"One Night with the King"

Dana and I went to see a movie titled "One night with the King" Friday night. I recognized Esther's famous line, "If I perish, I perish" from the TV commercial so thought it might be the story of Esther and after further investigation found it was. It was almost 2 hours long and almost as exciting as the truth. It is rated PG and I was impressed--the most sexual scene is a kiss and there is no violence or suggestive langauge.

For a Hollywood movie it was pretty good. Of course there had to be some political intrigue involved (which the Bible left out) but what was striking was how obvious they made it that God was behind all this. You may already know that the book of Esther never mentions God, but in the movie He is mentioned more than once. In fact Mordecai's message to Esther, "if you don't act, a deliverer will rise from somewhere else" is quoted, "if you don't act, God will raise up a deliverer . . ." They "fleshed out" the story, making it more of a historical romance, but all in all it was good.

I would urge you to go see it for a couple of reasons. The main one is to encourage movie producers to produce more movies like it--nothing convinces them to make a movie like $$$. The more people who buy tickets to it, the more likely it is to be repeated. The second reason is that I can see that it would make a good conversation starter with non-Christians. If you have to study the book of Esther with them, to then study the church and salvation, why not? It's a fascinating history and will hold an audience today as well as it always has.

Tol

Moving to Puerto Rico

An Untapped Field


In September 1990 we moved our family to St. Croix, in the US Virgin Islands to work with the church and stayed 8 years. The Lord blessed our efforts there—more than 80 were baptized during that time, most of whom remain faithful. The majority of them have left St. Croix and have gone back home or moved on to the States. Throughout those years I also preached on other islands in both English and Spanish.

More than 25 million people live in the Eastern Caribbean and presently there are only 4 full time preachers. The number of sound churches is also small—20 or so on less than 10 islands. This means that there are more than 30 islands where there is not a sound church at all and since each island is its own little world, these people have little access to the pure Gospel. My wife Dana and I have again felt the need for more full time workers in the Eastern Caribbean for over a year now and after much prayer, thought, and preparation have decided to move to Puerto Rico in the spring of 2007—sooner if the support can be raised. Puerto Rico itself has 4,000,000 people. Because I am fluent in Spanish and we have lived in the Caribbean before we have many contacts there already, as I have continued to visit and follow up on them.

There is one solid church and 2 others we have been working with; a total of less than 50 Christians in all. Our plan is to work with the churches in the Caparra Terrace neighborhood in San Juan, a metro area of 2 million. The Spanish speaking church is down to 4 members and the English speaking church that shares their building has only about 10. A family of 3 Christians will be moving from NJ to the west end of the island where there is no sound church so we are hoping this can be a beginning to work in this area. People in Puerto Rico have been leaving the Catholic Church for at least a generation and as the economic situation becomes more precarious many are realizing that God is the answer to their problems, not man. Joe Carrasquillo has been preaching full-time for the church in Dorado for a couple of years and they have baptized 5-6 each year. Edward Rangel, who presently preaches in Trafalgar, IN is also planning to move and work with us—with Edward there the work should not be affected when I travel to the other islands. This will also allow us to preach in other churches on Puerto Rico as we have opportunity.

Our goal in moving is not only to work in Puerto Rico, but in the other islands as well. The Dominican Republic is a country of 9 million people less than an hour away--the opportunities are almost limitless. As the liberals get farther and farther from the Bible some liberal brethren are now open to us. In the Dominican Republic there are NO full-time preachers, so it is imperative that Ed and I spend as much time with them as possible. We were there in May and had some openings among the liberals that are promising. And while the numbers on the other islands are not as large as they are in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, there is still much to be done among them as well. I first went to Dominica in 1992, to the only sound church; now there are 3. In St. Vincent the people are not only are receptive to the Gospel, but they also will make time to study--you can walk down the street setting up Bible studies. The churches in Georgetown and Owia accept me readily and although they have not cut their ties with the liberals they are making progress. We need to follow up on contacts in St. Lucia, St. Maarten, and Aruba. The church in Tortola and 1 in St. Thomas need more teaching concerning liberalism—they’re both making good progress, but need encouragement as well as further teaching. I recently came into e-mail contact with a couple who are Christians in Guadeloupe, a French speaking island. Brethren, there is so much work to do among the English speaking islands--we need workers who can come to help us follow up.

I have been to Venezuela 5 times and the work there is going very well. The first time I was there I visited 8 of the 12 churches in the country in 2 weeks. It would take a month now as there are at least 25 churches. Most of the islands can be easily reached from Puerto Rico in a few hours—even Caracas, Venezuela is only 3 hours away. My plans are to spend 7-10 days a month (8 months out of the year) working in the other islands. With Edward Rangel working there with us the work in Puerto Rico should not suffer during my absences.

The cost of living is high in Puerto Rico. We are expecting to pay about $1800 a month for rent and $600 for utilities. Food is also much higher. I will be providing all my own office supplies, long distance, computer supplies, etc. that are frequently provided by the churches here in the States. Social security & taxes will be over $1000 a month. Overall, we expect our expenses to be about 35 % higher than here in the States. We would appreciate any support you can give and your help in getting the word out to others.

Tol

"All the answers"

No doubt you have been in Job's situation--a calamity has befallen you, whether illness, natural disaster, death in the family, etc. and friends come to comfort you. But instead of just being there with you, they have to talk and not only talk but explain why it happened, or how you could have prevented it, or their Grandmother's cure for your illness, etc. Job's response is recorded in chapter 12, verse 2: "No doubt you are the people, And wisdom will die with you!"

Job's friends had all the answers. Job asked "why has this happened to me?" and they answered, "Obviously you're a sinner!" Never mind that they didn't know of any sin he had committed and didn't even have a reason to suspect him, but when people have all the answers they don't let little things like facts stand in their way. Job goes on to say that he has as much wisdom as they do--God later on reprimands them saying, "My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has."(Job 42:7-8) My wife Dana suffers with severe asthma and usually her attacks send her to the hospital for at least 5 days. We have heard so many remedies for asthma, none of which has worked yet. At first it can be very aggravating but you finally get tired of it and eventually it just gets funny.

So the next time you are tempted to share your "wisdom" with someone stop and think before you speak. Are they looking for an answer or just venting? If they are looking for an answer, what do you have to back up your answer? Remember Prov. 10:19, "In the multitude of words sin is not lacking,But he who restrains his lips is wise."

