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The VandeLinde Family
Ryan, Erin, Micah, Josiah
& Analise
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Grow, Grow, Grow
Punta Cana Christian School
Four years ago, God led us to start a Christian school alongside Punta Cana Christian Church, which is one of our five church plants. A national statistic came out in the news that there were approximately 5,000 school-aged children living in the neighborhood where our church was located. However, the statistic also said that 3,000 of the children were not attending school because there was “
No more room in the Inn.” The public schools were overflowing with a 60:1 ratio students to teachers.
We knew we had to do something, so we began to pray. We couldn’t imagine standing by and ministering to the people of this neighborhood without trying to make a difference in the lives of these children. God gave us a vision and the resources to start an elementary school to help change the future of these children and ultimately, the future of the neighborhood.
We planned on starting small, but on the first day of registration 108 children registered Preschool-4th grade. We began the school and had a successful first year. On registration day the 2nd year, 268 children register Preschool-7th grade. We had another successful year and continued to grow. Last year, our 3rd school year, 425 children registered on registration day, Preschool-7th.
The growth of the school has been amazing and really has allowed us to reach people that we never could have reached before. Each of these children now receives a Christian education as well as a small snack each day. They now are learning about Jesus and have the hope of a good education.
This year, the 2016-2017 school year, we have grown and expanded even more! We currently offer classes from Preschool-8th grade and had to add 4 new classrooms in order to fit over 500 students! Amazing!
We praise God for the blessing of this school and pray that He will use this school to share His love and His message with thousands of people.
      
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Three years ago we started an annual youth camp/conference called “Conecta2,” or “Connected.” The idea is to encourage the teens to disconnect from Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, etc…and connect with God. Each year we focus the themes on connecting ourselves with God and growing deeper in our relationship with Him.
This year we were blessed to have
Josh Knotts, a Christian
Illusionist and Escape artist, who entertained us and preached the Word in a very excited and illusive manner.
Also, Team Rock joined us which is an extreme breaking and martial arts ministry. They showed us how to break concrete blocks and how through God we can do anything.
It was a wonderful weekend of worship and fun. Here are some pics of the weekend:
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VandeLinde Furlough
My wife and I, along with our three children, began a one year furlough or home-stay in August of this year. We are currently living in Virginia and are traveling throughout the United States visiting our faithful supporters. Micah and Josiah are doing very well in the school system here and have met a lot of new children. Analise is as precious as ever and making people smile every where she goes. The kids are of course enjoying being closer to family and being spoiled by grandparents.
We continue asking for your prayers and also open the invitation to visit your church and share with your congregation how God has been moving through our ministry in the Dominican Republic. May God bless you all!
If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me personally.
540-798-7865
-Ryan
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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
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
Hello everybody! I say hello from Virginia where I am in a new school and making new friends. A cool thing happened on the first day of school. Well, I was really nervous to go to school because I have never been to an American school and I didn’t know anybody. During recreation time, my teacher asked me if I knew how to speak Spanish. I said “of course.” He then told me that there was a new student from Peru that didn’t speak English and he was sitting in the corner by himself. My teacher asked me if I would go over and talk to him in Spanish. So I went over to him and asked him his name, in Spanish. He looked at me and said “You speak Spanish.” He immediately began to smile and we ran to the playground together and began to play. Now we are friends and I get to translate all of his class work for him. It’s pretty cool. Alright, see ya later!
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