Missions Work Trip to Dominican Republic

In 2001 construction began on Colegio Moriah at the edge of San Pedro de Macorís. Pastor Tanis Derolus had
purchased land from the Dominican government with the help of donations from churches in Maine and
Pennsylvania. The goal was to build a school and a church, a dormitory and pastor’s residence. Hans Roovers
from the Netherlands lent his time and expertise as a construction supervisor; Jeri Spurling as architectural
designer. Since then, work teams from Maine, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Wisconsin have contributed to
the construction.
Completed Dormitory and Pastor’s Residence

Now, in 2008, the dormitory and pastor’s residence is complete along with bathrooms and storage rooms. Six
classrooms, toilets, a library, two offices and an assembly hall are in use by the school, accommodating 225
children. And the first level of the church is built, waiting for a mezzanine and a roof.
        All this work along with a drilled well and a septic system has been completed with donated labor and money
totaling approximately $185,000.

How do you run a school?

     In the case of Colegio Moriah, you run it with lots of prayer! The school serves impoverished Haitians in the
Dominican Republic, who have no way of going to public school and no way to pay for private schooling
Friends of Colegio Moriah Spring Newsletter

San Pedro de Macoris is a depressed and aging town with a defunct sugar industry. The Haitians who live there
were brought into the country to cut the sugar cane and work in the factories --- and now that industry is shut
down.
Pastor Tanis and his wife, Esther, pray regularly, not knowing where the money to pay their dedicated teachers
will come from, only trusting that somehow God will provide. One day, they came to the sad realization that they
would have to dismiss some teachers and employees for lack of funds to pay their salaries. They prayed. Esther
prepared to make the announcement.
Tanis went into town, checking the e-mail messages. There was one from Peg Thomas, leader of the
Pennsylvania work team, announcing that her church was sending a large check which would pay the teachers’
salaries. Tanis quickly called Esther with the news. They rejoiced, as Esther said, “because we realize our God
never arrives late and the same One that helped us from September to December will continue to miracles.”

Would you like to help make miracles?

A foundation has pledged ongoing matching funds, giving us the opportunity to finish the school and pay for
operating costs! Our first goal is to raise $50,000 to complete the first floor. Can you be a part of this? Every
dollar you give will be matched by this foundation and 100% of the money raised will go to Colegio Moriah.

Visit www.colegio.homestead.com for more info!

COLEGIO MORIAH MINISTRIES
Friends of Colegio Moriah

                                                        Fall, 2007 Newsletter

Building Progress Report
      We saw huge strides made in the construction of the church in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic,
due to a generous $25,000 donation in addition to the monies we normally raise for construction teams. In May
2007, we performed a massive concrete pour of the whole interior structure: mezzanine, beams and arches.
Now, the parishioners of Iglesia Bautista Cristo para las Naciones can worship in the new structure! There is still
much to be done to complete the second floor and roof.
We recommend seeing the movie “The Price of Sugar” to better understand the ministry to these Haitian people
without state or citizenship.

Security for School Teachers
   The RD Foundation, Inc. has pledged $30,000 to be paid quarterly over the next 2 years and challenged
Friends of Colegio to raise matching funds. These funds are specifically directed to paying teachers and finishing
the construction on the school. In our last newsletter, we shared the difficulty we were having keeping a
consistent income for the teachers. Thanks to this pledge, concern over paying and keeping teachers can be
eliminated.
     This summer, our Haitian workers completed the interior and exterior finishes on the walls of the classrooms
and built new desks for the children. Now, Colegio Moriah has an even larger enrollment: 287 children and a
huge kindergarten class!
Setbacks
      The Dominican Republic has not been directly hit by hurricanes yet this year, but during one storm, lightning
hit the water pump and fried the electrical cable we had buried, to protect from vandalism. The school complex
has been without running water now for a month and a half. Pastor Tanis is now trying to dig a new well, closer to
the electrical entrance to the site.

2008 Mission Teams
      To date, we have teams from Eastern Pennsylvania going to San Pedro de Macoris in January; from Maine in
February; and from Massachusetts in March. If you wish to help in any way, contact Peg Thomas at
apthomas@epix.net for the Pennsylvania team,
Jeri Spurling at jerited@spurlingdesign.com for the Maine team, or Marya Spurling at Marya.Spurling@gordon.
edu for the Mass. Team.

It costs $120 per year to send one child to Colegio Moriah. There are 90 non-paying children at Colegio Moriah.
One month’s teacher’s salary is $168.
One bag of cement costs $7
30 concrete block cost $15
A tax-deductible gift can be sent to:

Friends of Colegio Moriah
Bradley C. Bean,
70 Park Street, Houlton, ME   04730.