2012 Short Term Mission Trips

Greetings:

We have our schedule underway for this year and wanted to share with you the opportunities we are offering. We try to schedule at least four trips per year, ten days each to accommodate short-term travelers doing long term missions in the Dominican Republic. It is a real joy and privilege for us to be serving you and them in this regard, a glorious privilege. Here is the plan, which of course is subject to change by the Lord's direction. " Man makes his plans, but God orders the steps." Order our steps , Lord as we look forward to another year of serving you!

April 20-30, 2012- this team will be bringing in much needed medicines for the Ebenezer Clinic, serving a community of 60,000 people in Pantoja, Santo Domingo. We will visit our orphans and continue with land preparations and well digging for our Orphanage site. This team will serve locally in Santo Domingo and is suitable for the skilled and non-skilled. The young and old in a proven field that is fruitful for the Gospel and works of mercy in impoverished areas. Contact Ken at kenpatpeters@gmail.com for inquiry. We are filling spaces now for up to 15 people. References required, see the links at the end of this page for .pdf Application and Assumption of Risk forms etc.. Deposit of $200 due on March 1st.with approved Application.

July 27-August 6th, 2012- A seasoned team will visit on horseback, watering churches planted in the mountains of Constanza, la Vega. This team will also look to find other subsistence farmers in the national Forrest to evangelize, pray and extend the kingdom of Heaven to those whom are called. We will also conduct a medical mission with many thousands of dollars of valuable medicine donated and given freely in Jesus' name. Less seasoned travelers will minister in the village with Pastor Cesar's church, and also visit our orphan's bringing cheer and supplies to them as well. Contact: Ken Peters - kenpaptpeters@gmail.com to inquire. All are welcome, references required. See above instructions.

October 26- November 5, 2012- this team will offer a mobile medical and dental clinic to a region called Dajabon, along the border of Haiti. This region is very impoverished and we will pour out every blessing and resource we have to uplift and encourage the people of this town. We will also minister locally in Pantoja to our orphans and refresh the churches we relate to.Many Dominicans will join us in our outreach to Dajabon from Pantoja. Alongside us Americans we will have a busload of those from the Capitol City willing to help. We are gathering resources all year for this endeavor. Once again, contact Ken Peters with questions: kenpatpeters@gmail.com

these are helpful links to stay in touch:

http://www.facebook.com/ken.peters

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Arms-Outreach-Kairos-Caribe/215085761856100

Jesus said that we should Watch and Pray! WE trust the Lord to speak to your heart and if your desire is to go , then we will stand alongside you and assist you in any way we can. Equipping the Saints for the work of service is one of our greatest joys. God bless and BE A BLESSING!

In Christ,

Ken Peters

Transformations in Palmarejo: Real Lives changed by the Power of God

Palmarejo: a small former batey of less than two thousand mostly Haitians, huddled on the very edge of Northwest Santo Domingo.

Eleven years ago we planted a stake with scriptures on this corner of Los Alcarrizos to declare this land and people for God and to place on notice the demonic forces that held this people captive to malaria, Aids, prostitution, polio, hepatitis, open sewage, bad water and superstitious malevolent voodoo. Three voodoo priests and no churches maintained a gloom of misery unknown and unseen not only to North American travelers but to most Dominicans, especially the insulated middle and upper class.

Healing over a decade may seem slow and imperceptible but we made an intentional effort to build relationships and return again and again to witness the remarkable changes that have taken place. There are no more voodoo priests to exploit the fears of Palmarejans. There are three churches and most of the village has been evangelized and a great many have received Christ. Prostitution is no longer a visible factor. There have been no cases of malaria for four years. Although desperately poor, there is a UN funded water supply and new roads with curbs leading in and out of Palmarejo. A Catholic school educates the children without birth papers, who by Dominican law cannot go to public school. Many are receiving health care at our nearby Ebenezer Clinic in Pantoja. They benefit from our free medical care which includes medicines they would never access otherwise.

