Here is a quick, but hopefully fun, entry.  Can you decipher the following sign (written in Spanish)?

Does this help?

• SuPERCOL eL PiCAZO TE iNbiTA ESTE BiErNE 27 A SE LEbrAL EL DiA de LA Madres CON RAUL ROdrige y SU CON gUNTO de VAChaTA y MUChoMA --  TE ESPErAMO Aqui
  

How about this?  (corrected spelling)

• Supercolmado El Picazo te invita este viernes 27 a celebrar el Dia de las Madres con Raul Rodriguez y su conjunto de bachata y mucho mas --  te esperamos aqui

Here's a rough translation:

• El Picazo grocery store invites you this Friday, the 27th, to celebrate Mother's Day with Raul Rodriguez and his group (band) of bachata (a style of Dominican music) and much more --  we hope to see you here.
  

The Lord bless you with his peace,  :-)

NW

Alexander Torres Paulino

Alexander Torres was born on May 21, 1975, in the town of Moca, Dominican Republic.  He was baptized and grew up in the Roman Catholic church, but at the age of 24 he joined a non-denominational Evangelical church with Calvinistic teachings.

Towards the end of 2004 and into 2005, Alex met some of our WELS missionaries through a mutual friend named Javier Guzman.  Even though Javier did not agree with Biblical, Lutheran doctrine, he introduced Alex to the missionaries, and they started studying together.  At first, Alex had a hard time accepting certain doctrines--he himself especially mentions infant Baptism--but he was impressed that the missionary's response was always to say: "Let's see what the Bible says about that..."

Alex credits "God's great, great mercy" for leading him finally to put his own human reason aside and submit to God and his revealed Word.  He joined the Lutheran church in October 2005 and immediately started studying in our Bible Institute and Seminary.

He brings with him a wide range of work experiences including:  credit assessor, auditor, sales manager and collection agent.  He is also quite an entrepreneur, having started his own factory of disinfectant cleaners, a washing machine rental agency, car rental agency, and a handcraft shop.  His knowledge of the business world serves him well as he interacts with his community and serves Cordero de Dios (Lamb of God) Lutheran Church in Moca.

Alex is married to Sandra, and they have three children: Joseph, Alexandra and Alejandra.  (It is common in the DR for parents to simply combine their names when naming their children.)  Sandra and both daughters suffer severe asthma, so we pray the Lord keep them in good health.

"Lord of the Harvest, thank you for providing Alex and his family as gifts to your church.  Bless his service to your people."

The Lord bless you with his peace,

NW

Helve Robert

Helve Robert was born in Cabo-Haitiano, Haiti on March 13, 1972.  After studying Communication in school, he worked for a while at a radio station and also taught French Grammar and Speech at an elementary school in Haiti for two years.  Helve then decided to change professions and spent four years in medical school.  In 2006, however, before finishing medical school, he decided to change again, this time deciding to study in our Lutheran seminary here in the DR in preparation for serving as a pastor some day back in Haiti.

Although Helve was baptized in the Roman Catholic church as a child, he grew up in the Baptist church.  It was in early 2005 that one of his fellow medical students--a friend of Rona Abraham who was pastor of the Haitian congregation and studying in our seminary--invited him to attend a Sunday service.  Soon thereafter he grew in his faith and understanding of the Gospel through a Bible Information Class.  He was convinced we were teaching the truth and joined the Haitian congregation.

Helve is an active member of the congregation and studied in our Bible Institute, desiring to serve more.  He graduated from the B.I. in Feb 2006 and has been studying in our seminary ever since.

Helve was married, but sadly his wife abandoned him and their infant daughter Ester shortly after Ester was born.  We ask for your prayers that the Lord give Helve the wisdom and strength he needs to fulfill his duties as a single father and seminary student.

We praise the Lord for giving Helve as a gift to his church and pray that he bless Helve's family and ministry.

