San Pedro Celebrates 5 Years

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.

Useful

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.

Joyful Journey

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.

San Pedro

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.

Freddy Antonio Aquino

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

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

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

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

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

The Lord bless you with his peace,
NW

Handing out "The Promise"

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

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

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

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

The Lord bless you with his peace,

NW

San Pedro de Macorís

What an enjoyable weekend in San Pedro de Macoris. Since the congregation granted its pastor a sabbatical to study at our seminary in Santiago, a missionary goes every other weekend to teach Bible classes and lead a worship service. It is a three hour trip one way, so we try to make the most out of every trip.

After heavy rains prevented some of my Saturday visits, most of the members still came for Saturday evening Bible class — we just started at 8:00pm instead of 7:00, waiting for the rain to stop. We’re working through the Catechism to prepare Patricia and Neli for confirmation, so we studied the 8^th Commandment.

The small but faithful family of believers gathered Sunday morning for worship at 9:30 (starting the service by 9:45). The Gospel was Jesus’ third appearance to his disciples after his resurrection (John 21:1-14). Like young children who love to hear their parents read the same stories or sing the same songs over and over again, we never get tired of hearing about Jesus’ resurrection and its guarantee of victory over sin and death.

Making a few visits after the service, I was able to schedule Bible classes with some prospects in two weeks. Then it was back to Santiago to get ready for this week’s seminary classes.

Thank you, Lord, for safe travels and the joy of gathering around your Word with your saints in San Pedro de Macorís.

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW