Vira and Bethany—Sept ‘08
On September 14, 1979 I pulled into the parking lot of the Gratiot Avenue Baptist Church in Detroit MI. Newly arrived in the city, I was to begin working as a Missionary Intern, a staff member at this church for a year. At that time--22 years old, green-behind-the-ears, with no experience living by myself, not knowing how to cook, and with little experience working in a local church--I remember driving through Detroit thinking, “Ok, if I can just GET there, I’ll be ok.” I made it.
After I arrived, the church secretary called Vira. Vira came and met me at my first home, a duplex that the church owned. Vira showed me around; what she didn’t tell me is that she had purchased some food, filling the cabinets. She also showed me how things worked. Vira had a mother’s heart—and God motivated her and her husband Charlie to adopt me as one of their sons that year. They raised four children in a Godly home; I’m a year older than their second son Ken. They helped me in so many ways that year. Once, when the furnace went out, they invited me to sleep at their house and helped the church get it fixed. When I went home for Christmas, they let me store my car in their garage. I lost count of how many meals they fed me—and I want you to know, I probably tested both their patience and their budget because I ate a LOT when I was young! And I will add, Vira was an outstanding cook! One time the family got together for Sunday dinner and they invited me to join them.
And just before I went to Haiti in 1982, Charlie and Vira went to South Carolina (I think). Knowing that I lived in Virginia, they stopped by and visited. They gave me a quilt among other things! After Judy and I got married, we were able to visit them on our trips to Detroit, so they got to know and love Judy as well.
God called 90 year-old Vira home in early July. This blog is a memory of the legacy of a Godly lady who shared Christ’s love in very practical ways. However, the legacy does not stop with Vira. Knowing Vira, she would want me to pass it on and help someone else—even if I can’t cook!
Well, God gave us the opportunity to host Bethany—in fact Bethany was here when Vira went to be with the LORD. As you know, we "adopted" Bethany as a daughter. We did this to give her a home away from home while she taught English here in the Dominican Republic. But you don’t know this about me--when I host people, I do great with them for about a week, and then after that, I want them to leave. Bethany’s visit would be six weeks. Could I really last that long?
Well, I must say, adopting a daughter has its moments (especially when young Dominican men called!!!), but adopting Bethany was such a neat experience for both Judy and me. For Judy, Bethany provided a shopping partner!!!! Bethany also gave us the opportunity to give back to the next generation what Vira had shared with me years ago in Detroit—Christ’s love in very practical ways. Even though Bethany and her parents offered and even brought money down for it, we did not ask anything for food or hospitality because we knew that Bethany has college expenses—and we wanted to do what we could to help her with them. After all, years ago, Charlie and Vira helped me without asking anything in return. I will add, Bethany eats a LOT LESS than I did when I was her age!
Never having been a parent, I don’t understand the emotions that parenting involves. It seems to me that parenting, among other things is very very risky!! There’s a lot of stuff that you simply do your best and trust the LORD to motivate your kids to make the right decisions, right? You see, that kind of stuff, Judy and I have missed out on. To be honest with you, even with Bethany, we still missed out on that kind of stuff.
Bethany, being 21, is from a very Godly home in PA. We became very very impressed with her love for the LORD and also with her desire to see her friends come to accept Christ as their Savior and have Christ change their lives. She taught a summer school session at Santiago Christian School. We noted that her work ethic was excellent; she prepared well for her classes and really loved the kids even though it was a difficult assignment for her. And we were really impressed with her decision making ability here—she has a lot of wisdom.
So Bethany, Judy and I were grateful to host you partly because years ago, a Godly lady and her husband shared Christ’s love and care to a very green-behind-the-ears 22-year-old who had no idea what he was getting into when God called him to go to Haiti via Gratiot and Detroit.
And the six weeks went by TOO FAST--anytime you want to come back, you are more than welcome to stay with us!!
And thank you, Vira, for sharing Christ’s love and care to me during that time.
Judy and I promise you that LORD willing, we will continue your legacy.
Wyoming, Here We Come!!—Aug ‘08
Here's an update from us: our Saturday night Bible study with Haitian university students averages 25. Currently, we are studying 1 Peter. The Sunday night church that the Haitian leaders started in April is now up over 60. With their growth, we are praying about the possibility of turning our Sat night study into a leadership training center, studying courses such as How to Study and Teach the Bible.
I'm preaching 1 Peter at Los Girasoles on Sunday nights in Haitian Creole as well. God has given me eight guys; I'm teaching them how to preach--they are learning fast. One of the guys preached in church, and several people expressed appreciation for his sermon. I'm teaching them how to preach expositorily, explaining the Bible verse-by-verse within the context of both the chapter and book. I also have a small group Bible study on 1 Peter in Spanish!! Three guys and I meet on Tuesdays. Pray for a university student in the study, that he will appreciate and obey his parents.
And finally--despite now being 51 years old, God is allowing me to enjoy playing basketball with guys young enuf to be my kids. Central Bible Church recently started a basketball ministry. We are seeing unchurched guys attend church. They seem to really appreciate my testimony about Christ, and prayer before the games. With church leaders serving as referees, the games are clean, fun, and well-managed.
On August 21, we will vacation in Texas and Wyoming. Friends have offered us a cabin; we are traveling up there with other friends. We praise the LORD for the opportunity to visit Yellowstone Nat'l Park for the first time (I wonder if I'll run into Yogi Bear! I sure hope not!) We will be in VA but only for 6 days, a whirlwind trip to see mom and dad. We'll return to the DR Sept 15 LORD willing.
Interesting People—Aug ‘08
Francisco is the guard of our apartment complex. A man who loves God deeply and shares the good news of Christ openly, he rejoiced when we purchased a large print Spanish Bible for him. He had been praying for one for some time. Francisco is also a very practical man. We have a pigeon overpopulation problem in our complex. But he has a plan for helping us to get rid of them. His plan is to feed the pigeons corn meal soaked in rum. The pigeons get drunk, and cannot fly. He then gathers them up and takes them home to eat them. We’ll let you know if it works!
For the last four months, we’ve interacted daily with 6th-12th graders at a Christian school. As a favor to a friend, we filled a vacancy, teaching English in the mornings until the school year ended in mid-June. It was a great learning experience, but not one we will repeat. Interacting with 6th graders is not for the weak at heart! Francisco told us to just tell the students, Cállese bichitos!—which we later found out means, Shut up, you little bugs! It was a good thing we weren’t allowed to speak Spanish in class.
Socrates is our newest acquaintance and our washing machine repairman. While tearing out the transmission from our washer, he likes to discuss topics such as whether or not Moses talked to extraterrestrial beings. (I think God may qualify as such.) Bob is praying for opportunities to share Christ with Socrates. Since he hasn't shown up to collect what we owe him (about $100), it looks like Bob will have a chance to share more. Bob has attempted to visit him twice in order to pay him, but he wasn't at home either time.
Osiris, a Dominican taxi driver, is a key leader in a small church across town. His blue van is our preferred means of transportation when we have visitors. He chauffeured two work teams for us, one in February, and one in May. While riding with him, Bob discovered that he has a heart for planting churches, and has been able to encourage him. The two teams stayed in our home for a week, and worked in the community of La Yaguita, alongside Pastor Ramón and young people from the La Yaguita Bible Church. La Yaguita is a neighborhood scarred by poverty and drug trafficking. You would not want to walk the streets there at night. However, the teams led children’s Bible clubs both in the church and on the neighborhood streets. They also taught English to some of the local believers. We discovered that balloons and face paint bring children running from all directions.
During the day in La Yaguita, hundreds of children play in the streets. They are unsupervised and fend for themselves while their parents work long hours to scrape by. Pastor Ramón grew up in this neighborhood and understands the pitfalls that await these children. He has a vision for starting a child development center at the church—a safe haven where children can receive a hot meal, and extra attention and teaching. He would like to see these children become leaders and change agents in their community.
Up the road from La Yaguita, at the Los Girasoles Bible Church, Moïse (Moses), a Haitian believer, is participating in a course on how to study and preach the Word, which Bob teaches on Sunday afternoons. This industrial engineering student has a heart for service, and organizes a group to visit and pray with folks in the neighborhood each week. Bob has been discipling another Moses as well, Moises, a new Dominican believer, who was just baptized.
In February, God also brought Pastor Michel our way. Like us, this Haitian pastor from New York has a love for helping Haitian youth grow in Christ. He helped several of the Haitian university students, who attend our Bible study, to plant a Haitian church near the university. With the new church plant, we may change our Haitian Bible study to a more formal Bible school. This would enable us to concentrate on developing leaders for the various Haitian congregations in the area. Pray for wisdom for us as we consider these changes.
Once a month we co-teach biblical principles for marriage to the couples in the Central Bible Church. As an off-shoot of this, we did pre-marital counseling for one couple, and are in the process of counseling another couple who are having difficulties. We were pleased to hear at our last meeting that God is doing a restorative work in their marriage. Please pray for them, and keep praying for increasing fluency for us in Spanish.
Currently, we are hosting Bethany, a university student, who is teaching English in the summer program at Santiago Christian School. She is with us for six weeks. As we sent her off to school that first day, it felt like we were sending our first child off on her first day of school—only she was the teacher! Her parents also visited us earlier in the year. They painted the roof of our apartment with white paint which reflects the sun’s rays. Our top-floor apartment no longer feels like an oven on these hot summer days.