Tol

Making merchandise of the Gospel

Several months ago I visited with a church for the first time and the preacher gave a lengthy speech on all the monetary needs of that congregation. I was to speak next so I told them I certainly couldn't promise any money but that we would be glad to continue to teach and encourage them as time and opportunity permitted. I am very careful about money, as many brethren have been corrupted by it through the years. It also seems to draw people to "church" for all the wrong reasons and as soon as it's gone, so are they.

I tried to put a good face on this event, but one of those with me thought it was a problem. A couple of months later some other brethren visited this same church and not only did the preacher repeat all their "needs" but told them I had promised to send money but had sent nothing--boy was I wrong about that one.

American brethren, in an attempt to "help" brethren in other countries often do more harm than good with their money. Our goal cannot be to bring brethren in other places to a financial equality with Americans--there's not enough money in all the churches to do that, but even if there were the Gospel, not money, is God's power to save.

One brother requested (and received) a small fryer so he sell fried plaintains to support his family. Of course Sunday was about the best day to sell so he "had" to miss services to sell. How did this gift help him spiritually? And there is so often jealousy when one brother or family receives help from the States and another does not, or receives less.

Another brother, a preacher, has two houses--the nicer one he and his family normally live in and the small, sparsely furnished one they live in when the American preachers come. Or the preacher who had a Jaguar that he garaged several blocks from his house and that he never used when the American brethren were there.

There is a place for benevolence but we need to be careful to help, not hurt. If someone approaches you with a need, first make sure it is a need, not a want. Then confirm with someone knowledgable, preferably local, that the need is indeed legitimate. Let us in this area be as wise as serpents also.

Tol

Just do your part

I got an e-mail from a younger sister today telling us of a friend who should be at services with her Sunday morning and of another person she thinks may come soon. In closing she said, "I don't have any trouble inviting, but I'm not good at setting up studies".

Of course I was happy to share her news but it also got me thinking about how important each member of the church is. Her husband does not attend and her baby is still quite a handful so she usually doesn't get to sit through the whole service. She's young and while she knows the Bible somewhat is not comfortable to study with a non-Christian. But in the beauty of God's plan she doesn't have to be able to do it all--that's what others are here for.

Our philosophy is that someone who visits "church" is indicated that there is some interest in spiritual things, so we will visit them in their home very shortly. We go and won't even come in unless they insist, but this shows them we're interested in them. While she may not be confident enough to try to set up a study, we are. But without her efforts in inviting them, we have no point of contact.

Each member has a vital part to play in the growth of the body of Christ. Are you doing your part? Never mind whether others are or not--just do your part and leave the rest to God.

Tol

Antigua

The only sound church on Antigua is in the small village of Liberta, so named because it was the first settlement of the newly liberated slaves. On the map, it is between All Saints and Tyrells.

Attendance is in the 60's, with a good mix of ages and lots of children. They don't have a "full-time preacher" but several of the men take turns--Milton, Hilroy, and others. Yes, they've had their problems (as all churches do) but things are looking better than they have in some years. Transportation is a problem so a couple of the brethren have vans and pick up those who need it.

Tol

Going "backwards"

A larger congregation where a friend preaches recently decided to "swarm" rather than build a new building, so about 70 left, including the preacher. The next time I saw him I playfully chided him about his decision. I told him, "You've got this all wrong. You're supposed to go from a small church to a larger church, not vice versa. What will this do for your "career"?" We both laughed because obviously he's not too concerned about his "career". I know an older preacher who recently left a self supporting church to work with a church that is not and never has been, but needs a good solid man to work with them. Their former preacher is leaving to dedicate himself to the work in India.

What's wrong with these preachers? Don't they know what this can do to their "careers"? I believe they know very well and realize that their career is not simply to preach the Word, but to preach where it is needed the most. Preachers are just like everybody else--sometimes our emphasis is on the wrong thing, money and the things of this world. There is a world dying in sin out there and many of us are busy in the office and working with our "number", forgetting those whom we need to reach out to.

How many Christians are not willing to make the sacrifices to really serve the Lord? They may attend most, if not all, services, give money to the Lord, but their real emphasis is on the things of this world. A friend was telling Dana and I that her Bible class of 4 students frequently had 1 or 2 in attendance, occasionally 3 but never all 4. I don't know why, but I doubt these families were missing services for something sinful, but the fact is they missed a great many. Why? Again, I don't know all the circumstances, but obviously Bible class is not a high priority.

Being a Christian requires to go "backwards", at least as far as the world is concerned. Our Lord said as much. When you read the beatitudes it is clear that His idea of what a person should be is diametrically opposed to what the world thinks. Yet He says such "losers" will be truly happy, not only in heaven but here on earth.

So which way are you going, forward or backward?

Tol

"If I had known"

I have a friend who is will be donating a kidney to another friend next week. This decision was made several years ago--when he had to have a kidney transplant he would do it. As the actual surgery has neared and more details have come out the donor told someone, "If I had known all this involved I might not have done it."

Many of us can look back and say "If I had only known". Many of us put off surgery for many years, only to after it's all done, say "If I had know it would be this much better I would have done it long ago". I know several who now wish they had become a Christian much earlier in life. There is much truth in the idea presented in several popular songs--"I hope you dance" and "The Rose"--that we should make the attempt since we don't know how it will out. You don't know until you try.

But on the other side I believe the Lord protects us from the future, knowing that many times we wouldn't know what to do with it. If you had told Dana and I that we would lose 2 houses and everything in them, I don't know if we could have faced it, but we have. If parents knew they had a genetic disease that they would pass on to their children, would they have children? And yet, not knowing, they do and they all make it. Like the Apostle Paul who was able to overcome his thorn in the flesh, with the Lord's help, we too can overcome the obstacles in our lives with His help.

At times we tend to not do anything for fear of doing something wrong. How mad do you get when the car in front of you can't seem to make a decision--changing lanes, slowing down to 10 miles an hour, etc.? Everything about their actions says they don't know what to do, so they do nothing. My favorite refrain in such situations is "Do something, even if it's wrong". We don't know the future so once we have gathered the facts that we can and prayed for guidance we need to take action.

Tol

Are children's classes important?

This is the "classroom" for the kids at El Mamon near Santo Domingo. No, it's not much, but this church is not rich and the rest of the building is about the same. The important thing is that they built it. In most churches outside this country there are no children's classes. As a result most churches lose their teenagers--maybe half are baptized and even remain active until they get married, go to college, or otherwise move out of the family home. It is sad to meet young men who are leading singing, prayer, even preaching a little and 2-3 years later come back to find them gone.

