our story from its beginning you will find the news even more exciting. Okay, okay!  Let's get to it!

A few months into the first meeting and planning of No Longer, God led us to a ministry called Global Orphan Project.  GO Project is based in Kansas City, Missouri, and partners non-profits in America with churches overseas who are already caring for orphans.  Their goal is to partner the two groups together to build orphanages and to provide orphan care above and beyond what the local church is able to provide on their own.  After some initial conversations with GO Project it seemed their greatest need for American partners was in Haiti.  In May, several people from the No Longer group visited Haiti on a vision trip, and we were very optimistic about the possibility of one day partnering with a church in Haiti to care for orphans together.  Through the summer the waiting and anticipation for a partnership continued.

But you know what?  God had different plans for No Longer.  A couple of months ago one of the representatives from GO Project called us and said, "We have a church that is ready to be partnered with a non-profit in the United States.  They have already started raising support, built a school and they are currently providing for orphans in their church.  They are ready to build an orphanage but they need a partner."  Of course we were thrilled!  This is exactly what we had been praying would happen.  We were committed to following God's calling, whenever and wherever He sent us.  The biggest surprise with the phone call wasn't that it came sooner than we were expecting, but that it wasn't a partnership with a church in Haiti at all.  It was a partnership with a thriving church in the Dominican Republic!  GO Project was ready to expand to another country and they were asking No Longer to be the first group partnered with this country.  It wasn't where we had originally expected to be working (Haiti), but who are we to tell God where we wanted to serve Him?  After all, it makes no difference to an orphan living in poverty whether they are in Haiti or the Dominican Republic or anywhere else in the world for that matter. As a group we decided to pray about this partnership and send two of us to visit the church for more details before ultimately saying, "YES!"

Blake and Michael arrived in Santo Domingo on a Saturday morning in early November to meet the co-pastors of La Inglesia Restauracion Hermosa and to visit their church and the orphanage/village site.  We'll save details about the church (let's just call it Restauracion for short), the pastors and what they believe, the schools and the city of Santo Domingo itself for later this week, but we do want to give a few details about the orphanage site today. Restauracion has a passion for homeless children in their community and they have already made progress in constructing housing for orphans.  In the past few months they have put a security wall around the grounds of the village to prevent troublemakers from disrupting the work going on in the village.  As of now they have one dorm for boys and one dorm for girls ready for occupancy.  They are in the process of adding and completing an office for the village manager, an office space for a psychologist who will visit frequently, and a kitchen.  All of that is wonderful, but where are the children who will find a home there and what is their situation now?  The church has identified and gained custody of 36 children who had no home or parents and were basically living on the streets.  Right now they are living with church members but will eventually be moved to the dorms when construction is completed and approved by the government.  The hope is that in the near future they can complete construction of the dorms, kitchen, and possibly add more dorms as they begin construction of a garden and sewing center.  BUT, until someone steps up financially they will be unable to complete construction or have the ability to feed and educate these 36 orphans.

After spending a little more than 24 hours in Santo Domingo, Michael and Blake were sold.  No Longer is ready to step up and support this village and this church.  Here is a church with a congregation committed to ministering to the least of these in the absolute poorest area in all of the Dominican Republic.  They have a plan and they have the people ready to make it happen. The church is currently training women to be the mommas in the village.  How could No Longer say anything but YES to this opportunity?  We are beyond delighted to have found a partner for No Longer.  We hope you will pray about joining us as we raise support to complete their work and even build more orphanages and schools as God provides direction.  We also hope your family will consider joining us on a trip in the near future to meet these amazing and inspiring people! Be looking for more information about how you and your family can be directly involved in changing the lives of these children.