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Vol. 5 Issue 40 Tuesday,
January 19, 2010
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Michael & Melissa's Wedding
We are delighted to give you a wonderful
report on the wedding of our son, Michael, to Melissa Bennett, on
Saturday, January 16th at 1:30 PM at Villa #2 in the Sea Horse Ranch
Estates in Sosua. The formal ceremony, complete with traditional
Anglican vows, elegantly arranged classical guitar music, and symbolic
foot washing, was attending by approximately 40 witnesses from 6
different states, 3 provinces of Canada, and 5 countries!
One full week of rain preceded the ceremony.
At 11:30 AM it was raining so hard that we met to discuss the possibility
of moving everything inside. But right on schedule, just forty-five
minutes before the ceremony, the rain stopped and the sun appeared.
Not more than 10 minutes after the presentation of the new husband
and wife to friends and family, the clouds returned and it rained
continually for the next 10 hours - a testimony to the favor of
God upon the union of this man and woman that He was joining together.
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Following the ceremony there was a first class reception. Guests were
treated to exquisite appetizers and drinks as they milled around the
beautifully appointed villa. The dinner that night at Al Porto Restaurant
in the exclusive Ocean Village featured Argentine steak and a delicious
shrimp plate followed by chocolate truffles. Neil Pensinger (best
man), Kim Pensinger (father of the groom), and Kevin Bennett (father
of the bride) offered toasts to the bride and groom and the future
bonds between the two families now joined together through the love,
faith, and commitment of Michael and Melissa.
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The civil wedding took place before a Justice
of Peace, on January 6th, in the town of Sosua. Yamilka Estrada and Scott
Williams were the witnesses.
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Pensinger leave Friday,
January 22nd for Arizona where they will celebrate both their birthdays,
visit Michael's grandparents, and spend their honeymoon in Edna
before returning to the Dominican Republic, February 3rd.
Our prayers and blessings go with them!
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EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI AND RELIEF EFFORTS:
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We are grateful to all our dear
friends who contacted us shortly after the earthquake last week
concerned for our safety. Josie and I were in Santiago to pick up
a guest who was flying in for the wedding. We had arrived with plenty
of anticipation and were just sitting down at a casual restaurant
when we felt the first tremor. At first, I thought I was just dizzy
and held on to the back of the chair. Then when I second tremor
passed, Josie said behind me, "I feel like I'm going to faint".
At that point, I realized that it wasn't me, and I looked up to
watch the restaurant gently swaying.
Once I exited, I saw everyone
in groups outside of the restaurant, including my wife. The earth
felt like it was rolling underneath us. One missionary described
it as "the whole island felt like it was floating." I
looked at my watch and began to time the event... 15 seconds, 30
seconds, one minute... and things were still rolling.
While I was waiting for things
to stop, I thought of Michael, Melissa, and Zoe. They were still
in Sosua which sits on a natural fault line. I knew that something
major was happening, and when I lifted my cell phone, I discovered
that the network was down. Eventually things stopped moving and
we went back inside. It was a good 15 minutes before we heard anything
on the news, but reports were incomplete. It wasn't until 30 minutes
later that we first learned of the tragic events that were unfolding
in Haiti and another 3 hours before we could communicate with Michael
due to an overloaded network. We were thankful that everyone was
fine and that the Dominican Republic had not suffered any serious
damage.
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Almost immediately, people
began to contact us via email wondering how their could help with
the relief efforts. We ourselves were filled with the pain of the
suffering and were asking the same question. But In the days that
followed, we focused move on finding out what had happened to the
Haitians that we knew here in the Dominican. One young Haitian man
went back to Haiti to find that he had lost everything he had there.
Our property maintenance man had cousins who were injured in the
quake and others who lost their houses. One ministry we are familiar
with in Haiti suffered structural damage to most of their buildings
and possible loss of life.
At the present, we are exploring
ways to organize an effort or to join organized efforts that will
effectively help the Haitian people. What we do not think is an
adequate response is to move in an unorganized way since many thousands
of doctors, soldiers, and relief specialists are there already on
scene. We want to help, not interfere.
Until we find our way in all
this, we suggest that you give generously to the Red Cross and other
international relief organizations who are well positioned to alleviate
the suffering and come to the rescue of those who need immediate
help.
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| Quick
Updates ---> |
| New
DA Team Members for 2010... |
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Donna
Churchill, Home Office... Please
welcome Donna Churchill as our new Home Office volunteer.
She is taking over for Mike and Lori Friedman who have accepted
a position with an East Coast based company and will be soon
moving to Pennsylvania.
Donna
has two daughters and seven grandchildren.
She worked for many years as the church secretary at Maranatha
Christian Church in Williston, VT where she continues to attend
and teach Bible studies. A fund for first-time, short term
missionaries is set up at the church in her husband’s
name that has enabled several people to visit the DR for short
term mission work.
We're
sure Donna will do a great job!
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Drs. Daniel &
Melissa Brunner, Board Members... Please
welcome the Brunners to the Dominican Advance board of directors!
They are filling the positions of Ed and Mary Wilbur who are
leaving the Board due to mandatory rotation of members as
set up in our corporate bylaws.
Daniel
is a dental surgeon who conducts clinics and seminars in the
Dominican Republic, and Melissa homeschools their four children.
They are both graduates of Point Loma Nazarene University
in San Diego, California.
Every
four months, the entire family visits the Dominican Republic
during the time of Daniel’s clinics. They are citizens
of both the United States and the Dominican Republic.
The Brunners
will bring professional integrity and vision to the board
of directors.
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Melissa Pensinger,
Mission Trip Coordinator... Please
welcome our daughter-in-law, Melissa, to the Dominican Advance
team as our coordinator for hosting mission teams.
Born
and raised in Essex, Ontario, Melissa has taught at an international
boarding school, successfully completed a Spanish immersion
course, and is a certified dance instructor. She arrived in
the Dominican in 2008 and spent a year working with Servant's
Heart Ministries helping to host team and working in
the pharmacy at their medical clinic.
We
sure that Melissa will do an outstanding job as our new Mission
Team Coordinator and co-director of Destiny International
in 2010.
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Josie Pensinger,
Child Sponsorship Director... Please
welcome Josie as the new child sponsorship director taking
over that position from Donna Williams.
Josie
has been an advocate for the children of Nazareth village
for over new years. She heads up the nutrition program, has
taught remedial reading classes, will be involved in the Saturday
library program, and now will direct the affairs of child
sponsorship program Scholarships for Champions.
Josie
will start by doing a lot of the relational work with the
child at the school and will pick up the communication and
payment responsibilities as the year progresses.
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Dominican
Advance:
President:
Dr.
Kim Pensinger
Vice President:
Josie
Pensinger
Sponsorship Director:
Josie
Pensinger
Home Office: Donna Churchill
Trip Coordinator: Melissa Pensinger
Destiny International:
Michael Pensinger
Board of Directors:
Drs. Rick
& Phyllis Callahan, Pastors Joe & Tammy Calloway,
Drs. Daniel & Melissa Brunner
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| Dominican
Advance, Inc. is
a 501(c)(3) registered non-profit corporation ministering
in the Dominican Republic. All contributions are tax deductible
and can be sent to Dominican Advance, P.O. Box 924, Williston,
VT 05495. You may also contribute by using your credit or
debit card or bank transfer online from our Web site. Thank
you!
Dominican
Advance is a ministry of Maranatha Ministerial Fellowship,
International (MMFI).
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