Most families in the United State have 1-3 children on the average. We are blessed to have over three hundred children in our family we refer to as "our kids”! Our kids are hungry. Not only for food but the children are starving to hear God's word and have someone love them. For as God said: "If you love me then feed my sheep."

Our kids live in some of the poorest areas in the Dominican Republic. Most of them are being raised by someone other than their mother or father. Many may live in a house with up to fifteen other people and they may include around 8 brothers and sisters.

Our kids live in houses smaller than the size of your average American bedroom. Most houses may or may not have a bed. The house likely has a dirt floor, no bathroom or running water, no kitchen, and a leaky tin roof covered in holes.

Our kids usually have only one outfit to play in and one school uniform (if they can afford one). They live in areas called bateyes that are filled with violence, drugs, gunfire and abuse. However, many of our kids are homeless and do not have a house, family, or anything to call their own.

Our kids are usually hungry, dirty, and sick. We love each and every one of them more than we could possibly put into words. We love them when they are sick.We love them when they are hungry and we love them when they are dirty. In fact, we try to seek out and find "the dirty children" and "the bad children" because we believe they need Jesus the most. We want to build relationships with the kids who have been abandoned and are scared.

These kids have stories you wouldn’t believe! We want to learn each and every one of their stories. Jesus said "I am not here to heal the righteous but I'm here to heal the sick." And we praise God as He continues to put in front of us: abandoned, abused, sick, and desperate children.

Many people often remark they can’t bear to think about living in such poverty.

Many look at my photographs and say how do "those people" live like that.

But “those people” are our friends.  “Those people” all have names.

"Those people" are no longer a statistic, they are real people.  

We know each of their names and they call me by mine. When people make comments like that they act as if "those people" choose to be sick or destitute.

I often think what if I was one of “those people”? Would someone stop to help me? Would someone feed me or hold me when I am sick?  Would everyone just walk past me? We are all God's children no matter what our story is. No one should be referred to as "those people." #missionaryatheart wants to show the love of God and build hope. So we stop and we keep loving “our kids” one at a time.

How you can help!

We have a variety of ways that you can get involved. #missionaryatheart would not be what it is without the support of others. Through prayer, donations, and raising awareness, we are able to spread God's love and share it in a tangible way.