Hope you have some plans to eat, relax and enjoy family!  I just wanted to send out a quick thank-you to everyone who brought in cans and other non perishable items for our food drive.  We dropped off over 1000 items to the 403 Center!  They were surprised and overjoyed!  As far as the class on class competition went, the Freshmen just held off the Juniors to win (305-279).  The Sophomores and the Seniors finished 3rd and 4th respectively.

Next week is our annual “Can Hunger Week”.  This is a class competition with the winning class getting prizes at the end of the week.  The 403 Center distributes lots of food during the holidays and can use all the donations they can get.  So start looking through your cupboards at home, pick up an extra couple of cans of green beans at Aldi or collect some from neighbors.  Bring in the cans or non perishable goods starting next Monday and ending on Friday.  May the best class win!

We are headed to the Dominican Republic this spring and would like to have as many of you to come along as possible.  We will be partnering with Maranatha again this year and have always had successful trips when working with them.  Our mission, if you choose to accept it, will be to build a Sabbath School building next to a recently built church in a little village outside of the capital, Santo Domingo.  We will also be putting the finishing touches on the recently constructed church, i.e. painting, etc.  Along with the construction that will be going on, we plan on incorporating a VBS program for the local children.  It will be busy and that is a lot to accomplish, however, with a group of willing servants, the Lord can do amazing things!

Initially, the cost for the trip was $1500, however, if we can act quickly, I believe we can get the airline tickets at a fairly decent price and we can knock this price down to $1300 per person!  In the 15 years I have been coordinating mission trips with young people, we have never had to turn anyone away due to finances if they were willing to work for it.  We will try to provide as many fundraising opportunities as we can, but raking leaves, babysitting and mowing lawns are some of the best ways to earn this money.  If you are willing, the Lord we make a way!  We need $100 to lock your spot in and reserve these plane tickets.  We are looking at the dates to be March 3-13, however, those may change a day or two depending on logistics.

I have attached a few pictures of the local village and the facility that we are looking at staying in, just to give you a visual of the area.  Everyone will need a passport with an expiration date later than 9/15/2017 and that is not included in the above price.  I would apply for one ASAP if you do not currently have one, as they can take 2-3 months to process.  No shots are needed, however Maranatha will want everyone current on their Tetanus shots.

I believe everyone needs to go on an overseas mission trip at least once and this may be the time to do just that.  Pray about this opportunity as a family and if the Lord is leading and you are willing sign up!  The $100 deposit will be your registration.  If you have any questions, please email me back or call me.

https://goo.gl/maps/SxKpLPpN4Dy -link to the map of the village we are working and staying at.