Psalm 67: 3 "Let the peoples praise you, O God: let all the peoples praise you!"

          Around a year ago, a man by the name of Leonel was in the middle of robbing someone when he was shot in the stomach and head and then crippled under his motorcycle that had been lit on fire and thrown on top of him. He laid in this condition in the middle of a field for around three hours in the early hours of the morning before being found and taken to the hospital. His mouth was sewn shut for twenty days to repair his jaw, and the bullet was taken out of his stomach. Leonel should not have lived. In time, Jessica, the MGM nurse here, crossed paths with Leonel. His leg was still severely burned and infected. The infection was so bad that his leg had turned green and most everyone thought he would lose his leg. Through many many months of taking care of his leg, it  has slowly begun to heal. But he has not only been healed physically, but also spiritually.

         Through Jessica's encounters with Leonel, she was able to share Truth with him on a daily basis. He was never angry or opposed to her sharing Truth with him, but he continued to tell her, "maybe later, maybe later." Week after week, Jessica would see his untouched Bible lay in the same place. But as time went on, she noticed that it had finally left that dusty, old place, and had been moved, opened, and read. After three weeks, Leonel finally accepted Christ as His Savior. Before Leonel was a thief who was very angry, mean, and dangerous. He hated the men that hurt him and wanted revenge on them. His face had a permanent look of pure anger. After receiving Christ, his whole demeanor has changed. The people in his village have noticed and cannot believe the change they see in him. He is now gentle, humble, and kind. He no longer wants revenge but instead wants to share the truth of the Gospel with others!

         The Whitefield's pastors caught wind of his story and visited Leonel on Monday, February 10th. God knew that Leonel needed men to affirm, encourage and uplift him. The men encouraged him to remain steadfast under trials, and that it is always the best to remain obedient to God, for He is good and faithful. The encounter really demonstrated how members of the Body of Christ need each other to continue steadfastly. It reminded me of the early church in Antioch. News had come to the Jerusalem church that many people in Antioch had come to know the Lord, and they sent Barnabas (son of encouragement) there. Barnabas encouraged these new believers and exhorted them to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose. The Whitefield's men see that it is imperative that Leonel is discipled and that his roots grow deep in Christ, so this Tuesday and hopefully from now on, Leonel will join the men each week in their pastoral meetings. In March, we are also hoping that he will attend the pastoral training held at Ney's house (he did end up doing this training). Leonel has had visions of preaching and sees God's calling on his life to share His Truth with others. As the Lord wills, we pray that someday down the road, Leonel could join Whitefield's in its mission to disciple and shepherd the flocks in the sugarcane fields.

           Leonel lives in Village 51, a very spiritually dark place. There are many gangs, and a lot of drugs. It is impoverished and there is no electricity there. There are many people, even small children, who are sexually abused and as a result, many suffer from sexually transmitted diseases. For most of the villagers, there is no way out of their situation. They are stuck in this place with no hope to ever leave their circumstances.There is no church building there because it is too dangerous.The temptations, opposition and persecution Leonel faces on a daily basis is unimaginable. We trust that God has a specific plan to shine His light in Village 51. For months, Jessica, the MGM nurse, has been going to Village 51 every Sunday to teach the remnant of people there who are interested in hearing the Word of God. The desire and intention is that Leonel would eventually take over for Jessica after he has grown deeper in Christ and the Word . Every Sunday, Jessica, Beka, me, and other friends go to the village. Jessica teaches, and I run the children's ministry. The prayers are that God would continue to build up the church there and that Leonel, if it is his calling, would shepherd the flock in that village. We know that against all odds, Leonel lived and that God preserved him for a specific purpose.

Prayer Requests:

• Pray against the footholds and schemes of the Enemy in Village 51.
• Leonel would endure through trials and that God would continue to grow his roots deep in Christ. Pray that God would bring faithful believers to encourage him, disciple him, and bear his burdens with him.
• God would continue to encourage Jessica's heart as she goes out every week to share truth with these people. May the soil in Village 51 be rich and receptive to His Truth and may He bear much fruit there. May His light shine forth and many people receive Christ.

The Whitefield's men visit Leonel in Village 51 and encourage this new brother in Christ.

Ney praying over Leonel.

The beautiful children that faithfully come every Sunday to hear the Word of God!

Compassion International

A lovely day spent at the Compassion International School here in Hato Mayor. A day to meet new friends such as these lovely girls!

http://www.compassion.com/ 

Prayer requests:

1. Many of these kids deal with very real hardships due to abandonment by their fathers, marital affairs, sexual abuse, violence in homes, etc. Pray that God would continue to raise up leaders that can be an example of God-fearing men and women for them and show them the love of Christ.
2. These children would grow to be God-fearing men and women that fully surrender their lives to the Lord's service. They would hunger for Him, seek Him, know Him, love Him and share about Him with others.
3. God would continue to raise the funds to keep the school going and to support more children to go to school. The leaders would continue to be yielded to God's direction and leading.

Here's for all those coffee lovers out there!

        One thing I have the pleasure to be a part of during my stay in the DR is to help make the coffee for Cafe del Rey. We often drink coffee without even thinking twice about the process that took place to bring this popular drink right in front of us. For all you coffee lovers, here is the process of how you get your beloved drink, well at least Cafe del Rey style!

               First of all, the ministry buys the beans from local farmers. They recently bought some trees, so they also will use some beans from their own supply in the future. After purchasing the beans, they are laid out on a tarp to dry and ferment for many days. The batch in this picture had been drying for seventeen days! After they are dried, they are sent to a mill to take the beans out of the shells. They are then put in 1500 kilo bags, and brought back to Ney's house.Six pounds of coffee at a time is then put into the roaster. Each batch takes around 15 minutes depending on the roast. After that, the beans are left to cool and are thrown into a tub to pick out unwanted objects. The beans go into the grinder and then are measured out into bags. They use a straightener (I know, clever, right?) to seal the bags, the label is put on, and the coffee is ready to go to Cafe del Rey! Pretty cool stuff, right?

1. The trees

2. Drying and fermenting beans

3. Beans sent to mill to remove shells

4. Beans are roasted

5. Beans are cooled

6. Unwanted objects sorted out

               

          

7. Off to the grinder!

8. Weighing the bags

10. And there you have it folks! Cafe del Rey's organic coffee!

9. Sealing the bags!

Dragon Skin

             I have officially hit the one month mark! It has been a full month of difficulties, frustrations, confusion, doubt and so many other emotions. But through all of the hardships and trials, the Lord has sustained me with His loving kindness and promises. He is so very near and present in our lives.
           
              In C.S Lewis’ series The Chronicles of Narnia, he writes about Aslan peeling a dragon’s skin off layer by layer. It is a painful process, but in the end, it strips him of his dragon layers that masked his true identity as a boy. More and more each day, the Lord peels off layers and chisels huge chunks off of me that do not conform to His likeness. I have put on the new self and it is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. (Colossians 3:10). It is a painful process, but I know it is good, necessary, and directed by God. It reminds me of the song “You Wont Relent” by Misty Edwards. God will not relent until He has all of us: our whole heart, our whole devotion, and our whole adoration. And this is in no way a selfish thing on His part. He created us and knows that our very purpose is for Him to be our all and all and for us to dwell and live in His relational presence. So as He calls us to lay more of our idols at His feet, and for Him to take the place at the throne of our heart, the more He is bringing us to the very center of who we are as His created beings. And once we discover this, we find that there is no greater and more satisfying place to dwell. Jesus promised that when we lose our lives for His sake,  it is only then that we finally find it.