But that is beginning to change as churches realize that children are the church of the future. Both of the churches we visited in San Isidro were working on a classroom. Vacation Bible school in Dominica had almost as many kids as are enrolled in the village school.

How seriously do you take children's classes? Are they just something you have to do to keep the kids occupied so their parents can have study? Having children in a classroom for 30 minutes does not necessarily teaching them and does not guarantee their learning. Remember, children are the church of the future.

Tol

3 years in Valencia

July 2003 was the beginning of the church in Valencia, State Carabobo, Venezuela. During the first month services were held 3 times a day Monday through Friday so by the end of that time the church consisted of 6 new members plus Nino and Chela. A couple of months later Gustavo, pictured to the left moved with his family and Nino moved back to Barinas. Since that time 22 have been baptized in all--8 have fallen away and 5 have moved away, so with Gustavo's family of 5 they number 12-14. Most of this growth has occurred in the last 6 months so things are progressing.

Another exciting development is the beginning of a second church in another area of Valencia, a city of 1.5 million people. A few months ago a man showed up with his wife and son at services. It turns out he was a Christian but had fallen away. In fact, he had taught some 20 others and the whole church had been scattered--some back to the world, some to the denominations. Out of this group of Gypsys (Roma I think they call themselves) a church has begun meeting again, 14-17 in number. They are excited about serving God and thankful that Gustavo is there to teach and encourage them. The downtown church meets Sunday morning while the other meets Sunday afternoon. One meets on Wed. night while the other meets on Thur. night.

Are there any prospects for growth in other countries? I don't know many places where you can go from 0 to 28, with only 5 moving in, in 3 years.

Tol

Grenada--the Spice Island

Grenada is another undeveloped island--like St. Vincent and Dominica. There is tourism there but spices, particularly the nutmeg is a big industry. Nutmeg produces several different spices--nutmeg, allspice and mace. Cinnamon, cloves, and West Indian Bay leaf grow there as well.

There are 2 churches in Grenada that receive us readily--St. Georges and Mt. Granby. Godfrey Edwards preaches for the church in St. Georges, the capital, but works as a policeman to support himself. This group is small--less than 20.

Mt. Granby is inland from Gouyave. On the map it is between Mt. St. Catherine & Gouyave. I don't know what the altitude is but it's uphill the whole way. When I was much younger we walked up each morning (about 45 minutes) worked all day in the village then they drove us down after the evening open air preaching--it was dark you know. The church here is about the same size, but fluctuates more because there are more young people who are emigrating off island, or moving to St. Georges, etc. for work or study.

There is presently no full-time preacher there, but there may be soon. Please pray that all may work out for this to happen.

Tol

All is well

I had a stent done last Tuesday and all went well--that artery was blocked 95 %. The worst part of it is the recovery--I had to lay on my back and not move one leg for 12 hours so my back is giving me more problems than anything. But I thank our God that all went well and I should be back to normal by next Tuesday.

I thank you for your prayers. I should be back now to more consistently blogging.

Tol

It's a great world we live in

On Tuesday I'm scheduled for an angiogram and probably 1 or more stents. If they have to do a stent I'll have to stay until Wed. morning, otherwise I'll go home Tues. afternoon. What advances medical science has made. I had a stent done 4 years ago and it took about 15 minutes and in 2 days I felt 100 % better.

At times like these I guess I really reflect on the advances that have been made. I remember a preacher (Roy Foutz, for those who also may remember him) who was nearly blind because of retina tears in both eyes. I too have had retina tears in both eyes but thanks to advances made after he passed away I still see--in fact my new lens from removing cataracts have given me pretty good vision.

Things that used to be life threatening are not as much anymore. There is always some risk when you're dealing with the heart, but stents are done routinely in most hospitals day in and day out. Recovery time is minimal. Maybe the human body can live forever??

No, there are limits on how long the body can continue to function. In spite of the medical advances (and I'm very thankful for them) we must all still die and that's not a bad thing, really. As beautiful as this world is and as convenient as it is today, heaven is still so much more that it is beyond our imagination.

Tol

Who are we working for anyway?

In 2 Corinthians the Apostle Paul addresses a situation common to most of us at one time or another--a lack of appreciation of our efforts. It may be that no one seems to notice all that you do for the Lord. Or even worse, after all you have done for "the church" a person or group of people oppose you, cricize you, etc.

When you feel like you are in this situation first realize that you're not alone. Our Lord was rejected by the very multitudes that He had healed, taught, and fed. Paul was constantly followed and persecuted by not only the Jews but also judaizing teachers, who both tried to turn Paul's converts away from Paul (and Jesus). Apparently in Corinth they met with some success. Remember Jesus warned the apostles specifically (and you and I as well) that the world would hate them. Worldly brethren will reject you if you are not worldly. Some will reject you because of envy or jealousy--Phil. 1 records Paul's mention of some who preach out of envy.

Or you may be like Elijah, who thought he was the only one left in Israel when it was not the case. 7000 had not bowed their knees to Baal. Sometimes the perception that nobody cares is just that--a perception, but not the truth. Although you may not know it others are probably working for the Lord as well.

But with all that said does what men think of you really matter? We are not working for men but rather for God and God takes notice of all that we do. Does no one seem to appreciate your efforts? God does! And that's what it's all about, isn't it?

Tol

The British Virgin Islands

As the map shows the British Virgin Islands adjoin the US Virgin Islands. The BVI are a territory of Gt. Britain with about 22,000 inhabitants. Although there are over 50 islands of various sizes less than 20 of them are permanently inhabited. The majority of the population is on Tortola (about 17,000). The church on Tortola has an attendance of around 30 on Sunday morning, less on Sunday, Mon. and Wed. nights. One family lives on Virgin Gorda and comes by ferry on Sunday ($15 a person roundtrip) and another lives on Jost Van Dyke, the island just above and to the left of Tortola in his Boston whaler. Most of the people are from other islands; the church is made up mostly of people from St. Kitts and St. Vincent. They speak English, although with a different accent and inflection. The islands live off of tourism, mostly boaters, as the islands are perfect for day sailing or just anchoring at a different island each day. This of course has an effect on people's willingness to hear the Gospel--in a society where pleasure is king it is easy to go along with the world. Yet the church has stood for some years even in this society.

Tol

Examine yourselves whether you are in the faith

As I mentioned earlier our title was the theme for the Gospel meeting in Tortola (the photo is the outside of their building). This theme leant itself to 5 lessons very easily (Mon.-Fri.) The first night I preached about the possibility of falling away and thus our need to examine ourselves from time to time to make sure we are still in the faith. I also set forth 4 ways we can stray away from the faith, each of which Nick or I preached on in greater detail the following nights.

Our series expounded upon: 1)The world becomes more attractive than the things of God, 2) If we reject Christ and His Word, 3) If we allow false doctrine to lead us away, and 4) If we forget the importance of the church--after all, Jesus died to purchase it.

I thought the series really worked out well and plan to use it again--you don't have to use the same 4 things I did, but we all need to be reminded that we can indeed fall away and be lost.

Tol

Tortola, BVI

Dana and I were in Tortola, BVI the middle of August for a week. The brethren chose as the theme for this Gospel meeting "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith", with the aim to encourage and motivate those brethren who were weak or had fallen away.

Attendance grew throughout the week--Mon. night we had 16, then 23, 26, 25, and 21 on Friday night. This photo was taken on Friday night and I asked everyone to move over to the same side. Nick Alejo is the young man in the lower right corner--he flew from around Chicago and met us there. Nick preached Sunday morning and Wed. night of this series. I know the brethren were encouraged and several weaker brethren attended at least one night. We also had 3 studies with Shirley, who visited 3 nights. Her daughter and fiance also visited another night.

Please pray for the church in Tortola--as you can see they are small and do not presently have a full time preacher, which hinders the work. Shirley had been studied with once but although the brethren meant to follow up sooner, that had been 3 months earlier.

Tol

A second chance

A song I know tells of a young girl who falls in love with an alcoholic, moves away from home, has 3 children, whom she is left with when he dies at an early age. She is left alone, far from family, working at some mundane job to eke out a living. She complains, "a young girl doesn't get a better chance".

We have all been young and should remember how smart we thought we were, but in looking back later realized we were not so smart. How many young people make foolish choices and ruin their lives? All to often, if they had really thought about things they would have made better choices, but now the deed is done and the consequences follow. They begin to use, then later to abuse alcohol or drugs. Before long they're on a one way street headed the wrong way and while they may wonder "how did I ever get here", the damage is already done. Or perhaps, like the girl in the song, they marry without knowing the person and rather than being heaven on earth it becomes a living hell. Maybe there is a child born out of wedlock. In all these cases, the dreams and hopes that this young person had will not come to fruition. Oh why did they make such foolish decisions, spoiling all their hopes and dreams?

"Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction will drive it far from him." (Prov. 22:15) As parents, grandparents, aunts & uncles, even mentors we have a chance to guide young people away from their foolish notions. "But they won't listen" is the refrain from many, but at least at times they WILL. Rather than face possible rejection we sit by saying nothing of their wrong choices. Let us instead take the chance--say something. The dreams you say may also be your own.

Tol

Dorado, PR

Dana and I worshipped with the church in Dorado, PR today. Nick Alejo, a younger brother from Elgin, IL taught the Bible class and I preached. There were 28 present, which was good since 6 were out sick and 1 was off island. It is so encouraging to see the church in Dorado continue to grow. They have had their ups and downs, most recently when a liberal element chose to leave, rather than continue to agitate for "their" way. Even though they are not so large, they continue to study and stand for the truth, baptizing 2-3 every year.

May we each continue to study and speak to others about God's Word.

Tol

The Beauty of the Baths

Contrary to our usual custom, Dana and I took a half day today and played tourists. We went to “The Baths” in Virgin Gorda, an area of huge boulders that are strewn haphazardly over a beach area there.

I had seen photos of The Baths before, but was unprepared for the majesty of the rocks. Even the photos cannot do justice to them. There are several “caves” where the rocks rest on each other and people seem so small. These rocks have been in these positions for who knows how long (no doubt some would tell us at least millions of years) and seem impervious to everything—the weather, the efforts of mankind, even earth tremors (there was a small one on Mon. morning on Tortola).

Yet as strong as these rocks seem to be, there is a Being even stronger and greater—God. He is still in control of all things, including the wonders of nature, which He has created for us to enjoy.

Tol

Saving by Many or by Few

In 1 Sam. 14, Saul and his army are encamped opposite the Philistines. Among all the army of Israel only Saul and his son Jonathan have swords. Finally in verse 6 we are told that Jonathan decides to go up against the enemy with only his armor bearer, “For nothing restrains the LORD from saving by many or by few." His great faith in the Lord led a victory as the Lord allowed them to kill 20 Philistines in a small area, which, along with the earthquake, confused the Philistines so that they killed one another.

Where we worshipped yesterday morning there were 12 people present. Last night in Tortola we were 16. When a church is this small it is easy to get discouraged, after all, “nobody cares about God or truth anymore”. But let us remember what Jonathan said, the Lord can save by many or by few. If the Lord is for us, who can be against us? With the Lord’s help we will be able to accomplish His work and the church will grow.

Remember when Elijah told the Lord, “I alone am left; and they seek to take my life." (1 Kings 19:14) What was the Lord’s reply? “Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him." (v. 18) Brother, Sister, you are not as alone as you think. First, God is on your side and second, you have many brothers and sisters throughout the world who not only believe like you, but go through the same struggles that you do.

Don’t let the numbers get you done. The Lord promises that “My grace is sufficient for you”—He will give you the strength to accomplish His will.

Tol

Help needed in Puerto Rico

Dana and I worshipped with one of the two English speaking churches in Puerto Rico yesterday. Counting us and a young man who was home for the summer, there were 12 of us, which means beginning in Sept. there will be a maximum of 10 people (1 member was away). It was quite a mixed group—3 West Indians, 5 from the States, and one Puerto Rican extended family of 4. The Spanish speaking church they share the building with did not meet yesterday—the man who does much of the preaching was working, so neither he nor his daughter attended, nor did 2 of the others who are elderly--74 and 92 years old. The 5th one works late on Sat. night and it is hard for him to get up.

Puerto Rico has 4 million people and close to 1 million live within 30 minutes of this church building. Why are these churches so small? Much of the reason is that there is no one there to work with them—to encourage them, to study with those who have fallen away. There is only one full time preacher in Puerto Rico, working with the church in Dorado. There is a great need for more workers—men (and their families) who are willing to preach in Spanish and take advantage of the opportunities that are there. It will not be cheap—Puerto Rico costs at least 30 % more to live in. But with the Lord’s help, it can be done.

Tol

Safety in Numbers

If you’ve ever seen a herd of zebras, buffalo, etc. react to a predator attack; you know there really is safety in numbers. The same is true of schools of fish and flocks of birds. Not only do they look out for one another, at least to a limited extent, but it is harder for the predator to focus on one individual among the many.

God, knowing the same is true of people, put into place the local church. Not only are we edified by the teaching we receive there, but the very fact that there are others of like precious faith strengthens us as well.

Do you take full advantage of benefits the local church offers, or is it only something you “use” when you need it, showing up only when you need help? Or do you attend every Sunday, but only at the morning worship service? Perhaps you are one of those who even attends Sunday morning Bible study, but then you’ve put in your 2 hours for the Lord for the week? Let me see if I understand this—Salvation costs Jesus His life but all He requires from you is 2 hours a week?


Tol

"Is there no security in this world?"

The United States and Europe, to a lesser extent, are having to deal with the uncertainty that much of the world has always lived with. Although Columbia, Tenn. is still safe enough that some people don’t lock their doors and the police force seriously enforces the speed limit (they don’t have much else to do) our lives are becoming more uncertain.

Dana and I arrived at the airport 3 hours early and were inside the secured air within 10 minutes--of course if we had waited an hour it probably would have taken us 1 ½ hours. But the very fact that you cannot bring any kind of liquid or gel on board an airplane emphasizes the uncertainty of our times. In times past you boarded a plane without much thought of whether you would arrive alive—your only concern was if it would be on time. In contrast, people pray before they set out on a car trip in Dominica. And this insecurity of “what if”—even local festivals like the World Chicken Festival (London, KY) or Mule Days (Columbia, TN) or Bonaroo (Manchester, TN) are at least theoretically possible terrorism targets. Not to mention the weather is more extreme (no, it’s not global warming, just a new cycle) so agricultural output is more uncertain. The workplace is not much better—gone are the days of working for only one company all your working life. “They” say the average worker will change jobs 5-6 times before they retire.

All of this uncertainty in our everyday lives highlights the lack of control that mankind has over our lives. The government is unable to eliminate or even prevent terrorism. For all our scientific knowledge we still cannot control, or even modify the weather. Great advances have been made in medicine but people still die.

But even when everything around us is uncertain, there is still one constant—God. As the Psalmist reminds us, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psa. 27:1) Or as Romans 8:31-32 says, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” As children of the most High God not only can we count on Him to provide for our needs, but when this life is over, whether sooner or later, ample entrance will be provided into that which the ASV translates “life indeed”.

Tol

Setting ourselves up to sin

You probably remember the incident recorded in 2 Sam. 6 when King David first tried to moved the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. Instead of moving the ark as God commanded (4 Levites carrying it by the poles, once it had been covered by the High Priest), David placed the ark on a new cart. In doing so, they set themselves up to sin. As the oxen pulled the cart the sons of Abinadab, Uzzah & Ahio, are walking beside and in front of the ark, respectively. When they came to the threshing floor of Nachon the oxen stumble and the ark seems to be falling. Without thinking, Uzzah puts out his hand to steady the ark and God strikes him dead for his irreverence.

When did the sin begin? Not when Uzzah touched the ark. No, it began when they failed to follow God's orders as to how to move the ark. In doing so, they made it almost impossible not to sin.

Are we any different today? How often do we set ourselves up to sin? We know that certain friends influence us to sin, yet we continue to spend time with them. You know yourself well enough to know that when we're in a situation where everyone else is drinking it is hard for you to resist the temptation to drink, but you still put yourself in that situation. You know that certain brethren can't stop gossiping and you know you will be soon be joining in, yet you still keep their company. When you marry a non-Christian you are putting yourself in a situation that has great potential to lead you away from God.

The Scriptures tell us to avoid evil, to flee the very appearance of evil, etc. We are told to pray that we may be delivered from evil. If we pray this, should we consistently put ourselves into compromising situations?

Tol

Back to the Dominican Republic

Because of opportunities that were presented on our trip in the first part of June Nino and Ruben A. will be arriving in Santo Domingo today and tomorrow, respectively.

Liberalism in the Dominican Republic has until very recently put undue emphasis on the social, while much of the doctrine remains true to the Bible. With the coming of a "church planting team" to Santiago another element has been introduced into the mix. The team, 3-4 couples and a single man, are all from the Baxter Institute, a very liberal preacher school in Honduras. They have rented a meeting place, spent a good bit of money fixing it up (they have a "decoration ministry") and have already had at least one meeting with members from the other churches in the city. A number of brethren in the other churches have become quite concerned--they had been told liberalism would lead to this, but didn't really believe it would ever go this far. They asked us for studies on this subject, which is the purpose of this trip. Please pray that the truth may prevail over error there.

Tol

street preaching

We preached in front of Brother Wilson Brumant's house Tues.-Frid. nights and you can see the brethren gathering. I usually stood near the porch, where the 2 brethren are standing so I could be near the light. We had 5-8 people who came up to listen, plus who knows how many listening at home (you must have speakers to preach on the street).

With a microphone in one hand it is almost impossible to turn to the Scriptures or read anything for that matter, so usually you have to preach from memory. I did have Adam read for me the night we discussed spiritual gifts--that's a lot of reading and I don't know those by memory. It slowed the pace of the preaching way down, but the subject required it. Street preaching demands that you preach in a way that will hold people's interest--they are free to come and go, so if it gets boring, they go. It has to be provocative enough to keep them listening, without being ugly.

There's not much place for street preaching in the States anymore, but it still works in the Eastern Caribbean, although not even there as well as it used to--TV has arrived there too.

Tol

The gospel is God's power to save

Sunday night in Dominica I preached from Luke 15 about the parables of the lost things--a sheep, a coin, and a son. During the invitation song a sister who had been out of the church at least 4 years came forward to be restored, for which we thank God. In the closing announcements the brother talked about how we all know these parables, but yet there were new points taught that evening.

One of the points we cannot forget, yet often do is that the Gospel is God's power to save. Since this is true several points follow from it:

1) If the gospel is God's power to save, then recreation is not. Whether eating or playing, recreation will NEVER save a single soul--only the Gospel can do that.

2) If the gospel is God's power to save then it doesn't depend totally on me. This is not to minimize the importance of each Christian reaching out to everyone they come into contact with, but rather the point is "I" don't have to win them. If the gospel will not win them, then I can't. This takes a great deal of pressure off of us. I've taught quite a few who have been converted but taught the same thing to others and they were not converted. What's the difference? It wasn't the teacher or the teaching, but rather the heart of the student. If a person is seeking truth, when shown it they will accept it. If a person is NOT seeking truth, the will not accept it even when they see it. Our job is to spread the gospel; God will do the rest.

3) If the gospel is God's power to save and we withhold it from the lost we are condemning them to eternal torment--what a responsibility we have to get the word out.

Tol

VBS in Dominica

We had vacation Bible school in Vielle Case, a village in Dominica. We had 55 kids the first day, then jumped to 66, 67, 71, and 69 the following days--there were 6-9 teenagers included in those numbers. Since the elementary school enrollment is 65 you can see that we had most of them in VBS. It was rewarding, but also challenging as there were only 8 of us teaching 5 classes. 2-3 more teachers would have really been helpful, as several of the classes had 14 + students.

VBS was basically two hours in the morning, followed by an hour in the afternoon to prepare for the next day. Since we also preached each night in the street it was a long day. Open air preaching is expected to be at least 45 minutes plus 5-6 songs and concluding remarks, so it starts around 6:30 PM and goes until 8:30 or so.
One sister was restored on Sunday night and didn't miss a night of the preaching.

Tol Burk

Some things never change

This old house looks today just like it did when I first saw it 14 years ago. In fact much of Dominica looks just as did back then. This is not to say that there is not change--new concrete block houses, new names on buildings, etc. but most things remain the same.

It is interesting that some of the churches remain almost the same too. Some of the older members have passed away and some of the younger ones have emigrated to other places for work, but most of the brethren are still there.

Is it much different in the States? Many churches change only when the older members die and younger ones move away for work. Eventually such churches will cease to exist. The experts say a church must grow by 10 % each year just to maintain itself. How much is the church where you are a member growing?

Tol

"Real" Life

A song I like alot contains a line that probably sums up life for most of us: "Mill work ain't easy, mill work ain't hard. Mill work ain't nothing but an awful boring job."

I think most of us can relate to this song. No matter how much you may love your job, there are parts of it you don't like. And while there may be highs (and lows) in your labors, for most of us, much of it can be downright boring--doing the same old things day after day. There is nothing like the exhilaration of baptizing someone into Christ, but the teaching that leads up to that moment is almost 2nd nature to me now. Even the questions that people ask have been asked and answered many times before. The follow up necessary to convert a contact to a prospect, to set up the study, the cancelled studies because "they forgot" can at times seem pointless and all too often prove to pointless (at least for now) but when that moment comes and they say they want to be baptized it's all worth it.

So what's the point here? Even though it seems that no one notices or responds to your efforts to encourage another to study, or to teach someone may seem boring or mundane they are part of the process of conversion. So much of converting others isn't easy, or hard, but rather awful boring. There are two main reasons we fail to teach others: 1) we never approach them and 2) we don't follow up--it gets boring and we move on to other more "interesting" things. One Brother in St. Croix had studied the Bible for more than 14 years, off and on, before he was baptized. Since that time he has never looked back and even though his wife refuses to attend with him (she was a "Christian" before him) he continues going forward.

No, life ain't easy, life ain't hard, but life can be an awful boring job. Don't let that get you down--keep plugging along and you will sooner or later see results.

Tol

Vacation Bible school time again

If the Lord permits, next Wed. I will be leaving for Dominica to get things ready for vacation Bible school in the village of Vielle Case. We still don't know whether we will have it at the church building, which is too small, or at the school just below it. Hopefully, I can get this finalized when I get there--that's why I'm going early.

What we do know is that when we begin on the 17th that we will have at least 50 kids and probably more. Some of them are children of the members but most of them are not, which gives us an opportunity to talk and try to get a study with the parents. Since some of the children live 2 miles or so away I go bring the smaller ones while the teenagers and older ones walk and yes, it IS uphill both ways.

Brethren, please pray for these efforts. Also please prayerfully consider if you could help us with such an effort in the future. There is good potential in the Eastern Caribbean, as there are still countries where people not only have more time, but more interest in God. These trips usually last about a week (Sat.-Sat.) and would cost around $1500 a person and only require that you speak English.

Let me know if you're interested in going and I will keep you posted for next year.

Tol

Life (and death) without a God

At the grave of his brother one of the earliest champion of atheism in the United States, Robert Ingersoll, made the following statement: "Life is a narrow vale between the cold and barren peaks of two eternities. We strive in vain to look beyond the heights. We cry aloud—and the only answer is the echo of our wailing cry. From the voiceless lips of the unreplying dead there comes no word. But in the night of Death Hope sees a star and listening Love can hear the rustling of a wing."

What is like to live without a belief in God? According to Ingersoll it is just a journey from one cold, barren mountain peak to another equally cold and barren peak, with no idea of what lies beyond either of them. We want to know where we are going after we die, but there is no answer except the echo of our own voice. If this is all life (and death) really are, then what is the purpose of life? If we are born only to live 100 years or less in this world of sorrow and sin, why would we want to live at all?

Our Heavenly Father, who put us on this earth, has not left us to wander aimlessly through this life nor to enter into eternity without a clue as to where we are going. He has given us "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Pet. 1:4) in this world as well as the road that will lead us to heaven, where there is life indeed. Those who believe God and His Word know why they are on this earth--to serve Him. They understand that this earth is not our final home, but merely a proving ground, to prepare us to enter our final, eternal home, heaven.

Which group do you belong to?

Tol

No whining (part 3)

As we have thought about whining or complaining, we noticed that our problems are never unique to "only me"--there are others who have the same problems, often times worse than we do. We have also seen that God classifies complaining as a sin and repeatedly punished Israel for it.

In these final thoughts we also should remember that no matter what is happening to us or around us, God is always with us and He will give us the strength to either overcome or endure. Paul the apostle asks the Lord 3 times to take away his thorn in the flesh, but the Lord only told him, "My grace is sufficient for you." In other words, don't worry about it, I'll take care of you. Brethren, do we really believe that, or will we turn to God only when "my" way has miserably failed?

Tol

No whining! (part 2)

Contrary to what we think, our problems are not unique--others not only have the same problems but often to a greater degree than we do. This fact alone should help us control our whining, but there is more. The Bible condemns whining in no uncertain terms.

The word whine may not occur in the Bible, but its equivalents do--complain, murmur, grudgingly. Do you remember how many times the Israelites were punished for murmuring? Off hand I seem to recall that the fiery serpents were sent after one of their bursts of murmuring (Num. 21:5-6). In chapter 16, in the incidents surrounding Korah, there are 3 separate mentions of murmuring. God's response on this occasion was to threaten to destroy Israel for their complaining. In fact, the reason all the adults who left Egypt died in the wilderness was this constant complaining and murmuring--would YOU have died in the wilderness too?

The New Testament even says murmuring is wrong, "Do all things without murmurings and disputes" (Phil. 2:14). "Neither murmur, as some of them murmured, and were destroyed." (1 Cor. 10:10). Murmuring is one of the obvious characteristics of a false teacher according to Jude 16.

Brethren, not only do we have no real reason to whine or murmur, but such is sinful and will be punished by God. Stop whining!

Tol Burk

No Whining!

I'm sure you've seen a bumper sticker or sign somewhere that shouts "no whining". Call it whining, murmuring, complaining--it's all the same message, "poor me". In our own mind we have been badly treated or at least haven't gotten "what's fair", so we begin to feel sorry for ourselves. I'm not sure the word whining even appears in the Bible, but the sentiment certainly is.

When we have problems or tragedy strikes us, we tend to think we are the only ones who have ever had such problems, or such a problem, or our particular tragedy, but that is seldom the case. The first part of 1 Cor. 10:13 says that no temptation that is not common to man will come our way--in other words, others have had the same problems we're having and some of them even worse.

Dana and I have lost two homes--one in St. Croix to hurricane Marilyn in 1995 and the one we still live in, in Columbia to a fire. In both of them we lost almost everything we had, but no one was even injured and God provided all we needed to rebuild and begin again. When I've been tempted to think "poor me" I remember another couple we know who have lost 3 homes--2 to floods and one to a fire. Even more tragic was the loss of 3 children in the fire. Thank you Lord that we were all safe during Marilyn and were not in the house when it caught on fire--the firemen told us our fire was the kind that killed people.

"But my husband left me to raise my children all alone." I have not personally experienced that, but I think I can imagine many of the trials and the hard work this brings--working one or two jobs to pay the bills, while still making time to talk to, teach, etc. your kids. The not knowing where the next meal is coming from and having to seek help with practically every aspect of life, from child care, to finances, to home repairs, car repairs, etc. But I know, not 1, but 2, sisters who got married and left their homes to seek work in a far off place. While still in their early 30's their husband died, leaving them with kids. Both of them later remarried and had more children, only to have that husband leave them for a younger woman. Neither one of them had much education so one worked as a cashier at K-mart while the other worked as a waitress. Oh did I mention that one of them had a son killed at school (high school) and the next son turned up with mental illness at around 20. The other sister has a son who left home and the family at about 16 to live in the drug culture.

I trust you get the picture. Not only are our problems not unique to us but most of the time there are other people just like us who have even worse problems. Let us rest on the promise God has given to not allow us to be tempted above what we are able to bear and forgetting the things which are behind, let us press on toward the high calling of God without whining.

Tol

Are you worthy?

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this. He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air. Well, he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air. My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE and WHOSE WE ARE. You are special- Don't EVER forget it."

borrowed

Tol Burk

Fighting alone

We studied about David and Goliath last night in VBS. There are a number of lessons that are obvious from this encounter--the power of God and the importance of faith in God, that should be applied to daily life.

Another lesson is that we don't have to fight our Goliaths alone. Yes, we all have at least one Goliath, a giant problem we face, oftentimes over the long term. Oftentimes, we try to deal with our problems by ourselves, at least until it becomes obvious that we can't. The apostle Paul asked the Lord 3 times to take away his thorn in the flesh, but was told that "My grace is sufficient for you". Paul's conclusion from that was, "When I am weak, then am I strong", because when God is on our side, the victory is assured.

Instead of trying to face your problems alone, lean on God for help. He may work things out in ways you never thought of or it may be simply that His people jump in and help resolve the problem. Either way, you win.

Tol Burk

Liberalism's "progress"

To the right you see part of a recent liberal scheme in the Dominican Republic. There are over 110 liberal churches in the country and not all of them have their own building, particularly the newer congregations and those in the resort areas, where land is at a premium.

In order to help, the national association of churches of Christ voted or somehow decided that each church should make a contribution to a "building fund", which would be given to a different church each year to help with their building. As it happens, this year it is Puerto Plata. The list on the right is the list of the churches that have pledged to this fund and the amount. The one on the extreme right is a list of the members of this church and what they have pledged.

It is quite commendable that churches in the Dominican Republic don't want to depend on American money to buy their church buildings--most of them in the Caribbean have been built with American dollars. But doing something that is right in the wrong way makes even the "right" wrong--there is no authority for one church to help another build a church building.

But an even more important point to me is how one wrong leads to another. The national association of churches of Christ has caused even many of those who had been associated with the liberals to back up and question things, which has opened many doors for us. After a few years, the national association has led to a national building fund. The national association already has its own oversight and will likely soon have its own treasury--funds with which to do its own work. When this happens (and history shows it almost always does) you will have the individual church doing its work while supporting the "national" church which is doing a different work. Where in the New Testament do we find churches banding together to form a larger organization to do a work? We don't.

A "mission team" has also recently been sent to Santiago, a city of 1.3 million people to "plant" a church downtown, even though there are already 3 there. They were "given" a church as a base and have already published their propaganda kit--the mission statement, the accomplishments of the various team members (both men and women), and a flow chart of all the various ministries and which of the team members is in charge. Those in the liberal churches there have already been to one meeting and it shocked most of them, as they could easily see where many of the "members" of this church would likely be coming from--themselves.

We have preached for more than 20 years in the Caribbean that liberalism will progress farther and farther. Many brethren refused to believe, just like many brethren in the States did in the 50's. And just as brethren have left liberal churches in the States as they got "too liberal" so they are beginning to distance themselves from liberalism in the Caribbean.

Tol Burk

It doesn't have to be that way

I spent some time today with an older person in poor health who is all alone. Not surprisingly all their siblings are already passed on, as is their spouse. One of their 3 children is in a nursing home with alzheimers and the other 2 have nothing to do with them. In this time of failing health, when they really need the help of others, there is no one.

As Dana and I reflected on this person's situation we discussed that it shouldn't be that way and when we follow God's plan, it isn't that way. In 1 Tim. 5 the Holy Spirit gave guidance concerning widows indeed--those who have no family to care for them. God gave this responsibility to the church. And not only does the church have the responsibility to "pay" for things for them, but to be the family they don't have. In fact, we have a sister in the congregation here who has been blind for a number of years and is over 90 years old, but still lives at home. How does she do it? Her "family"--not her blood family, her husband and only child have been dead for years, but her spiritual family. One sister eats lunch with her 6 days a week, while another couple take care of buying groceries, paying bills, etc. She also receives calls, visits, and cards from many others. This is God's plan in action.

Are you part of God's family? If you need help, who can YOU turn to? Will you only have help as long as you are able to pay for it? Following God's plan will not only lead us to eternal life after death, but will give us a better life before we die.

Tol

Our mediator

Paul identifies "the man Christ Jesus" as our Mediator. What is the meaning of this wording? Is the point that Jesus was just a man, not God in the flesh--no because Paul also identifies Him as God. I understand the point to be just as the Hebrew writer says, He was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin.

We do not have some angel to mediate between us and God. An angel has never lived on this earth and at least does not appear to "understand our side". No, we have God who came in the flesh as our mediator--He not only "understands" God, but because of His life lived on earth He understands us.

But not only is Christ Jesus our Mediator, He will also be our judge. Are you ready to stand before Him today?

Tol

Indulgences and so on

To the right is the papal decree announcing double indulgences in this, the year of the Jubilee. By going to mass, confessing to the priest and certain other good deeds you can receive indulgences that will remit the spiritual consequences of your sins, or at least that's what they say.

When you look at what the Bible says about the forgiveness of sins you read nothing about indulgences. The soul that sins is worthy of death, but not physical death, but rather spiritual death, which Rev. 20 calls the second death--the lake of fire. Christ died so that we could have forgiveness of sins and He has told us what we need to do for the remission of her sins--believe so strongly on Him that we repent, confess Him as the Son of God, and allow ourselves to be baptized.

It doesn't matter what men may say about how forgiveness is received--they can't forgive sin, so it doesn't matter what they say.

Tol

Advertising the church

One of the brethren in San Juan de la Maguana sells bread, fruits, vegetables, etc. from this little trailer on his motorcycle--you could call it a mini-convenience store. The trailer and motorcycle are his but he has chosen to paint the trailer so as to advertise the church

I don't know how well it works, but suspect it does get the church in front of people and isn't that what advertising is all about??

Wonder how that would work here in the States?

Tol

Our trip to the Dominican Republic

From our homebase in Santo Domingo we went out to preach most days. Sunday we stayed in Santo Domingo, but went to services at 3 different churches--most churches only meet once on Sunday then twice during the week. Because of frequent power outages most have chosen not to meet on Sunday night. The later it gets on Sunday the noisier it gets outside--music from every little store and half the houses plus motorcycles, cars, etc.

Mon. & Tues. we traveled about an hour east of Santo Domingo to San Isidro. Wed. we were back in Santo Domingo then Thursday we drove 4 hours west to San Juan de la Maguana. On Friday we drove north 3 1/2 hours to Santiago, the second city of the country, home to 1.5 million people.

We normally had at least 8 people with us--we had a minivan and it was loaded. We met with churches that had 14 or so to 50 + to one church that has around 160 on Sunday. We would have liked to make contact with some others, but time and distance prevented it.

Tol

I'm baack

We all reached home late Saturday night. I'm still recovering and glad to be home in my bed where the power doesn't go off and it's nice and cool. I appreciate the many prayers that were offered on our behalf.

Our trip to the Dominican Republic allowed me to renew contact with brethren I had known before as well as make contact with new ones. Liberalism continues in its march farther and farther away from Bible authority, which continues to open the eyes of many brethren. One sister told us, "I'd rather meet with 4 or 5 people that have the truth than with a large group that aren't following the Bible." This comment was sparked by what she had seen and heard at the "inaguaral" meeting of a "missionary team" in "planting" a new church in a town where there are already 3 churches meeting.

The churches we met with ranged from 14 in attendance to over 160. We were not able to meet with as many as we had hoped but different meeting times and travel limited us. Please pray for the brethren in the Dominican Republic.

Tol Burk

San Juan

We drove 4 hours to get to this church building in San Juan today. The road was better than many and we enjoyed getting to know the preacher and his wife.

The church here normally has between 160 and 170 on Sunday morning. They also have a baptistry that is deeper, about 5 feet deep.

There are 3 churches in this town with 7 more in the surrounding countryside. We received another invitation to stay there as they have 4 empty bedrooms (their 10 children have all left the house now)

Nino is calling us to go out again, so I have to close.

Tol

New building

We were privileged to worship with the church that used to meet in the preacher's porch but has since built this building. They've been meeting here for about 3 months now. It even has a baptistry that's about 3 feet deep, so obviously the candidate sits down and leans back.

There were 21 in attendance last night, including 2 visitors. The sermon was on humility and began from Dan. 4 and the humbling of Nebuchadnezzar.

It was good to see the progress the church has made here. Their preacher is in his 70's and not in the best of health so it is good they now have their old building--his wife would not put them out but when she died their son very well might. But that problem is solved now.

It was good to see these brethren again, even though I had to keep explaining why I had not been there in 8 years. I was offerred a third place to stay, so housing is never a problem in Santo Domingo.

Tol

Children's classes

In many places outside the US children's classes are not given much emphasis. Certainly when the parents are still learning the basics it is hard to think about classes for kids. In Mexico frequently the children play outside during worship and one of the adults has to go out periodically to quiet them down.

The photo just above shows a church we visited that has seen the need for a chldren's class and we are all sitting in it before services started because the breeze outside is better than inside. It may not look like much, but they were proud to show us what they had done for the children's class--never mind the barbed wire fence behind the chairs on the left or the lack of sides.

The top photo shows the classroom upstairs that the church in a nearby town is working on. They haven't got the lights in yet and so there is no furniture etc, but they're working on it.

Brethren, we are blessed to have good material readily available, all kinds of technical support--computers, copiers, etc., and what importance do we give to children's classes? Are they just something to keep the kids busy while the adults are studying? Or is it a sincere effort to teach children about the Lord? Is it something you as a teacher prepare for that morning (or night) or something that you take seriously and prayerfully prepare over the week? When the kids grow up and look back at their classes what will they remember?

Tol Burk

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 .

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

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