All good stories come to an end sooner or later, or so they say. 

Our story of our time in Monte Plata has been a good one, a long one, starting  in 2003 when Rebekah first went for a summer internship and stretching over a decade.  As a family we spent two years in Monte Plata, watching God use Kids Alive to change lives, offer hope, and provide futures to numerous children the world ignored.  We grew to love the children we worked with, delighted in seeing them grow and mature physically and spiritually.  We loved having the privilege of  being those who got to GO, who were the voice, the hands, the feet to serve and direct these kids. 

But even in the midst of all that love, we knew from the beginning that we were not the best long-term fit for this role.  Ideally, the role we were filling should belong to Dominicans, people who would raise these kids to thrive in their own culture, who understood the unique strengths and challenges Dominicans face and who could be a role model in the middle of their own country. 

In June, God brought such a couple to Monte Plata.  Franklin and Cecilia have been involved in a similar housing project in another part of the Dominican Republic and were excited to bring their skills, passions, and love for the Lord to the kids in Monte Plata.  With them, they brought a new set of house parents for the long-parentless Casa de Gozo and have another set of friends lined up to fill Casa de Esperanza when the repairs are done there.

It was with heavy but grateful hearts that our family moved from Casa Monte Plata to allow these new directors the opportunity to lead.

As we looked to move away from Casa Monte Plata, the question became, Where Next? Join Kids Alive at another site?  Another country?  Move back to the States?  So many options. 

During a visit back to Philadelphia, God made our decision abundantly clear.  The book we had closed the cover to back in 2012 when we left Urban Hope was about to release its sequel.

So here we are, back in Philadelphia, about to move into the same apartment we left 3 years ago.

We are partnering with Urban Hope, which is a ministry of CE National. Urban Hope is located in inner city Philadelphia in a highly Puerto Rican and Dominican neighborhood.  It is a community church and also functions as as a center for training in urban ministries for hundreds of people annually.  

James will be working full time with Urban Hope, helping to organize large events, grow the Spanish ministry, spearhead an extension campus for Grace College, and develop an active community center for men and women who need a safe place to escape the temptations of the streets. 

Rebekah gets to stay at home and take care of our three growing-too-fast boys.

We are excited to see how God writes this sequel, and already we have lots of stories to share about the work He is doing here at Urban Hope.  Keep reading our blog to see the sequel unfold!