February 2014 Newsletter

After five days of acting out Bible stories, blowing up balloons, face painting, doing crafts, and loving the children in the community of La Yaguita, the seven-member team from Maryland is heading for a well-deserved day at the beach. Along with us is Karina, their Dominican translator, and Osiris—our driver who is also a local pastor. As the van bumps over the potholes, Osiris and Bob are having an animated conversation in the front seat. The hot topic is common misconceptions regarding the Holy Spirit. Karina, one of our students in the leadership training classes, studies medicine at a local university when she’s not translating for teams or teaching at the Children’s Center in La Yaguita. I smile as Karina eagerly jumps into the conversation taking place up front, “If only people would read and study their Bibles!” Her comment prompts me to ask her about the notice I saw at the church for a weekly women’s Bible study. After faithfully attending the courses on Bible study methods and message preparation, Karina and Alicia—the pastor’s wife at La Yaguita—started a study with the women at church. They are now studying through the book of Philippians, and the group has grown from 6 to 25 (five of whom are not yet Christians)! Hearing Karina’s enthusiasm for teaching others what she has learned makes all of the time spent in lesson preparation for the courses seem like momentary light affliction. Whether we’re meeting with 50 students or spending time one-on-one, there’s a special joy we experience when someone’s eyes light up as he or she captures the truth being taught. Moffat, a young Haitian man attending university in Santiago, is another example of a quick learner. He’s one of the leaders of the Haitian worship service at the Los Girasoles church, just up the road from La Yaguita. Bob taught the leaders there the how-to’s of sermon preparation. Recently, Moffat preached on Daniel 1-3. As we listened, we were amazed at his insights about Daniel’s progressive faithfulness to God while living in a foreign culture, and the effects his faithfulness had on that society. Moffat’s applications for the Haitian congregation were outstanding. Lately, Bob has spent a lot of time individually with Moffat to encourage him. The other day Moffat asked him, “It’s obvious you and Judy love each other. What’s your secret?” As we minister together we’re glad we can teach by both word and example. Pray that our example will always match our words! Pray also for perseverance for us and for the students as we come into the home stretch of the Leadership Training Course. There are two courses left to teach.