January Newsletter

Dear Prayer Partners,

January was a busy month of jumping back into school and ministry here after break. We had opportunities to reflect on God's faithfulness in our ministries in 2024 and look forward to what He has planned for us this year as we continue to serve Him here in the DR.

Updates

• On January 7th we had a workshop for the Las Palmas staff put on by ACSI. It was a good opportunity to learn more about what it looks like to discipline as a form of discipleship and learn strategies to reach the hearts of our students. We welcomed students back to school on January 8th.

  
  
  

  

  
  
  

• On January 9th we had a team meeting with the members of the praise team and sound booth that serve at IBEM. Our team has been growing, and we now have over 30 people serving with us on these teams. We are thankful to see more people using their gifts to serve the Lord and are excited for the new members that are joining the team this year. In our meeting we celebrated the way God has used our team in the last year to help draw more people to Himself and we made plans for this coming year. We are currently in the process of preparing songs for our Easter program that is coming up.

  
  
  

  

  
  
  

• On January 26th we had a block party in the neighborhood where we meet for chapel on Sunday nights. We invited people from the community to come to the park and a group visiting from the United States helped run some games and crafts for the kids in the area. My roommate and I led a short time of worship and one of the members from the group taught a brief Bible story. At the end, we showed the kids and their families where our chapel meets and shared the service times with them. We are planning to do events like this every few months to help us build more connections in the area where our chapel meets. Our prayer is that more of these families will begin attending the chapel or Bible study in that location and ultimately come to a saving faith in Christ.

  
  
  

  

  
  
  

• On January 26th we also had our annual members meeting at IBEM. We used this time to worship together and look back on how the Lord has blessed our church in the last year. They shared that in 2024 there were 13 baptisms and 16 new members that joined the church bringing our church membership to 175 people. We praise God for the way he is continuing to grow our church. As our sanctuary is filling up, our church leadership is making plans for an expansion project for the sanctuary. There have been a few Sundays recently where every chair in the sanctuary has been filled. We are praying together for the resources to complete this project and options to accommodate the number of people attending services in the meantime.

• When I first came to the DR I joined Daystar Baptist Missions as a "short-term" missionary. I was originally planning to teach the DR for a few years and then return to the States. This is my third year serving here and I now plan to continue serving here until the Lord calls me to another location. When I talked to my mission agency about this, they recommended I consider transitioning to "long-term." I interviewed with the Daystar director over the summer for this transition and was notified this month that I was unanimously approved by the board to transition to long-term. While this doesn't change much in terms of the way I am actively serving, it is more so an act of surrender for me to commit to serving here as long as the Lord sees fit. The Lord has greatly blessed me here and I am excited to continue serving Him whenever that may lead me.

  
  
  

  

  
  
  

Prayer Requests

• Pray for our efforts to grow our chapel ministry. Join us in praying for new connections with families in the community that will lead to life change.

• Pray for our praise team at church as we prepare for our upcoming Easter program.

• As I make this transition to "long-term" with my mission agency, I am also communicating with Daystar about what that looks like in terms of raising support and planning for the future. Over the next few months I will be doing some additional training, budgeting, and reaching out to more churches. Over the summer I am hoping to visit more churches and make some new connections to raise the additional support I will need to continue living and serving here. Since I originally came "short-term" I did not do a formal deputation or training before I came on to the field. Please pray for me as I take these next steps and pray that God would provide guidance and finances that are needed to continue living and serving here.

• My dad will be bringing a small group from his church to visit our ministries on a missions trip at the end of March. Please pray as we plan for the details of this trip. I am excited for them to see first-hand the way God is working in the ministries here.

• Our school director has begun the search for new teachers to join us for next school year. We are in need of multiple new English-speaking teachers. Please pray that God will bring the right people to fill each of these positions and serve alongside us this upcoming year.

Thank you again for your prayers and support.

Blessings,

Natasha