“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!”