The Rest of the Good Friday Ice Cream Story

It seems incredible that God would give me the gift of this beautiful redemption story, that I would be a character among many, as he would display the wonder of the Gospel in the hearts Alondra*, Ricardo* and their children. And yet I know that I am just one of the many characters in this story that started in an ice cream shop on Good Friday. 

Alondra was in a desperate situation when she came to me on that Good Friday, and because of the Spirit’s prompting, we helped her.  Honestly, I never expected to see her again. Three months later, I find that God has completely transformed her life and her whole family. She was faithfully attending our church and was in the new members class to be baptized. 

Since she and Ricardo were not legally married, they were not able to be baptized right away in our church. First, they had to get married. This, however was no simple matter. You have to have paperwork in order. Having paperwork (legal birth certificates, divorce documents, etc)  can be an enormous obstacle for the people of our country. This is why so many couples never really get married legally, and families that are formed with two people who have not made a legal covenant suffer horrible consequences like violence, infidelity, and poverty. 

This is where THE CHURCH of Jesus Christ has a powerful influence on SOCIETY. In order to get baptized and become members of the church, Ricardo and Alondra needed to get legally married. So the CHURCH rises up!  A lawyer from our church donated services to work on paperwork, and finally after a long process, on April 26, Ricardo and Alondra got married! Ladies from the church put together a beautiful reception with a gorgeous wedding cake! 

Two days later I had the privilege to serve with my Pastor as he was able to baptize the entire family. (except the younger children) Ricardo testified that he was a drunk before he came to Jesus. He said that he would buy alcohol before he would buy food for his family. Since giving his life to Jesus, and coming to our church, God has completely taken away his desire for rum and alcohol. He is a new man and the GOSPEL has taken them out of the misery of poverty. The day before he was baptized in water, Ricardo shared that he received the baptism in the Holy Spirit at church in the evening service. Now the power of the Spirit is as work on a whole new level in their family. 

When I saw Alondra the day they were legally married, there in the white dress with flowers in her hair I was overcome with emotion. That beaming face, with a white gown, did not bear any resemblance to the desperation of the woman in the ice cream shop on Good Friday. 

The Lord did a miracle for Alondra to find a beautiful wedding dress. She told us that she found it in a pile under the bridge where they sell used clothing that comes from the garbage dumps of clothes that are leftover from goodwill in the US.  She said it was black with dirt, but miraculously there was one dry cleaner that was willing to clean it for her. As she told the story, the tears streamed on my face. For it was the metaphor of what God had done for Alondra and her family. Like her wedding gown, she was a treasure in midst of garbage of life and Jesus gave me the joy to help her get cleaned up. 
* names are changed

Prayer Meetings are a Waste of Time???

They all live in tin shacks with dusty dirt floors. Some of them do not own shoes. Big sister helps little sister fold her hands to pray. And in this moment where the children of this small Haitian village take a moment to connect with the Heavenly Father, some will trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior, others are praying to be healed of sickness, still others pray for their next meal. It just warms your heart to see this picture of the simplicity of turning our thoughts and attention to Creator God in beautiful conversation. We call it prayer.

And just yesterday I was sent a blog post, written by an American Pastor, “Why Prayer Meetings are a Waste of Time.” The post makes the claim that people pray so that they can feel better when something tragic happens, such as last week’s Boston bombing,  and that this is not the purpose of prayer. Though the blogger makes some good points, and certainly the title was all about shock value, still, I was saddened by the Pastor’s disillusionment with prayer and church prayer meetings. 

We could spend some time here doing in-depth studies and theological evaluations about the purpose of prayer, but as I ponder the sweetness and simplicity of these two sisters, I am so glad that when we are at the end of our resources, when I cannot solve the problem of hunger and poverty on this island, we can pray. And, we can teach our children to pray. And when the adults fail, and the government fails, and life is hard, and sickness is scary, and earthquakes happen, and sin is real, there is a Savior. A Savior that you can know, and experience, and talk to, every day in prayer. 

Prayer is wonderful all by yourself but oh the sweetness when you are weak, and not even able to connect your brain cells together, much less fold your hands, and there is that sister and those brothers around you and you come together to pray. I don’t think that this could ever be a waste of time. 

Just ask the shoeless sisters. 

(This photo was shot by our Missionary Associate, Alex Rousonelos  at a King's Castle outreach in Haiti, with Engage Dominican Republic students, Dominican missionaries Miguel & Mairelys Ovalle and Hidekel King and Haitian King's Castle warriors) 

de Freitas Family Spiritual Legacy - Nelson's Testimony

He was just 9-years-old, the son of Brazilian immigrants. He played little league, loved to ride his bike, and never missed a kickball game with the kids in their Florida neighborhood. The day he got the invitation, he swiftly ran home to ask his mom for permission to attend. It was an invitation to a Good News club, and he didn’t want to miss out on it, all the neighborhood kids were going to be there. Mama smiled; she could never resist those eager eyes, so she nodded, and he celebrated as he ran out the door and down the street.  

Mary Jane Neville was just an average middle-aged mom. Her own children were now teenagers, but when Children’s Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) presented their vision for reaching kids through Good News clubs at her Central Bible Church in St Petersburg, FL, she was excited about reaching kids for Jesus. She took the training, prepared materials. She hoped to make Thursday afternoon a special time for the kids in her neighborhood. Every week she would share a Bible story and challenge the children to memorize scripture verses. Her husband made her an easel for the flannel graph and a lollipop tree for the memory verse prize. 

That eager-eyed 9-year-old boy was there every week. He wouldn’t miss it for the world. He would learn the Scripture, so he could get a prize from the treasure chest and the lollipop tree. He loved the salvation songs and the stories, so on the day when Mrs. Neville gave the invitation for those who wanted to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior;  he didn’t hesitate. He prayed the “repeat-after-me” prayer and that moment turned out to be  better than all the prizes from the treasure chest and the lollipop tree. Then Mrs. Neville wrote the date of his “born-again” birthday inside the cover of a shiny new Bible and gave it to the boy. It was November 7th, 1974.  

Soon after the Brazilian family moved back to Connecticut, the recession had hit, times were hard, and so they moved in with relatives. The Brazilian boy went to the Catholic school with his cousins, and  he pondered the meaning of the Christ on the crucifix and the Christ of the flannel graph. The Scriptures and the lollipop tree were replaced with candles and rituals but the seeds of the Good News were planted deep in his heart. And though he left the Bible in a drawer to collect dust, what happened on November 7th 1974, would not let his teenage heart run away too far. 

So in 1979, after the big move back to Florida, when the family settled in once again in St Petersburg, the boy who was now a teenager was walking in the halls of a new high school filled with invitations to drugs, partying, and girls. It was just at that crucial crossroads when Robby Kaufman knocked on his door with another invitation. Robby invited him to youth group at Glad Tidings Assembly of God. That very first Wednesday night youth group, the seeds that were planted in his heart by Mary Jane Neville took root and over the months they blossomed as he received the baptism in the Holy Spirit and followed the Lord in water baptism. 

The Glad Tidings church discipled that young man; Charlie Aldridge picked him up every Sunday and Wednesday in the church van, Roger and LInda were his Bible Quiz coaches, and someone else in the church gave him a scholarship to go to Youth camp. It was at that Youth Camp that the Lord called him to full time ministry at the age of 16. 

About that time, he began to wonder about Mrs. Neville and the Good News Club. He wondered if she was still living in St. Petersburg, so he looked her up in the yellow pages, and sure enough, she was still living in the same home. So he went by on a Saturday afternoon to visit Mrs. Neville. When Mary Jane opened the door she could scarcely recognize that tall and handsome 16-year-old young man standing on her front porch, he was barely a shadow of the 9-year-old boy with the funny last name. She welcomed him in with glass of sweet tea and they chatted about his family and all that had happened in his life. 

“Mrs. Neville, I came here today to thank you for telling me about Jesus and I want you to know that I am serving him today and I’ve been called to the ministry.” he shared with all the enthusiasm of a young man dreaming about his future. And as he shared the tears ran out of the wrinkles in her loving eyes.

Over the years Mary Jane watched the kids lose interest in the Good News club, most of the kids in the neighborhood never really followed through on those “repeat-after-me” prayers. Some had completely rejected the faith of their childhood. There were many days when Mary Jane wondered if all the investment of her time, talent, and finances was really worth it. Until that day when Nelson de Freitas showed up at her door step, there with his Bible under his arm and dreams of reaching the world for Jesus. 

And those dreams became reality. Nelson and his wife Rennae have had the privilege to invite children in many countries of Latin American to church, Sunday school and to hear about Jesus under mango trees and on street corners. They have heard countless “repeat-after-me” prayers and some of those kids grown up to become pastors and missionaries.

Nelson always says that he wants to be on the front row in heaven when Jesus calls out  the name “Mary Jane Neville” on that Judgment day. As Jesus shows her final reward, she may be expecting to see the face of Nelson de Freitas but what  shock when she sees all those brown faces from Dominican Republic and Haiti. She may want to question Jesus, ask him if he could possibly be mistaken. But he will point to Nelson. 

“Remember him?” he will ask. 

“Oh, how could I forget that boy with the eager eyes and the funny last name?” Mrs. Neville will reply. 

“Mary Jane,  because of your faithfulness to reach the kids in your neighborhood, that young man has been reaching kids in neighborhoods across the ocean. Great is your reward!” 

Mary Jane Neville is now in her 80’s. Since we began our missionary career she has been among our most faithful supporters. 

Red Bean Pudding

I know. It sounds gross. Missionary life is known for adventures in eating. The best missionary stories usually include monkey brain soup or tarantula soufflé. Our food adventures here in the Caribbean have been mediocre in comparison. Yet, among the food challenges that have come my way in this missionary journey is Red Bean Pudding, or Habichuelas Con Dulce. 

Here in the Dominican Republic, as we approach Holy Week, the grocery stores are displaying proudly all the necessary ingredients for this most important delicacy. It is usually only served during Holy Week, and it is greatly anticipated. My wonderful Dominican friends and ministry family have always been so excited to share with me their particular version of the Red Bean Pudding, and even the ice cream shop has a Red Bean Pudding flavor! 

I must admit, those first years of living here, I had to eat it with a smile, while trying not to breath. Yet, while I forced this exotic desert across my palate,  I would see the beautiful expression on my Dominican sister's face. My friends were so excited to share their special tradition with me! I began to enjoy so much the sharing of this cultural experience, that the weirdness of eating sugary sweet legumes with sweet potatoes and raisins began to fade. TODAY, I am craving Habichuelas con Dulce, or Red Bean Pudding. And today, I will share it once again with my girls at Bethesda! Maria is making a big batch!!! She told me to bring some tupperware. And that is the way it works around here, you make enough to take some home in tupperware! 

Food is a funny thing in our missionary journeys. It is so much more than nourishment for the body. Learning to love what they love, what they have made, their special traditions,  is learning to love the people we serve. And so it was with Jesus.  Jesus went from eating at heaven's table to sharing bread and wine with common men. In the eating and the drinking at our table, we watched Jesus love us. Picking up my spoon today, I hope that my girls can watch me love them, because I have learned to really love their Red Bean Pudding. 

Independence Day

It’s Independence Day here in Dominican Republic and today is a day of celebration for sure. In fact, one day is not enough for Dominican patriots. Dominicans, who are “party people” at heart, celebrate during the whole month of February! Still, in the midst of all the celebration of national independence,I am so grieved to see the slavery that still rears its ugly face here in the developing world.  Today, while the school is closed for the holiday, there will be children standing at street lights begging for pesos only give the money over to help purchase the drugs and alcohol consumed in the home. And on this day that celebrates freedom, there will be too many women who will be captive to the atrocious abuses that are a result of unrestrained fiestas. 

So today, I sat down  with the Holy Spirit and my cafe Santo Domingo to join Jesus in Matthew chapter 21. I find myself standing with the crowds, palm branch in my hand, shouting Hosanna, celebrating my own Independence Day when Jesus triumphantly entered my life. Still, I am looking around at this crowd and I am seriously disappointed at the emptiness in their praise. It feels like they are celebrating just for the sake of celebrating. In just a few days, they will change their shouts from “Hosanna” to “Crucify him!” 

In fact, true celebration requires a sincere connection to the reason for the party. Otherwise it is empty and what could be a celebration of freedom ends up being a false fiesta for bondage. The Dominican Republic is the only country in the world with a Bible on the flag and the verse that is inscribed is “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” In the end the truth is not an idea or political philosophy. The truth is a person, and that Person is Jesus.  Today as the festivities and music fill my world, my prayer is that Jesus will triumphantly enter this patriotic fiesta. After all, Jesus is the only true LIFE of the party!