Lutherans in the Dominican Republic

This blog has moved...

2011-08-19T18:30:00.000-04:00

If you follow this blog, you've noticed it hasn't been updated for a while. Sorry about that.

We invite you to follow new ministry updates on these blogs:

www.latteontheroad.blogspot.com -- Ministry updates on the work of the WELS Latin American Traveling Theological Educators team (LATTE). This blog focuses on the ministerial education that is going on in the national churches of Latin America in fellowship with WELS, including periodic updates on the Dominican Republic.

www.welsinbolivia.blogspot.com -- Missionary Phil Strackbein and his wife Kathy were relocated from the Dominican Republic to Bolivia to assist a national church there more directly. This blog focuses on the ministry and culture there.

Please note that the ministry here in the Dominican Republic continues through national pastors, even though their work may not be updated here. So please keep the gospel ministry here in your prayers! We thank God for you!

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
Missionary Wagenknecht

Goodbye, Santiago

2011-03-19T10:55:00.008-04:00

During the past few months we have made several trips to the capital city of Santo Domingo. The purpose of our trips has been to acquire the necessary official papers that we will need to enter and live in the country of Bolivia. The decision has been taken that we will move there in March of 2011.

We have been in Santiago for the past five years and the blessings have been numerous and abundant. God has blessed his work among the people of Santiago, creating faith and removing barriers to the common faith that we have in Jesus as our Savior who continually forgives us all our sins. We have watched the people grow in their faith and love of the Savior.

One special memory we will carry with us is the faith worked in the heart of Juan. Having been a pastor of a Pentecostal church, he continually expressed his great joy in hearing the truth of the Scriptures and his profound appreciation of being convinced of these truths. One of Juan's favorite hymns is: "How Great the Joy of the Forgiven" (Cuanta Dicha La del Hombre). This hymn became a normal part of the liturgy that would be sung after the confession of sins. In spite of being a pastor teaching his members false doctrine, God had mercy on Him and sent a messenger to share with him the truth of His Word.

We also rejoice that the Lord has worked in the members a zeal for evangelism and spreading the good news of salvation in Jesus to their neighbors and friends. Through His work in their hearts and with His blessing, the people have taken up this responsibility as the work of all the congregation, not only the leaders.

We thank God for the opportunity He has given us to serve Him here in Santiago. The blessings have been His, given in abundance in spite of our weaknesses, and all the glory is also His only.

Thank you to all our faithful readers many who have written personally to give us their support and assurance of their prayers. Now, with the Lord's help we will continue serving in His kingdom in our new location, La Paz, Bolivia. We will continue to inform you of the Lord's continued blessings at our new location:

www.welsinbolivia.blogspot.com

Island Wealth

2011-03-12T16:41:00.007-04:00

During the past few weeks we have made several trips to the capital city of Santo Domingo. There are several bus lines that provide service for the two hour bus ride between the cities. Every time we make the trip we are amazed at the beauty and the variety of crops that we see just on this stretch of road.

My favorite is the rice fields. They have a special hue of green when growing that looks just wonderful. There are many miles of rice fields and their harvest helps to provide for the feeding the the nation.

We also see many orange orchards, plantain and banana fields and some tobacco fields. The DR produces cigarettes and cigars and many people have come to prefer the flavor of the Dominican cigar over that of the Cuban.

We also drive past the area where there are gold and nickel mines, but these cannot be seen from the road.

In just two hours, we see how richly God has blessed this small island with a variety of wealth. His mercy knows no bounds.

Service

2011-03-08T09:27:00.004-04:00

Hearts that desire to serve, people willing to participate in the work of the church, time dedicated to telling others of their Savior. With these objectives in mind, the women of the congregation Cordero de Dios (Lamb of God) decided to initiate a Ladies Group.

The group has already met several times and has elected evangelism as their primary goal. Some of the activities that will move the group forward are: to motivate and help parents to be faithful in daily devotions with their children, to make evangelism visits to neighbors and family members and to invite people to worship services and others activities in the church.

What a wonderful blessing to see the love the Holy Spirit has poured out in these hearts. The meetings have been well attended and the women are motivated to serve. May God continue to bless their work and grant them continued wisdom and zeal to serve and to bring the gospel to their Dominican neighbors.

Faithful workers

2011-02-20T18:29:00.011-04:00

Work on the mission field is often slow and tedious. There are often setbacks in the work. When the work does go well, we give thanks to the Lord for this great blessing. "All that we have accomplished YOU have done for us" (Is. 26:12).

The work that Pastor Juan is doing in Pueblo Nuevo is very admirable. His congregation had previously been affiliated with a Pentecostal group. When he learned the true doctrine and teachings of the Bible through the witnessing of one of our seminary students, his desire was to share this teaching with his congregation. As can be expected, many of his members questioned this "new" teaching and many left his congregation.

Those who have remained are a small group. They receive much persecution from other surrounding churches and former members. Some Sundays, people who live close to the chapel will play loud music making it hard to concentrate on the message.

How have the members responded? They have been faithful. Pastor Juan diligently continues with his Bible studies and evangelism visits. The nucleus of members continue witnessing to their family and friends. Pastor Juan faithfully prepares sermons that are excellent and wonderful messages filled with clear law and gospel preaching.

We keep Pastor Juan and his congregation constantly in our prayers. They are thankful that the Lord sent the gospel to them and that they have been turned from their false beliefs by the work of the Holy Spirit. We ask God to bless their faithful efforts according to His will.

Heaven's Nursery

2011-02-15T19:27:00.010-04:00

These past three weeks we have been rejoicing over the many baptisms that the Lord is sending to the Cordero de Dios congregation. This week has been no exception. The Lord, in His grace and mercy, granted another infant baptism again this week.

Esther was born on Thursday evening. After nine months, her parents and family welcomed her into their family with great joy. There are two older boys in the family, so as the first girl, her arrival was eagerly awaited.

She came home on Friday. But after being home for less than 24 hours, it became evident that all was not right. On Saturday the parents decided to take her back to the clinic. After an examination by the doctor, he decided that the seriousness of the case merited a transfer to a larger hospital with an intensive care unit specifically for infants. On the ambulance ride to the hospital, the mother, seeing the suffering of her infant baptized her newborn baby girl. After they arrived at the hospital, the doctors were unable to do anything for Esther. She died on Sunday evening.

After hearing about baptism for three weeks in Pastor Alex's sermons, these promises came to life today. Esther not only received baptism, she has already received all the benefits of that baptism. How much comfort theses promises offered to the parents. Baptism also now saves us! In the midst of their grief, the promises become more precious and shine a light in the midst of such pain. This little one is already in the Savior's arms. The Lord in His great love and mercy granted her life, just long enough to be able to be saved. What mercy, what great love. He made a way for Esther to be saved. Our rejoicing knows no end. Praise be to our God, who does all things well. Through the blessings of baptism He has welcomed another soul into the joys of His heavenly mansions.

1,2,3...

2011-02-06T18:30:00.009-04:00

There have been three Sundays in January, and on all three Sundays the Lord has blessed the congregation of Cordero de Dios with baptisms of new members. In 2010 there were a total of nine baptisms in the year. In 2011, we have had six baptisms just in the month of January.

Today, again, three children were brought by their parents to receive the sacrament of baptism. Three times Pastor Alex repeated the words, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost". Three souls received the forgiveness of their sins and were received as children of God. Three hearts were given the gift of faith in Jesus as their Savior.

These three children join the growing number of infant members at Cordero de Dios. Here is a photo of some of our "newest" members. Parents are bringing their children to hear the Word and the Lord is building up a future generation of believers. Today these infants heard "My Faith Looks Up To Thee" as part of their first worship service as believers. "Let the little children come to Me". And when they come, He blesses them with forgiveness, faith and eternal life.

Zeal

2011-01-31T21:02:00.007-04:00

Imagine that you work from 8AM to 6PM from Monday through Saturday. On Monday and Friday nights you attend Bible study at church. On Wednesday night you go to choir practice. On Sunday morning you attend worship service. What would you do on Sunday afternoons?

Recently, I was invited to accompany a friend, who is a member of the Moca congregation, on her Sunday outing who actually has this as her weekly schedule. We did not go out for coffee. We didn't see a movie. We didn't go to visit her family. Instead, she took me to a different area of the city I had not previously seen. The roads were not paved and most of the homes were made of wood with tin roofs. We visited two homes where I was able to participate in three different classes, two with adults and one with a group of teenage girls.

After working all week, this young lady dedicates Sunday afternoon to carrying the good news of the gospel to families who have not heard the message of free forgiveness. It was a wonderful thing to witness and a tremendous motivation to continue working for the Lord.

After a long week working as a secretary, her only free afternoon is spent teaching others about their Savior. The Holy Spirit has motivated her to share the gospel with others so He can create faith in their hearts. Thank you Lord for such zeal. May He work the same in me!

Baptisms, January 2011

2011-01-23T19:29:00.007-04:00

What thoughts went through your mind when you held your firstborn for the first time? While your heart brimmed over with joy and contentment at seeing your child for the first time, what were you thinking? Didn't you promise yourself that you would do everything in your power to protect this new life from any harm? Wouldn't you face any enemy, stand in front of a speeding train, tear out your heart to protect your child?

While you were promising yourself to dedicate all your efforts to protect this new life, were you also promising yourself that you would baptize your child as soon as possible, that you would have daily family devotions to feed that faith and that you would faithfully bring this child to church to strengthen that faith?

With questions such as these, Pastor Alex encouraged his congregation to keep their focus on the spiritual welfare of their children. The physical things have their importance in the life and development of the child but the spiritual blessings carry an eternal promise. His message was directed especially to the parents of the two families who brought their children to be baptized today: Laura, 9 days old and Alexander, 3 yrs.

Praise and thanks be to God who continues to work faith in the hearts of those who hear His Word. Today, according to His promise, a child of 9 days and another 3 years of age, received the gift of forgiveness and faith. We rejoice with the angels.

Promises

2011-01-09T14:01:00.014-04:00

Do you promise to remain faithful to the teachings of the Scriptures? I do.
Do you promise to support to work of the church with your time, talents and treasures? I do.

With promises such as these two new members were received into fellowship in the Moca congregation. It was a wonderful way to start the new year and there was much rejoicing among the other members of the congregation.

As we were rejoicing over the work of the Holy Spirit in creating and sustaining faith in these new members, someone tapped me on the shoulder and pulled me aside to tell me that their spouse had been unfaithful.

Do you promise to love and cherish..? I do
Do you promise to remain faithful and to forsake all others? I do.

Promises, when given produce much joy for the person who receives the pledge. But when promises are broken many hearts are crushed and lives thrown into disarray and sadness. How easy it is for us to move closer and closer to the "gray" areas of sin, so that when the prowling Satan attacks all he has to do is "pounce" and those promises easily become broken marriages and delinquent members. Satan doesn't have to run us down because we are already so comfortable dancing around in the gray areas.

There is someone who keeps all his promises. Someone who runs after us, seeks us out, calls us - our Savior. When we are unfaithful, he remains faithful. He keeps all His promises. And when we are unfaithful - He forgives.

Promises, promises. May He give us the strength to remain faithful to the promises we have given. May we always rejoice in Him - the only one who always remains faithful. With Jesus, a promise given is a promise kept.

Dec. 31, 2010

2011-01-07T18:07:00.008-04:00

A large crowd of over 100 people gathered at the Moca church on New Year's Eve for a worship celebration of all the blessings the congregation has received in the past year. Among the many blessings listed by Pastor Alex were moving into the new building, the numerous baptisms and confirmations, the increase in attendance, greater participation by the members in evangelism. These were a few of the many bounties God has showered on us in this past year.

The evening continued with a drama presented by the children and the Sunday School teacher. A brief re-enactment of the Christmas story (with just a few giggles) was very well done and immensely appreciated by the audience. The Sunday School teacher had also taught the children a song with movements that they presented at the end of the drama.

All of the adults were involved in the following activity which was a sort of Bible trivia. Someone from the audience was picked and asked to answer a Bible based question and then this person would choose the next person to play the game. Everyone was very enthused and enjoyed the game very much.

The evening finished with the traditional holiday meal of rice, lechon (roasted pork), potato salad and yuca. The thirty pounds of rice was barely enough to feed the entire crowd!

At midnight, everyone wished each other the Lord's richest blessings for the coming year.
Que Dios le bendiga y le prospere.

Christmas 2010, Santiago

2011-01-01T17:44:00.013-04:00

Roast pork, seasoned chicken, rice, pasteles, salad, Christmas bread...just a few of the delicious foods that fill your plate at a typical Dominican Christmas meal. Many families prepare their own meat or you can buy it on any street corner during the Christmas-New Year holiday season.

Telara bread is also only prepared and sold at Christmas time. This is a traditional bread that accompanies the holiday meal and is available only at this time of the year. On Christmas eve, it also is sold on every street corner.

After the main meal, candies, raisins and apples are enjoyed along with holiday punch.

The main Christmas celebration is usually held on Christmas Eve beginning with the traditional meal that is usually eaten with family members. Family members spend the evening together and gifts are exchanged and opened. At midnight fireworks are set off to announce the arrival of Christmas day.

Recycling

2010-12-14T17:38:00.009-04:00

Well, our Christmas tree went to the dogs - literally. The watchdogs that guard the church during the night decided to "play" with the Christmas tree. They tipped the tree over and chewed on the branches and broke most of the ornaments. There was not much left of what had been a beautiful Christmas decoration. So our beautiful tree was recycled and now we have several decorative wreaths, hung high up on the walls!

Recycling is a very common thing in third world countries. Nothing is ever thrown out. Everything is fixed again and again until it cannot be fixed anymore and then it is taken apart and used as parts for repairing other items!

One very common item that is recycled is the oil drum. You see them everywhere. Most people use them for garbage cans. But some creative people have used them for dog houses. And we see them used as grills that hold quite a large quantity of meat for barbecuing.

We also see many people that push carts around town looking for things that can be reused or sold. Rule number one is - never throw anything away! If you do, expect someone to pick it out of the trash and find some use for it. This man pushes his cart around our neighborhood. Usually he is looking through the trash for empty bottles which he can trade in for a peso a piece. This is his income to take care of his family.

It is really interesting to see how things that could be trash become useful items. Chewed up trees become beautiful wreaths, oil drums become grills, used bottles become a family's income. And here also, God has deigned to recycle souls - from sinner to saints. His Word is changing hearts by washing away sin and guilt and giving forgiveness and hope. People who feel "chewed up" by their sins and rejected and "thrown out" by others hear the good news of forgiveness in Jesus and that because of His perfect life and innocent death, God has a use for them - to serve Him and to speak of His love to others.

So, even though we had to recycle our tree, our hope is still strong. This past Sunday over 80 recycled souls attended worship service to hear that their sins separate them from God, but that because of Jesus, in His great love and mercy He will still find a useful purpose for them in this life. Trees becomes wreaths, oil drums become grills, bottles become pesos, sinners become saints.

Remain Calm

2010-12-04T14:37:00.007-04:00

"Place the oxygen mask over your nose and mouth. Breathe normally. Remain calm".

Anyone who has ever flown hears these words over and over again before the plane leaves the ground. But they are not the words you want to hear when the plane has reached cruising altitude. On a recent flight, our plane had reached 25,000 feet and we were expecting the flight to go well when the pilot announced that the plane was losing pressure. The pilot started a steep decline and the oxygen masks fell out of the ceiling. As everyone worked at putting on the masks, the plane kept going down until we leveled out at 10,ooo feet. After about 15 minutes we were allowed to take off the oxygen masks.

At that time, the man sitting next to me was visibly shaking. The first words he said were, "What if we had all died?" During the remaining portion of the flight I was able to tell him about the Savior. Jesus lived the perfect life we have not been able to live. He gives us that perfection which we have not earned and do not deserve. What happens to all the sins that we have already committed? Jesus paid for all of them with his innocent death on the cross. His perfect life and innocent death are all we need to enter heaven. And He gives them to us freely.

A frightening situation became the open door to talk to someone about the peace God gives us through faith in his Son Jesus. Now we do not need to fear death because we know what comes after this life ends. We can be calm, Jesus is there.

Cholera

2010-11-15T22:06:00.007-04:00

Now that the hurricane is past and the rains have stopped we are watching the cholera situation. The official count now lists the number of deaths from cholera nearing 1,000, with another 12,000 being treated. Because of the poor hygiene conditions in Haiti, the bacteria is spreading at an accelerated rate. The poor living conditions and lack of clean water aid the spread of the bacteria.

With the death rate exceeding 100 per day, there is a problem of what to do with all the deceased. There is a shortage of coffins and also unavailable space to bury the people. More and more cases are appearing in Port au Prince where the situation is especially precarious since the city is still full of rubble from the January earthquake and since so many are still living in tents.

People on the Dominican side of the border are watching the situation in Haiti and hoping the cholera will not spread to this side of the island. There have not been any "official" cases of cholera in the DR yet, although there have been several reported cases. For the past two weeks the border has been closed and the authorities are keeping a tight watch on anyone coming over the border, most Haitians are not allowed to cross into the DR. The border was opened for a short time this past Friday, and three women were trampled in the stampede of people that tried to cross into the DR. This is causing increasing tension between the two countries. The governments of the two countries are trying to come to an agreement of an orderly passage of people over the border, but until they formulate a plan, everyone is watching and waiting.

Thomas

2010-11-07T22:33:00.007-04:00

This past weekend hurricane Thomas passed over Hispaniola causing flooding in Haiti and in the Dominican Republic. The first rains started at the beginning of the week and slowly increased as the week went on. By Friday, schools had canceled classes and the rains were coming down quite steadily. The rains continued throughout the weekend, and even this past Sunday it was still raining.

The flooding in Haiti has increased the fear that the cholera will spread. Health officials hope to keep the cholera epidemic from spreading to this side of the island, but with the flooding caused by the hurricane, the fear has increased that the original source of the cholera bacteria will now be swept over much greater areas of Haiti. There have been some reported cases in Port au Prince, but the greatest fear is that it will get into the "tent cities" and cause many more deaths. There have not been any confirmed cases of cholera in the DR so far. Now, the debate has become: can cholera be kept out of the DR - or if it is just a matter of time?

In an effort to keep the cholera from entering the DR, the border has been closed for the past week. Even "healthy" people are not allowed to cross since a person can carry the bacteria for up to a week without showing symptoms of the disease. There has been no word as to when the border might be re-opened.

photos from Listin Diario

Fellowship Sundays

2010-11-01T22:26:00.005-04:00

Once a month the congregation gets together to enjoy a fellowship evening. This also works as an opportunity to invite friends and relatives for evangelism opportunities. We always meet new people and have many opportunities to witness. There are usually several activities going on at the same time - the men play dominoes, the children like to play games, the women may play board games or work on preparing the meal. The evening ends when a typical meal is served for all. These get-togethers are very well attended, over 100 people at the September one.

Cholera
The cholera outbreak in Haiti has officially recorded about 300 deaths. We have talked to some people who have actually been in Haiti - they say the number is actually much higher. Many are dying in the countryside without being "officially" registered as a cholera death. Here in the DR we are hearing on the news how to prevent the disease - washing hands, washing fruits and vegetables, don't buy food on the street. There have been some "rumored" cases of cholera here in Santiago, but health officials have yet to confirm that these cases are valid.

Christmas

"Se acabó el año". Christmas trees and decorations are in full swing here and have been for over a month now. The stores are full of Christmas merchandise and a night time drive is lit up with beautiful lights all over the city. Seems like everyone is anxious for the holidays!

Disguises

2010-10-24T20:39:00.007-04:00

"Newborns are born with disguises. When you see them, you marvel at how cute they are, how helpless, how beautiful. But this is all just a disguise. You see, beneath this disguise lies a sinful, rebellious heart, an unbeliever, an enemy of God".

This is how Pastor Alex began his sermon this Sunday, explaining the realities of sin and the necessity of baptism. He continued:

"Baptism is such a simple thing. Just water and the Word. Where is the grandeur, the lightning, the ground shaking - announcing that God is working faith and forgiveness in the heart of the child? We don't see it - but we believe it because of the One that promises that it is so."

After this, two children were baptized, sins were forgiven and faith was worked in their hearts. The ground didn't shake, the sky didn't go dark but we believe the promise that these souls received the gift of eternal life. Thanks be to our wonderful Savior who keeps his promises and continues to forgive sins and create faith through the sacrament of baptism.

Rejoicing

2010-10-05T19:30:00.010-04:00

This past Sunday we were privileged to have another baptism. The parents were very anxious to have their newborn receive the blessings of forgiveness and faith. The birth was on Wednesday evening and was done by c-section. On Sunday morning, the mother walked about a quarter mile to church, carrying the newborn so he could be baptized. When the pastor asked the parents to come forward for the baptism, you could see the joy on their faces as they walked up to the front with their daughter and their newborn.

Many of the children of the congregation also walked up to the front to see the baptism. They were also curious as to what was happening. What a thing God has worked in these hearts! A whole new generation is learning that God works faith and forgiveness in the heart of a newborn in the sacrament of Baptism, just as He promises.

This was the fifth infant baptism of this year and more are planned for the coming weeks.

What a wonderful blessing to pass on to our children the inheritance of faith that we were given by God's mercy - by grace giving what we have received by grace. The angels are rejoicing and our hearts are full of praise for such a wonderful Savior and for the great gift of Baptism - for babies too!

Rainy Sundays

2010-09-30T14:15:00.002-04:00

Most of us are accustomed to going to church and sitting in a quiet sanctuary, enjoying the beautiful stained-glass windows, maybe listening to the organist play inspiring pre-service music.

When you go to other countries, things can be quite different. In the Dominican Republic we usually have to contend with loud motorcycles going by, trucks loaded with speakers blaring music or political ads passing by, or as happened recently - rain! Here is a video of the pastor of the Pueblo Nuevo congregation attempting to preach over the sound of the pouring rain falling on the tin roof.

Haiti. Seven Months

2010-08-12T21:01:00.003-04:00

Haiti Prepares for Upcoming Elections

The National Office for ID's has been flooded with people requesting an ID card to be able to vote in the upcoming elections. Every day more than 1,000 people stand in line requesting this identification paper. Unfortunately, there are only 3 offices where citizens can apply. (Alter Presse)

Seven months after the quake, people from the tent cities staged a sit-down in front of the National Palace. They are demanding that the government of President Preval grant them access to decent living quarters. The homeless are fearful of forceful expulsions from the tent cities. Everyone knows that seven months later, the conditions are horrible, a situation of prevailing misery without any respect for the principles and guidance of the UN for the internally displaced. To date, only 3% of the refugees have been relocated. (Alter Presse)

Thirty-four candidates have submitted their names for the upcoming elections. The electoral council has 10 days to approve the validity of the candidates (Aug. 17). The election of Nov. 28 will choose not only a new president but also 10 senators and 89 members of the parliament's lower house.

Haiti's next president will face an enormous task of rebuilding a country devastated by the Jan. 12 earthquake. The office is never an easy job. Presidents have only rarely completed a constitutional five year term. Most in history have been overthrown, assassinated, declared themselves "president for life", or some combination of the three. (Evens Sanon, Haiti Star)

Dominican Cooking

2010-08-02T16:28:00.005-04:00

Living in different countries gives you opportunity to learn new ways to do things. I have been invited into many kitchens where Dominican women have shared cooking tips and recipes with me. The first rule of all Dominican cooking - wash your rice before boiling it!

Another thing that at first seemed curious to me was the way in which meat is handled. All meat is washed before it is cooked. Chicken is first cleaned by holding it under running water and then soaked in lemon or vinegar water before cooking, to remove all bacteria. I was really surprised the first time I saw someone put ground beef in a sieve and wash it under running water!

One thing I have seen many times in the DR and have come to see as something "normal" is the way Dominican women open cans. Most homes do not have a can opener. You just use a sharp knife to open the lid of the can. These are some pictures of women opening cans with large kitchen knives.

Some might think it would just be easier to give everyone an opener, but I have come to admire the creativity and ingenuity of these women. They use what they have available to them and use it to create and prepare delicious dishes for their families and guests.

Haiti, Six Months Later

2010-07-20T09:38:00.009-04:00

"We've been forgotten", "We don't know where the international aid is that everyone talks about", "People are suffering, baking in their frayed tents", "Where is the reconstruction?" "Haitians complain of little or no food, a lack of local government leadership and no escape from the tent cities".

These are just a few of the comments occurring more and more frequently in the Haitian news. People are becoming desperate as their situation fails to improve. Following are a few excerpts from local newspapers describing the current situation six months after the tragedy.

President Preval announces Nov. 28 as voting day to choose new president. But organizing elections will not be an easy task. The electoral councils headquarters were destroyed and records lost in the quake. Millions of voters were either killed, made homeless or displaced.

Haiti's constitution does not permit Preval to run again. Haitians propose
Aristide as a possible candidate for upcoming elections. (Haiti News)

Hospital Closing
In the days after the Jan. 12 earthquake, doctors flocked to Haiti to volunteer in the country's private premier hospital. Six months later, the hospital is closed. Not accustomed to providing free care and missing deadlines for getting international aid, the hospital shut down in April.

Promises of support from military organizations and more importantly, money, never materialized. Money promised by charities never came through. The hospital's administrators, in an oversight, were late meeting deadlines for other forms of assistance.

The hospital had to close when its owners could no longer afford the 400 gallons of diesel needed every day to fuel generators or for the salaries for the staff of 170 caregivers who kept working despite damage to their own homes. (Haiti Net)

There are warehouses filled with food, goods and medical supplies already in Haiti. A lot of it arrived in Jan. right after the earthquake, but because of the lack of coordination between the relief organizations and the government, it is just sitting there. That blunder is costing lives. (Haiti Star)

Reconstruction
In the immediate aftermath of the quake, 1,340 tented villages and squalid camps sprung up, and are acquiring an ominous air of permanence. The inhabitants stay because their homes no longer exist or because their landlords have used the housing shortage to drive up rents.

Why isn't rebuilding taking place? Lack of money, incompetent governance and the sheer quantity of the rubble are all factors. About 60% of the emergency relief that was promised was delivered. But only a small fraction of the $5.3 billion that was pledged for reconstruction has materialized and much is in the form of forgiven debts - not cash. Some workers say the biggest barrier to reconstruction is government ineptitude and bureaucracy. It takes months for an aid organization to register with the state. Until then, they must pay a 30% tax on goods brought into the country.

What about the rubble? Only 5% has been removed since Jan. If trucks worked at it every day, it would take 3 yrs. to remove it all. Al the current rate, it will take an estimated 20 yrs. or more.

Land tenure causes further complications, it's hard to know who owns what. Many of those living in tents did not own their homes - they were renting. But even those who did own property are unlikely to have proof. Only 5% of Haiti's land is accounted for in public records - and the building that housed title deeds was flattened in the earthquake. There is no proper land-registry system. Land titles pass informally from one generation to the next, largely because titling costs several thousand dollars and public officials are generally held to be corrupt. (Money Week)

Preval announced that the six month emergency phase has ended and reconstruction has begun. The distinction was not lost on some Haitians.

The most visible early emergency programs such as massive food distributions have stopped. Tarp and tent building are growing instead of shrinking - 665,700 plastic tarps and 97,000 tents were handed out, but most are now falling apart. The number of people in relief camps has nearly doubled to 1.6 million.

When building materials finally get through customs, there is nowhere to put them. Fights over land rights, customs delays and slow coordination between aid groups and government have hampered nearly everything.

Donors have met 10% of a promised $5.3b promised for reconstruction - separate from the humanitarian aid, mostly by forgiving debts, not providing cash. (Taipei Times)

Fruit

2010-07-07T16:04:00.000-04:00

(Top row: mango, cuña de amor, guayaba)
Mango season is here. Everyone is eating mangoes and everyone who has a mango tree in their yard is giving away mango. This is great - because we get to eat mango every day. Some fruits are good for eating and others only work for making juices. The Dominican women have educated me in the many different ways to prepare the different variety of fruits. We enjoy all the tropical fruits available here on the island and I just wanted to share some of them with you.

Some fruits are available all year long, such as bananas, oranges, plantains. Others come in seasonally, like tangerines and grapefruit (Dec. - March), guayabas (April-May), mangoes (June - August). When a fruit is in season, there are pick-up trucks full of fruit on the street corners selling their product. They drive in from the country and sell it right off the back of the truck, right from the tree to you.

(granadilla, zapote, jagua)

Even if you don't like mango, there are many other tropical fruits available here. These are just a few pictures of the different fruits that we enjoy here.

Father's Day, Santiago, 2010

2010-06-09T16:50:00.008-04:00

This is Nelson, liturgist for the Moca congregation, Cordero de Dios. Next to him is his daughter, Marinelsy. Nelson leads the congregation in the opening liturgy of the church service and then pastor Alex goes up front to give the sermon. When they change places, Nelson goes to the back and gets his daughter and has her sit with him during the sermon.

This is Eduadro, also with his two daughters. Society sends parents many messages about caring for children: giving them an education, proper nutrition, protecting them from harm. But how often do we hear any encouragement to train them spiritually? What a blessing for the future of these children, and of our nation, to have fathers who give honor to God by training their children in spiritual ways.

Fathers shaping their children's lives; teaching them to love and serve their heavenly Father who has provided all we have and are.

Tattered Tents

2010-06-09T10:34:00.007-04:00

How long would you live in a tent? It has been five months since the earthquake and the majority of the victims are still living in tents. But tents are not designed for long-term living. After months of the hot sun beating down on them, now heavy rains and high winds are deteriorating the tents.

The population is becoming restless. This past week shots were fired toward the house where President Preval has been living since the tragedy.

And while the people are trying to keep dry from the rains and hope to dry out their soggy mattress before the next rain comes, the leaders of the international community met at the Moon Palace tourist center, a five-star resort in Punta Cana, DR to decide how to help Haiti.

(Photo from El Caribe newspaper)

Mother's Day, Santiago, DR 2010

2010-06-02T20:08:00.008-04:00

Mother's Day is celebrated on the last Sunday of May in the DR. It is a widely celebrated holiday and most people try to get home to be with their mother. Stores are usually very busy and traffic is heavy. Traditionally, women are not to cook and most will receive gifts, even if they are very humble presents.

We were reminded on this day what a wonderful thing it is when your own mother is a Christian and teaches you the stories of Jesus. Many of our members here do not have believing mothers and are trying now to witness to them. This is a picture of two expectant mothers who are thankful that the Holy Spirit has worked faith in their hearts and want to baptize their infants in this same faith.

The most popular question about Mother's Day is "How was your day"? The most common response is to tell how the family cooked for mom and what they gave mom as a gift. Most people want to tell you what they were able to give their mother as a sign of their appreciation for all she means to them. What a blessing to have a mother that we appreciate for having talked to us about Jesus, taking us to church and teaching us His Word. What greater blessing than to worship the Savior with your parents, to sit at Jesus' feet and learn about His love for all.

Haiti Herald, May 28, 2010

2010-05-28T21:28:00.004-04:00

Registering the Population
The OAS has begun developing a civil registry in Haiti that includes minors and children. The most basic elements of social and economic planning and development require a clear accounting of the population and their location. This process was started five years ago and more than 4 million adults had been registred when the earthquake hit on Jan 12. Efforts have been renewed since Jan. and some 1,500 children and their parents or guardians have been registered so far. (Caribbean News)

Relocating the Homeless
President Preval underscored the relocation of the homeless as a priority before the beginning of the hurricane season. But he has not found the magical formula to carry it out.

Relocating the homeless has become worrisome for the Haitian government and the international organizations intervening the the post-disaster activities. Many strategies have been studied, but none so far offers the desired effects.

People are being allowed back into their homes once they have been inspected. Some 40% of the homes in Port au Prince are still habitable. Some people who could be back in their homes refuse to return prefering to live in the camps where they can take advantage of receiving water, food and sanitary facilities.

7,000 homeless were forcefully removed from the soccer stadium. Another 245,000 are in danger of flooding during the rainy season. Seven tent sights have been declared high risk areas. Government officials make regular visits to these areas urging the people to consider moving. President Preval says that housing is his first priority. "Relocating 1.3 million people who sleep on the streets will take time and will be costly. We have started with those who faced the greatest danger. The reconstruction is going to take a long time". (Le Matin)

(The following is an article that explains a little about how the political system works in Haiti. It is a bit lengthy but I found it to be very instructive about insights into how the country is functioning).

Haiti and its flawed electoral process!
By Jean H Charles

The Haitian Constitution stipulates that regular presidential elections shall take place every five years on the last Sunday of November, with a presidential inauguration to take place on the following February 7, to correspond ab eternum to the day the Haitian people delivered themselves from the Duvalier dictatorial regime.