Sometimes it seems as if we’ve been going in too many different directions; yet, God graciously brought about good things as we crossed paths with each of these individuals. Pray that we will continue to seek Him and seize the opportunities He puts in front of us.
New Daughter, New Washing Machine, New Church –July ‘08
Bethany is staying with us for six weeks. She's from the Coventry Church of the Brethren near Pottstown PA. She is teaching summer school at Santiago Christian School, an English school. For us, it's like having a newly adopted daughter which would make her our first child (ok, she's 21 and her parents are wonderful Christians. They were the roof painters in March). So for her first day of school, I had the same emotions as a parent would, being apprehensive, wondering how she would do, is she going to be alright, etc etc--but in this case, she was the teacher!! On Father's Day, she asked, "How do you like your first Father's Day, Bob?" That was touching.
Socrates came last week to fix our washer. Our washer had been throwing grease, leaking, and walking all over the washroom on its spin cycle. We thought about buying another one ($600), but Socrates said he could fix it for under $100. Fast forward a week. The repaired washer works great! It runs a LOT quieter now. It still walks a little when we have something heavy, but no leaks and no grease! Socrates re-greased the transmission, resodered the tank, and put new belts and gaskets on the washer. I got to talk to Socrates about Christ as well. He has a lot of weird beliefs, but not in Christ. Pray that he comes to Christ. We really enjoyed having him in our home, not just to fix the washer, but also to talk.
The leaders of the Saturday Haitian Bible study have planted a new Haitian church in Villa Olimpica. They had 80 people their fourth Sunday! Judy and I will not attend this church since we continue to work at Los Girasoles on Sunday nights. Still the new church helped us move our Saturday night Bible study to Colegio Genesis where we now meet. We also purchased concordances for the young leaders. The books will help them in their study and sermon preparation. There's more good stuff happening here...I'll share more next time.
Touching.... June ‘08
We're tired (evidence of getting old--I can prove it too--I just turned 51) since we just hosted the Broadfording Church of the Brethren, Hagerstown MD workteam here in Santiago. We had six extra people in our apt. Unlike our former home on La Tortue Island in Haiti, Santiago has a lot of restaurants and Pastor Ramon's crew gave us our main meal, so Judy didn't have to cook much! We've done all the wash and finished cleaning the apt, so we are back to "normal". The team served for a week at the La Yaguita Bible Church (LY), located in one of Santiago's poorest neighborhoods, and as recently as 10 years ago, its most violent. We had a lot of touching moments...
...Many of you prayed for cooler weather, including team member Becky. God responded by touching the weather, giving the team rain three times, which kept the weather much cooler.
...The team gave generously to Pastor Ramon's dream of starting an after school program for 50 kids--a safe place where they can learn the Word of God, study, and get a hot meal. As Greg, Pastor Ramon, and I prayed for God's blessing for the offering, Greg stated, "I was really touched." The two men embraced after they prayed, one thankful for the gift, the other thankful for the opportunity to give.
...The team brought a guitar for Alice, one of our church guitarists at Central. She surprised the previous team when she told them that she didn't have a guitar. So after they left, they bought one for her. The BF team brought it down. Last Monday night, the team surprised her with the new guitar. She responded, "I think I'm going to cry!" (She didn't). She played it for our small group Bible study, and it sounded very good.
...The team did four days of Bible clubs in four different parts of LY. They touched over 300 kids. Their ministry included a Bible story, songs, balloons, face painting, and games. Brother Max translated for the team. The team also encouraged locals from the church to help them with the work involved; many times I saw the team and locals working together! Again I saw in a real way how the cross of Jesus Christ destroys racism by bridging the races.
...Two kids with sickle cell anemia needed meds to help them fight their condition. Trouble is, the needed med costs $1.30 per pill here. However, one of the team members is a nurse practitioner and has this uncanny way of coming up with the right meds either free or at cost. Through her contacts and her church, she found them for 50 cents a pill; God provided enough money to buy over a year's supply for both kids. Both parents are stunned and grateful for a miracle provision. To which the nurse said, "God continues to do miracles"; He continues to touch lives here. Amen!!
Team's a coming!!—June ‘08
The six member team from the Broadfording Church of the Brethren near Hagerstown MD will do a kids' club and an English class with our church in La Yaguita May 24-30. A drug-infested slum, Pastor Ramon Jorge has a vision of reaching LY children with a new after-school program which will educate and feed kids while encouraging them to become followers of Jesus Christ. The team will also paint and prepare one of the classrooms. They will stay with us; Judy has already prepared all the beds and cleaned the house, so I think we are ready for them!
After seven months of mild weather, May has turned brutally hot for us. Our in-house temperature is 88 degrees by mid-afternoon. And who knows how much hotter this would be if Mark and Wendy had not painted the roof with white sun-reflectant paint in March? If you recall, our apartment is on the fourth floor and our cement ceiling doubles as the roof. And cement absorbs heat. The paint job has taken away the "oven feeling" in the apartment.
Also, the team will walk to various locations in La Yaguita to do children's clubs. This may get difficult if the heat continues--not all the clubs are accessible by vehicle. Pray for wisdom and strength to serve the LORD in this situation. Thanks for praying for us!
Just Show Up!!—May ‘08
I read somewhere about the importance of just showing up. Just get there. Just be present. Just show up. I think that played a big part in our Bible study we had last Saturday with our Haitian students.Several times over the years God has shown me that if I just show up, He takes care of the rest. If I just respond and begin serving, God has this wonderful tendency of rewarding.
As you may remember, our Haitian Bible study was closed by the church where we were meeting in March 2007. When we returned from our six month furlough last fall, we resumed the study in Brother Villa's apartment. We met at the apartment for eight months. At times I thought the study would die. From an average of 50 in the church down to 10 at Villa's, I wondered at times if we shouldn't give up it and let it go. But Judy and I continued to simply show up. And continue the study. And ask God for direction.
After the students returned from their Christmas break, we started with 18, then 20, then 22, then 25, then 30. We hosted 37 in our apartment Easter Saturday. And we prayed for another place to meet. Villa's apartment was rapidly becoming too small. We looked at a church that was willing to host us, but their building was located in another community. The kids would have to cross a dangerous major street. The security of the area didn't feel right to me. However, that prompted Villa to check out a nearby school. The school had already agreed to allow a new Haitian church service to meet there on Sundays. The pastor and Villa went back to the school and asked if our study could meet there on Saturdays. The school agreed--at no cost to the study! I wasn't even involved in talking to the school. Villa and the pastor did that. So all I had to do was just show up to the study last Saturday! 30 Haitian students showed up as well! And the study now has a new permanent home. And just in the nick of time. Villa's owner told him that he had to vacate the apartment May 13. Pray that another apartment shows up for Brother Villa.
Early school and late meetings—April ‘08
Our lives seem to be dominated by school. Teaching from 8-10 AM doesn't sound like a whole lot, but the preparation is taking up a lot of time--there is always something to prepare for. Those of you who teach understand this so well! Still, we enjoy teaching at Grace Baptist High School, because we really enjoy our contact with the students and faculty there.
Meanwhile, the Haitian Bible study on Saturday nights at Villa Olimpica has grown back to 30 people--we hosted 37 in our apartment for supper recently! We don't know how everyone got it, but they all made it in, found a place to sit, got enough to eat, and enjoyed the movie The End of the Spear, about the five missionaries killed by the Auca Indians back in 1956. We weren't sure if we had ordered enough food, but the LORD seemed to stretch it so that the apartment guard even got a plate!With the growth of the VO study, we are looking for a new place to meet. Pray for God's provision.
Several of the VO Haitians are helping us with the ministry at Los Girasoles. The Sunday night meetings there had been running very late, as late as 10 PM because people don't come until 8 PM for a service that starts at 7. Add an hour of music and an hour preaching, and it makes for a long evening. We old folks can't handle the late night and then school the next morning. I also believe that has kept some people away as we average about 20 after running 35 earlier in the year. So we have made changes to encourage meetings to start promptly at 7 PM--mainly, encourage the music leaders to start on time. If they don't, we start anyway and someone else leads music. We also advised the speaker to end at 8:45. If he doesn't, I start waving T signs at him.
LG started with a very traditional Haitian worship service, long, formal, and non-relational. Last week for one Sunday, we changed the style of the service doing an informal Bible study like we do at VO. This format has singing, a discussion Bible study, group prayer, and then refreshments afterwards. I noticed that unlike the long formal meetings, almost everyone stayed for refreshments and had a good time getting to know each other. One lady remarked that she learned the names of several people. Please pray that the LG Haitians become a family like the ones at VO did.
Back to school—April ‘08
We have a man here, a friend of our landlord, who just replaced a guest bathroom door that was so crooked that we could hardly shut it. I also shared my testimony of my faith in Christ with him and told him about our lives in Haiti. We helped to fix another kind of "crooked" door recently. A teacher quit Grace Baptist Christian School’s English department two weeks ago. The desperate school called a parents' meeting. One of the parents, a doctor who we work with in our church's couples' ministry, asked us to consider teaching to finish out the school year. (He's the same guy that asked us to teach Latinos on Biblical romance!) Despite our reservations, we now teach 3 classes from 8 to 10 AM. (Maybe we need to start saying no to this guy!)
The 10 sixth and seventh graders amaze us with their fluent English. Judy and I split this class and teach five apiece as they are different levels. We have had no discipline problems and frankly don't expect any (can you believe I'm taking about sixth graders?!?) Luis is a very happy boy who loves to talk and we really appreciate his friendliness and outgoing nature.
Our seven 10th and 11th graders are actually the best-behaved class, quiet, but at the same them their English lags behind the sixth graders. One young man shared in a prayer request to pray for his mom--he knows Christ, she does not. Our seven seniors are a little more restless but still very good. One young lady plays the drums at her church which meets on Sunday nights. Another young man wants to get a scholarship to play soccer at a Christian college in the USA.
Last Friday, we asked each class to listen to a Christian song and try to figure out the words. The 12th grades had "I Will Worship". Not only did they figure it out, but we had a good time of worshiping the LORD as we closed our class by singing the praise song (The kids sang well too!) Pray for us as we build into the lives of these kids. Pray that we love them as Christ does. Pray that God enables us to do this without neglecting the Haitian university ministry that He has given us.
Hearts Rejoicing at God's Surprises!!—Mar ‘08
As we turned the corner, I saw something that made me stop—and made my heart rejoice, singing praises to our LORD Jesus Christ for His provision of wonderful surprises. We had arrived to the upper Jimenoa waterfall, a good 100 feet high, near Jarabacoa, an hour from our apartment in Santiago. We had visited the lower falls several times, but had never attempted the steep climb to the upper falls. The climb, through thick vegetation gave me sore legs and a sore back, but with an assist from vines to pull us up (and ease our way down on the return), our guide, and a couple strategically placed ladders, we made the climb in less than 40 minutes. The upper falls enabled us to kill two birds with one stone—visit the falls while enjoy the small beach there. (IF I FIGURE HOW HOW TO INSTALL THEM, CHECK THE PICTURES ON OUR PHOTO ALBUM!!)
The Cornerstone Baptist On Belay class (a good name for the hike, don’t you think?) sent six of their finest to visit us here in Santiago, Dominican Republic February 16-23. The team hit the ground running as they got off the plane and went straight to the Central Church couples’ meeting. To help me teach on romance in marriage, they did two wordless mimes. A Dominican couple read Song of Solomon 7 to each other at the beginning—that got EVERYONE’S batteries charged!! While we were not sure about teaching Latinos on romance in marriage, the Dominicans really appreciated our teaching, accompanying it with lively discussion and laughter.
After the suitcases arrived (an exercise in patience for all of us), they began painting our apartment. Our hearts rejoice as our apartment now looks lovely and very clean now! They painted one full day and parts of two others.
They also painted the La Yaguita Bible Church’s pastor’s house. The pastor’s wife, normally a quiet lady who I don’t know very well, called me after they finished and shared how much she appreciated the job the group did. Her heart is rejoicing at the new-look house she has now.
Between paint jobs, the group did an English class, have a kids’ club, play basketball, and visit the LY community. We were amazed at how the teachers in the group overcame the language barriers and connected with their students. We were amazed how the old men in the group (and I) could still play ball. We were amazed to see wood-slat houses crammed together in crowded LY. These activities enabled the group to connect to the community, rejoicing their hearts as well.
And our hearts rejoice at God’s provision on getting the group home. They had booked their return flight home from Santiago to New York (JFK Airport) to Washington DC to Detroit on two different carriers. At 8:45 AM Saturday morning DR time, we prayed together for God’s blessing on their trip. When they arrived at the gate for the JFK to DC flight, they asked the attendant to check the DC to Detroit leg since it was on a different carrier. Oops!! The attendant found out that it’s overbooked and the group had been kicked off. The agent then began calling, and in 20 minutes she arranged a van to take them to Newark to catch a flight to Detroit on a third carrier! Had they gone to DC, they would have had to spend the night there. Not only was the flight overbooked, they would have missed the flight anyway due to a delay in NYC. The group discovered that the computer booted them off their DC to Detroit flight at 7:45 AM that morning. Since we in the DR are one hour ahead of the East Coast, they got booted off at the same time we were praying for their trip. Yet thanks to a caring and alert attendant at JFK, they got home the same evening.
And our hearts continue to rejoice at God's surprises--and His provision!!
Happy Valentine's Day!!!—Feb ‘08
Ok, ok, I'm a day late and I know that, but look, folks, I'm getting OLD and I move real SLOW now! Yet we had a good V-Day yesterday......that's because... (drum roll) I have bought a flower for my love! I bought her an orchid from the local flower shop and then paid a little extra to have it put in a pretty basket and have a red ribbon tied to it. Judy of course is very happy. I didn't tell her that when I asked about the ribbon, I didn't understand the sales lady's response. The lady figured that out real fast, then said, "Give me $1.50 more and I'll take care of it." And she did! And it looks great! Sometimes IT'S OK!!! not to understand everything that's going on! Judy later returned the favor with a Snickers' bar and a coke!
Of course our continued thanks to all of you who help this ministry with your prayers and gifts! Your giving enables us to be romantic!! We're preparing for both a team and a couples' presentation in Spanish on ROMANCE Sat night. The team gets here at 6, the meeting starts at 8. Pray that the plane comes in on time (and that they and all their luggage is on the plane!) Pray too that our presentation goes well. Of course, one would think, "Do we have anything that we can share on how to help supposedly romantic Latinos?" We'll see. The elders are asking us to speak because they told us that they know our marriage is not in disarray.
The team, from Michigan, will work at the La Yaguita Bible church, in the middle of a slum, painting a house, doing an English class, a kids' club and visiting. Pray for our time there that God will choose to work in the lives of everyone involved.
Judy and I were counseling an engaged Dominican couple, Richard and Priscilia who will marry Feb 23. We've had two meetings with them. In the first, I explained to Richard that headship does not mean "I do want I want" but it actually means, "I support and serve my wife!" I found out that the Greek word for head of headship and headstone (we call that cornerstone) are the same. In first century construction, the cornerstone supported the building. In the same way, I explained to Richard that headship means he must support and serve his wife. I then pointed out that the Greek word for submission, hypotasso, means just that and obedience. It's used of Christ obeying His Father. But look where Christ is now--seated at the right hand of God! So I explained that submission expects the leader to honor and glorify his follower--now if I could only practice what I preach in my own marriage!
The second meeting we discussed the source of conflicts and how to resolve them. We suggested not using "you" in an accusatory way, not saying, "You don't do this, that, etc" but instead saying, "I sense that..." or "I feel that...." At the end of the session, Richard told us that he appreciated our time and felt that he learned a lot. I was grateful to hear that esp since we were doing all this in Spanish. Thanks for your prayers for us as we talk about ROMANCE this Saturday!
"Pray That God Will Open a Door"—Feb ‘08
Each Saturday evening as we conclude the Bible study with the Haitian university students and they head for the table of refreshments, index cards are there on the table for them to write down things they want us to pray for during the week. We often find out what they are really struggling with as we pray through these cards. A recurring request that we encounter is, pray that God will open a door.
Jackson regularly attended our weekly study. We would smile at each other as he requested that we sing his favorite Créole song entitled I’m Walking A Hard Road. He always sang with feeling the final lines, “Lord, I have no one but you.” Last semester he had to drop out of his studies and return to Haiti. Those who were helping him pay for school could no longer do so.
Erline’s eyes fill with tears as she tells me about her uncle in Miami. He lost his job and can no longer send support. She still owes last semester’s tuition and last month’s rent. The bill has to be paid before she can continue her studies in administration.
Emmanuel knows that his mom in Haiti cannot help him financially. He’s trying desperately to find a job so he can finish his accounting degree. The last two jobs didn’t pay much and didn’t last long. For non-citizens here in the Dominican Republic a resident visa is needed to obtain a better paying job. He has no resources to pay for the cost of the visa.
Rattling the knobs of closed doors to see which one, if any, will open has become a way of life for these students. Sometimes the lack of opportunity brings on overwhelming discouragement. The opportunities for study and employment in Haiti are few and are dependent on having the right connections. So there are currently close to 4000 Haitian students in Santiago alone. It has been our joy to help open a few doors for some of the students—sometimes with gifts, sometimes with a word of counsel or recommendation, always with prayer.
Along the way on this hard road, we also have the privilege of introducing some to the One who says, “knock and the door will be opened to you.” In December, Michel talked to Bob about the need for some changes in his life. Bob led him to Christ—the greatest change-agent! Our prayer is that each of the students will fall in love with Christ and trust in His sovereignty and for His provision when all doors seem closed.
Personally, we are grateful for two new doors to ministry that have opened to us. The Los Girasoles church (a church plant of fellow CrossWorld missionaries) has asked us to shepherd the Haitians attending their new evening service in French and Créole. Together we meet weekly with the Haitian leaders for training. Bob is enjoying the opportunity to put out a few fires and start a few others as this new service takes shape. There are 25-30 Haitians now attending.
In addition, the leadership of the Dominican church we attend on Sunday mornings has asked us to join with a Dominican couple to encourage and teach the couples of the church biblical principles for marriage. As in most places, families here are often in crisis. Pray for wisdom, and clarity of speech in Spanish, as we co-teach monthly meetings and do some premarital counseling.
Thank you!—Jan ‘08
The other day, Judy answered the phone and was informed via my sister that my mom fainted in Sunday school class. Mom was enduring painful teeth and dental work. That kept her from drinking and eating; plus the blood pressure medicine she was taking dehydrated her. She spent one night at the hospital, but she was still a little weak. Thanks to your generous support and cheap airfare, we have purchased tickets and will spend two weeks this Christmas season with my folks in Virginia! We’re praying that we will encourage them with our visit. Judy will also visit her mom for a few days in Texas.
