Occasionally I’m asked by brothers and sisters in Christ how they can support our work. Below is a list of some of the ways your financial gifts are used. The list is by no means exhaustive, but I hope it helps you to see how your gifts support the spread of the eternal-life-giving Gospel.

$100

• 2 tanks of gas to San Pedro groups
• 3-4 months of electricity at worship center and seminary classroom
• 2 months of security guard for missionary residences
• 1/5 (one-fifth) monthly scholarship for a married seminarian

$200

• 3-4 months of phone and internet service for worship center
• 20 textbooks to teach seminary Greek
• 6,400 pages of Sunday School, Bible class and worship materials
• Advertising for special evangelism events

$300

• Translation work from Spanish to French for Haitian members
• 1 month rent of worship center / seminary classroom
• 1 month scholarship for a single seminarian
• 3-5 months of auto insurance

We encourage your gifts first and foremost to the synod’s regular operating budget, because that budget provides for the bulk of our mission’s costs. You may give through your local WELS congregation, or find out how to give online by clicking here.

But if you would like to give an offering specifically for the work here in the DR, above and beyond your offering to the regular synod budget, you may do so online by clicking here, or you may send a gift to the following address (be sure to specify it for the Dominican Republic):

WELS – Dominican Republic Fund
2929 N Mayfair Road
Milwaukee, WI 53222

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW

Ghost Money and incense is tied to the bamboo plant in the corner of the rice field. Taoism is a religion which believes all things have spirits and so those who are Taoist will bring offerings to the “spirits of the fields” asking for protection on the crop as it matures.

Middle Fall Festivcal is an important time of the year to worship your ancestors at home on your family altar and then to also go to the neighborhood Taoist temple to worship the “god” who cares for your area of the world. The Video Clip shows worship on Middle Fall Festival in Taichung.

BIKE

Here is a clip from the September CLEC Retreat. 75 members participated and were encouraged as we gathered around the Word. Praise God for his blessings! The photo shows the Taichung church ladies!

When people come to the Dominican Republic they usually know about the tourist places, eg. the beaches, the Colonial City, the whale watching, etc. What they don’t always think about are the strange diseases you might come in contact with when you enter a different country.

Recently two members of our Christian family had very different health issues. One had several insect bites that became infected. At first, the doctors thought they were just simple mosquito bites and didn’t do anything. When the infected bites grew to about the size of quarters, continuously oozed, and caused constant pain, the doctors finally realized they were spider bites. The bites were treated with antibiotics (twice a day injections for a week), lanced and drained. We are happy to report that there has been a complete recovery.

The second became sick and was diagnosed with dengue fever, a virus transmitted by certain mosquitoes. The symptoms of this disease are high fever, chills and general pain in your whole body. When you have dengue you need to rest quite a long time before you are back on your feet. After a week of continued high-grade fever and body aches, more tests were done, and it was concluded that the real problem was food poisoning. The correct treatment was given (different antibiotics). By God’s grace, she has also recovered.

Thanks be to God for the recovery of our brother and sister. And thanks be to God for providing availability of treatments to help them recuperate.

(posted by Kathy Strackbein)

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW