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The VandeLinde Family
Ryan, Erin, Micah, Josiah
& Analise
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Blessings in a Box
Imagine working hard every day and still not having enough money to buy your children one single Christmas present. Or how would you feel if you were a child and you never received a present for Christmas? Unfortunately, these situations are too often a reality for many of the Dominican and Haitian families in our ministry.
Several years ago a loving young women from Virginia visited the DR on a short term missions trip with EDCM. Her heart was broken by the living conditions of many of the children that we minister to and she wanted to make a differnece. Once she returned to the US, she immediately began searching for ways to serve Jesus and partner with EDCM to help make a difference here in the DR.
She wanted the children to feel loved and to know God’s love. She had the idea to send shoe box sized boxes full of toys and gifts to the individual children in our ministry she had met on her trip. She knew that the gift boxes could be the only Christmas gift many of the children would receive. So, with the support of her home congregation, her idea became a reality and “Blessings in a Box” was born. She and a group of volunteers from the church began sponsoring children, filling the boxes with gifts and sending them to the DR.
“Blessings in a Box” has continued to grow for the past three years. This year, two U.S. congregations were blessed by providing gifts for children in the ministries of EDCM as close to 300 children were blessed with a gift box. The Dominican ministers used the opportunity to share with the children the real meaning of Christmas and the best gift of all, Jesus Christ. This year’s “Blessings in a Box” campaign was a huge success. We thank all those that joined in with that young woman because they too believed that all God’s children are worth their love and helped to make the children of EDCM feel loved and know God’s love.
 
More pics on Facebook:
Eastern Dominican Christian Mission
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Leaders in Action
(Leadership Training)
 We realize the importance of good leadership and have taken it upon ourselves to train the leaders of each of the congregations of EDCM. We have been blessed with wonderful Dominican preachers and we want to partner with them in preparing the other leaders in their congregations so that the church can move further, faster. To accomplish this task, we have started a leadership training program entitled “Líderes en Acción,” or Leaders in Action. The idea is to train and motivate the leaders of each congregation to rise up and lead His church. Throughout this year, we will be holding several “Leaders in Action” retreats that will include guest speakers from around the world with the sole purpose of motivating those leaders to take action.
We held our first “Leaders in Action” retreat on January 24 and it was a huge success. The theme was
“Servant Leadership” and all present were challenged and commissioned to “Go and Be” servant leaders in the
local church. Everyone enjoyed the time together and left feeling very motivated to serve Jesus and to really lead their congregations. We praise God for His faithfulness and blessings over this weekend.
Here are few pictures from the weekend:
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Website & Twitter
Check out our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Facebook: Eastern Dominican Christian Mission
Twitter: #EDCMmissions
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Contact Information
Ryan & Erin VandeLinde
Email: ryanvandelinde@hotmail.com
Cell: 1-809-707-3069
Mail and Donations to:
Eastern Dominican Christian Mission
PO Box 20136
Roanoke, VA 24018
*for all financial donations
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Micah’s Minute
Merry Christmas! Ok, I know it is not Christmas anymore, but I am still excited about Christmas because my parents bought me a guitar! That’s right, I am so pumped! I really wanted one because I have been learning on my Dad’s guitar, but really want to start playing on my own guitar. Well, they bought me one and I play it almost every day. My Dad has been teaching me some chords and I have already started writing my own songs. Watch out everybody, I will be leading worship before you know it!
-Micah, 8 yrs. old
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Josiah’s Jot
I went on an adventure in the woods with my brother and I got stung by a yellow jacket. Actually, I got stung 9 times and it really hurt. . . A LOT! Mom says I must have stepped in a nest because I got stung on my hands, my arms, my back and even on my legs inside of my jeans! (Micah got stuck by a prickle bush running away but he didn’t even get stung once.) I don’t think I am allergic to bee stings, but a few of the stings have swollen up and they look really gross. But that’s okay because I’m tough and I’m ready for my next adventure. I’ll “bee” here whenever you’re ready to go.J
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PHYSICAL NEEDS
- La Romana Christian Church needs help purchasing a bus: About $9,000 total (the local congregation is raising approx. 50% of cost)
PRAYER NEEDS
- Upcoming Medical Outreach team from February 7- 14
PRAISE GOD
- David Belliard, an older gentlemen with back problems, is now in therapy and is making a lot of improvement.
- The Baez and Hernandez families enjoyed the Christmas holidays in Costa Rica with their families and have safetly returned to their ministries in the DR.
- The construction is almost complete in Higuey and the congregation is able to use their updated building while the details are being finished.
Thank you for your prayers! God listens and answers!
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www.easterndominican.org
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