Wednesday, May 31, 2006

preaching in the country


I preached at this church Mon. night. There were about 52 present that night and the lesson was well received. This is a church that was started by the liberals but the preacher wants to learn and do everything exactly like the Bible says.

He was also present last night when Edward preached in the nearby town and is to meet us this afternoon to go to the 2 churches where we will preach.

This area has about 3,000 families and most of the houses are in various states od construction--some almost finished, some barely started. The brethren probably don't have much but they received us with much love. When we got there the power was off, so we sat outside under the shade for the children's class until time to start. As it began to get dark they started up a generator and off we went. About halfway through the sermon they power came back and quiet returned--it was a small generator, but even the small ones make noise.

I'm about to lose my battery, so I'll close for now. The brethren here send their greetings to you all.

Tol

The conveniences of home


This is a picture of the living room/dining room where we are staying. The house is quite adequate and each of us has our own bed. We are being treated very well in all things, but some things are just not the same.

The power comes and goes throughout the day and every night at midnight it goes until about 3 AM, so you know what time we really get to sleep. Yesterday the power was on all day and midnight came and we still had power, so I hoped it might continue, but not to worry me son they were just a little late. The water only comes on Tuesday and Saturday, but where we are staying they have a cistern so they fill it when the water comes and then pump it up to a 500 gallon tank on the roof, which feeds the house. As long as you have electricity you have water and there is about a 30 gallon trash can full of water in the shower for those times when you don't have water.

I have forgotten how quickly your life starts to revolve around what you have--Mon. night we got in about 11:15 and I was very tired, but the power was on so before I even thought about bed I plugged the battery charger in to charge the camera batteries and then plugged Ed's and my laptop so they could charge. You do what you got to do, you know. That night the light went out before I could get in the shower, so I showered in the dark.

Yes, we have all the conveniences of home--they're just not quite as convenient.

Tol

Monday, May 29, 2006

Km. 13
















On the right you see half of the church where Joel preached on Sun. afternoon--there were 24 present. On the right you see the outside of the church building and our "friend" illustrates perfectly what the brethren contend with at every service. There is a little store next door and most of their business is selling alcohol. The lady has her glass of beer(I presume) held high and she approached several of the brethren, including Ed, to buy her a beer. The music is coming out of the shop full blast, which makes it hard to hear the preaching--the singing will barely drown it out. Fortunately, there was only one radio going, not the 3-4 there sometimes is. The power was out so there were no fans and we began at 4 PM, probably the hottest hour of the day. The church meets at 4, so they can be done before dark, as the shop/bar brings out the worst elements.

The area around the church building used to be a quiet neighborhood but not anymore. Indeed, it doesn´t matter where you worship you must compete with at least one loud radio, sometimes 2 or 3 competing ones. Fortunately the power was off during the day, so they didn´t have to light the propane lamp to see. Yes brethren we have it way tooooo easy.

Tol

Ensanche Enriquillo



Sunday the 28th I preached at this church on the north side of Santo Domingo. The last time I was here there were about 20 but yesterday the count was 54. Hugo does most of the preaching here, although his brother Chago (in the dark blue shirt on the front row) also does some of the teaching. My co workers Edward Rangel and Doug Bain are on the front row. Joel Holt is on the left side so you don´t see him.

This was the first church in Santo Domingo to take a stand for all the truth. Although Hugo has a full time job (65 or more hours a week) he still preaches or teaches 2-3 times a week, not only here but in other churches in the area.

Sunday was a full day--we began here at 9 AM and went until about 11:30 then back to where we are staying for lunch. We left at 3 to go to another church that meets only in the afternoon--you´ll see them in a later blog. Joel preached there, then on to another church that met at 7:15 and went until 9 PM--Edward preached there. By the time we dropped the sister who went with us off we got to a chicken restaurant about 10:15 and home by 11. The power went off promptly at midnight, as it had the night before and came back on about 3 AM. Rather than cut areas off completely for hours at a time they have rotating power outages--the powers out right now, but the internet cafe has a generator.

It has been hot--even the locals are complaining about the heat and when the power goes so does the fan. But so far so good. At least the car has AC.

Tol Burk

Friday, May 26, 2006

Pig's feet soup and other things

For those of you who read yesterday's blog know, we had pig's feet last night. Not having had that before I was a little curious, but not to worry, me son, the pig's feet were only the meat of a soup which also included a little pasta, a few potatoes, and other vegetables.

If all goes as planned, we will leave in the morning for the Dominican Republic. We should leave at 8:45 AM and reach Santo Domingo at 10 AM. We will wait at the airport for another preacher who is to arrive at 2:20, since the airport is quite a ways from town. Nino will meet us there and should have our preaching schedule arranged by now.

Please continue to pray for our efforts here. We had 18 and 20 Wed. & Thur. night, so I expect about 20 again tonight for the final service.

Tol

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Oscar and Ana


Oscar and his wife Ana have been my host in Dorado, PR on more than one occasion. I've stayed with them in the past and although they're no longer up to that I continue to eat meals there. This picture is of them in their kitchen. Sunday we all had lunch there--chinese fried rice and King crab salad. Brother Oscar was for many years a security guard at one of the big resorts then retired from there and had a hamburger/hot dog truck for several years after that.

We are to eat there again tonight and the local preacher and his family are looking forward to pigs feet as the main course. I'm not sure I am, but I'll eat at least a respectable portion. I'm surprised, because some years ago Dana and I had been in Puerto Rico all week, eating with different brethren and everywhere we went we were served pigeon peas and rice and chicken. While we both really like pigeon peas and rice and chicken is fine, after a week it had gotten a little old. Friday night we ate at their house and we had hamburgers, mashed potatoes, and green beans--he knew what we would have been served everywhere else and thought we might want something different.

I'll let you know how the pigs feet are tomorrow, if I can get to internet.

Tol Burk

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Dorado, PR


The church in Dorado has been meeting for probably 40 + years and like most churches has had its ups and downs. During the last 4 years things have continually progressed and Joe is much of the reason. He began a systematic study of the Bible then and the members have grown greatly in their Bible knowledge. They had 26 in attendance Sunday, with 3-4 off the island--in the States for various reasons.

We began the Gospel meeting here Saturday night with 12 in attendance, then 13 Mon. night and 19 last night so I expect the attendance will continue at 19 or even grow a bit more. We are staying with Joe and his wife Mayra, in the boy's bedroom--I have the top bunk, so get to climb up and down the "stairs"--other than that I can't complain. We are to eat with two sisters today and then tomorrow we are to have a local delicacy--pig foot soup. You know I'm looking forward to that, but the brother who is fixing it is so excited that he can.

We have been taking turns preaching, as the Gospel meeting at Caparra T. did not take place and tonight it's my turn--I will preach "you shall know the truth". Tomorrow Brother Doug Bain will arrive and he is to preach tomorrow night, then Edward Rangel will preach again Friday night to close out our effort here.

Tol Burk

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Traveling in Puerto Rico



Preaching in Puerto Rico always involves travel--lots of it on croweded freeways, well they're not exactly free as most are tollways. If you can read the map on the left enough to see Caguas, then you know about where we are staying. Each night we are preaching in Dorado, which is to the west of San Juan--about a 45 minute drive each way. Last night there was a semi trailer jack knifed across the east-west tollway but on our way in it was on the opposite side, so the only hold up for us was all the rubberneckers. On the way back, around 9 :15 PM, we were detoured on to another highway and the traffic was light enough that it probably added only 5 minutes to our commute.

The preacher, Joe, makes this drive on Sunday morning and Wed. night, plus other times as needed during the week. With the price of gasoline here around $2.80 a gallon, that little trip is becoming a real burden. To us, it's just an inconvenience, but it's only for a week, but to them it can be a real factor--there are times his wife cannot attend on Wed. night because she gets home too late from work. And when he gets there, on a good Sunday they will have 30 or so--there were 26 present this past Sunday, but 3 are out of town.

