Streaming in the DR

On Wednesday, October 31, members of our Dominican mission family watched the Reformation service from Risen Savior Lutheran in Milwaukee. The service was broadcast (or "streamed") live over the internet. We were able to project the service on the wall so everyone could see and participate. Copies of the worship folder were handed out so we could sing along with the hymns and follow the readings.

We also shared this service with our Dominican congregation. They were happy to listen to a former missionary, Seth Haackenson, and to share the mission message given by former missionary Roger Sprain.

We thank WELS for this opportunity to share in this service of praise. We also thank the people at Multi-Language Publications who helped to organize this transmission. Above all, we give thanks to our merciful God for preserving His Word among us. To Him be all the glory.

[ Thanks, Kathy, for the post! --NW ]

English Classes - Session Two

Our volunteers have started the second session of their English classes. I decided to try and find out what all goes into preparing just one class.

In the picture, Polly and Julie are writing out their lesson plans for each class. They research all their resources according to the needs and level of their students. They create all their own original worksheets, adapting them to the level of their students. Games, activities and group activities are also chosen to reinforce the language skill being taught.

Preparing for each class also includes administration duties such as taking attendance and calling students who have missed class. Copies must be made for each day's activities which involves a walk to the copy shop and waiting in line for your turn. There are also homework activities to be corrected.

Julie and Polly arrive early for each class. They unlock the gates, open the doors and windows and begin to set up their teaching area. Chairs and tables are put in place, some dusting might need to be done, mop the floor if necessary, get out all their teaching aids. Also, a quick check to see that the bathrooms are clean and stocked.

Now that they have begun to form relationships with their students they are starting to make home visits to the students. The visits are set up with the students and usually involve finding their way around the city and then spending time with each student in their home, getting to know their family and using the visit to make an evangelism presentation.

Our volunteers are working hard to teach excellent classes and also to reach out with the gospel to all the students. We appreciate all their hard work. Thank you!

[ Thank you, Kathy, for the above post. --NW ]

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.

Praise Him with the Keyboard

Presently, there are several people receiving training to play hymns with the chord method of piano playing. Each of the students is a member of one of our congregations and our goal is that in the future we will have people able to read music and lead the members in singing and praise with musical instruments.

We would like to give our deepest thanks to Roxanne Martens (wife of LATTE Missionary Ralph Martens) who wrote the music course that the students are using. She wrote the program herself and gave us permission to reproduce it to train more people. So far it is working well and the students are making good progress.

We thank the Lord for gifted people like Roxanne who are willing to share their talents with the church, and we thank God who bestows musical talents on His believers and fills their hearts with the desire to praise Him by learning to play hymns to His glory.

[ The above was written by Kathy Strackbein. We thank the Lord for her service as well. --NW]

Substitutes

Substitute – "to put in the place of another person or thing".

Nate W. and Kathy S. worked as substitute teachers in the place of Julie and Polly while these two Kingdom Workers were at home recovering from pink eye (see the post titled "Quarantined" here).

To begin the day Nate and Kathy each made a trip to the girls’ apartment to pick up a copy of the lesson plan and a list of the student’s names. In the afternoon, they arrived early to set up the classroom and look for all the necessary materials to teach the class. The substitutes had also helped out with the registration and interview portion of the English classes, so they were not complete strangers to all of the students.

When the students arrived, we saw how disciplined they were. Everyone wrote their name on a sign-in sheet, put on their name tag and took their seat. Of course, the first question was, “Where is Polly? Where is Julie?” We heard many sympathetic, “Ooh”s when we explained their health situation.

The teaching went well and even though the students missed their teachers, they were happy to have substitute teachers so as not to have their classes canceled. Nate and Kathy were also happy to have this opportunity to serve. It made them appreciate all the teachers do to help their students learn a new language.

Joyful Service

English classes started in September. Each day there are about 35-40 students attending the classes in our worship facility. Since space is limited, we use our worship area as one of the two classrooms.

That means each week the room metamorphoses four times. After the Thursday English class, tables and chairs are removed and benches moved into place for the Haitian service Sunday morning. After the Haitian service, the benches are removed and tables and chairs set up for Sunday afternoon English class. After that class, tables and chairs out; benches in for Spanish service. After Spanish service, one more switch to be ready for Monday English classes.

It's great to see everyone -- members, seminary students, even the English students themselves -- eager to help. It involves quite a bit of activity, but what a joy to work together, grateful hearts willing to serve!

Tropical Storm Noel

This past week Tropical Storm Noel passed directly over the Dominican Republic. It began to rain on Friday afternoon and has continued for the past 5 days. Meteorologist reports predict we may still receive more rain today and tomorrow.

This quantity of rain has taken quite a toll on the island. Bridges have been washed out and rivers are overflowing. In the capital city of Santo Domingo, the streets have become waterlogged since the underground aqueducts are overflowing and spewing the water back up onto the streets. Many homes have been washed away with mudslides. The heavy rains caused a nationwide blackout on Sunday. All flights out of Santo Domingo were cancelled Sunday. Rice, banana, onion, cassava, potato and tomato crops have been wiped out by the rains and mudslides.

In the midst of all the destruction and loss, we lift our eyes to our heavenly Father and give Him thanks for the safety of all our missionaries and members. He has watched over us and kept us safe, giving us strength and opportunity to help those who are in need.

A grateful thank you to all of you who have called and sent emails. We ask for your continued prayers as the whole country begins to recuperate.

(posted by Kathy Strackbein)

Quarantined

Almost two weeks ago, both of our EFL volunteers contracted pink eye (conjunctivitis). They woke up in the morning with their eyes pasted shut and endured itching and puffiness during the day. In order not to infect anyone else, both teachers quarantined themselves, staying inside their apartment for the next four days.

Since the pink eye didn't start until late in the week on Thursday, they missed only one evening of classes. (Kathy Strackbein and Missionary Wagenknecht were "guest teachers" that evening.) Julie and Polly were very conscientious *not* to spread the pink eye, disinfecting pretty much anything they touched for a week!

They were able to get some drops for their eyes and also antibiotics to fight the infection so that by Sunday afternoon they were back in the classroom. We thank the Lord for granting them a speedy recovery. The rest of us missed seeing them at their classes and get-togethers. Glad to have you back, Julie and Polly!!!

(posted by Kathy Strackbein)

Rainy Days

When it rains it pours - how true here in Santiago. When it rains our streets turn into rivers. When it rains hard the drainage system is not capable of handling the amount of water that accumulates. There is also the additional complication of all the trash that is thrown on the street every day which is pulled into the system by the flow of the water. The garbage covers and fills up the grates, the water backs up and the end result is flooding on the street and in people's houses.

Thankfully the waters subside within a few hours, so if you are patient you can get where you need to go. This is just another aspect of life in the DR that we become accostumed to especially during the rainy season.

(posted by Kathy Strackbein)

National Holiday, "Nuestra Senora de Mercedes"

In 1494 while Columbus was fighting with the Taino "Indians" for control of the island, the Virgin supposedly appeared to the Spaniard soldiers.

Columbus led an inland expedition to round up Tainos to give to his men as slaves. A large company of natives from the valley below attacked his troops here and supposedly the fight was not going well for the Spaniards until Columbus raised a large, wooden cross on the hill; an apparition of the Virgin perched atop it, and the emboldened Europeans slaughtered the enemy. (cited from the Dominican Republic Rough Guide, 2000)

The apparition became known as "Nuestra Senora de Mercedes", our lady of mercies. This story is celebrated every September 24 as a national holiday. Ninety five percent of Dominicans still consider themselves Roman Catholic. People flock to the sight of the apparition and worship the virgin as the patron saint of the island.

Please pray for us that we may have many more opportunities to witness to the people here and bring them the joy of the True Savior, Christ Jesus. He does not come to us in dreams and visions, but choses to come to us in the very real and tangible message of the Gospel, found in His Word and Sacraments.

(submitted by Kathy Strackbein)

The Lord bless you with his true Peace in Jesus,
NW

Health Issues in Third World Countries

When people come to the Dominican Republic they usually know about the tourist places, eg. the beaches, the Colonial City, the whale watching, etc. What they don't always think about are the strange diseases you might come in contact with when you enter a different country.

Recently two members of our Christian family had very different health issues. One had several insect bites that became infected. At first, the doctors thought they were just simple mosquito bites and didn't do anything. When the infected bites grew to about the size of quarters, continuously oozed, and caused constant pain, the doctors finally realized they were spider bites. The bites were treated with antibiotics (twice a day injections for a week), lanced and drained. We are happy to report that there has been a complete recovery.

The second became sick and was diagnosed with dengue fever, a virus transmitted by certain mosquitoes. The symptoms of this disease are high fever, chills and general pain in your whole body. When you have dengue you need to rest quite a long time before you are back on your feet. After a week of continued high-grade fever and body aches, more tests were done, and it was concluded that the real problem was food poisoning. The correct treatment was given (different antibiotics). By God's grace, she has also recovered.

Thanks be to God for the recovery of our brother and sister. And thanks be to God for providing availability of treatments to help them recuperate.

(posted by Kathy Strackbein)

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW

Driver's Training in the DR

This past summer while staying with my parents in Santiago, Dominican Republic I took some behind the wheel driving lessons with a Dominican teacher. This is what I learned.

-- Not all cars have seatbelts.
-- You can drive a car without a speedometer, odometer, or working gas gauge.
-- Girls get longer driving classes than guys.
-- You can pass on the right - if there is no other way to get around the car in front of you.
-- Driving makes the teacher hungry – the first stop of the class is always the grocery store.
-- Try to drive a car that when you stand next to it, at least comes up to your shoulders, this avoids hitting your head on the roof when you hit potholes!

(posted by Kathy Strackbein for David)

Summer Color

It’s summer and the flamboyan trees are in full bloom. The Caribbean is green all year round, so we see little change in the seasons. But in June the green of the flamboyan tree changes to dark red, orange or yellow flowers.

The color is just amazing and beautiful. Both the city and the countryside are spotted with these bright spots of color during the summer. It almost becomes a game to look for them as you are out driving.


I have also read that there is a blue flamboyan, but have yet to see one.


Praise be to the God of all creation for such wonderful gifts to us.
(posted by Kathy Strackbein)

[NW adds: The driver must keep his eyes on the road, so he usually loses the above mentioned game :-) ]

Rice

The May-June rice harvest is in and the numbers look good for the Dominican Republic. This crop was abundant and will help keep the country self-sufficient in rice production. To meet the country’s demand of an average of 335,000 tons of rice per year, two harvests are brought in each year, one in May and the other in January.

Rice – a good source of energy, B vitamins and low in fat – is a staple of the Dominican diet. It is easily found in any grocery store, market or corner store, highly visible, easy to find, it is usually sold in one of the first rows in a variety of sizes and name brands, it occupies almost half of an aisle all by itself. A popular saying goes, “A meal without rice is not a meal”. Rice is one of the first foods a mother will teach her young daughter to prepare. The average Dominican will eat rice every day, consuming about 43 kilos per year/per person.

Rice is served plain with seasoned meat or chicken. It accompanies soup or is mixed with a variety of vegetables to become a side dish. It can be yellow (flavored with anchiote) or brown (flavored with soy sauce). The Dominican “bandera” (typical meal) contains rice. Other popular local dishes like asopao and sancocho are served with rice. Rice is also found on the dessert menu in Rice and Coconut and Sweet Rice.

Besides being a main dish in the Dominican diet, rice production provides 1.5 million jobs for Dominicans. The Dominican Republic is the largest producer of rice in Central American and the Caribbean (http://www.fao.org/).

Before we lived in Latin American we did not eat much rice, but after learning about and enjoying their culture, we also have added rice to our menu. Most of our children prefer rice to potatoes. Some of our children also say, “A meal without rice is not a meal”.

(Submitted by Kathy Strackbein)

Spread, oh, Spread The Mighty Word

Preach the Word. Every week the gospel is spread in the Dominican Republic in three different languages.

The Haitians meet and preach God’s Word in French to their members and visitors. The Word is spread and taken to Haitian households.

The Dominicans spread the Gospel message in Spanish. The Word is spread and shared in Dominican homes.

The English speakers meet for a weekly Bible study and encourage each other in English. The Word is spread and strength is received to continue spreading the Word to others.

Occasionally all three groups plan a joint activity and enjoy the fellowship of other believers. Christian love is shared and hearts are encouraged when we see other believers coming to hear and learn of the free forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven. The Word is spread and hearts are filled with joy at seeing the growth of others in the faith.

God’s Word is spread and shared in three different languages, encouraging hearts and building up faith in every believer. The Holy Spirit continues to be active in giving His gift of faith to many people of many different languages.

Thank you Heavenly Father for this gift of faith.

Thank you for this evidence of Your work among us.

(Submitted by Kathy Strackbein. Thanks, Kathy!)

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW

Gallbladder ... Glory

Placeres has a job as a maid, cleaning houses and taking care of small children. For the past several years she has worked for several of the missionary families here in Santiago, DR. Many opportunities have arisen to witness to her and invite her to visit or attend our services and Bible studies. Another such opportunity arose when Placeres had her gallbladder removed this past month.

We visited her several times at her home while she recuperated. On one visit we were able to again offer a law and gospel presentation to her. At the beginning of the presentation she said she hoped to go to heaven because she was trying to live a good life and do God’s will. After hearing about sin and how it has contaminated everything is us, she admitted that her life was too full of sin to be able to help her get into heaven.

We then spoke about the Savior, of Jesus as our substitute, and how His life and death have paid for our sins. When asked a second time if she thought she would go to heaven, Placeres responded, “Yes, because of all that Jesus has done for me.”

Glory be to Him who through a gallbladder operation opened the door to witness to this precious soul. Glory to Him!

(Article submitted by Kathy Strackbein. Thanks, Kathy!)

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW

Seminary Fellowship Day

LATTE professors are working in Santiago training six future leaders for the church in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The men study seminary courses every weekday and also participate in church and evangelism activities.

Several times a year we plan Fellowship Days in which the students, teachers and their families spend some time together – playing, eating, and sharing their faith.

The day begins with a short devotion in which everyone joins their hearts and voices in praise to God for all His blessings. The devotion is followed by an activity of interest to all which is related to the work of the church.

After this activity, the group breaks up for games and fun. The children enjoy stories, puzzles and games. The favorite game for the men is dominoes. The women are learning different board games. This is a great time to strengthen the bonds of friendship between our families and become more united in our goal of growing up in Christ.

Three cultures - Dominican, Haitian, American – all coming together to serve the Lord and extend His gospel to all nations. People from three countries, three cultures, three languages all one in Christ, united to serve Him.

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW

(Submitted by Kathy Strackbein. Thanks, Kathy!)

Alexandra

Alexandra (bottom of picture, red shirt) is the daughter of one of our seminary students. Alexandra is a lively five year old and recently fractured her forearm while playing. The fracture was put in a cast for several weeks. When the cast came off, it was discovered that the bone had not been set straight, so now Alexandra has a crooked forearm. (Her parents opted not to put her through the trauma of re-breaking and resetting the bone.) The doctor hopes to straighten it with therapy and exercise as she is still a child and has much of her growth ahead of her. That is the health care available to people living in third world countries where progress is slow to arrive.

Alexandra’s father is faithful in bringing her to church and in teaching her God’s Word at home. May the Holy Spirit continue to strengthen the faith he has put into her heart until she reaches her heavenly home, where her arm will be “crooked” no more!

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW

(Article submitted by Kathy Strackbein. Thanks, Kathy!)