We appreciate your prayer and financial support of our ministry this year! You have helped us in so many ways! We would like to take this opportunity to share with you how your support has enabled us to serve Christ here in the Dominican Republic this year.
Our stepdad, J. W. Franck passed away suddenly on February 23. God answered his prayers by allowing him to pass peacefully in his sleep. God then answered our prayer by enabling us to buy tickets to leave the next day for the viewing and funeral. We thank you for sufficient support that enabled us both to go at a moment’s notice.
Because of your good support, we live comfortably in the Dominican Republic. We have a spacious fourth-floor apartment that we were able to keep while we were on home ministry. We have electricity and water (we did have a 14 hour blackout yesterday, and the water’s off now). An inverter/battery backup and reserve buckets of water cover the outages. The apartment complex offers good security. We have internet and telephone service. And our 2000 Nissan Sentra runs well because we have a good mechanic nearby.
While we were in the US, your support enabled us to buy a new Dell laptop computer. Among other things, MS Word 2007’s program is helping us translate sermons from English to Spanish.
Your support enabled us to help Haitian university students here in various ways. We have given money to these kids to help them buy food and books, pay rent, utility bills, and tuition. In one case we shared so that a young man could apply for a resident visa so that he can get a job. All this is done with the idea of empowering future Haitian leaders to make an impact for Christ wherever they go, be it Haiti, the DR or the USA.
Your support enabled us to purchase books for evangelism and leadership training. One study is motivating people in a poor area to serve Christ instead of simply being served. Another study provided basic discipleship materials to our Haitian students. We continue to share Bibles, books, and tracts as we share the good news of Christ to both Haitian and Dominican.
Although we do not live there anymore, we still use your support to penetrate Haiti with the good news of Christ. Your gifts helped us fund scholarships for future pastors at STEP, Crossworld’s seminary in Port-au-Prince. Your support also enabled us to purchase a new laptop for 4VET Christian radio. The computer is helping them with email and telephone communications and recording. We sent two new solar panels to 4VET enabling the station to run without buying very expensive fuel for generators. Being on remote La Tortue Island, 4VET must produce its own power in order to stay on the air.
For all this, we thank you. We appreciate you so much, and trust that God will continue to bless you for your generosity.
Mwen Pale Twop!!—Dec ‘07
Ok y'all, I couldn't think of a good English title, so this Haitian Creole title means "I spoke too much." We had a busy weekend November 9-12 where we did ministry in English, Haitian Creole, Spanish and (even) piano (yeah!!!) Here goes....
Friday, I had the opportunity to disciple a Haitian brother on Bible study methods and preaching. Dieuseul (that's his name) is very hungry to learn the Word and it's a pleasure working with him. We meet once a week at a local restaurant.
Then Judy and I taught a Leadership course to the Haitian leaders at the Los Girasoles (LG)church. We had a wonderful time discussing the qualifications of leadership from 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. The university students really engage, talk, ask good questions, and it's a great group to work with!
Saturday we taught our Haitian Bible study at Villa Olimpica, using 2 Timothy 3.16 as our text there. Despite the small crowd (14), we had a good time of discussion with them, getting the kids to look at a passage and then applying the four benefits of scripture stated in 3.16 (teaching, rebuke, correction, and training) to 2 Timothy 2.22 (Flee youthful lusts).
Then the toughie--at 8 PM, after the Haitian Bible study in Creole, we switched to Spanish and taught a session on love and respect to the Dominican church's couples' meeting that we attend. Dr Emerson Eggerich wrote a book, LOVE AND RESPECT, explaining that men need their wives to respect them and wives need their husbands to love them. We explained some practical ways of doing that. Despite our occasion stumbles, we had a great time (and were very relieved to get that done--yet, we want to do more of this! Gluttons for punishment!)
Sunday morning, we returned to the scene of 2007's heartbreak--the Villa Olimpica (VO) church. You may recall that the young VO Dominican leaders suddenly and without explanation cut off our Haitian Bible study after we went home on furlough. God had given us 40-plus a Sunday, and several Haitians were active in the VO church. We also had arranged with our leaders to continue the study in our absence. Despite all that planning, the leaders shut it down.
After LOTS of prayer, I decided to take a salesman approach with them, asking (in Spanish), "Do you have a lot of Haitians in the church?" (which they still do) and then offering them anew a Bible study. They were very glad to see us and very open to talking with us. Pray that they do meet with us and agree to re-open the study. Incidentally, we went there because one of our Haitian leaders got baptized at VO.
Sunday night, I preached on Philippians 4.2-7 at the Haitian worship service at LG. I pointed out that the passage is not a group of isolated, disjointed commands like I used to believe, but actually ways to resolve conflict as Paul addresses Euodia and Syntyche in verse 2.
Then, after preaching, I played the piano and Judy and I sang "In His Time" in Creole (THAT took me back to the days of my piano recital, especially when I was the Missionary in Residence at the Washington Bible College back in '04!) It's the first time that I've played in public for a couple years, and the first time EVER playing and singing at the same time in public. Judy would never do a solo, so I HAD to sing--and it went fine. The 35 Haitians applauded us (maybe because I was done?)
Then today, I met with a Dominican young man in Spanish, and we went over Bible study methods today. We'll begin preaching methods soon.
So if I act confused, please forgive me...sometimes I don't know what language to use!
This sure wasn't the Noel that we know!—Nov ‘07
Noel is a family friend in Virginia. We've been going to the same church (Carmel Baptist) for 35 years. Over 90, he was a POW in Germany during WWII. One day while visiting him, I asked him about his WWII experience. He held me spellbound for the next two hours, talking about serving in the infantry, explaining how he was captured, and eventually freed to return home to Virginia and his wife Hazel, now with the LORD.
Last Sunday we met another "Noel" as tropical storm Noel snuck into the Dominican Republic. Ok, how does a TS "sneak" into a country? From what I understand, then tropical depression Noel had been projected to hit SW Haiti and miss the DR. However, it spun north at the last minute and picked up wind speed, high enough to become a TS. Apparently it caught some authorities off-guard.
Once here, large, lumbering Noel took several days to move on, pounding the southern coast with winds up to 60 MPH and heavy rains. Rivers all over the country flooded, over 60 people have died, scores more are reported missing, and over 60,000 are homeless. Over 50 communities are cut off from ground transportation. Over 1/3 of the country's electrical circuits remain off, and over 20 bridges have been washed out or severely weakened, including two major bridges on the two main roads that link the DR and Haiti. (Thank you to dr1.com, CDN TV news, and AP news for the stats).
Judy and I are fine. Santiago is almost 100 miles inland from the southern coast and has mountains on two sides, which weakens storms. We had a light drizzle Sunday, then woke up to dark clouds, rain and wind Monday morning. Figuring something was up, we found out about Noel when we checked the worldmag.org website! Rain continued through Wednesday.Since we live in a fourth-floor apartment, next to City Hall and the electric company, we suffered only a couple of blackouts. With a leaky cement roof in the stairwell (not in the apartment, praise the LORD), we emptied several buckets of water.
Our Haitian university students received an unexpected vacation from the rain as schools were closed, some all week. However, many of them were counting on returning to Haiti this Christmas for vacation. With those bridges out, they may not be able to return.I have been talking to Francisco, our apartment complex guard, a fine Christian man. His brother lost over 600 head of cattle, wiping out his entire savings. They had been grazing near a river. (And I ask myself, how would I react if we lost all our savings? It reminds me of Job!) In the same area, the river leveled over 50 houses. And several of this brother's workers are reported missing (and I thank God for the life that I have, savings or no!)
Lessons From Kerby About Grace—Nov ‘07
Gazing into the sweet face of five-month-old Kerbens (Kerby), I am overwhelmed by God’s grace and His ability to turn disappointment into joy. Initially, we were puzzled when Rubens, a key leader in the Haitian Bible study, became more silent and withdrawn. Although Bob spent time with him weekly, he was not opening his heart to us. Finally, shortly before we left for our time of home ministry in the states, Rubens sat on our couch and confessed that his girlfriend, Farah, was pregnant with his child. We were disappointed in them both. For a brief moment Bob contemplated calling fire down from heaven. However, we figured we might all get scorched by the flames with that approach! Grace seemed to be a better alternative. As we talked with Rubens about God’s forgiveness, you could see relief easing out the tense lines of anxiety in his face.
We left for the states, knowing the coming months would not be easy for them. Yet God’s lovingkindness surrounded Rubens and Farah, sustaining them both through a semester heavily loaded with classes. Both are studying medicine. Farah finished her semester exams on a Friday afternoon, and delivered Kerbens that evening—the final exam! Now as we talk to them both, we see in them a new maturity and a desire to please God. They ask you to pray that they will be able to be married soon. Of course, there are still the consequences to deal with—life is more costly and complicated. Farah confided to a friend that even if she has to go hungry, she will see to it that Kerbens is well fed. For us it is a joy to see God working in their lives and also to see how the other students have pulled together to help them.
We were also disappointed when we heard from the students that the Dominican church elders had shut down the Haitian Bible study after we left for the states. We had planned and worked with the Haitian leaders so that the study could function well in our absence. When the study was closed without warning or explanation, we felt our efforts to promote unity between Haitians and Dominicans had been in vain.
Yet we have seen good come out of this. When we re-gathered the students, a core group of 20-25 remained. Not meeting for a few months had created in them a hunger for fellowship. The intensity of their worship brought tears to our eyes as we sat sandwiched into one of the student’s apartments. At present, we continue to meet in apartments. With the smaller group there is a greater openness and intimacy. As they share with each other, we see God creating in them a passion for Himself. Thanks for praying for them!
