May 2012
I think this month has been one of the fastest of my life. As we prepare
to pack and head to the United States for a time to share personally
with our partners in ministry, and also visit with friends and family.
As I am remembering some of the things that have happened in the past 6
weeks I can not believe that I am writing my last update from the field
before our trip back to the Good Ole USA! One of the highlights has been
watching God grow the Saturday Night Youth Bible Study here at our
house in Alfa. We meet in my back yard under the pavilion. We have been
studying through the book of 1 Corinthians together. It has been a
blessing to see the people who are not attending church anywhere else
feel comfortable to come to the Bible Study. We share time together in
Worship, Prayer, the Word and Fellowship. One sad thing about going back
to the USA for a few weeks is that it will break the momentum in these
meetings. I will continue to pray for our friends while we are away.
Our family has been a participant in a local child sponsorship program (
In Calvary's Care)
where we have sponsored children who live in this community long before
we ever lived here. One of the young ladies that we sponsored now has a
little baby of her own and Jennifer and I are the God-Parents. We were
able to attend his dedication service where he is presented to the Lord,
and to the church as a child dedicated to the work of the Lord. It was a
great honor being able to present
Maikol to the Lord as his God-father and it was a unique experience for us to be included in this cultural service.
I was able to spend a few days in the Capitol working on registration
paperwork for the organization Fundacion Ears To Hear Internacional. I
had a meeting with Mr. Motoking from the National Social Services of The
Churches, and organization here designed to be a bridge between the
work of Churches and Christian organizations and the Government here in
the Dominican Republic. I was also able to have a meeting to commision
our Lawyer on the next round of paperwork needed this time to be done
for Indotel!
At the School we had to prepare the walls and floors by parging them to
prepare for paint. A Haitian friend from Polo, worked hard at getting
everything completed in less than two weeks. There was much work to be
done with all the needed supplies and :abor. We thank God for His
provision and faithfulness through these things that may not seem
important but we see the hand of God working through the lives of these
men and how God had provided work and rescources for His men and His
protection over the lives of these men. One of the men's family
situation is not very good to say the least. Since the earthquake the
influx of Haitians in to the area has been overwhelming especially for a
little town like Polo. Unfortunately no-one has been able to pick who
migrates to the area and it appears that some of the worst criminals,
drug runners, and Voodoo people are the ones who have recently been
showing up. Our friend has had a price paid for his head and has had
several death threats on his life by the Voodoo Riff Raff hired by a
family member. At Just the right time God provided this work allowing
our friend a place to sleep and to be out of harms way as well as
allowing him to make some money needed to secure his future safety as he
relocates to another part of the Island where there is work and safety.
It is a long personal story but please pray for my friend who, because
he took a stand for Jesus, is suffering persecution in his own
household, I admire his faith and am humbled that God used us for a few
weeks to be able to help this dear brother of the faith.
We had a mission team from the Mt Vernon Baptist Church come this month
as well. We are relatively "green" when it come to hosting mission
teams. I am so thankful for each opportunity to learn and to serve those
who come to serve Christ and be His hands and feet here. There is a lot
of work involved in preperation and execution of a "mission". This time
we had 4 different teams working at the same time (all made up of the
same team but opearting in four different aspects at the same time). We
had the Medical aspect, The Evangelistic/Relationship Aspect, The
Construction Aspect and putting things together for Mt Vernons program
to sponsor the children in the school.
