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 update, #18

According to the Center for Emergency Operations (COE) 18th bulletin: 137 communities are still isolated, 85 people are dead and 48 are still missing. A total of 47 bridges and roads have been affected, although seven temporary routes have been opened. The bulletin indicates that 34% of the 110 aqueduct systems have been restored and 133 shelters are still housing 26,491 evacuees. In all 4,406 people were rescued according to the report and 66,608 people have been displaced. (Cited from www.dr1.com, 06 November 2007.)

We continue to thank the LORD for his protection during this storm that pretty much took the whole country by surprise. It developed so close to the island that by the time weather forecasters realized how large the storm was becoming, they had to scramble to get the word out. Plus it was Sunday (28 Oct), the day most Dominicans do their weekly shopping and household chores, so few people were listening to the radio or watching TV to hear the warnings. The storm dropped so much rain that the majority of the deaths and damage were from flash floods in low areas that caught everyone off guard.

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12). Knowing and trusting in the Gospel, which is God's wisdom in Christ, makes us ready so that we are *not* taken by surprise on our last day - whenever that may be.

The Lord bless you with His peace,
NW

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

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)

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

Freddy Antonio Aquino

Freddy Aquino is a young man studying at our seminary in the Dominican Republic. Raised in the Pentecostal church, he was studying at a Nazarene institute when he met Julio, another of our seminary students, back in 2002.

Through Julio, Freddy studied the Bible and was confirmed in the Christian faith in 2003. He immediately began Bible Institute (pre-sem) studies, which he finished in early 2006.

As an example of his love for the Gospel and desire to share its life-saving power with others, Freddy left the his job and "comfort zone" of family and friends in San Pedro and moved with his wife Elizabet and infant son Freilin to Santiago (where they didn't know anyone) to attend our seminary. It was a major change in their life, but they have settled in and enjoy the support of their "new" family, fellow Christians in the seminary and local congregation.

We pray for the Lord's blessings on Freddy's growth in the Word, his service to God's people and his family's joy and contentment.

(By the way, this post can also be found on our fellow blog "LATTE on the Road" -- click here.)

The Lord bless you with His peace,
NW

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)

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

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