The Grace and Peace Mission House
Where You'll Stay
Our Mission House Construction History
When Karen and I moved to the Dominican Republic on January 27th of 2000, we had construction plans to finish the mission house by that September. I had flown to the DR in July of 1999 and began the purchase of the property and the first level contruction. When Karen arrived, we still did not have the rooms ready for her and the children to move in so we stayed at an unfinished home down the lane. In April of 2000, we were finally able to move into the first two rooms that were finished. From there, we could not help but stop construction time and time again to help meet the needs of the people. They were so poor. We had to do all we could. So, for the next five years, we would start, then stop, then start, then stop. Here is how far the construction got when it came to a complete stand still in 2005.
Then in 2008, after three years of no construction, a man and his wife came to us and asked, "Why isn't the construction moving forward?" They indicated that they had been coming for more than five years and there hadn't been much progress in that time. We told them the truth. Every time we had some money to do a little something, a widow or child and sometimes some random person would come to us telling us they needed medical help or help with food... it was always something we could not ignore. What did this couple do? They said, "Well, we will give you the money to finish the house. How much do you need?" How do you answer that question? We were in sheer shock. We got our wits about us and shared what we thought would finish the house. We picked up construction in late 2008 and in November of 2011, a team from Niles, Ohio had come to visit. We were hit with a tropical storm and the team was stir crazy. They asked, "Why aren't you moved into the 3rd floor? It seems finished." We shared that we were so busy and tired and just plain worn out, we had no energy to move in. So, they packed us up from the 2nd floor and the one room we had lived in for more than 10 years and moved us upstairs into the 3rd floor. Look at the beautiful blessing we received.