Driving in Puerto Rico is always exciting--between the significant minority that are driving 10-15 miles below the speed limit to the "kids" driving 10-15 miles over it, plus lane closures without warning, stalled cars, entrances and exits on both left and right every mile or so it is always exciting. A law will go into effect tomorrow making it illegal to drive on the shoulder and the fine is $250. I foresee the gov't getting rich, as both shoulders serve as lanes during rush hour. A one lane exit becomes 3-4 lanes during rush hour.

As the Jamaican lady in the National Geographic article put it some years ago, when asked about life in Jamaica, "Life it ain't easy, it's haaard." When you think your life is hard I have to tell you you don't know what hard is.

Tol Burk

Church "cooperation"




Above you see two churches that share the same building, splitting the expenses down the middle. As you can see they are both small, but they have seperate services because the group on the left has worship in English while the group on the right has worship in Spanish. I preached for both groups last Sunday; first in English, then in Spanish and yes, it was the same sermon. While the English speaking group is having worship, the Spanish speaking group has Bible study. At 10:30, they switch--the Spanish speaking group has worship and the English speaking group has Bible class.

Both of these churches have been larger in the past, but as people have moved away to the States, the number has dwindled. Neither one has a full time preacher, which has hampered their efforts--one of the brethren preaches each Sunday but they meet only on Sunday morning for the entire week and there is little, if any teaching done during the week. As you can imagine, over the years both groups have dwindled down and the only new members have been the few that move in from time to time.

There is a great need for preachers in the Caribbean, especially in Puerto Rico--not to do the members work, but to do the work of an evangelist. There is a great need for more teaching, not only in the church building, but from house to house as well. Please pray that the Lord will supply workers.

If the Lord permits, we will be moving on to the Dominican Republic Saturday, the 27th, to meet 2 other preachers there and spend that week preaching in that country of 8 million people.

Tol Burk

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Caparra Terrace


This photo is of the English speaking church that meets in Caparra Terrace, San Juan, Puerto Rico. They share the building with a Spanish speaking group that is even smaller.

This is a house that has been converted into a church building. You are seeing the auditorium here. A couple of the bedrooms are now classrooms, so while the English speaking group is having worship, the Spanish speaking group has class; then they switch.

As you can see this is a racially mixed group--there are several West Indians, from Dominica and St. Kitts, some people from the States and some Puerto Ricans who choose to worship in English. The common bond they have in Christ is what makes it all work. One couple live in "downtown" San Juan and have no car, so they take busses to get to the building then a sister takes them home in her car.

We plan to preach with this group on Sunday, but also Wed.-Fri. nights while we are in Puerto Rico. We are to preach for the Spanish speaking group from Sunday-Friday. Please pray for these efforts.

Tol

Monday, May 15, 2006

San Juan, Puerto Rico


Puerto Rico was discovered by Columbus on his 2nd voyage to the New World and has been settle practically since then. This street is in "Old San Juan", the part of the city that dates back to the 1500 and 1600's. There are almost 4 million people living in Puerto Rico now, with close to 2 million of them in San Juan.

The history of the church does not stretch back nearly so far--to the 1980's. The church in Dorado is growing and will now have 30 or more on Sunday. The church in Caparra Terrace is not doing so well--if everybody is there they will 5-6, but some Sundays there is no one.

If the Lord permits, Ed Rangel and I will be preaching in Puerto Rico beginning next Sunday, one of us in each of the churches. We have also been asked to preach in English Wed.-Fri. with a group that meets in the Caparra Terrace building--they number 15 or so.

Why is the church in Puerto Rico so small? One of the primary reasons is the lack of someone who can dedicate themselves to the work fulltime. Joe Carrasqullo has been working with the church in Dorado 3 years or so now, hence their growth, but there is no one at Caparra Terrace. Please pray that the Lord will send workers, not only in Puerto Rico, but throughout the world.

Tol Burk

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Hell--a real place

Hell is not something we like to talk about, but the Bible has plenty to say about it.

Hell was not prepared for man, but rather for the devil and his angels. But our sins separate us from God, which heads us to hell also. Hell is prepared for spiritual beings, not physical bodies, so the punishment there will not burn up men's physical bodies. Whatever exactly the punishment of hell is, it will be forever--there is no hope of relief. No matter how bad our life here is, there is always at least a hope for relief--if not when we sleep, at least when we die (or so we think). Hell is a place of no hope!

Years ago I was talking to a man who didn't know a lot about the Bible--he was too polite to say no to a Bible study. He was living with a girl he was not married to and was quite comfortable in this relationship. I talked about his situation before God and that this lifestyle would send him to hell. When I finished he said, "well I guess I'll just have to go to hell." My reply was that he didn't know what hell was or he wouldn't say that. We turned to 4-5 scriptures that talked about hell and he was visibly shaken. Here was a man who knew practically nothing about God's Word but when he read about hell it shook him up. He agreed to study the next week, but by then the fear had passed and shortly after that they moved so I don't know what happened to them.

If this person could understand what the Bible says about hell and it frightened him, what about you and I? Are you frightened by hell? You should be.

Tol Burk

Friday, May 05, 2006

Little eyes are watching



WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING
(Written by a former child)



When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang my
first painting on the refrigerator, and I
immediately wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you feed a
stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind
to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make my
favorite cake for me and I learned that the little
things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I heard you say a
prayer, and I knew there is a God I could always
talk to and I learned to trust in God.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make a
meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I
learned that we all have to help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give of
your time and money to help people who had nothing
and I learned that those who have something should
give to those who don't.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you take
care of our house and everyone in it and I learned
we have to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw how you
handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't
feel good and I learned that I would have to be
responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw tears come
from your eyes and I learned that sometimes things
hurt, but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you
cared and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I learned most of
life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and
productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked at you
and wanted to say, "Thanks for all the things I saw
when you thought I wasn't looking."

I AM SENDING THIS TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE I KNOW WHO DO
SO MUCH FOR OTHERS AND THINK NO ONE EVER SEES.

LITTLE EYES SEE A LOT.


Each of us (parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle,

teacher or friend) influence the life of a child.
How will you touch the life of someone today?
Just by sending this to someone else, you will
probably make them at least think about their
influence on others .

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

What is man?


In Psalm 8, after the psalmist contemplates the heavens, the moon and the stars, he asks the question, "What is man that you are mindful of him?"

Compared with the vastness of the universe, what is mankind, much less any individual person. Even if we only compare the size of the sun to mankind, what are we? Insignificant--we are mere specks on a smallish planet in one of many solar systems. Is it any wonder then that the psalmist is lead to write, "O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!" The Creator of all things is certainly worthy of praise and obedience in all things.

In our man centered society today many would like to minimize or even eliminate God. After all, if there is no God, then there is no absolute source of right and wrong. If true, eacg us free to decide for themselves what is right or wrong. But there is a God in heaven who created us, so He has the right to command us.

Tol Burk

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Living by Faith

One of my favorite hymns is Living by Faith. But what does it mean to live by faith? What does Paul mean in 2 Cor. 5 where he says we walk by faith, not by sight? Abraham walked by faith. When God told him to offer Isaac, the son of promise, as a sacrifice he didn't know HOW God would keep His promise, but he had faith that He would. Sight said there was no way he could kill Isaac and still have many descendents through Isaac. Faith said perhaps God will raise him up again.

We are faced with the same choice--walking by faith or by sight. You could really use a little extra money, but the only way to get it is to work on Sunday and miss worship. Yet the Lord has promised if we seek first the kingdom of heaven, He will provide for all of our needs. So, what do you do? Do you work Sunday (walk by sight) or do you trust that the Lord will provide (walk by faith)? You are ready to get married and settle down but there are no available prospects who are Christians. What do you do? Go ahead and marry the best one you can find (walk by sight) or wait on the Lord to find you a good one (walk by faith)? You are faced with two job offers; one will move you to an area where there is no church, but pays better. The other is in an area where there are a number of sound churches but doesn't pay quite as well. What would you do? Go with the one that pays better (walk by sight) or the one where the church is strong (walk by faith)?

Of course this same choice has to be made in many small details of our life as well. Is it more important for your children to be sports stars or strong Christians? Will God bless our efforts at talking to others about His Word?

So how do you live--by faith or by sight?

Tol