Introducing Justin and Jeimmy Smith

Becky and I are very excited to introduce Justin and Jeimmy Smith to you.  We have had the privilege of serving for two weeks with the Smiths about a year ago.  Very quickly after we met them, they shared their interest in missions.  We were very excited when they shared their desire to pursue full time ministry with us in the Dominican Republic.  Please join us and keep the Smiths in your prayers.  They are in the process of building their support base. 

Justin, Jeimmy, Anthony (4), and Gabriella (3) Smith

Justin grew up in Aurora, IL.  He attended Moody Bible Institute where he received my B.A. in Evangelism Discipleship from the Department of World Mission. After graduating from Moody he met his wife, Jeimmy, on a missions trip to Colombia. Since Jeimmy is Columbian, they had a long distance relationship.  They were married in 2009 and now have two beautiful children, ages two and four.  Both Justin and Jeimmy are currently serving at their home church, Village Baptist Church. Justin serves as a deacon, teacher, fill-in preacher, community group leader, and in outreach ministries. Jeimmy serves as a translator, women's outreach leader, worship coordinator, and in compassion ministry. 


The Smiths have served in their home church for many years but have always felt God leading them into foreign missions and full-time ministry. In 2013, they took a three month missions trip to Colombia and served at a foundation called Colombia Chiquita. In 2014, they went on a missions trip to the Dominican Republic and served with us (the Mackeys). After serving with us for two weeks we invited them to partner with us in sharing the gospel, making disciples, and planting churches. The Smiths spent time seeking the Lord’s will and through much counsel, accepted this invitation to serve in the Dominican Republic. We are excited to see what God is going to do!


Remember the Smiths and pray:  
1.) For 100% support to come in
2.) A smooth transition from country to country
3.) Courage, patience, and grace through this time of support raising

"Jesus Is The Savior, And One True God!"

Introducing Gil and Danna Leon

Becky and I are very excited to introduce Gil and Danna Leon to you.  We have had the privilege of serving with the Leon's on two occasions and were very excited when they called us to share their plans to pursue full time ministry with us in the Dominican Republic.  Please join us and keep the Leons in your prayers.  They are in the process of building their support base.  

Gil and Danna have been married for 25 years as of the fall of 2015.   Both are from the Chicago-land area. They have three kids, Anthony 20, Andrew 18, and Emily 15.  Missions has always weighed heavy on their hearts.  

For the past ten years, they have been praying, and the Lord had been preparing them, for this next step.  They have been heavily involved with their sending church for close to twenty years and serve on the Missions Committee. Gil is a Deacon and they are both Sunday School teachers.  Being a part of local inner city programs, homeless shelters and several short term missions trips has kept the idea of full term missions in view.  After a second trip to the Dominican Republic, it became clear that this is where God wanted them to begin their full time ministry through holistic serving.  Seeing the national's need for stronger teaching in God's Word and encouragement that they too, can fulfill the great commission.

Gil will be filling the role as a teacher for Dominicans who are preparing for pastoring and ministering to their church members' needs.  Danna will be in a teaching role, guiding other members to Bible knowledge as well as encouraging them to be leaders in worship and Sunday School lessons.  Together they will come along side Dominicans and guide them through evangelistic settings within their communities.  

Please pray that the Lord would ready the hearts and the minds of Dominicans who are in great need of Biblical teaching, for there isn't an attainable training facility for them.  Please pray for the Leons as they prepare for a life of serving the Lord.

www.uwm.org/missionaries/gil-leon

www.gildanleon.blogspot.com 

Minnesota Church donates a Snake to El Montaña

A Snake??!!!???

Some time ago we received a church, First Evangelical Free Church, wrote us asking if there were any needs in the ministry. Evidently, someone had money donated for missions and the church decided to contact their missionaries to see what needs existed. Becky and I replied with a few ideas.  One idea was to buy a "snake" for El Montaña's sound system. An audio snake is used to bridge the distance from the sound board to the platform of the church.

Becky and I were thrilled when we heard that they decided to buy the snake. It may not be the most exciting gift to give but it's very needed and facilitates ministry. Also, it is something that would be hard to find here, and very expensive had we found it. When I think about the message that will be proclaimed through the wires of this snake, it's a wonderful gift that will bring glory to God for years to come.

First EFC's Team and some from the El Montaña church

Even more exciting, a team the church was already planning to visit.  The church bought the snake and the team would bring it.  This past weekend, the team was here and they were able to tour the community of El Montaña.  While there, some gathered from the church and the team presented the Snake to El Montaña.

Pastor Jay Pound gives Pastor Damaso the Snake

Thank you Lord for your Church! Praise the Lord!

Maratón de la Montaña

Some of our posts are written about our ministry and some are written because we want to remember the day.  This is about a day I want to remember.

Ben and I with other Missionaries Runners

In the fall I started running.  I'm not a runner.  I don't enjoy it.  BUT I wanted to get in shape and it seemed the best option.  I started using an app "Couch to 5k."  After about 8 weeks, I was running 5k (3.1 miles) three times a week.  With the new year, I started working on increasing my distance and got to the point of running about 3.8 miles, three times each week.  Using a app, I have been able to record my runs and see the progress.  It is amazing how the body improves, encouraging as well.

At Easter, I remembered the Maratón de la Montaña.  Calling a friend, I asked if there were different lengths and found out that the race was about 7.5 miles long.  I hadn't run that far for about 30 years.  It was twice the distance of what I regularly ran.  I wondered if I could do it.  My friend Vic encouraged me saying that lots of people run/walk and that he didn't feel I should have a problem.  So I decided to go for it.

What I didn't know at the time was that this would be much more than a race.  It would be a cultural event.  As we waited for the race to start, it was a party atmosphere.  Dominicans love to laugh and people were just having a good time.  Eventually the organizers started moving people to the starting line and there we stood for about 40 minutes, listening to speeches from different leaders in the community.  This happens often and I should have known this wouldn't be any different.  

Eventually the race started.  On the advice of others, I started at a slow pace.  We climbed some hills, passed Pizza Pepperoni, and started to head out of town.  Very quickly we were off of the pavement and running on dirt/gravel roads.  This is when it started to get hard.  The dust flew as motorcycles passed.  Some on motorcycles were offering rides and while I didn't see anyone hop on, I have been told it happens.  We made our way through La Joya and I was needing water.  Just at this time, one of my friends, a local youth passed me on his moto.  He had a bag of water bottles and was helping people he knew.  He gave me water and helped me throughout the race.  

Making the final turn to the finish line!

I passed the cemetery and then we made the turn toward Palo Blanco.  I had been warned about Palo Blanco, and the warnings were confirmed.  For the next 3 miles, the road was lined with groups of people waiting with jugs of water ready to douse any runner.  By this time the runners had spread out and I was pretty much alone.  I could see Vanessa, a friend and Dominican missionary, running with a friend a little ways ahead of me.  I watched as time and time again the crowds would let them pass only to unload every drop on me.  I was drenched.  

I suppose if I were a serious runner, it may have been frustrating.  But for me, one who was just trying to do finish a race, it was a little bit entertaining and a good distraction, getting my mind off of having to take one more step.  Some of the kids were a little timid.  They had the water and were ready but then at the last moment I could tell they hesitated.  Some adults were very kind and asked if I wanted to be hit with water.  But the ones I tried to avoid were the middle school and high school boys.  They were on a mission and had 5 gallon buckets waiting.  They seem especially excited to soak me, the American.  Some had squirt guns and they ran with me for a block or so, squirting me and laughing the whole way.  I do have to say, I enjoyed seeing them have so much fun.  There were plenty of laughs when I got hit or when I successfully side-stepped an attack.  Very quickly, I was so soaked that another can of water just didn't matter.  

The last part of the race was a little challenging as there were more cars and motorcycles to avoid.  Eventually I found myself at the finish line.  I had done it!  Not only had I run 7.5 miles but I had also survived Palo Blanca's Water Gauntlet!  

UWM Central America-Caribbean Region, A Blended Family

Latin American Mission (LAM) officially joined United World Mission (UWM) on January 1, 2014.  Previously UWM had about 175 missionaries.  We now have about 350 missionaries. The numbers alone are overwhelming. UWM has missionaries around the world, while LAM focused on Latin America alone.  So the Latin American region has undergone a complete change.  We are now three regions:  Mexico-United States, Central America-Caribbean, and South America.

In May, 2014, we attended our last official UWM Latin America Conference.  It was emotional as we and our kids realized we would not be seeing our South American colleagues regularly in the future.  It was also an opportunity to meet a couple of our new colleagues, LAM missionaries serving in Costa Rica.  We just attended our first Central America-Caribbean Regional Retreat.  This was a long standing annual LAM event in Costa Rica.  We met so many new people and they began to get to know us.  Below are the attendees.  Because some missionaries were in the US and others were not able to come due to their schedules, this group is about 1/3 of the new region.  You may also note that many retired missionaries attended.

LAM has a long, rich history throughout Latin America, but their deepest roots are in Costa Rica.  At the retreat, we honored missionary service anniversaries from 5 years to 50 years.  That´s right, 50 years of service and still working!  Below:  Bob and Nancy Sabean with Paul Pittman (regional leader) and John Bernard (mission president).

We met new leadership from the home office and UWM President, John Bernard, shared a new vision, mission, and values for UWM.  He rightly said, "Whenever a new member joins a team, a completely new team is created."  And we have added over 150 new members, so UWM is a completely new mission.

Chad Hollowell guided us through a some new ways to deeply connect with God and His Word.  This was an introduction to UWM's spiritual formation initiative, designed to encourage personal spiritual growth through our lives.  Missionaries cannot work effectively over time if their own relationship with God is not vital and growing.  We are pleased that UWM is using this process throughout the world and are now introducing it to the "new" UWM missionaries.

We spent precious time with Paul and Dori Pittman, our dear friends and fearless leaders.  Paul has been our regional director since we began with UWM and we are lucky to still have him as our "regional leader" for the future.  When they are not trying to keep us in line, they coordinate the UWM Cuba Partnership Project.

Check out the UWM website at www.uwm.org.  Watch for updates!  Just like UWM is a whole new mission, we will have a whole new website in the near future.