March Newsletter

Dear Prayer Partners,

March was a wonderful month. The Lord was gracious enough to let me see some of the fruit of the ministries here this month and to provide new ministry opportunities for me to get involved in. There were times to serve, times to work, times to rest, and times to simply enjoy. My heart is full looking back on this month. I am excited to share some of the highlights with you.

Chapels

Over the last year or two my church has been making plans to start chapels in nearby areas that do not have a strong evangelical church. The hope is that the chapels in these neighborhoods can, Lord willing, grow into churches of their own to reach more people throughout the DR. We launched our first chapel in October. I helped with the launch and a few of the special services since then. This month, my roommate and I were asked if we could help lead worship for these chapels because they did not have anyone to lead worship. We agreed to help with this need. We now serve each Sunday night at these chapels. Even in these last few weeks we have seen this chapel start to grow. There are many young men from the baseball ministry that come regularly along with a few families from the neighborhood that are starting to come consistently. It is exciting to see familiar faces return each week and bring with them a family member or friend. I am looking forward to seeing how God will grow this ministry and use it to influence that community. Our main prayer request for this ministry right now is that we are looking for a Dominican who can lead the children's ministry for this chapel. There are many children in the community that could come and hear about Christ. Please pray with us that God will continue to grow this chapel and will bring the right person to start a children's ministry.

Donations

A group from the United States has been raising money to purchase a new playground for our elementary school. This month a group visited from the States and constructed our brand new playground. Our play area was transformed from a few seesaws and swings to a full playground for the students to use during recess time. This is a huge blessing to our school, and we are very grateful that the Lord provided this for us.

There was also a second-grade teacher from the States that contacted me a few months ago asking if there was anything my classroom needed. She said she wanted her second graders to do a service project to practice generosity by purchasing a few things for my second-grade classroom. We received these donations this month! My students and I were very grateful to receive a classroom clock, leveled readers, whiteboard erasers, and science materials to use in our classroom this year. The Lord has been so good to us.

Easter

On Easter morning we had a special service at my church to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. Our praise team has been practicing for this service for months and it was such a blessing to be able to participate in celebrating what Christ did for us when He conquered sin and death once and for all. Our auditorium was full of both members and visitors joining in worship. We heard powerful testimonies of how God has changed individuals and families from death into life. We heard a sermon about the reality of the resurrection and how the fact that Jesus rose again changes the way we live today. And we celebrated in song together. It was a special time of fellowship. At the end of the service our pastor spontaneously decided that one service wasn't enough. He said that there are many people who need to hear this message of hope. He asked the congregation to invite unbelievers to church next Sunday where we will have the program again in the evening. Please pray alongside us that God would call people to himself during the program next week. Pray that hearts would be softened, and minds would be opened. Pray that families and individuals who are unbelievers would come and would be changed as we have in Christ.

Home Visits

This month I began doing the home visits that I have written about in previous newsletters. When I do a home visit my intention is to get to know the family of my student better and to look for opportunities to share the Gospel with them. Each time I visit a student's home I bring a year-long devotional book and an invitation to my church along with a few small toys and pieces of candy to give to the family as a gift.

So far I have visited two families. Both visits have gone very well. On my first visit the family was very welcoming and my student (who was one of my most difficult students at the start of the school year) was jumping and dancing around because of how excited he was to have me there to visit. What was supposed to be a 20-minute visit turned into 4 hours. I was able to sit down and talk with the mother for a while. Although she would say general phrases about trusting God and encourage her children to pray before bed, I could see that she didn't understand what it meant to have a personal relationship with God. This is very typical for families here in the DR. Her family does not attend church and she shared that this is because she believes church people are very hypocritical. I talked with her a little about the difference between religion and a relationship with God. I have stayed in contact with this mother since this visit and am continuing to pray that their family would realize their need for a personal relationship with Christ.

The second family I visited was also very welcoming and kind. I was able to sit down and talk with the mother for a while. I learned that the mother is a Christian, but the father is not and their family does not currently attend church. As I asked them what brought their family to Las Palmas, she shared about how important Christian values are to her. As she talked about the school, she told me about how she has seen Las Palmas impact the lives of her three children. Her oldest daughter is in high school and she said she is reading her Bible on her own, encouraging her family to attend church, and is surrounded by good Christian friends. She told me that my student, who is only in second grade, has been telling his dad that he needs to accept Jesus into his heart. A few weeks ago, I saw the mother and her children visiting my church. I am encouraged to hear how God has already used our ministry to impact this family and I am continuing to pray that they would seek the Lord and grow in Christ together as a family. Please join me in praying for these families.

Thank you so much for continuing to support what God is doing in the Dominican Republic. I am grateful for each of you who read these newsletters and continue to encourage me through the highs and lows as I continue to serve in ministry here.

In Christ,

Natasha