The earthquake of January 12, 2010, has destroyed the capital city of Port au Prince as well as surrounding cities of Jacmel, Leogane, Petit Goave and Grand Goave, with more than 1.7 million people sleeping under a tent, sometimes in the rain amidst squalor and the mud. Vital records have been destroyed, the dead have been cremated without proper state sponsored identification and the Preval government has exhibited a culture of deception, corruption, and perversion of the electoral process. It is a perfect storm to create a disaster in lives lost in the next few months. It is also the perfect tool for maintaining the status quo through a flawed electoral process. Yet the international community, through the voice of the OAS Assistant Secretary General Albert Ramdin, the United Nations representative Edmond Mulet, the CARICOM delegate PJ Patterson, is pushing full speed ahead for a flawed election to take place under the baton of Rene Preval, a master mind of cunning, double talk, and plain disregard for the plight of the majority of the Haitian people.

May 18 commemorates the weaving of the flag made with the blue and red piece of cloth from which the white piece symbolizing colonial France has been extirpated. On this very day of celebration, the people of Haiti are demonstrating en masse, on the street demanding the forced departure of the Preval government so they can go on with their lives, and ensure a fairly clean election. Will Preval and the international community, through misguided policy, succeed in maintaining a status quo that will lead to disaster in the coming months of the hurricane season with millions of people at risk? Or will the Haitian people succeed in forging a new order of business in running the Republic of Haiti?

Haiti has been sinking deeper into bigger risk in food security, diminution of human life protection and severe environmental degradation. The international community has responded with unusual humanity and compassion to the earthquake-stricken Haiti with ten billion dollars, the corrupt regime and the partisans of the status quo will easily sink $100 billion with no apparent result for the Haitian people. They have discovered a brand new concept: disaster profiteering.

Not one of the 565 rural hamlets of Haiti has received any funding for infrastructure and institution building. Seven million Haitian people out of the 9 million population live in extreme misery, neglect and ostracism from their own government.

Faithful Leaders

2010-05-22T21:17:00.005-04:00

This month we were privileged to celebrate the birthdays of two of our leaders.

The mens club got together and gave Philip a surprise party.

The congregation gave Pastor Alex a surprise party after Bible study.

What a blessing it is when God allows us to have faithful leaders that teach us His Word, not only in classes but also in their daily lives. This is another example of God working among the people as He preserves His work by strengthening the leaders, giving them hearts dedicated to spreading the gospel and seeking the lost.

Haiti Herald, May 15, 2010

2010-05-15T20:26:00.008-04:00

Manifestations Demand the Resignation of Preval
Protesters are demanding that President Preval resign. His term was due to end in Feb. but presidential elections may not be held until Nov. because the earthquake destroyed voting records and polling places.

The entire lower house and one-third of the senate are no longer sitting because the earthquake prevented Feb. legislative elections from taking place. Effectively, the parliament is ceasing to exist as a governing body. This concentrates power in the hands of the President and the international commission that has been set up.

The commission, co-chaired by former President Clinton is to oversee the $9.9 billion US for foreign reconstruction, money pledged at a March conference, a sum 40% larger than Haiti's entire gross domestic product.

Many protesters say that Preval has sold the country to foreign powers, while the commission violates Haiti's sovereignty. (Haiti Globe)

Four months after the quake, and people are still living in tents. "We've heard that foreigners have given lots of aid money. But we are still living the same way as before, and we're still dying the same way," said Davery Nulmeus. Haiti's needs are still enormous, but more than 100 days after the quake, the plan for dealing with them is unclear. (Haiti Press)

Reconstruction Blackout (Haiti En Marche)

The earthquake killed 300.000 people and destroyed 500,000 homes. With international aid, the government is taking inventory of the losses. Some buildings are a total loss, others need to be demolished. Some can be repaired but need to be reinforced to prevent hurricane damage or further damage from more earthquakes.

But while we wait, those who are in charge have been totally vague. No one seems to know what to do.

No one knows what Port au Prince will look like in 6 months, one year or ten years - or even if the capital is condemned to remain in its present state. At this stage, nothing seems impossible. In any case, the Reconstruction that everyone else is talking about seems to be a foreign word for the administration.

The people await their words of wisdom. Everyone realizes they need to be understanding of the difficulty of the situation, even those who have the means to begin reconstruction. But the officials continue in their silence.

Even if they don't know the agenda for the future projects, they at least have some idea of what is being planned. They would do well to inform the population - if only to be able to inform them that they will not continue living in this situation indefinitely, to give them some spark of hope that there will be some kind of order in this monstrous cacophony that reigns now in the capital.

Who knows what the capital could look like after this huge earthquake that affected each and every one of its inhabitants? This is the subject of conversations in all of Haiti. Rumors are flying. But the people involved are the last ones to know.

The people are forced to get their information from foreigners. The people being affected are the last to know. That is the rule in Haiti.

So everyone tries to keep on hoping. Do the people who actually live here have a voice in the plans? A city should be built for its inhabitants and not just for the pleasure of building.

We need to reawaken the spirit of being a good neighbor, not just trying to protect our own territory. The people dream about a change.

We hear people say all the time: "If I rebuild, and the the State decides to put a community center next to my house - behold the chaos".

With regard to the Reconstruction, it seems that everyone's mouth has been sewn shut.

Until now the population has remained calm. But if the hurricane season causes another catastrophe, the absence of information will leave the people only one choice, as a popular refrain says: Each one for themselves and all for God.

And that will be the end of everyone's dreams.
(This article taken from Haiti En Marche, May 12, 2010)

Sound the Trumpets!

2010-05-09T13:18:00.006-04:00

Trumpets are sounding, angels are rejoicing, Christians are giving glory to the Savior.

Today, through the sacrament of Holy Baptism, the Holy Spirit fulfilled the promise of forgiveness and faith in the hearts of three children. What a blessing as all three children received the blessings promised in the Word.

What a joy for all of the members who were present at the baptisms. Faith was strengthened and comfort given as we continue to see God working among the people. He is the one creating faith in the parents hearts, leading them to believe the promises and bring their children for baptism. Why else would someone want their children to be baptized? Doesn't society teach us that we are basically good, that children are innocent, not guilty? The rite of baptism is a witness to the world that we believe what God says in His Word, that our children are sinful beings that need His forgiveness and washing of their sins. It is a witness of our trust in God to fulfill His promises in the lives of these young ones. They are now His children.

When the sacraments are practiced they are a blessing for all present. Those who participate receive the promised blessings. Those who only observe are also blessed by hearing the Word and remembering how God worked this faith in them also. With thankful and humble hearts we recognize that this gift comes to us purely by God's grace since we have not and do not do anything to deserve it.

What a wonderful day for the Christian church. Sound the trumpets! Give praise to God! He is working among the people: creating, strengthening and preserving them in faith through the power of His Word.

Arise, be baptized, for the forgiveness of sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Tents

2010-04-24T14:09:00.012-04:00

Another common theme among the Haiti pictures are the tents. At first glance, many of the pictures seem similar and you may think you are seeing the same thing. Rona explained that after the earthquake all the parks in the city were taken over by survivors. What you are really seeing are different tent cities in different parks around the city.

People prefer these park areas since they usually offer a bit of shade from the hot sun.

This is one park that was closed off to keep people out. City officials hope to preserve the park.

This is the "family" tent. Rona's family sleeps in this tent at night since they are afraid to go back into their house until it has been inspected.

Lines in Haiti

2010-04-23T19:42:00.008-04:00

Rona shared some of his photos from his various trips into Haiti. Here a few that give an idea of what people's daily lives are like since the earthquake.

This is the food line. To receive food, you must first stand in line to receive a coupon. Once you have the coupon you are eligible for a food ration. The system for receiving the food is not very organized. There is only ONE line, no matter how many people are in that line. (Rona said it could be up to 2,000 people in line). Everyone must wait in the hot sun until it is their turn. This can mean ALL day until your turn comes.

There are also lines for water. This water is for cleaning and washing, but not for drinking.

Stand in line to receive medical care. There are clinic tents set up in different parts of the city. Some were placed under trees and have shade. Those that don't have any shade turn into saunas when the sun beats down.

Work line. Some international organizations offer to pay $5 a day to workers who are willing to help clear rubble. Workers are also allowed to scavenge for materials that they could use for the reconstruction of their own houses.

Haiti - Three Months Later

2010-04-15T20:22:00.009-04:00

Reconstruction - Are We All Speaking The Same Language? (from Haiti En Marche)

President Rene Preval gave a press conference in NY. Questions from the national press and international press are not the same. Foreigners are focused on preparing the refugees for the oncoming hurricane season. The President can answer easily enough that the government will appropriate lands outside the capital to relocate thousands now living in tents. But, what about the rebuilding and helping the people not receiving food, medicine and tents? In regard to the rebuilding of the capital, the government has not made any statement.

What do we mean by reconstruction - really? Who gets what? Can we rebuild all the houses in Port-au-Prince that were destroyed by the earthquake? What are the conditions for rebuilding? Who funds it?

When we start talking about rebuilding we need to get the banks open and operating. The banks need to give out credit, but how can the banks recover their own losses when their buildings were not insured? What about private homes? There is no precise answer.

While the US press talks of a Reconstruction Commission overseen by former president Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean Max Bellerive, President Preval says these plans are all very premature. The only thing we know for sure is that the World Bank will handle the reconstruction funds.

* * * * * * *
What is really happening in Haiti? Rona Abraham came back from Cap Haitian this past week. He had spent two weeks in the neighboring country doing evangelism work and visiting his family. He showed us a receipt for medications (see photo) for his cousin who had been hurt in the earthquake. When he went to the pharmacy to get the medicines - he had to pay for medicines that had been donated for earthquake victims! You can see the stamp on the left side of the receipt PAYE (paid). When they questioned the workers as to why they were charging for these medicines, they just shrugged their shoulders. He says that food and tents that have been donated for victims are also being sold.

* * * * * * * *
The first group of victims was to move to the new government camps on April 15.

Aided by the UN and the US Army, Camp Corail should be ready to receive 8,000 people. The camp is 20 km (45 min) north of Port au Prince. People are hesitant to move to the new camp, only a few showers and latrines have been installed, about 20 large white tents, the school is still under construction, camp management is just getting underway. The move is planned to begin on Sunday. Everyone who stays in the new camp will receive $50 - after staying for two weeks.
(Haiti En Marche)

Easter

2010-04-12T21:45:00.005-04:00

He is risen - Just as He said.

Easter is not a big holiday in Latin America - Good Friday seems to get all the attention. Many people remember Jesus' suffering but then do not rejoice in His victory.

For us, Easter is the highlight of our faith. Our Savior has left the tomb empty - victorious. The churches in the DR celebrated this Easter by showing our new WELS movie, "The Road to Emmaus". Pastor Alex showed the movie in Moca in the morning and Pastor Juan shared it with his congregation in the afternoon in Pueblo Nuevo.

People enjoyed the movie and we hope it will be used for further outreach and evangelism. Many new people were already present for the two showings and members have many more friends with whom they would like to share the movie. We are thankful for these kinds of resources to aid in evangelism, especially since we have found that videos are a very popular method of learning in Latin America.

Haiti Herald, March 8, 2010

2010-04-08T20:28:00.003-04:00

Restoring agriculture is seen as crucial to help Haiti feed itself and to provide jobs. The Haitian government estimates that it needs $1 billion over the next decade to revive the agricultural sector. - Brazilian scientists are developing 50 acres to plant corn, rice and beans. - The UN Food and Agricultural Organization has started a cash-for-work program to help farmers replace 20-30,000 wheelbarrows, shovels and other equipment that were lost in the earthquake. (Haiti Globe)

School will officially open on April 5. The Ministry of Education encourages all schools that are able to re-initiate classes. New school calendars and programs will be distributed by the government to help teachers get back on track. (Haiti Press)

Now that the government has officially set a date for reopening schools they face a new dilemma - what to do with the refugees living on the school grounds? Will they force refugees to leave school premises? Where will they go? The new camps are not ready. Refugees refuse to abandon the schools - the only safe place they have to live. "If necessary we will defend ourselves. We are ready to burn tires if they come in". The refugees are already organized in the camps where they are living. Many receive weekly humanitarian aid that they would lose access to if they moved to a different area of the city. Medical services are also readily available where they now live. (Haiti Press)

Rubble from the quake will be used to rebuild the capital. Officials plans to reuse much of the debris being cleared away from collapsed buildings. About 90% of the construction debris can be recycled. The debris from the Jan. 12 quake is enough to fill the LA Superdome - 5 times. (Haiti Star)

According to it's own estimates, the government of Haiti pegged funds needed to rebuild the nation at $4 billion. Donor nations have already committed more than $5.3 billion over the next two years. The international monies will be used to build hospitals, schools and government buildings.

Update: Schools did not reopen on April 5 as planned. Most schools are still rebuilding. The majority of the larger schools were severely damaged. Of those that did not collapse, most students are too fearful to enter and refuse to do so. The adopted solution is to rebuild. New schools are being built of wood with tin roofs - leaving most of the side walls open. The new date for reopening of schools is next week -- maybe. (Haiti Press)

Good Friday 2010

2010-04-03T21:30:00.006-04:00

On Friday afternoon, the members of the Moca congregation invited their friends and neighbors to come and watch "The Passion of the Christ" with us at the church. All the benches and chairs were set up.

People started arriving and before long almost every spot was taken. Most of the members were in attendance but there were many, many new faces. The children sat up front and the majority of them sat through the entire film. A quick count came to 150 people present.

After the film, Pastor Alex gave a brief Law and Gospel presentation pointing out the real motive for Jesus' suffering and death. He also spoke of the hope and peace we have through knowing that He was suffering for MY sins, forgiving ME.

Everyone was invited to return on Sunday for part II of the story,
"The Road to Emmaus".

Haiti Herald, March 26, 2010

2010-03-26T11:28:00.003-04:00

Rains have drenched people in makeshift tents and homes have slid down hills with mudslides. Makeshift toilets were destroyed by the flooding, spilling sewage into the streets. The temporary schools were also washed away with the torrential rains. The rainy season will last until the end of May. The hurricane season is from June to November. (Haiti Star)

The government needs land for massive relocation. Approximately 1,500 acres have already been identified on the perimeters of the capital. But the government only own 50 acres and is currently in negotiations with private landowners. Commissioner Gerald Brun hopes that at least 80% of the cost of acquiring the land will be carried by the international community and lending organizations and that the U.S. would cover the rest.

The land has to be prepared and services provided. This could take weeks, months, even years. "Our biggest challenge has been lack of clarity about who are the decision makers". (Haiti Press)

Haitian President Rene Preval is calling for food aid to be stopped in favor of agricultural investment. For Haitians, near total dependence on imported food has been a disaster. Today Haiti depends on the outside world for nearly all of its sustenance. About 80% of all rice is imported. The country is unable to feed itself after years of relying on others for sustenance. "A combination of food aid, but also cheap imports have resulted in a lack of investment in Haitian farming and that has to be reversed", John Holmes, UN Humanitarian Chief.

Haiti's government is asking for $722 million to invest in agriculture. (Haiti Star)

The Dominican Republic has said it will donate 1,500 tons for seeds for Haiti to restart the farming industry. Ecuador has also donated 20,000 seeds for trees to be planted in the DR and Haiti in the following months. (Listin)

U. S. troops are withdrawing from Port au Prince, from 20,000 down to 8,000. Haitians are anxious that the most visible part of international aid is ending. U. S troops see their mission as completed: they provided emergency medical care, security, distributed emergency food and water rations, helped reopen the airport and seaport. The USNS Comfort has left after treating 8,600 patients. (Haiti Globe)

The Canadian army withdraws from Haiti with 2000 military personnel. As of today, there are less than 500 left in the country. They are handing security over to Non-governmental organizations. The last ones will be out by April 1. (Le Nouvelliste)

Haiti Herald, March 19, 2010

2010-03-19T22:08:00.006-04:00

It's raining!! And the people are not prepared. First rain - then mud. The hard rain fell during the night. People tried to stay warm in their tents and in the morning had to deal with rivers of mud. It is estimated that another 200,000 tents are needed for the earthquake victims. The participants of the Conference held in Santo Domingo this past week pledged 70,000 more tents. They are hopeful that the summit in New York on March 31 will be able to find the remaining 130,000. (Le Nouvelliste)

Five areas have been approved by the government as lodging camps for earthquake victims and 8 other lots have been designated for rubble areas. The first camp would be located 15 km outside of Port au Prince with room for 10,000 people. These new cities would be equipped with police, parks, clinics and bathrooms. The government has also initiated a program to inspect housing that was not damaged in the quake to allow people and businesses to move back into their buildings. (Haiti en Marche)

Still no formal date for the reopening of school. Some classes are being given in tents. It is not officially called "school" but academic activities. This is seen as a method to help children adapt to a routine of school-like activities. Students are grouped by their level of academic ability and not by age. The goal is to get them involved in mental activities to keep their minds active. (Haiti Press)

Marie Brutus wrote an article in Le Nouvelliste in which she described the dilemma of the Haitian doctors. "It is urgent and important to help the wounded, but we also need to think about the doctors from here. The foreign doctors came in great numbers and with a great amount of free medicine so that now a Haitian surgeon or orthopedist cannot find anyplace to work or practice. Nevertheless, these doctors have family responsibilities but they don't have international aid to pay them long-term. And even as we recognize the need for the international aid, you must admit that long term - since the aid will only continue a few more months, maybe a year- this situation will be disadvantageous for Haitian professionals. This aid will have a negative effect on our medical students and young doctors who, not seeing any future in their field, will leave the country at a time when the country needs them the most.

Whereas the foreign medical aid is abundant and on one hand is necessary for the population, on the other hand Haitian doctors are worried about the future. The personnel from some hospitals is already disposable since these hospitals, not generating any profit, cannot pay the doctors. What will happen to these doctors once the fever of the earthquake has passed? What will happen when the foreign meds smother the local health sector? What will happen to the Haitian doctors, once the international medical aid has totally absorbed (or almost) all of our clientele?" (Le Nouvelliste)

"I will bless them"

2010-03-15T15:46:00.007-04:00

Sundays are always the highlight of the week as it gives us the opportunity to hear God's Word with the whole community of believers and to enjoy the fellowship of other Christians. The public worship service also gives each of us the privilege of serving others through words of encouragement and the joy of giving an offering for the work of extending the gospel.

This past Sunday was especially exciting in two ways. In the morning service at Moca, a new member was received through the sacrament of baptism. Pastor Alex gave a beautiful message reminding all of us of our need for baptism because of our sinful nature, and of the blessings of the water connected with the Word. What joy for every member to be reassured of their forgiveness, but especially for our newest member, received into the family of God and made an heir of heaven.

In the afternoon service at Pueblo Nuevo, Pastor Juan received a new member into the congregation through the rite of confirmation. Patricia confessed her faith publicly before the congregation and was received as a new member of "Soldados de Cristo". The Lord constantly pours out His blessings on us and on his people and moments like these remind us of His work among the people, creating faith in hearts and drawing more souls to him to be his forever.

Exploratory Work

2010-03-11T21:13:00.008-04:00

Rona returned from his first two-week exploratory trip to Haiti. He had found his family members and visited with them both in Cap Haitian and Port au Prince. They are all doing fine and are waiting to see how the government will remedy their housing situation. Finding food is still a difficulty and most people spend many hours waiting in lines for coupons and for groceries.

Rona's objective on these trips into Haiti is to make contacts to see about the viability of starting a group in one of the cities. He handed out many copies of "The Promise" in Creole and in French. When he goes back on future trips, he will see if he is able to locate these people again (besides his family). The people in Port au Prince may be relocated by the government into smaller and more manageable "tent cities" so finding them again may be difficult. Cell phone service is still unreliable and electricity is also frequently out.

In other news, we made a trip down to Santo Domingo this past week to renew some of our legal papers. To be legal, we need to maintain an ID card and also a residence card. The residence card is a must for entering or leaving the country. The ID card is usually needed for banking or credit card transactions. The whole process, including the two hour trip (one way) to the capital, took eight hours and cost about $100 each. This is really quite smooth in comparison to other countries where we have lived and we were thankful there were no complications. These cards are valid for another two years.

Haiti Herald, March 5, 2010

2010-03-05T18:17:00.006-04:00

Madame Kim Bolduc, a representative of the UN, said "People expect Haiti to be better this time around. With the amount of solidarity Haiti has received from all over the world, we will do better this time". (Haiti Globe)

This is a partial list of the solidarity that is coming to Haiti:(from Financial Edge)
U.S. $100 million, rescue teams, Coast Guard assistance, port assistance, medical ships
Guyana $1 million
Norway $17.5 million, also set up a Red Cross hospital
Trinidad and Tobago $1 million
Australia $10 million
Britain $10 million, 71 rescue specialists
South Korea $1 million
Finland $1.8 million
The European Union will donate $135 million for government buildings and schools (this is only a third of what they will be donating).
Brazil will help Haiti develop a hydro-electric power project.
Costa Rica and Dominican Republic have offered to help reforest Haiti. (El Nacional)
Irish telecommunication company Digicel will donate $5 million to repair the phone network.

On the health front, there have been 11 confirmed cases of malaria among emergency medical personnel (Haiti Star). There are more cases expected with the rains that are coming regularly since last week. There have also been several cases of leptospirosos, a rare and severe bacterial infection. (Haiti Globe) This disease is generally thought to be caused by rat urine or feces in food. The rains will also facilitate the spread of this disease.

Now that it is raining, the rains will run through the rubble still remaining throughout the city. In this rubble there are still many decomposing bodies. The flow of rain will carry this contaminated water through the streets of the camps. The sanitary and health problems seem insurmountable. Rains weren't expected to begin this soon, the heavy showers of last weekend soaked many and caused 13 deaths.

Tents were purchased this week from China. People need tents but Charles Clermont, Presidential Counsel for Housing Commission says there isn't enough free room to set up another 200,000 tents in Port au Prince. Many are also saying that the tents are too expensive for a temporary solution: too hot when the sun shines and not enough protection when it rains, and only a temporary solution. Most of the families currently using tents will need housing for 3-5 years. At $100 - $150 per tent, Clermont suggests using these funds to purchase shelter kits instead. Each kit comes with sheets of tin, posts and other building materials.

Another complication caused by the tents is the fire hazard they pose. Since there is no electricity, people are cooking on open fires outside their tents and using wax candles for light at night. (Le Nouvelliste)

Homes that are still standing are being inspected to insure that they are safe for people to move back in. But with the earthquake of last week (4.7), people are more afraid than ever to live under any kind of cement or brick roof. Many who were inside their homes have decided to sleep outside because of safety concerns.

San Pedro Celebrates 5 Years

2010-03-01T20:31:00.008-04:00

This Feb. the congregation, "El Amor de Jesucristo Lo Vence Todo", celebrated their fifth year anniversary of the dedication of their building. In a joyful worship service, Pastor Julio Corporan emphasized their thankfulness for being brought to know the truth and he encouraged the members to continue living lives of gratitude to their Savior.

San Pedro is on the southeast end of the island. By far, the poorest of the Lutheran congregations in the Dominican Republic, they are rich in witnessing. This small group, though it has meager offerings, does a great deal of outreach. They have contacts and small groups in such cities as La Romana, Quisqueya, and Higuey and are also working in several barrios within the city of San Pedro itself: Barrio Lindo, Honduras and in several outlying bateys (where the cane workers live).

What a joy to hear them speak of their witnessing opportunities and what an even greater joy for them to share the Savior with others. May the Holy Spirit help us to do the same.

Haiti Herald, Feb. 23, 2010

2010-02-23T16:34:00.005-04:00

There was another earthquake in Haiti on Monday. It was reported to be 4.7 but was strong enough to panic the people. It has been reported that there have been 130 aftershocks since the major 6.1 earthquake of Jan. 12. (Le Nouvelliste) President Preval now estimates the number of victims to be as high as 300,000 once all the rubble has been removed and all bodies have been rescued.

Two minibuses loaded with aid that had been donated to the Haitian earthquake victims were stopped in Dajabon, DR. The goods were being brought into the DR to be sold here for profit. The buses contained clothing, mosquito nets, toothpaste, shoes and food with the labels from the international aid agencies still on them. Another vehicle completely full of canned food was also stopped and confiscated by police.

A UN convoy of food was attacked near Cap Haitian on Monday. The convoy had crossed the border in the northern part of the country and was headed to Port au Prince. A crowd of over 100 people blocked the road and threw rocks at the convoy, demanding aid for them and their families. Under pressure, the Chilean soldiers accompanying the convoy distributed the food to the protesters. (SF Gate)

Dominican police have also stopped several truckloads of illegals crossing the border. The Haitians said they paid $150-200US to be transported from Port au Prince to Cap Haitian. From there, Haitian traffickers got them across the border and then asked them for $3000-4000 Dominican pesos to take them to Santiago. The trucks were carrying 127 Haitians. (Listin Diario)

Haitian senators have asked President Preval to extend for another month the "state of national emergency" which has now ended. There is still $11 million US available to be distributed under the emergency plan that could be used to help people who are still in critical situations. The senators asked for these funds to be spent rapidly and without constraint. (Le Nouvelliste)

The Haitian ambassador to Spain said this week that it will take 25 years to rebuild Haiti. She is asking Spain to donate tents and prefabricated houses. An estimated 20,000 homes were destroyed in the quake. She is also asking Spain to donate large machinery to help in the demolition of damaged buildings and in the removal of rubble. (Listin Diario)

A serious concern in the tent cities is what to do with all the human waste. Cases of typhoid and diharrea are on the rise. There are no sewage system treatment plants in Haiti. Human waste is dumped in the city dump along with garbage and medical waste. There are some portable latrines but even these overflowed after the rains of the past week. Aid workers are looking for more portable latrines but that also means setting up a system and paying someone to regularly empty them. (SF Gate)

All of the country's embassies have been inundated with people asking for travel visas. Haitians stand in line from sunup to sundown, in the rain and in the sun, waiting for their number to be called. Many will even sleep on the sidewalk overnight so as not to lose their place in line. The most coveted visas are for Canada, USA, France, Mexico and Senegal. (Le Soleil)

Dr. Michel Chancey, Haitian Secretary of State, responsible for the distribution of food donations in Haiti warns that too much aid will only slow down Haiti's economic redevelopment. The constant flow of free food will make if difficult for farmers to market their products. The planting season begins next week, but many farmers are discouraged about planting since they fear no one will buy their products if they are able to receive them free in a handout line. The government is distributing 10,000 tons of rice every two weeks. Chancey said that before the earthquake Haiti produced 45% of it's own food, imports were 50% and 5% was international aid. Before the earthquake 500,000 were receiving food aid. That number is now 2 million. Chancey would like to see a gradual reduction of the food aid so the country can reestablish it's agriculture system and reduce the dependence on international food aid. (Le Soleil)

Ronany

2010-02-20T21:11:00.006-04:00

Ronany, the daughter of Rona Abraham, turned one this month. She was born here in Santiago and has papers as a Dominican citizen. Her parents had a small get together to celebrate.

She enjoyed the cake and the toys and for the most part is a very pleasant and happy one year old.

Rona is a very proud and happy father. Now that he is making two week long trips into Haiti to do exploratory work, he will not see very much of his daughter. Ronany and her mother will be staying here in Santiago.

Haiti Herald, Feb. 18, 2010

2010-02-18T20:23:00.004-04:00

The rains are coming early this year. There have already been several heavy downpours, causing fear and panic among the people and making even more desperate the need for stable housing. An estimated 600,000 people still do not have "tents" (more than just cotton sheets). The rains have an adverse effect on the amputees as their injuries make it difficult for them to avoid the rains or move quickly. If it rains hard there is no place for the rain water to go - it stagnates, becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Once it starts raining, belongings will not have a chance to dry out and mold will develop. The rains also cause despair and anger among the refugees.

On Monday a school collapsed in Cap Haitian after a heavy rain with high winds. Four children were killed. (Le Nouvelliste) The Haitian government would like to have more schools permanently open by March, but many children are still traumatized by the earthquake. They are afraid to be away from their parents or to be under any kind of ceiling. Schools outside of Port au Prince have reopened but many children are not attending.

The Port au Prince airport will recommence commercial flights this coming Friday. Since the terminal was severely damaged in the earthquake, they will only be operating from a portion of the terminal. There are approximately 1,000 planes still on a waiting list to land with donated aid.

Several countries have offered to rebuild the government buildings. France, Canada, Brazil and Chile have all presented plans for reconstruction in Port au Prince with an average cost of $12 million US to get things started. The President and his Cabinet are currently working out of the airport police station. (Haiti United Press).

President Preval estimates that it will take 1000 trucks working every day for 1000 days - just to remove all the rubble - three years. (Press Network)

Fellowship Service

2010-02-13T19:10:00.006-04:00

Leaders of Haiti's two official religions, a Catholic bishop and the head of the Voodo priests - joined Protestant ministers for a prayer service near the National Palace. A Muslim preacher also attended. (Haiti Press)

A Day of National Mourning was declared for Feb. 12. Catholics, masons, muslims and voodooists were all invited to participate.

A voodoo priest said to the congregation that the earthquake was a time to unify all faiths. (Haiti Globe)

A woman sang a song honoring the snake spirit.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

It is always surprising that people who talk about the Scriptures as the truth can believe that joining together with those of other faiths is pleasing to God. The entire Old Testament teaches us how God patiently tried to teach his chosen people to remain separate, to guard the truth as their most precious treasure, to not mix it with the pagan practices they saw around them.

When we see the massive crowds of people all joined together, people of all faiths joining in a worship service, it does fill us with emotion and we want to feel satisfaction at people coming together working for the good of man. We know, though, from Scripture that these types of joint services are not pleasing to our faithful God. His truth is not to be contaminated with false teaching. He still calls on us to guard his truth and to keep it pure from false teachings.

Daniel faced a test when the king built a statue and ordered everyone in his kingdom to bow down before the statue. Daniel, in faithfulness and worship to God alone, refused to join in any kind of worship contrary to God's will. He refused to obey the king's orders even though it meant a death sentence for him. He put his service to God above the friendship of men.

What can we think, then, when we see these massive groups of people joining together in an ecumenical service? It causes us great sadness. In their desire to seek peace with men and obtain God's favor in ways contrary to God's will, these leaders and their followers are rejecting the peace with God that He wants to give them through faith in Jesus. And if they do not repent and trust only in Jesus as their Savior, in the end they will bring the wrath of God down on themselves. That would be a far greater tragedy than the earthquake. We pray that the hearts of the people in Haiti would be opened to know the truth of the Scriptures. Rona Abraham (our Haitian pastor) is currently in Haiti doing exploratory work to begin mission work there. Please pray with us that God would bless his efforts and bring people to believe the truth of his Word. God will not share his glory with another and he will not be mocked.

Haiti - One Month Later

2010-02-12T20:40:00.003-04:00

Today was a day of National Mourning in Haiti - many churches also declared three days of fasting. An estimated 217,000-250,000 have been declared victims of the earthquake. Thousands still live in makeshift housing. Some are still being found beneath the rubble.

Housing has come to the forefront of necessities to be resolved. A rain shower on Thursday afternoon evidenced how fragile many of the "tent" shelters are. Many of these "tents" are nothing but sheets strung up around a mattress. The rain easily penetrates, soaks the mattress and whatever other items the people may have inside and creates streams of water that carry mud, human waste and trash along with it. This was just a random shower. When the rainy season begins at the end of March, it will rain every afternoon for several hours, usually accompanied by high winds.

Some organizations have decided not to distribute any more tents in favor of dedicating efforts to beginning construction of more stable housing. For now, the best option seems to be to bring in prefabricated houses that they hope will come in the form of donations from developed countries. There are still some estimated 700.000 that are in need of housing.

The beginning of the rainy season also changes the health perspective. Water-borne diseases are now becoming the focus: cholera, dysentery, malaria and dengue.

Cell phone coverage has improved but is still not completely restored. Haitians can call out to the Dominican Republic, but we still are not able to call there. When you do try to make a call, it may go through but gets cut off right away.

The government is trying to organize the schooling situation. As of Feb. only 15% of children have returned to classes. The earthquake destroyed 5.000 schools and a million and a half children are waiting for classes to recommence. There is also a shortage of teachers since many of them were killed in the earthquake. The DR is making plans to donate 15 mobile classrooms to Haiti to help them get started with classes.

The food situation has also taken a new turn. Of the food that is available prices have shot up. Rice and corn are up by 25%, price of wheat has raised 50%. The World Food Program alone distributes 680 tons of food every day but it is estimated that 10% of that ends up on the black market. The food is in the country, is being distributed, but still is not reaching many of those who still need it.

Tamboril

2010-02-11T20:33:00.005-04:00

Tamboril is a small town located between Santiago and Moca. It lies at the foot of the mountains with lovely panoramas of the surrounding countryside.

We made a trip to Tamboril, along with Pastor Alex from Moca and his family and Nelson and his family. We wanted to make an evangelism visit to some of Nelson's family members.

After we got to the house, Nelson's family took us on a walk up the hillside. When we got to the top, we could see all the way to Santiago. It was very beautiful. Nelson wanted us to stay until night time because he said it was even a more spectacular view in the dark with all the city lights shining.

As a result of our visit, Nelson was able to set up classes with his family members. He hopes to study Christian doctrine with them and then use their home as a base to reach out to other neighbors in their area. We are thankful for this opportunity to witness and pray that the Lord will use Nelson's zeal and his efforts to reach many more hearts with the good news of forgiveness in Jesus the Savior.

Haiti Herald

2010-02-09T20:50:00.003-04:00

Since so many of you are interested in continuing news on Haiti, I will try to post whatever news we see in the newspapers here or what is printed in the Haitian press. I will try to intersperse these posts with continuing news on the Dominican mission.

It was reported in the Dominican press that a barge of food in Barahona, DR was looted by Dominicans. The barge, loaded with donated food, was waiting to be loaded into trucks to be taken into Haiti. A large group of Dominicans ran off with the food and when someone asked them why they were doing this one man answered, "Everyone says there is so much poverty in Haiti, but there is a lot of poverty here, too."

The Haitian government is starting mass vaccinations, especially of children. There have been some cases of rubeola and they are worried about a mumps outbreak. Only 28% of the Haitians were vaccinated before the earthquake.

It has also been reported that there is a dire security problem, especially in the tent cities. Many families lost husbands and brothers who were the family "protectors". The problem now is a severe rise in the number of women and young girls being raped in these camps.

There are several reports of abuse of the donated humanitarian aid. One UN food distribution center was shut down when it was discovered that the people waiting in line were using counterfeit coupons. Each coupon gave the person the right to receive a 25 pound bag of rice which should feed a family for two weeks. It has also been reported that anyone caught trying to sell donated items will be sanctioned or jailed.

The UN has also warned that it will stop its shipments of free medicine to some of the Haitian hospitals that are now beginning to charge patients for care and for donated medicines. The UN sent in about $1millionUS worth of medical supplies, all donated from their warehouses. Also, it is not necessary for the hospitals to charge patients in order to pay the doctors since the medical personnel are also being paid with donated money.

Clean-up crews have been working around the city. The goals are sanitation, shelter and schooling. Poor sanitation is causing illnesses and also is harmful for people coming out of the hospital (especially to those moving in to the tent cities). Doctors now have to deal with untended or infected wounds. Shelter is also a concern as there are still not enough tents to go around. They also want to get people into more stable housing before it starts raining - hurricane season is coming! The Haitian government will also have to decide what to do about the schools, about 75% of the schools in Port au Prince were destroyed.

Jimani

2010-02-08T21:05:00.015-04:00

This past week the director of our Administrative Committee, Bob Smith, and a representative of the Committee on Relief, Mark Vance came to Santiago to meet with the people here. We had a day of meetings on Wed. including the seminary students, Rona-the Haitian pastor, several members of the church, and a visit to the Red Cross. After a busy day of meetings we began our trip to Jimani, the Dominican border town in the south that is close to Port au Prince.

We left Moca at 10:40PM with Juan Manuel as our Dominican driver (he is Alex's older brother), and he drives like a Dominican! We made it to Santo Domingo where we saw a HUGE convoy of military vehicles lined up at the toll booth. Most of us were trying to get some sleep but just when you almost fell asleep the van would hit a rough bit of road and bbbbrrrrrmmmm you would be rudely awakened, or we would hit a pothole (same result). So sleep came in small doses! Juan Manuel did know the way which made the drive quicker. We only had trouble in one spot where they had taken down the sign that was his landmark. We had to find someone awake (it was 3AM) to tell us which way to go. (We saw several watchmen and policemen sound asleep on their watches!).

We arrived in Jimani at about 5:30AM and decided to try to get some sleep in the van, while we were parked. That's when we all found out that SOMEONE snores!! So one person got a nice rest (where are the potholes when you need them?). Eventually a policeman came and told us we had to move the vehicle off the road, so we drove into the area where the international groups had set up camp. We found someone from the Defensa Civil who gave us some information about the situation in Haiti.

Everyone going into the country must now show their vaccination records. Everyone gets tetanus, rubeola vaccinations and malaria pills. These are the three main concerns at the present time. You are also warned against going into the country on your own. It is best to go along with a guarded convoy. Muggings and robbery at the border are quite a serious problem. During our conversation, we were informed about a hospital nearby that was caring for a large number of Haitians. We drove there to meet with the doctors.

The hospital was in two large houses that had been converted into hospitals. The first one was being used as the operating rooms and the second one housed the patients before and after their operations. We saw a constant stream of patients being brought in for surgery - most of them need amputations. The doctors explained that they do try to save the limbs, but many times the amputations are being done because of infections and gangrene. We also saw the area where they were receiving donations and Mark was able to contribute the medical supplies that he had brought along.

We walked down to the other building and saw many Haitians in various stages of healing. Because of the trauma of the earthquake, many of them have a fear of being inside a building. They are fearful of the building collapsing down on them - the children especially have this fear- so we saw many people who had dragged their mattresses outside and put up makeshift walls around them. While we talked and witnessed with some of the patients that spoke some Spanish, Rona began witnessing to them in Creole and spent a great deal of time trying to witness to them and give them some comfort and hope.

We started on our way back to Santiago and were enjoying a nice ride when we had a flat tire. We got the tire changed and then stopped in Santo Domingo to buy a replacement. There was a place not far from the highway that was open. The owner of the shop brought a used tire that was the right size and all SIX of the guys from the van examined the tire before a consensus was reached that this tire was acceptable. The new tire was put on and now we were ready for the last leg of the trip back to Santiago.

All in all, it was a very nice trip and we were able to accomplish our objectives: Rona was able to witness to some fellow Haitians, and Bob and Mark got the information they needed to set up further aid to Haiti via the possibility of volunteer WELS nurses and medical workers going to Jimani to serve there. We thank God for keeping us safe in all our comings and goings.

Obed Visits

2010-01-29T22:07:00.010-04:00

Today we had a pleasant surprise when Obed came to visit during sem classes. He had a break at his work and was able to be in the DR for a few days and also was in Haiti visiting his family.

He went to see his parents who came through the earthquake fine. His brother, though, suffered the loss of his home and two of his children received injuries. When the earthquake hit his brother and his wife were not yet home so the children were alone. The oldest child, 11 yrs. old, was able to get all the children out of the house. But then they stood next to the building next door, about 3 stories high, which collapsed and two of the children were injured anyway. They took them to "Doctors Without Frontiers" who had already been working in the city and had their installations set up. The children were cared for and are recovering, but the parents could not find the children when they got home and it was not until the next day that they realized they were all alive and at the hospital.

Obed also talked about the violence in the country that is continually escalating. People are desperate to get food. Looting is rampant. He says that by 6PM everyone tries to find cover or shelter before it gets dark. He also referred to the kidnapping of children and thinks they will be most likely sold for organ trafficking. About five years kidnapping was a serious problem in Haiti and most of the children that were taken were sold for this purpose. The government made it a priority to get these kidnappers and many were put behind bars. Many of the people that were captured and put in jail have now escaped. It has been reported that 5,300 prisoners escaped in the earthquake. One Santiago newspaper ran a story about a Haitian woman who identified her rapist, here in the city, so we know they are crossing the border.

We asked him about the food situation. He said that there were some stores open but that all the prices had almost doubled. There also are no mechanisms in place for these stores to receive more supplies so they can only sell what they have in stock. We have noticed that the prices have also gone up in the DR. The government says that the provisions that are going to Haiti are surplus supplies and should not affect the availability of food here - but that is not the reality when you go to the store, especially in the poorer areas of town.

Other reports say that the Haitian hospitals are all out of morphine and analgesics, so they have nothing to give to their patients that have suffered amputations. The majority of the operations have been limb removal. The hospitals desperately need supplies: gauze, bandages, cotton, ibuprofen, antibiotics, intravenous solution, ... and the list goes on. The need is made worse by the fact that people are attacking UN convoys that are delivering supplies hoping to find food for their families.

In spite of all the tragedy and disaster we still find comfort and joy in our Savior's arms, remembering all he has done for us and rejoicing in his promises of forgiveness and eternal life when we leave this vale of tears. We continue to pray for wisdom and guidance in the midst of such sorrow and hurt and give thanks to a loving and merciful God who watches over His church and keeps us and guides in all His ways. It was with joyful hearts that we shared a devotion today with Rona and Obed and we give thanks to God for watching over them and their families.

Haiti's Children

2010-01-27T20:18:00.006-04:00

These past few days there have been several news reports of children being stolen from hospitals in Haiti. Many "tent" hospitals have hired guards to keep track of the children under their care. A horrible circumstance in any situation, it is especially tragic in Haiti where the system of "restavek" is accepted and has been entrenched in the society for many years.

What is "restavek"? Basically, it is child slavery. Poor children are given away or sold to other families with the hope that they will be taken care of and have enough to eat. Sometimes the child goes to another family member, but usually is given away in anonymity and never heard from again. Once at their new home, these children lose all contact with their blood families, and like slaves of the past are sometimes given new names for the sake of convenience. Some are not even given names, but are simply called "boy" or "girl".

This practice first started after the emacipation in 1804 and initially was only used among the upper class who wanted a young child to help with kitchen and yard work. With time, as the practice became more common, families with less economic standing began acquiring restaveks as a status symbol.

I read a book by Jean Robert Cadet in which he describes his life as a restavek. He slept under a kitchen table, was given food in a bowl and made to eat like a dog, was forbidden to smile, laugh or speak unless spoken to, and was also subjected to numerous beatings and sexual abuse. One common punishment described by many restaveks is being made to kneel on cheese graters covered with salt while holding mangoes in their hands with their arms straight up over their head. If the owner was too lazy to supervise this punishment, they simply hit you over the head with a heavy object.

Restaveks work long hours doing whatever jobs their owner requires of them. Most of them do not receive any pay. A law was passed requiring every working person over fifteen years of age to receive a wage, so many people turn their restaveks out on the street when they turn fifteen to avoid having to give them any kind of pay. They try to get another one for free, but are willing to pay for a young one in return for the many years of free labor they will receive.

Any child that is stolen now could easily be lost within the system of restaveks and never be heard from again - condemned to a life of slavery as a restavek - a system of child abuse widely accepted in Haitian society.

Rona Returns

2010-01-24T12:56:00.006-04:00

This past week we had news that Rona has safely returned from his trip to Haiti. His family and friends here in the DR were happy to see him and are thankful that no harm came to him on his journeys.

He traveled to see his parents and found them well and without any damage to their home. They are in the northern part of the county in Cap Haitian. One of Rona's sisters was also at home. She had been planning to travel to Port au Prince on Tuesday, the day of the earthquake. That Tuesday was a rainy day, and since travel is more difficult in the rain she decided to postpone her trip until the following day. So, because of this, she was not in the capital when the earthquake hit.

From there Rona traveled down to the capital. He found his uncles' homes. They were all doing fine and none of them had any damage to their homes since they were in a different part of the city where damage was not as serious. Some cousins that lived in a different area of the city died and some cousins of his wife were also killed.

Rona also talked of the destruction in Port au Prince. Many people are without homes and even those that have places to go are afraid to go inside because of the aftershocks. Many are waiting for medical help and food. The donations of food have been generous and were brought in fairly quick. But the majority of this aid has not yet reached many parts of the city.

We thank God for Rona's safe return.

Haiti Recovers

2010-01-22T16:26:00.006-04:00

Ten days after the earthquake, things are slowly beginning to get organized. Many Haitians will now be located in camps outside of the capitol where aid can be distributed in an orderly way (?). Food and water donations are still pouring in to Haiti. This is a photo of a semi trailer parked at the grocery store where I usually shop, helping make it easy for people to donate right at the store. There are similar trailers at most of the stores in town and also in the hospital parking lots for medical supply donations.

The Dominican Republic continues it's generous donations to Haiti, not only of water and medicines but also of fresh fruit and vegetables. Donated items of this past week include: 200 pounds of squash, 1200 lbs. carrots, 200 lbs potatoes, 4300 lbs rice, etc.

Since there is no more space in Port au Prince to store all the food donations that are arriving, the Dominican Aduana is donating several acres of land close to the border to create a "dry" port where the donations will be stored and will be closer for easier transport into Haiti.

Dominican soldiers will also be entering Haitian territory for the first time in the history of the country. The mission of these Dominican soldiers will be to secure the highway that links Santo Domingo to Port au Prince to keep it open and traffic moving. Several vehicles have already been assaulted at the border, the donations stolen and the car dismantled.

Hotels in Santo Domingo are full - some reporting 99% occupancy. Government officials from other countries, the press, rescuers, charitable organizations, and international aid groups are among those who have come to stay. The drive from Santo Domingo to Port au Prince is about 8 - 9 hours (approx.) depending on weather (slower during rain) and amount of traffic.

I mentioned earlier this week that many Haitians are entering into the Dominican Republic from the north. Estimates now indicate that about 2,700 Haitians are crossing the border every day, most illegally, by walking across the river Lago de Peligro. It is estimated that at this rate, in five months, there will be 3 million illegal Haitians in the DR (that is the same number of people in the Haitian capitol!).

Back Home

2010-01-21T20:43:00.007-04:00

Last night we had a very nice visit with Elvin, Nelia's husband. He was in Haiti at the time of the earthquake working with a construction company. His company had located him at the northern end of the island, but they felt the quake there quite strongly. He was in his truck when the quake hit and the truck started to rock back and forth. His first thought was that his load was unbalanced and was going to slide off. Then he realized that it was an earthquake. Communications were immediately knocked out so he didn't realize how extensive the quake had been until his boss sent him to Port au Prince for supplies and he and his fellow workers found out the magnitude of the quake as they got closer to the capitol.

Since his company had heavy equipment already in the country they were able to offer immediate aid. Their company wanted to focus their help on trying to get the dock back up and working. Elvin's job was to drive a truck back and forth through the city removing rubble from the dock. His various trips took him though the length of the city seeing firsthand the results of the disaster and his stories are moving and shocking.

Even before the earthquake, all the workers and the equipment of the company were under constant guard. Since the quake, he says security has been stepped up to protect them from the violence that is breaking out. He arrived home on Mon. evening and was welcomed not only by his wife and sons, but by many other family members and neighbors all thankful to have him back safe and sound.

Rona's brother, Nabeau, also returned from Haiti this week. He also was in the northern sector of the country when the earthquake hit. He brought news that their family had come through with no harm to immediate family members and their house also was not damaged. The woman sitting next to Nabeau in the photo is Rona's wife, Manette.

We give thanks to God that in the midst of all the loss, He grants us these joyful reunions with loved ones. God is good.

Aftershocks

2010-01-20T17:54:00.006-04:00

This morning we felt more aftershocks of the earthquake. As we were eating breakfast, a 5.9 aftershock was felt here in Santiago. There were no damages in the DR from this quake. People in Haiti were heard shouting, "We're all going to die!"

We made a visit to the Red Cross here in Santiago to ask about the situation. The director met with us and answered our questions about the help needed to confront this tragedy.

Donations have been very generous and they are sorting them by need: those that can be used during the "emergency" stage, such as water, things in packages that can be easily opened, and bandages and diapers. Other goods such as food in cans will be distributed later on when things are more organized.

We asked him about the possibility of going personally into the country to help. He suggested that in order to do that, we get an armed guard from the Red Cross since violence is breaking out in Port au Prince and at the border also. We were warned about trying to go in alone. He also explained that it would be easier for organization if there are less people trying to do things on their own and everyone tries to work together. So if people want to help, he suggested joining the Red Cross and going in as a volunteer under their umbrella of support.

He also explained that blood supplies are low and bandages are sorely needed for surgeries and also bandages of any kind - supplies have run out in Haiti and are down to almost nothing here in the DR.

The information he gave was very helpful. We hope it has helped answer some of your questions also.

Haiti update

2010-01-19T17:53:00.006-04:00

These are some of the main topics in today's newspapers here in the DR. Comments in italics are mine.

The Brazilian Minister of Defense published a list of five of the most urgent problems that need to be treated in emergency situations: 1) Bury the dead People are complaining about the stench emanating from all the decomposing bodies. The rat problem is also becoming quite intolerable as they migrate toward all the dead. 2) Help the wounded. The hospitals are all full. The Dario Contreras Hospital in Santo Domingo will be militarized due to the high number of Haitians coming to the hospital looking for information about family members. 140 Haitians have been treated at this trauma center, but they have reported up to 3,000 Haitians waiting around the hospital grounds for information, creating chaos and disorder and impeding the normal functioning of the hospital. 3) Remove the rubble. For right now, only to free people trapped underneath. 4) Security. We have heard about the US soldiers and the great job they are doing at establishing order and food distribution. When they came their helicopters landed on the lawn in front of the destroyed Presidential Palace. The Haitians were all in the streets, behind the fences. To most Haitians, this felt like an invasion and as they say, a "loss of sovereignty". 5) Distribution of food and water. There have been great improvements of getting aid out to the people. International aid is arriving at the airport in Port au Prince, also at the port of Santo Domingo, and then trucked over. This past weekend the Dominicans held countrywide telethons and collected $124RD million pesos for their Haitian neighbors.