One child stands out as a miracle in progressive healing. His name is Yunior ( pronounced Junior). He is also about eleven years old coincidentally, and we met him in 2005 on a visit to his town. Stricken with polio and encephalitis in his first year, he nearly died. He could not walk or talk. His legs were so thin you could wrap your hand around his thigh in a closed grip. His head is dysmorphic suggesting profound retardation. He drooled incessantly BUT... he smiled as wide as the tropical sun when we came to hold him, love on him and pray for him. He underwent some therapy which we sought funds for in the US, but it was discontinued because of various logistics for the family. God remained our hope that he would thrive and be well. He got new clothes, a new home from some other source, and a wheelchair but his preferred method of travel was to scuttle on his naked buttocks through the alleys of mud and bad water wherever he wanted to go.

Last year, through brother Andy's insistence we prayed for his mind and his speech. He was always non-verbal, though attentive with his eyes. We were bold to ask God for a complete healing and functional life for little Yunior.

On this September's trip we found Yunior walking without assistance for the first time AND... Praise be to God Almighty, as we live and breathe he was talking. Not gibberish but in Spanish, even yelling at his friends down the alley to come on over.
It seemed so right and normal on the one hand that God would continue to honor our prayers but on the other hand we were astonished into silence. How can this happen naturally? Is there any other explanation for a non-verbal ten+ year old to suddenly begin to talk? Take a look at Yunior's picture above. Continue to pray for him. He remains the symbol of real life transformation in Palmarejo. This community is radically different than we found it eleven years ago. And we are witnesses of God's redeeming power, and He deserves all the glory for this. We are only his servants, simply daring to BELIEVE and even that is a gift from God.

Would you join us on one of our short term missions? We will be scheduling four trips in 2012, God willing, beginning on the last Friday in January and every three months thereafter. Begin to communicate with us if you have the desire to go and check our postings here on this blog and on Facebook for further information.

May God continue to bless you to be a blessing to others in His Name. Amen!

Ken Peters

The Implanted Word in the Tropical Forrest

In the Sierra Cordilleras of the Dominican Republic sits a bowl like valley that is a breadbasket to the Dominicans. It is Constanza and the approach is breath-taking. Soaring volcanic mountains and winding roads double back in a steep ascent colored in every shade of green. The valley floor is nearly 4,000 feet and the highest peaks range up to 10,000 ft above sea level.

Twenty two years ago we made our first trip there with Food For the Hungry, an international NGO serving the extremely poor. It was during this trip, while a newly elected legislator, that I received my call as a missionary, simply saying to the Lord that I would go anywhere anytime to serve His Kingdom and the poor.

During one of our trips in 1990 a North American prophetic team was ministering in a church and called out a young man named Cesar Lebron, a non-descript teenager. The word of the Lord given that day said he would be raised up to be a pastor among God's people and he trembled at the word. Who can fathom how God may use a simple clay vessel to contain His Glory? Over the years, time proved the accuracy of this word as he mixed with faith what was given him and focused his life on serving the Lord.

Today Pastor Cesar Lebron has three churches overflowing with vibrant believers. One of these churches is deep in the tropical mountains. In fact one needs to travel from Constanza by horseback for seven miles (10 km) crossing the same winding river fourteen times to arrive at this little subsistence farm community. God has raised up a church of believers where the gospel had never been preached! Praise God!!! One wonders, if there are not many subsistence farmers dotting the landscape of this vast national forrest. Isn't it marvelous how the Lord points the way to future development?

Next summer, Lord willing, we will send an exploratory team into these mountains to water the church and uncover the treasury of God's hidden people. WOW... what an expedition working alongside the nationals to further His Kingdom. Does it get any better?

At a school in El Chorro, Constanza we set up a clinic and served nearly 1,000 adults and children with medical care and medicines and dental work. We brought a team of doctors and one dentist with $70,000 in donated meds and another donation of medical supplies for the regional hospital. The community rejoiced because most are never able to afford medical and dental care or buy prescription meds such as analgesics, anti-biotics,cold meds,vitamins etc. We shared the gospel with a classroom of two hundred children and parents who ALL prayed to receive Christ, some for the first time. At the evening service on Saturday we worshiped with a standing room only group of Dominicans, while one of our Pastor/Doctors Luis ministered the word in a sermon.

The men of our team witnessed the enduring power of God to perform His word and glimpsed the vision of fruitful endeavors for the future. What about you? Will you pray about going yourself? The time frame will be the last Friday in July 2012 for ten days. May God touch your life with a desire to search for eternal worth. You are welcome to inquire of us about this or any other mission trip. We are always looking to engage in conversation that leads to action.

Be blessed to be a blessing!


In Jesus'Name,

Ken Peters

Pray for Divine Appointments in Santo Domingo

Once again we are preparing for a short term mission to Santo Domingo this Friday, September 2-12,2011. Our medical bags are packed and we still have room for school supplies if anyone is interested in donating items.
On this trip we have several goals that we are asking you to pray about. Our foremost desire is to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel of the Kingdom to as many as possible. Our medical clinics, this time in rural, very poor Constanza,DR will be primarily relief to believers but also an opportunity to reach others with the love of Christ so that we might have opportunity to preach. In every trip there are many who pray to receive Christ as Lord and Savior.
Ministry that focuses on the poor has a two-fold purpose. One is to bring relief to God's people, those He says are the least of His brethren. Some would interject that all people are God's children and in one sense that is true, but we are told in the Scriptures to do good to all, especially to those of the household of faith. However, while we minister to the poor of God's people there is often opportunity to reach others who come and are in need. In that case they taste and see that the Lord is good, and then they hear the message. The Scripture says "faith comes by hearing and hearing from the Word of God". How can they repent if they do not hear? How can they hear if one is not sent? It is by the foolishness of preaching that God chooses to reach those elected to eternal life. Central to ministry to the poor is prayer and preaching and healing. This holistic approach is comprehensive and upholds both the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.
Seven men are going to be available to the leading of the Lord and we are in need of prayer cover and warfare. We understand that Satan will not stand by and let us exploit his territory without a fight. We are quite used to that. We covet your prayer and trust God will bring fruit that remains from our endeavors.
We will try to remain in touch through Facebook. Just hit the badge OAO/Kairos Caribe on the right side panel to join our real time discussion.
Blessings in His Precious Name,

Ken Peters

Soulfest Outreach

Greetings,
On this beautiful summer morning as our country steps back from the brink of financial default, we find ourselves merrily preparing for our first ever outreach at SoulFest to spread awareness of our developing missions and to stimulate generosity alongside love and good deeds. It may seem counter-intuitive during stressful economic times to focus on charity and the plight of the poor, but we see many examples in Scripture that our faith is kindled during times of crises.

Remember the widow with Elijah who was instructed to share her last meal with the prophet. Her reward was to have an unceasing supply for her household of oil and flour until the famine was over. He spoke of God's promise of provision for her household, so she obeyed the prophet and made him a muffin first, before her supposed last meal after which she expected she and her son would die from starvation. God's WORD came to her and she mixed it with FAITH that ACTS and the result was a divine intervention of continuous oil and flour during the famine.

I am certainly NOT a health and wealth PROSPERITY preacher, but we must remember that God's ledger does not function by Sum,Zero. It is more like Insufficiency plus Faith yields an Abundance!

So here we are, very Insufficient in ourselves. We have faith to stand in the GAP and God has supplied us annually with more than $400,000 in donated foods and medicine. The food and medicine and clothes and furniture etc have not run out for years. It is a continuous fountain of blessing.

So our testimony might provoke you to believe in God's promises for those who minister to the poor:

Whoever gives to the poor will never lack, but whoever shuts his eyes to their poverty will be cursed.
(Pro 28:27)
To Zion:

I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.
(Psa 132:15)

The righteous person is concerned about the poor; but the wicked don't understand what they need to know.
(Pro 29:7)

Look! This was the sin of your sister Sodom and her daughters: Pride, too much food, undisturbed peace, and failure to help the poor and needy.
(Eze 16:49)

There are hundreds of verses like these in both the Old and New Testaments commanding the righteous to care and give to the needy, to understand their plight and both blessings and curses flow from our reaction to the poverty around us.

We have taken up the cause of the poor and orphan and widow and alien among us here and abroad. We are looking for partners who will stand with us, believing God will place on your heart how to serve, how to give, that you would take your place with us in the GOOD FIGHT!

Come and join us at SoulFest this week at Gunstock, NH if you can, August 3rd- August 6th and prayerfully consider how you may commit your life serving the "least of these". Or contact us at our office right here in Laconia, NH. We have a short term mission team leaving next month to Santo Domingo and we have room for others to come along. Just Pray and Obey! May the Lord bless you with heavenly wisdom for these times,I pray.

In His Precious Name,

Ken Peters
Director, OAO/KC

Orphan/ Abandoned Children in the DR

5.13.2011
Greetings:
To our invaluable supporters for orphaned and abandoned children, we wanted to bring some updates to you. Our gratitude for your monthly pledge contribution is immeasureable! You have made the difference in the lives of destitute and abandoned children bringing love and necessities to each one in our care. We invite every reader to consider helping by giving monthly support also. We will share how that may be done.
In the Dominican Republic, there is no foster care. Our strategy is to bring street children into homes, normalizing their lives, living in a natural family setting with house parents. Your pledges make this possible with the payment of rent and food and utilities and clothing, education, and medical /dental. The full support needed for one child is around $200 per month for all of these things. Our pledge money is pooled each month and sent to the household’s caregivers. We visit our Santo Domingo mission quarterly to insure firsthand the quality of care they receive and to check receipts for accountability. We are personally inviting you to travel along with one of our mission teams! http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=203750336317560 Our schedule is posted here!
When we visit,the huge smiles on their faces tell us a whole lot about their happiness. Children should be safe and secure to grow up as healthy contributors to society when they are adults. I cannot think of a better, more biblically correct strategy to stop sex trafficking, inner city gangs, crime and predation than to rescue children from a life in the streets when they are still young and unhardened by the school of hard knocks. Love invested in a child is one of the most important activities of our lives!
We have, according to UNICEF 130,000 orphaned/ abandoned children in the DR. Our plan is to attract as many as the Lord will give us. Currently we have plans to build a modern earthquake secure, world class facility to house up to 64 children. Land has been donated to us and we have architectural/ engineering plans and final permission to build already in place. We will be initiating a Capital Building Campaign to raise $1 Million USD to complete this building. To read more about this go to our website: http://oaoutreach.org/childrens_home.htm
To read about the municipality approved project narrative pdf, go to this link:
http://oaoutreach.org/OACH_project_narrative.pdf
We need your continued support and Alsion Morel will be directing you with the various ways you can pay. Online donations: www.oaoutreach.org/donate.htm
I am also asking that you consider ways to help us expand our base of orphan care support. We would rather use a grassroots way of dealing with this than to advertise. Many very reputable non-profits spend up to 15% or more of their income on advertising. Since we are small and lean, we can ensure 100% of your funds are spent on direct care, not costly administration. Here are some ideas of how you can help. Get a small group together, like a bible study, Sunday School class, work pod,family or small church to fully sponsor a child ($200 per month). We are recommending ACH deposits for timely and efficent record-keeping! Ask Alison to set this up. Here is a great one for the kids: Start a piggy bank at home to save your change. This is a great lesson for small children and Sunday school classes. We will provide a jar and sleeve to identify who we are and you can cash it in quarterly and add it to your pledge. Come up with some ideas of your own. One woman helps by selling toys and pledging a percentage of her proceeds to help our orphans. Be creative and let’s together thank God for the bounty we all enjoy here in the USA. Again, words cannot sufficently express our gratitude for your selfless and continuos gifts. May God, richly bless you for your generous compassion!
Sincerely,
Ken Peters
Executive Director
Open Arms Outreach/ Kairos Caribe
kpeters@oaoutreach.org