With everything that we are a part of here from a missions perspective
we are working toward long-term goals and solutions as opposed to just
having short-term "busy" projects for people to be a part of. This
includes working with and training local indigenous people to be the
vital part of the work. Making sure the work is sustainable, lasting and
fitting with the needs that are here. Obviously the greatest need in
any placeand especially here is first spiritual, that is why every
ministry we are apart of is done with the teaching of the Bible being
paramount. At the school, the focus is a Christian education with the
Bible being the focus, the surf ministry with the Bible Study being the
focus, The youth Ministry with the Bible Study being the focus, the
radio station here in Barahona when it is operational, where the
teaching of the Bible will be the primary focus. There are other very
real needs here. Medical is a big need. With the medical clinics we are
holding in the Batey we are taking the time to have the visiting medical
proffesional train and work with local people to continue and follow up
with the work that is started. By God's grace a "Carelive" program has
been designed and donated for the medical/dental teams that will be
working with us to use as a tool to register and track the healthcare of
the patients that are seen. So the care is not just "once and done" but
an ongoing opportunity to minister Christ's love and service to the
people. This program or live website really allows Medical
proffessionals partnering in the United States to look at the
information and offer proffesional advise from thousands of miles away.
Our prayer is that one day there will be a medical and dental facility
that would be inspired by pioneering medical professionals from the US
that will use, equip, and train local people to work to take care of the
needs of the people here. It would be so much easier just to come treat
everyone and leave, but there is no long-term change when this happens.
In fact without proper education people here think everytime they have a
headache they need a Doctor to give them medicine, when many times they
are just dehydrated and need to drink more water. This is part of the
teaching aspect vs the treatment aspect. Before the Evangelistic team
goes out sparaticly through the community, there have been families that
relationships have been started where we pray that the whole household
comes to faith and is able to develop relationships with the local
fellowship (the Grace and Love Bible Study that Wilkyns is teaching)
that we believe one day will be a thriving New Testament Church and the
people from these visits will be an intrigal part. During the home
visits it was learned that one of the ladies has a dream to start her
own business. She would like to sell ladies underwear door to door in
the community. There is a market, it was her idea, her dream, and
through the school there will be a micro-loan to help her step out to
try to help her family. What a blessing to be involved! She may fail the
first time, but she may succeed! I will let you know how this works
out. In the community here whee I live God gave me the opportunity to
invest in a young mans new business as a barber. I saw the need that
when the power goes off in our neighborhood (its generally off more than
it is on)this young man could not cut hair and make money. So I bought
him a $100.00 generator. The deal was it wasn't a gift. He paid me back
every peso through cutting my hair and shaves. And let me tell you the
first couple I was afraid of what I had gotten myself into (there are
not many people here that know how to cut straight hair). But he has
done a good job, he upheld his end of the bargain, His business has
grown, he is expanding AND he has visited the Bible study and his wife
is one of the most faithful attendees! And the best part is he is now a
good friend. God gave me a similar opportunity the other day when a shoe
shining friend from downtown told me he was robbed. They took his shoe
shining kit. He was washing someones car wen I saw him and I asked what
had happened. So I spent the 20.00 to get him back in business. He gave
all glory and honor to God, and so do I , I thank God for what He is
doing.
So we had an opportunity to paint the inside and outside of the school,
and we also took a day trip into Anse Pitre, Haiti to hold a VBS with
the kids there. This was the first trip into Haiti with my whole family
together. We had an incredible time. It is hard NOT to love these
people.
“that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being
rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the
saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the
love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all
the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:17-19 NKJV
Please pray as I have many things to complete before leaving the area.
We have started the rejuvination project of Pastor Darren's well
drilling rig. This rig when it is operational again will be used to
drill new wells in the Batey as well as helping other ministries who
need wells drilled. Please pray we are able to get this rig up and
running as soon as possible. Please pray for the tower that will be
coming in soon for the radio station. We will need help getting this in
place and set up. Please pray for the children as they finish the last
week of school here. Pray for the solar panels to be picked up this week
that I need to install before I come back to the USA. The panels are
for the school. Please pray for the station in Haiti. Galcom is
currently raising funds for the new transmitter, in the mean time please
pray God would provide a suitable backup transmitter for this station.
We have a trip planned for September with Pastor Julian Matthews from
Peurto Rico and I pray I will have a new used back up transmitter to
take in and install as well as a team to do renovation/construction at
the station in St. Marc Haiti. Pastor Julian has been a great
mentor/friend and I am so glad he takes the time to invest in my life.
God has strategically placed people in our path to partner with in
ministry. The orphanage in Haiti is another long-term project and Pastor
Julian is a vital part. He has travelled from Peurto Rico on the ferry
and passes through the DR to pick me up we then take the donated
supplies to Saint Marc. Please pray for a vehicle for the Hiatian leg of
this trip. We need a truck that is in Haiti to use from the border to
St. Marc and back each trip. As God provides we would like to be able to
make a trip every other month or so.
As always if you would like to know more about any one specific project
please ask and i will be glad to give you more details. Please pray as
we have several people interested in missions intern opportunities and
have approached us about this. Please pray as God leads for these
opportunities (we could use more help). There is so much more but I
promised myself I would make this one shorter than the last update so if
you want to know more come see us at one of the events on the calendar
or give us a call we would love to come fellowship.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
"I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, " 2 Timothy 1:3
Calendar:
June 19th Fly from BRX Barahona to Ft. Pierce Florida with Missionary Flights International
June 24th Mt. Vernon Church (MTVchurch.com) Columbus,MS
July 1st God's House of Seven Valleys, Seven Valleys, PA
July 8th First Baptist Church of Essex (firstbaptistessex.org) Essex, MD
July 14th Missions Fair 2012 St. Peters Church (preparingyouforeternity.org) Seven Valleys, PA
July 15th Grace Assembly of God (graceofbelair.com) Churchville, MD
July 22nd The River (riveronline.org) Roxana, DE
July 29th Bakers Mill Wesleyen Church (bmwconline.org) Johnsburg, NY
August 3rd Missions/Aviation Fest (missionsfestlancaster.org) Smoketown Airport Lancaster, PA
August 4th Conleys United Methodist Church Mens Breakfast 8 AM Lewes, DE
Contemp. Service 6:30 PM
August 5th Conleys United Methodist Church Sunday Worship 8:45AM and 10:30 AM Lewes, DE
August 12th Milton Wesleyen Church Milton, DE
August 19th -Available
August 26th St Peters Church (preparingyouforeternity.org) Seven Valleys, PA
Sept 4th Return to Dominican Republic
Prayer Requests:
1. Please pray for us as we seek to be accurate representatives of Jesus.
2. Pray for us to be led by His spirit and for God's favor in this work.
3. Pray that many come to know Jesus through the Bible studies and the daily relationships we have here in our community.
4. Pray for safety for Jen and Christina and Wilkyns as they teach at the school.
5. Pray for Charis she has been seizure free for almost a year. Please pray that God would continue His healing in her.
6. Pray for Seth as he is praying about some big things in his life for his future.
7. Pray that our kids could finish well with home-school.
8. Pray for God's provision for the needed homeschool curriculum for next year.
9. Pray for our Spanish to get better.
10. Pray for these current and upcoming projects: Batey Central school,
orphanage in Haiti, water in Batey Central, repair well drilling rig,
ECHO agriculture, Haiti 102.3 FM, The Barahona Radio Station, and the
medical work in Batey Central, INDOTEL communications project, Solar
project for school, Solar project for Haiti 102.3, Solar project for The
Barahona Radio Station.
11. Pray as we are seeking God's will for our families housing situation
in light of security and cleaner water to reduce the risk of infections.
12. Please pray as we continue to thank God to provide for our family
here on the field please pray for His provision to continue.
13. Pray God would provide for the airfare needed to fly back to the United States , we will be returning June 19th.
God Bless all of you. We are blown away by God's love that has been
poured out to our family through you. This last year has been full of
tragedy, trials, and also triumphs all of which have caused us to be
more thankful that we are sealed by His Love. God in fact answers our
prayers. Please Pray.
Lord Willing we will be back in the United States from June 19th, 2012
until September 5th, 2012. If you would like to schedule a missions
update presentation during this time please contact me as soon as
possible. We still have a few weekends available. We are happy to share
with your church, youth, or home group. contact: shawnrineholt@yahoo.com
or 809-223-7883
