The Barnabas Foundation...

This is from DR1.com news...

Provinces on high alert
Four provinces in the country's Cibao region have been put on high alert due to the continuous rains over the last few days. Flooding is already affecting several areas and mudslides have become a serious threat. Diario Libre reports another person has been killed as a result of the heavy rains. A man lost his life trying to cross the Moca River. There have been a total of five deaths since the rains began last week. Diario Libre writes that 5,264 people have been evacuated from their homes while 1,316 houses have been affected by the rains. La Vega, Espaillat, Sanchez Ramirez and Duarte have all been put on high alert while Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Puerto Plata, Santiago, Salcedo, Monte Cristi and Santo Domingo continue with yellow alerts. Green warnings have been given to Monte Plata, Hato Mayor, Monsenor Nouel, Dajabon, Independencia, Samana, San Cristobal, Ocoa and Elias Pina.

The verse for today (Psalm 103:17-18) is quite a promise and quite a challenge!

We were scheduled to do our regular Bible study with the guys at Hogar Crea (drug rehab facility) and show an evangelistic film afterward but AFTER I loaded all the equipment in my car, I called to confirm and found out they were involved in something else and we could not do it today! I should have known better and called yesterday but such is life. We took advantage of the free time to talk with some key individuals concerning some upcoming projects. 

June 9-16 we will be hosting a small medical team from Richmond, VA. It is really exciting because we have one of our nurses from last fall returning with the team and also some paramedics. We are going to do our normal "operativos" (seeing patients in our ministry locales) but also doing some training with the Civil Defense and Fire Department. Please be in pray for this group from Cool Spring- I am praying that their interaction with the Civil Defense team and a local doctor will lead to a group of people making a commitment to serve Christ which will allow us to begin a process of discipleship and leadership development and the planting of more and more churches.

This team will be followed by a large youth team from the same church (49 people!) June 30-July 8th. This project involves a half day children's camp followed by a half day/evening youth camp. My experience in the past with these sorts of events is that many come and participate and a small core group of folks is formed which we can work with in developing the church. Pray this team as they prepare and for their time here, that God will be preparing hearts.  I am trying to finalize our team of translators (we need 3-5 more).  We are initiating two new church planting sites: La Canela and El 7.  We have already begun developing key leaders in these areas: Franklin in La Canela and Morena in El 7.  Keep them in your prayers in these coming days.

One other project: we are solicitating help from the Public Health Department. Now that we have a building in Guayacanal and Villa de Yaque, we are asking them to send a doctor at least once a month to see patients, using our facility as their clinic. Victor has a meeting at the Public Health Department for our region tomorrow and he is going to call me when he (the director) is there so I can go and together we can make our proposal. (I have it in writing but it helps to talk face to face.) I am praying that we can have this monthly medical presence and maybe even a discount pharmacy in our church!  What a blessing for the people! 

Lastly, but certainly not least, Mecho is finally in the clinic waiting for the surgery tomorrow at 8am. I plan on going around 6:30-7 to spend a little time with her before she goes to the surgery room.  She has a VERY nice hospital room- what a difference between the public hospital and private clinic. It was like checking her into a hotel room!  I am so thankful for all of you who have helped make this possible. Pray for her family to be calm during the long day of waiting. (She goes at 8am and probably won't be out until around 3pm.)

It wouldn't be right for me not to add that we have had down pours all afternoon, again! I was at the Civil Defense when it started raining and it was just incredible. In less than an hour, the parking lot was so full of water that to get to my car I had to walk through water up to my ankles. The roads were like rivers! I am not an engineer but I can tell we have a serious problem with drainage here!  So far, two people have died due to the rains and flooding. Pray that there will be no further loss of life. Over 650 houses have suffered major water damage! I feel for those folks as they deal with their loss even as it continues to rain.

Sunday brought an unexpected twist: one of our families in the Hole lost her house (she lives just above the river and part of the foundation of her house was washed away!)  In desperation, a "friend" told them they could build on "his "land." Unfortunately, that land was no better than where they were having to flee, and on top of that it was in a major traffic lane.  Apparently someone watching called the Civil Defense, who in turn called Victor. When Victor went over to see what was happening and relay the message from the CD to cease building, he was verbally attacked. He called me to let me know what had happened; I was in the middle of preparing a food basket for another family and we decided to give it to this family instead. When I arrived, I discovered that Victor had really taken a beating (verbally). Unfortunately, some of our own church had been part of that. Another church member was extremely upset as she defended Victor. The Civil Defense told them to stop building but they insisted they could, so they called in the police who took the "friend" who was "giving" his land to the Civil Defense office where they told him again that he was not allowed to build there due to the danger of the river.  Victor and I also went to the CD with the husband of our church member and on the way, we explained that there was no intent to cause him harm but building where they were building would only lead to the same problem.  Finally, things calmed down and they realized Victor had not done anything against them but rather had tried to help.

It was such a wierd experience. Any reasonable person could see that rebuilding where they were working was a waste of money.  Yet this "friend" insisted that it was the thing to do and he wasn't going to let anyone stop him.  Why he was so rude and offensive to Victor is beyond me, yet I have seen this type of behavior far too often.  Desperation leads people to make poor decisions, and when someone points out the down side of those decisions, offense is taken and the frustration and desperation of the moment leads to very abusive attacks. (I have been the recipient of these attacks too!)  And there are always "friends" standing by who like to agitate the situation.  Unfortunately, it causes people to not want to get involved and help; who wants to get involved when the likely result is getting attacked by the very people you are trying to help?  And yet, as I saw yesterday, these people really need our help. When we had calmed the situation down and had a chance to talk, Rosa admitted that her problem was she felt so alone and desperate with no where to live that it depressed her. My heart goes out to her, and also to Victor and those like him who seek to help those in such desperate conditions.  Pray with me for patience and resolve for people like Victor as they help the poor and powerless despite the personal cost. 

 Saturday was a wash out, literally. It rained and rained, which hindered participation in our worship services. (We had changed to Saturday because Sunday was Mother's Day and most people travel.)  Our Sunday school had prepared some special things for Mother's.  While not many Mother's came, we had a good time and celebrated the high calling of being a Mother.

I pray you are all enjoying a quiet, safe holiday. 

Once again, by 5pm we have had dark clouds rain, wreaking havoc on our evening Bible studies!  This has been almost a daily occurence.  I only hope the tarp we left out at the construction site got put on in time to prevent damage to the cement that was poured today.

I found out this afternoon that Mecho's surgery has had to be pushed back to next Wednesday, May 30th. The lab results showed an infection in her intestines so she will be taking an antibiotic for the next week.  She was feeling better today, it seems the diarhea has passed as has the fever.  This seems like the surgery that isn't ever going to come but I am pleased that at least she will be operated on in the middle of the week rather than a Saturday of a holiday weekend (for you it is Memorial Day weekend, for us it is Mother's Day).  Thanks for keeping her in your prayers. 

Yesterday was a frustrating day  This heel spur has really taken it's toll on my nerves and patience. I have noticed that some relatively minor stressful situations have not been handled too well.  Patience has never been my strong suit to begin with!  So, I finally went to the orthopedist (again) and got a cortizone injection. It seems to be working- I have had a lot less discomfort. (It had gotten almost unbearable by yesterday!) He said it would take 18-36 hours to take full effect so hopefully by tomorrow I will be able to walk without so much pain.

We should finish the floor at Guayacanal today and get the lighting up this weekend. That has proven to be a frustrating project. Guzman is the construction guy and he has only partly reliable transportation, (it is a long way out there and no easy way to it!) plus there is no running water out there (we discovered much to our chagrine that the truck that sells water passes out there between 6-8am and usually doesn't come back so he lost all of yesterday because there was a mix up on who was going to buy the tanks of water he needed. He had damaged his car the day before trying to get water out of the river because he ran out, etc.)  Plus it rained Tuesday afternoon/night and ruined half of what he had accomplished.  All those factors are complicated by the fact that he doesn't have a cell phone and is too shy to ask someone out there to call me when a problem arises. As Victor told me on the phone, "It was a bitter day!"  This week out there has certainly been a comedy of errors and I must confess I didn't see the humor at the time! Hopefully all is going well today and our Bible study tonight will be a good time to regroup and get refocused on being the Church!

This weekend is Mother's Day. In Los Santos, we are going to give our Mother's a new skirt. Some may remember that a member of Lexington Baptist, SC secured a donation of 2000 rejects of Boy Scout pants. There were a lot of really big sizes (size 50-56 waist) that the ladies converted into skirts- those will be given this Saturday. We have moved our services to Saturday because Sunday is a huge family day and a lot of people travel to see their mother's. 

This weekend is also Mecho's surgery. Wednesday she came down with a fever and diahhrea for some unknown reason.  Since the surgery is Saturday, we didn't waste any time getting her to the doctor. He took some blood to see what was going on, and gave her an injection and some medicine to take. She said she began feeling better immediately so hopefully that has continued. She should be admitted sometime tomorrow and operated on Saturday. I will let you know times when I know them.  Thanks for keeping her and her family in your prayers, especially this weekend!  (This is also their first Mother's Day without their mother.)

It is hard to believe it is Tuesday already!  The weekend went great- the movie was a big success in El 7. It is not a large community but we had a very good turnout, lots of teenagers and adults.  I continue to pray that the message of the movie (a young man transformed by God's love and grace) will become a reality among them. I go back tomorrow to continue the Bible study with Morena.

Sunday services went great. One young man in Los Santos who has participated for ever and ever without ever making a commitment to Christ responded Sunday night! Pray for him (Juan Carlos) and for the church members to nurture him along in obedient faith. 

The building of the "church" in Guayacanal is getting close to being done. The floor is going in today and tomorrow and then all that remains is to get the electricity installed. We will have very simple lighting because it is completely open and we don't want to put something expensive in that will just invite people to steal it!  The latest hot item for theifs is stealing the wire that connects the houses with the mail transformer. It is incredible! It will be exciting Thursday to have all this ready for our regular Bible study.  Pray with me that our group will mature and grow in their faith.

This afternoon is our Bible study with the guys at Hogar Crea (residential drug rehab) and from there we will go out to la Canela (where Franklin lives) to show a movie.  Something to Sing About is a Billy Graham movie that has a wonderful message about how God's love transforms a life, regardless of the past.  Pray with us the message will penetrate the hearts of this community and as we begin to work out there, many will come to saving faith.

We haven't heard from the clinic about Mecho so I am assuming she will go in on Friday to be operated on Saturday.  Thanks for continuing to pray for her and her family.

Victor and I had an opportunity to sit down with Franklin, the man from La Canela. I was pleased that he had done the first study of Matthew. I gave him and Victor both a copy of The Purpose Driven Life. I am excited to see where that will lead them both.  Plans are underway now for us to do the medical clinic and children and youth mini-camps. Tuesday night we will show a movie out there to kick things off. Please keep Franklin and this Tuesday in your prayers!

Tonight in El 7 (Seven) we will be showing a movie. Pray for Morena and her family, especially her 18 year old son, Jose. They seem to be God-seekers and I pray the inspirational, evangelistic message of tonights film will fire them up and help them become all God has intended them to be, leading others with them to know and serve the Lord.

We finally got the fill we needed to resume work on the church in Guayacanal. Hopefully by Tuesday we will have the floor in and the roof finished up. (We did some things provisionally to get it under roof when the LBC folks were here but we needed to put some additional tin up to keep the roof from leaking.) Once that is taken care of, we will get the electricity hooked up and have lights!  Please continue to pray for our group out there.  As is usually the case, their commitment level rises and falls.  I have been impressed with the families of Manuel (the artist), Johnny and Victor. We have several others who are not quite as consistent and the willingness to sacrifice isn't quite there. Pray for these three couples, that they would mature in their faith and become spiritual leaders in their community.

We saw the surgeon yesterday who will operate on Mecho. Actually, he is one of three who will preform the surgery.  He basically repeated what we knew- it is somewhat higher risk than usual because of her small veins but there really isn't an option.  She told me herself she knew she had to go through with this because she jsut doesn't feel well and the least activity causes her discomfort.  She is scheduled for surgery next Saturday but there is a chance that the patient on Wednesday won't be ready (she has an infection) so Mecho could get bumped up to her place. I pray she will so she and the rest of her family will have less time to think about what's coming!  This surgery route has been more expensive. I paid the surgery fee yesterday ($6300) and they (Mecho's family) are going to have to cover the rest. They weren't prepared for this because we had all we needed in the other plan but I am confident they will find the resources they need to cover the additional costs. One thing that scares me: if there are any complications during or after the surgery, and additional equipment is needed or additional time in the clinic are required, they will not be covered in what we have paid. Pray for a smooth surgery!

Tuesday and Wednesday I met with the folks out in Navarette. It is a small city about 30 minutes out of Santiago. We have been working in a "suburb" called Ponton (I usually call it Navarette but it is actually a little ways out of that city). Now it looks like we will also be working in a new community called El 7 which is literally, Seven.  There is a family there who are Christians although because of some unfortunate experiences with an evangelical church, have not been a part of a church and are eager to help us plant a church in their community.  They have two sons, 18 and 20. The 18 year old is a God-seeker.  Apparently there is a group of 20 or so teens that are meeting in the Catholic church but from what I can understand, they have no one to guide them. I am going to try to meet with them Sunday and get a better feel for what is happening there- I try to be respectful of other church ministries and not work in competition with them. Morena (the woman/mother) doesn't see a problem here but I am going into the situation with a caution and lots of prayer.  It helps that last week I met the president of the Catholic church. He shared that basically their church is dead and he was open to our coming. Please join me in praying for this new ministry. There are about 90 families and countless Haitians live all around the fields behind the little community.

In Ponton, the community we have been working in this past year, I  met with a small group of adults on Tuesday.  I have been pessimistic about this ministry developing into a church for various reasons, but they surprised me Tuesday with their commitment and desire. Moreno (the husband) seems to have taken to heart the Bible studies we have been doing and his experience at the Men's Prayer retreat (national convention) made a big impact.  We need to transition into him being the leader out there. Pray with me that over the next several months we can work with him and his wife, Minerva, as well as the other two couples who were with us, developing them into a nucleus of leadership that will give birth to a new church.

We are also beginning ministry with a community called "La Canela" which I think would be translated Cinnamon.  We are working with a man, Franklin, who seems to be a God-fearer but to date he has not been interested in organized religion. He is studying the Gospel of Matthew this week. We hope to share with him tomorrow as well as present an evangelistic movie to his group of young people.  He is very active in the sports clubs of his town and has a lot of young people he is leading- he wants us to work with those young folks! What a blessing. Pray for him and others as we begin to plant seeds. Yesterday Felix (The Hole) got excited about this opportunity because he has several friends that live out there. Pray for these natural ties to result in a new church that will be salt and light.

I have wanted to comment for several days on two conversations I have had with some of our leaders. Last week, Sol and I were headed out to Guayacanal for the Bible study and she began telling me about some of the discussion at the bible study the night before in Los Santos.  Guzman, one of our members who has stayed on the peripheral of the church, was listening and then started making some observations about the common practice of worshipping Mary and the Virgen of Altagracia (a DR thing).  He was beginning to realize that some of the very common practices by people, including himself, are contrary to Scripture. It was really neat to listen how he processed this and reflected on what it means for him and his society. And even more exciting to me was to hear Sol share about her ministry there in Los Santos, to see them studying God's Word together and putting it into very practical obedience. Please pray with us for Guzman and countless other Dominicans who mistakenly put their faith in idols and images other than Jesus. And thank God with me for Sol and this group of believers as they study God's word and seek to be obedient.

And then this week I was listening to Felix (El Hoyo) share with me how he and his wife had reflected together on the Bible teaching last Sunday (Luke 19, the parable of the talents). He shared how a light bulb went off in his head and that he was beginning to realize that multiplying yourself in others, investing yourself and giving yourself away in service to the Lord, brings a great harvest.  Again, it was so neat to hear him process a Biblical truth and begin to see in practical terms how it affects his day to day life. Please join me in praying with him and our other leaders as they seek to multiply what God has entrusted to them.

Today we had a good group in the Drug Rehab center. I can tell we won't have a steady attendance- new people are always coming in to the program and all kinds of circumstances arise to prevent some from coming. Today it was a load of sand and gravel that arrived; they are building a kiosk out back and many of our guys were out working.  I am working with the director to see about showing an evangelistic movie out there soon. Please keep those guys in your prayers. Kicking the drug addiction is a tough road!

From there I headed out to Navarette and had a great time meeting with the group there. I was really impressed with the desire they have to live out the truth and they too seem to grasp well the principle of multiplication. I saw today that Moreno, Minerva's husband, has a heart for God. I am praying for them in the coming weeks as I prepare to work with them in a concentrated way to develop them as the core leaders of that ministry. Please pray for them, for their family and whoever else God may have prepared to be the key leaders to bring the Light of Christ to that community.