World Missions shifts resources to reach more people with the gospel

The following quote is from President Mark Schroeder's "Together" e-newsletter to the WELS, November 3, 2008:

The Board for World Missions (BWM) continually discusses and plans how best to use the resources available for foreign mission work. The BWM has often stated that these decisions should be made for "strategic" rather than for financial reasons. In other words, the board is always looking for ways to get the gospel to as many people as possible. It also strives to plant mission churches that will be able to flourish independently after WELS missionaries leave. Sometimes this approach requires shifting missionary manpower and funding from one field to another—not because the funding for World Missions has been reduced, but because the opportunities in one field may appear to be more abundant than in another. Certainly, all of these decisions involve the prayerful use of sanctified human judgment.

In its October meeting, the BWM considered new opportunities such as those in Asia, as well as factors "on the ground" in several existing mission fields. The board made a decision to reallocate some of their resources. Support for mission work in Bulgaria and Albania will be reduced; two missionary positions in Latin America (a missionary in the Dominican Republic and one of the positions in the Latin American Traveling Theological Educators team) will also be vacated. The financial resources that had been allocated for these areas have been reallocated to other promising mission efforts in eastern and southern Asia. In addition, the BWM will continue to work with people in the reduced fields to help them adjust to the new circumstances and to make sure that the spiritual needs of our fellow Christians continue to be met.

What does this mean for our WELS mission in the Dominican Republic?

As President Schroeder explains, as faithful stewards of the offerings of God's people, the Board for World Missions is called on to direct its resources to areas where it appears the Lord is opening the door to share the gospel with the greatest number of people.  Our WELS mission in the Dominican Republic is being suspended in order to redirect manpower and funding to other also promising mission fields.

Since October, the DR mission team has been working toward a smooth transition to turn the work completely over to the Dominican and Haitian congregations.  This means:

• the WELS Kingdom Worker sponsored EFL program ended in December.  Volunteer Vanessa King returned to continue her studies at Martin Luther College.  Volunteer Julie Majerus accepted reassignment to the EFL program in Mexico.
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• DR Missionary Shiloh Monday accepted a stateside Call to pastor St. Mark Lutheran Church in Salina, Kansas.  He and his family left the field on December 20.
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• LATTE Missionary and DR field coordinator Nathan Wagenknecht (that's me) accepted redeployment to assist the seminary program in Brazil.  I will remain in the DR until my Brazilian visa is approved.
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• LATTE Missionary Philip Strackbein and his wife Kathy will remain in the DR for another 2 or 3 years to finish the seminary education of our current four students.
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• As of December 1, all five congregations are being pastored by Dominican or Haitian men and will continue their gospel ministry.

While it is certainly sad for those of us who have or will be leaving to say farewell we REJOICE that the Gospel seed has been planted and cultivated here in the DR for the past 15 years.

We TRUST in the Lord that he will bless the preaching of his Word through the local congregations who remain and will faithfully continue their ministries.

We PRAY that the Lord bless the many souls in other mission fields who will be better served as resources are redirected their direction.  May Christ's saving name be proclaimed and glorified throughout the world!

The Lord bless you with his Peace,

NW

September Birthdays

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

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

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

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW

!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

Mission Family

Two Fridays ago (16 Nov), after we finished our English Bible study, we celebrated Molly Monday's birthday as a mission family. One person volunteered to bake a cake, another person brought the ice cream and a celebration was on the way!

We want to thank Molly for all that she brings to the field, for all the help she gives and for her thoughtfulness to others. Thanks Molly!

We also thank the Lord for these opportunities to enjoy our Christian family. Through our weekly Bible studies and these family celebrations, the Lord blesses us through the study of His Word and strengthens the bonds that unite us as a family on the mission field and as a family in Christ walking together towards our heavenly home.

Time together, Time with the Spirit

It is consistently the highlight of my week. Warm greetings. A few friendly laughs. The good Word. Some good questions. Even better answers. Prayer and thanksgiving to God. His blessing, and then goodbye. It's Friday night Bible study in Moca. It's time together with brothers and sisters in Christ who love you and love the Lord even more. It's time together with the Spirit of God. In the books and letters of the Bible, written by the prophets and apostles, we read and meditate on "words taught by the Spirit," spiritual truths expressed in spiritual words (1 Co 2:13).

Is it any wonder that it's a highlight? And no, it's not because of the fun or the fraternity. It's because it's time together with the Spirit of God. "No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us" (1 Co 2:11b-12). Bible study is our prime face time with the Holy Spirit, when we get to know the God of all the universe a little better, when we understand a little bit more about the truth, when we realize once again that this God loves us undeservedly and freely gives us all things in his Son Jesus Christ.

Maybe you've already guessed that we're reading through Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. One chapter a week. We're only up to chapter 4, but what jewels of heavenly wisdom we've already found:

• Chapter 1: Paul writes to a Christian congregation stifled by sinful problems and top-heavy with sinful pride, and yet writes to them as brothers in Christ, with thanksgiving, optimism and loving-but-firm straight talk about their spiritual woes and God's clear will.

