The Timothy Project

Well, we are nearing the finish and it was a tough day emotionally to say good-bye to the kids. I think everyone is learning a lot and being stretched just enough.  It is a challenge to relate to other cultures, yet well worth the discomfort it brings.  Our eyes and minds, and most especially our hearts, are opened to different realities which causes us to grow.  I think this experience here has been that for many of the LBC group, and I am thankful for that. They have been such a pleasure to work with and I have been touched as I hear them share and process their experiences.

This afternoon they will be working in Los Ciruelitos where my church is located, and again will be doing evangelism with youth leading up to a worship service tonight at 7pm.  (6pm EST)  From the service we will head to Pastor Ramon’s house for a closing cook-out with all our Dominican helpers.  It will probably be a late night for us!

Tomorrow morning we head out bright and early for Jarabacoa for a hike into a waterfall and then on to the Colonial City in Santo Domingo with our final stop being the Coral Hamaca in Boca Chica- we will be traveling from 8:30am to about 3pm.  Keep us in your prayers!

Not to worry, Mom, I don’t think any one has had a more celebrated birthday! I can’t count how many times people sang happy birthday to Ross- both in English and Spanish.  At breakfast, at lunch, at dinner, at the service. He got to go first in line at lunch time… And to top it all off, today is the anniversary of a famous battle in the war with Haiti for Dominican independence and as we ate dinner we watched the celebratory fireworks. The kids decided the fireworks were really for Ross!

I am thrilled to share that Juana had her procedure done today and got excellent news. Neither kidney is damaged- both are working 100% correctly. On the left side, there is a constricted passageway which has been preventing all the liquids to flow out as they should. I managed to get there just at the right time to hear the report from the doctor himself.  He said he was able to expunge a lot of stagnant water and urine that had been left in the kidneys, he cleaned everything out and didn’t see any permanent damage anywhere. They inserted a catather (internally) which they will leave in a week to try to help the passage way reopen and stay open. 

What an answer to prayer!! I was stunned as I heard the good news! Yet we should never be surprised when our prayers are answered. God has taken care of this family and it is obvious he continues to do so.  Juana was not feeling well and is vomiting quite a bit. The doctor said this is normal after this sort of procedure and after inserting a catather. He hopes she can overcome the vomiting by tomorrow or else he will have to take it out- he would really like to leave it in a week to give time for the passageway to reopen.

Thanks for praying with us for this precious servant and her family!

Well, as they came in at lunch time, they said they had thousands of kids for the morning session- each group! I think what they meant was there was more kids than the day before and the kids had “warmed up” to them.  Giving things away isn’t as easy as it sounds, and they experienced some of the difficulties that arise when children who are used to scarcity see an abundancy of both material things as well as love and attention.  Unfortunately, very few of the children that are being ministered to this week hear, “I love you” or “You are special” at home. Nor do they get the hugs and attention that the LBC workers are showering them with, and they don’t always know the appropriate way to respond. All too often the response is trying to push the other kids out of the way, stealing what is given to another, etc. Please pray with us that as we minister and love in Jesus’ name, these children will learn to respond in faith to God’s love, believing they are special, and learning to love one another as He has loved us.

And then this afternoon in La Joya- it is a tough place, hearts are harder to touch, and interest in the things of God is slim.  I was impressed by how the LBC youth could sense the difference in spiritual climate.  We worked specifically to reach young people, which made it hard when children continually appeared, wanting to be loved.  But the church was packed tonight with young people, and more were gathered around the fence looking in. It was a great service, the LBC group did wonderful as usual and were joined by their new Dominican friends from the church in Los Ciruelitos and Central during the service.

Some have asked for some pictures to be posted on the site so you could see your loved ones in action. I would love to do that but my digital camera is not working. John and Wayne are snapping pictures like crazy but I don’t have any way to down load them to my computer to upload to the site. Sorry! I know you will be thrilled to see the pictures and videos when the group gets home.

Juana will have a surgical procedure tomorrow morning at 10AM EST.  They will be doing some sort of tests to find out what is causing her kidneys to fail, and inserting a catheter.  We had a time of prayer for her today, please join with us in praying God will heal her and continue to provide for all her needs. For those of you new to the situation, Juana is one of our most dedicated workers with a huge heart for ministry. She has had one kidney to fail and the other is 30% damaged. The doctors are trying to do what they can to keep what is left healthy so she won’t have to have dialysis.  She also has an enlarged heart and complications due to all that has been happening. Pray for her and her family tomorrow!

God is good all the time. All the time God is good! How true that has been today.  We have had an EXCELLENT first day- glitch free! (I love it when things go smoothly, according to plan!)  More than anything, we had the priviledge of ministering to people in Jesus’ name and that pretty much sums it all up, but I will add some specifics:

Los Santos: 95 children, Villa de Yaque: 100 children, Esperanza: 50 children for a total of 245 children in VBS learning and hearing and experiencing God’s love for them (and many mom’s and others listening in!)

This afternoon two of the teams were evangelizing youth in El Hoyo- the girls did fingernails and the guys played baseball and then had a share time of what Christ means in their lives.  It was an amazing experience both for the LBC kids as well as for the Dominican kids!

The service tonight went really well- there was a good size group present.  LBC is the first volunteer group to work with this mission in Esperanza. They are thrilled with the work that LBC is doing and very appreciative. 

We finished off the night with a Domino pizza extravanganza. I would guess that heads are on the pillows by now- it was an exhausting day. It is always a priviledge to serve. The blessings are too many to share now but I know as your group comes home they will have lots of stories to share. Good night!

LBC arrived safe and sound, with all their luggage. As I write this they should finally have their heads on a pillow- they had a LONG travel day but were amazing alert and energetic for the travel to Santiago and meeting at the church. We are working with two different youth groups from churches here in Santiago and we met tonight for a brief get to know you time.  We made the assignments for who is going where tomorrow morning, and then hurried the group off to the hotel so they could get ready for tomorrow and go to bed. 

How can you pray? For all of us to have a prayerful spirit, open to what God is doing around us and to what he wants to do through us.  For ministry that bears fruit- 6 different mission fields will be touched by the LBC team this week, along with three Dominican church youth groups- they have an AWESOME opportunity to mentor and encourage other youth as they work with children, evangelize other youth and lead worship services. 

To those back at LBC- thanks for sending your team. I know God will use them in ways we can’t even imagine. I am praying their lives will be touched and changed as they make themselves available to God.  Your prayers and your encouragement are much needed! The task is big, but our God is bigger, and He has given us prayer as our number one tool- let’s use it this week and in the weeks to come!  Good night,

Tonight as we finished up the Passion of Christ project I found myself wondering about the mystery of faith. Some people can watch the suffering of Christ, and see him resurrected and triumphant, and yet still ignore Him.  They ignore their own sin which caused his suffering; they  ignore the unbounded love of God which brought about the perfect yet costly sacrifice of reconciliation, and yet “loved the movie.”  And others respond in repentance and faith.  Only time will tell if it is a repentance that bears fruit, as John the Baptist demanded of those who wanted to be baptized by him.  (Luke 3:8)  Who can understand what makes one respond in faith, and another not? Who can understand why one responds in faith and and bears fruit, and another responds in faith and doesn’t bear fruit.  I can only give thanks to God when He brings about a faith response in a person which leads to a beautiful transformation. And keep praying and hoping that He does this more and more with more and more person.

I saw the movie several times this week. I read the Gospel accounts of Christ’s suffering and resurrection.  I am overwhelmed by two things: 1) how serious is our sin in the eyes of God. It demanded an incredible sacrifice.  I am not sure what is hardest for me to come to terms with: the physical agony of Christ, which was brutal to say the least, or the emotional suffering– watching his disciples desert him, one betray him, another deny even knowing him not once but three times, and worst of all, those he was dying to for mock him and ridicule him.  Isaiah 59:2 says: But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear you. Our sin is serious and has severe consequences.

2) The second thing that overwhelmed me is how awesome is God’s love. Romans 5:8 says, But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  How incredible is that? 

Pray with me this week as the group from Lexington Baptist works that these two truths will bring about a turning toward God. That people will respond in faith and with a repentance that bears appropriate fruit (Luke 3:8).

 

Tonight in Los Ciruelitos (which is where I go to church) we had over 250 people come to see the Passion of Christ.  There were so many we didn’t know what to do (the sanctuary only holds about 125).  We had to ask all church members to leave to make room for guests but still they didn’t fit!  It was a fire hazard for sure but no one pays too much attention to fire codes (I do and that is why I get stressed out at events like these!) The important thing is about 30 people made decisions after the movie which was a huge blessing. Pray with us for the follow-up process and for those decisions to take root in the hearts of those who made them. 

The youth sold popcorn and coke and the WMU (of which I am president) helped them. Oh, my, what can I say! They did a good job but we need to help work on organization and planning skills.  I don’t know at this point how much they made but it should be a healthy sum! They are working to raise the money for camp and to buy a basketball goal which a volunteer team is bringing in.  Keep our youth in your prayers as they get ready to work with Lexington Baptist this coming week. They are growing and maturing; it is encouraging to see a new generation of leaders emerging. Pray for their director Francisco as he seeks to help them develop fully their God given talents and gifts and help them discover their calling.

We were able to show the film tonight- the weather was super pleasant and the setting worked really well.  I just love to work there! I went by myself but I wasn’t alone- the people there are coming together as a community. I had lots of help setting up the equipment, taking it down, and maintaining crowd control! The film made its usual impact- we focused on how seriously God takes sin, the tremendous price Jesus paid for our forgiveness, and also highlighted the love without limits that God has for us to be willing to make such a sacrifrice, while we were still sinners as Romans 5:8 says! 

A man named Ceasar who lives in this community is dying of a cancer and the community is really grieving over his suffering and his pending death. Keep them all in your prayers!