Helve Robert

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

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

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

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

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

The Lord bless you with his peace,

NW

Prayer suggestions

What a marvelous blessing prayer is! Almighty God, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, invites us to pray with the same confidence and persistence as dear children talk to, ask and thank their loving father. Jesus teaches to call on God as "Our Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:9). "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give hims a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:9-11)

Occasionally brothers and sisters in Christ ask us what they should pray for on behalf of our mission. Following are some suggestions, but is by no means exhaustive:

• Pray for the Latin American national churches that are striving to grow and become self-supporting sister churches of WELS: the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mexico, the Evangelical Lutheran Confessional Church in Puerto Rico, and those in Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Brazil.
• Ask God’s blessings on the LATTE team as they help spread the gospel in Latin America: Missionaries Schlomer, Martens, Retberg, Strackbein, and Wagenknecht.
• Thank the Great Shepherd of the sheep for the seminarians and national pastors serving him in the Dominican Republic: Rona Abraham, Obed Bazin, Julio Corporan, Alexander Torres, Freddy Aquino, Robert Helve, and Elise Abraham.
• Call on our God of grace to bless Missionary Monday's ministry, to watch over the Monday family and to grant them joy.
  
• Pray that the Holy Spirit would strengthen and keep the members of our congregations -- most of whom are first generation Christians, or at least first generation confessional Lutherans -- in the true Christian faith until they receive the crown of life in heaven.
• Ask our loving, perfect Father to help Christian parents raise their children in the "training and admonition of the Lord".
• Seek the Lord's favor on Cordero de Dios (Lamb of God) congregation in Moca as they look for their own permanent building to dedicate to the Lord's service.
  

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW

Ester is a daughter of God

God is good!

This morning we celebrated the baptism of Ester Robert, infant daughter of Helve and Millianard ("Tabitha") Robert.

"You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ....If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." -- Galatians 3:26-29

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW

Babies Ester and Santi

Due to technical problems, I haven't been able to update for two weeks. My apologies!

What better way to come back, though, than to announce God's grace in granting two recent arrivals to our mission in the DR.

On Thursday, May 10, Helve and Mili Robert had a baby girl -- their first child. Helve is one of our six seminary students, and the recently Called student-pastor of the Haitian congregation here in Santiago. After going back and forth for months before her birth between the names Ester and Rut, they finally decided on Ester. Please keep Mili in your prayers since she had a difficult delivery and is still recovering, on bed-rest at home. We look forward to Ester becoming a child of God through the sacrament of Holy Baptism soon.

To announce the other birth, allow me to share an email from Missionary Shiloh Monday:

Dear family and friends,

Well, I missed it... but he arrived safely. Praise God with us for his special gift of a baby boy and for granting a safe delivery for mother and child!

James Edward Monday was born on Monday (oh, please... stop), May 14 at 2:45 PM. He weighed 8 lbs 15 oz and measured 22 1/2 inches long. Molly arrived at the hospital at 11 AM and braved it "alone," with the help of the doctor and nurses, of course. Shiloh was on an American 747 somewhere over Kentucky or Tennessee at the time, chatting with strangers and enjoying beverage and snack service.

We will call him "Santiago" in the DR, as that is the equivalent of "James" in Spanish, and if it sticks, it sticks. Sam and Sophie already love calling their brother "baby Santi."

Santiago, God-willing, will become a son of his heavenly Father on Sunday at St. Paul's, Ixonia, WI.

God's blessings to all of you as you share the news of his grace in Christ to all those around you and in all the world,

Shiloh

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW

First Seminary Graduate

Thanks be to God for being with Rona Abraham, our soon-to-be first seminary graduate here in the DR. We ask the Lord to bless him as he plans to return to Haiti this summer to share the Gospel with his fellow Haitians. His planned departure, however, leaves a vacancy in the Haitian congregation here in Santiago where he was serving as a student-pastor.

To fill the vacancy, the Haitian congregation met and called Helve Robert, another Haitian seminary student, to serve as their shepherd. We praise God for providing this gift to the church, another humble servant who will lead God's people to see Jesus their Savior. Please join us in praying for the Lord's blessings on Student-Pastor Helve's ministry.

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW

PS -- My apologies for not updating last week :-( I'll spare you my list of excuses :-)))