We give thanks to God for another pastor in Mexico! In May of this year, Juan Jose Olvera finished his studies at the seminary in Torreón. A special graduation ceremony was held for him at the National Convention in Juarez on Sunday, July 15th.

Missionary Mike Hartman preached the graduation sermon. In it, he recalled the first courses that he taught Juan Jose in 2004. At that time, there was no classroom building. Classes were held around a table set up in a church, right in front of the pulpit.

By the grace of God, a seminary building and student housing were constructed in 2005. Juan Jose finished his seminary studies in typical classroom settings. He had access to a library and computers to further aid in his training.

Now as a pastor, Juan Jose received a call to serve the congregation in Juarez. He will begin his ministry there in a few weeks. To God be all praise for a growing number of workers in Mexico!

This past Sunday, July 22, we celebrated the first seminary graduation for the DR field. Join us in thanking the Lord for providing for and protecting Rona Abraham during his years of seminary training. I encourage you to click on the label “Rona” at the end of this post to see other posts about him (or simply click here).

In contrast to many seminaries that exist today simply as “schools of religion”, our seminary exists for the sole purpose of training men to serve in the public ministry of the church — just as the Apostle Paul wrote to his coworker Timothy, “The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2).

We celebrate the Lord’s goodness in supplying his church with these “reliable men who are also qualified to teach others.” Please join us in praying for:

• … God’s blessings on Rona’s future ministry in Haiti.
• … our five other seminarians – Obed, Julio, Freddy, Helve, Alex — who will be returning to class on Aug 6.
• … more workers in the Lord’s harvest field (Matthew 9:37,38).

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW

It’s summer and the flamboyan trees are in full bloom. The Caribbean is green all year round, so we see little change in the seasons. But in June the green of the flamboyan tree changes to dark red, orange or yellow flowers.

The color is just amazing and beautiful. Both the city and the countryside are spotted with these bright spots of color during the summer. It almost becomes a game to look for them as you are out driving.

I have also read that there is a blue flamboyan, but have yet to see one.

Praise be to the God of all creation for such wonderful gifts to us.
(posted by Kathy Strackbein)

[NW adds: The driver must keep his eyes on the road, so he usually loses the above mentioned game ]

God is good!

Through the generosity of WELS Kingdom Workers (for more info on WELS KW, click here) and our Christian brothers and sisters who support it, we will be starting an English as a Foreign Language program to “open up” our church to the community.

As we get to know the men and women who come to learn English — and as they get to know us and see examples of our genuine Christian love — it creates a natural bridge for us to share the Gospel with them, just as Peter wrote: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope (and love) that you have” (1 Peter 3:15).

More details of the program will come in future posts, but at this time, we ask for your prayers as we look for housing for the two volunteers who will serve as the English teachers. Due to rising costs here in the DR, we are having trouble finding an apartment that is secure, close enough to the church, and within our budget. We trust the Lord will provide what we need, in his time, as we continue the search.

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW

God is good.

He granted me safe travels during a ten day teaching trip to another country. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with other pastors and study the book of Galatians with them, translating and interpreting it on the basis of the original Greek. Martin Luther compared the book of Galatians to his wife, saying “I am married to it!” Such was his love for the pure gospel the book teaches — that God declares us “Not guilty!” purely because of the merits of Christ; thus we are FREE IN CHRIST.

Please pray for Pastors Frank, Catalino, Vladimir, Carlos, their families and their ministries. Despite the many man-made obstacles they face where they serve, the Lord is blessing the preaching of his Word. We pray he guards, protects and encourages them at all times.

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW