Mission Emanuel is an ongoing Dominican Republic outreach ministry of The Gathering/USA, a non-profit organization that has brought together short-term missionaries dedicated to improving the lives of the Dominican people by providing health care, education, better living conditions and spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Mission Emanuel strives to provide spiritual nourishment to the people of Cielo and Nazaret through evangelical and discipleship ministries. These include a women’s cooperative, discipleship small groups, a boys group of fatherless 10-13 year olds, faith-based addiction counseling, and vacation Bible school. Mission Emanuel has recently begun supporting a Vida Joven (Young Life) group in Cielo as well.
The Emanuel School was the product of the dreams of Javier and Rosario de la Cruz. Believing they could help children escape poverty through education, in 1992, they opened their home in Nazaret to twenty-three students who were unable to attend school elsewhere. In 1995, Jack Larson, a long-time friend and ministry partner of Javier and Rosario, led a short-term mission team to the Dominican Republic. The missionaries brought pictures of the Emanuel School students back to the United States and soon all twenty-three children were sponsored. Soon after, Jack, Javier and Rosario founded Mission Emanuel, which incorporated the Emanuel School and sponsorship program, and established a strong a relationship with US churches and individuals through short-term mission teams.
Over the past fifteen years, Mission Emanuel has expanded its ministry and facilities. Following the destruction of Hurricane Jorge in 1997, missionaries saw the need for an additional school and a church in the small, hilltop village of Cielo. Shortly thereafter, mission teams constructed a three-story building that now houses a children’s medical clinic, a school and a chapel where a local evangelical church meets throughout the week. A water purification plant is now finished providing pure water for a fraction of the cost that families pay at local markets. Several families in Cielo and Nazaret have received block homes and dozens of other homes have been rehabbed, re-roofed, concrete floors and bathrooms constructed by Mission Emanuel teams.
The ministry also built community baseball field, basketball court and several playgrounds. A beautiful youth ministry center in Cielo provides a safe, spiritually nurturing environment for young people in the community. An active youth group from the local church holds outreach events, such as dramas, movies and services at the center. A special emergency fund has been established so that no family is left without food or critical medical care. Mission Emanuel ministers to children with cerebral palsy, Down's Syndrome or other disabilities by providing healthcare in the community, and each team visits leprosy patients to share Jesus’ love with them.
For more information, visit the Mission Emanuel website at http://missionemanuel.org/.
Women's Cooperative -- http://missionemanuel.org/women/
Cielo Water Purification -- http://missionemanuel.org/water/
Children's Sponsorship -- http://missionemanuel.org/program-details/
