Mangu & Mission

Summer Revolution

2011-08-17T11:47:00.002-04:00

This summer we hosted teams from Niceville, FL (Rennae's hometown!); Dallas, Texas; Mufreesboro, TN; Cedar Hill, TX; Sarasota, Tampa, Atlantic Beach, Maclenny, Port Orange and St Petersburg (Nelson's hometown!)

We were especially blessed to host lead Pastor Joshua Potts from Maclenny, Pastor Tom Finken from Port Orange, Pastor Jamie Morgan from New Jersey, and Pastor Donnie Huttio from Atlantic Beach. I must say that it is a special gift for us have these pastors travel our bumpy roads and pray over children with us in our outreaches. For them to know and EXPERIENCE the fruit of their faithful partnership is an enormous joy that I cherish with all my heart!

Be a Missionary - ON YOUR KNEES!

2011-07-03T22:30:00.009-04:00

Prayer Alert!

Attention Prayer Warriors!

"The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." Ephesians 5:16

Please pray for Summer Outreaches that are beginning TODAY. We have already been dealing with some spiritual warfare. We believe that your prayers make a BIG DIFFERENCE. So join our missionary efforts--ON YOUR KNEES!

1. Pray for our families and families of our staff. Familiy concerns are priority and this is where we are feeling the battle.
Pray for Troy, our oldest son who is in the United States working this summer. He suffered heat exhaustion on the job and was sent to the emergency room. He is doing well now, but please keep him in your prayers as his job is out in the heat, every day.
Pray for Delores, the mother of Sugeily, our ministry administrator, who is on dialysis and has had some complications.

2. Pray for the towns of Seibo, San Francisco, San Pedro and Azua. In these towns we will be doing evangelistic activities.

3. Pray for Kids Camp. One for the Bethesda Kids where we will be talking about the Holy Spirit. Pray that the girls will be filled with the Spirit
Pray for Moncion Kids Camp. Pray for many kids to recieve the free gift of salvation!

4. Pray for protection in travels, health, strength, and favor.

5. Pray that God will call laboreres into His harvest, as we believe that many young people's lives are impacted during short- term missions trips.

Beauty Marks - Happy USA Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T13:21:00.002-04:00

Today is not mother's day here but I am thinking about my mama back in the USA...

I cannot remember my age at the time, but I know that I had heard one-too-many kids comment about the moles on my neck and my face. It was bad enough that I never felt like my clothes were in style and my hair was never that pretty. Clothes and hair can easily be changed and improved, but not the moles on my neck. So my mama took me to the doctor to see if something could be done. However, for some reason it was not advisable to have them removed. Whatever the case was, I can still remember the horrible feeling of disappointment. Beauty was unattainable for me. I would be forever condemned to thick glasses, unruly hair, and moles on my face. In that tear-drenched moment, my wise and loving mother spoke words to me that literally erased the ugliness and despair that had taken up residence in my heart.

She looked me in the eye and said, “Rennae, I want you to listen to me. God created you beautiful and unique. Now you can despair about what you call "ugly moles" or you can see yourself the way the Lord created you.” My mother always considered the moles on my face as "beauty marks", unique features that made me special. What I had labeled as ugly moles, were really beautiful and distinct qualities that no one else had.

Now I had never thought of it that way, and I know it shouldn't really be that simple. But I believe that God gave her those words that day because it was a heart transforming moment for me. From that time on, I never felt ashamed or worried about those moles in the same way.

I still heard the comments; frequently the girls at school would ask, with a tone that communicated their repulsion, "Ooo what's that on your face?" My answer to them was completely confident; there was no doubt in my mind. For goodness sake, my MOTHER had told me so. "Oh this?” Pointing to the object of their disgust, I would respond. “THIS is my beauty mark.”

Happy Mother's Day to my mama, Donna Sjostrom!

The Door

2011-04-22T14:10:00.005-04:00

Her house didn’t even have a door. There was this curtain that hung there but the curtain was insignificant to the evil that wandered at night in her barrio. Everyday was a fight to find something to eat for her and her brothers. Her daddy was her best friend, and her worst enemy. When the drugs were in control, he was the monster that shared this house without a door.

She never went to school. She was eleven years old, and she had yet to learn to read or even to count to 10. However, the neighbor near her doorless house made sure that she did attend one school; Dona Elena took her to Sunday school. On Sunday mornings, Elena would often see her playing in the streets, and would take her by the hand, leading her to the church in the barrio.

Her mother left about three years ago, and her father’s addiction and poverty intensified the impossibility of the situation. In the midst of his desperation, he went to that little barrio church looking for help, begging the pastors to take the children. He told them that if they were unable to help him with the child, his only other option was to kill himself and his daughter with a package a rat poison that he purchased at the local market.
Pastor Lucia, moved with compassion, knew of Hogar Bethesda, a home for girls who have been taken out of the high-risk situations. It is the ministry of a local Assemblies of God church with the goal of providing a safe home and an education for these at-risk children, while fostering a relationship and love for God. In a beautiful act of rescue from the horrors of the doorless shack, Pastor Lucia brought her out of the darkness behind that curtain and into the safety of a real home.

This past week I had the joy organizing four days of camp at CIMA del Rey for our Hogar Bethesda girls during their spring break. Our new little girl from the barrio and the others enjoyed these days filled with fun, laughter, and a beautiful visitation of the Holy Spirit. The girls were able to leave the loud noises of the city and spend quiet times with the God’s Word in the beauty and silence of the countryside. They painted while listening to worship music, caught tadpoles in the river, played with real bunnies, had fun on the swing set, decorated easter eggs, worshipped around a campfire and roasted marshmallows too! We set up a store with clothes, shoes, jewelry, candy, barbie dolls, and toys that they could buy with play money that they earned during the camp. This was very special for these children who have very few choices; nearly all of their clothing, as well as their toys, are donations received from groups that support the home. In our days together, the girls learned to forgive, confess their sins, pray for one another and they learned that the promise of heaven is a real, free gift that you could never, ever earn.

Among the many special moments of our days together, was watching this young child of the barrio encounter her true Savior. Because while there were never any doors on that shack in the slum, there is a door to her broken and wounded heart. And there on that mountain top, we witnessed the beauty of grace and healing as this little girl, whose soul had formerly been treated like a doorless shack, opened the portal of her heart to the Savior. That Tuesday night with tears running down her beautiful brown face she experienced the presence of our amazing Redeemer who rescues us out of the shack of bondage and promises us a real and eternal home.

“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends." Rev. 3:20

IDA_English_Testimonies

2011-04-04T21:39:00.001-04:00

Here is a video about our Valentines weekend outreach. This video was put together by Dawn Amsler. She is a new missionary here in Dominican REpublic, who serves on our ministry team.

Check it out!!

The Italian Creme Cake

2010-09-29T17:04:00.006-04:00

Well this blog is usually dedicated to the stories of miracles big and small that we get to experience in this missionary journey. And though you may not put this cake into the category of miracles, I consider it a miracle that I was able to bake this cake successfully just the other day.

I have watched my mother whip up this cake many, many times. It was like it was no big deal. The other day when I made it for our Missionary Field Fellowship meeting, I figured that it would be easy. Well, it turned out that it required a Paula Deen anointing. You have to separate the eggs, fold in egg whites and not to mention that you need buttermilk. Buttermilk does not exist in this country! So I made it from SCRATCH. Impressive huh? Don't be too impressed. Buttermilk from scratch is just a tablespoon of vinegar added to a cup of milk. EASY!!

As I was reflecting on this little miracle in my life, I figured that there were a few lessons to be learned from this cake. My boys say that I can make a life lesson out of anything and since this blog is mostly for them I do not want to disappoint them. Here is the life lesson:

1. Know your gifts. Baking this cake makes me grateful for my wonderful mother and her gift of hospitality. I appreciate her cooking even more and realize the great efforts that she put into hospitality. For years I stressed over hospitality because I was intimidated by separating eggs and folding egg whites. I thought that I had to make "Paula Deen anointing" cakes in order to be the "hostess with the mostest." Yet I have learned that my gifts do not have to be the same as my mothers and that I can practice hospitality with a Duncan Hines cake mix equally as well.

2. Practice Hospitatlity. The moral of the story: Don't let the Paul Deen anointing keep you from practicing hospitality. It's biblical!

3. Do it without grumbling. Here I must apologize to my boys for all the times that I have stressed over hospitality. Most of the time that happened because I was stressed about trying to make a gourmet meal in a third world country.

Here's the biblical principal to my life lesson:
"Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace" 1 Peter 4:8

Ok so for those of you who are my missionary friends that follow this blog and,who like me, have to hash out how to make American recipes in a foreign, third world country, here are a few tips:

1. Always, always, always sift your flour. I never worried abou that in the states but here, it is the secret to a light and fluffy cake. Let me say it again, BUT LOUDER. ALWAYS SIFT YOUR FLOUR!

2. When beating egg whites, put the beater and the bowl in the freezer. Life here is always hot and this does not help when beating egg whites. Also USE FRESH EGGS. I bought eggs that very day for this reason. Older eggs just don't whip up very good.

3. Whenever possible have somebody from the US send you nuts and coconut. Nuts are expensive! and the coconut that we have here is the REAL DEAL. It is not sweetened. So I always have nuts and coconut on hand for these kinds of desserts.

4. Buttermilk- from scratch! 1 Tbs white vinegar (not apple cider) added to 1 cup of milk, mix and let it sit for five minutes.

ITALIAN CREAM CAKE

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. soda

5 eggs separated

2 cups sugar

1 stick butter or margarine

½ cup shortening

2 cups flour

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup chopped nuts

1 ½ to 2 cups coconut

Combine soda and buttermilk. Let stand a few min. Beat egg whites until stiff. (I put mine back in the fridge while I finish the cake.) Cream sugar, butter and shortening. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add buttermilk alternately with flour. Stir in vanilla. Stir in pecans and coconut. Gently fold in egg whites. Bake in three 9” greased and floured layer pans at 325 for 25 minutes or until cake tests done. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter or margerine

1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese

3 3/4 cups powedered sugar (standard box in the US)

1 tsp vanilla (but I use 1/2 tsp of Dominican vanilla)

Mix well. Frost cake!

Taking Troy to College...

2010-06-30T21:35:00.004-04:00

Troy was born around the same time we wrote our first missionary newsletter. It was Christmas time. Here's an excerpt:

Christmas 1991 takes on more meaning to me in light of the birth of my first child. Often I find myself just staring at this new little baby for what seems life forever. I love to look at his tiny feet and wonder... will they learn to kick soccer balls? When his small hands curl around my finger I look in amazement thinking how perfectly his long fingers could dance upon piano keys.

So we began this missionary journey with this little boy dreaming big dreams for him from the very beginning. He never did play much soccer as we thought he would. We ended up in the only Latin American country that could care less about soccer.

But his long fingers did develop a wonderful talent for worship playing both piano and guitar. And he God put his hand on Troy at an early age. From the time he was very young Troy always participated in minstry. Somtimes through puppetry, or magic tricks, and sometimes with his music. When Troy was 12 years old, at the ending prayer of an outreach, Troy felt God calling him to be a missionary to Spain.

I remember when he told me about it, I wondered if he would stick with that plan. Over the years he has never waivered from the calling and today he is preparing for a future ministry in Spain at Wheaton college in Chicago, Ill.

I have cried a river since we left him at College.I dreaded that day like someone dreads a root canal or surgery--necessary pain.

I am not worried about him at all. He is ready. I am so excited for him! The tears are grieving tears because I know that today was the last day of his childhood. He will be back of course but not as a child. This is a sadness that I have yet to conquer.

So I am counting the blessings, (there are so many) and I am grasping on to the joy that my beautiful son's life is being spent for the Glory of God. That was our goal. We accomplished it.

What the Earthquake Destroyed

2010-03-23T13:52:00.003-04:00

On January 12th our island was shaken by an earthquake that caused the destruction of the principal city of Port-Au-Prince. Since that time your television set, newspaper, internet and email inbox have been filled with images and words describing the horrific results of this kind of destruction. To see the rubble, the blood-stained clothes of impoverished children and watch the desperation of a mother in the aftermath of this event is gut-wrenching from across the ocean but to experience it with the people of this island has been indescribable.

Three days after the earthquake Nelson loaded up supplies and left in the middle of the night with a group of colleagues to reach Miguel Ovalle, a Dominican missionary who lives with his family in Port-au- Prince. He was able to see and experience first hand what the earthquake destroyed. He saw the buildings, the roads, the vehicles and the wounded. He wept at the sight and sounds of such tragedy. Then there was that glimmer of light in the midst of such black darkness. It was something else that the earthquake destroyed.

The seismic phenomenon had begun the break down of the division that kept these two nations on one piece of land so separate. For the first time in history Haiti was dependent on supplies and relief that could only come to them by crossing the border. A border that represented years of racial hatred, prejudice and pain. The Dominican Republic and Haiti share the same piece of land in the Caribbean and they also share a difficult history. The history between these two countries is a road stained with conflict, racial prejudice and hatred. The result is a border that separates the languages, the culture, the sport, religious tradition but most tragically, the people.

Yet, since that tragedy of Jan 12, the separation has been diminished. Something is changing in the culture. Dominicans are responding, both in the church and secular organizations. The grocery stores have places to receive donations. Our church leaders have met and ministered to Haitian church leaders. God is at work. Many have responded. Maybe YOU have responded. Some have sent a monatary gifts, others were able to donate tangible items and others have volunteered time and expertise.

As we look to the future of this island we can see something else in the rubble. Doubt has been destroyed by the earthquake. No longer will we see Haiti as a barren wasteland with no hope of a brighter future. The world's response to this tragedy has taken away our doubting. There are so many dreams being born in the debris. But as we dream was see the greatest hope in the children.

The future will be built by the youth and children of this nation. It is our passion to reach them with the only true hope for Haiti found in the Gospel. For we are convinced that with the redeeming power of the Gospel is power to transform this nation. With the Gospel comes wisdom, integrity, and the principles of the Kingdom of God that not only give us a hope for our eternal destiny but make a difference in the here and now. And because of the Gospel we have a true hope that is rising from the rubble of what the earthquake destroyed.

"For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace." Colossians 1:5,6

January 14 2010

2010-03-23T13:32:00.003-04:00

Tuesday our house shook. At the moment, we laughed thinking ..."that was weird". Then I got the feeling in the pit of my stomach. I said to my friends "Somewhere this could be REALLY bad". The Dominican Republic suffered a little shake and we are enormously grateful that all is well here. It turned out that this was worse than bad for our neighbors in Haiti.

Here's what we know:

We know that our US Assemblies of God and Dominican missionary families in Haiti are safe. They are already in the midst of disaster response. Communication, however is extremely difficult.

WHAT WE ARE DOING:

First and foremost, we are praying fervently for the nation of Haiti and for our missionaries there. That God would give them strength and wisdom and keep them safe as they begin to respond to the overwhelming needs amidst the destruction. And we pray that the people of Haiti turn to the Lord in their time of need.

Second, we are ready to respond in whatever way we can. We await communication with our missionary colleagues there as to how we best can assist at this time. Already there a plans underway for a caravan to be leaving for Haiti tomorrow. Our Dominican Republic A/G executives are meeting today to see how best to respond as well. Pray for God’s anointing and direction on all parties involved.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Pray with us! Pray for Nelson, as just last week he was named missionary representative to the National A/G in Dominican Republic. This is an enormous responsibility in a time of disaster response.

You can help us respond by sending an offering to our missionary account. Nelson will be driving to Haiti, taking supplies, buying supplies, & covering expenses for this kind of immediate response. We DESPERATELY need your help to cover these surprise expenses. Our account has suffered greatly from this past year's recession and your offering would be greatly appreciated. Click on this link http://tiny.cc/haiti_help and add Class 46 (for disaster relief) to the comment box.

You can also respond by giving to a relief fund that will provide aid through Convoy of Hope. You can give online at www.ag.org by clicking the Haitian Relief button or sending your donation to Assemblies of God World Missions, PO Box 2020, Springfield MO 65802, marked AGWM/COH Disaster Relief 410946-8 (70).

World’s Best Coffee

2009-12-24T10:15:00.011-04:00

The movie “Elf” is one of my Christmas favorites; it’s the story about a naïve elf that goes to New York City in search of his father. He is a fish out of water in the big city. I probably enjoy it so much because, as a missionary, I can relate to all his culture shock and the wonder he experiences in his new and strange environment.

In one scene Elf walks by a “hole in the wall” coffee shop with a sign in the window that says “World’s Best Coffee”. He enters the shop applauding and says exuberantly, “You did it! Congratulations! World's best cup of coffee! Great job, everybody! It's great to be here!”

Well, you can tell by the appearance of the diner that it was definitely not the place to find the “World’s Best Cup of Coffee”. Yet it is my experience that sometimes you actually can find the best things in the least likely places.

The best cup of coffee that I ever drank was not from Starbucks. I drank it this past August in the mountains of Haiti in a little wooden church with a tin roof and a dirt floor. We had traveled three hours on incessantly rough roads in the back of a “Tap-tap” which is a Haitian pick-up truck with skinny benches in the truck bed for passengers. The journey was not without adventure. At one point, we were stuck in the mud and the bathroom break not at all conventional. So when we arrived, dirty from the dust on the road, and worn out from the bumpy trail; we were elated to hear that the local church had prepared bread and coffee for us. My response was just as exuberant as the Elf of the movie.

As wonderful as the coffee was for me that day, even more special was the ministry to the children. The church was completely packed. Some of the children found holes in the slats of the walls of the church and looked in from the outside so that they could see the program.

