Jesus' Love Transforming Community

Morel Missions

Please help Miguel and Jennie Morel, missionaries in the Dominican Republic, raise funds to build a bathroom for a blind friend who has never had a bathroom before.  A total of $1,200 is needed for the project. Checks can be made out to North Park and deposited in the Sunday offering or Sharing box.  Read below for the full details.

Update: The $1,200 has been raised for the bathroom project! Thanks to everyone who gave. The Morels continue to need monthly financial supporters. For more information, contact Terri.


The Morel’s story:

morels1Miguel and Jennie Morel have felt called to be missionaries in the Dominican Republic, on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean.  Both are United States citizens, but Miguel is a native of the Dominican Republic.

They were told that they would need about $5,000 a month to live in DR, but their support level is currently at $2,400. They have now been in DR for about eight weeks.

The transition has been difficult, with culture shock for the children who do not remember living in DR previously.  They are still living with only the belongings they had with them on the plane, as customs still hasn’t delivered the crate with their household supplies.

First, Miguel decided that Jarabacoa, the town where they live, needed a men’s prayer group. He sent out some emails, began a word of mouth campaign, and set a date for the first meeting, not having any idea if anyone would show up. You can imagine how encouraged he was when eleven men showed up to pray with him!

Miguel’s main focus will be to work with a Christian organization called Fourth Water. This group is a “business accelerator”, helping people set up their own businesses, with an emphasis on discipleship. His first task will be to set up his own business working with electricity. Not only will this help provide an income for his family, but this is a much needed service in DR where electricity is sporadic and often turned off at night. Besides installing and repairing electricity to homes, he will search for ways that people can make their own electricity or heat their water. He will also be working with Fourth Water to encourage and disciple others who come for help to set up businesses.

Jennie’s work will be creating and running an evangelistic outdoor school for Doulos Discovery School, a Christian school that has a high rate of students who attend college. This is very unusual in DR as public school students attend school for only about 2 1/2 hours, compared to the eight hours that Doulos students are in school. Students are accepted from across the economic spectrum with parents paying what they can and the rest of the tuition is in the form of scholarships.

morels2While Miguel and Jennie are pursuing these endeavors, they also have a project that they would like to work on. They have an elderly friend, Paulin, who is blind.  Paulin’s life is complicated by the fact that his house (pictured) has no bathroom. Miguel would love to add a bathroom to the house so that Paulin will no longer have to find his way out to the cane fields to attend to his needs. The problem is…they have no money for this project.

The Outreach Ministry Team is extending the opportunity for each of us to help provide funds so that Miguel can soon begin work on the bathroom.