Prayer for Latin America Traveling Theological Educators team

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

Amen.

The Lord bless you with his Peace,

NW

Santiago break-in #4

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

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

We renew our efforts to make the building more secure.

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW

OK after Fay

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

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

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

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

The Lord bless you with his Peace,

NW

!En tu mano están mis tiempos!

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

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

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

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

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

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