So in this season, when family and friends gather to share a warm cup of coffee with Christmas cookies or Grandma's AMAZING apple pie, I find myself reflecting on the truth in the World's Best Cup of Coffee. It seems that the babe in the manger was just another example of how the best gift of all was found in the most unexpected set of circumstances. After all, it took a whole host of angels to make sure the shepherds would believe the story and a SUPER nova star to guide the three wisemen. So my Christmas wish for today and in the coming year is that we will remember the lesson of the Worlds Best Cup of Coffee, that sometimes the best things in life are found in the least likely places.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

What I (Rennae) want for my 40th Birthday...

2009-11-29T07:55:00.006-04:00

What I want for my 40th birthday…

1.A house for Bethesda Home. ( $300,000) Yep. That’s all. But if I got that for my birthday that would be my DREAM COME TRUE. If you wanted to buy me this I wouldn’t ask you for anything else my whole entire life. (at least I would try not to ask you for anything else)

1.UNA CASA PARA HOGAR BETHESDA SOLO CUESTA US$300,000 PERO SI QUIERES COMPRARME ESTO NO VOY A NECESITAR NADA MAS EL RESTO DE MI VIDA.

2.A whole apartment building for Master’s Commission. This might cost a $1,000,000 but the same rule applies here.

2.UN EDIFICIO PARA APARTAMENTOS PARA COMISION DE MAESTRO. LA REGLA DE #1 APLICA AQUI TAMBIEN

3.A ministry van. This is a LOT les expensive folks $50,000. I want a Toyota so that it will last until Jesus comes.

3. UNA GUA-GUA PARA EL MINISTERIO. MUCHO MENOS COSTOSO. VERDAD?

4.An all expense paid trip to New York City with my BFF, Rhonda Gray. We would go see girly musicals like Wicked or Beauty and the Beast. Eat really good food. And buy fake designer purses in the china town. I know that is totally selfish, consumerist and materialistic. Wow but hey a girl can dream. Oh I miss my BFF today!!!

4.QUIERO IR A LA CIUDAD DE NUEVA YORK CON MI MEJOR AMIGA EN EL MUNDO RHONDA GRAY

5.Ok it looks like now this list is getting long. Really I’m not that hard to please. All that I really want is another office chair in my house. You know that kind with wheels. Nelson tells me that we don’t NEED another one. OK so maybe it’s not a need. I just want one. I am tired of fighting over the one chair that all four of us share upstairs.

5.DE VERDAD SOLO QUIERO UNA SILLA DE OFICINA PARA MI CUARTO DE ARRIBA

I could make a long list but I'll just stop there because in reality I have everything I could ever dream of on this day that I am turning 40. I have JESUS. He is my everything and I could not ask for more than everything! As a bonus Jesus gave me an WONDERFUL husband who loves me and four AMAZING BOYS who make my world an exciting adventure. I am also blessed with all my friends and family.

I am so loved and that is a perfect 40th birthday gift. There are too many people in this world who don't have that assurance. They can't say they are loved with an everlasting, not-dependent-on your-mood, not-having-to-earn-it kind of love. For 40 years I have known this love and I will live the rest of my days on this earth making sure that others know this love too.
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If you are seriously interested in helping in any way, small or large, Bethesda home, click here to make a donation online on a secure server. IMPORTANT: ADD CLASS 62 TO MEMO LINE!!!

Rennae & the Bank Robbery

2009-11-05T12:07:00.003-04:00

Last Thursday morning, October 29^th, 2009 I woke up with this song in my head. It was a song that I hadn’t heard anyone sing in years AND it was in English. I thought it was odd that it was in my head. I didn’t even sing it out loud because I don’t particularly like the tune. But the words are great. They are taken from the Scriptures “Fear not for I am with you”. I was checking my Facebook and I was just about to write that scripture for a friend who was going to get some medical tests done and something interrupted me and I never wrote the words down. It turned out that the song was not for her. It was for me! The Lord gave me that song!

I had a full day planned for Thursday and it started with going to the bank to pay the credit card bill. We have a Dominican card so that we do not have to carry around a lot of cash. Petty theft is rampant here and we have been robbed at least four times during our missionary career. So we have learned to be careful. I had paid the credit card two days before but came up short and needed more cash. So I had returned to pay it in full. Thank the Lord I would have had over $3000 in cash in my purse had I not paid as much as I could the day before.

As I walked in the bank, I saw a young man who was wearing tattered clothes and had an earring in his ear. Something didn’t seem right. His eyes looked glazed. I never actually processed that this might be a bank robber or that it was unsafe and I should go someplace else. Now that I reflect on this, I really believe that the Holy Spirit was giving me direction and I was too preoccupied with my “to-do” list to pay attention.

Thank the Lord for his grace even when we aren’t listening to the still small voice. I walked up to the counter, took out my wallet and began the payment. I heard some yelling in the background and then I saw that the security guard was on the floor. It seemed unreal and then I looked at the teller with a look like, “huh?” His expression actually gave me peace. He didn’t seem panicked or worried at all. Then the gunman yelled directly at me to get on the ground. I was thinking, “Ok, but let me gather my things here.” Then he waved his gun and said, “Just leave your purse! LEAVE IT! GET ON THE GROUND WITH YOUR FACE TO THE FLOOR!!!” He seemed like he meant it, so I did.

There on that marble floor of the bank Jesus came near to me. I felt his presence SO REAL. Immediately my thoughts turned to my boys and that was too overwhelming. The Spirit directed me just to focus on Jesus and the power of his name. I said “Jesus” out loud over and over in Spanish and in English. I spoke in tongues. I felt the weight of his glory all around me. HE WAS THERE WITH ME, like a weight on top of my back. I can still sense how it felt and it gives me chills because it was supernatural. In the midst of that presence, I had a sense that I would walk out of the bank unharmed. I just knew it. I really cannot tell you how much time passed. It seemed like an eternity.

Finally, a silence fell in the bank and I knew that the robbers must have left. Someone yelled to us to run upstairs to the second floor. The bank personnel began to check to make sure that we were clear and if everyone was safe. One of the tellers came up stairs trembling with tears in her eyes. I ran to hug her. My heart felt for her because she had been threatened directly by the gunman. The other customers were all shaken up but we were all just so grateful it was over. The women had their purses. The men had their wallets. I had nothing. My keys were on the counter! My wallet! My purse!!! Omar, my teller that day ran down to see if anything was left on the counter. He found my keys!!! Praise the Lord! But everything else was gone.

We were then instructed to come downstairs for questioning. Coming down the stairs, I could see that there were already police swarming everywhere. They asked us to wait so that the police could write a report. The other bank customers (there were six of us) were all on their cell phones making phone calls. I watched as they explained to loved ones and felt the relief of speaking to someone that they loved. I didn’t have a cell phone anymore.

A customer who was lying on the floor near me during the robbery asked me, “Were you praying? I thought I heard you praying.”

“Yes!” I responded. “God was with us. I know it! I am sure that is why no one was hurt. He was protecting us!!”

One of the other customers was very kind and handed me her cell phone and I was able to make a call to the office and talk to Sugeily, our administrator at our ministry office. She immediately got a hold of Nelson and LaDawn, a missionary colleague. It wasn’t long and I was able to speak to Nelson and after that I felt like I was able to exhale. Everything was going to be ok. I could breathe again.

It turned out that I was the only customer that had the misfortune of being robbed personally. They did take my purse that had around US $300, my cell phone, an itouch, an ipod, and then just the usual stuff. They asked me to stay and give a police report about the things that were stolen.

The other customers left one by one. But the man who asked me about my prayers came back to me to say “Gracias”. It was a sweet moment. I am convinced that he felt the weight of HIS GLORY too.

I was blessed to be surrounded by friends and family upon my return home. My boys and I shared a very sweet moment together as we prayed and praised God for his mercy & protection upon my life. As my son prayed, he included the thieves in his prayer, asking God to redeem them from the sin that was destroying their lives.

At the end of the day that is why I am here in Dominican Republic. These days the misery of poverty and unemployment, the rise of drugs and the resulting violence only gives me more of a reason to be here. I am here because when you know and love and walk with the POWERFUL PRESENCE of the Almighty God; you want everyone to know and walk with Him. You realize that the only hope for the misery and desperation that I saw in the glazed eyes of the thief at ScotiaBank, is in a real redemption by an authentic Savior.

I have come to understand the power of God’s presence in the moment I needed to know His reality the most. HE is real. His promises are real. His plans are perfect and I TRUST HIM. I TRUST HIM!!! He is worthy to be trusted! And because of HIM, and all that I know about HIM, and the MORE that I know HIM and the deeper that I go with HIM; I ache to know and go more. I cannot stop. Because of HIM. There is no fear, because of HIM and because HE IS WITH ME.

“The best evidence of God’s presence is the devil’s growl.” C. H. Spurgeon

I, for one, am not afraid of the growl.

The Dirt Cookie

2009-10-19T23:07:00.006-04:00

Yes, I am still writing about our trip to Haiti. There was so much to share and so much that I never want to forget...

We drove into Citi Soleil as Pastor Miguel shared with us the sad and difficult history. It is known as the poorest and most violent ghettos in the Western Hemisphere. Bullet holes decorate the walls of the shantytown shacks and buildings. The children run around naked with bloated bellies. The sadness is so real that it is almost tangible in the atmosphere.

Until we arrive at church. The people are gathered early in the morning. The sweet smile of my Haitian sister greets me at the door. She is beautiful in the midst of the misery of poverty. Her dress is bright green and freshly pressed. Her eyes dance with the joy of the Holy Ghost and I can see that there is no misery too deep that cannot be redeemed.

The children filled the church and we played and sang together. We painted their faces with butterflies and hearts and then someone said, “Jesus--here on my forehead”. JEZI-- of course!!! Then they all wanted JEZI. Red, yellow, black and white, in big letters we painted JEZI!!! As I painted, I prayed “this one is yours Jesus all the days of her life. This one is to be redeemed, rescued by the all-powerful, no violence-too-violent, no-suffering-too severe, no-poverty-too-painful ONE and only REDEEMER. “

When I was in language school, I remember so well when Doug Peterson, our Area Director at the time, taught about what he called “redemption and lift”. I have later learned that this is actually a term coined by social scientists. Historically, repentance and conversion, not social programs, have been the only effective solution for a myriad of problems such as child abuse, child exploitation, poor working conditions, low incomes, high unemployment, alcohol and drug abuse and teen pregnancy. God helps a father to stop drinking and start working; as a result he has more money to provide for the family, he becomes a leader in the church. He is faithful to his wife. He is a good father to his children. His life takes on real meaning.

I have seen the reality of “redemption and lift” over and over again here in the Dominican Republic but never did it feel so true, so authentic as it did in that little wooden church in Citi Soleil.

As we drove away from the sadness and the beauty, Pastor Miguel stopped to purchase something that was being sold on the side of the road in that ghetto. We didn’t know what it was. It turned out to be a perfect representation of both sadness and beauty.

Our last night together in Haiti, we decided to celebrate communion with our missionary host Pastor Miguel and Mairelys. He brought out the strangest piece of “bread”. It looked more like clay than bread. He broke it up and gave each of us a piece.
Then Miguel talked to us about the moment when Jesus broke bread with his disciples, future world changers, just like us. He said that it must have been a difficult moment, as he knew what was to come. Jesus knew that He would soon take upon himself the bitterness of the sin of the whole world. Then Miguel read the scripture and we ate the bread together. An incredibly bitter taste filled my mouth. It was pasty and hard to swallow, a taste that lingered and was difficult to remove from your teeth and tongue.

Miguel explained to us that this was a “dirt” cookie that he bought in Citi Soleil for just a few cents a piece. He told us that many Haitian children survive on eating these “dirt” cookies that are made of mud and lard. It represented to us the terrible reality of poverty that is a result of sin in this world. Tears poured down all of our cheeks, as we together had tasted this reality in more ways than one and that taste would not be easily removed from our memories or our hearts.

Still, the sadness was quickly displaced by the joy of knowing that this bread and the juice that we shared together were the symbols of the very real REDEMPTION that we encountered in Citi Soleil. Because even in Citi Soleil, there was no misery too enormous that can eradicate hope that comes from our resurrected Christ and His saving work.

Viv Jezi!!!
Jesus Lives!!!

I have always said that this blog was more about never forgetting all the amazing works of our missionary God than it was about writing for an audience. I am always amazed when I find out that someone actually reads this stuff. I have always needed a place to put down the details of every story of grace, every miracle big and small, and a place to express this enormous gratitude that fills my heart because of this privelege that I have to serve HIM. So that being said there is at least one more story about Haiti to come.

A Walk in Bonis' White Shoes

2009-09-21T11:38:00.011-04:00

Bonis has some nice white shoes. Seriously, I have always admired how white he keeps those shoes walking around here in the Dominican Republic. Bonis is a missionary intern from Castillo del Rey (King's Castle) in Nicaragua. And as a missionary, Bonis is walking the walk of faith in those white shoes. He has come here on a very tight budget and there are days when he doesn’t have a peso to his name. Today was one of those days.

Today he was supposed to come the office and share devotions in our staff meeting. The title of his message was to be “The benefits of obedience”. He walked out the door not sure how he would get to office and praying for God to provide transportation some how, some way. He has been serving in a small town 45 minutes away from our offices, so it was going to be a long walk in those white shoes.

As he walked Bonis contemplated what he would share in devotions. He had hardly walked just a few blocks when a car pulled over. It was someone Bonis had never seen before. Bonis explained to us that it turned out to be a brother who had seen him at an evangelistic event. The brother offered him a ride to the capital.

This morning we were all encouraged; there was not a dry eye in our devotions. We all understood. Every one of us is walking this walk of faith, in one way or another --just without the white shoes.

Day 1 continued-- Beautiful Feet

2009-08-26T13:05:00.009-04:00

It wasn't long before the men of the village pulled together some corn from the crop that was growing on the mountain. They made a fire with the old husks, and cooked us some corn. Some of it even popped up like popcorn! It was dry and not very sweet, most likely due to the scarcity of water in the region. The sweetness of this corn was really found in the act of sharing. We had brought goodies for them, but they also gave of what they had to us. On this side of the island, we have erroneously believed that Haiti is full of people that always take, and never give.

We then gathered together in the church, and Pastor Samuel told the story of the rich man and Lazarus found in Luke 16. He must have been an amazing storyteller because the people were mesmerized, and the children were completely quiet. We did a program, and a prayer tunnel. We prayed for everyone on that mountain. It took awhile; I think we counted over 200 people squeezed in the little church.

Among those 200 people I saw a woman who was wearing a familiar shirt. I took a second look, and realized it was the same shirt that was given to my boys when we visited Life Church in Roanoke, VA. Now, this was amazing to me because we were really in a remote place. How did that shirt get to somebody way up on this mountain? I asked Pastor Samuel. He was not nearly as amazed, and I loved his answer:

“Sister Rennae, you say that shirt was from an Assemblies of God church. Well this church is an Assemblies of God church, and we are all one family. Pastor Bill (Bill Smith, our AGWM missionary) is always giving us donations to take up the mountain. We load up our back packs and mules, and bring whatever he gives us.”

Each of the kids received cookies, a pair of flip-flops, and the Book of Hope. They were thrilled! Then we began our walk down the mountain. As we walked, some of the children followed, holding our hands to keep us from falling. It was steep going down! I noticed that my little traveling companion had no shoes. Flip-flops would be useless for going down this mountain. I had been regretting the whole day that I was doing this hike in converse tennis shoes knowing that I had a perfect pair of hiking shoes in my closet. My regret quickly turned to gratefulness for my undeserved abundance.

Coming down the mountain we took time to stop and eat our lunch. Granted, it was about 4:00 pm, but there was no way that we could have eaten while at the church with people who had such need. We had brought a few extra sandwiches, but our traveling friends were more than we expected. So we prayed for the multiplication of bread, and God supplied the need. The funny thing was, that just like there were leftovers in the story of the Gospels, we also ended up with leftover sandwiches!!!

Coming down the mountain, I looked around at my tired, smelly, and filthy team. Our shoes were dirty from the hard climb. But one thing is for sure, our feet were BEAUTIFUL!

How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
Isaiah 52:7

Day 1 Walking and Singing Together...

2009-08-21T23:19:00.011-04:00

"If you want to walk fast, walk alone; if you want to walk far, walk together." African Proverb

During our training days I shared this African proverb with the warriors. We talked about how missions requires partnership. In order for us to go to the ends of the earth we would have to be committed to the long walk TOGETHER. Little did I know that we would LITERALLY be walking far together during our trip to Haiti.

Pastor Miguel told us that we would have to be up early the next day (4:00 AM) because we would be traveling far into the mountains. He was taking us to a place called Pino that no foreign team, American or any other country for that matter, had ever been. He said that even the UN had not visited this place because it was so remote. For places like Pino, humanitarian supplies are dropped from helicopters. We drove up in a tap-tap (a converted pick-up truck that holds passengers in the truck bed on small benches) and met Pastor Samuel and his wife along the way. Pastor Samuel pastors an A/G church in Port –a- Prince that planted this church in Pino. It is the only evangelical church for these mountain people. Pastor Samuel’s church also sponsors the children to go to school right there in the church. It was a two-hour drive up through the mountains to get to the bottom of the Pino Mountain.

Our wonderful missionary host, Miguel Ovalle, kind of left out a detail when he told us that we would be walking three hours to this remote community. He neglected to mention that we would be climbing a mountain. As we climbed this mountain it became very clear as to why we were the first foreigners to visit Pino. It was a STEEP desert mountain filled with cactus. We had one mule that carried our water and our puppet stage and then each of us had a backpack full of ministry supplies like cookies and candy, copies of the Book of Hope, our lunch and a big bottle of water.

As we gathered ourselves together at the bottom of Pino we saw a group of women and children washing clothes and filling buckets with water. This was the river that served the mountain people. This was the only water that they had access to. From this river we walked three hours to get to the community where the Pino Assemblies of God church was located. I snapped a picture of the children with buckets of water on their head; amazed at their ability, and also struck by the harsh reality of their daily lives.

We walked together Dominican missionaries with American missionaries, Haitian pastors, Dominican Castle warriors and Haitian castle warriors and as we walked we shared. We learned Creole along the way. We laughed together. We learned together. Pastor Samuel showed us the Voo-Doo witchdoctor houses. He showed us trees with Voo-doo symbols and he reminded us that this was the ONLY church in these mountains while Voo-doo places ofworship are scattered throughout the mountains.

Voo-Doo temple that we saw as we climbed the mountain

Pino Assemblies of God Church

When we finally made it to the top of the mountain we were greeted by the community of believers that was waiting for us at the church. The humble church was made with wooden poles and palm leaves for the siding. The roof was made of tin; the floor was a dirt floor with small wooden benches. (My friend Shirley, who used to be a missionary to Haiti, calls them "cut-your-butt" benches, which is a much better description)

Upon our arrival Pastor Samuel gathered us all together on that mountaintop standing outside of the church with the mountain views all around us. He said “Let us give thanks to the Lord for bringing us safely”. We expected him to begin with a prayer but instead he began to sing. The words were strange to us in Creole but the tune was well-known by all who were gathered on that mountain. He sang “How Great Thou Art” and as he sang I heard my beloved Dominicans join in “Mi Corazon entona la cancion, cuan grande es El…” It was overwhelming. Tears filled my eyes because I knew that I was in the middle of the most beautiful moment. It was as though the complicated political, cultural border that divided these two countries was magnificently erased by the beauty and greatness of the God who had brought us together.

Check back again for more of Day 1.

Getting rid of my shades…

2009-08-21T09:33:00.004-04:00

Ninoska, a Castle Warrior and I at the border about to cross into Haiti

For sixteen years I have lived, worked, and loved this island that is known as Quisqueya. Our work has been on the Dominican side and it was only this past week that I finally was able to cross to the Haitian side. Going to the other side was an amazing experience that has enriched my life tremendously and changed everything that I ever believed about Haiti.

The Dominican Republic and Haiti share the same piece of land in the Caribbean and they also share a difficult history. The history between these two countries is a road stained with conflict, racial prejudice and hatred. The result is a border that separates the languages, the culture, the sport, religious tradition but most tragically, the people. Everything that I ever understood about Haiti until this past week I understood with a Dominican understanding. It was like I was looking across the border with a pair of tinted glasses. I was close enough to see Haiti but my view was darkened by those Dominican shades.

I could see Haiti because so much of Haiti is here. There are Haitian Beteyes (Haitian communities usually for the purpose of farming) where we have been active in ministry for years. There is the history of independence from Haiti. Dominicans celebrate independence from Haiti. Independence was won in this city, Santo Domingo and my children have studied in a Dominican school. I have visited the monuments and sang the songs of liberty. My neighbors across the street are Haitian and I have missionary colleagues that plant churches among the Haitian community. Haiti has always been here, but I have never been to Haiti.

Last week, we took a team of Dominicans (Kings Castle warriors) to work with our missionary Miguel and Mairelys Ovalle in Port-a-Prince. Miguel has been a part of Castle practically from the beginning of Castle here in the DR. He and his wife are THE ONLY Dominican missionaries the LIVE FULL TIME in Haiti. They are giving their lives to reach the children of Haiti and that speaks volumes to the Haitian church.

If you could hear each story you would find that each of the Dominican Castle warriors would tell you about someone in their lives who did not understand why they wanted to go to Haiti. Someone who did not think it was worth the money to be spent on one week in a place of so much hopelessness. But this is a group of warriors they have heard the call to go to the other side and together we took off the shades of our understanding and got to see Haiti in a whole new light.

What the note DIDN'T say...

2009-04-28T13:32:00.006-04:00

She ran to me with a little note covered in butterfly stickers and placed it in my hands. "Take this to Julie*. I don’t want her to forget me."

I opened the note knowing that I would have to translate it for Julie. Julie didn’t speak Spanish. Yet even without the benefit of the language she had made a special connection with this little girl. A child who once lived as a slave in a miserable shack before she came to Bethesda Home.

The note read:
To: Julie
From: Alejandra
Julie I love you so much. Thank you for coming to share with us at Bethesda Home. Thank you for the shoes. Julie, I will always remember you. Thank you for coming to share with us. I love you Julie.

Julie
&
Alejandra
Friends Forever

What the note didn't say, but what I know is in her thoughts everyday was this question, “Will Julie remember me?”

Julie came with a team of women from her church and they spent just one week with the Bethesda Home children. That week was a special time for the children as they tremendously enjoy all the attention and mother love. Now, they ask about the ladies all the time and they cherish the photos that we put on the wall to remember our time together. And every time I visit, they ask me if the ladies remember them.

Bethesda Home is a home for abandoned and at-risk children. Some have mothers who are prostitutes and drug addicts; some have been rescued from domestic abuse and slavery. Sister Ketty began this beautiful rescue in 2004 and along with the partnership of her local church and other ministries; she has been able to rent a house for these children. The house that they currently live in is up for sale.

Last Thursday I sat down with Sister Ketty after she called to tell me to pray about a meeting that she was to have with the lawyers representing the house. The owners are now giving us two months to purchase the house or they will be forced to take it back.

So today we find ourselves in anticipation of a REALLY BIG MIRACLE. The owners are asking $250,000. This is a very large home and the PERFECT location for the home. We really do not want to lose this house.

Please pray for Bethesda home and Sister Ketty as we walk this journey toward our miracle. Ask the Holy Spirit how you can be a part and then ACT in FAITH & OBEDIENCE. You will never regret it.

I feel a lot like Alejandra. We were blessed to meet some amazing women on the teams that came to visit but there is that nagging question in the back of my mind. It's what the note didn't say. After the ladies left, “Will they remember Bethesda Home?”

PLEASE consider helping us. You can make a secure online contribution by clicking this link http://tiny.cc/BethesdaHome Please note Project #14261 Class #62 in the comment field.

Or you can send your contribution to:
Assemblies of God World Missions
1445 Boonville Ave
Springfield, MO 65802
Mark your check or money order for project #14261 Bethesda Home Dom. Rep.

*some names have been changed to protect the identity of those involved

World Water Day

2009-03-22T17:54:00.004-04:00

In 1992, the UN General Assembly designated 22 March of each year as the World Day for Water. The Dominican Republic, like the majority of developing world countries, has serious problems with water supply.

Many people live without running water and for those who do, they must deal with the reality of constant water shortages. Also, like other majority world countries the running water is not potable which results in sickness and disease.

Dealing with this water issues in the country is a part of daily life and our ministry as we work to serve the needs of this country. Yet the issue that is of greatest concern to me is solving the problem of spiritual thirst. Jesus is the real answer to the world’s water problems not digging a well (not to minimize well-digging BRING IT ON!!!) Yet even with contaminated water I have seen God’s people live joyful abundant lives! You see it everywhere in this country. So my passionate quest is to get to the ones in this country who have the least access to living water. And my compassionate actions i.e. well digging and grocery giving, are the tangible demonstration of the eternal, rescuing and thirst quenching message that I am compelled to PROCLAIM.

Friday night I stood in the rain on a street corner with a group of shivering, scantily dressed girls huddled under cardboard boxes. They were there to sell their bodies. We were there to offer them water.

I put my arm around my new friend Luzmely*, three months pregnant holding a saturated piece of cardboard over her head. I asked her if she would trade her piece of cardboard for my umbrella. She smiled at my absurdity, but gladly made the trade.

My friend Rita told the story of the Samaritan woman and her encounter with Jesus. I was amazed at how these girls were totally captivated by the story. As Rita shared, cars stopped at the corner waiting for a girl to come to the car in order to be whisked away into the night. Yet the girls would not move; they wanted to hear the story. Meanwhile, I noticed that one car circled around three times!

It was like Jesus was there with us Friday night just like he was with the Samaritan woman—offering water! As the rain fell on us, we did what Jesus would do, we offered them water, but not contaminated water, not water that is always in short supply. We offered living water. And with all the rain, we all went home drenched, both literally and spiritually!

“Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” --Jesus Christ

My journey with Maireda*

2009-01-27T12:04:00.004-04:00

Maireda’s story begins in the fall of 2006 when I first began this post…

It has been a hard road to walk but I am grateful for the opportunity to follow Jesus wherever he may be leading me. Fourteen years ago, when I first responded to the call, I could not have expected that it would take me to abandoned buildings in far off fields to find a prostitute and her baby. Yet, it is whenever I am walking those kinds of roads I feel the closest to my Savior. I feel his compelling motion in my feet looking for that girl and his abundant love swelling in my chest in those awful brothels. As dark as the brothel is, and I’ll never understand this, but I feel so close to Jesus there. I feel so near to his heart. It is the weirdest thing. I never imagined that it could be like that in those dark, dismal places.

Every time I go to Boca Chica I am amazed at the absolute misery and darkness that abounds there. Just when I thought that I had heard or seen the worst there is to hear or see, something else hits us. This past Saturday was no exception. We went first to find Soraidy* a fifteen year-old prostitute with a one-month old baby. She lives with her prostitute mother in an abandoned building with no running water or electricity. We arrived kind of late, just in time actually, because we caught them just before they were going out to find a trick. They were all dressed up with all the make-up and skimpy clothes. Even the baby was dressed up in the clothes that I had brought to her on my last visit. I found that odd, but I was so glad that she didn’t just leave the baby as she did on one other occasion according to our sources. Soraidy was not so happy to see us. You could tell that she felt caught. We prayed for her and we told her that we would not give up on her or her baby. The baby (just two months old) still had sores all over her body from the STD. We left and on our way out of the building we heard a baby crying in another room. It was a baby boy, obviously mal-nourished and lying naked on two rotting, dirty sponge mattresses with a gun lying beside him. When we looked in on him a man came out of the shadows and asked what we wanted. We asked about the mother. He told us that the mother was working and he was looking after the baby. He said that he was one of the guards of the building. We recognized that we were in a dangerous position. So we left quickly. It was so freaky and absolutely heartbreaking; I wanted to pick up the baby and run, yet I was completely impotent in the situation. Anyway, one of the ladies is following up on that one.

Next we made a stop at an orphanage to pick up a little girl. Sister Ketty, my ministry partner, has a little children’s home in Santo Domingo, our capital city where we both live. Anyway, Ketty was told that this particular orphanage desperately needed help with a little girl that was having a hard time there. When we got there, we found out that the girl is too old for Ketty’s home. She is 11 and Ketty’s home will only take in girls under the age of 8. Well, this little girl senses that something has happened and I see her standing chewing her fingernails, her face nervous with fear. We try to reassure her best that we can. I began to distract her asking her about her little back pack. She showed me a brand new little bear that she was given because she was going to be leaving the home. The director of the home pulls me aside and shows me her case history. The girl’s mother was going to sell her to a trafficker that was using kids’ eyes for transplants! It was a horrible situation. I will never forget that little girls eyes. They were beautiful chocolate brown, but full of fear. She did not need words to communicate because her eyes said it all. I pulled Ketty aside, and I implored Ketty to ask the Holy Spirit about what to do. Ketty looked at me and said, “We need to take her, don’t we?” So in that split second we made a decision that I am convinced transported that girl from darkness to light. Her name was Maireda. Ketty gave Maireda a big hug and said, “Let’s go because it is time for you to go to your new family.” THOSE EYES! They danced with delight in response. When we got in the car she wanted to give me her bear to thank me for taking her to her new family. Here was a little girl with absolutely everything that she owned it a little backpack and she wanted GIVE AWAY her teddy bear. I was incredibly humbled by such extravagant generosity.

Maireda arrived at the home and for the next several weeks she struggled to adapt. She was angry and was abusive to the other children. In the meantime, one of Maireda’s family members asked for her to be returned. Ketty sent her back to live with her family. I was crushed. I felt like we had rescued her from darkness to light only to send her back to the misery and darkness of poverty. So I never finished this post. There was no real happy ending.

Two years later…

Meanwhile Ketty never really gave up on Maireda. She kept tabs on her and paid for her to attend school and get her books and materials. Maireda was passed around to different family members but mostly ended up with an aunt. Unfortunately, we came to find out that Maireda was basically a slave at her aunt’s house. She cooked, cleaned and did all the laundry. She was never paid and often was unable to attend school because of all of her responsibilities. During the Christmas holidays Maireda came to stay at Bethesda Home but Ketty promised that aunt that Maireda would return after Christmas.

During Christmas Ketty called me and explained the situation. Maireda had asked about me often during my time in the states and now that I was back they asked if I could come by to see her. I was thrilled! Seeing those beautiful eyes made my heart smile. She was so glad to be back at the home and she asked me if she could please stay. She begged me for my phone numbers and I gave them to her and the next day she was returned to her aunt.

Two days later Maireda called me and asked me to call her right back. The cell phone was out of minutes. I called her but I could not get a hold of her. I wondered what was going on. Maireida was able to get in touch with Ketty. She now felt brave enough to tell Ketty that her uncle was beating her and her uncle’s 17 year old son was abusing her. She wanted out. She wanted to go to school. “I promise to be good. Please take me back. Please.”

Ketty could not refuse. She went to find Maireda. Evidently she had been moved again and Ketty had to search throughout the barrio looking for Maireda. People even warned Ketty, “This is a dangerous area of town; you shouldn’t be down in these neighborhoods.” Ketty was not concerned. She was committed to finding this little lamb.

Today Maireda is back at Bethesda Home. She desperately wants to stay and we are committed to keeping her. Yet I know that there may be family issues and custody issues that will need to be worked out.

Yesterday at the home we were talking about how wonderful it is to have Maireda back home. Auntie Trina told how mama Ketty went to find her. As I listened it reminded me of the parable of the shepherd who went searching for the lost lamb. I told Maireda that she was our lost lamb. She smiled a great big smile and tucked her head under in embarrassment. I lifted her little chin to see her smile but what I really saw were those chocolate brown eyes –dancing with delight!

So is this our happy ending? For now it is, but I have learned that in this walk with Jesus there is no ending— just a journey and our destiny is not temporal happiness but joy everlasting.

"See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven."What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost." Matthew 18:10-14

*names and identities have been changed to protect the privacy of persons involved.

Impossible Tasks

2009-01-20T18:16:00.005-04:00

Here in Dominican Republic it is not uncommon to see all kinds of things being transported in unusual ways.

I have seen a family of six riding on a small motorcycle.

I have seen seven children going to school on a motorcycle.

I have seen a washing machine strapped to a motorcycle.

I have seen 20ft bundles of rebar being dragged by the passenger on the motorcycle.

I have seen tricycles, bikes, that served as the local garbage collectors piled so high that the driver could not see what was in front of him.

But in my humble missionary opinion this photo wins the prize. I love it!For me it is the perfect metaphor for our lives and ministry at this moment. Here we are given a task that just seems impossible to accomplish given the resources that we possess.

On our island slavery is a HUGE issue. Over 300,000 children are enslaved through forced labor or prostitution. I am just trying to save 27.

Drug abuse and drug trafficking are out of control. Just a few days ago, Yudi, one of our missions students, got a call saying that her brother was murdered by drug traffickers. Now she has two brothers that are dead because of drugs. Yudi is the ONLY Christian in her whole family. We are committed to see this one young, spirit filled women be the transformational generation in her family.

There are still 6,620 unreached people groups in the world. In India alone there are 2,190 unreached people groups. Misael and Deborah, newly appointed missionaries from Dominican Republic have a passion to reach just one of these groups. They are presently raising support from our Dominican churches to go. Our job is to train them to go and train our churches to send these missionaries.

So given such a sizable task, we can sit and look at this big job and complain about the economy and how few resources we have, or we can put the car on the bike and make it happen. We choose to make it happen.

What is your impossible task? Are you waiting for the economy to improve before you make it happen? Are you waiting for the perfect timing and better circumstances when all the while if you just took a chance on what you you had right in front of you, your mustard seed could actually MOVE A MOUNTAIN.

"I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." --Jesus in Luke 17:20

The REAL Christmas Photo

2008-12-24T12:03:00.005-04:00

It was THAT time of year again. The annual holiday photo for the Christmas card. For me, it is almost as fun as getting a root canal. After making the boys actually comb their hair, we headed out the door. On the way to the photo shoot, we pray. This ordeal will require the help of the Holy Spirit.

Meanwhile, I am dreaming of the perfect family photo. Our four boys smiling beautifully and looking in the direction of the camera. Nelson and I... looking younger than ever... then reality hits! After dozens of shots, changing positions, and begging Marcus to LOOK at the camera, all of a sudden we smell this horrible odor. Troy looks down embarrassed and slightly amused. Alex and Nicolas discuss who did it, which then results in an all out argument. Meanwhile, Marcus just holds his nose. The outcome of this precious family moment is the beautiful photo that accompanies this note. Notice that Nelson and I are still commited to the perfect family photo despite the horrible smell and the argument in the background.

And then I got to thinking, isn't that just the way it is at Christmas? We usually come into the season with these beautiful illusions of the perfect holiday celebration, or the picture perfect family and then somebody makes a stink in one way or another and reality hits.

Can you just imagine that Mary felt the same way during the very first Christmas season? Surely she had illusions of having her baby in a decent setting rather than a stable for animals. Then the innkeeper made a stink about "no room" and well...reality hit. Yet God chose to give the most precious gift of all in the midst of the reality of our imperfect and fallen world.

For a lot of us; reality hits this Christmas season. Perhaps your Christmas illusion is tainted by the economy, or by a broken relationship, or by the fact that a loved one is gone from your holiday celebration. Yet let me assure you that in the midst of our cruel reality the most amazing gift of all is given. The hope of the world is with us-- EMMANUEL. And that hope has nothing to do with whether or not we have somehow managed to roast chestnuts on an open fire and dress our children in matching pajamas.

So today me and my boys will be celebrating that HOPE and Joy that has come into the reality of our crazy world. And with all the food and fun, you can be sure that someone will probably make a stink.

Nelson and I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and may you experience Emmanuel ("God with us") during this festive season and all through the coming year.

Rennae, Nelson, Troy, Alexander, Nicolas and Marcus

Assemblies of God missionaries serving in Dominican Republic

Muddy Shoes, 6,000 Souls, Giving Groceries and a Toilet Story

2008-11-06T20:46:00.013-04:00

Muddy shoes and beautiful feet - Yudi is a second year Master's Commission student who was out in a rural town doing children's ministry when she found herself in the middle of some deep mud. She was out inviting children to an afternoon evangelistic activity. As she walked she saw three kids playing in a basketball court that was just beyond some really deep mud. It was so deep that her shoe got stuck in the mud and she had to dig it out. As she was digging it out the young girl that from the church that was with her told her, "It's ok Yudi, we really don't have to go so far in this mud." Yudi was determined. She was gonna make sure that those three little boys were invited to the actvity. Sure enough that the first children to arrive at church were the three boys from the muddy barrio. The left their muddy shoes by the door of the church and sat on the front row. It turns out the Yudi's muddy feet were the most beautiful of all. As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"(Rom. 10:15)

6000 souls- Elias and Merary spent last weekend putting together a Kings Castle soul-a-thon event. Their faces were lit up with joy as they were able to reach 6000 children at the event!

Giving groceries- Keila was so excited as she told about how her young people were able to give out groceries in the neediest barrios of her town of Villa Altagracia. Keila shared "I had been hoping to recieve bags of aid from an American organization for feeding the poor. We waited and then I decided to challenge the young people of my Kings Castle team not to wait. We can each bring and donate a bag of groceries from our own families resources to give out in the communtiy. We called them 'bags of love' and distributed the bags door to door."

A Toilet Story- Pastor Reynoso called me the other day to tell us about how his church has been ministering to 337 children every week . Now he pastors a church of only 75 members but they are serious about reaching out to the children in their impoverished barrio. They have carefully kept records of each one of these children. They know their families and their stories. The make it a point to learn about their needs. One little boy in particular was a regular attender to the children's ministry and came to church every time the doors were open. They noticed that every time he came he would use the church bathroom as soon as he arrived. Then someone went to visit the little boy's home. They learned that the family was so porr that they did not have a bathroom. Pastor Reynoso and his wife decided that they would personally do something to help. The gave took out their own toilet and gave it to the family and helped them build a bathroom. Pastor Reynoso's wife was happy to help. She said, "I wanted a new toilet for our house anyway."

Angelo is going to PERU!!!!

2008-10-29T16:53:00.004-04:00

I must admit that I was surprised that Angelo was even interested in Master’s Commission, our missions training school. Angelo is quiet and from the small town of Azua. Yet he was determined. This past summer Angelo was one of the first class of students in Dominican Republic that was the first to graduate with a major in missions and theology.

Since entering Master’s Commission Angelo has felt called to missions and he made it his goal to do his missions internship in Peru. Financially, this was an extremely lofty goal for a guy from Azua. Yet the biggest challenge was the fact that his family was in the middle of a crisis. His father had been unemployed for six months. As a young adult in Dominican culture, Angelo was expected to contribute to the family finances and all the more so in the situation of financial crisis.

So Angelo had a decision to make the day that he bought tickets to Lima, Peru. The tickets were found at a significant discount if he could leave on the 31st of October. Would he stay and find work? Or would he move forward with his ministry plans in Peru? Angelo took an enormous step of faith and purchased the airline ticket. The flight would leave the day that his father was to complete six months of unemployment.

Yet the God who calls is also the one who provides. Just a few days before Angelo’s flight was to depart, his father was was hired at a new job! This was just the confirmation that Angelo needed. His family was taken care of, his missionary budget was supplied and his Friday, Angelo will get on a plane headed for Peru to serve and love the children there.

Nicolas and the Tooth Rat

2008-10-16T21:55:00.004-04:00

Nicolas is eight years old has been losing his teeth. Right after we first returned back from the states Nicolas lost a tooth and asked if the tooth fairy would be making any trips to the Dominican Republic. Troy and Alex, the big brothers who were experienced in these things quickly informed him that the tooth fairy did not work in the DR. Instead here in the DR they have a Rat named Perez.

The story goes that this rat lived in a dentist office and learned dentistry and would help his fellow rats with their tooth problems. When the older mice would lose their teeth Perez found that the best replacement was a child’s baby teeth. So he would go looking for these teeth under the children’s pillow at night and left a gift in exchange for the child’s tooth.

Nicolas listened to the story intently with great interest, so I thought for sure that he would leave his tooth in his bed. But I found that his tooth was nowhere near his bed. He left the tooth in my bathroom. The next day I asked Nicolas why he left his tooth in my bathroom. After all, the Ratoncito Perez would never think to look there.

To which Nicolas replied, “C”mon mom, would YOU want a rat climbing in your bed at night? I don’t think so.”

We laughed and he said “Don’t laugh, For real, mom. I don’t want any rats in my bed.”

He has every reason in the world to worry about rats in the bed. We’ve killed a few rats at our house. Holly, our miniature dachshund, even killed one. So its not like its all that far fetched. Yet, at the same time I marvel at the faith of childhood.

Children don’t question, they just believe. They believe that tooth rats could come in your bed, easter bunnies hide eggs, Santa brings presents with or without a chimney and Jesus really does hear our prayers and He really is coming soon. The difference is that tooth rats and Santa are fun but not real. Yet that kind of faith placed in the person of Jesus, God’s Son can really make a difference in this world!

I just keep thinking that we must tap into this kind of faith! I want Nicolas to pray and believe God to work supernaturally in our everyday lives. So I have been asking Nicolas to pray more often as we live in a country that needs to see a faith that really does move mountains.

As for the tooth, we’re keeping it to remind us that childlike faith is real and I should be ready for some mountain moving when my children pray.

Going in the Right Direction

2008-09-01T09:26:00.002-04:00

I have been looking for those ruby red slippers. Somebody said that they sold them at Wal-mart and I actually looked for them on several occasions. I never could find them in my size. I wanted them because I found myself dreaming about just clicking those bright red shoes together as I recited “ There’s no place like home”. Moving is an enormous amount of work and the idea of tapping red shoes together seemed easier--easier yes, reality no.

Reality was that we would end up having just under three weeks to pack and prepare a shipment. Reality was that because there was not time to plan we didn’t have enough space in the shipment. Reality was that when all was said and done and we had our bags packed and tropical storm blew through Florida. Flights were delayed. The bags had to be semi unpacked and repacked. Lord, I am TIRED of packing!!!

In the midst of it all we were so blessed to have the family of God rally around us and help us get through it all. Just before we packed our container, our good friends and pastors Walt and Tina Nelson came by with a donation for our shipment. They saw all our stress and helped us pack a few things. As I chatted with Tina, I asked her the common small talk question. “ How are things going at your church? To which she replied. “ Going... long pause... smile... in the right direction.” That simple little response really hit me. In the middle of so much work, stress, and problem. It was this wonderful assurance that no matter what; we were going in the right direction. I was running toward my purpose.

The day finally came! On August 20, 2008 we boarded a plane headed in the right direction. Boarding that plane was not simple matter. We arrived at Tampa International airport with 17 suitcases, 1 guitar, 5 roller carry on luggage pieces and 1 saxophone, all required to weigh less than 50 lbs. My teenagers we mortified as we had to open suitcases and rearrange a few shoes, books or whatever to keep every suitcase at exactly 49.99 lbs. I don’t blame them, even I was concerned about flying underwear as everyone at the ticket counter watched us like we were free entertainment.

The plane left late from Tampa which put us in Miami a little late. So we booked down the concourse to make the next flight. WE WERE NOT GOING TO MISS OUR FLIGHT! One problem--we hadn’t really eaten anything but granola bars. It was around 2 p.m. and we were starved! So picture it in your mind--me, Nelson and our four boys--all of us with rolling luggage and one with a sax--running to our gate with little guys whining, “I can’t run mommy, I’m so hungry” So we stopped quickly to get some pizza and chinese food to go (all at the same place) and hurried on to our gate. When we got to our gate, everyone is sitting around with that, bored, irritated face that indicated to us immediately that the flight was delayed. So we sat down in a little corner and stuffed our faces until the announcement came over the intercom.

“American Airlines Flight 364 has been moved to gate F-82. Please gather your things and move to gate F-82 as we will be boarding shortly.” We were sitting in F-2.

I had just got settled eating my chicken and fried rice scooped out of the plastic bag that I held as I ran across the concourse! Oh how I wished for ruby red slippers in that moment. Not so much to transport me home but just to transport me, the boys, the five bags, one saxophone and my fried rice to F-82.

We moved. We waited--more delay, It turns out that Tropical Storm Fay was taking up residence in North Florida and consequently flights were delayed in Miami. We ate (not without one of the pizzas spilling along the way which resulted in a great big, noisy, and dramatic melt-down by my very tired 8 year old--more entertainment for American Airlines personnel and our traveling companions.) and finally the words I had been longing to hear rang out as if sung with choir music in the background, “American Airlines flight 842 is now boarding for Santo Domingo”

Finally! We were finally headed home! The flight went smoothly, as tired as we were nobody even slept. The boys next with the window seats kept their eyes gazing out the windows, waiting for the moment when our island came into view. We landed just as the sun was setting. We crowded up next to the window to watch the beauty of the Caribbean coast with palm trees, little shack houses, and motorcycles zipping along the highway from high in the sky. As the plane landed, I felt like an Olympic runner that was finally coming to the finish line. Victory was in view!

Then after so much difficulty and obstacles an amazing, unexpected thing happened. We gathered our 17 bags, 1 guitar, 5 roller bags and the saxophone quickly and easily. We got up to the customs guys, ready to beg for mercy and they just waved us on through. It turns out that they did this because we were missionaries. (makes me grateful when I think of all my colleague who enter sensitive countries secretly and dangerously) We walked down the hall filled with beautiful photos of Dominican children and beaches, and tears came to my eyes. We made it!

Then I heard music coming from outside the door. It was merengue music. We heard cheering and singing. I wondered if there was a Dominican celebrity on our flight. Then I saw their faces. It was our family. Our missionary colleagues. Our staff. Young people all wearing their Kings Castle shirts singing and cheering. Then twenty little girls came running to me with hugs and kisses. It was the girls and boys from Bethesda children’s home. They had a bouquet of flowers and a bright yellow beautiful sign, with words written in gold glitter, “Welcome home to our Missionaries, Nelson, Rennae and family”

I became a blubbering, crying, happy, hugging, kissing mess! As we made our our way outside,( it took awhile, we had to hug and kiss them all!!!) all of a sudden we heard barking and then my boys went crazy! Joel brought our little miniature dachshund, named Holly, running to us on a leash. The boys had missed that dog so much during our 14 months of itineration in the US. They talked about her all the time and couldn’t wait to see her. Having her to there to greet us at the airport was a special gift.

Ketty, my ministry partner and director of the girls home brought us an enormous basket of fruit with papaya, mango, bananas, passion fruit along with a pizza, chicken, soda pop, and a cake. Now the beautiful cake with “Bienvenido familia de Freitas” had unfortunately been dropped at the airport and was not so beautiful but we ate it nonetheless.

We arrived home and our staff helped us get settled in, served us the food, washed the dishes, took 17 suitcases up the stairs and enjoyed the "dropped-on-the airport-floor "cake with us. Our missionary colleagues the Anonbys and the Bellos had stocked the cupboards with food. Elena Anonby made us a batch of homemade cookies and my favorite bran muffins that she makes (mmmmm!!) Sugeily had and arrangement of bird of paradise flowers (commonly found here in the DR) on the table.

Our friends left and we layed our tired bodies down to rest. What a day! We made it! We arrived safe and sound and it turned out that I didn’t need those ruby red slippers after all. But I am still quoting Dorothy, “There’s no place like home.”

Finding Significance in Insignificant Places

2008-08-14T06:02:00.002-04:00

Last night was our last itineration service. We thought that we would only have a 10 min window to share and at the last minute the pastor asked us to preach. It was a great opportunity and we felt like our last service was one of our best.

This blog post was written a couple of months ago, here and there along the way. I wanted to post it before we arrived back to the DR. Just a couple more miracles to add to this digital miracle web log!

A few months ago, Nelson and I attended West Florida District Council. They gave each of the credentialed ministers a book, “Finding significance in insignificant places” by Randy Valimont. I could relate to that title. My mission field is little island in the Caribbean, my hometown is called Niceville, Florida. My home district is one of the smallest in our nation. All of this adds up to a pretty significant measure of insignificance!

Yet in all of our travels to places both significant and insignificant, we are blessed and inspired to hear the stories of miracles in the midst of obscurity. At the West Florida District Council, we found ourselves in the company of two these choice servants of God. Two pastors pastoring in what would seem to be the prize winner for the insignificant places award. They both have these amazing stories. It won’t be published in Newsweek or even the Pentecostal Evangel, (not exactly the most significant of magazines anyway!) But I wanted to make sure that their stories are told. Even if that means that only my boys will be the ones to read it!

I first met Ricky Teddar while he pastored in Appalachacola, FL. He faithfully pastored in this tiny church for several years. We were invited to preach at his church but a hurricane came through the Sunday that we scheduled our visit. HIs tiny church supported us $100 a month. I later found out that one of the members cleaned the church and the church paid her $100 a month. After seeing our video, she told the Pastor that she would clean the church for free if he would give the $100 that she usually received to our ministry. When Pastor Teddar told me I was so humbled that someone was sacrificing in such a big way for Jesus.

Recently Pastor Teddar took a new church that was struggling financially in our district. He said that the first thing he did in the midst of such economic difficulties was to have missions convention and recommit to their missionaries. Right away they saw God come through and stabilize the finances of the church. So the people began to plan to purchase a 23 passenger people mover bus. This was a big purchase, it would cost $57,000. Pastor Teddar decided that the first thing that they would do was give $5700 to Speed the Light. The young people got busy with fund raisers and in two weeks the Lord helped them to raise all of the $5700!! Everyone was excited!

But the next step was to raise the $20,000 down payment. The people sacrificed and gave and in just a matter of months they had the $20,000 down payment and were able to finance the rest of the $37,000. Just shortly after the bus was purchased a man in the community came by the church during a local outreach and he saw the bus. He found Pastor Teddar and began to ask him a lot of questions about the bus. Pastor Teddar thought his questioning was odd but other than that he didn’t give it much attention. Then just a couple days later he got a call from this man. The man asked him to come by his house. Pastor Teddar said it was a Wednesday night and extremely inconvenient for him but he made the time to visit this man anyway. That night the man wrote a check for $37,000. The bus was purchased free and clear! What a miracle. Now that’s significant!

Pastor Bo Sentirfitt is meek and mild mannered. He is so passionate about the Lord and his Global cause but you would never know it because of what he says, you know it because of what he does. I love his church because they are always serving their community. They bus kids in for Wednesday services, they feed the kids both supper and the Word of God. When the kids go back to school; the church does a huge outreach and gives out school supplies and backpacks. I believe that this is what a powerfully pentecostal church looks like.

His church is a very small church in the sticks of West Florida. But this year it was the number one missions giving church in the district. How did he surpass churches that are three times and more the size of his church? He got creative! The church bought a home and the people of the church donated time and supplies to renovate the home and then they sold it and made a SIGNIFICANT profit. So much for insignificance!

I don’t know if these guys have read the book, they wouldn’t need to. Obviously, they have found significance in insignificant places.

Becoming a Fan

2008-08-01T20:28:00.004-04:00

If you are into Facebook then you know about Fan pages. Basically you can join an internet page that makes you a fan of almost anything or anyone. Starbucks has a fan page that is really popular, and there is Hannah Montana, Switchfoot, and Elvis. Of course, all of your sports teams have a fan page. I joined the Tampa Bay Rays. You can be a fan of a church or an organization. Joel Osteen has a fan page and so does the Batman movie. My sixteen year old son just joined the C.S. Lewis fan page. (My kid is so cool!)

As we come to the end of our itineration, (itineration: a missionaries one year in their home country to visit people and places, raise money and say thank you) I have been thinking about all the places and people that we’ve met. We have met so many unknown amazing people. Their stories may never be told in any magazine and they may never have a fan page on Facebook but if they did; I would want to join.

Mark and Jan Hall-- They began their missionary career in Mozambique. They both speak three languages and now as they reach retirement age you would think that they would be slowing down, but instead they have begun a whole new ministry here in the states. They work in San Antonio with the foreign military that have come to the united states to study language. They are reaching the whole WORLD right there in San Antonio. Muslims and Arabs have come to faith through their ministry and the ministry of local church that they partner with. I was especially blessed to meet a Dominican marine officer that they have been bringing to church. He absolutely loves the church and God is doing a work in his life. Mark and Jan say all that they really do is love these men and women into the Kingdom. That is why I am a fan of Mark and Jan Hall.

Judy Clark -- Judy is a Pastors wife and has been serving Jesus alongside her husband for years but just a couple of years ago she felt the spirit of God tugging at her heart and preparing her for a new phase of ministry. She wasn’t sure and she wrestled with it trying to find direction for awhile. Then the Lord opened up a door for her to work as a chaplain. She works in the area of Family services and has the privilege to pray and counsel with women involved in domestic violence, children victimized by abuse and couples going through divorce. She told me that in a years time she had met with over 200 individuals and had led 138 of those people to the Lord. I admire her so much, I would join her fan page as well.

The Hodums-- This is a pastoral family that have been our friends for years, but this time I was able to see how God uses this family in a small rural community in such a significant way. Their kids go to public school and they take being a campus missionary very seriously. Their teenage son, Andrew made friends with a guy that was kind of an outsider at school without any friends. Andrew invited him to church and got him involved with music at church and band at school. It turns out that he was from a broken home, a very sad situation. This boy gave his life to Jesus and is a totally different kid. The Hodums love him as if he were one of their own. He practically lives at their house. This is just one story, there are other kids as well but it would take too long to tell every story. Because of all these stories, I am a fan of the Hodums.

Woody Woodruff-- Woody is a great friend & partner in ministry. He has been helping us with MAPS building teams that are doing work on our project. But before he became a missionary associate, he was a successful businessman with his own welding business. He’s a hard worker and his business kept him away from his family and away from God. All that changed one day when his little girl sat on his lap and asked him to spend just three hours a week with her. He knew that he needed to spend time with his kids so he agreed and then she asked that those three hours be spent with her at church on Wednesdays and Sundays. Well, God got a hold of his heart, and as a result, his business and money and worldly success didn’t seem so important anymore. He sold his business, his custom built home and downsized so that he could do full time missions work. Now he travels the world using his welding skills to build a children’s home in Jamaica, churches in Africa and a children’s ministry center in the Dominican Republic. We are BIG TIME fans of Woody Woodruff.

Mary Jane Neville-- If you know us you have heard Nelson talk about Mary Jane. Mary Jane was the lady who led Nelson to the Lord at the age of nine. She did this through a Good News Club in his neighborhood. A Good News club is basically a Sunday school lesson held in someone’s home once a week after school. Mary Jane prepared memory verse games, stories and songs and the God used her to sow the seeds of God’s worn on my husbands heart. One day she gave Nelson a Bible and she wrote a date inside the cover; November 9th, 1974. That was the day that Nelson gave his heart to Jesus. Today Mary Jane lives in an assisted care facility and she still sends us offerings for our ministry. If Mary Jane had Facebook fan page, Nelson would be the first to join. I would be second.

These are just a few of my fan pages. I could write so many more stories. Just like me, you could probably write stories about unknown amazing people. So here’s my challenge to my blogging buddies. Tell their stories!! Don’t you think that Hannah Montana and Starbucks have enough fans? Let’s be fans of the unknown amazing people in this world.

Modern Day Slave Trade

2008-07-15T22:49:00.004-04:00

The First Lady of Dominican Republic recently spoke out on the atrocity of trafficking and its implications on our island. Check out this article and then view my comments below.

“The Dominican Republic holds the dubious honor of occupying one of the top three slots in the Americas for its modern day slave trade. An estimated 50,000 Dominican women are estimated to be victims of human trafficking, and this figure does not include either men or children. According to Diario Libre, in her address to a seminar ‘Protection of persons affected by the slave trade’, First Lady Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez said that this exploitation of migrant women is a crime against the state and its victims are mostly the result of poverty, sexual or racial discrimination, marginalization and unequal development. The First Lady emphasized that the elimination of the people trafficking in all its manifestations is an urgent necessity and a high priority. The keynote speaker listed the factors that promote this treatment of human beings, mentioning economic difficulties, social violence, crime, the hope of a better life in developed countries ! and trickery by people in these countries. In order to eliminate the slave trade, it is necessary to eliminate these causes.
The First Lady pointed out the need to create a well-thought out, well-conceived strategic national plan of action in order to fight this most lucrative of crimes. She said that the Dominican Republic has been trying to combat the slave trade since 1999, starting with the creation of the Inter-Institutional Committee for the Protection of Immigrant Women (CIPROM) which was set up under Decree 97-99 and regulated by law 137-03 which outlaws such dealings.
US ambassador Robert Fannin said that the United States has urged the Dominican government to intensify its efforts to investigate and punish anyone who traffics in human beings, especially government officials of any rank.”

Dona Cedeno believes that “in order to eliminate the slave trade, it is necessary to eliminate the causes”. (i.e. poverty, violence, crime, deceptions, and the hope of a better life in developed nations) While I agree that these are issues that must be addressed, I know with all my heart that the real cause of the slave trade is a sin issue that can only be eliminated by a SAVIOR. With all my heart I am convinced that the only REAL hope for a girl caught up in the bondage of human trafficking is through the SUPERNATURAL authority of God Almighty, His risen and redeeming Son, and the power of the Holy Spirit. So while I support every effort by the government to do what needs to be done, my heart longs to see a Spirit-filled, empowered CHURCH rise up in this issue. and bring the power of the Holy Spirit into the brothel, and to be the hands and feet of Jesus redeeming a red light district.

I will give you the treasures of darkness,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the LORD,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name Isaiah 45:3

The Source is the Same...

2008-07-12T19:07:00.005-04:00

As we near the end of our year of itineration ministry, we are in our last big push to raise funds. Fund raising is not may favorite part of this ministry gig. But it is a necessary part. And God has always been faithful.
Last year I was so nervous and worried about the whole process of setting up our missions services. One day as I was praying the Lord reminded me that He was my source. Not the churches. Not the pastor. Not my communication ability. Not even the current US economy. He alone was my source so it didn't matter if I scheduled a service in a big church or a small home missions church. He has always been our provider and he remains to be Jehovah Jireh. Our source is always the same.
This past January our family had the privilege of going to Philadelphia, PA and learn about the history of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We came back from that trip inspired to write our own Declaration. Ours is a Declaration of Dependence.
I thought that I should share it on my blog, especially since we still lack the necessary funds to return in August. Our target date is the 18th of August. I find that I need to remind myself about that word from the Lord. (everytime we fill up the gas tank.) You, my dear reader, may need to hear it as well. Your Source is still the same.

de Freitas Family Declaration of DEpendence
God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia!
Oh, yes!
Ephesians 3:20 (MSG)

We believe
That the same God who provided a financial miracle for the provision for the purchase of Cima del Rey will provide it again.
We believe
That the current state of the economy in the USA bears no influence on the economy of heaven.
We believe
That the provision for us to return to the Dominican Republic does not depend upon our talents, abilities, or our opportunities.
We believe
That every offering and ministry opportunity is a testimony to the working of the Spirit within us and the Glory goes to God alone.
We believe
And stand upon the truth of Ephesians 3:20 that we serve a God who can do anything and can do far more than we could ever imagine, or guess, or request in our wildest dreams.
We believe
That no matter WHERE we go—bigchurch /little church, big crowd/ small crowd, no matter who the pastor is, or what the circumstances or the situation
Our Source is the same.
Signed and respectfully declared, this 24th day of the year of our Lord two thousand and eight,
Nelson, Rennae, Troy, Alexander, Marcus and Nicolas de Freitas

Peninsular Florida Girls Retreat (formerly Missionette retreat)-- My experience as special speaker

2008-06-23T10:57:00.004-04:00

Girls retreat is over and I finally have a moment sitting with my coffee, my new MacBook named Maxi (name inspired by my new friend Sara who names everything) to reflect on a week of sharing the Word and the powerful Presence of Jesus with my sisterchics.

Deborah Chapin, who happens to be one of my favorite people in this world, asked me to speak back in December. Looking back on it now, I don’t know what she was thinking!!! I have spent the last 15 years of my life in a small third-world country speaking spanish. On top of that, I am the mother of four BOYS, hello? I honestly had NO CLUE as to how to minister to girls in the USA in ENGLISH!!!

So as it got time to prepare I started to despair, I WAS TERRIFIED! And anytime that I get terrified -- you probably do this too-- I get down on my knees. I asked Jesus about it and he reminded me that I had been a missionary 15 years and that after 15 years I am pretty much an expert at studying culture and adapting. He reminded me that we have spent a lot of time working out the practical ways God’s Word must impact our lives within the good and the bad of culture. So.... it was time to study the culture of american girls and young women.

(lauging out loud here--while I type Nelson is doing the hula hoop on Wii Fit!!!! hahaha!! Composure.. ok...sorry... back to the story)

So my first step was cable television, I watched Hannah Montana, iCarly, Zoey101 and the only thing I really learned from them was that my teenage wardrobe from the 80’s is actually in fashion again!!! I can truthfully say that I can live the rest of my life without watching Hannah Montana. So we had the wardrobe down...

Then I began to observe the girls at church and that’s when I God spoke to me. I got to know a girl whose family has been having a rough time financially, she’s a little socially awkward but she has become my friend. I noticed that the other girls at church ignore her. Then one day I heard a girl who loves Jesus and really is a great girl say to my socially awkward, financially struggling friend, “Didn’t you wear that shirt to church yesterday?” I watched my friend’s countenance change. Her face turned red, she fidgeted, she nervously tried to explain that it was a clean shirt... My soul was grieved. I began to look into this. I could see that there was something going on with girls that needed to be addressed by the WORD of GOD.

Then God worked it out with my very own BFF, Rhonda Gray, to help me. Boy did she help...She has a daughter, age 11 and she knows all about this stuff. We wrote a story together with the Holy Spirit. I love ministering with story -- just like Jesus did with the Parables. We felt led to hit the topics of friendship, bullying, cyberbullying, gossip and revenge.

Rhonda and I became teenagers, Lexi and Chloe. Please, I know its weird to see two women in their thirties try to be teenagers. I hope that there is no you tube video that will come back to haunt me!! We had a blast and God moved in EVERY retreat.

The small girls were so fun! We adapted the story a little bit but they actually were very engaged and they really loved the characters. I believe that even some of the little girls received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. It was beautiful to see them flood the altars when we gave an altar call. Nobody held back. I love that!!!

Then we ministered to 12-18 year old girls. Big Jump, but God showed up in a big way! One girl asked me, “Please pray that God will give me a friend, I am always left out.” Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

The morning of this retreat, I was reading about Zaccheus and the Word jumped out at me of how Jesus looked up at Zaccheus and he called him by name. I felt impressed that the Lord would look at these girls, even the ones who were outcasts like Zaccheus. During altar call as we prayed, I looked over and my eyes met with this teenage girl and I got goosebumps, it was electrifying!!! I felt like a vessel and Jesus was looking at this girl. We prayed together and IT WAS POWERFUL!

The Holy Spirit was poured out, several girls received and one girl stayed and stayed and stayed all by herself with just her leader. I mean she practically missed lunch. She was NOT gonna go home without the baptism. She didn’t!!! She was so excited.

We also had a message in tongues. I had been really praying for the gifts to be in operation. THIS WAS AN ANSWER TO MY PRAYERs! Yay! An adult gave the message and I explained to the girls what it was all about. In my spirit I KNEW that the interpretation would come from one of the girls. I actually started to tell the girls, “the interpretation could be in one of you, it does not have to be an adult” but I didn’t say it thinking that I did not want to influence the work of the Spirit. It turns out that He does not need my help!!!! And sure enough a young girl came forward with a message! The Lord spoke through her saying to the girls, “You are not too young to influence your church, your school or your community” Wow...so cool!

Stars retreat was the last and in this one we ministered to the upper elementary girls. This is probably my favorite age. They were really in to it. They listened intently and really connected with the message. In all the retreats I felt passionate about communicating to the girls that God’s Word really APPLIES to our everyday walking around lives, even our friendships! (especially our friendships!) It is better than a teen magazine!!!

They really went after God and it was awesome. LOTS of girls were filled with the Spirit and there was a beautiful healing presence. God did a lot of work healing emotions and heart hurts in all the retreats and it wasn’t just the girls. There were several leaders who told me that had to get free of past hurts.

One last testimony. It was wonderful feel the gifts in operation. Gifts of knowledge and prophecy. But I especially asked the Lord to let his Word speak into the lives of the girls. Often as I ministered in the altars the Scriptures would flood my prayers. As I prayed over girls in the stars retreat I kept reminding the girls that the Lord God never would forget them. I prayed Isaiah 49:15-16

Can a mother forget her nursing child?

Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?

But even if that were possible,

I would not forget you!

See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.

In the altars as I ministered this scripture a little girl fell out under the power of God and she just wailed. It was almost gut-wrenching, yet I knew at the same time Jesus was doing a beautiful work. It turns out that this child has been in and out of foster care and most recently her Stars leaders had to turn in her step father for child abuse. Big time stuff that ONLY JESUS can really heal. And in that moment the Holy Spirit hovered over her and it was as though He was holding her in that altar and healing her.

Well that is my story. Jesus did his thing and I got to be a part of it!!! Except for the few times that I forgot to pray in English with the girls (crazy--I am so used to ministering in Spanish in the altars) and for the demons in the sound system, (but I’m used that) it was a week of victories for everyone myself included.

Oh and one last thing-- Pray for me, I am working hard to remove “like” “totally” “awesome” and “cool” from my every-other-word vocabulary. You should have heard me in church yesterday!!! lol!!!

Human Trafficking in Dominican Republic

2008-06-06T10:13:00.003-04:00

The Persons in Trafficking report was just recently released and it doesn’t show much improvement on the part of the government of our beloved island of Dominican Republic. The fact of the matter is that I know that the hope for children of our country will never be found in any government solutions. The real hope for a little girl in the bondage of prostitution in the tourist zones of our island can only be found through the power of Jesus Christ. That power is most often presented to those girls through a walking and talking and loving and “being with” relationships with Spirit-filled believers. It is my passion to see the church, the Pentecostal church, in particular become a powerful force for transformation in the lives of boys and girls who live in the filth of bars and brothels.

Today I am thinking about my friends in Boca Chica. Angela, Natalie, Jaquelin. Their journey towards transformation was just beginning when I left. I am wondering about the three girls in a little town where the traffickers are very active. Their aunt had been taken to Argentina and was dying of AIDS. She would never return to her homeland because of the disgrace that it would cause her family. I’ll never forget 16 year old Miseidy asking me “When will we see you again? When can you come back to visit us?”

We have just a few months left to raise the remaining part of our budget to be able return in August. Please pray for God to provide and pray for the boys and girls in Dominican Republic that are victimized EVERY DAY, yes even TODAY.

Below I have posted a summary about the report from the Dominican Republic’s English news website www.DR1.com

Persons Trafficking report 

The 2008 Trafficking in Persons Report from the US State Department highlights the DR as a Tier 2 country and urges the country to increase efforts to bring human traffickers to justice. The report also urged the DR to emphasize pursuing "complicit high-ranking government officials" who partake in this illegal activity." The Dominican Republic is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. A large number of Dominican women are trafficked into prostitution and sexual exploitation in Western Europe, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama, Haiti, and other Caribbean destinations. A significant number of women, boys, and girls are trafficked within the country for sexual exploitation and domestic servitude." The report indicates that the Dominican government has made some attempt to curb the illegal trafficking of people. "The Government of the Dominican Republic does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so."  For more information see: www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2008/

The Source

2008-05-19T13:05:00.005-04:00

This morning I woke up with a headache and I went directly to my medicine cabinet and picked up the Tylenol. I didn't even take a moment to ask my healing Savior for help. I didn't really need his help I guess because I had Tylenol. Kinda sad, huh?

Yesterday I was talking with a woman and her daughter after our church service and her daughter was excited about a missions trip that she was going to be taking in the summer. The mother commented that she thought that it would be good for her daughter to see places and people that have to rely completely on the Lord because they live in meager circumstances.

Living in the Dominican Republic I often find myself in those places and with those people. Our conversation reminded me of a time when I learned the importance of faith in the healing Savior and not on medicine or some gringo missionary. I shared it with this mother and daughter and I thought that I should post it today...
The Source
The baby’s fever was high. His little body was lethargic and limp. The mother’s face was familiar to me. I know it. I have lived it. If you are a mother, you have lived it too. It is that appearance that comes with worry for your baby; the expression of having your child’s well-being totally out of your control and so you look for a source of healing.She went to the doctor. It took all of her resources, she spent her last peso, but this is what you do when your baby is sick. The doctor wrote the prescription and sent her on to the pharmacy to get the medicine that would cure the fever. It was easy. She just needed medicine. But she spent her last peso… And so she returned home with the source of her babies healing written on a piece of paper.

When I heard the mother’s story I was ready to get that piece of paper and buy that medicine because this is what a mother does when her baby is sick. Yet the Spirit of God spoke so clearly to me, “I am the Source, you are not.” We prayed. When my hand touched that baby’s forehead that lay upon his mother’s shoulder I felt the burn of the fever. We said Amen. The baby was still hot. Doubt arose within me and the still small voice that I know so well repeated in its still, small way “I am the Source, you are not”.

I began to talk to the mother she told me that she fell away from God and her soul was really not at peace with Him. We prayed. We asked God to be the Source of forgiveness, salvation and healing. We said Amen. The baby lifted his head from his mommy’s shoulder. I touched his forehead once again; the fever was gone! He smiled and so did we because in that we moment we all had experienced a personal encounter with The Source.

I am so glad that when Tylenol doesn't work or the money runs out, if the doctor is not in the village or the diagnosis is inoperable... there is a Supernatural Source for anyone, anywhere.

Sam's Three Dollars

2008-04-29T17:08:00.001-04:00

After our service at Treasure Coast Assembly of God, a little boy named Sam handed me three dollars. He looked at me with big blues eyes welling up with tears and said, “It’s not much but its all I have…” The Holy Spirit had clearly spoken to his heart as we shared about our work with the children of Dominican Republic in his children’s church. No one passed an offering plate and nobody told him to go give the missionaries his money but his heart was touched and he had to do something to help a place with so much need.

When Sam pulled those three dollars out of his pocket, it was like I was standing with the little boy with five loaves and two fish. (You know the story found in John chapter 9) The Bible doesn’t say how old he was but I can just imagine him like a ten year old boy. He could have thought that his lunch was nothing compared to so much need, so much hunger. Yet he decided that he could give it to Jesus. I wonder why. Could he see the possibility of the miracle? Or was he simply obedient when given the opportunity to participate in meeting a need? Who knows but I like to think that maybe it was the latter. He simply obeyed. When Andrew found him, he was willing to do his part.

I love this story. I love the miracle. I love that I serve a God with the power of multiplication. That is why my meager gift is meaningful. He didn’t need the lunch to do the miracle yet he gave that little boy an opportunity to participate. And that opportunity had nothing to do with his credentials, he was just a little boy, or the quantity of his offering, obviously he barely had anything to offer. It was all about participation.

Over this past year we have received a lot of offerings. Every offering is a blessing and gift from God. But this one was extra special. Maybe because it the gift was from a ten year old, but mostly because it was all he had. Sam could thought “why give such small gift when there is so much need?” He could have thought that his three dollars would be better spent on something for himself, yet instead he decided to participate. I believe that Sam is doing his part in a miracle of multiplication.

At the end of children’s church, we gave all the kids a peso coin and a prayer card. We asked the children to pray for us. Sam told me that he would make sure and pray for us. I got a letter from Sam just this past week. Let me share a portion…

Dear Mr. and Mrs. deFreitas,

When you came to Treasure Coast Assembly, it was great. I learned

a lot about your missionary service. I liked it very much. You were very

kind to me, too.

Your sermon was very nice and I liked the message that you gave to us.

I liked your talk so much that I decided to change the subject of my research

paper to the Dominican Republic. I thought it would be good to know

more about your area of the world.

It is really important that you keep on preaching and helping others turn to Christ.

I am taping the peso that you gave me in the notebook. I would tape your prayer card in also but my Mom washed it in my pants pocket. We're hoping that Miss Peggy can find someone who isn't using theirs every day so we can copy it at Staples.

Your friend from Treasure Coast Assembly,

Sam

The Witch in the Bathroom

2008-03-16T21:31:00.003-04:00

My last week in the Dominican Republic was probably one of the most special weeks of my life. For the past couple of years I have been working with a wonderful woman Ketty Figueroa. Ketty is an educator, pastor’s wife, and minister who began a small school in a barrio slum of the capital city of Santo Domingo many years ago. Since 2004, Ketty has been a part of the outreach we have been doing to reach girls involved in prostitution. It was through this outreach that Ketty felt the need to begin a children’s home to receive children of prostitutes and abandoned kids that we were finding through our contacts in the red light districts. Ketty had no funding except from her local church where she and her husband were pastors. The church found a home to rent they relied on donations of clothing and food for the children.

The home that she was renting was really falling apart and not an adequate place for the children. The bathrooms had plumbing problems and they always smelled like urine. Yet at least in this home the children were loved, fed, educated and taken to church. I began to dream with Ketty about a new home for the kids. It was my sincere desire to help her purchase a home so that the church’s money could provide for the needs of the girls. In response to our prayers God sent the Women’s Ministries of Colorado and Utah to help us. The women raised enough money to pay for one year’s rent on a better and bigger home. They also came to paint and fix it up.

After one week of renovation work on the new house, we would bring the kids in to see their new home and celebrate with a party for all the children of the home. The women had brought new clothes and shoes for all the children. They also brought a brown baby doll for each one of the 17 girls and trucks for the 2 boys. Needless to say the children were elated and thrilled with all the blessings. Each girl found their bed full of gifts and began to play with the baby dolls and try on their new cloths.

For me it was one of the BEST days of my life. It was as though the combined joy of each one of the children was heaped inside my heart. I laughed and played with the girls as they looked over their gifts. One of the girls, Daysi, caught my eye as she admired the beautiful new purple butterfly dress that was given to her.

Daysi is eleven years old and the oldest of three sisters that came to Ketty through contacts in the brothels of Boca Chica. She is one of the quieter girls in our home. She LOVES to get attention and longs for it, but she would never demand it. It is as though she feels unworthy of any special attention. So I wanted to make sure that I shared with her this special moment.

“Daysi, would you like to try on your new dress?” I asked.

She smiled and nodded.

“Let’s go change in the bathroom.” I responded.

A worried look replaced the excitement in her face. “Will you come with me?” she asked.

“Of course.” I found it somewhat strange that she wanted my help to change in the bathroom but I was delighted to share with her this special moment. As we entered the bathroom she almost froze with fear and explained with a quivering voice, “I’m scared to go into the bathroom alone.”

“Why Daysi? What’s wrong?”

She then began to explain that before Sister Ketty had taken her in she lived in a horrible place that had a witch in the bathroom. All of the sudden our giddy happiness was replaced with the haunting past. I had so many questions about this “witch in the bathroom”. Yet I sensed that these answers and explanations could never erase the fear that I saw in those beautiful chocolate brown eyes---only the powerful work of Jesus could erase that fear.

“Daysi,” I responded, “I want you know that this place is nothing like the place where you used to live. The place where you used to live may have been filled with many awful things and awful experiences but this new home if filled with love. There is love in the kitchen and love in the bedrooms and even the bathrooms are filled with love. I want to pray right now and ask Jesus to erase your memory of the witch in the bathroom.

“Jesus,” I began, “by the power and authority of your mighty name I ask you to remove every awful memory in the mind of my precious Daysi. Come in this moment Holy Spirit and may your presence erase the haunting image of the witch so that it could never enter her thoughts again. I come against the enemy and his wickedness and I remind him that this home is dedicated to the glory of God alone and that these children are precious treasures that belong to Almighty Father God. I pray that every day Daysiwill grow in the knowledge of her Heavenly Father’s love and may that perfect love take away every fear. In the powerful name of Jesus. Amen.”

Tears were glistening on both of our cheeks when I finished praying. The fear in Daysi’s face was replaced with a big smile. “How about trying on your dress?” I asked. She nodded with excitement and quickly changed her clothes.

Looking at her with that pretty butterfly dress, I reminded Daysi that the butterfly was once an ugly caterpillar. His past was ugly but his new life is beautiful. I told her that she is very much like that butterfly. The past may have been ugly but now everything is new. She has new home and a new life and her future is certain to be beautiful.

The Empowerment Event - Three days of prayer and fasting

2007-03-08T19:49:00.000-04:00

The above photo is one of our Castle teams posing in this year's T-shirt. Our theme for the year has been "Make your best play!" We are challenging our evangelism teams to do give their best for Jesus. As you can see we drew inspiration from the national sport of Dominican Republic; that is baseball.The leader of this team sent us the following is an e-mail to our Castle offices after we had concluded our three day prayer and fasting event. We call it “Empoderamiento”. (empowerment) This year’s theme was “Get in shape--No Pain, no gain!”

HI SUGEILY! (Our administrative director)

GOD BLESS YOU A WHOLE BUNCH!

I have to tell you that I always enjoy the empowerment fast and I just have to share with you a testimony that happened the day we left the event. My team and I went to pick up a bus to return home to Santiago and on the way to the bus station there was a motorcycle accident and we saw a woman passenger fly of the motorcycle. It was horrible and none of us will ever forget it. When we got on our bus there was a group of people drinking, speaking vulgarities and making a lot of noise. We just ignored them and since the bus wasn’t playing any music on the radio, we started to sing and worship

About halfway through our trip we saw that another accident had just occurred, also a motorcycle accident. The man was dead and his body was in bad condition. It was really impacting to see that. I was filled with so much sadness, because the Lord had directed me to think about the conditions of their souls and that most likely they did not know Him.

So, a few of my youth felt the same and we decided to share with the people in the van. Especially those who were so vulgar and drinking. It was amazing that when I got up to speak there was this great silence and everyone paid attention. One of the other girls on my team picked up her Bible and started to talk about the love of God and the rest of us began to intercede. To make a long story short, seven adults accepted Christ on the bus. Some of them were from the vulgar group. We also shared with the children individually and many of them accepted Jesus.

Sometimes we think that the place for preaching is only in an outreach, or in a pulpit but the truth is that God can be glorified anyplace or anytime.

Take Care and love you lots,

Maria Virginia “Getting in shape”

The Accident

2007-02-23T00:03:00.000-04:00

It was a breezy Caribbean afternoon as we arrived in Santo Domingo and left the airport baggage claim with our four boys, 11 suitcases, 1 guitar, 1 saxophone, two laptop computers, 1 ipod, and 3 Nintendo Gameboys. (It takes a lot of gadgets for the modern family to travel successfully.) Little did we know that it would be a day of miracles; both the mundane and the extraordinary. After all our years of travel we give God the glory for safe and timely arrivals at the airport and we feel especially blessed when ALL of our luggage arrives with us.

Jose Climaco, our Master’s Commision director and beloved colleague was waiting to take us to our home sweet home in the Dominican Republic. The boys were really glad to be getting home, but I must admit that I was dreading all the work that was waiting for us. We would be getting ready for a big move in the next six months as we are preparing for our year of itineration beginning in July 2007. The transition was overwhelming to me. I secretly wished that it would be possible to skip the next six months.

Jose, Nelson and the big boys packed the van as I got the little boys settled in a seat. This is where we experienced what would be the first miracle. Marcus, our wiggly five year old decided out of the blue that he wanted to sit up front in between Daddy and Jose. It seemed strange to me that he would choose to be up front in a seatbelt rather than in the back seats free from restraint, so I asked him if he was sure that he wanted to do this. He said that he was sure and so we put him up front in the seatbelt. The rest of the boys joined me in the back. Jose hopped in the driver’s seat with Nelson up front and we were on our way home.

We were merrily rolling along when about 10 minutes into the trip we heard the squealing wheels behind us. It had just begun to sprinkle rain when this car traveling at a very high speed lost control and was spinning behind us. I saw Jose look in the rearview mirror with great concern and then immediately tried accelerate and move our van and avoid what would be an inevitable accident. The impact of the car sent us toward a cement barrier along the median of the road. Jose turned hard to miss a head on collision and then a tire blew and we lost control. Our van spun around a couple of times and then hit the barrier on the side which caused us to tip and then we slid down the road with the van on the right side for about 20 meters before finally coming to a complete stop.

As the van began to tip, almost in unison we all cried out “Jesus” and “Cristo”. I can still hear my boys little voices calling on our Savior. In that moment, Nicolas fell toward the window and I knew that I needed to prevent my boys from falling onto that window that was sliding on the highway. So as we tipped I put one hand on the window and another in the back of the front seat to brace my body and use as a shield to keep the boys heads or anything from hitting that window. As a result my hand was chopped up and friction burned by the broken window and asphalt sliding underneath my hand.

Finally the van came to a stop and the presence of God filled the vehicle as we discovered that EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US WAS ALIVE AND WELL. I looked back at Troy (15 years old) covered in the luggage but with bright wide eyes he yelled “I’m ok mommy are you ok?” There was an amazing sense that we were in the middle of a miracle.

Instantly our car was surrounded with people banging on the front windows. They were trying to break out the windows to get us out. It wasn’t necessary because the driver’s side door opened easily and we all were able to climb up through it and walk away from the vehicle. My hand was filling with blood, but I felt no pain, just immense gratefulness as I saw each of my dearest treasures on this earth get out of the van and walk to my side. But at the same time I was feeling relief, people were approaching Nelson and I about the danger of people looting our car. This was a blessing because it was hard for us to even give a thought to worry about passports, laptop computers or anything else with blood, tears, chaos, and anxiety all around us. Nelson and Jose were able to secure our stuff, since neither was hurt, and as a result we did not lose anything. It was just another one of the miracles.

At this point I began to feel like I was going to faint. I have no idea who was holding me on the side of the road at that moment, but God bless him for being there at that moment. He held me steady as my hand spewed blood and Nicolas cried in desperation at my side. Alexander also held me steady. Alex has always been a calm and loving force in our family. God used his beautiful, peaceful temperament to get us through until we could get to a clinic.

Ambulance service is not always easy to get here in the Dominican Republic. Even as we were crashing, I wondered what we would do to get to a clinic. I knew we may need an ambulance. It turned out that God has his own sort of Ambulance service, he sent us two angels named China and Cesar to take us to the clinic. They pulled up in their clean, modest car and told me that they would take me to a clinic. I remember getting into the backseat with my dripping, bloody, hand and seeing that the interior of their car was cream colored. I was humbled by this amazing gesture, yet not really surprised because I knew this was a part of the goodness in the Dominican culture.

Nicolas and Alexander came with me in the car, they also were bleeding and were scraped up, especially Nicolas. We were about fifteen minutes from the nearest clinic and as we drove Nicolas began to panic desperately. He kept screaming, “Mommy, I’m bleeding!!! I NEED TO WIPE IT OFF!!! I NEED A WIPE MOMMY!!!!” It seemed that in his little mind that just by cleaning off the blood everything would be ok. He was really upset, I couldn’t seem to get him to calm down. At the same time, my hand was swelling and I had a ring (a mother’s ring) on one of my fingers. China, my God-sent angel, advised me to get the ring off quickly. It was excruciating, but I managed to get it off. As I was dealing with all this Alexander was helping Nicolas to calm down. I remember his words, “Nicolas it’s ok, we’re all ok. Jesus was with us. Jesus loves us so much. See, he took care of us Nicky. Nicky sing, sing with me Nicky…

Jesus loves me this I KNOW

For the bible tells me so

Little ones to him belong

They are weak, but HE IS STONG

Yes Jesus loves me!

The bible tells me so.

Alexander has a beautiful voice and he sang with all his heart. Later China told me that it in the midst of this ugly tragedy, she experienced amazing beauty in these moments. This simple song, maybe the first song that I learned to sing, filled our hearts with peace and strength. Nicolas finally calmed down as he sang.

It seemed like it took forever to get there and the pain was horrific for me. I felt pain but mostly I felt gratitude. I just had to praise the Lord. I kept saying, “Thank you Jesus, Gracias Señor” But even these two languages were not enough. I began to speak in tongues. The Spirit language just seemed to roll out of my gut. I remember hearing Cesar say to China “They must be Pentecostals.” (this made me smile) Later as I reflected on these moments a couple of things came to mind.

First was a phrase from one of my favorite hymns, the phrase says; “What language shall I borrow to thank thee dearest friend?” Truly, even with the benefit of being bilingual, no regular earthly language was enough. Second, was a passage in Corinthians where Paul writes about speaking in tongues. In 1 Cor. 14:17 he says that when we speak in tongues we “give thanks well enough”. This just proves to be another great benefit of spirit filled living.

We arrived at the clinic and it seemed to be a busy day. I remember lots of people in the emergency room. But they took us in right away. I had a terrible pain in my shoulder and I was scared that it was dislocated or fractured. They took Nicolas and Alex to different beds and started to work on them. I laid in a bed across from Nicolas and I watched as China’s 8 year-old son Cesar Augusto stroked his arm and comforted him. By this time I was in so much pain that I couldn’t think straight. They began to work on my hand and they gave me some pain medication. Just when it all seemed like too much to bear alone, my precious husband walked in and he came to me and held me so that my shoulder was not hurt while they cut all the damaged skin off of my hand. Meanwhile, China and little Cesar stayed with Nicolas and Alex, while they took them to get x-rays. The clinic did not have all the medication we needed; so we soon realized that Nelson would have to get to a pharmacy to buy medication. (not uncommon here) Cesar once again kindly offered to take him in his car. Troy was able to stay near Nicolas and my little Marcus (five year’s old) came to my side and prayed for me. After he prayed he resumed to using his hands as imaginary airplanes and making airplane noises. Marcus was totally fine, not a scratch. I knew that I was watching a miracle make airplane noises.

They also did x-rays on my shoulder and we were elated to find out that NONE OF OUR BONES WERE FRACTURED. It was the same for Nicolas and Alexander--no broken bones! Another miracle!

While we were at the clinic the police came by and assured us that they had secured our stuff. A high ranking officer, the General in charge of the prisons here, happened to be passing by at the time of the accident and controlled the mob that had built up around our van. He came by the clinic and gave us his card and told us to call him if we needed anything. This was just another one of the miracles. Our mechanic, who is also in the reserve military police, came right away to be with José to take care of the van and get it towed off the highway.

By this time Jaimie and Berly Bello, our missionary colleagues came by to get us to take us home. We hadn’t eaten all day, so Jaimie took the boys to get something to eat. Nelson, Nicolas and I went with Berly. Since the clinic was a small clinic with limited resources, we decided to go to another clinic, (one that we have used in the past) with emergency room doctors to get a second opinion. It proved to be a good idea because they could see that my wounds were serious and they called a hand surgeon to examine my wounds. The doctor told me that I had third degree friction burns on my fingers and that I was lucky to even have fingers. He was concerned that one of my fingers would need plastic surgery, but he said that it was too early to tell. We also learned that Nicolas and I would have to the ER everyday to have our bandages changed because of the risk of infection.

When we arrived home we were greeted by Pastor Bello and Milagros, Jose Climaco and his family and the Anonbys, our other missionary colleagues. Elena Anonby had dinner ready for us. This was such a blessing. We hugged and gave thanks to the Lord together. It felt so good to get those hugs!

The next day was Sunday and we had visitors all day! It was so good to share the amazing testimony and embrace the people we love so much. We prayed and sang together and the theme song turned out to be “His eye is on the sparrow”

Feliz cantando algres-- I sing because I’m happy

Yo vivo siempre as--i I sing because I’m free

Si aún la aves cuidan--For his eye is on the sparrow

Cuidarán támbien de mí--And I know he watches me

Today my bandages are off and my fingers are covered with skin. I have yet to regain mobility in my fingers but they tell me that with therapy I will be able get back full movement in my fingers. Nicolas still has a couple of patches of skin that we have to bandage but everyday he looks better. So many people have been praying for us and praising with us as well. We feel so blessed to have such wonderful support of so many family and friends.

Experiences like this help us to remember that every moment is valuable, even times of transition. We have a renewed passion for reaching the lost. I often think how horrible it would be to have gone through this experience with out the assurance that God would hear us when we called. We were completely sure that he was with us because we knew Him, because we all were friends of God. I want every Dominican to have that assurance. I have been so grateful for these scars on my hand because the bandages have opened up doors to witness and share about God’s amazing grace.

Just before we left the US we spent sometime with Rhonda and Gary Gray, our close friends who pastor in Venice, Fl. Gary has a recording studio and just for the fun of making a memory together; we recorded our families singing the chorus “I am a friend of God”. Nicolas probably sang the loudest and with the most heart! He loves that song. The first day that we went back to the ER was pretty difficult. It was a very painful process. Nicolas was not too happy about it, so I suggested that we sing a song. He chose to sing, “I am a friend of God.” As we sang we came to the part about Jesus hearing us when we call. Nicolas commented, “You know mommy that is really true Jesus heard us when we called out to him in the van.” Of course I whole heartedly agreed. It really is true.

Dick Nicolson's World Summit Testimony

2006-11-22T13:19:00.000-04:00

This testimony was written by our Latin America Regional Director Dick Nicholson.

Communiqué—August 2006

There is no doubt about it—last night’s King’s Castle Leadership Summit in La Vega, Dominican Republic, was pretty special!

The event, planned (excellently) by Nelson and Rennae DeFreitas, was attended by over 300 young people from eight or nine countries around the region. It was something to behold!

First, the fact that these many young “warriors” paid $100 to get into the campground at La Vega, and raised that amount plus airfare ($700 or more in some cases), was impressive. Talk about being motivated!

Then, the energy released in every part of the gathering was amazing. It’s always impressive to see hundreds of young people, all wearing special T-shirts with Scriptures on them, jumping up and down and shouting praises to Jesus—though I’ll surely never be able to keep up! The chapel rocked. I felt that same energy in the World Missions (Chi Alpha) Summit in Louisville over New Year’s and a year before that in Buenos Aires at the Global Student Encounter.

They were excited about winning the world for Jesus! It was missions-emphasis night, and the platform was draped with the huge posters we see in the U.S. churches during missions convention time. The thing is, it is fresh in Latin America, still a novelty. I had to tiptoe around five young people with digital cameras who were taking shots of the posters!

About 200 of the 300-plus young people responded to the call to missions. An hour later, as we left, they were still weeping and letting the Harvestmaster know that they were ready to go—“Here am I; send me!” Today on the flight back to Miami I was reflecting on last night’s happenings and recognized a deep-down ache in my gut as this thought gripped me: it’s been a long time since I have seen anything similar to that in any American church, at least with the young people!

I had seen about 75 people respond to a similar call in Managua, several hundred in Buenos Aires a while back, scores in San Salvador, but very little of that kind of missions passion do I see released among our youth here. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not pounding on the American church. I just sometimes wish this awesome missions passion we are seeing throughout the region were more common at home. It is contagious, however, and many groups are coming back from AIM trips to the nations and pumped by what they’ve experienced, so maybe something good is happening after all . . . .

They had special prayer for Haiti, Indonesia, India, and Israel. We heard challenges from several missionaries from LAC to other nations, and it had its effect. The passion to reach the lost is undeniable.

I loved watching the youngest DeFreitas boys jumping up and down, singing the songs, praising Jesus, and pumping their fists in the air as they joined the excitement. Several of the MK teens were fervently praying with a Latin or Caribbean colleague or joining in the skits. I just know the future is bright if our MKs are helping by leading the way in reaching the nations for Jesus! I can’t wait to see what tomorrow holds.

I’m not sure how big this missions thing is going to get in our region. It might be greater than anyone has imagined until now, but I’m grateful for your involvement in King’s Castle, Masters Commission, and a host of youth and children’s ministries. Their passion for loving God and answering His call are a means through which the Spirit is preparing a generation of youth, some of them our own kids, to shake the nations.

This is going to be amazing to see!

Blessings, Dick

Kings Castle World Summit

2006-11-16T13:54:00.000-04:00

If you’ve ever been to a championship game, whether it is little league or major leagues, then you know the excitement about the BIG game. There is energy, there is cheering and there is expectation. And that is exactly what it was like in La Vega, Dominican Republic.

In August, we spent five days in La Vega with over three hundred young people from eight countries in Latin America and we experienced the energy, heard the cheering and felt the atmosphere of expectation. The energy, cheering and expectation had nothing to do with a sports event; rather it was a spiritual event.

The Kings Castle World Summit takes place every other year and it was our privilege to host this year’s event. The purpose of the event is to share evangelism material, vision, methods for reaching the lost as well as experiencing a life-transforming encounter with the Holy Spirit. For many of the Kings Castle warriors the event was a place of miracles. That is true for Rosemary, Miguel and Oriali.

When Rosemary got off the plane from Peru she couldn’t even believe that is was real. She was only able to raise $650 for her plane ticket; and the lowest price that she could find was over $1000. The day that she purchased her airline tickets to come to the Summit was a day where her only hope was a miracle. She prayed as approached the ticket counter. Nervously she explained her situation to the agent. It turns out that the agent was a Christian. The agent searched and searched, it took so long that Rosemary was sure that it was not going to work out and finally the agent looked up from the computer. She said “It’s a miracle! I found a ticket for $630!!!” That was just the beginning of Rosemary’s miracle. During the World Summit Rosemary was called to missions. She will definitely be purchasing airline tickets in the future. Now her faith can take her to other continents.

Miguel is called to Haiti. Miguel’s heart is broken for the children of Haiti. Miguel is a warrior. And to be perfectly honest, it takes a warrior to live in Haiti. Haiti is the poorest nation in Latin America. Most Haitians would do anything for an opportunity to live in Dominican Republic. Miguel will do anything to live in Haiti. He came to the Summit to share his vision with warriors from all over Latin America. We planned to take up an offering for Miguel on missions night. So many were praying that God would provide in a BIG way. Yet the reality is that we were taking up an offering in a chapel full of students from third world developing nations. Honestly, I was just hoping for more than $100. Yet it is amazing what God did with a group of students whose hearts are broken for the nations. The offering was counted and we could scarcely believe the result; $800!!! I’ll never forget the smile on Miguel’s face that night when he came to know personally that the God who calls is also the one who provides.

Oriali studied Television production and broadcasting in college. She had a degree and a good paying job in the television industry here in Dominican Republic. Yet she told us, “I was miserable because I knew that God had called me to be a missionary”. Yet Oriali, like many other Dominican students, don’t know have a clear path to missions, there are VERY FEW Dominican missionaries that serve as a model to follow. Oriali knew she was called, she just didn’t know how to follow that call. During the World Summit, God put into motion direction for her life and finally the “path” that she was praying for. Kings Castle will begin filming children’s television this year. Oriali will be going to El Salvador to help begin this new area of ministry. She is excited for the opportunity to use the talent and education to reach the children of Latin America with the gospel. Her path is clear now and the impact is immeasurable.

Oriali, Miguel, and Rosemary are just three examples but there are so many more stories that have come out of the Summit. Basically, we just kept hearing the same thing over and over again, “God has called me to missions” , “I am going to Bible school because I want to preach the Gospel”. Yet my favorite testimony was expressed is just a few lines but I believe it is a true reflection of what God is about to do as a result of the World Summit.

“Every day of the Summit, I felt more and more love for the children that live in the forgotten, unreached countries of the world and now I believe that we will be able to accomplish our goal of reaching one million children very quickly.”

Rescuing Angela and Yolanda

2006-05-25T15:27:00.000-04:00

Angela

Her name is Angela. She is fifteen years old. Her face still displays the innocence of childhood. Yet her swollen abdomen will tell you that this is a girl who never really had the opportunity to be a child or know true innocence, because Angela is a child prostitute.

At a young age, Angela’s mother sent her to the streets into prostitution to earn money. She took every penny that she made and often would beat her. She was abandoned by her father. She was beaten so much that finally a “client” helped her runaway from home. He kept her in a small room and brought other men there to have sex with her. He told her that he would be her husband. This man was 45 years old and the supposed father of her baby. Once he found out that she was pregnant, he kicked her out of the house.

Angela was alone, pregnant and living on the streets when a beautiful Christian woman found her. Nieves works at a clinic for adolescents in Boca Chica. It is a government funded clinic and a place where the young prostitutes know they can get free medical care. When Nieves met Angela and saw her terrible situation, she knew that she had to something to rescue her. Nieves took her to a children’s foundation in Boca Chica.

Caminante is a children’s program in Boca Chica that is working hard to get kids off the streets. They are mostly involved in prevention programs but they are a point of contact for kids like Angela who need help. They are very well respected in the community. The Alliance against Trafficking has been involved with the institution since we began. When Nieves took Angela to Caminante, they immediately called us. (The Alliance against Trafficking)

When we were called about Angela’s situation we had actually been planning a visit to Boca Chica that day. It was as though God had it all planned for us. We met her and took her to the Alliance home. Angela is eight months pregnant and infected with venereal disease. As I write this she is being taken for more medical tests and we are working on a plan for the birth of the baby. She will have to a C-section because of the STD.

We are all so excited about this opportunity that the Lord has given us to participate in the transformation process in Angela’s life. I believe that the curse of sin and poverty will be broken and will change the course of generations because Angela was rescued.

Pray for Angela and her unborn child. Pray for her health and for her heart. Pray that she will come to know a real, personal friendship and faith in Jesus.

Yolanda

When Yolanda was six years old, her mother died of AIDS. Her mother was a prostitute who was regularly trafficked in to Haiti. As a result of her mother’s very unstable lifestyle and eventual death, Yolanda has been raised in the home of her paternal grandparents in Boca Chica. Ever since the horrible death of her young mother, Yolanda’s grandfather has told her that she would die of AIDS like her mother. She is sixteen years old now and is living her days in this involuntary pursuit of the fulfillment of that prophecy. She spends the nights in the brothels making money in prostitution to support her drug habits. She sleeps most of the day. She is in and out of her grandparents’ home because her grandfather beats her and verbally abuses her. Her grandfather tells her regularly that she is a piece of trash.

We have been visiting Yolanda for over a year now, because she has shown such an interest in getting help. During my last visit, her grandfather yelled, “I hope that you will get that piece of trash out of my home!” We are now in the process of formalizing our long term shelter at the home and we trying to rescue Yolanda out of her situation. In her heart, I know that she is screaming, “Somebody please rescue me!!!!!” but reality is that her addictions are very STRONG. She is scared.

We told Yolanda that we will give her one week to make a decision to leave, so I want to ask you to pray for her this week. Pray that she will make the right decision. In the name of Jesus SHE WILL NOT DIE LIKE HER MOTHER!!! She will live for Jesus.

Finally please pray for my work with the Alliance against Trafficking. I am so excited as God is finally opening the doors for us to offer a long term shelter and life recovery program for adolescent girls. This has been a dream of mine for two years now. The program is in its birthing stages and we are learning along the way. We have a great financial need but we are trusting that God will supply every need. We are estimating that it cost us at least $200/ month for each girl that we take in. Pray for wisdom for me and the other members of the Alliance board as we begin this totally new area of ministry.

Praise and More Praise

2006-04-18T10:39:00.000-04:00

Praise!

We just came back from a short trip to Dallas, Texas for a convention with the men and women who work with Construction, Planning and Development for overseas projects in the Assemblies of God(formerly MAPS department). We were so thrilled that this year our project was chosen as the focus project for CP&D. At this convention, they were raising funds for our CIMA del Rey ministry training center project and also recruiting teams to be help us build on the property.

The result of this amazing weekend is nothing short of a miracle. The final total came to $220,000 in cash offerings and pledges!!! Most of this will go towards the construction and development of buildings on CIMA del Rey, but also $42,000 was raised in pledges to help pay off the purchase of the property. We are so excited!!! This is a HUGE blessing and relief. If this all comes in, we are basically finished with raising the purchase funds.

Now we are working on raising the development funds. We are already working on the plans for the dorms and dining hall. At the convention, 13 teams made plans to help us with construction, but we are hoping to find 37 more teams in order to complete all the buildings.

It is impossible for us to doubt for even a moment that God has His hand on this project. We are praising the Lord for his amazing provision. It is so wonderful to be a part of what God is doing and to be where He is working. In this faith journey to purchase this property, we are so grateful to all of you who have prayed and given offerings to make this miracle possible.

More Praise!

So Nelson jumped off an airplane and less than 24 hours later Nelson is on a bus headed to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He spoke to the national conference of Assemblies of God Pastors about the importance of reaching the youth and children. Nelson was accompanied by Miguel and Maireny Ovalle. This young Dominican couple have a call on their lives to the children of Haiti. They are presently missionary candidates raising funds in our churches here in the DR to live in Haiti as missionaries. They were among some of our first King's Castle warriors.

It was exciting for Nelson to work with Miguel as they were asked to minister to a group of youth leaders that came to the conference. For the first time the Haitian church is organizing youth and children’s ministries within their churches. Nelson was thrilled to cast vision for these ministries among the youth leaders.This was an amazing opportunity.

It would bore you to elaborate on all the details that have demonstrated that the kingdoms of darkness were opposed to this trip. We believe that this was a momentous time for the Assemblies of God in Haiti and Dominican Republic. We know that as we see the racial, social and cultural barriers broken down between these countries there will be no obstacle to the MAJOR SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION in BOTH countries. The final night the Haitian church presented our young Dominican missionary, Miguel with a beautiful Haitian painting. The Superintendent shared that the painting should serve to symbolize a pact unity and service and between the two countries.

My Father's Miracle

2006-03-16T13:27:00.000-04:00

Have you ever had a testimony that you just wanted to SHOUT FROM THE ROOFTOPS? That is how I (Rennae) feel today. I want the world to know about my miracle working God. We had a miracle in my family and I just want to give God glory because it is only by his grace that my father was saved from a fatal fall. (the photo to the left is Rennae's parents Larry & Donna Sjostrom.)

On Tuesday my daddy was at the Fire Station up 24 feet on a latter doing some electrical work. When he finished the work he began to come down and as he came down, the ladder gave way and my 59 year old father cam crashing down 18 feet. He was rushed to the emergency room. I could try to go into detail about x-rays, cat scans and orthopedic doctor’s assessments but in the end; MY FATHER DOES NOT HAVE A BROKEN BONE IN HIS BODY! It is a miracle. Daddy walked away from this fall with a severely sore arm.

God is so good. He protected my daddy and I am so grateful. I told daddy that God must have some big plans for his life. Daddy is pretty excited about those plans to say the least.

I am so grateful to the Lord for giving me wonderful Christian parents and an amazing Pentecostal heritage. They have always supported God's call on my life. God used them to form my destiny as they always directed me to follow Jesus. It sounds cliche but if it weren't for them... I sure wouldn't be here today. What a blessing to know (especially being so far away) that they are protected by the Lord's loving hand.

Rennae

Testimony from ministry at Pastor Pedro's church

2006-02-19T20:10:00.000-04:00

Sunday night my husband was ministering in a little church in Villa Altagracia just outside of the capital here in Santo Domingo. It was a busy Sunday and I knew that we would get home late so I was packing PJ’s for the kids and stuff as we prepared to go (one hour trip). Anyway as I was busy packing I thought to myself that I should grab my CD with my soundtracks so that I would be prepared to sing if the Pastor asked. But in all my busyness I forgot and we ran out the door to church.

When we arrived, sure enough, Pastor Pedro (who is on our ministry staff and a very close friend) sat next to me and asked if I came prepared to sing special music. I looked at him with a nice smile and I just simply said, “NO.” He said, “No?” and I again replied, “NO.” Well the service started and I felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit. I felt the Holy Spirit say to me, “That was kinda ugly, Rennae.” (that is just how He talks to me sometimes!) I responded, "well I am not prepared, I don’t know what to sing." Then the Spirit reminded me of the morning service. In that service someone spoke about the problem of divorce in Dominican society and as they talked about it, I felt such a burden because I have seen how the enemy is tearing up the family of this society. I left that morning with just a new determination to intercede for the families in our churches and society in general.

So I felt as though the Lord would have me to share this burden and then the Spirit put a song in my heart. “Yo tengo un Nuevo amor”. So at the time my husband is about to minister, he calls me forward to give a greeting and I just shared my burden with the congregation. I told them that the Lord had given me this song, “I Have A New Love” but when I finished the song I wanted to intercede for unity in marriages and families. The Holy Spirit came and people were weeping tears of intercession and one woman in particular just wept and wept.

After the message we had a time of ministry in the altars and this same woman who was weeping came forward with her husband and two girls and the Holy Spirit moved powerfully and the whole family fell under the power of the Spirit. After they got up, the father looked at me with tears in his eyes and just smiled and went to his seat. I just thought, "how wonderful to see the whole family in the altar receiving such a blessing." That was it. So I thought.

After service I was speaking with Pastor Pedro (apologizing!) and he told me “the rest of the story”. Pedro was so excited after service. Evidently, that was the first time that that man had been in the church! His little girls were faithful to go to church and the mother had just started coming here and there. A few weeks back, one of the girls had asked the Pastor to pray for her daddy because he was an alcoholic and he would fly into rages and beat her, the sister and her mother. She also told Pedro that God gave her an idea that whenever her daddy would get really angry, she should get her Bible. She would tell him, “Come here daddy let me read to you from my Bible.” And you know, she said it worked every time! He would always calm down. Well this was softening this man’s heart and Sunday night he finally gave in and came to church. with his family! Sunday night he gave his life to Jesus!

Alexander's word from the Lord

2005-11-30T17:15:00.000-04:00

This was written on November 12th.
Last night we said good-bye to the Ormond Beach team. Our wonderful youth pastor friends Al and Ginny Force brought a team of 43 adults to do construction on CIMA del Rey, medical ministry at the LACC school in Villa Altagracia, and evangelism in Bonao. Our farewell debrief was especially sweet. The boys and I were not able to be with the team throughout their week of victories so it was especially nice for us to listen to the testimonies and impact of their ministry with us this past week.
While we were listening to these testimonies Alexander went to Nelson telling him to that he wanted to stay something to the team. This is totally against Alexander’s character. He usually hates to speak in a microphone and he has even choked in the past when he was asked to speak. It is not easy for him to speak in front of a crowd. Nelson was concerned about the time so he put him off. Alexander was persistant he would not take no for an answer and finally he told me that he had a word from Jesus to share with the team.
It was late but we decided that we needed to let him share the word that the Lord had laid on his heart. He said that Jesus told him that he should get up and speak. Alex explained that he told the Lord that he was scared and he said he felt that Jesus was telling him that he should not be a coward. He referred to a time when he had a chance to speak and he chickened out because he was so scared of looking stupid. He said he did not what to do that again. The Lord assured him that he would give him the words to say. He told the team that the Lord wanted them to go back to the USA and share Christ where they live, just like they did here. He said that they did not have to be a missionary to share the love of Jesus and he said that a person does not have to be poor to need Jesus. Everyone everywhere needs Jesus. He asked the team to go back and continue to reach out to people.
We were amazed. It was certainly a God moment. We knew that he had a special impact on the team. I was so glad to see the Holy Spirit operating in Alexander.

Sometimes you pray for us, but today you should PRAISE with us!

2005-10-26T20:05:00.000-04:00

I decided that today is a day for Praise Reports. This past month we felt like we have walked through a dark valley and even though I am not sure that the sun is shining and the sky is clear, there are some significant reasons to praise the Lord. All day long I have been reminded of God’s goodness in the midst of our difficult circumstances. And the Spirit of God has taken me back to his Word.

“Be joyful always, Pray continually, Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” I Thessalonians 5:16-18

I praise God today for;

1. My speedy recovery from this surgery. I feel great today! No longer am I fighting with abdominal cramps! My body is well once again. The doctors did a wonderful job. So many times I said that I would never have surgery in the D.R. if I had a choice. Well I certainly didn’t have a choice and in the end I see that the same God that guides the doctors in the USA is at work here as well. I thank God that he led us to some GREAT doctors. The doctor who found my problem was a Christian and he didn’t even charge us for the visit. The day of my surgery he called several times making sure that I was well taken care of by the clinics that did testing and the surgeons. These are details that I never really expressed and I feel like today is a good day to thank the Lord for Dr. Pimentel.
2. Marcus arm is perfectly normal. It has taken awhile but now he is fully extending his arm and except for two small scars on his arm, you cannot tell that he even had such severe accident. We had to put in his “back to normal” picture!
3. His protection. On Monday there was a strange odor that permeated the air in the west part of Santo Domingo. The boys went to school but after only a couple of hours they sent the kids home because of the odor. That odor ended up being a toxic gas that sent hundreds of people, mostly children to the hospital. It was a scary thing. Evidently the tropical storm winds blew the odor into the city while tanks were being cleaned. Normally the winds take the gas out to sea. My boys felt a little light headed but the Lord had his hand on them and they seem as wild and crazy as ever! Thank you Jesus for wild and crazy boys!
4. Speaking of the storm… with all the storms that have passed this season we have been blessed to not be in the middle of any of them. The alpha storm did leave 20,000 people homeless and we would certainly appreciate your prayers on their behalf. Yet with all the storms so far none of our family in central Florida or the Panhandle have been affected. PRAISE GOD!!!

The list could go on forever, but these are just a few that stand out to me today. For those of you who pray for us, well today I want to ask you to PRAISE with us!

¡Gracias Señor! ¡Eres siempre fiel! Thank you Lord! You are always faithful!

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST!

2005-10-08T17:59:00.000-04:00

We are so grateful to you who stand with us in prayer as needs arise. We are coming to you today with some major pressings needs. We would really appreciate your prayers as we clearly discern an attack of the enemy.

1. Please pray for Rennae’s health as she is in recovery after emergency
surgery this past Monday evening. She had a large cyst and fallopian
tube removed. We are grateful to the Lord that we were finally able
to find the problem that had been causing severe abdominal pains for
a week.
2. Pray for our staff as just yesterday upon returning from the
hospital, we received a letter of resignation from one of our key
staff members. Some of you pastors understand the difficulty of this.
It is hard blow, but we are confident that God is in all of this and
He will provide new leadership for such a time as this.
3. Pray for our finances. We are sinking rapidly due to the economic
crisis (60% inflation and devaluation of dollar resulting in 40%
increase in cost of living) in this country that began over a year
ago. We are in desperate need for God to provide $30,000 over the
next 10 months to make it until our time of deputation next summer to
raise a new budget. This economic situation is unrelated to our
current CIMA project for which we are also raising the remaining
funds to pay it off.

It is hard to write this letter as it sounds so discouraging. There are so many wonderful testimonies in the midst of this. We are so grateful to you for being a part of expanding the Kingdom of God with us in the Dominican Republic. That is why we refuse to let the kingdom of darkness take any ground. Please battle in prayer with us. We are perfectly aware that our enemy is roaming about with strategies of discouragement and defeat but together we know that we stand victorious over Satan in the mighty name of Jesus.

Thanks so much for your prayers!

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Praise report from Haiti Trip!

2005-09-09T23:14:00.000-04:00

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS FOR HAITI!!!

It is such a blessing to share with you this incredible praise report from our missions team that just returned from Haiti. Because of your prayers they crossed the border into Haiti and stayed in Cape Haitian, one of the principle cities in the interior of the country. This was a twelve hour rigorous trip that included crossing the so-called dangerous border zone and traveling the un-paved, difficult dirt roads through Haiti’s country side.

We fought so much opposition to make this trip happen. The main opposition was the fear of violence in Haiti. Because of the tension between the DR and Haiti, Haiti is a pretty dangerous place for Dominicans. The newspapers are always reporting of Dominicans killed in Haiti. We prayed and the Holy Spirit gave us clear direction that we were to make this trip and that we would be under His covering and protection. Our team named their trip “Vida por Vida” (A life for a life) and signed a pact that stated they would give their life for the gospel. They understood the cost.

Well the newspapers may report the bad news between Haiti and DR, but we have some good news to report!! (I have goose bumps even as I write this blog) Hear are the headlines!

1. Dominican Kings Castle Warriors Reach 2,638 Haitians with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The outreaches took place in Cape Haitian, a city known as the Voo-Doo capital of the World.
2. 149 Haitians made the decision to follow Christ!
3. Dominican Warriors experience SUPERNATURAL security! Amidst the volatile atmosphere of political elections season, our team was NEVER in any threatening situation!
4. Venezuelan missionary family catches the Kings Castle vision! The Sirit family is an Assembly of God missionary family sent by the Venezuelan A/G churches. They have been ministering in Haiti for four years. Their teenage children translated for our team and also were mightily used by God. Brother Sirit told us, “Just the fact that the team crossed the border to come visit us was a blessing enough. We never could imagine that we would receive so much from this small group of young people!”
5. Warriors make plans to birth Kings Castle evangelism teams in Haiti.
6. Speed-the Light Van makes it ALL THE WAY to Cape Haitian and back with out a problem. Miraculously NO FLAT TIRES!! Our Van was filled with bags of food sent in by Convoy of Hope, clothing donated by warriors and their families, and school supplies donated by local Castle teams.

“But I tell you, look around you,
and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting.”
John 4:35
When Jesus spoke these words, he was standing in Samaria. The usual Jewish view of Samaria at that time was that it were no more than a vacant lot, filled with rubble. Jesus removed the blinders of prejudice from their eyes, to help them see a flourishing harvest field. Haiti is our Samaria. Jesus is adjusting our vision too, and the five warriors that came back from the Voo-Doo capital of the world have white fields shining in their eyes.

Thanks for being a part through your prayers and faithful support. This all started on the mountain of CIMA del Rey (our Caribbean Institute for Missions Advancement) where we prayed and caught of vision of these Haitian fields ripe for harvest. Some of you have sacrificially given offerings to help us pay for CIMA. Others of you have been standing with us all these years with faith promises, and intercessory prayers. And still others that are reading this have stood on Dominican fields (a lot of them baseball fields), put their hand in a puppet and joined us in preaching the Gospel. There are a few of you the have white fields in your eyes because our missionary vision here is so contagious. I know whatever your role in this great big missionary endeavor, all of you are rejoicing with us as we celebrate the work of the Lord of the harvest!

Marcus breaks his arm

2005-07-24T01:09:00.000-04:00

Well we have been through a few really difficult days. Marcus fell from playing on the Monkey bars. It was a very safe playground but Marcus just fell wrong and ended up snapping apart his humerus (upper left arm bone). It was a MAJOR break and he ended up needing surgery. In the midst of it all he went into shock and we are were worried that he might of suffered a head injury. (No one really saw how he fell). He had CT scans and x-rays and has suffered excruciating pain. (That was really hard on mommy as well) The surgery went well and now he has two pins in his bone and a cast. We thank God that it wasn’t any worse than a broken arm.

With four boys in our house, we knew that a broken arm or leg was bound to happen. And Marcus is certainly our little monkey! I was telling this to the doctor yesterday as Marcus lay in the bed doped up and in A LOT of pain. Marcus overheard and spoke up ever so weakly, “NO mommy I not a little monkey, I a BIG monkey” I have to agree. He certainly had a Big Monkey bone fracture.

We are so grateful for your love and prayers.

FYI

2005-06-13T14:40:00.000-04:00

Just FYI:

The previous posts need to be read in order.

1. Birthing the Butterfly MInisty
2. The Vision
3. Meeting Lily
4. Jesus comes to Lily

Jesus Comes to Lily

2005-06-13T14:37:00.000-04:00

Jeannie and I started to ask Lily about her life. She was really open. She told us that she was 15 years old living on her own in Boca Chica. I got the impression that her mother was also a prostitute and live in Puerto Plata. Lily had been living on her own for five months. She hated her life there but it seemed to be her only solution. Jeannie asked Lily if she had ever asked Jesus to be the Lord of her life. Lily answered, “No.” Then she put her head on my shoulder and whispered, “I feel so weird.” It was then that she began to cry. We asked her if she wanted to accept Jesus as her Savior. Lily looked back at our five smiling butterfly girls in the back seat. She asked the girls, “Did you all ask Jesus into your heart?” All five of them responded enthusiastically “Yes! Yes we did!” Lily then said confidently “Then I want Jesus in my life too.” She prayed the sinners prayer right there in my Speed-the-Light van.

I held Lily in my arms as she prayed and then I prayed for her and we all cried together because the presence of Jesus was so real and so close. As I held this 15 year old prostitute in my arms, I remembered once again the prophetic vision of my youth. There I was rescuing prostitutes in my speed-the-light van.

Just remembering the Presence in the van brings tears to my eyes. And what a privilege I had! I was able to be the arms of Jesus wrapped around that little girl. He was so real through our words and ministry because HE was seeking that little lost prostitute. HE was coming to Lily and in the end Lily came to Jesus. My heart just explodes to think that Jesus allowed me such and amazing opportunity to be a part of HIS work in the Dominican Republic.

Meeting Lily

2005-06-13T14:14:00.000-04:00

Nelson & Rennae de Freitas
Meeting Lily

It was an incredible week as Jeannie brought the message “ Free as a
Butterfly” to minister to the girls. We had gifts with all sorts of butterfly themes. The idea of the butterfly really was a God given plan. Many of our girls are searching for true freedom that from the slavery that comes with a life of prostitution. It also has cultural roots as well. I will have to make that story for another day and another blog!!!

So here we were taking butterfly gifts to prostitutes in brothels and on the streets as well. We went all over the city and ended up our time in the town of Boca Chica. The entire city of Boca Chica is basically a brothel. This is where we were able to rescue 9 girls, all minors, through a police raid. We were able to keep them at our shelter for 10 days and then they were released to their families. This is the difficult part. We have been keeping tabs on them, doing follow-up care and Jeannie came to do a whole program with them for the day. We taught the girls worship dance and we ministered to them. They all got a butterfly T-shirt. It was really a special time. That evening we asked the girls to go with help us find the brothels and give gifts in the streets.

We met the girls at 10 pm. They all had on their butterfly shirt and big smiles on their faces. They were excited about helping us. We started driving around. We found quite a few places and girls. We gave the gifts and told them that Jesus loved them. Just ministering the love of Jesus made an amazing impact. I was surprised at the impact.

As we drove the girls recognized a friend (and fellow prostitute) on the street. We stopped and the girls called her to our window. “Lily!” they yelled. She came over and was impressed with their T-shirts. She asked “What are you chicas doing?” They explained and Lily said, “Hey that’s cool, can I come?” We said, “Sure hop on in!” She got in this van totally unaware of the incredible presence of Jesus that was about to invade her world.

The Vision

2005-06-02T22:56:00.000-04:00

At the age of sixteen, I had the opportunity to visit Buenos Aires, Argentina on a short term missions trip with the West Florida District. It was a special time in my life and God used that trip to soften my heart to his calling to missions. I guess you could say that at that time, I truly felt "called to the missionfield" but I began to ask God what it was exactly that he wanted me to do.

One day as I was at the altar of my church praying I had a vision. I remember seeing a van driving up and down the streets of Buenos Aires, picking up prostitutes. I went home that day to tell my parents that I had figured out what I was going to do with my life. I was going to go to Argentina to rescue prostitutes in a Speed-the-Light mini-van. My mother and father smiled with that supportive, yeah-that’s-a-teenage-wild-idea expression.

Time passed and the Lord led me down what I thought to be and entirely different missionary journey. I forgot about the vision over the years. Instead of Argentina, God sent me to the Dominican Republic. We had been serving Jesus there eleven years the day that the vision was resurrected from my memory banks.

I was asked to participate in a meeting with former Congresswomen Linda Smith. She had come to the DR to see how her organization, Shared Hope International, could get involved in the Dominican Republic. It had come to her attention that the DR was the third worst country for human trafficking. She explained to us that the most severe case that had come to her attention was the problem of trafficking between the DR and Argentina. She wanted to see how she could form and alliance of people of faith in the DR that could help rescue Dominican women in trapped in prostitution in Argentina. That was when it all came back to me.

I literally had chill bumps all over my body. I could see that vision in my minds eye all over again. God always had it in his plan for me to rescue prostitutes from the streets of Argentina. He just had me doing it across the international borders and in his perfect timing.

It was from that meeting that I began to work with Shared Hope to form the Alliance against the Traffic of Women, Children and Adolescents. We set up offices and a home for temporary shelter. We had been working for just a little over a year with women who called our hotline or were referred to our offices when Jeannie Turner and her ministry team came to work with us on the streets of Santo Domingo and Boca Chica.

Birthing the Butterfly Ministry

2005-05-22T22:17:00.000-04:00

Nelson & Rennae de Freitas

I have had it in my heart to take some time to "blog away" ever since an amazing week of mininstry that I spent with Jeannie Turner and three women from Ft. Myers Florida. Together, along with the team of Dominicans that I work, with we visited six brothels and many prostitutes in both Santo Domingo and Boca Chica.

Jeannie has a ministry to Strippers and women who work in the adult entertainment industry. Five years ago, I was privileged to be in a service at Ft. Myers First Assembly of God when five women who left the clubs were baptized in water. It was an exciting night, I will never forget it. I now know that it wasn't a coincidence that I happened to be attending that service. God had us there with divine purpose.

I remembered Jeannie when God began to open the doors for me to work with women who are involved in prostitution and human trafficking. As we began to form this Non Government Organization, (NGO) I knew that I wanted to put together an outreach ministry to these women. I just wasn't quite sure how to go about it . That is when I remembered Jeannie Turner. We began to dialogue back and forth. I asked her to come visit us here in the DR. Well she did come and there is so much to say about it.

But this story really starts aroung quite a few years ago. This story begins with an experience that I had when I was 16 years old...

2005-04-29T15:12:00.000-04:00

King's Castle Directors Camp at CIMA del Rey

Nelson & Rennae in front of CIMA

2005-04-21T09:17:00.000-04:00

Nelson & Rennae in front of CIMA del Rey

2005-04-20T23:10:00.000-04:00

Christmas photo taken at CIMA del Rey