The Lord bless you with his peace,

NW

Freddy Antonio Aquino

Freddy Antonio Aquino (nickname "Charlie") was born in Bayaguana, Dominican Republic on September 27, 1979. He has had a variety of jobs over the years, working in a rice mill, farming and cattle, house painter, mechanic, and in the "zona franca" free trade zone manufacturing. Beyond his high school education, he has taken courses in Human Relations, Public Speaking, and Cell Phone Repair.

Freddy attended the Pentecostal church for much of his life and came into contact with the Lutheran church in what the world would consider a "chance encounter". In 2003 he was just waiting at a bus stop in the city of La Romana. Julio Corporan, pastor of the Lutheran church in San Pedro de Macoris, was waiting at the same bus stop for the same bus. Julio started talking with Freddy about the Lutheran Church, and Freddy became interested. He actually went to Julio's house and watched a video called "Spiritual Identification". From there he moved on to Bible Instruction Class and became a member by the end of the year.

Freddy has served his congregation by teaching Bible studies, preaching and evangelizing. He studied in our Bible Institute in order to serve better, and has been studying full time in the seminary since 2006.

"Charlie" is married to Elizabet, and they have a four-year-old son, Freili.

We thank God for Freddy, Elizabet and Freili; and pray that he bless Freddy's ministry.

The Lord bless you with his peace,
NW

Obed Bazin

Over the next few weeks, I hope to introduce you to our Seminary and Bible Institute students here in the DR. We start with Obed Bazin:

Obed was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on September 19, 1977. He studied Economic Sciences in college, but moved to the DR before finishing. In Santiago, he worked in the "zona franca" (free trade zone) where he sewed polo shirts for a clothing manufacturer.

In May 2003, a friend of his told him about English classes that our mission was offering, and he decided to participate. The teachers (who were WELS Kingdom Worker volunteers) invited him to attend church services. He liked the doctrine he heard and decided to join the congregation.

As a member of the Haitian congregation, he attended church and Bible studies, and participated in evangelism efforts. He started studying Bible Institute courses and then graduated from the BI in August 2005. He has been studying in our seminary ever since and should graduate in 2009 or early 2010.

We thank God for Obed and his service.

The Lord bless you with his peace,
NW

September Birthdays

September is a busy month of birthdays for our mission family:

• 19 Sep -- Obed Bazin, one of our Haitian seminary students
• 19 Sep -- Sam Monday, son of Missionary Shiloh and Molly Monday (he turned 5!)
• 21 Sep -- Kiero Guerra, a Dominican Evangelist, currently studying in the US
• 24 Sep -- Vanessa King, one of our WELS Kingdom Worker volunteers teaching English as a Foreign Language classes
• 27 Sep -- Freddy Aquino, one of our Dominican seminary students
• 04 Oct -- Julio Corporan, one of the Dominican pastors/seminary student (it's *almost* in Sept)

We enjoy celebrating another year of God's grace with these, our brothers and sisters in Christ. May he grant them all many more years of his grace.

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW

Hanna and Ike updates

The following reports were copied from www.dr1.com:

The Center for Emergency Operations (COE) has lifted the Tropical Storm watch for the DR, explaining that tropical storm Hanna is no longer a threat. According to COE director Colonel Juan Manuel Mendez Garcia, Hanna isolated 51 communities, caused the evacuation of 10,745, damaged 2,149 homes and destroyed 4 bridges and damaged two main roads. The government has set aside RD$300 million to assist victims of Hanna. The Presidency's Social Plan will also distribute 884,000 pounds of food throughout the country. Hanna caused the most damage in Monte Cristi, Dajabon, Azua, San Pedro and San Jose de Ocoa.

COE officials have also called for the mandatory evacuation of families located near the Sabaneta Dam in San Juan de la Maguana. Monte Cristi Civil Defense regional director Maximo Ventura explained that 1,1090 families in that region have been evacuated.

Authorities are now monitoring Hurricane Ike that is expected to bring rains. National Meteorological Office director Gloria Ceballos explained that by Saturday Ike is expected to be near the DR's north coast, but sufficiently north to not cause major damage. However, close monitoring of the storm is cautioned. Officials are also keeping their eye on Tropical Storm Josephine, which has formed off the coast of Africa and is headed towards the Caribbean. It is too early to tell the path that Josephine will take.

To follow seasonal storms, see http://www.dr1.com/forums/weather-beyond/...

Thank you, brothers and sisters, for your concern.
The Lord bless you with his peace,
NW

Prayer for Latin America Traveling Theological Educators team

Lord of the living harvest, bless the labors of the LATTE team, a team of missionaries aiding in the seminary training and continuing theological education of national pastors throughout Latin America.  Bless especially their efforts to use modern technology and the internet to offer their classes in various countries at once in the near future, even as rising travel costs make it difficult to be present personally and teach their students face to face.  Thank you for giving us modern technology to be used as a tool in the spread of your saving gospel.

Amen.

The Lord bless you with his Peace,

NW

Santiago break-in #4

I'm a little pressed for time, so please accept this quick note.

The downtown Santiago outreach center was broken into again this last Tues night/Wed morn (Aug 19/20). That’s number 4 if you’re keeping count. The thief (I personally think it was a one man job) stole the offering from the past few Sundays and a large tool box that one of our members had left since he was working on replacing all of the electrical outlets and switches. It is indeed frustrating, but we know we are still in the Lord’s hands and he PROMISES to work even this out for the good of his children. We take him at his word!

We renew our efforts to make the building more secure.

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW

OK after Fay

The Dominican Republic has been in the news lately in the states due to a minor earthquake (tremor) and Tropical Storm Fay. Thank you to everyone who has called or sent emails asking how we are doing. We thank the Lord for your concern!!!

I can say that -- by God's grace -- we are all OK. Some of us (including me) didn't even notice the tremor last week. Tropical Storm Fay brought heavy, heavy rains and strong wind gusts, but none of our members were negatively affected. At least, not to my knowledge.

We were actually thankful for the rains because it has been quite dry here lately. The water authorities were starting to ration water service. And that, together with longer blackouts of electricity than normal, was causing greater tension and stress in certain communities. The rains from Fay helped alleviate that a little.

We keep Haiti, Cuba and the southeastern US in our prayers as they also were/are in Fay's path. May the Lord keep all in his caring and protecting hands.

The Lord bless you with his Peace,

NW

!En tu mano están mis tiempos!

"My times are in your hands." - Psalm 31:15

Our Lord wisely teaches us to rejoice more than anything because our names our written in heaven (Luke 10:20). What greater blessing could we ever receive than salvation from hell and the free gift of eternal life by faith in Jesus? We take our cue from God's holy angels and find our next greatest joy in every single sinner who repents (Luke 15:10).

We also find many reasons daily to rejoice and for which we are compelled to give thanks to our gracious and merciful God, who "still preserves me by richly and daily providing... all I need to keep my body and life" and "by defending me against all danger."

Missionary Monday - and all who have sent him to preach the gospel in the Dominican Republic - give thanks to the Lord for sparing him from serious injury or death last week. On his way to the grocery store on Wednesday night, what we presume was a stray bullet smashed through his passenger-side window and out the driver-side window, passing within inches from his body as he drove. By God's mercy, Missionary Monday was not hit by the bullet or injured at all, with the exception of a few tiny pecks in his right forearm from broken glass.

Stray bullets and shoot-outs, though not common, are not unheard-of happenings in a city the size of Santiago. Innocent bystanders are occasionally injured or even killed because of such criminal or reckless behavior. Perhaps this is not much different from the city you live in. It is certainly no different from the dangers that threaten each of our bodies as we drive our cars or ride the bus or fly in an airplane. As the Lord extends our lives day by day and uses his powerful angels to protect us, let us all remember that "all this he does only because he is my good and merciful Father in heaven, and not because I have earned or deserved it." And "for all this I ought to thank and praise, to serve and obey him." Ask Missionary Monday, and he'll say it with you: "This is most certainly true."

"I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live." - Psalm 104:33

Only in the DR...

I have been away from home a lot this month, so updates have been few. Here, however, is a quick posting of pictures you might only see in the DR (or similar countries...)

How many people can *you* fit on a motorcycle?

Someone used a bit too much coloring on their Easter eggs. (Yes, these are colored chicks.)

An overpass to nowhere...

Any guess as to why we have so many power outages?

The Lord bless you with his peace,
NW

Handing out "The Promise"

Below is a short video clip (one minute, fifteen seconds) from an evangelism event in San Pedro de Macoris. A group of members from Santiago and Moca travelled to SPM to participate. We handed out copies of "The Promise", a colorful 14 page magazine which summarizes the Gospel story in seven lessons: (1) God's creation, (2) The fall into sin and God's promise of a Savior, (3) The Savior's birth, (4) The Savior's death and resurrection, (5) We are declared not guilty, (6) The Holy Spirit gives us peace, and (7) The promise of eternal life. [Check out the website for Multi-Language Publications located in the "Recommended Links" section to the right if you would like more info on this excellent evangelism tool available in many languages.]

As we handed out "The Promise" we also invited people to a special service in the afternoon. God blessed us with a full house. We thank God for the fellowship the members from the four congregations were able to enjoy, and for the opportunity to share in San Pedro the Gospel Promise of forgiveness of sins and life eternal through Jesus Christ.

In the video, Pastor Alex from Moca hands out "The Promise" in a few colmados (small grocery stores) with typical Dominican music playing in the background.

[Thank you to Missionary Phil Strackbein for submitting the video.]

The Lord bless you with his peace,

NW

Pentecost Party

This post dates back to May 3rd. Sorry for the delay -- I'm trying to catch up :-)


At the end of each 6 week English class session, we provide an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) party for our students. This is an opportunity to get to know our students better, meet their family members, and share God’s Word with them.

This session, the party began with fellowship teamed with playing cards and dominoes. Snacks consisted of apples, crackers, ham and cheese, cookies, peanuts, raisins, and the popular homemade “rice crispy bars”.

Volunteers and craft projects welcomed the students’ children. Coloring sheets, crossword puzzles, and crafts kept the little ones busy the entire afternoon.

The English teachers hosted an activity similar to the popular game show “Jeopardy” focusing on things the students learned in class. Topics included “numbers”, “verbs”, “animals” “weather”, etc…. There were even two topics labeled “Helena” and “Julia” to see how well the students knew their teachers. The final bonus round featured the topic “Pentecost”, highlighting the theme of the occasion.

The event concluded with a Bible study led by Pastor Shiloh Monday. A blessed opportunity to share the coming of the Holy Spirit and message of the Savior with all!

[Thank you, Julie, for writing this post. We thank God for both Julie and Polly for their volunteer service as English teachers this last year.]

The Lord bless you with His peace,
NW

Robbed again

As you can see from the title of this post, our church in downtown Santiago was broken into again. I can't go into too many details right now, but here’s a quick summary:

(1) Thursday night/Friday morn (May 22/23) – thieves bent back a zinc (tin) roofing sheet and came down through the ceiling tile in the back third of the church (only front two thirds has cement roof). They took the CPU of a computer and a DVD player (I hope they watch the Communicating Christ DVD that was in it.) On Friday, we filed police report and cleaned up the broken ceiling tiles, replaced tin sheet and secured it as best we could.

(2) Saturday night/Sunday morn (May 24/25) – thieves broke in again, this time they completely removed the burglar bars at the women’s bathroom (we see now they were poorly installed) and forced open the louvre window. This time they cleaned us out: 29” TV, water cooler, the rest of the computer (monitor, speakers, etc), window a/c unit, wall fans, Missionary Monday’s tool set, even a 3 liter bottle of communion wine! By God’s grace we had removed the congregation’s cash on hand lock box after the Friday morning break in, so they didn't get that.

