The Timothy Project

The Dominican Republic is the only country in the world (so they tell me) that has an official Day of the Bible- It is decreed by the legislature. September 27th is the official day this year with September being the month of the Bible.  Our convention leaders made an excellent tract sharing interesting facts about the bible and some basic orientation about the Old and New Testaments.  I had been given a alrge quantity to distribute in our ministry sites. And I kept some in my car to share with people I come in contact with. 

Monday, I took Pilar and Mecho to the salon to get their hair done for the all day service for their Mother on Tuesday. We gave tracts to all the employees and I gave Bibles to the owner and assistant manager who cut my hair. It was a great chance to share with them our faith and they received the Bibles with a promise to read it.

Tuesday and Wednesday’s events are described in another blog entry. We shared about the Bible and gave the tracts to those who helped during those long 4 hours of searching for a tow truck.  The owner of the business who gave us a ride back to Santiago started out making fun of the Bible and those who believe it (in a sort of friendly way) but as he listened to us talk among ourselves about the plans for sharing the tracts in Villa de Yaque and Los Santos, I think he realized we were sincere and he got interested and when I gave him a Bible, he seemed genuinely pleased.

Luis Manuel, my artist buddy, took the tracts for his area (Guaycanal) and went door to door yesterday giving them to people in his community. He shared his experiences last night at Bible study. (He had left with the key to the house so his mother couldn’t get in and she was livid when he did finally get home! That makes two days in a road he dealt with the wrath of a woman made to wait!) 

Last night we had Bible study in Las Charcas and Guaycanal. It went well.  Two of our  most devoted participants are going to begin a more intentional study with Carolina this coming week. I am praying that they will make a firm commitment to follow Christ as they discover the truths of God’s word. Pray for Carolina as she seeks to nurture their faith and disciple them. 

Also, in the afternoon, Milagro, Sol and Carolina and I visited Rosa.  She is a long time pastor’s wife and has been a Christian servant for nearly 40 years.  We had a wonderful time hearing her story and sharing ours. She is going to serve as mentor to these ladies as they study in the seminary. Rosa’s husband is one of the professors at the seminary. I am really thrilled for this blessing- she is a dynamic, energetic lady and will be an awesome inspiration and encouragement to these ladies (and me too!)  Please continue to keep these ladies in your prayers as they develop their ministries and spiritual life.  And for Hector as I search for a male mentor for him.

There are very few days that are boring on the mission field, at least here in the Dominican Republic.  Annoying maybe, but not boring!  This past Tuesday I went to Puerta Plata to help Luis Manuel with his T-shirt sales. He had sold 2 dozen shirts the last time and he needed to bring them to the store and we wanted to make some more contacts with some of the other businesses.

We were to meet at 7am; Sol and Milagros came with us and I had staggered their meeting times for us accordingly. Well, my young friend arrived at 8:30am. You can imagine my frame of mind by then! I gave him a good lecture on resposnibility and then we moved on. Poor Milagro had stood on the side of the highway in Villa Gonzalez from 7:15am to when we got there at 8:45am!

I was using a borrowed car from the mission, which overheated on us BUT I had coolant and water and we handled that crisis just fine, and continued on our way with no more signs of trouble with the car.  Things went well in Puerta Plata, and then we decided to head to Mao to visit one of our pastors who is an accomplished artist. I hope he can mentor Luis Manuel, both spiritually and professionally. Well, this is the part that gets interesting. To get to Mao, you have to go through Navarette. It just so happens that in the early morning the police had shot and killed a young man who they said was a theif and pulled a gun on them while wearing a ski mask.  This town is known for its riotous protests (i.e., burning tires in the highway, throwing rocks at passing cars, throwing tree trunks across the highway. basically, with their outbursts they close down the town and usually get what they are demanding.)  We proceeded with caution and planned on turning around if things were still “hot” but we encountered the streets calm. I guess everyone was home eating lunch! 

Just on the other side of this town, the car died! I must have an enormous team of angels that take care of me because just as I was pulling to the side (with no power brakes or steering) I saw a business and was able to cross the highway and get inside the gated parking lot. This proved to be an enormous blessing because I had to leave the car there overnight!  We added water, waited for the car to cool down, but it was not going anywhere! We tried and tried to get a tow truck but things were complicated by the protests. (The interment of this young man was at 5pm.)  Finally, after waiting around for 4 hours, we decided to head back to Santiago without the car.  But of course, by this time, there was no transportation back due to the unrest in the neighboring town.  The owner of the business where I had to leave the car offered us a ride so all 4 of us plus his 4 (8 in all!) got in his mid-size SUV and headed home. We encountered literally thousands of people in the highway for the burial of the young man SO we turned back and found some dirt roads along a canal that brought us to the other side of town.

I might add that the 4 hours of waiting were complicated because the battery of my cell phone won’t hold a charge for more 5 minutes so while trying to call for help, I could only talk 2 minutes, wait 5 minutes while it charged a little in the car and then call again and talk for 2 minutes.  Boy, was that frustrating!

Anyway, we got back to the city safe and sound with a story to tell. (The events in Navarette were all over the news so we could say, “We were there!”)  But of course, I now was without transportation! My car was in the capital, ready for me to get but I was waiting until one of the mission vehicles I had in a body shop here was ready so I could drive it back to the capital and get mine in a nice, neat swap. But no, since we have had so many power outages, the other car wasn’t ready yet. So Wednesday, I left early to meet a tow truck guy to go get the car I had left stranded, and from there went on a motorcycle taxi (driven by the husband of one of our church members) to the mechanic where I wanted to bring the stranded vehicle to make arrangements, from there to find a battery for my cell phone because that was the LAST time I wanted to deal with that annoyance. I had been looking to buy a new one but no one and I finally found a used one Wednesday which I was thrilled to get.

So from there I came home to make some phone calls to alert everyone to the plans I had made so as not to have mass confusion. I walked to my orthodontist appointment, and from there to the bus station, rode to the capital and by 2pm I was driving my very own car!! I visited with some missionaries recently back on field, and got home at 7:30pm. 

So, you see from these two days in the life of a missionary, that the mission field is anything but boring!  And you see just how important all your prayers are to keep us safe! And not just safe, to open doors to witness and teach the things Jesus taught us. We had some wonderful opportunities to share. I had a case of bibles in my car and our Day of the Bible tracts and we shared both with those who helped us.  I am thankful for the opportunity to place God’s word in the hands of those men and to share with them why I was here doing what I do. Pray for them that they might read God’s word in earnest and seek Him.

It has been another crazy week and I will update you on my adventures. Time is short at the moment however so let me just share with you how my meeting went Monday with the Director of the Civil Defense. This is the month of the Bible and Wednesday was the Day of the Bible by official decree of the Dominican government. Our convention had made some special tracts for the occasion that shared some interesting information about the Bible and I have shared them with many of my daily contacts.

Before meeting with Francisco Area, the director, it occured to me that giving him a Bible along with the tract would be a good thing.  He was SO EXCITED and told me that just the night before his wife had asked for a Bible!  We had a great meeting and worked out some issues for our medical clinics in October. 

I learned a lot about their organization as we talked and am now exploring some possibilities for ministry opportunities for their personnel/volunteers. He has over 500 volunteers in the city and 2000 in the province!  Please pray as we seek to find ways to involve these folks in Bible study and help them discover the joy of knowing and serving Christ! 

We have our usual three services tomorrow. In The Hole we will be awarding the trophies to the basketball tournament teams during our time together. I pray for the Lord to speak to the young men, for them to be drawn to a closer relationship with Christ and the church.  Pray for Victor and Felix and the other men as they seek to build on the relationships and help guide the young people to responsible living and obedience to God.

After the meeting in the Hole, Sol and I are going to meet with a women’s group who have invited me to share with them. I don’t know what their desire is, but I am excited to meet with them and see where things lead. It is a community group in an  area similar to Los Santos and The Hole, in fact not far from those communities. From the  letter they sent me, I think they are looking for guidance and direction in how to be better mom’s and how to work as a community. It is a wonderful opportunity and I am thankful they have sought me out. Please keep us in your prayers tomorrow afternoon!

I am in the midst of preparing for seminary class today. We will start a three week study of How to share your faith. I am pleased with the material. (It is a Lifeway course in Spanish.)  Carolina will be there but with the situation with her mom she hasn’t had much time to study and another student is in the same situation with her father having been hospitalized. Milagros has a swollen finger, so my class is sort of like the walking wounded!  Continue to pray with me that will grasp the importance of Christ’s command to go and make disciples, teaching them to observe all that He commanded us. That is a lot harder task than “witnessing.” Alos, pray for them as they seek out a mentor to help guide them on their own spiritual pilgramage. 

This has been a crazy few weeks. I have not been feeling well for some time, combination of the “gripe” (that is what everyone calls flu-like, common cold symptoms) and earaches. I think the ear aches are coming from the dental work I am having done. It seems every Tuesday the dentist is tightening up the wires and I spend the next two days barely able to close my mouth! I am getting close to getting the braces off though so I can’t complain. (I already got the bottom braces off!)

We are beginning to get down to the nitty gritty of planning for the nurses group coming next month. I would ask you to pray for God’s direction and control as we work with the health department and the civil defense in an effort to make the biggest impact. It isn’t always easy to get in to see the directors and I have had some trouble getting in to see the health department director BUT I have high hopes of meeting with the civil defense director today.  I am excited about working with them for several reasons. The Civil Defense works in the areas where I work because of the high risk of the barrios. I am praying that through our contact we will make relationships with many new barrios and discover communities that do not yet have an evangelical church presence. Also, I am praying for God to lead us to key persons in each community that will be a catalyst for bringing the message of the Gospel to those barrios. Please pray with us! 

Our seminary classes this quarter deal with key issues for a growing ministry- discipleship, pastoral ministry, preaching and Christian education. I am excited about the possibilities and growth of our students. Pray for them as they seek mentors to help guide them as well as looking for a young believer whom they can disciple. 

I had the pleasure last night of watching the championship game of the basketball tourney; you would have thought we were at the Super Bowl with the fans going crazy, rooting their team on and the heated arguments with the refs. I imagine there were over 200 people there. I was SO PLEASED to see the court being used as a community gathering point.

Working with the young men has been kind of stressful for Victor. Competition gets the best of them and their language isn’t all we might hope it to be. Victor and several other Christian men have decided they want to focus on the 13 and younger group, to set them in the path of good sportsmanship and godliness. I am excited for the growing interest of the men to work with the young folks.

Carolina’s mom is out of the danger zone but still in ICU. Keep her in your prayers!

Thanks for all of your support in making ministries such as the basketball court and tournement possible.

Yesterday was a hard day as Pilar and Mecho and their family said their final goodbyes. Some of their family members still have not placed their faith in Christ so pray that in these days of reflection and mourning they will find hope as they consider the message of the Gospel.

I had just arrived home from the funeral when I got a call that Carolina’s mom (Carolina from Villa de Yaque) was critically ill in one of the public hospitals. She slipped into a diabetic coma and her heart stopped several times last night as they moved her to ICU. Carolina is alone in this; her one brother is in prison and her mother is an only child.  Milagros, Reina and I spent some time with her yesterday evening.  I talked to her again this morning and they made it through the night. I am going to visit again later this morning and see what news the doctors bring after morning rounds.

On a different note, the ministries are growing, numerically and spiritually.  I am so pleased with the growth that I see in our leaders. I really believe that we will begin to see more and more growth!

Hector has re-enrolled in the seminary to take advantage of the course offerings this semester.  I am teaching Christian Discipleship 2. The other courses are Pastoral Ministry, Christian Education and Homiletics (Preaching).  I am excited for our group- we have grown! We picked up Hector and another young man who is becoming the pastor in Bonao which brings us to 7. 

Please continue to keep us in your prayers in these many different circumstances!

I am sorry for not posting an update this week. It has been crazy with work being done here at the house and Friday we made a trip to the Haitian market.  Saturday seminary classes started again.  I will update you on all that later. For now let me share with you some sad news… Pilar and Mecho’s mother died sometime in the early morning today. When they went to get her up to go to church, they found her dead. You can imagine the sadness and grief they are experiencing.  Please keep them in your prayers as they face all that comes with the death of a beloved parent.  The interment will be tomorrow at 10am. I am guessing they will have some sort of service around 9 before going to the cemetery. 

 (For those of you who haven’t been here on a mission trip, Pilar and Mecho are our cooks. They are also my very close friends.)

Forgive me for being a proud aunt. My nephew Ben will be presented today at Fenway Park along with the other members of his baseball team. They won the Massachusetts State Championship this summer. It will be an exciting moment for Ben and we are all proud and happy for him!  (The Red Sox are no longer very exciting to watch but I’m hoping at least I can see Ben on the NESN telecast!)

 Hard things are put in our way, not to stop us, but to call out our courage and strength.
- — Anonymous