How it Started
- Karen Rumple
- Jul 5
- 2 min read
From Ohio to the Dominican Republic
Building the mission house
When Karen and I moved to the Dominican Republic on January 27, 2000, our plan was to finish the mission house by September. I had traveled to the DR in July of 1999 to purchase the property and begin construction, but when Karen and the children arrived, the rooms still were not ready.
We stayed in an unfinished home down the lane until April 2000, when we were finally able to move into the first two completed rooms.
From that point on, construction started and stopped many times. The needs around us were overwhelming. Widows, children, and families came to us needing food, medical help, or other urgent support, and we simply could not ignore them.
For the next five years, we did what we could, building a little at a time while continuing to care for the people God placed in front of us.
By 2005, construction came to a complete standstill.
Then, in 2008, a couple who had visited us for years asked why the house was not moving forward. When we explained that every extra dollar had gone to help those in need, they offered to provide the funds to finish the mission house.
Construction resumed in late 2008. Then, in November 2011, a team from Niles, Ohio visited during a tropical storm.
Seeing that the third floor was nearly finished, they asked why we had not moved in. We told them the truth—we were exhausted and had no energy left to make the move. So they packed us up from the second floor, where we had lived in one room for more than 10 years, and moved us upstairs.
What a beautiful blessing the Lord provided we get to share with so many teams and missionaries who share the same faith and goals.
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