After a delayed Haitian service on Sunday, I attempted to file a police report, but was told to come back on Monday. Obed, one of our Haitian seminary students, and I replaced the burglar bars (temporarily) with cement, and cleaned up except for four items that had obvious fingerprints. Following EFL classes and the Spanish service in the afternoon we removed anything we thought the thieves might come back for (used batteries, three fans that remained, etc).

Mon morning we planned for a “work day” at church to improve security, only to arrive and find out that during the night they had broken into the veterinary office below us and took their computer and some equipment! Within a few minutes after we got there, news people started arriving. Freddy and I were interviewed. I even got to speak live on the radio with Jose Gutierrez, a well known news and commentary program here in Santiago with a large audience.

The police “CSI” team arrived and after they finished taking fingerprints, we cleaned, fixed the roof better and cut back tree branches to open up visibility. Still in the morning I went to file our police report from Sunday, only to be told to come back in the afternoon. I went back in the afternoon (an hour before they told me to return), and after waiting two hours, was told to come back the next morning!

So on Tuesday I went early to file the police report that we couldn’t finish Sunday or Monday because their computers were down. After close to three hours of paperwork and waiting in lines, the case was put on a list to be assigned an investigator. I finally went to church, hoping to get in at least an hour of seminary classes. Immediately when I arrived at church, however, some of the neighbor businessmen came over and said they knew where our stuff was.

Since our case was still waiting for an officer to be assigned to it, we had to return to the police station personally to inform them. They “immediately” assigned us an officer who took his time waiting for a partner – then he told me that they didn’t have a vehicle!!! “Can you drive us?” they asked. “What if you take someone into custody?" I responded. “Well, we’ll put him in the cargo area...” (I have a jeep-style vehicle.) Next thing I knew, Freddy (one of our sem students) and I were driving around these two officers to do their investigation. So much for teaching any seminary classes...

After asking around and driving to different places looking for information, we are 99% sure that the next door neighbors to the church either are responsible for the break-ins or at least bought the stolen merchandise from the thieves, to resell it later. But we have no confidence that the police will do anything about it--unless we decide to "wet their hand" (mojar la mano), give the police a cash incentive to act. (What we take for granted in the US!)

But God is good. We wait to see what the Lord has in store for us. Your prayers are requested!
Believe it or not, that is the *SHORT* version!

With you, declaring God’s praises!
NW

[By the way, in the third and fourth pictures above, you're supposed to notice what *isn't* there -- no TV on the TV cart, no air conditioner unit in the window...]

Hosanna, Loud Hosanna

Yes, this post dates back to Palm Sunday (March 16). The following is a video of the seminary students singing "Cabalga Majestuoso" which is equivalent to the hymn "Hosanna, Loud Hosanna", found as hymn 130 in Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal. (You may purchase a copy through Northwestern Publishing House at this link -- and no, I was not paid for that plug :-)

[By the way, the first stanza was recorded from behind the students. In the second stanza, you see their faces from the front.] I hope you enjoy it!



The Lord bless you with his peace,
NW

Translation into French

As has been mentioned in previous posts, our mission in the DR has the blessing of being a stepping stone into Haiti -- even though Haiti is not currently an official mission field of the WELS. One challenge, however, is that none of our missionaries speaks French. That means we entrust the work into the capable hands of our Haitian brothers who are studying with us (in Spanish).

As our Haitian students look to the future, they want to take the Gospel with them back into Haiti and start a national church there. One step in the process is translating our current materials from Spanish into French. What a blessing the Lord has provided in Rona Abraham! (To see other posts about Rona, click on "Rona" in the list of labels below.) He is a LATTE graduate now working on his engineering degree here in Santiago so that he can return to Haiti and support himself with a job as a professional while also sharing the freedom he knows in Christ with his fellow Haitians.

In the meantime, he is working faithfully at translating resources into French. He has completed the majority of courses for the Bible Institute (pre-seminary), various Evangelism resources and Bible studies, and will soon start on seminary level courses.

Join us in asking the Lord to bless his efforts, to give him wisdom and insight as he wrestles to force our Spanish books to speak French, and for continued funding for his translation projects. We trust that these resources will be blessings for the Haitian church for years and years to come.

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW

Easter transportation

I wanted to share a few pictures from Easter Sunday. As mentioned in the previous post, three congregations joined together for a joint celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord. Cordero de Dios (Lamb of God) congregation from Moca had the longest distance to travel.

A friend of the congregation owns a van. The women and children (and anyone else who fit) rode in the van:
The men came on their motorcycles. It was an impressive caravan:

The Lord bless you with his peace,
NW

Holy Week in the DR

My apologies for being so far behind. This is some information on Holy Week in the Dominican culture, in our Lutheran church, and for the mission families.

Dominican culture
Holy week (Semana Santa) is important in the Dominican Republic. The majority of people have vacation from school and work. Their focus is on Good Friday. This as an opportunity to point toward the empty tomb and share the good news, "Christ is risen! Yes! He is risen indeed!"

The pre-Lenten Carnival is the most popular festival in the DR. The tradition began in the 1600s when the people wore masks to mimic the custom practiced in Europe. Traditionally, this was a time of confession and “taking away flesh” in preparation for Christ’s passion. Today it has been mostly secularized. Colorful dance groups, floats, bands, and masked characters are featured in village square and parades of major cities every Sunday in February. Link to carnival: http://www.colonialzone-dr.com/traditions-carnival.html

Sweet beans (habichuelas con dulce) are a traditional cuisine served often during the Lenten season. In the past, this sweet bean dish was eaten on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent as a substitute for meat. Each region of the island usually adds a special or secret ingredient to make their recipe distinct. Link to the recipe: http://www.dominicancooking.com/desserts-beverages/1439-habichuelas-dulce-sweet-creamed-beans.html


With the Lutheran Church

On a Friday evening during Lent, one of the student pastors, Freddy, hosted a song service in his apartment. We sang hymns, shared special Bible passages and memories; Freddy also read a poem he prepared for the event. His wife, Elizabeth, and other members of the congregation spent the afternoon preparing a large kettle of “Habichuela con Dulce” for us to enjoy during the evening. It was warm and sweet!

English Easter Party -- At the end of this session of English classes, we had an English Easter party. An opportunity for students to spend time with our church members and ministry leaders. We began the day with socializing and playing games. Cards and dominoes are always on the top of the list. For children, two volunteers ran a craft room that kept the children busy for 3 hours. We served snacks consisting of chips, peanuts and raisins, grapes, apples, cookies and bars, and lemonade. We played JESUS Bingo, using English words connected to Jesus Christ. After several games, the day concluded with a video and Bible Study on "What Easter Means to Me". We had over 60 attendees with 39 staying for the Bible Study.

Services -- During holy week, the Haitian and Dominican congregations in Santiago had combined worship services on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. The congregations in Moca and San Pedro kept their regular schedules. Due to the influence of the Roman Catholic Church on Dominican society, most people consider Good Friday the focal point of Holy Week, with Easter Sunday and Christ’s resurrection as almost an afterthought. Every year the missionaries and national pastors encourage members to remember BOTH events for our salvation. With that encouragement, Easter attendance is slowly going up among our members.

Special orders of service were prepared for Thursday, Friday and Sunday. The service on Maundy Thursday led worshipers through personal preparation and examination before receiving the Lord’s Supper. The service on Good Friday focused on confession and the absolution that Christ’s death for us makes possible. Easter Sunday’s service was a joyous celebration of the victory Christ won for us. There was no special music like organ preludes or choir anthems because the national church has not yet been blessed with church musicians — we use recorded musical accompaniment — but even so the members tend to sing with a little extra emotion in their voice this time of year.

For the Mission Team

The Dominican Republic does not have the same traditions for celebrating Easter as in the United States. In fact, Easter itself is almost not celebrated at all. As mentioned above, the emphasis here is on Good Friday. For many Dominicans, Easter Sunday is not for going to church to praise God for the resurrection and to celebrate new life in Christ, but for going to the beach or traveling to visit family. American traditions like the Easter Bunny, coloring Easter eggs or doing an Easter egg hunt are unheard of. When Missionary Wagenknecht offered some colored Easter eggs to his seminary students last year, they didn’t know what to do with them. “Eat them??? They’ve been colored—are you sure they’re safe???”

Individual mission families may hold their family devotion early on Sunday morning to substitute for an Easter Sunrise Service (which is not a tradition here). Some bring Easter candy back with them from furlough and save it to hide for their children on Easter—they have to practice self-restraint not to use it up early if their furlough was the previous summer. In past years the mission families have joined together on Easter Sunday after church activities for an Easter brunch—but since that isn’t until the late afternoon, we affectionately call it “Easter brupper”.

No matter where we are or what the traditions are, it is a joy to celebrate Christ’s victory over Satan, death and sin. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!


The Lord bless you with His peace,
NW

Another brother, another blessing

We thank God again for leading another sinner declared to be a saint in Jesus to declare publicly his unity with us in the faith. Alfredo was received as a communicant member yesterday (Mar 3) in the Santiago Dominican congregation.

What a joy for his wife Emerita who was already a member of the congregation. Already married for many years, they are now united even more by publicly confessing the same faith in Christ their Lord. What a blessing to express their common faith when -- side by side -- they receive the Lord's body and blood together in the Lord's Supper. We pray God bless Alfredo, and all of us, keeping us in the true Christian faith until He calls us to His side in the glories of heaven.

The Lord bless you with His peace,
NW

Glory to God for another brother in the faith

Rejoice and give thanks to God with us. The Haitian congregation in Santiago celebrated the adult confirmation of Wisler on Sunday, Feb 17. What a joy to confess publicly the unity we share through faith in Jesus!

May the Lord bless Wisler and all of us as we continue to grow in the knowledge of Christ.

The Lord bless you with His peace,
NW

Milwaukee, WI furlough schedule

Join us at any of the following. Click on the name of the church or school for directions.

Sunday, Feb 3 -- St. Peter Lutheran Church, 1205 South 8th St, Milwaukee
9:15am English service
10:30am Bible class presentation
12:00 noon Spanish service

Monday, Feb 4 -- Calvary Lutheran School, 110 Division St, Thiensville
8:00am Chapel

Tuesday, Feb 5 -- Wisconsin Lutheran College, 8800 W Bluemound Rd, Milwaukee
11:00am Chapel
11:30am Presentation

Wednesday, Feb 6 -- WELS Synod Administration Building, 2929 N Mayfair Rd, Milwaukee
8:00am Chapel

Thursday, Feb 7 -- Wisconsin Lutheran High School, 330 N Glenview Ave, Milwaukee
8:30am Chapel

The Lord bless you with His peace,
NW

Updated Texas / New Mexico furlough schedule

Below is an updated schedule for presentations in Texas and New Mexico with a few more details.

Click on the name of the church or school for its location and directions.

Jan 20 -- St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Duncanville, TX -- 10:30 am
Jan 22 -- Immanuel Lutheran Christian Academy -- , Ft Worth, TX -- 9:00 am
-- Calvary Lutheran School, Dallas, TX -- 1:00 pm
Jan 23 -- Holy Word Lutheran School, Austin, TX -- 9:00 am
-- Trinity Lutheran Church, Temple, TX -- 7:00 pm
Jan 24/25 -- South Central District Pastor/Teacher/Delegate Conference, San Antonio, TX
Jan 27 -- Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Las Cruces, NM -- 10:15 am

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW