Transformed lives one at a time

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 14:6 

We are thankful for the privilege to minister to the marginalized here in the DR and the opportunity to take the gospel to those who have never heard.  Daniela Dipre is one such person who began attending a class at Iglesia Bautista Nuevo Pacto (New Covenant Baptist Church) several years ago as an illiterate adult.  

She tells her story to Mercedes in the accompanying video, and we hope you will take time to hear about her life which is subtitled in English.  Daniela not only learned how to read and write in her native Spanish language, but also became confident enough to travel to Chile where she worked for a period of time to improve her life financially.  Had she not known how to read basic signs in Spanish along the way - making such an arduous trek - by air from Santo Domingo to Lima, Peru and then into Chile on a 24-hour bus ride - may have never come to fruition!  

Two years ago, Daniela began working for our family in Santo Domingo as a caregiver to Mercedes’ older brother Tomas. He needed a trustworthy, competent person who would take care of him while he awaited permission to enter the US to live with his daughter and her family.  Daniela and another caregiver served and loved Tomas as if he were family and we credit these women with helping him heal after a period of intense anxiety just as COVID was starting.

Daniela’s soul passed from death to life when she made a commitment to follow Jesus last year after many telephone conversations with Mercedes. Know we are grateful for supporters like you who have enabled us to take the Good News to Daniela through Spanish literacy.  

Even though I knew Daniela’s story already – since I filmed her interview - I wept when I saw the finished video. Those we serve often never catch a break - and that was Daniela’s saga from a very young age - which resulted in her not continuing with her elementary education. Fortunately, Daniela did get a chance later in life to learn to read and write thanks to her caring teachers at the New Covenant Baptist Church and is progressing today with the goal of becoming a nurse! 

We have added another team member: Nehiel Carbrera Vasquez, who will help us use technology to reach “the least of these” from the coast to the mountains!

We appreciate your prayers as we continue to navigate the challenges of classes remaining closed due to COVID. We also ask you to join us in praying about additional ways to minister, including providing trauma healing to these men and women.  Thank you once again for your support!

Yours in Christ, 

David y Mercedes

Concentric Circles

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  Acts 1:8

Thank you for interceding for us over the past 3 weeks! We have felt your prayers as we and our three traveling companions sensed His physical protection from potential accidents and crime while driving through the city of Santo Domingo and region where we served during this trip.
 
We had a successful workshop attended by 130 people, the majority of whom are teachers and who were grateful to receive information on (1) practical communication theory and (2) how to help students with learning disabilities.
 
The attendees included volunteer teachers who serve in our literacy program and teachers from Christian schools in the area.
 
There were times when we sensed God wanted us to “see” someone.  In one situation around 9:30 at night, we ran into a 16-year-old boy begging with a large bucket as we entered an ice cream shop in Santo Domingo.  Following our group through the door I shook his hand just prior to going inside and asked his name, to which he replied “Brian.”  I especially felt drawn to him when he motioned that he was hungry, making the universal gesture of quickly waving his four fingers toward his mouth.  I asked him to wait for us and we would attend to him when we came out.  I wondered how many people – if any – had touched him today.  We then escorted Brian to a nearby Wendy’s where we bought him a hamburger, fries, and a drink.  Total cost for feeding him: about $4.  We spoke to him about whether he is in school (no), where he lived (Los Minas, a 30 minute bus ride from our location), and what he does during the day (plays baseball).  Then we asked if we could pray for him, telling him we are Christians and we wanted to reach out to him and to love him, as Jesus had told us to do.  He noted how we could pray for him and we did, and with our arms huddled around one another, Brian firmly in our circle of six souls agreeing together, interceded to the God of the universe for His hand to be upon this young boy and his family.  We did this outside of the Wendy’s with the ongoing cacophony of city traffic coursing by, totally oblivious to us.  We later agreed that “seeing him” was the most meaningful thing we had done that day.
 
Our team had numerous interactions with Dominicans and our three guest teachers – Marianne, Talli, and Emme, fell in love with the people, the country, and the culture!  Our youngest teammate, 15-year-old Emme, enjoyed all of her interactions with children, giving a Bible lesson, singing, and showing children how to make a bracelet out of beads with various Christian phrases or words. 
 
Our literacy program continues to grow!  We now have eight literacy and Bible classes in process or starting up, all of which are housed in a local church and staffed with volunteer literacy and Bible teachers.  We are following Jesus’ words to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, which for us in this context is the capital of the DR, Santo Domingo.  Moving outward in concentric circles – as instructed in the above verse – we now have classes in the cities of San Cristobal and San Pedro de Macoris, and are moving farther out to towns such as Quiskeya (a sugar cane town) and Juan Dolio (a beach town).
 
We flew home yesterday with a sense of gratitude on many levels.  Thank you for standing with us in our ministry.  Without you, we wouldn’t be where we are!

Yours in Christ,

David y Mercedes

Some quotes from workshop attendees:
 
From Manolo Benitez… “The workshop was a first-class workshop and I enjoyed it immensely. The first teacher (Talli Sperry) talked about some communication techniques that will be very useful to me. The second speaker (Marianne Sperry), knows her subject and was excellent! It was a workshop for teachers and personnel related to teaching, to understand the pathology, and how to solve some learning problems. I really liked it and learned, too!”
 
From one of our literacy teachers, dentist Yvonne Jimenez… “I wanted to thank you for the activity on Tuesday.Actually that woman (Marianne Sperry) is an eminence… many of the techniques she told us about I used in class today and they really worked! Thank you very much. It was a very good activity.Marianne captivated me. She has a beautiful passion for what she does and she does it very well! I loved it!”

Speech Pathologist Marianne Sperry leads a workshop of teachers in how to reach and help students with learning disabilities.  This photo captures the three Sperry’s in action...  Talli holds the white board while Emme notes the key points her mother Marianne is making.

Emmelove Sperry, surrounded by some of the 80 + children from Los Coquitos neighborhood, who were drawn to play with her after she sang and gave them each a bracelet craft.

Running the Race

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

1 Corinthians 9: 24-27

Many decades – and pounds – ago, I was a runner.  Throughout high school and my first two years of college, I ran… a lot!  When doing errands in the car I would run from the car to the store – and back to the car.  When working at a 7/11 store I worked the 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. shift and would run from the store to my house after 11 p.m., about 2 miles away.  Another year I worked in a factory about a half-mile from my house and would run home - eat the lunch my mother had waiting for me - and run back so I clocked in just under the 30 minutes allotted.

Over that summer my goal was to run a thousand miles so I could be ready to compete in cross country that fall… plus get the bragging rights to wear a blue hooded sweatshirt that had the words “1,000 mile club” written across the front in scripted gold lettering. 

Mercedes and I are now in our 60’s – and running in another kind of race.  As we fly to the DR this Saturday I am reminded of the words from the Apostle Paul, that our faith walk is similar to the training and race described above.  In this case, it is not a sweatshirt we are pursuing.  It is to take to take the gospel to marginalized, illiterate housemaids in the DR who do not yet have a relationship with Jesus. And so we “run to get the prize… to get the crown that will last forever.”  While it is difficult for me to visualize such imagery this far south of eternity, Mercedes and I do long to hear the words from Christ, “well done, good and faithful servant.” For us, hearing those words would be like getting a crown.

Would you join us in prayer as we spend the next three weeks in the DR?  Here are our prayer points:

• For more churches to catch the vision to minister to “the least of these” – the housemaids in the Capital and surrounding area.  We praise God that three new classes are underway!
• Successful workshop – We have 3 guests joining us – one of whom is a speech pathologist who will conduct a workshop to help teachers learn how to help students who have a learning disability.  In each of our literacy classes, at least one student has a learning disability.  In addition to our volunteer teachers, we are inviting teachers from two Christian schools in Santo Domingo.
• Safety in travel during the three weeks we are there (July 21 – August 11).

Thank you for standing with us.  We are excited to go and will let you know the result of your prayers upon our return.

Yours in Christ,

David y Mercedes

June 2017 Update

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4: 6-7

It is easy for us to be anxious, especially ahead of leaving for the DR... packing, planning our time there, and trying to wrap up loose ends here can be stressful- and is! So we rest in Paul’s words above.

We leave tomorrow for the DR for 3 weeks. Our objectives are the same as our prayer needs, which are to:

• Honor the women currently in our program with the celebration of their literacy accomplishments the evening of June 27th.
• Assess how we are doing with the literacy/gospel sharing ministry in the three churches we serve.
• Get feedback from the people who work and volunteer for us on any changes needed.
• Meet with churches new to us interested in partnering with us.
• We will give you an update once we return. Thank you for standing with us in prayer.

Yours in Christ,

David y Mercedes

P.S. Our daughter Marji married Everett Gordon on May 27th. Enclosed is a photo from that special day!

An update from the Dominican Republic

“But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in one body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it, if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”

1 Corinthians 24b-26

Imagine tomorrow as you are leaving your home for work a man quickly approaches from behind, grabs you, and presses a knife to the left side of your neck. He holds you close to his chest with his other arm, screaming he will stab you unless you release your pocketbook, which until now, you are clutching tightly.

This was the reality Daniela, one of the housemaids we serve, experienced as she left her house in the early dawn hours on a recent Tuesday morning in San Cristobal, a town about a 30 minute bus ride from the Santo Domingo. This horror was part of her commute… Thankfully a passerby saw what was unfolding and she screamed to Daniela to release her purse. Daniella complied- and it saved her life, as the assailant took off on a motorcycle that was driven by an accomplice.

… All of us associated with the literacy class hurt with Daniella, imagining the trauma she went through. – Sadly, each housemaid could pray from a place of understanding- as this is all too much a real potential within each of their days.

We immediately began to pray for Daniela’s healing. Even though she was not physically injured, Daniela did- understandably- suffer severe emotional trauma from this violent crime… Though the moments initially felt dark, amidst this prayer and the community of the housemaids, we saw the beauty of the body at work. 1 Corinthians 24b-26 (cited above) became very, beautifully, real.

We have been in the the DR for two weeks and have had a full schedule with much encouragement from potential new cooperating churches, notwithstanding what we just shared about Daniela...

We have met everyone associated with our literacy program including the students, teachers, and cooperating church personnel.

We are excited about the following developments:

• A new literacy class has begun at Iglesia Miramar a week ago. We are encouraged by the three volunteer teachers there who are “all in” on the mission to teach literacy and the gospel to the students currently in this class!

• We have a pilot literacy training project underway with Iglesia Betel, another large church which will have its outreach in another marginalized area where they minister through their Christian school. Classes are expected to begin in mid-February.

• A prominent evangelical church, Iglesia Bautista del Señor Jesus Cristo, is praying about using our trainers to help them reach a marginalized sector in their area of ministry.

Now back to Daniela. She is visibly impacted by what happened as her demeanor is much quieter than she normally is. We have arranged for a pastor from the church where she receives literacy and Bible training to counsel her through this and help her heal from the trauma inflicted.

We are enclosing a video of the testimony Daniela gave earlier this month- before the assault- in which she shares about all she has learned in the class and the success she had in going to the grocery store with a list of items her boss gave her. Without any help, she bought every single one of the items on the list! This was a huge step in her confidence and we rejoice with her progress in literacy! The translation follows at the bottom of this post and is also present in the description of the YouTube video.

Click here to hear Daniela's testimony

Also, the updated brochure which describes what we do as a ministry can be found at this link.

Here are our praise and prayer requests:

Praise...

• Two more cooperating churches have programs underway.

• We have an excellent team of two trainers for literacy and Bible training.

• We have 9 newly trained teachers ready to serve in their respective churches.

Prayer requests...

• For God to raise up the churches with whom to cooperate in Santo Domingo. We always want to cooperate with an evangelical church and don’t want to “go it alone!”

• Daniela’s healing and the protection of her and her family..

Thank you for praying with us!

Yours in Christ,

David y Mercedes

P.S. Here is the translation for Daniela’s testimony about her recent experience..

“My boss sent me to the supermarket with a list, thinking I wasn’t going to get everything that was on the list and I did it without asking anyone for help! I read it completely and brought back everything that was on the list. I bought it all by myself!”  

Greetings from the Dominican Republic

Thank you for praying for us!  We have sensed the protection and provision of the Holy Spirit since we arrived in the DR on June 11.  
Here are highlights from our past two weeks…  

Our team worked hard to prepare the celebration of the promotion of our latest Literacy Class—our third in the 3+ years of the ministry.  The women in the class invited their friends and family to this special event.  As the students were invited individually to step up and receive their diplomas, they were recognized for the fruits of the Spirit that the teachers saw in their lives.  Some received recognition for perseverance, others for their humility, still others for the joy, gentleness, and mercy they show toward others.  We are grateful two of our sisters in Christ could join us to share in this special event: board member Sue Morton and bookkeeper Amy Shobaken.

Promotion celebration of Spanish with a Vision's Literacy class, its teachers, and supporters.

What most impressed us was hearing from two former teachers who described the changes they’ve seen in the literacy students. The teachers told us the women are less anxious and much calmer . . . more at peace with themselves and others, and using the Lord’s name in their everyday conversations. 

We are realizing the transformation in the women’s hearts comes from their growing confidence and self-esteem as they are discipled by their present teachers, Dominga and Belkis. We originally thought our ministry was providing primarily literacy skills and Bible teaching, but it turns out that the “life on life” modeling by the teachers has been even more valuable. Both teachers are extremely missional, making themselves available to the women after the class ends for phone chats, additional tutoring, and counseling.

L-R David, Dominga Santiago (Lead teacher), Belkis Perez (Bible teacher), Mercedes, Amy Shobaken (Bookkeeper), Susan Morton (Board member).

We met with a potentially new cooperating church called Iglesia Miramar.  This church is pastored by Edison Marmol, a medical doctor Mercedes has known since they were in church together as teenagers.  Edison said that because Jesus told his disciples to “go,” their church is going out to seek those who don’t yet have a relationship with Jesus.  He sees our literacy program as a way for the church to reach out and love those folks.  The church building is situated in an unbelievably congested and busy section of the city. As we met inside, we could hear a constant clamor of vehicles and people outside.  We sense this is our next cooperating church and classes are expected to begin in September.

Our Spanish with a Vision Team meets with Iglesia Miramar's leadership and future Literacy and Bible teachers.

We also met with the pastor of our current cooperating church, Hector Santana, and his wife Patricia, as well as our lead teacher, to plan next year’s classes.  We’re excited about what the Lord will do and who He will bring to our class.

As we head home, we are so grateful for your prayers and your interest in the lives of the women we serve!

Yours in Christ, 
David y Mercedes