• Chapter 1b: The message of Christ crucified. A big nothing to the world; not quite strong enough or smart enough for our sinful side; in reality, the exclusive key to salvation and to absolutely everything else that matters. "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God... that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption." (1:24,30)

• Chapter 2: Christ, the wisdom of God, was not discovered by the wise men of this world; it was revealed by God through his Spirit to his chosen apostles. Whose wisdom and word should we give our time and attention to? Man's or God's found in the Bible?

• Chapter 3: The preachers who plant and water the word are nothing; it's God who makes faith grow. To him be all glory! And yet God graciously and generously rewards his workers in proportion to the faithful work he himself has produced in them.

• Chapter 3b: We may think we are wise and put ourselves on a higher plane than others; we may do the same with our favorite pastors and teachers. But this only creates factions and fractures God's holy temple that is his Church. Toss that "wisdom" and become a "fool," who understands that we are all fellow servants and co-heirs of the world under Christ. We are one under him, even though we all have different roles, different gifts, and different callings.

That's through three chapters. Thirteen more to go. Holy Spirit, make us grow and glorify your name!

Pastor Shiloh

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

Missionary Monday's furlough presentations

Missionary Shiloh Monday is on furlough back in the states right now. One of the joys of furlough is to speak at various congregations to share news about the spread of the Gospel in the mission field. If you are in the area, you are welcome to attend any of the following presentations:

• Aug 22 -- Fairview Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI
• Aug 23 -- Crown of Life Lutheran Church, Hubertus, WI
• Aug 26/27 -- St. John's Lutheran Church, Baraboo, WI
• Aug 29 -- Mt. Lebanon Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI
• Aug 30 -- Peace Lutheran Church, Hartford, WI
• Sep 1 -- Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Menominee Falls, WI
• Sep 2 -- Living Word Lutheran Church, Waukesha, WI

Phone numbers and addresses can be found in the WELS Yearbook, in the yellow pages, or on the web through WELS Locator Search (click here). Please contact the local congregation for worship and presentation times.

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW

Latest Clay Jar to Appear on Shelf

Greetings brothers and sisters, loved by God and called to be saints!

Just introducing myself. My name is Pastor Shiloh Monday, WELS Missionary to the Dominican Republic. I've been mentioned in some of our previous posts, but have not posted until now. Consider me now blogged on.

Let me also introduce my family: my wife Molly and our three children, Samuel (3 1/2), Sophia (1 1/2), and Santiago (1 1/2 months). (You can find pictures of us in previous posts, or follow my profile link to the right.)

We have lived and served in Santiago for nearly four years now, and though many circumstances have changed here in that short time, our mission has remained the same: to uncover the gleaming treasure of Christ in the deathly darkness of sin.

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2 Corinthians 4:6,7)

The darkness found in the DR is not essentially any different than the darkness that at one time was in your own heart or the darkness that still hangs over many people in your particular spot on the globe. It is the darkness of groping about day after day, unaware that the sins we commit offend God and condemn us, yet strangely aware that we are guilty creatures disconnected from our Creator.

The gleaming treasure that dispels this darkness is not any different either: simply, Christ, the once-and-for-all sacrifice for the sin of the world who gives forgiveness, eternal life and salvation to all who believe in him.

We who uncover this treasure here are no different from you either, brothers and sisters, or from Paul or Luther or any other of our spiritual ancestors. We are jars of clay holding the most precious treasure.

God bless our humble efforts to let the saving light of Christ shine out of these clay vessels. Out of yours and mine.

Grace and Peace!
Pastor Shiloh

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

Meet Missionary Monday

Yes, it's time for 3M -- Meet Missionary Monday.

Missionary Shiloh Monday and his wife Molly arrived in the DR straight from the Seminary in 2003. They live in Santiago where he mentors the pastoral ministry for two congregations: Iglesia Cristiana Luterana in Santiago and Cordero de Dios in Moca (just outside of Stgo). He is the outreach missionary for the field and occasionally teaches a seminary course.

Molly is a blessing to the field with her support of Shiloh, her always cheerful and positive words of encouragement, and the "bonus" of her medical knowledge as a nurse. She enjoys staying home to raise their two children, Sam and Sophia. And we can't forget the third one on the way--Molly is due in mid-May. Please pray that the Lord keep mother and child safe in his care.

Sam, born 19 Sep 2003, loves going to Sunday School and "Jesus' house". He's also becoming quite the expert on tractors and big machines.

Sophia, born 15 Feb 2006, is learning about Jesus, too, from family devotions. She loves to play with her big brother and has a smile and giggle that are simply contagious.

We'll get to know the Mondays better in future posts. May the Lord bless the labors of their hands and give them joy in ministering to his saints here in the DR.

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW