Bibles given in Los Calabazos

Recently Calvary EFC from Rochester, Minnesota sent a team to work in Buenos Aires.  12 people came and when they arrived, they found that NONE of their checked bags had arrived.  They had paid the extra $$$ so they could all bring an extra bag of things to give away.  Thankfully, the next day their bags did arrive.  In those bags were many Bibles that are being given out in the churches we work.  

Los Calabazos was the first church plant to receive Bibles.  Pictured here are some from the church with their new Bibles.  

My Beautiful Wife

Guess we will see if she let's me keep this up here!     - Rick

Building Families in Boma

Each Wednesday morning, we head out to Boma to meet with a few of the key leaders in the church there.  Our goal is to help support them as they lead the church.  One of the needs they have expressed to us, is to learn how to teach their children.  Right now, the church has very little Biblical education directed at the children and they know they need to change that.  We have given many resources and taught on different topics to address this need.  Lately we have been using a course on Christrian Education from a seminary in Uruguay.  Other missionaries from our mission helped start this school.  We have found this course to be excellent.  It lays out important concepts for education to all ages, not just children. 

We hope the tools in this course will help young Jonathan and other kids in the neighborhood.  

On the page the title says "The Home is a place of Instruction."  A regular theme of ours is that parents need to be an example in their home and community.  Children rarely follow someone unless they respect them and so as parents, we need to  be worthy of that respect.  And even when we fail, we can model to our children how we take responsibility and make things right.  

While we would like to think that just teaching a course will make a change, we know it takes much more than that.  Teaching is the first and easiest step.  The second step involves walking with the people, being there for them when they have questions, helping them to build confidence to stand up to the pressures of going against the flow.  We are in a battle.  And we need your prayers.  

In each community, our desire is to strengthen the churches.  These last few years, that has involved focusing on families.  We pray for God to grow families that can be an example to others in the communities.  Please pray with us!

Building Bathrooms!

Buenos Aires is a small community about 10 minutes from Jarabacoa.  It's a church of about 20-30 adults.  About  two years ago they started a ministry to supplement the education of the children living in Buenos Aires. They wanted to teach these children about the Bible as well. The idea was formed after they when house to house asking their neighbors how the church could help them.  So they started the ministry and found their "bathroom" wasn't built for the use it was getting.  After some discussion, plans were made for the property and they started praying for better facilities as well as other needs.   

Calvary EFC in Rochester, Minnesota started coming here and helping these church in 1991.  They have ministered in many ways.  This past summer, a youth team came and ministered.  Now they were looking for a 1-week construction opportunity that would give church better "facilities" for ministry.  Building a bathroom may not be as appealing as some things but if you had used their previous bathroom, you would place it high on the priority list.

Before the team arrived, the church started working.  They dug footings, poured them and had the first run of blocks laid.  

Don Chucho started this church about 20 years ago. 

Church members worked alongside the team.  They have continued the work since the team left.  Pictured above are the new bathrooms just after the ceiling was poured.  In future weeks, the building will be skim coated, the floor will be poured and the fixtures installed.  

Beyond construction, the team shared testimonies in services.  One special night was when they attended the church service in El Montaña. They were able to share with the church a little of its history.  20 years earlier, Calvary EFC had sent a team and they built the church building.  Some of the adults leaders in the church remember it.  They were children at the time and they helped in the construction and attended Vacation Bible School.  The team also visited homes.  One woman attended Bible studies with Becky.  They also brought many needed supplies.  Some will be used in Buenos Aires and some in the other church plants.  At times in the evening, they met with Dominicans friends and were able to catch up.  Many on the team had been before and had friends they hoped to see from their past trips.  

God has used Calvary EFC in significant ways.  And while many of the teams "projects" have been in the area of construction, they have always been about ministering to people through relationships.   They were a great blessing to us and to our churches.  We praise God for them and our relationship with them.