Promises

Do you promise to remain faithful to the teachings of the Scriptures? I do.
Do you promise to support to work of the church with your time, talents and treasures? I do.

With promises such as these two new members were received into fellowship in the Moca congregation. It was a wonderful way to start the new year and there was much rejoicing among the other members of the congregation.

As we were rejoicing over the work of the Holy Spirit in creating and sustaining faith in these new members, someone tapped me on the shoulder and pulled me aside to tell me that their spouse had been unfaithful.

Do you promise to love and cherish..? I do
Do you promise to remain faithful and to forsake all others? I do.

Promises, when given produce much joy for the person who receives the pledge. But when promises are broken many hearts are crushed and lives thrown into disarray and sadness. How easy it is for us to move closer and closer to the "gray" areas of sin, so that when the prowling Satan attacks all he has to do is "pounce" and those promises easily become broken marriages and delinquent members. Satan doesn't have to run us down because we are already so comfortable dancing around in the gray areas.

There is someone who keeps all his promises. Someone who runs after us, seeks us out, calls us - our Savior. When we are unfaithful, he remains faithful. He keeps all His promises. And when we are unfaithful - He forgives.

Promises, promises. May He give us the strength to remain faithful to the promises we have given. May we always rejoice in Him - the only one who always remains faithful. With Jesus, a promise given is a promise kept.

"I will bless them"

Sundays are always the highlight of the week as it gives us the opportunity to hear God's Word with the whole community of believers and to enjoy the fellowship of other Christians. The public worship service also gives each of us the privilege of serving others through words of encouragement and the joy of giving an offering for the work of extending the gospel.



This past Sunday was especially exciting in two ways. In the morning service at Moca, a new member was received through the sacrament of baptism. Pastor Alex gave a beautiful message reminding all of us of our need for baptism because of our sinful nature, and of the blessings of the water connected with the Word. What joy for every member to be reassured of their forgiveness, but especially for our newest member, received into the family of God and made an heir of heaven.



In the afternoon service at Pueblo Nuevo, Pastor Juan received a new member into the congregation through the rite of confirmation. Patricia confessed her faith publicly before the congregation and was received as a new member of "Soldados de Cristo". The Lord constantly pours out His blessings on us and on his people and moments like these remind us of His work among the people, creating faith in hearts and drawing more souls to him to be his forever.

A Fleeting Vapor

This past week we had news of the death of a young woman we had known from the time she was one year old. As an infant she had been adopted by a young couple in the congregation where we were serving. Her parents brought her to church where she took instruction classes and became a confirmed member of the congregation. This past week her time of grace came to and end.

We all hope for a long and full life, but when we look at the world around us we see that this is not always the case. Our lives are truly not our own, and when as believers we realize the price at which we were bought, it fills our lives with joy and thankfulness and gives us purpose in all we do.

How faithful and generous God was to this young girl, using her parents to bring her to the Word so she could know her Savior. Every day our Savior puts people in our path, souls to be witnessed to and given the opportunity to hear about Jesus' life of fulfilling the Law for us and giving His life in exchange for us to enjoy eternity in heaven.

This is what motivates us to witness to all those who live around us. Sometimes our actions and words seem like they have little or no effect, but we trust that God is working. He is continually holding His arms out to a lost and fallen world. What an amazing task the Lord has committed to us. (Amazing that in spite of our sinfulness he would even consider us to handle his precious gospel). We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.

God used these parents to bring his gospel to the heart of their adopted daughter. May he also use us to witness to many others, to make his appeal - through us - to a fallen world.

New Members

On Sunday, July 5, Pastor Juan Tavarez and several members of the congregation "Soldiers of Christ" were received into fellowship with the WELS congregations in the Dominican Republic. In a joyful service these new members confessed their faith in Jesus alone and expressed gratitude to their Savior for this gift of faith and to their teachers for sharing the truth of salvation with them.

After confessing their faith, we joined together at the Lord's table to celebrate our common faith. As one family we gathered before the Savior to receive forgiveness and to have faith strengthened in the sacrament.

After the service, there was a time of fellowship to welcome the new members. It was a very special day of great joy and happiness for all the members, as we see the Holy Spirit working in hearts and bringing more souls into his kingdom. Some members were not able to attend so we are expecting more confirmations in the coming weeks.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His mercy endures forever.

Another brother, another blessing

We thank God again for leading another sinner declared to be a saint in Jesus to declare publicly his unity with us in the faith. Alfredo was received as a communicant member yesterday (Mar 3) in the Santiago Dominican congregation.

What a joy for his wife Emerita who was already a member of the congregation. Already married for many years, they are now united even more by publicly confessing the same faith in Christ their Lord. What a blessing to express their common faith when -- side by side -- they receive the Lord's body and blood together in the Lord's Supper. We pray God bless Alfredo, and all of us, keeping us in the true Christian faith until He calls us to His side in the glories of heaven.

The Lord bless you with His peace,
NW

Glory to God for another brother in the faith

Rejoice and give thanks to God with us. The Haitian congregation in Santiago celebrated the adult confirmation of Wisler on Sunday, Feb 17. What a joy to confess publicly the unity we share through faith in Jesus!

May the Lord bless Wisler and all of us as we continue to grow in the knowledge of Christ.

The Lord bless you with His peace,
NW

Group Confirmation

On Sunday, August 19, six adults were received as members of Cordero de Dios (Lamb of God) Lutheran Church in Moca, Dominican Republic.

In a special service, Pastor Alex Torres (back row, left) extended the hand of fellowship to these new members. What a joyous occasion! There were many hugs and handshakes of welcome, celebrating our unity in Christ. May the Lord preserve these souls for His eternal kingdom.

(posted by Kathy Strackbein)