Salgado Newsletter BCMS

Dear friends, mission partners, brothers and sisters in Christ,

I would first like to express my gratitude to all the mission partners who have prayed for, supported, and even visited us over the last nine years. We are extremely grateful for each and every one of you that God has used to help us continue the work here, share the Gospel, help us with Yeison’s (and the rest of our family’s) needs and for every encouraging message to let us know that there were always countless people praying for us and those we have been serving. When we were in hard financial times, when one of us were sick, when loneliness and other hardships came and went, I have no doubt that it was through the many prayers of the saints that God continued to help us and provide in every situation.

It is STILL humbling to remember how everything started. Almost nine years ago, my family and I came here to live full time to serve with pastor Jose. We came here by faith and with very little support. We spent almost three years working with him and the three churches that were planted there in and around Esperanza. We visited the country, kept in touch with him and would send financial help during nearly five years prior to the move. Through a series of events, the Lord opened the door for us to serve in Santiago. Eventually, a church was planted in Hato Mayor which is still doing well and has their own Dominican pastor now, by the grace of God.

There were ups and downs as always of course. Some of us got sick many times. Most of us have had our share of dengue, chikungunya, parasites and bacterias (including shigella). I was involved in a few motorcycle accidents and fell ill quite a few times myself. But the Lord continued to work through weak and broken vessels. Besides health problems, there were marital issues, family issues, financial issues and other situations (including opposition quite often), that at times, had me in despair. We suffered in silence many times. The kinds of things you don’t read about in newsletters. Most missionary families have real issues but are afraid to speak about them. Between the pressures of living in a foreign context, far away from family and the fear of losing needed support. Only a few trusted people close to us knew all that we had endured and were enduring on a personal level. Most people only saw the pictures and videos in the posts on social media. Mostly the good side. But there was always so much more, that often had us to our limits. The pandemic certainly hit us hard too.

Some children came to live with us for a time over the years, but then would move on. Yeison and Sahira stayed with us. Our own kids grew up. They spent at least half their life here in the DR. But over time, our children began moving out and becoming independent one by one. The family has certainly been through many changes, especially over the last 1-2 years, and our family looks much different today than it used to. Trini left a couple of years ago and is married now. Maya moved a year ago and just graduated high school. She has a car and is working and planning for college. Nito is working and became independent and recently moved out on his own here in the DR. There have been many family issues, and we desire to remove ourselves from the “spotlight” so to speak. Things are much different now than they were a few years ago. But there is still much that can be accomplished, and I will still be in country for Yeison. But the work will hopefully continue, Lord willing, with a few changes.

Therefore, it’s my desire that neither I, nor what’s left of the family, be the focus of anything done as ministry here in the future. Even so, my desire is not to stop the work or cut off potential help that any national partners of ours would or have received through BCMS. The plan is that although the “Salgado DR Mission” will go away, the hope is that BCMS (which started as Salgado DR Mission but grew to start and help other ministries here and even working in Haiti), would continue with the support and prayers of mission partners back home. Support has certainly gone down through these rough seasons and transitions, yet my prayer is that support would continue so that the work and help can continue as well. That the medical clinics, evangelism, help for the poor, food and school supply distribution, providing bibles and supporting nationals who we have worked with for years would continue as we function as necessary  support system, a lifeline of resources for others here, Lord willing. This all depends upon what the Lord provides through our partners back home of course. People like Leonel in Haiti come to mind, who has many needs, serves faithfully and received financial help through us for his family so that he would be able to continue ministry there.

My decision to remain in the DR, apart from overseeing the work here,  is mainly because of Yeison. After God, then our spouses, comes our children. In the case of , my next priority must be to my children, mainly Yeison since the rest are older and independent now. Just as God never abandons His children, I could never come to terms with leaving him behind for something so superficial as a better life temporarily for me. Of course, I would do better off in the States financially. Some think I should come home. Work is easier to find, there is easier access to resources and I would be closer to family. But what about Yeison? What would happen to Yeison? How would he feel? What would that do to his emotional state and his future? How could I even live with myself? He’s been with us since he was barely three months old. I just can’t come to terms with leaving him behind. My other children feel the same way. They have expressed to me how there is no way I can leave their brother. They love him very much and so do I.

This entire process has been very stressful and painful. Since the letter I wrote about the furlough and break from ministry, giving has gone down significantly. On top of that, the school I have been teaching at for a couple of years has decided that they are trying a different kind of English program that partners with another institution. Which means they are bringing their own teachers. Which also means another loss of income for me. Thankfully, the school decided to give Yeison a scholarship for next year, because everyone that meets him loves him, and wanted to somehow help me. This was purely the grace of God since right now, I cannot afford that on my own.

So, I now find myself at a very difficult transition in life, praying for God’s guidance and relying on His provision. Ironically, after years of helping and serving others, now I find myself in need of much help myself. This letter is not only an update to our crisis, but also a very real cry for help at the same time. I did not expect to lose my job at the school and work is not easy to come by here. I admit, I worry quite a bit. I worry about Yeison and what will happen to us. I worry about how we’ll survive if support no longer came in. I worry about others who have depended on the help that came through BCMS/ Salgado DR Mission. Even with the changes, there is still much good that can be done and plenty of work to do through BCMS and the nationals here. But that takes resources and willing mission partners.

I ask all of our supporters to pray for all of this and help if you can. I have faithfully served the Lord here for almost nine years, and several years before that in our local church back home too. Please bring these requests before the Lord in prayer and consider helping, supporting and praying if you can. Thank you and God bless.

In Service to Him,

Antonio Salgado Jr,

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”

– Philippians 1:3-5

 

We do not use a sending agency that gets a percentage of the money donated, so you can be sure that your gift goes directly to the mission field.

If the Lord so lays on your heart to give back to Him by supporting this ministry,  you can send your tax deductible gift to:

CENTRAL MISSIONARY CLEARINGHOUSE
P.O. Box 219228
Houston, Texas 77218-9228
1-800-CMC-PRAY (1-800-262-7729)
Office: 281-599-7411
Fax: 281-599-7511

The ministry of (CMC) serves hundreds of missionaries, but they ONLY receive the funds for us and in no way have control over how the funds are to be spent or what we are to do as a ministry, which gives room to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and the liberty in making needed adjustments.

You may begin sending your support to the BCMS (Antonio Salgado) at any time at the address above. (Checks should be made payable to Central Missionary Clearinghouse or C.M.C.)

You can also now give to the ministry here in the DR online through the new giving solution called “click and give” at the CMC website.

To get started you just need to click on the link below and register the first time. Just a simple click on the donate button on their page (see link below), and then click the “click and give icon/button”.

https://www.cmcmissions.org/donate

You will then have a private giving solution that comes with many benefits to you the donor. If you have any questions please call the office (tel:1-800-262-7729 or 281-599-7411), and they very kindly will walk you through what you need to do.

You can also donate to this ministry online with Paypal. Click the donate button below and you can send support of any amount directly to the ministry. You can choose the option of doing a one-time donation and this is the fastest option to get funds to us.

Unfortunately through Paypal we are not set up for receiving recurring donations at this time. But the other online giving option above does the recurring monthly donation option. Simply register one time and that’s it.

For tax exemption, you must send your donation through Central Missionary Clearinghouse (CMC) at the address above. 

We do not use a sending agency that gets a percentage of the money donated, so you can be sure that your gift goes directly to the mission field.

Whatever you decide, thank you so much for praying for us and helping this ministry. God Bless You!

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