Our Three Ministries—Oct ‘07
Did you ever hear about the old TV program "My Three Sons"? I guess we now have "Our Three Ministries." We work in a Dominican church, Central Bible Church; Judy serves on the leadership team of the women's ministry. I'll resume a youth basketball ministry soon; pray that I'll be deliberate about sharing the Word with these kids (and dads too).
We continue the Bible study that we started two years ago in the Villa Olimpica church. After the church disbanded the study, we now meet in an apartment on Saturday nights and average about 20 people. These 20 have become very close, like family, and we are grateful to see the way God is using them to help each other. The girls enjoy taking care of Kerbens, Rubens and Farah's four-month old boy; We are doing marriage counseling with them on Sat mornings--and we get to hold Kerbens!
Another church, the Bible Church of Los Girasoles asked us to come help them with their Haitian ministry. I preached there last night; we had an attendance of 30-plus. I preached on Jeremiah 29.1-7, where Jeremiah encouraged the Jewish refugees in Babylon to pray for that city--as they pray, God blesses Babylon, God would bless them too--and He did. I applied that to their situation in Santiago, encouraging them to pray for the city and get involved with the Dominican church here. One advantage of this ministry is that it's already started--a good committee is in place running the Haitian ministry. Judy and I will come alongside and work with them, giving them counsel as needed. I'll also serve as pastor for the Haitian flock.
The Electric Company Just Called... Oct ‘07
....they said via a recording that if we didn't come pay our bill, they would cut off our electricity. Now, that did not set well with us, since I absolutely hate debt and we had just paid our bill. We briefly considered calling down fire from heaven on them, but since our electricity has been nearly 24/7, we figured we should try a gentler approach!
Before we left for the USA six months ago, we prepaid our electric bill to keep service. We then left our home in Santiago, Dominican Republic, thinking all was well. According to the electric company, it wasn't. When we got back, they claimed that we owed them over $100. Since we didn't use any electricity during the summer, they thought that our electric meter had broken and they estimated usage, which obviously wasn't correct, but jacked up our bill.
We went to the electric company to adjust the bill. That visit seemed to have worked when we received an adjusted bill, which we thought was a little high, but tolerable. We paid it, and when we asked the receptionist our balance, she said that we owed nothing and were paid up. She was looking right at our account on her computer. We pay our bills in person in cash. Apparently, the right hand didn't know what the left was doing. We just got word this morning that our electric would get cut off. It's my understanding that if you suffer that, you have to go through you-know-what and high water to get power restored plus pay a hefty fee even if it wasn't your fault.
Did I tell you that we're renting a bus to take our Haitian university students to Santo Domingo Friday. Judy called the company; the lady said that we would have to come across town to charter the bus and pay the deposit. When we asked for directions, in essence she said, "I really can't explain it. I'm new in town." Grrrrrrrrr.
Oh, and remember City Hall? They are up to their old antics again, running that rascalous loud generator I wrote about earlier in the year. They ran it all day yesterday and at 7:30 this morning fired it up again. Did someone tell THEM that the electric company has been providing 24/7? (Did they pay their electric bill?!??!) Of course the noise permeates the apartment (and yes, I would LOVE to call down fire from heaven on them!!)
All the above, plus that good old language barrier (trying to do all this in Spanish) makes us feel lost here (just like that mini-series on TV--by the way, is that still on? Did they ever get those characters off that weird island? Or did Lost get lost?)
Well, sometimes we simply need to reach out and get some help instead of trying to do it all ourselves. Philippians 4.6-7 states, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything with prayer and thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." I taught these verses in our Haitian Bible study Saturday, noting that when I pray, God DOES give me His peace--and how He does it, I can't explain it--but He just does! And yet too often I forget to pray when I am stressed!!!
We called a friend at the electric company who goes to our church. She told us to go to the office and pay a dollar for the "mediador" (mediator?) to keep from getting cut off. We just got back from the office. They confirmed that not only did we not have to pay the mediador, we didn't have to pay anything--we have a $3 credit there! I recently told the elders at our church, "The reason we attend Central is not because you need us, but we need you." Amen.
Instead of going on a wild goose chase (did you read Gangster Geese?) we call a co-worker with Crossworld who recommended the bus company. She said, "The owner picks up teachers at school at 3 PM everyday" (and yes, we know where the school is--it's also a lot easier for us to get to). We called him, and we'll meet him today to pay the deposit. Amen again.
And as I type, City Hall is quiet. They cut off the generator at 10:30 this morning (they paid their bill?!?) Amen thrice! Uh, LORD, by the way, the fire from heaven request, would You please hold off on that? The prevailing breeze is from the east, and the generator is east of us, and if You did grant my request, the smoke would fill up our apartment....
Returning to the DR—Sept ‘07
In less than 48 hours, we will return to the DR. Judy and I look forward to going back and resuming our ministry with the Haitian university students whom we call our kids and increasing our ministry with Dominicans especially at our church and in our neighborhood. As I type, co-workers Darlene Rimer and Mary Wyllys are cleaning our apartment for our arrival. We appreciate their help immensely.
We thank you so much for your prayer and financial support. This furlough has been richer than previous ones partly because we've been able to click with our parents better than previous furloughs. Judy's mom is a healthy 78 years old, and we praise the LORD for her health and her trust in the LORD. My dad and mom are younger and also in excellent health. Judy and I have often said that we cannot do what we do without the help of our parents. They raised us, loved us, cared for us, sacrificed for us, and allowed us to fly the coup all the way to Haiti no less, resisting the urge to cling to us or try to keep us in the USA. And when we are in the USA, they are willing to be "stuck" with us, providing us places to live and vehicles to drive. I'll note that while we didn't live with my mom and dad in VA, they found us a nice place to live very close to the house, so we were there often.
So, as we return to the DR, please remember to pray for our folks. I'm sure our departure is not easy for them. Pray too that as we are welcomed by our Haitian and Dominican families back in Santiago, we will be bold to continue to present God's truth to people that we meet.
Geese and Gangsters—Aug ‘07
The five geese stopped and stood in the middle of the bike path, eyeing us like a group of gangsters. Judy and I were riding bicycles on the C&O canal southeast of Cumberland MD when we approached the gangster geese crossing the trail. Recalling the now famous turkey encounter where that fowl chased me on a trail in WV, we stopped a safe distance away. I then motioned to the geese to move, waving my hand. After staring at me, the geese then finished crossing the trail, and we were able to continue.
The geese encounter provided a few laughs during a recent working vacation where Judy and I spoke at four churches, visited a ton a people, and spent four days and over 100 miles riding bicycles. Along the way, I joined in a chorus of bullfrogs (but none responded to me croaking at them), tipped my cap at dozens of deer, saw turtles slip-sliding away off tree branches into the algae-filled waters of the C&O canal, and followed critters such as beavers, squirrels, and chipmunks. And of course we saw turkeys several times, but none of these were of the Bob-chasing variety (I guess I'm cool with them now).
We rode a new bike trail from Meyersdale PA to Cumberland MD, and then the old C&O canal trail from Cumberland to Oldtown MD. Along the way, we rode through the Big Savage Mountain tunnel (all 3300' of it) and enjoyed vistas from the southern end of the tunnel. We discovered that the new trail is wonderful riding downhill, but VERY hard riding uphill (we know--we rode six miles of VERY hard uphill up to Frostburg MD) so Judy and I took turns shuttling each other so that we could both ride downhill without having to ride up the toughest part between Frostburg and the tunnel. Judy went downhill first from the tunnel to Frostburg, while I returned to Meyersdale to get the pickup.
And meanwhile God spoke to me...when we set out from Meyersdale, we heard a couple kids talking on their front porch, talking like gangsters, using the F word quite liberally. Troubled, I prayed while riding, asking God how to combat the evil. He gave me an idea...about five years ago, while riding from the other way (Rockwood PA), we arrived at Meyersdale. We began talking to a little boy there who told me about a uncompleted viaduct (a bridge) on the side that we were now riding on. I remembered that conversation, deciding that ok, if the kids were still out on the porch, I would go over to them, thank them for their recommendation five years ago (even if it wasn't the same kid), and share a tract about the good news of Jesus Christ to them--but I would need God's help--He would keep them on that porch until I got back to Meyersdale.
When I got back to the pickup, the kids were still there. I got a tract, went over to them, said hi, thanked them for their help five years ago (even though it wasn't the same kids) and shared the good news of Christ with them via the tract. I also said that we would ride the trail again and would stop and say hi to them next time we were thru. They thanked me and said that they were Protestants (odd--reminds me of John 4, where the woman told Jesus, "Our fathers worshipped at that mountain"). We return to the DR August 29--even though we won't be able to ride bikes there, pray that we keep listening to and obeying God's voice!
The Crazies Forgot Their Clothes!!—Aug ‘07
We have been called crazy. OK, we've been called other things too (including obscene stuff), but yesterday at a supporting church, Concord Baptist, we were called crazy--for Christ. I must say, I don't feel worthy of being called crazy for Christ, but we were--and we are grateful.
