NEWSLETTER August 2011
To say that we
have stayed busy for at least 14 hours a day would not be any exaggeration. I
know you have a busy life too, so I will dispense with the small talk and get
right to what your donations have done in the past 45 days!
#1 Clean water is flowing in redemption! The first time in
the 27 year history of Redemption Village there is clean, purified, UV treated
water… and it is available for free. For those of you who may not remember the
Redemption Village story, it is among the oldest and poorest villages on the
north coast of the Dominican. It is mainly Haitians who came here for work
before the Sugar cane mill shut down 2 years ago. It is a tough place.
#2 We are distributing water filtration systems to houses in
the mountains. These people do not even have access to bottled water most of
the time. Their transportation is by animal rather than motorcycle. They have
been so happy to receive the filters and praise God for them.
#3 Your gifts provided a new motorcycle for a missionary
family from Bolivia. We come here with provisions, this family came because God
called and they moved. What a great family of faith!
#4 God has provided for $2000.00 in medical needs for a
Pastor! Our neighbor here in the DR, who is not a believer, asked me how he
could help. I informed him of the various projects that we do. He handed me a
check for $100,000 pesos for our work. It met the entire need!
#5 Money came in for the purchase of a home for Haitian
Pastor Lucien Joseph. This will provide his family a place to live as his home
is marked for demolition. We are doing the paperwork now to make the sale
completely legal and recognized by the state.
#6 After five years of promising Pastor Domingo that a
mission team would come down and put a roof on his house… finally a mission
team did. Praise the Lord his house is now dry inside. The team also took an
offering to give the Pastor a refrigerator. It was a good week.
#7 There is a brand new mission worker on the field here
with us. Her name is Shayna Nichols
and she is helping us for the next 4 months with learning our Spanish and
helping with the work here. We are thankful for her most excellent service in
this way.
As you know, Terica and I raise our own support for being on
the mission field through the speaking ministry. We are never asking you to
support anything we are not investing in ourselves in a respectable way. Because
of this funding we are able to funnel your gifts directly and completely into projects that serve the Dominican and Haitian people.
We appreciate you allowing us to be a conduit for your charity and ministry unto
the Lord. Together we hope to lay up treasures in heaven where the economy
cannot depreciate and where God will be the reward giver of the good done in
His name. Jesus taught us that cups of cold water given in His name will not go
unrewarded.
Please pray about the following:
Pastor Lucien Joseph’s son was badly burned and in the
hospital for the last week. Meds will be needed when he comes out. Pray for
recovery and funds for the med’s needed.
We desperately need more 5 gallon buckets for our portable
water systems. The cost here is $10 for one set of buckets and a five-hour
drive to get them. Pray for people to help pay for them and for a special bulk
rate to be available for the quantity we can afford.
Miracles still happen! Next newsletter I will try and share
a few with you. Please pardon the long time since my last letter. I do want to
keep you informed. I just don’t want to be the missionary who is on the email
every week asking you to give more and more. I know times are tough in the
states. We feel it here to with gas hitting $6.10 a gallon. We are praying for
you and your family. Please pray for ours.
Mike and Terica Williams
Please write us at TericaWilliams@gmail.com
Stories of life in the D.R. from past Newsletters excerpts
BUT WE PAID FOR ELECTRICITY: First off let me say that I am not complaining. We are blessed and healthy and happy to be serving God from this vantage point in the Dominican Republic. I want to share a few crazy stories because those who have written me have asked about the adjustments from living in the states. So here goes...
In the states we have always laughed when it came to our discussions about the way government ran, and when it came to inefficiency the good old DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) always topped the list of laughables. Well the DMV must have a branch here in the DR. To say all authority is ordained by God means that He must have made a few places just for laughs.
Two small illustrations. In the window of our car there is a sticker that says “2009” and some additional Spanish words. It is a tax of 350 pesos (ten bucks). Well here it is well into July of 2010 and I noticed that I do not have a 2010 sticker. I make some calls only to find out the 2010 sticker is not out yet. When will it be out? The response was, “When the government gets around to it.” How will I know when to get one? My helper explained, “I would just know because everyone would be going to get one.” Okay, I guess I just need to watch for a long line of cars and get in that line. “Se!” And they meant that.
Last night I get an email from a missionary friend telling us that the new stickers are available and the mechanic at the local car wash has some extras. If I get there before they are all gone I can save a lot of time driving to Puerto Plata to get one. Plus the guy at the car wash will not ask me to show any proof of ownership, he will just sell me a sticker. So this morning, after I finish our little chat, I will go down and get in line for a sticker at the Car Wash from the Mechanic.
So the new stickers are in and that explains why there was so much traffic on the road yesterday. No really. All day I couldn’t help but ask why so many people were headed to Puerto Plata... now I know... it was the sticker line. My Spanish helper was right!
