Dear Friends of Mission Surge,
We have finally gotten access to internet again and I wanted to update everyone prior to us leaving tomorrow (Sunday) for Santiago. For the past 2 days we have repeated the pastor/church planter training in another Haitian church and community called Sabana Perdida. We have been blessed and encouraged at the passion we have discovered among the Haitian pastors and churches. There seems to be the beginning of a church planting movement among them here in the Dominican Republic. For instance, I introduced you to pastor Silvera in my last update and mentioned that he and his humble congregation in Cuatro de Agosto have already planted 4 other churches, some of which are larger and stronger now than his own. Below is a picture of pastor Silvera and Lucette.
One of the churches that pastor Silvera has started is the church we have been working in the past two days in Sabana Perdida. Pastor Marthurin and Enilda are doing a great work in Sabana Perdida and we had a good number of pastors and wives come to the training. The singing alone was worth coming for. They don't just go through the motions, but sing with heart and passion in spite of the fact they have no instruments, no praise band, and no "official" worship leader. We could take some serious lessons from them in the states! Pastor Marthurin's church is a daughter church of Pastor Silvera's church...but the work didn't stop there. Pastor Marthurin's church has already started two more works!
One of the churches they have begun is led by Pastor Gabriel and his wife in the community of Bani 2 hours away from Sabana Perdida. Pastor Marthurin's congregation sent a team to Bani and evangelized a number of people and then sent Gabriel out to live there and plant a church. They have only been meeting 6 months and already have 60 baptized members of the church! God is doing a work among the Haitians here in the DR and we are humbled that we can be an encouragement to them.
One of the funniest parts of the training came today in the closing comments and prayer. The pastor at Sabana Perdida was calling on the pastors to confess their sins after hearing a message on Ephesians 5 and loving your wife as Christ loved the church (which is very very counter-cultural in the Haitian community by the way). Most Haitian women are treated as property. The pastor confessed his failures and called the other men to do so. One pastor stood and said if everyone who NEEDS to repent DOES REPENT, then who will be left to offer any comfort to us? The whole place fell apart in laughter. It was a great way to end the training....with a mutual confession and commitment to repentance. We are praying for even greater things in Santiago. I hope to be able to access internet before leaving Santiago for one more blog post and one more very very important and exciting prayer request! You should know when Gene and I get together, we can stir something up! But we will address that next time.
Please continue to pray for us. There is much more transpiring with Mission Surge under the surface. Much will be being announced this month! Please keep your eyes and ears open and prayers going up for the work! Until next time....
We have finally gotten access to internet again and I wanted to update everyone prior to us leaving tomorrow (Sunday) for Santiago. For the past 2 days we have repeated the pastor/church planter training in another Haitian church and community called Sabana Perdida. We have been blessed and encouraged at the passion we have discovered among the Haitian pastors and churches. There seems to be the beginning of a church planting movement among them here in the Dominican Republic. For instance, I introduced you to pastor Silvera in my last update and mentioned that he and his humble congregation in Cuatro de Agosto have already planted 4 other churches, some of which are larger and stronger now than his own. Below is a picture of pastor Silvera and Lucette.
One of the churches they have begun is led by Pastor Gabriel and his wife in the community of Bani 2 hours away from Sabana Perdida. Pastor Marthurin's congregation sent a team to Bani and evangelized a number of people and then sent Gabriel out to live there and plant a church. They have only been meeting 6 months and already have 60 baptized members of the church! God is doing a work among the Haitians here in the DR and we are humbled that we can be an encouragement to them.
One of the funniest parts of the training came today in the closing comments and prayer. The pastor at Sabana Perdida was calling on the pastors to confess their sins after hearing a message on Ephesians 5 and loving your wife as Christ loved the church (which is very very counter-cultural in the Haitian community by the way). Most Haitian women are treated as property. The pastor confessed his failures and called the other men to do so. One pastor stood and said if everyone who NEEDS to repent DOES REPENT, then who will be left to offer any comfort to us? The whole place fell apart in laughter. It was a great way to end the training....with a mutual confession and commitment to repentance. We are praying for even greater things in Santiago. I hope to be able to access internet before leaving Santiago for one more blog post and one more very very important and exciting prayer request! You should know when Gene and I get together, we can stir something up! But we will address that next time.
Please continue to pray for us. There is much more transpiring with Mission Surge under the surface. Much will be being announced this month! Please keep your eyes and ears open and prayers going up for the work! Until next time....
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