Here's more proof that--while living in Virginia until our return to the Dominican Republic--we may be crazy (or going crazy!!): One of our supporting churches, Ladysmith Baptist, has a Hispanic church that meets nearby. The Spanish church has about 40 people attending it. Judy and I were crazy enough to agree to speak there July 8. Judy began by presenting who we were and then gave an update of our ministry, all in Spanish, and did an excellent job! I then preached in Spanish on Ecclesiastes 2.3-11. The sermon was going well until I felt this tremendous rush of fatigue coming on. I felt like I wouldn't make it, but prayed, continued on, and finished fine. The rush was mental fatigue from having to work in another language, as we had been doing for the last three hours. We had a wonderful time with the Hispanic brothers and sisters, and all the Spanish we heard really helped us with our Spanish. One encouraging note--we understood nearly everything, because the Puerto Ricans and South Americans speak slower than Dominicans.
Then we visited Coventry Church of the Brethren, near Philadelphia, the next week. Winnie, a member of their missions team, graciously hosted us. Friday evening she was showing us our bedroom, and said, "And here's the closet where you can put your hanging clothes...." At this point Judy looked at me and said, "Oops! We forgot our hanging clothes!" That meant we had no clothes for Sunday. The next morning we discussed from whom we thought we could borrow clothes. We first called Jim and Maggie. We know them, but hadn't seen them for some time, and knew they would not be expecting a call from us. So, when Maggie answered the phone, I took pains to identify myself, and of course she remembered me. Then my mind went blank...and in a moment of panic, I blurted out..."Maggie, we don't have any clothes!"
Fortunately, Maggie is made of good stuff and she did not hang up on me, nor call the police! She invited us over to see if they had something that could fit. I borrowed Jim's shirt and their son Phil's pants. Judy borrowed a skirt from another lady. The next day at church, I started our report with, "We forgot our clothes!" and told the story of my call to Maggie. Phil was playing in the praise band, at the front near me, and wearing short pants. As I finished the clothes story, I looked over at Phil and said, "And Phil, I want to thank you so much for wearing shorts today--because I'm wearing your pants!"
Some people may think that missionaries have it all together. Let me tell you that we are just as crazy, and are struggling like the rest of you to get it together! We're grateful for the love and grace we find in the Body of Christ.
TurKay Strikes Again!—July ‘07
I once played a turkey in a high school play; from that hilarious and embarrassing event, my best friends in HS nicknamed me Turkey or TurKay. 35 years later, turKay struck again. We had a wonderful trip back from Michigan after visiting a supporting church, the Cornerstone Baptist Church of Roseville MI. We stopped in Morgantown, WV, riding bicycles 65 miles on their bike trails in just two days—and had a great time.
While we were riding towards Fairmont WV on a beautiful, wooded, isolated part of the trail, we heard turkey calls which were quite loud. We rode to the end of that trail and turned around to ride back to the pickup truck. On the way back, at that same place, a turkey started running after me. I pedaled for all I was worth and got away from him. He stopped, and so did I. I turned around to talk to Judy, who was riding behind me. She had stopped, but then started riding again towards the startled, angry turkey. He wobbled in front of her, but then oddly enough staggered out of her way when she went by.
I had felt bad for a moment that I had left Judy, but she was far enough behind me that she got a good laugh watching me ride away from the turkey! We figured that the turkey was trying to protect its young which we didn't see. I did not clearly see whether it was male or female, but from what dad described after telling him the story, it was probably a male! We'll be careful on bicycle trails!
4VET Update And Brainstorm—June ‘07
La Tortue Christian Radio Station Going Strong: In spite of having no public power, 4VET now broadcasts from 5 am to 10 pm daily, doubling the time the station was on the air when we were there. A small diesel generator and solar panel-battery system provide power. Since its debut in 1998, Antony Sanon and his group of volunteers have kept 4VET on the air, disproving those who predicted 4VET’s demise after we left La Tortue in 2003.
In a recent email, Antony stated (translated into English):
"I installed a telephone in the radio station for listeners to call in. Some callers say the station is their only encouragement. Through these calls we are coming to understand the ministry we have through the radio. Truly, God is at work. Other stations have had to close due to various problems, but God is sustaining 4VET. I don’t understand this miracle from God, but I just do what He asks me to do. God has never neglected me in this work. I do it heartily and God is blessing me because of it."
Dominican Departure Fast-Forwarded: Judy’s stepdad, J.W. Franck, passed away in his sleep on February 23. He was 83, and had been married to Judy’s mom for nine years. Having planned to begin six months of home ministry in March, we had already handed over the reins of the weekly Spanish Bible study to a Dominican brother. We had also prepared lessons and leaders for the Haitian Bible study so that they could continue in our absence. We arrived in Texas in time for the funeral, and were able to spend the next three months there with Judy’s mom. She is doing well, staying active with supportive friends and family. Bob worked as the clean-it-out-and-haul-it-away-man—organizing the attic, garage, and storage building.
Travels to Colorado and Oregon allowed us to visit friends and bask in some stunning scenery. Driving down the Oregon coast, we arrived in northern CA to gaze in awe at the majestic redwoods as they soared into the sky. God is an amazing creator!
We are now in Virginia where Bob’s parents found us a great apartment to live in for the summer months! We will be here through August, sharing what God is doing in the Dominican Republic. Via email, Dominican friends just informed us that a friend whom we often visited and prayed for has placed his faith in Christ. We rejoice in God’s grace!
Brainstorm For Future Ministry: Working with university students is a new thing for us. This is a time for us to step back, evaluate, and consider new ideas for the future. To this point, we have been mentoring the students within the context of the local church. While we will continue to integrate students into a church family, we are exploring how we can reach a wider range of students. As we consider hosting activities and Bible studies directly on campus, pray for open doors and the courage to walk through them as God directs.
Scenic Overload!!—June ‘07
We're getting old. Here's proof. One evening while talking to Judy's mom (we are staying with her), we asked her what are the must-visit-places, the can't-miss places in the western USA?
For years I have dreamed of visiting the West but haven't done it because, well, we are missionaries--we don't have the time, we don't have the money, we don't have friends in these places, etc. But now that our step-dad JW Franck is gone, I thought, "If we are ever going to do this, we'd better start soon while we have the opportunity."
Since momma and JW had traveled extensively during their nine-year marriage, she gave us her list. I began working and figured out how we could visit each place over a five-year period. And yes, I realize now that we can make the time, we do have the money if we are careful, and we do have friends in these places. We started our latest five-year plan May 3-11, 2007. We flew to Portland, Oregon from Dallas to visit John and Bev Heath. Judy and Beverly were nursing school classmates and remain best friends. John is a pastor and hospital chaplain.
They co-ordinated for us a trip that kept us on scenic overload the whole week. My oh my!! Start with the flight--we flew over the Colorado Rockies! Columbia River Gorge and Multnomah Falls, 543 feet tall! Mount Rainier, the experience of a winter wonderland on May 5 no less (and for missionaries in the DR, COLD COLD COLD!!!) Snoqualmie Pass and falls at the Heath family condo (we can't get away from snow out here!) Mt St Helens, an awesome experience of God's power reminding us that "We're not as strong as we think we are" (Rich Mullins). St Helens exploded on May 18, 1980, losing its top 1000 feet, blowing smoke and ash 80,000 feet in the air. Yakima was plunged into darkness by the ash at 3 PM that day, and the resulting flow of ash, lava, trees, and water not only jumped several nearby ridges, but also blocked traffic on Interstate 5 some 40 miles away.
Then we rented a car and went on South US 101 down Oregon's Pacific coast. Wow. View after view of mountains falling into the sea, miles and miles of beautiful coastline. Cape Blanco, regularly with 40 MPH winds (yes, I had trouble walking upright and the car shook--the folks that worked there shrugged as if it were another day at the office). Cape Girardeau, with its stunning view of 12 miles (?) of coast.
And then my first time in California. We drove into the Redwood National Forest, turned a corner, and drove--into another world. Majestic Redwood trees stood silently before us, some with trunks 25 feet thick and over 300 feet high, offering a silent testimony to the majesty of our LORD God Almighty Who created them (and then as now, the grand hymn "Holy, Holy, Holy is ringing in my head).
A final swing around Mount Hood and home the next day, getting another glorious view of the Rockies beneath us. And so as we get old (Bob turns 50 on May 24!!), we are on scenic overload.
And if we can ever get over being old and tech challenged, we'll download our pics off our computer!
Answered Prayer On a Deep Night—May ‘07
We've known them for only three years, but Joel and Nancy Faulk have already become family to us. We met them in language school in Costa Rica, then worked with them in the DR. They since have moved on to Colorado Springs (COS). Joel, a construction foreman, is reconstructing a church building destroyed by Katrina in his wife's hometown of Lake Charles, Louisiana. He planned to return to COS in April to visit the family--and graciously extended an invite to us to travel with him. Since Judy and I LOVE CO and love them, we said yes!
Joel came by on Tuesday night, April 17, stopping at the Lake Dallas (LD) TX exit to pick us up. He called and I went in the car to lead him to our house. But when he got in to start his truck, it wouldn't. The positive battery cable connection had rusted out. But because it happened in LD instead of on the road, we went to Wal-Mart, purchased a battery, and installed it. We left LD at 11 PM, Judy driving.
New glasses allowed her to drive at night, since her contacts create too much of a glare. Had we left the night before, she would not have been able to drive. She drove until 1:30 AM, getting us past Wichita Falls, doing an excellent job. I took over, allowing Joel to sleep. Since he's an early bird riser, he would take over at 5 AM. We took US 287 towards Amarillo. For those of you who go this way to CO, 287 west of WF is pretty desolate. About 3 AM, I started feeling drowsy. This brought back a scary flashback. Years ago, I drove to Florida with my folks when I first went to Haiti. We drove into the night, where I got really drowsy (and may have nodded off?) while going through South Carolina. God protected us--I never swerved, but I remember that event and wonder, "How close did I really come?" I managed to fight off drowsiness for about 30 minutes--and then God gave me an idea--pray and ask Him for help. (We should START with prayer, but sometimes I DON'T!)
I prayed, "LORD, I need Your help. I remember how you protected me 25 years ago, but I may have been pushing the limit. I don't want to drift off here--please keep me awake and alert." A short time later, seemingly out of nowhere, we caught a RV. He was running only a mile or two an hour slower than me, but I didn't notice him right off. I decided to pass him after following him for a couple miles. That rascal sped up, and I did too to get around. It took awhile to get around him, but I finally did. I kept up my speed to get away from him, leaving him slowly but surely. The pass got my adrenalin up, effectively chasing away the drowsiness. I drove through Amarillo to Dumas, giving the wheel to Joel at 5 AM--I could have gone at least another 30 minutes, I felt that good. "Oh give thanks unto the LORD, for He is good, for His mercies endure forever." And we are having a great time in CO!
JW's gone—April ‘07
On Friday morning, February 23, we received a phone call from Judy’s mom, Anna Franck. Her husband and our stepfather, J. W. Franck had passed away in his sleep during the night.
J.W. had complained of weakness and dizziness, but obviously his passing caught everyone by surprise. Still, he had asked the LORD to take him in his sleep, so we are grateful that the LORD answered J.W.’s prayer in this way.
We were planning to go to Texas for home ministry in March, so we were wrapping up our first term in the Dominican Republic. We were able to wrap up and leave the next day for Dallas.
We were able to attend the viewing and funeral Sunday February 25. At his funeral, J. W.’s pastor, Dyan Dietz stated that she kiddingly called him “a sorry old dude”. Dyan’s relationship with J. W. was such that her comments about him drew laughter several times.
We are staying with Judy’s mom for the next three months and continue home ministry. We will then visit Virginia for three months and then return to Santiago in late August. We thank you so much for your prayers for Judy’s mom. She is doing remarkably well. Obviously she admits to us that she really misses J.W. She and J.W. were very close, having shared a number of camping trips together. They were married almost nine years. Her first husband and Judy’s dad, Billy White, passed away in 1993.
Judy’s and my memories of J.W. are very sweet and we can say that we loved him and that he loved us as if we were one of his children. In fact, I do not remember anyone saying a sweeter grace at the table, a sweeter blessing for the food then our stepdad. As he said each blessing, he confessed Christ as his Savior. While J. W.’s past was rocky in places, to me he illustrated God’s grace as he finished well. He was 83 when he passed away, and served as a Navy Seabee during World War II.
Family!—Mar ‘07
Family! The emotions the word stirs, whether negative or positive, touch the core of our being. We all crave the love, comfort, security, and support that a healthy family provides.
The family bonds in Latin culture are very strong. In the Dominican Republic, holidays and vacations are spent with the family—so much so that churches often have rows of empty seats on the Sundays closest to Christmas because people are with family.
At first it seemed like that would be the case on December 31st at Central Bible Church, the Dominican church we attend. But slowly the chairs filled as we spent the morning sharing praises and testimonies of God’s faithfulness during 2006. Repeatedly we heard words of thanks for the love the family of God had shown during a time of trial. As we listened, the church’s vision statement glowed on the screen behind those giving testimonies—We are a great loving family that honors God, developing lives faithful to Jesus Christ.
This year we grieved together as a family. Yairo, a young man of 25, recently baptized, was diagnosed with leukemia. He died two weeks later, a month before he was due to be married to the daughter of one of the elders. But we found strength in his final words to those caring for him: If this is God’s will that I die, I go happily into the arms of my Father.
Two months later we took turns sitting at the bedside of Felix, 75 and dying from cancer and complications of diabetes. We sang his favorite hymns as he lay in a coma. No doubt both Yairo and Felix are enjoying now the experience of an even greater loving family in God’s presence.
We prayed together as a family. Three women of the church are undergoing treatment for breast cancer and others are dealing with serious illnesses.
We played together as a family. During the testimony time, several spoke of the weekly basketball games arranged by Bob. Fathers saw their sons grow in both skill and character on the court. The informal times together gave one man the freedom to confide in Bob about the problems he faces in his marriage. A few weeks later, after reading a book given to him by Bob, he shared that his marriage is now the best it has ever been.
We shared together as a family, helping those throughout the year who faced months of unemployment. We also responded to Angela’s need. She lost everything when her house burned down two days before Christmas. The first thing she wanted was a Bible to replace the one she lost.
We didn’t know when we purposed to become a loving family, faithful to Christ, that God would develop that love and faithfulness through suffering. But we praise God for the beauty He is bringing about through difficult times. Even in the best of families rifts and divisions can occur if our foundation is not sure. So this year Central Bible will be studying together as a family, reaffirming what we believe. Please pray that this body of believers will be nourished on sound doctrine (1 Tim 4:6).
We heartily thank those of you who faithfully give and pray so that we can serve the church in the Dominican Republic. Although you don’t get to hear the testimonies first-hand, you are a vital part of our extended family. And now it’s time for a family reunion! Bob and I will be in the states for home ministry mid-March to mid-August, first in Texas and then in Virginia.
Despite their fear...they built the altar... Jan ‘07
Ok, I CAN'T fight City Hall! BUT God can. And here's what He's doing with them...and to me in His continual attempt to conform me to the image of Christ.
December 9 to 23 seemed to be the worst of times. Constant concerts, loud power tools and a truck running at night that filled our house with a nasty odor kept us wondering what could happen next. Fortunately, a good industrial fan circulated the air out and we were able to sleep (safely, I hope--we're still alive at this writing.)
My attempt to encourage the billing company to return to public power and close off their building seemed to fall on deaf ears, and from all that we were pretty frustrated. Even the appeal turned frustrating and the lady in charge named J, well, let's just say I decided that I wasn't going back.
So here's what God did...
...first, the billing company did return to public power December 9--the same day all the other ruckus started. They have run their generator one time since--for one hour.
...second, after our Christmas Eve service December 24, we invited 10 of our Haitian kids over for Sunday dinner. We had a wonderful time with them. After all the stress from the noise, the kids will never know how much they encouraged us that day.
...third, later the same day, we began house-sitting for co-workers while they visited their parents in the USA. The house was quiet and we got caught up on some needed rest both physically and mentally.
...fourth, we decided to invest our break into getting together with the Haitians who stayed due to the unrest in Haiti. In years past, they had gone back to Haiti over Christmas. And our Dominican friends go either to the USA or to another part of the country to visit relatives.
So instead of painting, cleaning, playing basketball, and getting together with missionary friends, we are tutoring several guys in English. They all speak a fair amount of English, so we are able to have long conversations with them. I also am going through a preaching course with one of our leaders (I started with three, but two of them dropped out). I'm very grateful to share that my one student has learned how to correctly outline a Biblical passage plus determine its subject and complement then turn all that into a sermon.
We returned to the apartment January 4. Since our return, City Hall has been quiet. No generator, no trucks, no power tools, and no concerts. Oh, yes, and one other thing. I wasn't looking forward to this, but I decided (or did God decide for me?) to go back to the billing company and thank J for her work with the generator, and in doing so, give her a bracelet, a Bible, a Christmas CD, and The Purpose Driven Life in Spanish. I wasn't sure how she would receive me, but I figured the gifts would help (remember Jacob and Esau?) plus in the three times I had talked to J, I never told her that I was a Christian...
...when I arrived at J's office, she wasn't in--probably a good thing for me as her secretary greeted me--and recognized me instantly. I told her that I wanted to thank J and I had thank-you gifts for her. She replied, "You don't have anything for me?" "I'm sorry" was all I could think of. However, the secretary got J. While the secretary was out, I sat down and recited, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." She must have told J why I came because J came in all smiles. I thanked J and gave her the gifts, explaining to her that I'm an evangelical Christian and pointed out the Bible and The Purpose Driven Life book. She received them graciously. And then I told the secretary, "Give me two days" before leaving.
The Israelites returned to their home in 536 BC after a 70-year captivity in Babylon. When they returned to Jerusalem, they built an altar to the LORD. Ezra 3.3 states, "Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD." Despite their fear of people, they did what was right. God grant that we may choose to do right despite our fear.
"You Can't Fight City Hall!!" (I WISH!!)—Jan ‘07
I've heard that "You can't fight city hall!" We live next to Santiago's city hall. And we are visiting our neighbors more often these days! They have given us two noise problems: one, concerts on occasional Saturday nights from their conference center where they blast loud music until 1 AM or so. That keeps especially me (Bob) from sleeping. Judy does a little better with it (could it be that Bob is a control freak too!?!?)
So Monday, November 13, we visited the office responsible for renting the conference center. The office was sympathetic to our request of banning the loud music. They stated that they tell their renters not to play it, but the renters don't always listen to them (Dominicans are notorious for loud music). They gave me the local number of the police station to call if we had problems. They also said that they will not rent the Hall publicly beginning in January. If this is true, this is very welcome news.
The second problem is a large, loud generator installed by a billing company who rents space from city hall. The generator faces our apartment and its shed has no door or sound barrier of any kind between us, so we get a direct hit from both the sound and the smell. They said that they called their headquarters in Santo Domingo, and hope to have doors installed in a week. They also said that the connection between them and city power was damaged so now they have to run the gen. I believe that they are dragging their feet. We had a similar problem last year where our apartment had to threaten legal action before they would move. Santiago has many electricians who could fix that problem. Also, the shed should have had doors installed when it was built.
We do ask for prayer, that God would move city officials to resolve the noise problems. We like the apartment where we live and do not plan to move. And while I look at City Hall as an indifferent government structure, there are individuals who need Christ, His love, His care, and His comfort. Pray that God gives us wisdom in sharing.
American Fads—Nov ‘06
October is Rosary Month at the local Catholic High School just down the street from where we live. As we walked through the halls, we saw rosaries displayed on bulletin boards, drawn on posters by third graders, etc. In addition to their use in Catholic prayers, rosaries are sometimes used as magical symbols in Haiti and good luck charms here in the DR. As I passed the displays, I thought, "I'm glad I don't need the rosary; I can pray to God in the name of Jesus Christ and He hears me because I'm His child."
Our former Spanish teacher, who also teaches advanced English, had invited us to present a talk on American culture to his class. Since we were able to do the class in English, we readily accepted. Judy began the hour presenting fun American fads from various decades--bouncing a superball, throwing a Frisbee, and trying to do the hula-hoop (ha! I can't do it, yet one of the Dominican students did it with ease!). Oh, yes, and the Bee Gees. It seemed like EVERYONE in class knew the words to "Staying Alive"! We were told that in the '80's, the Bee Gees were the most popular group HERE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Twenty years later, the children of that generation still know the words.
The fads got us off to a good start with the kids. They are from middle and upper class families. Most of them can speak English, and some spoke very well--having visited family each year in the US. Even those who were hesitant to speak to us in English could understand us, and we were having a blast.Then the turning point. We presented some of the negative ideas that have penetrated American culture, such as the postmodernistic belief that you can determine your own truth. I shared, quoting John 14.6, that Jesus Christ is The Truth, that His truth is absolute, and that His truth is revealed in the Bible, the Word of God.
I then explained how postmodernism promotes the "if it feels good, do it" attitude toward sex in our culture--sex with anyone, anywhere, anytime--that they see portrayed in American movies and television. I contrasted that to God's truth, explaining that God created sex, reserving it for husband and wife only.Then we showed Focus on the Family's hard-hitting video, "No Apologies: The Truth About Life, Love and Sex." The video interviews teenagers who have suffered because of engaging in pre-marital sex, and explains that there is no "safe sex" apart from abstinence. We weren't sure if the video was too explicit for the group, but we figured, if we have only one shot with this group, let's give it all we got--let's seek to make an impact. After the video, I spoke briefly again, giving my own testimony of the benefits of abstinence, how that Judy and I were virgins at the wedding altar, and because of that, we have no regrets, no flashbacks, no skeletons in the closet, no diseases, and we are happily married because of our purity.
The kids applauded when I finished. The school librarian asked us to return another day for coffee and wanted to know if we could order the same videos in Spanish (they're available and yes, we ordered them). And our friend said he'd like for us to come back to do an hour on our experiences in Haiti. Ok, especially if we can present it in English!
Jairo's Death—October ‘06
We returned to the DR on Wednesday October 4. Jairo (pronounced hí-ro) died Thursday October 5 at 8 AM. Jairo was one of our growing young leaders and led a small group Bible study at our home Dominican church. He had been discipled by Marinito, another of our young leaders and ran an excellent Powerpoint program at church (the graphics are super!). He died of leukemia after just one week in the hospital.
But what really really hurt is that Jairo’s wedding date was October 28. Yes. Three weeks before he was to marry, he died. His fiancée, Mery sobbed uncontrollably. She called out his name over and over and over.And I think, "Oh, isn’t this unfair! Why? I was thinking about what to give them for their wedding, and here I am attending his funeral! God, why?" And yet, I hope I learned a lesson today. I hate to get ripped off, to get taken advantage of. And in this cruel world, devoid of morality, it’s easy to get ripped off. Put yourself in Mery’s place. Three weeks before she was to marry a Godly young Dominican man (and they are hard to come by), he dies. He’s gone. There’s no wedding. There’s no chance of having a family. There’s no chance of sharing a life of love.
And yet, Jairo’s last words beg me not to think that way. Just before he died, he spoke to the doctors and the nursing staff, thanking them for their hard work, and asked God’s blessing on them. And then he told them, "Don't worry about me. If this is His will, then I will arrive happily in the arms of my Father."What a testimony. He doesn’t sound like someone who got ripped off. Reminds me of a quote (who said this, I don’t remember), "Be sure that you live your life in such a way that when you die, all you have to do is die."
The church had Jairo’s viewing Friday October 6. Alejandro Espejo, one of the church's elders and also Jairo's boss on a construction job did an excellent job speaking. He talked about Jairo’s daughter who died and was raised back to life by Jesus (Mark 5.22-43). Mery, Jairo’s broken-hearted fiancée, stood at the head of the casket while we were singing. Unbelievably, she sang with us and lifted her arms toward the sky. To me it was if she were saying, “LORD, Jairo belongs to you. I give him to you.”A week later, we had Jairo's memorial service. In both Dominican and Haitian culture, mourning lasts a week and is climaxed by a last memorial service. Despite the tears and sadness, Mery thanked everyone for their support and thanked the LORD for Jairo's life.
Dominican ministries, Sept '06
We still get a little nervous the first day of school. However, our Spanish instructor—slightly balding, slightly bulging around the middle, and extremely gregarious—soon sets us at ease. His eyes widen slightly upon hearing that we are evangelical missionaries. With a quick glance toward the door, he lowers his voice to softly proclaim, I like your religion!I thought the secrecy a bit strange, but then realized that he wanted to protect his job at a Catholic high school.
God had brought us together in a local language institute. We primarily speak Creole when relating to the Haitian university students, and we needed to improve our Spanish for ministry with the Dominicans. We covered the material in the book, but our conversations ranged far and wide. Together we discussed how beliefs and morals influence a culture, how a loving God could allow tragedies and evil in the world, and how God showed us His love in Christ. It was a workout for us in Spanish, and for him in theology! He began to read daily with his wife the books we gave him about faith and life in Christ. When he had to return to his regular job, he told us that he wanted to stay in touch and wanted to learn more. Please pray that as we meet with him in the near future we can deepen our friendship and God will draw him and his wife to Himself.
Pray for us to be bold and always ready to share the hope we have with those whom God brings our way.Our neighbor on the second floor is past the age of retirement, but continues to work at the local hospital. She is devoutly Catholic in a society which increasingly views religious holidays as play time at the beach. Shortly after we moved here we gave her a copy of The Purpose Driven Life in Spanish. Yesterday we talked as she waited for a taxi. Once again she thanked us for the book. She is reading it for the third or fourth time now and has given copies to her grown children and also to co-workers. Pray that she and others will understand what it means to trust Christ alone.
Dominicans are increasingly becoming more open to the gospel. Last Sunday the church was full as we clapped and sang praises to the Lord. Many come because they have seen something real—a genuine transformation in the life of a friend or family member who now has hope and strength in the midst of difficulties.Every Monday night 15-20 people squeeze into our apartment. Bob leads us in Spanish as we learn together how to live out this transformation that God has brought about in our lives. We range in age from 13 to 58—each facing the challenges that life brings—the challenge of raising teenagers, of being teenagers, of career choices, of infidelity and divorce, of economic struggles, of serious illness, etc.
Back to School
This next Tuesday it's back to school again! We would appreciate your prayers as we participate in conversational Spanish classes at Berlitz here in Santiago. We'll have two hours/day of class, four or five days/week. We can easily minister here in Creole to the Haitians, but we need to move up a notch in our Spanish in order to be able to teach Dominicans. This is a large city and expectations are higher here than they would be in the country. I see so many needs for discipleship and areas of training (in missions, women's ministry, how to manage finances, etc.) that could benefit the Dominican church here. It's frustrating to not yet be able to contribute. Pray that we will be patient and study hard! Thanks.
Workteam Texas style—July 06
For us, WORKTEAM has been the key word, the controlling factor, the tail that wags the dog, the last two weeks. On June 17, we added six people to our family of two by welcoming Irving Bible Church's team to the Dominican Republic to paint, preach and teach English as a second language. I won't say that they became our kids--after all, three members are older than me (one with a successful heart transplant)--but we felt at times that they were.
They painted all of the remaining Sunday school rooms, bathrooms, and kitchen at the Villa Olimpica Bible Church here in Santiago. They also painted a two-wall-wide mural of Noah's Ark. When the kids walked in their classroom and saw it on Sunday morning, they all said WOW!!! (and I did too--that qualifies me as a kid, right?). And the Salvadoran-American pastor preached five times, for both our Creole and Spanish Bible studies.
But this team's richest contribution was the relationships that they built with both the Dominican and Haitian Christians, unifying them in the English as a second-language course they taught. JOY doesn't even begin to convey the emotion and warmth the team generated studying the Gospel of John in their various classes. A number of students asked me if and when they could come back! We also arranged with Villa Olimpica Church to eat our noon meal in their church members' homes. This also built relationships and successfully took both Judy and me off our diets! The lasagna we had the last day was made in and sent straight from heaven!
The team not only encouraged the Dominicans, but helped us as well to build and deepen friendships at Villa Olimpica--so much so that we feel more a part of that church. Please check out the photos of the team.
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