Now about the electricity. This is simple. When you hear the story you will understand how easily this could have happened to any electric company in the world and my frustration was totally uncalled for. So there I sat typing feverishly on the computer getting ready for Spanish Bible class when the electricity went out. No problem... we get used to that on an hourly basis. I take a break to remind the kids not to open the fridge door and get a glass of water. One half hour later, still no power, I walk outside and mention the situation to my neighbor at the apartment across the hall, who responds by telling me that his electricity is on.
It is at this point, 4 p.m. on a Friday afternoon that I panicked. Ednorte (the name of our electric company) does not do anything fast and you have to jump through hoops to get them to move on anything. Again... think... DMV! I ran out to the electrical box to find a torn note about my NON-PAYMENT wadded up into a ball and shoved into a seam next to the box.
It is now pouring down rain as I race for the electric company all the while trying to get my interpreter on the phone to meet me there. Finding an English speaker at a major company is not likely. If you have any education at all you are not going to be working for Ednorte. Ednorte is bad news! Even the government (remember them from the previous paragraphs) call Ednorte corrupt. This in itself is funny. That is like the Taliban calling Al-Qaeda “a bunch of killers.” But I digress.
After waiting in line I was fortunate enough to get the same girl I had gotten every day I was there last month when I was trying to pay the bill they would never send. She remembered me. I was also fortunate that a young German lady next to me spoke Spanish well enough to help me through this dilemma. It appears that the problem was my fault completely. For when they could not seem to get my meter read last month, even after I repeatedly reminded them, I went ahead and paid them in advance what I thought the bill might be. I did not have a bill... I had a credit. A CREDIT! So, I am told, “Senior... the computer is not capable of recognizing overpayments. We will turn the power back on as soon as possible, and I would be charged a $1000 pesos (27 dollars) reconnection fee.” You have got to be kidding right? No... not at all.
To finish up... the electric company still has not come out as of this writing. I reconnected myself. We have electricity this morning, I am headed down to get my 2010 tax sticker at the Car Wash, and we are now apologizing for all the bad things we have said about the DMV over the years.
THE FOUR HOUR BIBLE CLASSES. We have a class for the Nueva Vida Pastors every sunday afternoon that I am privileged to teach. It is a great time for me to work on my Spanish and for them to work on their English and for all of us to explore the Bible.
We start at 3:30 “American Time” every Sunday. Some people say that Dominicans operate on their own time... late. But that is not always true. I have told the Pastors from the first day that I expect to start on time and they seem to get there. I could say a lot here about that, but I will not. I will say that when you set a standard, people will conform to it.
Now when I say Bible study... it goes like this. I start with about an hour tour through that weeks lesson. I have it written for them in Spanish and I have it in English. After the first hour or so, we open up for questions. Then we finish up in time for the Pastors to go on their evening preaching spot.
Last week I asked a question and went around the room asking the Pastors to give me their theology on a particular topic. Well it turns out that our 5 Pastors, and 2 interpreters all had different views. Well what seemed like an innocent question launched into a Bible search for the “Perfect Verse” to set the other straight. I was amazed at these guys. I need my Bible Computer to find the book of Haggai and these guys were finding obscure verses in their Bible without a concordance. At a little after seven we had to break as they went running for their churches asking to get together after church for another hour or two.
How refreshing it is to see men who have not forgotten the excitement of searching the scripture together. Men who can stand together, and work together though they have differing views of certain points of scripture. It excites me to know that I prepare for a class that intelligent men are looking forward to coming to without the promise of air conditioning or video enhancement. I love these guys. I am encouraged by their commitment and passion for God. Please pray for them and their work. And pray that I will be able to stand and deliver the Word in a manner worthy of the time they are giving to it.
Here is a quote I found this week. I hope it moves you the way it did me. “You can’t do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and its depth.” –Evan Esar. Have a great week and love somebody enough to radically change their life.
EVANGELISM 60+ CONVERTS: A few months ago in preparation for the Spanish Bible College Terica and I ordered the Way Of The Master series in Spanish. I watched it myself... it was a little wordy... especially since I understood only about 20% of the words at that time. Now I am a little better. I have been through witness training programs before. I was trained in Evangelism Explosion in the late seventies, and became a certified trainer in the 80’s. Terica has been sharing on the streets since she was old enough to carry a Bible. We believe in evangelism, and thus when we first saw this material we couldn’t help but think we probably knew it all. Well, much to our surprise the Ray Comfort/Kirk Cameron approach has some incredibly great concepts working for it.
Now if you have watched their TV programs you may have found their style to be a little “IN YOUR FACE” to say the least. And there is no reason that everyone has to model their way of doing it, but the information they share I believe is critical to sharing the gospel. The Bible says that Law of God is a schoolmaster to show us our need for a savior. In a day in which people have no knowledge of why they would even need to be saved, giving them the law of God is a great way to help people understand their need for a Savior.
At this point in the story we are two weeks into the training and in the van on the way to San Pedro to help teach an Experiencing God seminar with our Pastors leading a hundred other Pastors. On the way our Pastors found time to share the Gospel at the gas station with the new material as a foundation to start. I came out of the bathroom to find one of the workers with hands raised high to the heavens asking Jesus Christ to come in and forgive their sin and be the Lord of their life. The next thing I knew other employees were gathering around and the Pastors started in on him. We got to share with the entire gas station/restaurant/convenient store staff. God was good to use our Pastors in a powerful way. Remember, it was your gifts that paid for the material... you have a great part in that response.
#2 It always seems that some will grab something a little more strongly than others. Pastor Nicolas, who by nature is quiet and almost rather shy. He often sits toward the back and never speaks unless he is spoken to, has come alive with this material. His day job is a tire business he is trying to start in Puerto Plata (pray for that). He has used this material to share with hundreds, and through it he has been able to lead over 54 people to Christ. They prayed right there on the streets of Puerto Plata! Praise the Lord.
We have invited all the Pastors from San Pedro down here to be with us in December for a Pastors and Wives Marriage conference. Joe is making some showers at the school building for them to use and they will stay housed in the school buildings. Nothing is more romantic than attending a marriage conference and then going back to a classroom with a concrete floor with a bunch of other Pastors. But we have to use what we have here. And we are grateful! We will have Dr. Tony Poncetti in to teach the seminar and I will be teaching some material from the Men Are From Mars Because Women Killed The Ones On Venus book. On a side note, It was recently translated in to Russian and we are giving it away online to Russian speaking people.
Mud, Mafia, and Me It started as a simple visit to Pastor Domingo’s home. In the states we always laughingly say, “Turn off the hard road!” Well this was one of those, “Turn off the hard road, then turn off of that road, and then cross the river at the lowest point” type of an experience. I had been back there a few times before, and even thought it had been raining on and off for the past few hours I felt confident that my exquisite driving skills would allow us to have safe passage to Pastor Domingo’s home.
I wanted the team to see this house. It was just a summer ago that my local church helped buy the bricks and some men from this teams church helped build the walls at the house. There is no roof yet, but I thought maybe if they see that, they will get motivated to raise the money for a roof over our Pastors whole house and not just the bedrooms. nevertheless we were on our way. Did I have any fears of the weather? Only the turn around at Pastor Domingo’s as it is right next to the river and flooding is often a problem.
Well the visit went great. Fifteen people crowded into that little covered kitchen and we huddled together in much closer conditions than American like. We like a good 12 inches between each other to be able to breath good. The candle light, because Domingo lives way past the electric power area, was our only light. We sang, we shared, I interpreted Domingo as he shared his testimony. I am not that good of a translator, but I do know Domingo’s testimony well enough to fake it. We had a great time.
Back on the road after the visit we will make one more stop at the home of Pastor Nicolas. Well, that was the plan. Night had fallen and we were many kilometers off the beaten path. The gravel/dirt/mud/sand roadway was rough and wet. The little motoconcho (motorcycle) coming toward me was in the middle of the road. I was just trying to avoid taking him to see the Lord by turning the truck wheel ever so slightly to the right when the front wheel broke free the loose gravel road shoulder and into the mud that wheel went. I tried to gun the gas pedal (diesel actually) to ride us back up, but it was over! We were stopped.
Quickly a number of Dominicans came to our rescue, and after rocking the truck back and forth a coupe of hundred times we were now fully off the road and up to the axles in mud. I thanked them for trying. They waved and drove away. I think one of them said “Sucker” in Spanish! I sent the mission team back to the town in a large taxi van that happened along, and I sat in the cab waiting for Missionary Joe to come with the tools to remove the Batteries, and anything else that could be unbolted before the tow truck could get there in the morning. Leaving the two big batteries on the truck would have been the same as putting a sign that read FREE BATTERIES!
There I sat looking up into the sky and marveling at the vastness of it all. It was about twenty minutes into my wait that I realized that I was in an area devoid of houses and any lights at all. The traffic had become non-existent and I realized I was by myself. It is a little unnerving being one lone white guy in an unmoving truck on the side of an old cane field road. A motorcycle past me, circled twice, and stopped his bike in front of the truck. I quickly picked up my cell phone and acted as if I were in a personal conversation with the President of the DR and he was preparing to land his helicopter at any minute on the muddy road next to me with many armed men at his side!
“No blanco aqui! - No blanco aqui!” I asked him why. He said in a mix of Spanish and Spang-lish, “I no speaka Englis but... No you be here. Muey Peligro!” I responded with a strong, “What do you mean it is dangerous?” He responded with, “How you say, muey bad hombre here... mafioso... MUEY MAFIOSO!” Well you don’t have to be raised in Chicago (as I was) to recognize the Spanish word for mafia.
So let’s get the story in order. I am by myself, not near any houses for witnesses, no light but from my cell phone and the flickering remains of an old flashlight, there is no 9-1-1 to call, if the Police were here they would likely rip me off before the mafia got there, it could be an hour before anyone returns with the tools, and non-English speaker guy wants to tell me that I should not be here because of the mafia that runs this street? Well I will just put this truck in drive and get out of Dodge... o yeah... I can’t do that... I am stuck in the mud.
At this point I do not know whether this guy is good or bad. Is he waiting for his other mafioso friends to ride up on their mafioso cycles, or horses or whatever. I am not familiar with the driving styles of the Dominican Mafia although I have seen their work before one the local prosecutor. This is when I began to pray harder than I originally did when I was just enjoying the stars. Well my Dominican Guardian Angel stayed with me until help arrived. He stayed there as some really bad looking hombres drove past a few times to scope things out. He stayed there when the guy pulled up in the Lexus SUV (yes I said Lexus) with a shotgun barrel sticking out of his drivers window and looked me over like the owner of a pawn shop looking at an authentic civil war sword.
The Bible says we entertain Angels unaware... well I don’t know... but I am here today telling you about it. Every one who lives here who knows where I was says I am lucky to be alive, and crazy for staying to guard the truck. Not Lucky... the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. It was just not this good man’s time to leave this country... or world.
I got home to find that Pastor Bernard Okeke had called Terica to ask her to pray for my safety. He heard I was out there, but did not know what road or where to go, and he had no vehicle. But they had prayer. Prayer is a good thing. Keep them up for the Williams family.
HIS FATHER IS BLIND: Let me tell you the Haitian population has grown in the DR quite rapidly since the earthquake. The multiplied amount of beggars on the streets of Santiago well demonstrated the crisis. This is what we feared, this is what the DR is facing like it or not. We must be ready to meet the needs and share the gospel.
In the midst of my shopping for a poor Bonao family in Santigo I met him. He is nine years old. He held the arm of his father who held a cane as they made their way through the rapidly moving cars and honking horns. The gray haze that completely covered his fathers eyes left no doubt that his father was blind. His name is Juan. He wants to go to school, but his lot in life has been reduced to keeping his dad from being run down in the traffic. Dad is doing all he can to provide for the family, and Juan is doing what he can to help his father. "A few peso's to help a blind man and his family sir?" I was short anything of real value, but I did have a box of Granola Bars, and a small Christian pamphlet. The Granola was for my trip to Bonao, but not anymore. I don't know if I will ever see Juan again. I may never know the outcome of his young life, but for just a moment that little boy impacted my life. God has been good to me. I have been blessed. To whom much is given much is required. I must do with my life something that is justifiable with the blessings and opportunities I have been given. Help me God to live up to my opportunities.
Easter is a crazy time in the DR. They
call is Samana Santo (I probably spelled that wrong) which interpreted
means a weekend of drunkenness. The roads are so dangerous the
Dominican Government does not allow the large people mover vehicles to
be on the road. Unfortunately many die. I just returned after having a
great time with our Dominican Pastors school guys and we shot video
with five of them. You will be able to see their preaching videos at
www.EstudiosPastoral.com in the next few weeks. The many hours we have
put into the Spanish Church administration videos (19 in all) will also
be posted and the site published by the end of the month.
THE SUZUKI: Is it a van? Is it a bread truck? is it a matchbox on steroids? Is it a station-wagon that got wet after midnight? The idea from the beginning was to raise enough money before we got here to purchase a vehicle that could carry the entire Williams family around to where they needed to go, and also be used to move Pastors back and forth to the Bible College activities. The funds that came in decided for us that we would buy the Suzuki rather than the Nissan. But there was a problem! It seems that the Suzuki dealers were all out of their shipment of Suzuki vans for the year. There would be no more until the spring shipment. Well, Praise the Lord, a local business was folding and they had purchased a Suzuki APV (All Purpose Van) the year before. It had just 30,000 kilometers (approx. 20,000 miles) on it, and it was Se Vende (For Sale). It had only been in one accident, and it started without jumper cables! So we bought it. With the money we saved buying the used one I was able to purchase a Chinese made motorcycle called a Legend. It is 100cc and will top out at about 45 mph. Seeing me on this thing is like watching a tomato balancing on a salt shaker, but God has provided these vehicles, both of which are being used by Pastors in the Dominican even now when we are away. The motorcycle gets really great mileage too. With gas hitting the pumps at 5 bucks a gallon... that is a great thing.
