recap 2023
Recap of 2023. (Spoiler, this is a long one)
Sorry for just getting this out.
I stopped publishing my yearly reports because because I got no feedback on them, and I felt as if I were tooting my own horn. A dear friend encouraged me to start doing it again.
2022 culminated with us giving out 1700 Christmas presents to our PureHeart kids. Operation Christmas child has cut off Nicaragua, so a local Near Shore company called NicaSource helped us by provoding the presents one on one to our kids. That means that we indirectly serve - minister to around 6000 people (reasoning, if you’re ministering to the kids of tge family, you are actually ministering to the whole family.
RECAP 2023
2023 started out with a bang.
Pastor’s conference, January 2023 We invited 80 indigenous pastors and family members to stay with us in a nice hotel and eat, and learn. Pastor Steve Madsen, founder of Calvary Chapel Cornerstone(Livermore California) sponsored it and taught. Lots of Food. Lots of swimming pools and fellowship. Richard Mojica’s praise band and Pastor Steve’s Pastoral counseling encouraged us and inspired us to lead with integrity and joy throughout 2023
2023 was a banner year for us because of 9 factors
- a healing (mine)
- 1,000,000 meals have been served one on one
- we partnered with an assemblies of God feeding center in Pakistan
- we graduated our 100th student from our preschool
- we obtained full time work for 6 of our english students
- we formed tge PureHeart Winner’s soccer team
- we added a 2nd floor to the Winner Building/school
- installed solar
- 2000 + Christmas presents were given out one on one
1. I was miraculously healed from a re-occurance of cancer. In 2022 I had my prostrate removed. Right before the Pastors conference my PSA was through the ceiling. When you have high PSA after your prostate is removed it could be that the cancer spread. I ignored it for a month.
Once things calmed down after the conference, in February 2023 I finally caught a cab - and went to the fancy American type hospital here to get a better opinion. The cancer doctor said I had possibly waited too long and I was in trouble. He said I needed to be on a 2 month long radiation therapy within a week. I had to go back to the states. In the hour long rush hour taxi ride coming home, I was frantically looking for 1. A place to stay with transport (VA doesn't offer that). 2. The nearest hospital to where I was going to be staying theoretically.
No luck on both accounts. My hands were shaking. I was soaked in sweat. I dreaded telling Winnie. I got home, and the 40 year old taxi driver said ‘hey I remember you!!! You fed me when I was a little boy living on the garbage dump.’ Well, that was exciting and an encouragement. We prayed and shared, then I went inside to share the bad news with Winnie. I needed to be on a plane asap.
I went inside, told Winnie. Sat down on my porch to eat. Then it seemed like a cooler of ice water was poured over my head. I left my cel phone in the taxi. I only caught Rafael’s first name. He had a standard looking taxi. He’d been gone almost a half an hour now. His taxi matched about 500 taxis in the near area. My cell phone had a wallet attached to ot with all my Id’s driver’s license and my only 2 debit cards that probably just barely had enough on them to cover a flight (we live hand to mouth). All my banking info and debit card info was in the cellphone and attached wallet. We called and called my cel phone. At 10 he answered! Praise God. He said his shift was over and he was on the way. Two hours later he hadn't come yet. I called the police to trace the phone, they said i had to go to the station. I drove the car there. I told the police i lost everything including my driver’s license. They immediately arrested me and impounded my car. I asked if i could call winnie, the arresting officer gave me his phone. I almost couldn’t remember her number. I finally called her, she said Rafael the taxi driver never came. They proceeded to process me for intake. I said ‘God of you get me out of this, I’ll know you’ll heal me’. As i got near the cell the cons recognized me. They sang a song I taught them when they were kids. And one started preaching a sermon so I was going to be ok. Then winnie called the cop’s cell phone. The taxi driver returned everything, i was freed and when I got to the states my PSA was null, and still is a year later Praise God!
2. This year we served out 1 millionth home cooked nutritious meal with including 1 million juicies! Hope to serve millions more.
3. Assemblies of God has a wonderful pakistani couple serving lunch to the homeless children that work in the brick kilns there. We’ve been helping them now for about a year
4. Our Accredited PreSchool runs with 35 students for the past 12 years. This year we graduated out 100th child
5. We have a great soccer team. Teaching the players the power of prayer, discipleship, discipline and 0 screen time.
6. Our English class is huge. About 59 kids. 6 have gone on to work in call centers. 2 are english teachers.
7. We have a 2nd floor to put two containers on (property prices are unreasonable). We will use the containers as offices and class rooms to expand the school.
8. Installed solar, cutting our electric bill by 80-90 percent
9. Over 2000 Christmas presents were given out
In 2023 we had 39 short term visitors and teams
“ “ served over 103,000 meals
“ “ help 3 churches here financially, 1 in the states
“ “ held daily home Bible fellowships 6-10 people
“ “ “ weekly english classes
“ “ “ daily preschool (and feeding prog here)
“ “ repaired 6 houses, 1 church and 9 roofs
“ “ helped with 22 funerals
“ “ helped as witness in 2 criminal cases
“ “ “ with 17 energency dental situations
“ “ “ 20 ER visits
“ “ “ 29 birthday parties
“ “ “ 4 quinceneras
“ “ “ 109 partial scolarships (our prek is free)
“ “ “ 59 uniforms
“ “ “ 1 work horse replaced, and vet helped 2 more
“ “ “ repaired the cars of three pastors in need
“ “ “ helped with the nursing home of one pastor
“ “ 5600 tracts personaly handed out.
“ “ 128 New Bibles purchased and given away
This years our two cars that are almost 30 years old each have been really giving us problems. We had a brown out that basically took out all our kitchen appliances, but all nothing compared to a lot of kids getting saved. The Gospel is preached every single day here. Young men and women are being discipled daily. A few marriages have been restored, 1 in particular I thought was impossible but it’s going great now. On any given day several hundred people are being ministered to by Jesus’ love.
Praise God!
Plans for 2024
This year during the Pastors Conference Pastor Steve encouraged 190 instead of 80. It more than doubled!!!
School got off to a great start.
All the paperwork for us being here has changed as of 2 weeks ago. We are now under the department of the interior, so everything has to ge redone. Very costly and time consuming. It’s probably the work of five full time secretaries accountants and lawyers to keep up with it all, but Winnie and I are handling it best we can with a part time CPA and lawyer
Besides painting and upkeep of the building, which is woefully lacking, we’re basically looking at expanding our borders. This year our president is flying around the states visiting churches, raising support and finding a place to have the container filled (as military retired I get one free container (tax wise) for household goods and another one for a car 9 years old or newer. So that’s our project for this year. Get the containers in, (things for our old folks home and orphanage down the road) and once the containers are emptied, to be converted to expand the school and hopefully to start the orphanage.
Thank you for taking the time to read this
God bless you!
Dean
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