It seems like the whole family gathers at the church on Saturday afternoons. Earlier in the afternoon, Margarita, petite and elderly, shared her artistic skill with a group of children who are learning how to draw and paint. At the same time, Jonathan was keeping an eye on his roaming little ones while editing and printing tomorrow’s bulletins. Upstairs, Dyan just led a group of 30 youth in an animated discussion on seeing difficulties as opportunities for blessing—who knew Jacob and Bartimaeus had so much in common? In the office, 12 new believers gather around Marino, learning what it means to be born into the family of Christ. In a nearby classroom, I hear Bob’s laugh rise above the chorus of men’s voices who are studying about sanctification—all six are sanctifi-edly talking at once.
As the youth filter out, the members of the praise team stay for practice as Alejandro gives a pep talk on perfecting tomorrow’s worship songs. Bob will soon join them to share keyboard duties with Jose. I’m sitting here waiting for Bob, and reveling in the mystery of Christ’s body. I love seeing the body of Christ functioning as a healthy family—individuals giving of their time and using what God has uniquely given them to build up the whole.
Ironically, Bob and I are in the midst of co-teaching a series in the monthly couples’ gathering (now attracting almost 100) on how to parent. What do we know about family?! We’ve never had children. Bob has never changed a diaper. I’ve never sat up all night with a feverish child. Yet God has placed us within His family in Christ, and more specifically in the Central Church family of believers in Santiago. The church’s vision is to be a loving family, living God-honoring lives. We are by no means a picture-perfect family, but we are learning…
…to drop what we are doing and come alongside a family member when illness
or death or disaster strikes.
…to patiently pray for a struggling, newly-married couple, even when they choose
not to follow advice.
…to accept and try to understand those family members who are different—who
just don’t relate well socially and seem to have excessive needs.
…to call and encourage a brother who isn’t participating like he used to.
…to let go, but keep on praying, when a family member decides they don’t want
to be a part of this family anymore.
…to continually seek and welcome newcomers into the family, realizing that
the family dynamics will change (18 new believers joined the family in March).
…to meet regularly—even at the end of a long, tiring day—to sing and laugh
and pray and figure out how to put God’s Word into practice.
…to be transparent with each other, admitting our struggles.
…to rejoice in what each generation offers—the exuberance of youth, wisdom of
age, and steadiness of those in-between.
…to neither ignore nor exaggerate problems, realizing there is a purpose
in the struggle.
As we learn to love each other, the learning curve sometimes looks like the nearby 4000-foot peak that we just hiked with the youth, but we persevere. It’s worth it. It’s eternal. And we are eternally grateful to you who offer your prayers and gifts to make our presence here possible. Lord willing, we will be on home ministry in the states June – September this year to thank you in person, and tell you more about what God is doing in the Dominican Republic.
1 comment:
So neat to hear about all the great things going on there--and to hear about people being the body of Christ!
Jan
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