ORPHAN SPOTLIGHT
Dayan is our “poster child” because he loves his photo taken. Abandoned by his Mom who is a drug addicted prostitute, he suffers from malnutrition, specifically rickets. Only 24 pounds at five years old, his bones are so brittle he needs a major nutritional intervention and perhaps surgery so he can walk. He receives intensive care from specialists and is a candidate for the CURE Hospital’s orthopedic surgery. He is currently fully sponsored by Faith Chapel of Newport, NH. A child like this could suffer and die from “failure to thrive” without your compassionate intervention. Dayan is doing well and recently was living with our American mission team this past winter during our ten day trip as our up close and personal campaign continues to put third world children in REAL touch with their sponsors. Check with us about correspondence to any of our children, which we can hand deliver on one of our trips. Currently we are caring for seven orphans that are all boys at this writing.

Santo Domingo Mission: Water for a Thirsty Land

The USA team of missionaries representing multiple churches and Open Arms Outreach/ Kairos Caribe succeeded in all the primary objectives of this short term trip in late February and early March. Pulling a team together is no small task. I want to personally thank Andy Whitman for laboring with his team from Newport NH for many months of preparation. A large group of 16 set out to serve in multiple arenas. Here is the short list. The Iglesia Cristiana El Redil (formerly Buen Pastor- AG) was without water in an urban street where the city only pumped water for several hours per week. Folks are occupying themselves for a great part of the day fetching water from far away sources in 5 gallon buckets. Water can be bought but for many of the poor that is not feasible. Now that the church owns the land with certifiable paper, we could make the investment in digging a well. We hit water at thirty feet but went down to eighty feet and hit a very ample aquifer. We put in a submersible pump and roof tank holding 500 gallons and plumbed up some sinks and then ran septic lines to a tank underground and then a second filtered well to dissipate the effluent. (Kind of a vertical leech field). We worked alongside hired help and well digging rigs and managed to get all this done for about $4,000 USD. This water will be a blessing not only to the church but to the community as well.
Meanwhile we attended dynamic worship services, walked through the poorest neighborhoods, praying and bringing comfort and cheer. At one outdoor meeting in Palmarejo, a Haitian village and former Batey, many children came to Christ after an invitation to pray and Jonas and Zach presented the gospel using colored beads on bracelets that were given out. Prayer lines were formed for healing and many came to our team, touched by the Presence of God. Wherever we went we invited people to our free medical clinic to be held on our last day. Tom led a group into the schools to do skits and get to know the students. Pastor Victor's church was greatly encouraged that there is now water at the church and we rejoiced with Davidic dance and worship together with our Dominican brothers and sisters. The spiritual implications of a new well dug in dry land spoke of the promise of a well-spring of salvation to occur in their midst as well.

Finally on our last day we gave a free clinic at our Ebenezer Clinic and saw about 1,000 people, mostly women and children who are too poor to afford their prescriptions. One group of families received Baclofen, donated by Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont, NH providing more than a six month supply for each disabled child who must live on this drug to control muscle spasms. The problem there is the medicine is cost prohibitive. Our team lavished these families with love. God knows! We had more than $180,000 of donated medicines in all distributed by our doctors with enough left over to give to the Children's Hospital in Santo Domingo. We shared the gospel in the waiting area with successive groups and more than 100 received Christ as Lord and Savior. Bless God!!!

Our next trip is scheduled for June/ July and we encourage you to learn more about how you can participate with us as a missionary or as a financial partner. For details see our link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=203750336317560

We thank all who participated sacrificially for going, for financing, for the teamwork it took to keep this group going. Special thanks to Michele for keeping us well fed and laundry cleaned and working hard behind the scenes so the team could be refreshed and in good health. May God bless you each and everyone, good and faithful servants of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In His Eternal Service,

Ken Peters
Director OAO/KC