Dream with us for a moment about the transformation that could happen in vulnerable families. This fictional story paints a picture of the reality we hope for our Makarios families!
Angel is a 12 year old boy who enjoys playing baseball and basketball. His younger sister, Maribel, is just as energetic and loves to swim in the river with her friends. Their small home, located close to a river in a crowded community, is constructed of scrap wood and materials their father could gather from the nearby landfill. Inside this humble home is a mother and father who deeply love their children and provide all they can with the little they have. Their father, Manuel, works hard all day in construction, earning barely enough to provide food for their growing family. Their mother, Sofia, is pregnant with her third child and sells fruit on the street when it is in season. Everyday before the children go off to school, their father and mother hug them tightly and pray over them. In the evenings after dinner, the family gathers to listen to their father read from the Bible and share God’s truth. They feel close as a family, loved and cared for, and safe in their home.
BUT things weren’t always this way.
You see, a few years ago Manuel struggled with alcoholism and was verbally and physically abusive to his family. Sofia feared her husband’s outrage and was looking to find love and acceptance in other men. The effect this family environment had on their children’s emotional and spiritual well being was intense. Their marriage was on the brink of divorce and their children felt unsafe in their home.
SO WHAT caused this change?
Manuel had a neighbor who was a part of the Makarios Family Empowerment program through his local church and child’s school. He invited Manuel to attend a series of family empowerment meetings. Manuel knew deep down he needed to change, so he accepted the invitation. What ensued over the next year was a true work of God and not only affected Manuel, but his whole family. Through equipping curriculum, caring relationships, and local church leadership, God spiritually restored Manuel’s entire family.
Our mission to equip churches, schools, and families to bring about spiritual restoration in vulnerable communities is more important than it has ever been. With your help, we can make stories like the one above a reality. Keep a look out next week as I share more about how we will fulfill this new mission throughout the Dominican Republic.
Vulnerable families need your help, please consider making a contribution to multiply this story!
Chris Buster
Executive Director
Here are some of our other stories of change.