We haven’t shared a general update in a while and want to take the opportunity to do that now.
In this email we will share about Abby’s Garden, and soon we will send another one which will fill you in on our plans for local ministry in the Portland/Vancouver area.
We currently have five women who work for Abby’s Garden, caring for the children in various capacities, and cooking healthy meals for them. We are very happy to be able to share that Tania, the favorite among the children, is with us again! We had shared about a year ago that her husband wanted her to discontinue working at Abby’s Garden (for reasons that remain unclear), but after about two months he relented and allowed her to return. All of us were overjoyed! By way of reminder, Tania is the one who started attending church at Divina’s invitation, and subsequently decided to follow Jesus and become baptized! She has such a tender heart for the children and is truly such a blessing to Abby’s Garden.
With the start of the new school year, some of our older kids have gone on to school, so we have several new babies and toddlers. We will continue with our “Meet” the children series, and share more about our new ones in future updates. Altogether we now have 22 children receiving care at Abby’s Garden, and we expect three more to join us by the end of the year!
Last time we let you know that the house we’ve been using for four years has been put up for sale. We are still searching for a new location which will suit our needs. As rent has risen in the last few years, we will almost certainly have an increase when this occurs. Moving always brings extra costs and is such a lot of work, you can definitely be praying for this!
Divina and Abby
Coming to us with four years of experience as the director of a government-run daycare, where she saw firsthand how inadequately the children were cared for, here Divina is pictured with her daughter, Abby, the namesake of our daycare.
Tania
She is so loved by the children, and all of us. We are so thankful for her!
Thank you so much for your generosity, prayers, and care for this ministry which helps so many families in the Dominican Republic who otherwise would not have access to quality childcare for their children. We are so grateful for the continuing opportunity to care for these children with the love of Jesus!
With love,
Tonya