May we never take for granted the unbelievable beauty of the place to which the Lord has sent us for such a time as this!!! When we first arrived on the island a young woman who would become a dear friend of mine offered me the following advice--"Always remember to look up"---and that has proven to be sound counsel---when we look up here, we see God's majesty---the tall trees, the grand mountains, the sky filled with fluffy clouds all remind us of "the eternal" even when what is "on the ground" at the moment may not seem quite so lovely! Thank you Catherine for passing on that wisdom which I now pass on here---LOOK UP!!!
MEN'S MINISTRY UPDATE...
The second men's prison class is going strong---with over 50 new men attending--the prison administration has made the class a requirement for those married men who want visiting privileges with their spouse----God is changing men's hearts towards Him and towards their families---praise Him for this----Ten men from this new class were baptized this past month---in a baby pool in back of the prison!!! God can make a way!!!!!
Small group leader training...
We hosted a small group leader training at our home this past month---leaders from two Santiago churches, one Methodist and one Baptist, joined together for a day of worship, teaching and prayer---The morning began with Rachael and Beka leading worship---singing and playing guitar---we pray that this encouraged the men, many of whom have a long road ahead to rebuild their families...
It was beautiful to see the men from these two churches come together to share their testimonies and experiences in their groups...
Unfortunately, many Dominican men have not had a strong father figure in their lives nor a healthy family environment---here is the testimony of one of the men who is now leading a men's group in his own church---"my father was with many other women besides my mother so I have a total of 32 brothers and sisters"---one can only imagine the pain this has caused to so many!!---yet this man now shares how God is speaking truth into his life and changing him from the inside out---this gives us all much "esperanza" (hope)!!
GUESTHOUSE VISITS...
We were blessed to have Pastor William Gomez and wife Jaqueline spend the weekend this past month---They should have been the first to visit since he has been the pastor who has opened so many doors for the men's ministry but their schedule had been quite full and this was the first they were able to get away---we shared a great time of fellowship and food!! with them and they enjoyed some much needed sweet alone time as well...
This time Beka challenged them in dominos while Dave manned the grill...
Rachael and Beka's music ministry...
We've promised to share a bit more about our girls and their music---before coming to the DR, we were blessed to have a great piano teacher and choir director for our girls---both of them just seem naturally to love making music--so since we have been here, they have continued with piano lessons, voice lessons, guitar lessons and even drum lessons for Beka!! They started writing their own music lyrics as well. They have performed at their school, Rachael is on the chapel worship team this year, at our local church and in two community productions---Below is their latest performance--in a concert --"El es digno" which means "He is worthy"---we are hopeful to perform this same concert in our neighborhood here in the mountains in December!!
Singing "bilingually--Spanish and English" at church...
CHERRY'S VISIT TO "THE FARM"...
We'll end this update sharing about my visit to my mom in October--I feel so blessed to have been able to "sneak back to Illinois" for a 10 day visit with my mom---and to surprise my very dear friend, Kim, on her BIG 50 birthday!! I won't share my mom's age but let's just say she has definitely aged very gracefully and I hope to follow her example...
My mom still lives on the farm in the home where I grew up so that's where I got to stay with her...
Even got to see my Aunt Jenny, my mom's sister, too...
When people ask me what is the hardest thing about being out of the country in mission work, I always say that it was not giving up my "stuff" in the states, or even always feeling a little different here, not sure if we are doing things correctly or having problems understanding the language ---the most difficult thing for me, what tears at my heart the most, is being so far from my mom and my two oldest children, Shane and Blythe, especially my daughter as it is hard thinking of her on her own now so far away--so it was especially sweet to be able to spend this time---just my mom and me---sweet girl time!!! And I pray that God will give us both the grace to trust in Him and His plans for us all until we see each other again!! Would you pray that way as well?
As always we send you our love and our gratefulness for your love, support and encouragement of us and our work here.
Take a look at the right-hand panel for our new prayer requests and some words of encouragement to help us along our way!!
Con el amor y gracia de Cristo, (With the love and grace of Christ)
La familia Schwulst