           Despite some things not going the way I was expecting, He reminds me that I need to trust Him. He is the One with the ultimate plan. I may not understand His purpose in everything, but the Spirit brings to mind Proverbs 3:5-6. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” He is so gracious to remind us of His promises. He reminds me of His steadfast love and compassion for His children. It is written that, “the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him…(Psalm 103:17)”, and He is a Father who has great compassion for His children (Psalm 103:13). As I look to the heavens he reminds me of three promises. First of all, the heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 19). Secondly, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him (Psalm 103:11).” And lastly His incomprehensible grace, for Scripture says, “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12).” Each time I look to the heavens, I see how infinite, endless, and majestic they are, and that only means that God’s glory, love, and grace is infinite, everlasting, unending, and absolutely breathtaking… And you should see the sunrises here in the morning!!! I am blown away that the God of the Universe is infinitely greater than His creation.
       
            As I continue to lay aside what I think things should be and instead, surrender, take up the cross, and am filled with His Spirit, He graces me with His wisdom and direction for today. He is my only source of power and strength, so daily I must abide in Him. When I try to figure out what today should bring and do things on my own terms, I find myself anxious and overwhelmed. But when I wake up each day and ask Him to lead me, He leads me. He works out the details. He desires that I relinquish control and yield to Him in faith. Even if following Him for today means restocking some cups or washing a counter, it is the work He has given me, and in Scripture it says whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. More and more each day, He slowly unravels what He wants me to do here. He continues to affirm and encourage me that, for today, I am right where He wants me. And there is just no better place to be than in the will of God.

           More and more each day, my heart aches for this land. It is easy to believe that the grass is greener on the other side, but the reality is that we are all broken. Every land, every nation, and every tribe has been ravaged and destroyed by sin. The fall of man means that in every place there is greed, murder, envy, selfishness, anger, and every other sin. Apart from His grace, our hearts will always be far from Him. I see so much pain and suffering here, and at times it can be overwhelming. I realize that whoever we are, rich or poor, black or white, male or female, we are all in the same boat. We all are fallen, and sin has affected us in some shape or form and in different degrees. But every human has the same longings and desires. We all are completely unfulfilled by what this world has to offer, and we so desperately think that something in this world will finally satisfy us. But it simply cannot. I think a lot of the Dominicans believe they will find happiness if they have more money and possessions.  But the reality is that wealth will never fulfill them. I am no better of a person for having possessions. My money, my possessions, or my skills will never fix them spiritually. We can give them as much food, as many crafts, as much money, but it will not fix the brokenness that is inside every human being. The real solution is Jesus Christ. He is the one that has ransomed us from our slavery. By the power of the cross, we are justified and freed from the control of sin. I am simply just as broken as the person next to me, but by God’s grace, I have been redeemed by a loving Savior.

          The pain and emptiness I see around me makes me even more thankful for the hope we have in Christ. Not only has He shown His deep love for me as His child, but also His deep love for the whole world. As I look out and see the brokenness of this land, it only leads me to one question. Why does God allow this to happen? But He reminds me that He has already demonstrated His passionate and reckless love for the world through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because I have experienced the ways in which He loves me as His child, I am deeply aware that His love for this nation and these people is far greater than I could ever begin to comprehend. And because He has such a deep love for these people, He has developed a deep love for them within me.

Prayer requests:
1. Discernment, wisdom, clarity, compassion, humility, kindness, and joy for each day.
2. A surrendering, taking up of the cross, and filling of the Spirit each day.
3. Both the Dominicans and Americans would encounter God, receive Christ, seek Him wholeheartedly, and share the Good News with others so that the cycle keeps on going.
4. MGM and Whitefields would remain a unified body in Christ.
5. Communication within ministry and language barriers.
6. The Lord would bear much fruit through the updating of the website and newsletter that Whitefield’s will send out. Much fruit would be produced both in the DR and America through communicating all that God is doing in the DR (Which is A LOT).

Thank you all for your support and prayers. Truly, it has been so encouraging. More updates will be coming soon. I apologize for the delay in getting this post up!