B.C.M.S. PRAYER LETTER / END OF YEAR UPDATE

My beloved friends, mission partners, brothers and sisters in Chrst, the peace and grace of our Lord Jesus be with all of you.

End of year updates from the mission fields.

Rafael in Venezuela

Grateful again to the Lord for granting the privilege to be in the Tejerías area again. And to be able to serve these people in this community affected by the disasters that occurred more than a month and a half ago.

We spent the last couple of months taking the Gospel to two affected communities. These were the two communities that received a massive amount of flooding, with disastrous results. Some of the testimonies that we have heard from the victims themselves actually surprised us a lot. They saw how all their efforts of many years was so quickly swept away. In the midst of this disaster, they lost houses, businesses, many material goods and, most unfortunate, they lost even family members. 

We pray to the Lord because we want to continue helping this community (Tejerías) since we identify with their sufferings, and we believe that it’s a good moment to show our love for them by being present and helping them in any way´that we can. Furthermore, we have already done much evangelism since we began visiting the victims here, and they are responding.

Something glorious is that despite the fact that many of them are very affected by the situation, they still want to hear the word of God, Something that we have not neglected at any time, we have spoken to them about their need to seek God and get close to Him through Jesus Christ. We even began to meet with a group who has shown interest in the Gospel and the plan is to continue.

Do not stop praying for the inhabitants of Tejerías, so that they can find hope, consolation and encouragement in Christ to continue forward in the midst of this unfortunate situation, and that the Lord can use us to proclaim the truth of the Gospel so that many of them can know the Lord.

To do this well, we will need the continued support and prayers of the saints back home. Funds for fuel, basic needs are still essential for those who lost everything, bibles, printed material for studies, and support for those doing the work is necessary. Please pray that the Lord will provide the funds in the coming year for the work being done in Maracay and Tejerías, Venezuela. Pray that the work continues, that more people of Tejerías and Maracay would trust in Christ, and even for a new church to be planted if the Lord so wills. Thank you and God bless you for the continues prayers and support.

In Christ,

Rafael Rodriguez

Leonel in Haiti

Grace and peace to all of you. May the lord bless you and your families during this special time of the year.

This year has not ben easy, but it has a blessed year. I thank God for the opportunity to serve him in and out of my church, the privilege to teach new believers, to do evangelism in Savange Longe and in Juana Mendez, and for the opportunity to serve with BCMS which has been a blessing to me and my family.

Through the prayers of the saints in the United States and the support we receive through BCMS, I would like to express my gratitude first to God, but also to each of you. Because through this, know that God has heard my prayers.

The work here in Haiti is difficult. Many people are not working and hungry, my country continues in turmoil, but I can rest knowing God is on the throne and Christ has promised to be with us until the end. Because of this, I am comforted and understand and continue to preach the Gospel and make disciples of Jesus Christ. Apart from seeking work at the border when work can be found, I spend much time visiting new believers and doing Bible studies in their homes and in the church.  Many people generally receive me to listen when I go out to do evangelism, but it is very sad for me at times. Many people have nothing, they seek help and there is little that I can offer them. But we simply face the challenges put before us and we trust the Lord. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel.

When we do the distributions, it is a great help for the people I visit, and for the suffering members of the church. Even a bag of rice and some oil is a help for many here in these difficult times, but something so simple can be very helpful, and their gratitude is obvious. There seems to be a better response when they can see that I genuinely care for them. Not only moving from one person I evangelize to the next, but taking the time to get to know them as I  give them hope and ask them about their life, a small bag of food and frequent visits has been a good approach. To me, it is important to show the love of Christ and not only preach about it.

If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it?

– James 2:16

In my culture, the church can be legalistic about clothing, and many of the people are poor. So there is difficulty sometimes in getting them to attend church at first since they are embarrassed that they have nothing to wear and how others may look at them.

But praise God, that even with these challenges, people are repenting and turning to Christ.  Please continue to pray for me and for my people. Even as creation groans under the curse of sin, God is doing a beautiful work in Haiti, and He will be glorified. Pray for the many needs of the ministry that we have. I trust that the Lord will provide through His church. Pray for my mother who is suffering from a heart condition, pray that my children will grow up to follow Christ, pray that the Lord would continue to provide for us and that the Lord would continue to use me as He sees fit. May God be glorified in Haiti in 2023!

In Christ Jesus,

Leonel Riviere

 Antonio in the Dominican Republic

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

As we close another year, I can’t help but reflect on the fact that this has been year number ten on the mission field! Over the years, the Lord has answered countless prayers, provided for me and many others, and to the glory of God, eternity for many has been changed.

This year was a bit of a roller coaster ride. But as we approached the end of the year, God began answering many prayers. This year we took on another BCMS worker (Rafael in Venezuela) which was a leap of faith. But God has been providing for him and for the many victims of the flooding for a few months now. Thank God for our mission partners.

Here in the DR, I spend much time and energy as the Director of Operations of the orphanage Red de Misericordia (Mercy Network.) During any given day there are countless evangelism opportunities here, moments of counseling troubled youth, and dealing with some cases that would absolutely break your heart. Vulnerable boys, girls and teens that come from the streets, every kind of abuse you could imagine (and sadly some you probably can’t), drugs, prostitution, neglect and extreme poverty. These kids need hope, these kids need Christ.

One thing I really enjoy is the context of the orphanage. It is connected to a solid church here and there are people who work here from several different countries. Italy, Japan, Colombia, Venezuela, Haiti, United Staes and Argentina. The Lord has brought the nations at our very  doorstep! I definitely feel as if the Lord brought me here for this. Even when I pastored the church in Hato Mayor, we would come to the orphanage with a group of volunteers from our church to pull lice out of the kid’s hair, help move beds and do maintenance, teach Bible to the little ones and mentor the teens ones whenever possible.

I am very thankful for the liberty I have here to evangelize and make changes as to what the children learn in their devotionals, and that I can choose resources and teaching topics that I know are edifying and are good for the them. There are times I have the opportunity to teach the employees on various topics, other times I translate for visitors from foreign countries, other times I am supervising activities and developing protocols, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of each department to make improvements in the care of the children, plan the strategies and make rules that keep the children safe, healthy and learning. It is a 24-hour on call kind of job. It is not your average business that can simply close the doors on at a specific time. The children can get sick, have an emergency, or we can receive a child at any time of the night that comes to us through the police. Please keep me in your prayers for strength and wisdom.

As the director of BCMS, I must do the fundraising for the work we do in three countries, which is not a very easy task since I am overseas too. But this has been the best way to be a better administrator of the Lord´s resources. No one in the states is receiving a salary, so every donation can go directly to the mission field to working missionaries where it is needed.  One of the goals in 2023 is to find someone trustworthy who lives stateside who can help us with this important aspect of the ministry. I cannot make it back home often and the trips are short so help with fundraising would be a huge help and allow me to dedicate that time and energy into something else.

Apart from the work at the orphanage, we still make the time to do food, clothes and medicine distributions whenever we receive the donations. Those are mostly carried out in the barrios and bateys where the people who need them the most live. Please pray that the Lord would continue to provide for this as well.

One of the goals for 2023 is to increase activity, especially in the areas of evangelism and discipleship in all three countries. There are needs like transportation for Leonel in Haiti. The chinese motorcycles are the most economic and efficient modes of transportation in these countries. Leonel´s motorcycle is old and in very bad shape. He lives in a rural area where there isn’t even running water or electricity. And it’s crucial to his effectiveness that he is able to get around. It will need to be replaced soon, and he will need our help for that to happen. A decent one that will last can cost less than 3,000 dollars. One in the Dominican Republic would also help cut costs on fuel. The motorcycle can be filled with 12 dollars. In comparison it costs over one hundred dollars to fill up the van beacuse gas is so expensive here.  Pray about helping with this need.

We will need a supply of Bibles in Spanish and Haitian Creole for the new believers in the coming year. We will need new mission partners for 2023 to help cover the costs of travel, fuel, food and an emergency fund for each coutry. It is important that we reach this goal. In these developing countries, becoming ill without insurance or an emergency fund can be a death sentence. Since i am not able to get to the States very often, it is important to at least have the means to do so in case of an emergency. Please pray about helping with these needs.

In Christ,

Antonio Salgado

I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you,always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, 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 lies on your heart to give back to Him by supporting this ministry:

You can  donate to this ministry online with Paypal. Click the donate button below to send support of any amount directly to the ministry. This is the fastest option to get funds to us. Click the link below for that option.

https://www.paypal.me/guerofino22?locale.x=es_US

Also,

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

For tax exemption, you must send your donation through Central Missionary Clearinghouse (CMC) at the address above. But the Paypal option is the fastest way to get funds directly to the field.

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!