Remain Calm

"Place the oxygen mask over your nose and mouth. Breathe normally. Remain calm".

Anyone who has ever flown hears these words over and over again before the plane leaves the ground. But they are not the words you want to hear when the plane has reached cruising altitude. On a recent flight, our plane had reached 25,000 feet and we were expecting the flight to go well when the pilot announced that the plane was losing pressure. The pilot started a steep decline and the oxygen masks fell out of the ceiling. As everyone worked at putting on the masks, the plane kept going down until we leveled out at 10,ooo feet. After about 15 minutes we were allowed to take off the oxygen masks.

At that time, the man sitting next to me was visibly shaking. The first words he said were, "What if we had all died?" During the remaining portion of the flight I was able to tell him about the Savior. Jesus lived the perfect life we have not been able to live. He gives us that perfection which we have not earned and do not deserve. What happens to all the sins that we have already committed? Jesus paid for all of them with his innocent death on the cross. His perfect life and innocent death are all we need to enter heaven. And He gives them to us freely.

A frightening situation became the open door to talk to someone about the peace God gives us through faith in his Son Jesus. Now we do not need to fear death because we know what comes after this life ends. We can be calm, Jesus is there.

Disguises

"Newborns are born with disguises. When you see them, you marvel at how cute they are, how helpless, how beautiful. But this is all just a disguise. You see, beneath this disguise lies a sinful, rebellious heart, an unbeliever, an enemy of God".

This is how Pastor Alex began his sermon this Sunday, explaining the realities of sin and the necessity of baptism. He continued:

"Baptism is such a simple thing. Just water and the Word. Where is the grandeur, the lightning, the ground shaking - announcing that God is working faith and forgiveness in the heart of the child? We don't see it - but we believe it because of the One that promises that it is so."

After this, two children were baptized, sins were forgiven and faith was worked in their hearts. The ground didn't shake, the sky didn't go dark but we believe the promise that these souls received the gift of eternal life. Thanks be to our wonderful Savior who keeps his promises and continues to forgive sins and create faith through the sacrament of baptism.

Sound the Trumpets!

Trumpets are sounding, angels are rejoicing, Christians are giving glory to the Savior.

Today, through the sacrament of Holy Baptism, the Holy Spirit fulfilled the promise of forgiveness and faith in the hearts of three children. What a blessing as all three children received the blessings promised in the Word.

What a joy for all of the members who were present at the baptisms. Faith was strengthened and comfort given as we continue to see God working among the people. He is the one creating faith in the parents hearts, leading them to believe the promises and bring their children for baptism. Why else would someone want their children to be baptized? Doesn't society teach us that we are basically good, that children are innocent, not guilty? The rite of baptism is a witness to the world that we believe what God says in His Word, that our children are sinful beings that need His forgiveness and washing of their sins. It is a witness of our trust in God to fulfill His promises in the lives of these young ones. They are now His children.

When the sacraments are practiced they are a blessing for all present. Those who participate receive the promised blessings. Those who only observe are also blessed by hearing the Word and remembering how God worked this faith in them also. With thankful and humble hearts we recognize that this gift comes to us purely by God's grace since we have not and do not do anything to deserve it.

What a wonderful day for the Christian church. Sound the trumpets! Give praise to God! He is working among the people: creating, strengthening and preserving them in faith through the power of His Word.

Arise, be baptized, for the forgiveness of sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Reformation 2009

1. When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said "Repent", he called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance. (Ninety-five Theses of Luther)

Last week both Moca and Pueblo Nuevo had a showing of the Luther movie in their respective churches. It was an excellent opportunity to review our Lutheran beliefs and also to witness to others who are always curious about that "Lutheran" means.

94. Christians should be exhorted to follow Christ, their Head, through penalties, deaths and hells. (Ninety-five Theses of Luther)

Many of the new people that attended were from a Catholic background and were surprised to learn Luther's reasons for beginning the Reformation. They were amazed at his love and regard for the Word and of the persecution he had to endure from the pope and from the church.

62. The true treasure of the church is the Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God. (Nintey-five Theses of Luther)

Both pastor Alex and pastor Juan spoke of God's using Luther to bring the truth of the Gospel to light. Works and indulgences are a way to give glory to man and draws their hearts from the true treasure - the Gospel of forgiveness and grace in the Savior.

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.

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.

I was sick and you visited me

I spend a lot of time in hospitals; not because I am a nurse and not because of poor health. The time is spent visiting and helping others who are seeking medical care. Health issues are a constant concern in a country where the majority of the population is poor. Unpaved roads, heavy rains with poor drainage systems, lack of pollution controls, littering all contribute to health problems.

Thankfully there are clinics available. You may have to wait eight hours or more for the doctor to arrive, and nine times out of ten you will be given antibiotics for whatever it is that you have, but people still use what is available.

Hospital stays usual mean bringing someone to stay with you. The room comes with a pull-out couch, but you bring your own sheet and pillow. You also must bring your own meals. You also bring your own clothes - no hospital gowns. When the doctor writes out your prescription, the pharmacy may not have the drugs you need.

Hospital visits are great opportunities to speak about Jesus, the Great Physician and how he heals of us our deadly sickness - sin. He is the doctor that is always available to listen and diagnosis your condition. And the medicine he prescribes, forgiveness, is never scarce or unavailable. Whatever our physical ailments may be, they are nothing compared to the pain of eternity in hell. Some physical ailments may not be cured, but the promise of forgiveness has no limits.

Mother's Day for Sandra

Sandra's father died when she was eight years old. He had been suffering from leukemia for over a year and she had watched the disease ravage his weakened body. Homemade remedies and pills of different sizes and colors became quite common until he no longer had any strength left to fight off the disease.

Sandra's mother was left alone, with six small children and another one on the way. Without work and no income, she had no way to continue supporting all her young ones. Her first thought was to "farm out" the children to different relatives even though her husband's dying wish was to keep the family together. Plans were set in motion to send the children to different relatives.

Then Merecedes, a lady from the community, stepped forward and offered to take all five of the girls. Sandra's mother agreed, and so it was that Sandra was raised by Mercedes along with her four sisters. Mercedes honored the dying wish of Sandra's father.

Some time later Sandra's mother remarried. Sandra hoped and hoped that now that her mother was no longer on her own she would come for her children and reunite her family since they were still living in the same town. This did not happen. Her mother eventually had two more children with her new husband, but never approached Sandra, her sisters or Mercedes.

Sandra grew up under Mercedes' care and married and started a family of her own. Her husband, Alex, is a seminary student in the WELS and studies with LATTE professors. Alex began talking to Sandra about God's agape love, how much He has loved us, how much He has forgiven us.

This concept of agape love was a difficult struggle for Sandra. Years of resentment and rejection against her mother had built up inside her heart. "How could a mother treat her own children way? Why didn't she come for us once she had the means to do so?" Alex patiently repeated to her the truth of God's forgiveness and His agape love. A tear forms in Sandra's eye and her chin begins to quiver. "Then I began to understand how unfair I was being with my mother. I was harboring anger in my heart and sinning against my Savior. Continually I sinned against Him with my anger and He just kept forgiving me. How could I point my finger at my mother?"

Does Sandra still struggle with the pain and anger? "Yes, there are days when the memories creep back into my mind. Sometimes the same questions go round and round in my head. Many days I forget about God's love and how many, many times He has forgiven me. But the Holy Spirit brings me back. He shows me the cross".

Sandra is planning a trip out to the "campo" where her mother is living. She doesn't visit very often and hasn't seen her for a while. But a desire is starting to form in her heart. She wants to talk to her mother about this agape love.

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

Santiago church robbed

"Keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."

Jesus' words in Matthew 24: 42-44 became more vivid this past Tuesday morning as I arrived at our ministry center in Santiago at about 7:30 am to get ready for seminary classes. I unlocked the padlock and took off the chain from the gate along the street thinking it was another normal weekday morning. My heart sank as I arrived at the top of the stairs to see the gate to our front porch wide open and the front door ajar. Everything became slow motion for a moment as I saw that both door locks had been pried open and were now lying on the door mat in pieces. All I remember thinking was: "Oh, no..."

Seminarian Freddy had hitched a ride with me that morning, so we went in together to check out the damage, expecting the worst. The thieves had gone through the entire building opening cabinets, dumping out boxes, breaking into a locked storage room looking for anything of value.

They wound up dismounting and taking a window air conditioner unit, an inverter (battery backup system for the building), DVD player, radio/CD player, computer speakers and a wall fan.










Despite the feeling of being "violated", we thank God as we recognize that He was still protecting us and our resources:

• Noone was injured.
• Everything they took is replaceable.
• The thieves took computer speakers, but not the computer itself.
• They took the DVD player, but not the TV it was hooked up to.
  
• One of the few boxes the thieves did *not* look in was the one containing a small lockbox with the congregation's offerings.
• They left a mess, but did not vandalize or break anything other than locks.

I wasn't expecting thieves to break in on Monday night. What a vivid reminder that the Son of Man can come at any time also, even when we least expect him!!!

We are trying to prepare ourselves to prevent the thieves from returning--stronger locks on the doors, a security system, possibly a night watchman. What amazing grace that God himself prepares us through the Gospel to actually welcome his Son's return!!! Jesus has saved me from my sins. I am forgiven. I am ready for Jesus to return.

[ There is more to the story, even with a few unexpected twists. But you'll have to wait a day or two until I can write more... ]

The Lord bless you with His peace,
NW

Technology woes :-)

Technology can be such a blessing when used to share the Gospel. We are showing a video Bible study entitled "Saneamiento Espiritual" (Spiritual Healing) after the EFL classes for students interested in having a healthy relationship with God, with themselves and with others.

Getting ready for the Bible study (our copy is still on VHS tapes), I entered the tape into an older VCR -- and it got stuck! I *patiently* began taking the VCR apart, one piece at a time, trying after each piece to remove the tape manually, but without success. Well, after about half an hour or so, I finally got the tape out, but this was the end result for the VCR:


Thankfully, we had another VCR that we could still use.

We are finishing our sixth week, and out of our 90 students in this first session, over 25 different students have participated in the Bible study at least once, with about 10 staying regularly. As we continue to develop friendships with the students in English class, even more of them are starting to express interest in the church and the message of free and full forgiveness in Christ that we preach. God is good!!!

The Lord bless you with His peace,
NW

And we're off...

Greetings and welcome!

This is my first attempt at a blog, so please be patient with the learning curve as I try out different options :-)

It is my prayer that through this blog I can share with you news about the blessings and success of the preaching of the Gospel here in the Dominican Republic. There is no more important and precious message to share with others than the full and free forgiveness of sin through faith in Jesus Christ.

If you do not know who Jesus is or what he has done to open wide heaven's doors for *you*, please click on the link "Want to learn about Jesus?" above and to the right.

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW