Terrific Testimonies

In October we had the privilege of hosting a work team from Valley Forge Baptist Temple, of Collegeville, PA. These 15 dedicated servants gave of their time and resources to help us build an apartment for a young pastor sent out of our church, Ari Amparo. This project has come at a very important time in the life of Pastor Ari, as his wife Francelly is expecting their first child next spring. In one week the group was able to lay over 2000 block and build many useful pieces of furniture for the churches, such as pulpits and sound equipment cabinets. The cheerful attitude and generous spirit made a significant impact on the foreman of the project, Ubaldo, who is not a believer. He commented more than once how much he was moved by the humble and submissive spirit of the “Americans.” Pray that the Holy Spirit would use these testimonies and our continued witness to draw Ubaldo to the Lord.

 

Fisher of Fisherman

One of the men in our church, Elias Ventura, has launched a new business venture, a fish hatchery. Recently, while interacting with many of the local fisherman he was convicted of the great need for a Bible study, due to the fact that there is not a Bible preaching church within a 30 minute drive. So, he started inviting the men to meet under a big tree located in the middle of their fishing village. Amazingly, many of these fisherman and their families began attending the study. In a short amount of time they have seen many professions of faith, and a desire to see a local church started. Please be in prayer for this fisher of fisherman.

 

Prayer Requests

– Salvation: Victor, Joey, Robert, Paco, Jimmy

– Safety and health during our short furlough (mid-Oct. through early-Jan.)

– Growth and health of the three churches in the DR during our furlough.

 

 

Speak, Oh, Lord

You know that end of the year “rat race” feeling? The approaching holidays seem to compound the To Do List exponentially. The mission field is not immune to this! There are times of spiritual fervor, and times of spiritual famine. To combat this, we hold our annual Bible Conference every October to help revive our hearts with a passion for God’s Word and His will for our lives. This year our theme was, “Speak, oh, Lord!”. Our prayer was that God would speak not only to those visitors who had not yet trusted Christ as Savior, but also to those who were believers, but needed to make changes in their lives so that they would be spiritually blessed. Each night we had a different Baptist preacher come in from the capital with a different theme. Our hearts were thrilled not only by great attendance for each service, but more importantly, by the life changing decisions that were made. Please pray for us that the Lord would continue to speak to us through his Word and that we would faithfully follow!

Chance of a lifetime! 

Recently a very influential Christian camp located about 2 hours away from us approached us about conducting an evangelistic camp for the youth in our community for free! As you can image, this was an unbelievable opportunity for us. We were able to take 125 kids to this 2 day camp where we had loads of fun with obstacle courses, water games, and many other sports activities. In the midst of all the fun our primary focus was the preaching of the Gospel. Please pray for our follow up with those who made decisions to trust in Christ!

Prayer Requests

-Salvation: Victor, Joey, Robert, Felix
-New church plant: Vista del Valle
-New Bible study in the south side of town.
-Various Christmas outreach projects and our Christmas program on Dec. 17th.

 

 

Birth Announcement

It is with great joy that we announce the birth of Iglesia Bautista Vista del Valle, born on September 3rd, 2017, at 5 pm. We cannot properly express the true joy and excitement that filled our hearts on that day. We started the festivities in the morning service in
our church, where Pastor Ari Amparo was officially ordained and sent forth from Truth Baptist. Visiting pastor, Greg Joyner, of Valley Forge Baptist, challenged us from God’s Word . Also, another great privilege was the presence of Tim Fluegge, our former teammate who invested much in the training of Pastor Ari. In the afternoon we headed to the other part of town where we celebrated with the opening service for Iglesia Bautista Vista del Valle. To God’s glory we had a full house, with well over 150 people in attendance with many of them making decisions to believe in Christ. After the service our teammates Stew and Donna Scheppers set up their inflatable jumping castle which was a big hit with all of the kids of the neighbor- hood. Please continue to pray for souls to be saved and disciples to be made in this new church plant!

Free Indeed!

Patrick, whose wife is a believer, recently came to our church upon her insisting. During the hand- shaking time of our service he approached me and asked to speak with me after the service because he had some questions. When the service concluded, he hurriedly approached me again, but this time with joy in his eyes. “Pastor, the questions I had for you were answered by God in the message you just preached. I know now that I am free from my sin, and don’t have to live a slave to it anymore!” Praise the Lord for liberty in Christ!

 

Prayer Requests

-Salvation: Victor, Joey, Robert, Felix

-New church plant: Vista del Valle

-Teen Retreat – Sept. 29-30
-Fall Revival – Oct. 24-26

Reporting, Refreshing, and Reconnecting

In June we had the opportunity to return to the US for a short 2 month fur- lough. Touching base with many of our supporting churches has filled our hearts once again with gratefulness for each of you! It is wonderful to spend time with so many of the prayer warriors who lift us up in prayer and sacrifice financially so that we can represent Christ in the Dominican. We are so thankful for each of you! Also, we have enjoyed some much needed R&R with family; the kids loved going out West for the first
time as we reconnected with some faithful supporters and friends. Of course the Grandparents have been the happiest of all, getting to spend time with those little “grands.” Lord willing, in mid-August we will be heading back to the Dominican to continue working in His Harvest field! Please pray for our health as we have had our share of sickness during our US trip.

 

Fruitful Season

Before we left on furlough we went through a very fruitful season of ministry, seeing a number of adults and young people saved. It was such a thrill to see Yudelka, a lady who had a religious background but had never received Christ, final- ly place her trust in Him. Also, in the teen ministry it was a true joy to see Randerson, Jaime, Isaías, and Victor all come to faith in Christ in the same month. Please pray for all of these new believers as they be- gin to take the first steps of obedience. This is fruit to your account!

 

New Building

We are excited to announce the new church plant building project is in its final stages of construction! Please pray for the final provision in the last 2 months as we are planning to have the Dedication Sunday, on September 3rd, 2017.

 

Prayer Requests 

-Salvations: Victor, Joey, Robert, Felix
-New church plants: Vista del Valle, and the Haitian church
-Bible Institute: that the men would continue to faithfully grow -Health and safety as we finish our short furlough and return to the DR

 

Reinforcements

In recent days we have been hoping and praying that the Lord would send another couple to our ministry to help with the increased work load. As we  now are beginning our 2nd and 3rd church plants in the city, our need for help in these endeavors has also multiplied. Since the departure of our last teammates, due to a serious health issue, the youth have also been in great need of a leader and mentor. We praise the Lord that the Schepers family has been sensitive to the Lord’s leading and has chosen to join the ministry here in San Francisco de Macorís. Stew and Donna will be vital members in all areas of the church planting efforts, and will add many years of experience to our ministry. We praise the Lord for this new chapter in both of our lives!

Help from Home!

In March we had the great pleasure of hosting a work group from our home church, Temple Baptist of Herndon, VA. The group came to help continue the construction of the new church plant and Community Center in Vista del Valle. In just one week, these dedicated laborers did an amazing amount of work, laying over 2500 block, and building various pieces of furniture for the new church. What a  great encouragement it was to have our friends come help in the work of the Lord!

Increased faith

Every April we take time as a church to concentrate on World Missions. This year we had the great privilege of hosting church planting missionaries from Honduras, Matt and Dallita Goins. Through the challenging messages from Bro. Matt, our church nearly doubled their faith-promise commitments. Please pray that God would continue to provide for those who have increased their faith!

Welcome Back!

A little over 4 years ago our first congregation was given an incredible opportunity to worship in an unused church building rent-free for 2 years. This was very beneficial to us as we were able to save money for the construction of our first building. Recently, a Haitian man in our church, Marco Laurencier, was burdened to start a Bible study in his native language, Creole. It is estimated that there are over 1 million Haitian immigrants here in the DR due to the lack of jobs and poor standard of living in Haiti. There are few Haitian churches here, and even fewer that clearly preach the Gospel. So, Marco asked the caretaker of this church if he could begin a weekly Bible study there. She readily agreed and has not only given him free access to the church, but she has also provided a sound system and projector. In just a few short months of studies, this group has flourished, and has about 25 adults attending each week. Please pray for the continued growth of this needed ministry!

Purposeful Progress!

During January and February we made amazing progress on the new church and Community Center in Vista del Valle. A few months of relatively dry weather enabled us to put full efforts into the construction. We recently received a generous donation that will allow us to complete about 75% of the construction. Please pray that the remaining 25% ($20,000) will come in according to God’s perfect timing. Thank you for your  continued prayers and support for this new ministry!

Prayer Requests:

*Salvation of visitors and spiritual growth of believers

*New church plant / Community Center – provision and construction

A Christ centered Christmas! 

This Christmas season saw us once again very busy with many outreach opportunities in our community as we celebrated the birth of the Savior. Our church celebrated the season with a Christmas craft night, our annual presentation of the “The Nativity” movie, and church-wide caroling to our neighbors, during which we invited them to our Family Christmas Photo Day and Kids’ Christmas Presentation. We had many visitors during the season, and we believe many heard the Gospel for the first time. Pray with us as we seek to follow up with those who have visited and need to be saved. Thank you so much for praying for us and partnering with us this year as we have sought to make Him known! God bless you all in 2017 as you seek to please Him!

Breaking through! 

In mid-November we had the privilege to break ground on the new church building and Community Center for the work in Vista del Valle. The new work has had some exciting growth in the last 6 months as 2 of the men from our church continue to reach their neighbors for Christ in an area that has never had a Gospel-preaching church. God has provided in incredible ways up to this point. Please pray for the project as we have all but exhausted the current savings and donations for the project.

Prayer Requests:

*Salvation of visitors (Victor, Samuel, Joey, Felix)

*Continued good health and spiritual growth of our family

*Spiritual growth of believers in the upcoming year

*New church plant / Community Center – provision and construction

Unified for the Unreached

In October we began preparing for our Fall Revival with fervent prayer for those family members, neighbors,  and co-workers that had not yet trusted in Christ as their Savior. It was thrilling to see the church family draw close in unifying prayer as these special meetings approached. We were also encouraged by the faithfulness  and hard work displayed by the church family. God gave us three amazing nights, with many visitors, in which many heard the Gospel for the first time. Please pray for us as we follow up with the visitors, and the decisions that were made for Christ!

ABC’s and 123’s

Recently we officially opened our Community Center in the new church plant in Vista del Valle. Holly is teaching our first ESL class (English as a Second Language) to a growing group of people. The students are very excited about the opportunity to learn English from a native speaker for “free”! Please be in prayer for these classes that they not only provide a practical educational need to the very poor, but also open the doors to the families in the community as we seek to share the love of Jesus with them.

Construction 

We have received permission to build from the city and will be breaking ground next month! Please be in prayer for protection and provision of necessary funds for this project. If your church has a desire to come help us build, there are still open dates.

Prayer Requests 

*Follow up on visitors from the Fall Revival.

*Training and preparation of men in the church.

*New church plant / Community Center – provision, and construction

 

A Beautiful Beginning

After many months of dreaming, planning, and preparing, Vista del Valle Baptist Church opened its doors and held their first Bible study. We were thrilled to have over 35 in attendance, some of whom had never attended a Bible preaching church before. God blessed the special music, testimonies, and preaching of Brother Ari; and we had the thrill of seeing a man named Cristino place his faith in Jesus Christ. It was overwhelming to see the reception and enthusiasm of the visitors. We are praying that the Lord will also bless the opening of our Education Center later this fall, and that both the church and center would provide open doors for the preaching of the Gospel.

Fond Farewell

Tragically, a man from our church named Juan passed away at the age of 32 due to various health issues. He received Christ as Savior less than a year ago and was growing in the Lord.  His brother, Victor, who was instrumental in his salvation, desired to have a memorial service in our church. We had over 65 visitors for this service, in which many professed that they received Christ as their Savior. We will miss our friend, but we are comforted by the fact that through his death many were brought to life!

Construction Update

We will be building a new auditorium in Vista del Valle, starting in January 2017.  If you or your church have interest in being part of this project, please let us know!

Prayer Requests

*Provision of a new church van or bus.

*Training and preparation of Ari and Wilfreddy.

*New church plant / Education Center -plans, provisión, and construction

*Discipleship of new converts:  Estefany, Abel, Brenda

Fixer Upper! 

We know a lot of you in the US enjoy watching shows in which people purchase properties that are rundown and in need of dramatic renovations. People always love seeing how dirty and dingy the property is before the renovation begins, and everyone loves seeing how the property transforms. Well, we get to do the same here in the DR, but instead of transforming a small family home, our renovation will be a future church building and education center. It will be our joy to share with you the pictures of the renovations, showing the progress; but the the real “fixer upper” will take place in the hearts of those who come to the church and allow Jesus Christ to change, and completely transform their lives!

Never too late! 

Just a few weeks ago we had something amazing take place in our church.   A 97 year old man named Felix Ventura, the father of one of our faithful church members, came forward to be baptized.  Felix had received the Lord a number of years ago, but had never followed the Lord in believers’ baptism.  Erik asked Elias, his son, if he would like the opportunity to baptize his father; and he readily agreed. This testimony encouraged us all that it is never too late to follow the Lord and obey His commands!

Construction Update! 

We have purchased the new church building and are in the middle of renovation right now. However, we  also plan to build a new auditorium starting this January.  If you have interest in being part of this project, please let us know!

Prayer Requests

*Provision of a new church van or bus.

*Training and preparation of Ari and Wilfreddy.

*New church plant / Education Center – plans and renovations

*Discipleship of new converts:  Estefany, Abel, Brenda