It has been suggested that Dominican troops be sent to Haiti. Most Dominicans are against this suggestion. They see it as unnecessary and dangerous for the troops due to "historical tensions" between Dominicans and Haitians.

Another topic being tossed out by international organizations is to establish refugee camps for Haitians across the border in the DR. Most Dominicans also reject this idea as they see it as an attempt at erasing the border and reuniting the country into one.

Doctors are also beginning to warn about epidemics caused by decomposing bodies and unclean water. A massive campaign against malaria is being conducted, especially at the border. Up until now, malaria has been contained to Haiti and has not been a problem in the DR. This may change with the large number of people migrating across the border. Fumigation programs are also being done.

There has been a massive exodus of Haitians into the DR especially at Dajabon which is the northern most point of entry into the DR. One border agent said, "We have never seen such heavy traffic and if someone doesn't stop it, Haiti will soon be empty, because in a few days they'll all be here". Many of those coming over the border are not wounded but come in hopes of better living conditions. Most of these Haitians are heading to Santiago, the second largest city in the DR.

Thanks again to all of you for your continued prayers and support. More tomorrow.

Help for Haiti

2010-01-18T20:27:00.007-04:00

One week after the earthquake things are becoming chaotic in Haiti. Food and water that has been donated is slowly finding its way to the people. Their is a bottleneck of planes at the Port au Prince airport and their is a back-up of trucks at the border trying to get across safely and actually make it all the way to the capital without being assaulted.

The hospitals are all full. Victims have been helicoptered to Jimani in the center of the country, Barahona in the south and many to Santo Domingo. Some of the wounded government officials were brought to a Santiago hospital (HOMS), the newest one in the country.

There have been reports in the Dominican newspapers that because of the shortage of gasoline in Haiti, the price at the border has shot up to 300 gourdes per gallon ($10US) and most of the gas stations close to the border have been militarized.

The majority of the international aid is being directed to Port au Prince which has received the greatest amount of news coverage. People are now becoming aware of the other cities further out from the capital that were also affected, such as Leogone where 90% of the buildings were destroyed.

Some of the topics being discussed among the Dominicans are how many refugees this country will be able to absorb, realizing that most of them will not want to go back after their injuries have been treated and they have recovered. People are also wondering what will become of children left without parents. They are signing up to adopt children that have lost their families, but these adoptions will be some time in the future as a search will have to be made for family members. There is also a debate as to whether the capital should be rebuilt in the same location or if it should be completely razed and moved to a different part of the country.

Most Dominicans believe that even after the rest of the world forgets about the earthquake, they will be picking up the pieces, helping their Haitian neighbors rebuild and making decisions long after the international community has moved on. In spite of the tensions between the two countries on the island, the response of the Dominicans has been very generous. Besides receiving many of the wounded in DR hospitals (at DR expense), food, water and financial aid have been given. Many Dominican kitchens on wheels have been working non-stop in Port au Prince (more than 30 I believe).

These are topics that will be decided in the future. For right now, the greatest need is food, water and bandages - which have been exhausted in Haiti and in the DR, and people are also being asked to donate blood.

Haiti

2010-01-15T18:01:00.013-04:00

This past Tuesday, a 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti. We felt the quake here in Santiago. Parked cars were rocking back and forth and power lines were swaying. Thankfully, there were no damages reported here and everyone is safe.

We talked with the Haitian leader, Rona Abraham. As of today, Friday, there is still no telephone communication with Haiti. Thousands of Haitians living here in the DR have not been able to contact their family members to know their situation. Rona is planning to make a trip this weekend to see his family in the north and then travel to the capital to look for other family members and some from his wife's family.

International aid has been coming into Haiti. The difficulty now seems to be how to distribute items to those in need. The unloading dock at the port of Port au Prince was destroyed in the quake, so boats coming in will have difficulty in unloading their shipment. The Port au Prince airport cannot accommodate any more planes. Some planes filled with aid have been parked in the DR and others are waiting in Puerto Rico. Just from the DR alone, 32 plane loads of water, medicines and blankets have been sent in. Even though we are here in Santiago, we cannot receive any funds personally here on the field. Please send any offerings or financial aid that you wish to contribute to WELS Synod office and they will direct the funds to the proper channels. We want to thank all the people who have written and called. Your concerns and offers to help are deeply appreciated and we will try to keep you informed as we receive new information here.

Every day the news agencies announce a different number of suspected deaths - and every day the number is higher. When Rona was here, we had the news on and as he watched some of the reports of the damage, he broke down and cried. His heart aches for his fellow countrymen. He is concerned not only by the high number of deaths. He also realizes that the great majority of them were not believers. There are many churches in Haiti, but he has not heard any of them proclaiming the truth of forgiveness in Jesus - without works. Many of them not only suffered a physical death, but also now must face an eternal death.

"When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it?" (Amos 3:6). In the midst of all the pain and suffering, a Christian reacts differently than the world. As we watched the news reports, Rona said, "Look at the mercy of God. Look at how good He is. So many survived. So many still alive with time to come to faith". The Christian sees the disaster through different eyes. We see the Lord at work also in events such as these, using them to fulfill His will that all men be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. We see His goodness and His mercy. Our merciful and powerful God is still in charge, still protecting His church, still calling people through His gospel.

Cleaning day

2010-01-09T21:51:00.007-04:00

Saturdays are always cleaning day at church. Several members volunteered to be on the cleaning committee and they are in charge of getting things ready for Sunday service.

The floor is swept, benches are dusted and everything is hosed down with water. Then the mopping begins. This is hard work, especially in the heat. It also takes more than one mopping since the dust accumulates easily with the sides of the building open to the air.

The children stay in the back, since they are taught from young not to walk on a wet floor.

After the work is done, everyone enjoys a quick cup of coffee and some bread or cookies and then heads back home, content that everything is now prepared for worship.

Serving the Savior

2010-01-02T22:05:00.006-04:00

2009 ends with two news items of members serving the Savior. The first announcement is the musical debut of a member of the congregation. After two years of practice, he played for services for the first time this past Sunday. I want to thank Roxanne Martens for the musical course she developed for learning to play by chords. The member from the Moca congregation faithfully practiced and has learned to play almost all of the hymns in the book that we use. He is using his talents to serve the Savior.

Another example of service is a younger member, Alexandra. Formerly the congregation was using a ceramic dish for the gathering of the offering. This dish was accidentally broken and a new offering basket was needed. Alexandra had the desire to make one using plastic canvass and yarn. With some guidance from the women in the congregation, she was able to sew a lovely basket that now is used for Sunday offerings. She, too, is using her talents to serve the Savior.

He Came

2009-12-23T21:22:00.011-04:00

A very blessed Christmas to everyone. These are some photos of the Nativity decorations we saw this year, which were very few. The real reason for Christmas, the coming of the Savior, brings great joy to us. He came. God became man to save us.

When I look at all the blessings the Savior has given me, all the joys, all the comforts He brings, my heart rejoices. He came. Then I remember all my feeble efforts at fighting sin, how easily hurtful words slide off my tongue, how easily vengeful thoughts fill my heart, and I know that He came to save me from the consequences of all these sins. And again my heart rejoices. He came. He came. What a privilege to know His name, to serve Him, to tell others about His love and grace.

But, sometimes, even knowing of His love and having received so much of His grace, I let too many peripherals get into the way of serving Him and telling others about His love. Just as Santa tries to take the glory away from Jesus, too many worldly things occupy my day and I don't have enough "time" to tell others, to serve Him and to praise His name. People see all the worldly things that occupy my time, but may not hear me speak of His great love. He came.

He came to save me. The center, the focus, is Jesus, the Savior. He came to be my Redeemer. He came to be my Light. Even after seeing all my sins, my weaknesses, my lack of love -- He came. What greater gift could I ever receive? He came to be my Friend. He came to be my Savior. He came!

Christmas Portraits, Santiago 2009

2009-12-19T20:31:00.023-04:00

These are some typical photos of how the city is decorated.

Fruit stands with apples, raisins and gum drops are very common. We also see plenty of roast pork, usually sold along the side of the road, where you can buy it buy the pound for your family get togethers.

This is what Christmas looks like here, where the night time temperature is still 79F at 8PM. Since it stays warm, outside decorations are very popular.

The decoration theme this year seems to have been: ribbon and butterflies. We have also seen more Santa's this year than ever before.

Dangerous Job

2009-12-05T20:20:00.007-04:00

This past week I saw something interesting - and frightening at the same time. We saw some painters working on a six story building. The painters worked in pairs. One man stays up on the roof and makes sure the ladder is secure and also is in charge of raising and lowering the five gallon bucket of paint for the man below.

The other man climbs down the ladder. With one arm he hangs on to the ladder, and all the painting is done with the other hand. As you can see, there is no safety equipment - not even a security rope for the painter. He just climbs up and down the rope ladder right out in the open.

Update:

A few weeks ago I told you about Juan and the robbers that tried to take his motorbike. The bullet wounds have healed up nicely. But, apparently, the bullet did some damage to one of the nerves that control the muscles in the wrist. Juan can close his fist but is unable to lift his fingers and wrist in any kind of upward motion. He is wearing a cast for the time being and may have to get some therapy. Please keep him in your prayers. Juan had been hoping to go into the medical profession. If he does not regain the motion in his hand, he may have to choose a different life's work.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-28T22:30:00.006-04:00

We cannot give God anything: for everything is already His, and all we have comes from Him. We can only give Him praise, thanks, and honor. Martin Luther

We rejoice at the less important things which we enjoy according to the Second Table of the Law in that our bodies and possessions are protected. For these gifts are of minor importance when compared with those which we enjoy according to the First Table: That God has revealed Himself, has made know what He intends to do with us, gives His Word, grants faith and the Holy Spirit, hears prayers, daily increases His church, etc. These things are so great that no tongue is able to amplify and praise them as they deserve....For only those are truly thankful who receive the gifts of God joyfully and rejoice in the Giver. Martin Luther

God grant that we follow His Word to praise and thank our dear Lord for His precious blood, which He so freely offered for us. And may God keep us from the terrible vice of ingratitude and the forgetfulness of His blessings. Martin Luther

God's Blessing Be With You

2009-11-23T22:13:00.007-04:00

"May God bless you" is a common expression used among the believers here in the DR. On Saturday night, this blessing was repeated numerous times as two members of the Moca congregation were joined in holy matrimony.

Juan Manuel and Laura Patricia were married by Pastor Alex on Saturday night. Previously, both of them had dated unbelievers, but on the advice of their pastor, decided to stop these relations and try to find a believing partner. God answered their prayer and led their hearts to love and care for each other. After having postponed the date numerous times, everyone rejoiced with them when the "final" date was set and wedding plans were set in motion.

Many family members and neighbors who are not members attended the ceremony. Pastor Alex gave a beautiful sermon as a witness to these people, giving them an opportunity to hear the true law and gospel message. It was also an opportunity to give personal witnesses during the meal and festivities.

"God bless you" carries the desire that the Creator and Preserver of the universe shower all his love and care on the person who receives this blessing. It is a desire for the person to remain in the faith and to be among the believers around the celestial throne. It carries the desire that the person continually find comfort and strength in God's Word and be guarded from temptation and despair. It is with all these thoughts in mind that we say to Chiquito and Patti, "May God's blessing be with you".

Elections

2009-11-14T19:13:00.010-04:00

Next May, the people here will vote in their local mid-term elections. The streets are already filled with posters and ads for all of the candidates from the three different main political parties. All the candidates are already campaigning to get as many votes as possible.

How does this affect the church work? Much of the campaigning is done on Sunday when people are off from work. For several Sundays now, Juan has had to postpone the beginning of the service while we wait for a candidate's parade to go past the church. This video was taken from the door of Juan's church.

As you can tell from the video, it gets VERY loud and the parade is quite long. Those people who don't have speakers blaring, are honking their horns and playing their radios full-blast. It is impossible to begin services or to concentrate on the Word with such a racket going by.

After the parade is past, your ears continue humming and buzzing for a while from all the loud noises. When we start singing our hymns -- it sounds very sweet!

In other news:

We want to again thank all of you for your prayers for the work here and for our safety. On Friday night, one of our members, Juan Fransisco, received a gunshot wound. Bible class had finished and he had already taken one person home on his motorbike. He was coming back to the church to pick up a second person to give them a ride home. Some other men on another motorcycle began following him, pulled out a gun and shot him in an attempt to steal his bike. Juan was able to continue riding his bike and arrive once again at the church property. There the members that were still around attended to him and took him to the clinic. Thanks to the Lord, the bullet exited his body and all he needed were some stitches.

We are all rejoicing and giving thanks to the Lord for His loving protection of Juan. Please rejoice with us that Juan is well and recovering. The Lord sent his holy angels to watch over Juan. And we thank you, also, for all your faithful prayers.

Reformation 2009

2009-11-07T20:08:00.010-04:00

1. When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said "Repent", he called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance. (Ninety-five Theses of Luther)

Last week both Moca and Pueblo Nuevo had a showing of the Luther movie in their respective churches. It was an excellent opportunity to review our Lutheran beliefs and also to witness to others who are always curious about that "Lutheran" means.

94. Christians should be exhorted to follow Christ, their Head, through penalties, deaths and hells. (Ninety-five Theses of Luther)

Many of the new people that attended were from a Catholic background and were surprised to learn Luther's reasons for beginning the Reformation. They were amazed at his love and regard for the Word and of the persecution he had to endure from the pope and from the church.

62. The true treasure of the church is the Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God. (Nintey-five Theses of Luther)

Both pastor Alex and pastor Juan spoke of God's using Luther to bring the truth of the Gospel to light. Works and indulgences are a way to give glory to man and draws their hearts from the true treasure - the Gospel of forgiveness and grace in the Savior.

Fellowship Nights

2009-10-31T17:30:00.007-04:00

In an effort to reach out to others, the Moca congregation has initiated a series of Fellowship/Game nights. Some of our members are married to spouses that are not members. Many have parents, brothers and sisters, and other family members that are not members. Everyone is encouraged to bring their friends and neighbors along also.

We are getting together on Sunday nights to offer members a chance to bring others who are not members of the congregation to spend time with us and give them an opportunity to get to know us. Our desire is to show them our Christian love and open doors for them to speak about spiritual things.

We play games, talk, eat and enjoy our time together. Dominoes is always a favorite and a common card game here, "Casino" is also popular.

So far, these gatherings have had an excellent attendance. Many members are bringing their family members and we have also seen many new faces. It is our hope that by providing opportunities to spend more time with others, there will also be many more opportunities to witness to them and tell them about the hope we have.

Contrasts

2009-10-24T19:31:00.017-04:00

Living in a foreign country can give you a different perspective. We have the privilege of meeting new people, learning a new language and new customs. It is a continuous learning process and we always feel like we are learning new things.

I thought it might be interesting to show you some of the contrasts between our two countries. These are some photos showing the difference between two countries. The pictures on the left are from congregations in the U.S. The pictures on the right are from our congregations here in the Dominican Republic.

Different parts of the world, worshiping the same Savior.

Thanking God for the gift of salvation, be it with gold and silver or with paper and plastic; coming to worship Him in SUV's or on motorcycles. The thankfulness of the hearts is the same.

Useful

2009-10-07T20:48:00.010-04:00

What good is a boat out of water? That is what we thought when we saw these two boats in San Pedro that had been pushed up onto the rocky shore by strong waves. It is a very strange sight to see the boats, so close to the water and yet - basically - useless.

A boat out on the ocean is a beautiful sight. A vision of strength and beauty. When an object fulfills it's function it is an amazing thing to see.

That boat made me think of Jesus talking about believers. Connected to Him and his Word, Christians carry out their functions of praising Him and in gratitude witnessing of Him to others. He gives us purpose and usefulness. Apart from Him, we stumble, become confused, easily fooled and eventually dry up. Could that happen to me? Could I become useless in God's kingdom. "Apart from me you can do nothing" John 15:5

A few months later, we went back to see the boat again. It had been stripped down to just a few pieces of wood. The city officials had taken some pieces off the boat and scavengers came and finished taking away anything else that was left. How tragic. Something that had been designed and built to serve a useful function was now destroyed.

God has given us faith and he continues to give us his Word to feed and strengthen that faith. We thank Him for keeping us and pray that he would help us to be useful instruments in his kingdom. We also thank all of you for your prayers and support. Your letters, emails and prayers motivate, comfort and encourage us to continue serving Him who makes us useful in his service. Thank you.

Pichiro Praises the Savior

2009-10-07T20:05:00.007-04:00

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. Rom. 10:15

As believers, we appreciate the people who taught us about the Savior, be it pastors, parents, friends or relatives. They were the instrument that God used to bring us to faith, and we are thankful for them. These are the people, moved by the Holy Spirit, who took us to church or made the effort to come visit us and tell us about forgiveness and salvation.

Pichiro also has a desire to talk about the Savior. Having been born handicapped, he has never been able to walk - his feet have never touched the ground. Nevertheless, he is the first one to church on Sunday morning and for weekday Bible study. He has to be carried piggy-back from his home to the church - his wheelchair cannot be pushed over the rough roads - but that does not stop him from attending.

Pichiro also witnesses to his family and neighbors about the Savior. Many people come to his house, to visit or to help him with housekeeping. Pichiro talks to his visitors and many new people have come to church as a result of his witnessing.

Pichiro's feet have never touched the ground, but they are still beautiful. In gratitude to his Savior, he speaks to others about all that Jesus has done for him. He brings them the good news.

I thank God for the privilege of knowing Pichiro. What a motivation he is for me. I have two good feet. I can go to visit others and tell them the good news of the Savior. When I see Pichiro's zeal to serve his Savior, I am without excuse.

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. Rom. 10:15

Grace for Graceli

2009-10-03T23:41:00.011-04:00

"We should not doubt at all that wherever one is being baptized the heavens are assuredly opened and the entire Trinity is present and through its own presence sanctifies and blesses the person being baptized". Martin Luther

The angels rejoiced today as another believer was added to the ranks. Graceli became a believer this morning through the sacrament of Baptism, the sprinkling of water connected with the promise of the Word.

Christians rejoiced today as they witnessed the Trinity working new life in this infant. Children bring joy into families as a new life begins and grows. How much greater the Christian's joy when we see that Graceli has been given faith and eternal life.

Graceli rejoiced today when the Holy Spirit entered into her heart and gave her the first spark of faith. She has been washed in the blood of her Savior and made an heir of heaven. She has received grace, the undeserved love that God pours out on all His children.

"Holy Baptism has been purchased for us by the same blood which Christ shed for us and with which he paid for our sin. This blood, with its merit and power, he has deposited in Baptism so that men attain it there. The person who is receiving Baptism in faith is in effect actually being visibly washed with the blood of Christ". Martin Luther

Adopted - Twice

2009-09-26T21:48:00.012-04:00

The eldest son of a poor family, Juan's parents felt they were unable to raise him along with all their other children. So at a very young age, he was given to the family that employed his birth father. This family raised him - adopted him - and became Juan's family along with the other 7 children born to this couple.

Raised in the evangelical church, Juan attended their schools and even began studies in their seminary. He was awarded a diploma for completing the first level of the seminary studies.

Then the Lord changed Juan's plans. He came in contact with the WELS mission in Santiago and began studying doctrine with Freddy Aquino. Ironically enough, the first class that Juan attended was a study on baptism! After studying the teachings of the Lutheran church, Juan became a member. He tells about the day he gave away his diploma from the evangelical seminary. It was no longer a source of pride for him, he considered it "rubbish" compared to the truth he was learning.

Juan is thankful to his adoptive parents who raised him, and he is overjoyed with his adoption by His heavenly Father into the family of believers. His zeal now is to share the good news of the Savior with everyone he meets.

Inauguration in Moca

2009-09-20T19:42:00.013-04:00

On Sunday, September 13, 2009, Moca hosted the inauguration of their new church building. Members from Pueblo Nuevo and San Pedro were able to attend as well as many other friends and guests.

The morning was filled with a special worship service and then a meal served for the guests.
After lunch, Pastor Alex took the guests on a tour of Moca.

In the evening, Nelson led a devotion followed by a game of Bible Trivia with men vs. women. We also enjoyed an evening meal with all the guests.

What an enjoyable day: a new temple for the congregation to give their praise and thanks to God and a day filled with many opportunities for worship and witnessing.

At the Mansion

2009-09-13T08:56:00.016-04:00

This past week we attended the funeral of one of our newest members. Magnolia, a member of Juan Tavarez' congregation died on Sunday evening.

Magnolia had been feeling poorly for a while and on Sunday evening she was taken to the clinic. After about half an hour she died of a heart attack. The general custom here is for the body to be returned to the family. So she was brought back to the house where the family bathed and dressed her body for burial. Then the family needed to go out to buy a casket and have it delivered to the house.

The casket is usually placed in the front room of the house - after all the furniture has been moved out. (In this case, the family decided to use the community center). Friends, relatives and neighbors will then arrive to accompany the family members throughout the night and until the service and burial the following day.

Juan Tavarez was able to give a beautiful law and gospel presentation to all the people present, affirming the faith that Magnolia had in her heart guaranteeing her a place in heaven next to her Savior. It was an opportunity to witness to many new people.

After the service, a rented hearse arrives to take the casket to the cemetery. Most of the burials here are in masoleums. The family must rent a space for x number of years (usually 3). At the end of the contract you are given the option of renewing or different options for disposing of the remains.

When the funeral party arrives at the cemetery, the workers are there waiting. Juan was able to say a few words again for the family. Then the casket is placed into the chosen spot and is immediately cemented in. The workers place the name plaque in place and fix it in place with cement. Some families may leave flowers or pictures in front of the vault. These are then enclosed with a metal grate and locked to avoid being robbed.

Final condolences are given and everyone returns to their homes. People do not get together for a meal after the burial, as is customary in the US.

Magnolia had been a member for just a few short months. She was very happy about her faith, always expressing her joy in forgiveness. In one service she gave a beautiful witness of her faith to another family member. We will miss her - but only for a little while. We know that she is already with the Savior - at the mansion.

Beaches

2009-09-06T16:26:00.011-04:00

He gave the sea its boundary, so the waters would not overstep his command.

Prov. 8:29

When people hear that you live on an island, they naturally assume that you must spend lots of time at the beach. Not so. Santiago is about two hours from the closest beach. Although we enjoy the ocean views, the most we see of the water is on our monthly visits to San Pedro. A good part of that drive is along the southern coast line, which is just beautiful.

The major industry here in the DR is still tourism, so many people come here to enjoy the beaches. From the pictures, you can see why. So, if you would like to enjoy another wonderful part of God's creation, come to the DR and see the beauties His hands have wrought in the sea and the sand.

I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it could not cross.
Jer. 5:22

Motorcycles - The New Pick-up

2009-08-30T14:52:00.010-04:00

How many uses can you think of for a motorcycle? We never ceased to be amazed at the different ways the Domincan people use this mode of transportation. It's main function is to transport people and family and you can hire a "taxi" motorcycle for about 75 cents to take you anywhere in the city. We have seen up to six people on one motorcycle at the same time. Whole families travel together with dad in front, the kids fit in the middle, mom sits at the back with baby hanging on her hip!

But sometimes you see a motorcycle being used to transport many original things. At times you just smile, and other times you say, "Did you SEE that?" The ingenuity of the Domincan people is quite astounding and refreshing. As some have been heard to say, "Never a dull moment in the DR!"

Joyful Journey

2009-08-23T19:35:00.021-04:00

Today was a special day for the Dominican churches. A fellowship day was enjoyed by the Moca and the San Pedro Congregations.

Fellowship
Twelve members of the Moca congregation left Moca at 5 AM and made the three hour drive southeast to San Pedro. When they arrived there were hugs to go around for all as the members of each congregation greeted each other. After catching up on each other's lives and sharing news, we all gathered in the church for a worship service. Julio started out the service with the hymn, "We Are One" which was sung with gusto by all. The sermon message was based on serving others in humility out of gratitude for all that Jesus has done for us.

Food
After the service, the San Pedro congregation served a lunch for everyone. After the long drive, the guests were happy to have a plate of rice to calm growling stomachs. Olga had prepared the rice on an old tire rim converted into a grill. Charcoal is placed inside the tire rim and the rice pot fits conveniently on top of the rim - works great!

Fun
After eating and more visiting, Julio took his guests around San Pedro so they could see the city. Many of them had not been in San Pedro before. We spent some time at the beach, a special treat for the people from Moca since their city is in the mountains, and even though they live on a island they are quite a ways from the beach. Julio also took the group to the downtown area to see the central park and the shops.

After a busy day, it was time to say goodbye and head home to the other end of the island. Everyone said farewell with content hearts, having created many happy memories with their Christian family and having strengthened the ties of faith that bind us together as one in Christ. As Alex said, "We live in different cities, have different experiences and lives, but our forgiveness is the same. We have the same Savior. We look forward to being together in heaven where our fellowship will be enjoyed every day".

Praise and thanksgiving be to our Savior for all He has done for us, for the free forgiveness he gives, for the faith he works and preserves in our heart and for giving us opportunities like these to share fellowship, faith and fun with other believers.

Trip to El Limon

2009-08-15T20:30:00.012-04:00

Last week while Philip was away on a teaching trip, I accepted an invitation to travel to the northeast end of the island and visit with Freddy's family in the town of El Limon. It is a six hour bus ride, through beautiful countryside with several stops in smaller towns along the way to pick up more passengers. I arrived in El Limon at 1 PM and Freddy was there waiting for me.

We both jumped on motorconchos (motorcycles) and rode out to the house. Waiting for us there were his wife Elizabeth, their son Frelin, his mother-in-law Reyna, her husband Mon, and other members of their extended family.

Freddy's house is out in the country and there are fruit trees all around. Mon, 77 yrs. old, even climbed up a tree, with bare feet, to pick some fruit! Every time the ladies would start preparations for a meal, the animals would start to wander into the kitchen, cats, dogs, chickens all looking for a few scraps.

Besides the wonderful time spent with Freddy's family, I also had several opportunities to witness to them, to reinforce the things that Freddy is teaching them. Simple conversations about basic law and gospel and also in depth questions about what we teach and believe were part of the weekend. The Lord opened several doors for me to witness and now I pray the Holy Spirit will work in these hearts through Freddy's continued witnessing. What a wonderful Savior we have, who wants all men to be saved.

Moving In

2009-08-08T21:24:00.012-04:00

This past Sunday, July 26, 2009, the Moca congregation held their first service in their new building. Even with all the benches and chairs set up, everything was pretty full!! Lord willing, it won't take long to outgrow this building.

Saturday was cleaning day and the crew arrived at 6PM. Everyone got busy right way moving benches, sweeping, hosing down the floor, mopping up all the water, setting up benches and chairs and dusting them off. Another crew worked at cleaning up the yard. It was a privilege to work alongside these people. Everyone pitches in, everyone wants to help, everyone looks for a way to participate. Even eight year old Alexandra picked up a broom to help out.

On Sunday morning everyone started arriving and choosing their places. It seems that after a while people choose a certain place to sit and that is their "customary" place to be during services. Don't know why it works that way, but it does. Everyone was happily searching for their new places to sit and their was a certain excitement in the air as people rejoiced in moving in to this new building.

A formal inauguration is being planned for September when the other congregations will be invited and people will have time to invite other family and friends. In the meantime, their are some minor details that still need to be worked on - like putting doors on the bathrooms!

Stoplight Shopping

2009-07-30T20:57:00.022-04:00

One of the unique facets of driving in Santiago is all the activity that goes on when you are in your car at the stoplight. When you stop, the first thing you watch for is the batallion of guys that want to wash your windshield. Sometimes it is hard to see them coming since they throw their sponge from several feet away!

Next come the newspapers. You can get updates on the news with morning and afternoon editions.

After that comes the food: fruit, water, juice, crackers, cookies, popsicles, cheese, etc.
Not far behind come the hats, cellular accessories, windshield wipers, toys, jewelry, sunglasses, etc...

So, come to Santiago to enjoy our Stoplight Shopping. You can make your purchases from the comfort of your car. It's easy on the feet and you get new choices at each stoplight. Come to Santiago where we shop at each stop!

A Fleeting Vapor

2009-07-25T15:15:00.009-04:00

This past week we had news of the death of a young woman we had known from the time she was one year old. As an infant she had been adopted by a young couple in the congregation where we were serving. Her parents brought her to church where she took instruction classes and became a confirmed member of the congregation. This past week her time of grace came to and end.

We all hope for a long and full life, but when we look at the world around us we see that this is not always the case. Our lives are truly not our own, and when as believers we realize the price at which we were bought, it fills our lives with joy and thankfulness and gives us purpose in all we do.

How faithful and generous God was to this young girl, using her parents to bring her to the Word so she could know her Savior. Every day our Savior puts people in our path, souls to be witnessed to and given the opportunity to hear about Jesus' life of fulfilling the Law for us and giving His life in exchange for us to enjoy eternity in heaven.

This is what motivates us to witness to all those who live around us. Sometimes our actions and words seem like they have little or no effect, but we trust that God is working. He is continually holding His arms out to a lost and fallen world. What an amazing task the Lord has committed to us. (Amazing that in spite of our sinfulness he would even consider us to handle his precious gospel). We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.

God used these parents to bring his gospel to the heart of their adopted daughter. May he also use us to witness to many others, to make his appeal - through us - to a fallen world.

Thirty Years

2009-07-16T19:40:00.023-04:00

This past week we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. When we told people how many years we have been married, their jaws would drop! They are not used to people staying together for that many years.

In this society it is common for a man and woman to begin a family, but after a number of years, the man (usually) leaves this family unit and joins together with another woman. They begin a new family. This cycle just continues and repeats itself. After some time, the abandoned woman may find a new man and begin a second family with him. Families become a very entangled web. So, when you ask someone about their family they have to think about it for a moment. The most common response is to tell you how many siblings they have with the same mother and then rattle off how many half-brothers and sisters they have through subsequent parental unions.

Did you ever think that simply staying married could be a way to witness to the world? Being faithful to your spouse is a reflection of God's faithfulness to us and to to his promises. With God's help and blessing, every Dominican couple that is confirmed in the Lutheran church becomes a witness to their family and to the people around them of God's faithfulness to us and of the faithfulness that he desires from us toward our spouse.

The concept of faithfulness is not very strong here, so it is a struggle for many to not give up and take the easy way out and follow the example that society gives them. It is not easy for them because they have not seen faithfulness in action, and it is not easy for us because sin and pride get in the way. But together, we are all asking God to increase our faith and trust in His faithfulness and help us be faithful to Him so we can be his witnesses to the world. We want to give thanks and praise to Him who shows us his faithfulness every day.

New Members

2009-07-10T17:35:00.011-04:00

On Sunday, July 5, Pastor Juan Tavarez and several members of the congregation "Soldiers of Christ" were received into fellowship with the WELS congregations in the Dominican Republic. In a joyful service these new members confessed their faith in Jesus alone and expressed gratitude to their Savior for this gift of faith and to their teachers for sharing the truth of salvation with them.

After confessing their faith, we joined together at the Lord's table to celebrate our common faith. As one family we gathered before the Savior to receive forgiveness and to have faith strengthened in the sacrament.

After the service, there was a time of fellowship to welcome the new members. It was a very special day of great joy and happiness for all the members, as we see the Holy Spirit working in hearts and bringing more souls into his kingdom. Some members were not able to attend so we are expecting more confirmations in the coming weeks.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His mercy endures forever.

A Busy Week

2009-07-04T19:39:00.015-04:00

This week started off with another hospital visit. Freddy, one of our students, was not feeling well and needed to see a doctor. We went to see him and also helped him with some of the paperwork. He was able to get all his tests done and is now back home and feeling much better.

We also had a chance to see the progress on the building in Moca. The roof is on now and on the day we went they were pouring the floor. It is starting to look very, very nice and everyone is excited for the work to be done. There are still some "details" that need to be finished but people are already starting to plan for the future inauguration.

On our way out to Moca, we ran into some protests. This area of town that we had to drive through had been without electricity for 48 hours. That means food in the refrigerator had spoiled, no laundry is getting done, no television, and no fans for sleeping with 80 degree temperatures overnight. There were burning tires in the road and in other areas broken bottles covered the highway. We were able to get past but had to take an alternate route to get back home.

Thursday we had wedding rehearsal which turned out to be the "no" rehearsal. Some extra planning was done but they never really practiced! It was a bilingual wedding so the two pastors were able to compare notes to make the sure service went smoothly, making the transitions from English to Spanish in an orderly way. Many of the bride's family members do not speak Spanish and the groom is Dominican so his family heard the service in Spanish. Even so, there were some last minute changes to the service right before the ceremony!

Friday was the wedding, and it was gorgeous. All the decorations were expertly done and the bride was very, very beautiful. Both of the pastors gave a short message, one in Spanish for the groom's family and another is English for the bride's family. Vows were also exchanged in both languages.

Whew, this was a very busy week. This week began with a hospital visit and ended with a wedding celebration. It was a week in which the Lord gave us many opportunities to show His love, to comfort and help others, to witness to new people. The special opportunity given at the wedding was the message which was a law and gospel witness Philip was able to preach to many who are not believers. We also saw how he watched over us and kept us safe. We had a great week, filled with blessings and opportunities. Thank you, dear Savior.

Building update

2009-06-27T20:49:00.013-04:00

Construction on the Moca building has been moving along at a steady pace. The building currently under construction will initially be used for worship but in the future will be for classes and group activities.

Cacique, a member of the Moca congregation has taken charge of the work crew and supervises the work and the purchase of construction materials to keep the work moving.

Sometimes materials are hard to find, but the workers keep at the job and the progress can be seen. It is quite a job to do construction in the hot sun, and most everything is done by hand. Even the mixing of cement is done by hand (no cement mixers).

The workers hope to get started on the roof this week. After that, the building will be painted and then the last details, windows, doors, pour cement for the floor, etc. We are thankful for good workers and hope to be in this temporary worship facility soon.

Fathers

2009-06-19T11:59:00.016-04:00

Do you remember holding your newborn for the first time? What joy, what inexpressible pride fills your heart when we see that new life resting in your arms gazing up into your eyes. What great illusions we have of how intelligent this child will be, how this child will change the world.

As parents, we try to fulfill all our child's needs. This includes food, clothing, a home, education, security, activities that stimulate their lives and minds. As believers, we also bring our children to the Lord, where God adopts them as His children and puts faith into their hearts.

We have also seen a different phenomenon that occurs frequently in the DR - fathers raising children that are not their own. One example of this is Julio who is raising a child that is not his own. She doesn't know who her father is. Her mother is related to Julio but is no longer able to raise her daughter, so Julio has taken over that responsibility. This happens quite frequently here where people die young, or parents may lose their jobs and are unable to take of all their children, or sometimes the family is abandoned. Then other family members take over and nieces and nephews are received into other family homes. So many men are being fathers to children they have not fathered. They become fathers to them.

Julio not only provides for Angela's physical needs, he is also "training her up" in the Lord. She is receiving catechism classes and attending church services regularly. Julio tells us that Angela often cries because she feels abandoned, not knowing who is her father. He tries to comfort with the message of her heavenly Father who cares for her and loves her.

What a blessing to be born into a loving family, what greater blessing to be "brought into" a family. We have been brought into God's family, grafted in, and made His children. Thanks be to God for giving us earthly fathers that loved us and trained us in His ways. Thanks and thanks and thanksgiving be to our heavenly Father for choosing us before the creation of the world to be His children. Happy Father's Day.

I was sick and you visited me

2009-06-13T19:26:00.012-04:00

I spend a lot of time in hospitals; not because I am a nurse and not because of poor health. The time is spent visiting and helping others who are seeking medical care. Health issues are a constant concern in a country where the majority of the population is poor. Unpaved roads, heavy rains with poor drainage systems, lack of pollution controls, littering all contribute to health problems.

Thankfully there are clinics available. You may have to wait eight hours or more for the doctor to arrive, and nine times out of ten you will be given antibiotics for whatever it is that you have, but people still use what is available.

Hospital stays usual mean bringing someone to stay with you. The room comes with a pull-out couch, but you bring your own sheet and pillow. You also must bring your own meals. You also bring your own clothes - no hospital gowns. When the doctor writes out your prescription, the pharmacy may not have the drugs you need.

Hospital visits are great opportunities to speak about Jesus, the Great Physician and how he heals of us our deadly sickness - sin. He is the doctor that is always available to listen and diagnosis your condition. And the medicine he prescribes, forgiveness, is never scarce or unavailable. Whatever our physical ailments may be, they are nothing compared to the pain of eternity in hell. Some physical ailments may not be cured, but the promise of forgiveness has no limits.

Baptized into God's Family

2009-06-07T11:40:00.012-04:00

Does an infant sin? Can an infant believe in Jesus? Do infants need baptism? Can baptism save us? Previously, before becoming members of our WELS congregation, many of our members would have answered "no" to these questions. Many of them come from Pentecostal and Evangelical backgrounds that reject infant baptism.

What is different now? The Holy Spirit has been working in their hearts. They have learned what Scripture teaches about baptism, about our sinful condition from conception, about the power of God's Word working through baptism. What they had believed before, based on human logic and reasoning, is now rejected as false teaching. The Holy Spirit has worked faith in their hearts based on what God says and not man. What previously was staunchly rejected has now become a badge of honor, "Yes, we baptize infants."

Now they are bringing their children and infants to be baptized, believing that the Holy Spirit is working faith in these hearts from that very moment, forgiving them all their sins, making them His children and giving them eternal life. Adults, who had not been baptized are also being received as God's children.

Do infants sin? Yes. Can an infant believe in Jesus. Yes. Do infants need baptism? Yes. Can baptism save us? Yes. The Holy Spirit shows us the truth and gives us joy and comfort in his promises. "Baptism now saves you" 1 Peter 3:21

Witnesses

2009-05-30T20:07:00.013-04:00

Julio first heard the gospel from a WELS member who has traveled to Antigua and met one of the missionaries there. He was studying with his friend when he came into contact with some WELS missionaries that were living in Santo Domingo. Julio continued to study and became a member of the WELS church here in the Dominican Republic.

On a bus trip to the east end of the island, Julio sat next to Freddy. He began to talk to him about the things he was studying in Bible class. The new things he was hearing intrigued Freddy and he began to attend the Bible studies with Julio. With time, Freddy became a member of the church and eventually began to study in the WELS seminary program.

Freddy met Juan while living in Santiago. He began to talk to Juan about the things he was studying in the seminary. Juan was very interested in what Freddy was telling him and continued to ask questions and read the materials Freddy gave him. The Holy Spirit worked faith in Juan's heart. Juan is taking classes to become a member of our church.

Juan began talking to Angelo. Angelo was a member of a different church but was unhappy with some of their teachings. He liked the things Juan was telling him about the Bible, and how he was able to show that everything he taught was based on biblical teaching. Angelo is also taking classes to become a member.

Angelo is talking to his family members. He wants them to hear the truth and believe in the Savior for their salvation.

The Lord uses the witnessing of believers to work faith in their hearts. What a blessing and a privilege that He allows us to participate in this glorious activity of witnessing about what He has done for us and for all people. May He also use you to speak to many people of His love.

Do You Know Jesus?

2009-05-23T21:21:00.010-04:00

Remember playing games with your friends and cousins when you were little? What great fun to be done with chores and homework and be able to go outside and play. What's even better, is when your friends and cousins live nearby and can come over every day and play.

We easily remember happy play days of our youth. How often did we talk to our friends and cousins about the Savior and witness to them about forgiveness and the promise of eternal life? Not very often, I have to admit.

Alexsandra is a beautiful example of a young girl who not only loves to play with her cousins but also loves to tell them about Jesus. At eight years of age, she is already witnessing to her cousins, sharing with them the basic teachings of the Scriptures. After play, she invites her cousin to sit with her and read about the creation of the world, the life and death of Jesus, the meaning of His resurrection. Her great joy in her own salvation compels her to share this wonderful news with others.

What an inspiration for others to see her witnessing. With what ease and zeal she speaks to others of Jesus - introducing her best friend to those she loves most.

Dear Father in heaven, thank you for this beautiful child who speaks so easily of your love. Help me to also have the heart of a child, to speak to others without fear, using every opportunity to share your love with others. For Jesus' sake.

600 Blocks

2009-05-17T14:35:00.016-04:00

Last year the Moca congregation was granted a donation from the World Board Building Fund. With these funds they were able to purchase a lot for a new church. After much searching, they found a building easily accessible to the members of the church in Moca.

The lot already has an existing building, but it needs repair. The church has initially purchased 600 cement blocks to begin the needed renovations. On Saturdays and weekday afternoons members find their way over to the church to donate their time to build their new church. It is a joyful job for them as they fit block upon block and await the day when they will worship their Savior in this new building.

Now that the rainy season has started it has been more difficult to progress with the construction. Most of the work is outside, the cement dries slower in the humid weather, and the roads that are not paved turn into endless potholes slowing down the traffic.

The congregation is practicing Christian stewardship to purchase more needed blocks and other building materials. It is a challenge for them but one that they do with contentment. They are taking ownership of their church by donating their time and talents to help with the construction and their treasures to finish the purchases.

The congregation in Moca sends its thanks to the World Board for the donation. They are also thankful for this opportunity to serve their Lord. To Him alone be all the glory.

Mother's Day for Sandra

2009-05-10T08:01:00.014-04:00

Sandra's father died when she was eight years old. He had been suffering from leukemia for over a year and she had watched the disease ravage his weakened body. Homemade remedies and pills of different sizes and colors became quite common until he no longer had any strength left to fight off the disease.

Sandra's mother was left alone, with six small children and another one on the way. Without work and no income, she had no way to continue supporting all her young ones. Her first thought was to "farm out" the children to different relatives even though her husband's dying wish was to keep the family together. Plans were set in motion to send the children to different relatives.

Then Merecedes, a lady from the community, stepped forward and offered to take all five of the girls. Sandra's mother agreed, and so it was that Sandra was raised by Mercedes along with her four sisters. Mercedes honored the dying wish of Sandra's father.

Some time later Sandra's mother remarried. Sandra hoped and hoped that now that her mother was no longer on her own she would come for her children and reunite her family since they were still living in the same town. This did not happen. Her mother eventually had two more children with her new husband, but never approached Sandra, her sisters or Mercedes.

Sandra grew up under Mercedes' care and married and started a family of her own. Her husband, Alex, is a seminary student in the WELS and studies with LATTE professors. Alex began talking to Sandra about God's agape love, how much He has loved us, how much He has forgiven us.

This concept of agape love was a difficult struggle for Sandra. Years of resentment and rejection against her mother had built up inside her heart. "How could a mother treat her own children way? Why didn't she come for us once she had the means to do so?" Alex patiently repeated to her the truth of God's forgiveness and His agape love. A tear forms in Sandra's eye and her chin begins to quiver. "Then I began to understand how unfair I was being with my mother. I was harboring anger in my heart and sinning against my Savior. Continually I sinned against Him with my anger and He just kept forgiving me. How could I point my finger at my mother?"

Does Sandra still struggle with the pain and anger? "Yes, there are days when the memories creep back into my mind. Sometimes the same questions go round and round in my head. Many days I forget about God's love and how many, many times He has forgiven me. But the Holy Spirit brings me back. He shows me the cross".

Sandra is planning a trip out to the "campo" where her mother is living. She doesn't visit very often and hasn't seen her for a while. But a desire is starting to form in her heart. She wants to talk to her mother about this agape love.

New Work

2009-05-03T20:32:00.010-04:00

"Send me, send me". The Holy Spirit has touched many hearts with this desire to serve and witness about their Savior. This desire yields a zeal to teach others about the Savior, to share with them the good news that someone else shared with you.

Rona is an example of such zeal. Recently he began church services among his neighbors in the apartment building where he lives. The majority of the people are fellow Haitians that are here in the DR for health care, studying in universities, or trying to find work here to be able to send money home to their families.

Rona has a love for his Savior and a love for his people. More and more Haitians cross the boarder every day. He talks about the wide variety of churches and teachings the people are exposed to in Haiti but their is a scarcity of true doctrine. Out of thankfulness for the gift of faith that he has been given, he wants to do as much as he can to spread this saving message to others. He is beginning with his neighbors. This service is held in the evening in addition to the normal Haitian service that is held in the morning in a different part of the city.

"We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard". "Send me, send me".

Encourage One Another

2009-04-26T20:43:00.010-04:00

One of the important aspects of teaching is to encourage the student to do his best, using and developing all the talents that the Lord has given. Each student has been blessed with a unique set of abilities and brings different talents and life experiences to the classroom. As teachers, we encourage them to develop these capacities and use them to their fullest in their ministries.

In the classroom the students are encouraged to ask questions, to share experiences, doubts and concerns so they may grow in their knowledge of the Word. The teacher can encourage the student and the students encourage each other to trust in the Lord.

All of our students here in the DR are active in ministry. They spend their mornings in seminary class and dedicate their afternoons and evenings to doing ministry among their people, preaching and teaching, encouraging their members with the Word. We try to attend as many of these services as we can to listen to their sermons and classes, watching them interact with their members and discussing with them any counseling sessions they may be having.

What a blessing to watch them grow in their work, in their ability to use their talents to serve and in their ability to see opportunities to encourage others with the Word. What a blessing for us to be able to encourage them in this work.

"Encourage one other and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing".

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for the many Easter cards we have received. Mail is slow here, so the Easter cards are still coming in. Thank you for all of YOUR encouraging words. Each card reminds us of your love, of your desire to encourage us so that the saving Gospel may continue to be spread among the people here. Thank you for encouraging us!

Encouragement

2009-04-26T20:15:00.005-04:00

One of the important aspects of teaching is to encourage the student to do his best, using the talents that the Lord has given. Each student has different abilities and life experiences that they bring to the classroom and to their work. As a teacher, we try to help each student develop these talents and learn how to use them in their ministries.

Watching the students in their own environment helps to evaluate how they are doing. The teacher is able to observe how the student interacts with the members of his group, how he is delivering his sermons and classes and ask about any counseling sessions they are carrying out with their members.

All of our students here in the DR are active in ministry. They dedicate their mornings to seminary classes and use their afternoons and evenings to study and to reach out with the gospel. Whenever possible, we attend these classes and services to better be able to encourage the students in their ministry.

What a blessing to watch them grow in the work, to watch the members grow in their trust of their leaders. "Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing".

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who have sent us Easter cards. Mail is slow here, so the Easter cards are still coming in. Thank you to all of you for YOUR words of encouragement. Every card reminds of your love and we thank you for all your prayers, they are deeply appreciated. Thank you for encouraging us!

San Pedro

2009-04-20T13:07:00.009-04:00

Saturday we traveled to San Pedro to visit the congregation there. We found Julio sitting outside sewing a man's dress shirt on his sewing machine. As he sews, a group of young people gather around him and he patiently answers their spiritual questions, witnessing to them about the Savior.

Several of these young people are in instruction class and Philip had the opportunity to talk late into the night with one of them, named Felipe. His questions revealed his confusion about free salvation and his own good works since he has visited other churches. But he was also amazed when he heard Philip giving him the same answers he had heard from Julio. "This is what the Bible teaches", and Felipe wanted to know more.

Saturday night we attended the Bible study. Julio is reviewing the catechism with the congregation and new people. Sunday worship was led by Julio with Papo participating by leading a part of the singing.

The area of San Pedro where the church is located is a poor area of town, you still see horse-drawn carts on the street, but it has been blessed with people who love the Word and have a desire to serve the Savior.

postscript: On the three hour drive home we had a flat tire. We pulled over to the side of the road and as Philip worked on changing the tire, two cars stopped to help. It turned out to be a great witnessing opportunity and each of them took home one of Philip's law/gospel dvd's. An unpleasant experience - like having to change a flat tire - became a blessing for us and for our helpers.

Just As He Said

2009-04-13T15:17:00.009-04:00

This past Sunday, Christians all over the world celebrated and rejoiced in the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. In midst of uncertain times, our faith was strengthened as we heard again of Jesus our Savior rising victorious over sin, death and the grave; just as He said.

Here in the Dominican Republic, we also celebrated the joy of Jesus' resurrection. Alleluia's rang out as we sang our triumphant hymns of praise. He is risen, just as He said. Alleluia!

The children also participated in an Easter egg hunt. They RAN to find the eggs just as the disciples and the women ran to the tomb. The children found plastic eggs filled with chocolate treats. The disciples and the women found an empty tomb. He had risen, just as He said.

What comfort for us in our struggles and desire to serve our Savior. Since He rose, we can be assured that all His promises are sure. "Your sins are forgiven" - just as He said. "I am going to prepare a place for you" - just as He said. "I will be with you always" - just as He said. "I will come again to take you with me" - just as He said.

We usually don't like to find things empty - except on Easter. Then we rejoice in the empty tomb. "He is not here. He is risen. JUST AS HE SAID".

A very blessed Easter to all.

P. Strackbein