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Salgado DR Mission Newsletter

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

This last month has been so packed with activity it is difficult to know where to start. For this was certainly one of the best months during our time here for several different reasons.

In the beginning of June we had a small group of five brothers and sisters from Texas visit us to hold a conference on the power of the Gospel. It was a wonderful time of Christ centered fellowship, preaching and worship. The brothers who preached did so in such a clear and powerful way. They were gifted in ther articulation and presentation of the glorious truths of the Gospel. We took them around the community of Hato Mayor to share the Gospel with several people and we even took them  to our mission in Cotuí for a couple of days. It was nice to see their servant hearts and go with the flow. Even without fans, electricity, running water, and even a trip to the river after running out, to fill water tanks by hand using buckets. Mission stuff!

We have done several other outreaches here in Hato Mayor. We have been able to bless a local little league with lots of baseball equipment and share the Gospel with the coaches and children. We hit a men’s basketball league in the area and shared the Gospel with over 30 men at a time and gave away 5 basketball and some gym bags. We gave away large boxes full of clothes, toys and flip flops while afterwards sharing the Gospel with them. By God’s grace we have been able to share the Gospel with at least a couple hundred people this month! To Him be the glory! Our desire is to passionately continue to pray for and completely saturate this community with the Gospel. The Lord is now bringing new people in on a regular basis due to our engaging in conversation with people during our time out and helping meet needs. These are exciting times. Please continue to pray for our evangelism efforts.

In our last letter we asked for prayer about a young lady we were considering taking in due to a troubled past. There are actually two youth at the church like this, both at a very sensitive age and in need of the Gospel, love and stability.  One of them is now living with us and the other spends much time with our family as well. We are now enrolling them in a better school to give them a fresh start and to get them away from bad influences from their past. They are very close to Christen and our girls now and our family seems to be growing almost overnight lately. Pray for us that we will be able to live out the Gospel before them and for the Lord to provide for us to be able to help them  in every way possible. We are raising money for them and are getting a good response, but we still have quite a way to go for our children’s schooling as well and the school year is approaching quickly. Please pray about giving.

Our oldest daughter Trinity is in Peru as I write this. She was presented an opportunity to go and serve with a team and the Lord provided completely for her to do so. The Lord reminds us that He is gracious and kind in His provision. This is the first time she has been away from us like this and we miss her dearly but it brings joy to our hearts that she is always eager to serve. I pray that God uses this time to give her a passion for the nations. Trinity just turned sixteen last month but she is already expressing a desire to be a missionary after some medical schooling. I pray that our children would not get distracted and waste their life getting entangled with the things of this world but rather go hard for the Lord wherever He may lead them and whatever it may cost them. That is a dangerous prayer but may the Lord lead more parents to pray this for their children so that the He would raise up another generation of Christians serious about their faith,  serious about God’s glory, and making His name great among the nations. Pray.

 

 

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Salgado DR Mission Newsletter

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

It has been an interesting couple of months. As a matter of fact that is a huge understatement to say the least. We have experienced more spiritual attacks of the enemy in recent times than we have in a long while. Attacks on our family in various ways, sickness and depression in several brothers and sisters in the church. Prayers are certainly appreciated in this area for our family and ministry. Even through the dealings of these issues and ministering to and encouraging the brethren here in the midst of difficulties, we are encouraged. We are encouraged because we must be doing something right. I would have more reason to worry that we were not making an impact for the Kingdom if everything was “peaches and cream” all the time.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. – James 1:2-4

We are seeing spiritual growth in the men of the church, we are still seeing new faces visiting the church from to time through different outreach efforts, we are still visiting and spending time with the orphans at Casa de Misericordia, going out to the mission in Cotuí, as well as some new outreach activities we have planned with local little league ball players as well with sports equipment we recently received from a brother back home who has made that his ministry. We have poured a half court on the church property and have a donated basketball hoop we will put up soon for the children and youth to enjoy themselves. Unfortunately there was a small mistake and it is a bit smaller than it should be but we will be extending it very soon. You just have to learn to be patient and flexible here!

We have a couple of brothers visitng us this week who are coming to do a small conference and teach on the Gospel at our church in Hato Mayor, and evangelistic outreach in Cotuí where we will be roughing it for a couple of days far out in the countryside, and go preaching in a prison here too. Please pray that many hear, respond, and most of all for God to be glorified through it all!

And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” – Acts 10:42-43

Yeison just turned two years old in April and is doing good with the boots that the doctors had made for him. In the beginning it was painful for him and he would just lay on the floor and cry, but he has gotten used to them and is getting around good with them on. When we take them off to give him a little break, he is actually starting to be able to put his feet flat on the ground without them for the first time since he has learned to walk. He still has a way to go but he is making improvement and the boots seem to be working well stretching out his tight heel chords.

Maya also just turned 14 last week and Trinity will be 16 in just a few days! Time is going by so fast and the kids have grown and matured so much since we moved here in 2012. Please pray for our kids, they are all at a sensitive age and going through so many changes. May the Lord keep them, bless them, and use them for His glory.

Please also pray for us as we are seriously considering taking in a young lady needing a stable home and the opportunity to get away from some bad influences in her school and neighborhood. We are good friends with some family members who attend the church who love her very much but are unable to offer her what she needs and they have recently approached us for help. The girl’s father is nowhere to be found and the mother is unable to care for her and is schizophrenic. If this is the Lord’s will we will certainly need help in order to give her all she will need. Please pray about helping us by sponsoring this young lady. Her name is Nayeli Fernandez and some of you who have visited us may have met her. We will be making a decision within the next couple of weeks and keep everyone updated about this situation. Pray.

And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. – Luke 6:31

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Salgado DR Mission Newsletter

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

The Lord continues to be very gracious and as always faithful. We have several things we have been praying for and little by little we can see the Lord confirming things and answering prayers. Specific prayers. We are very blessed by the core group that the Lord has brought together since we started this church plant in Hato Mayor. We have been working very hard doing many things like evangelism, discipling those that the Lord sends our way, and very intentionally teaching and preaching Christ as the center of everything. On Sunday mornings we have been working our way through books of the Bible. We started with Galatians and we are now going through the gospel of Mark. This has had an excellent result as we are seeing growth and a better understanding among the brethren about what it means to be the church, and what the gospel is and is not. This is also helping some understand how to read the Bible and study the Scriptures on their own always considering the context. It has been a privilege and a blessing to see the growth in some as their love and passion for the Lord grows and as we can see their level of committment increase. I often say that your committment to your local church reveals more than you think about your committment to Christ.

Your committment to your local church reveals more than you think about your committment to Christ.

But the best results have come from investing time with families and individuals on a regular basis. We are not simply having meetings or dry regular academic teachings, but we are getting involved in the personal lives of the people. We genuinley love eachother.

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” – John 13:35

We spend time with them in their homes, we have weekly men and ladies meetings centered on the Word in different homes each week. We are constantly in communication with one another and regularly helping meet needs as well. The church has become very much like a family and there is trust and love between one another. Praise the Lord for this!

On Wednesday nights we have been going through fundamental doctrines about what we believe. This has been a blessing as this was the next step in our working towards organizing ourselves and moving towards membership. This past Sunday we presented the first six official members of Iglesia Bautista De Hato Mayor (Christen and I and four others). We take membership seriously around here. We make it clear that to be a member of the church is a privilege and is for those committed and of good testimony. In many churches here, just going to a church makes you a member regardless of how you live. This has brought much dishonor to Christ and has tarnished the image of churches who are hasty in making members of anyone for the sake of numbers.  We take the church seriously because Christ takes His church seriously.

We also just celebrated Yeison’s second birthday this past Sunday. He is growing so fast and learning new words every day. He has also had many doctor appointments recently and we will soon finally have the corrective boots for his feet he has been needing. Praise the Lord! Over all we had much to celebrate and to give thanks for this weekend. The Lord is so good and gracious!

We are now praying for the Lord to provide in a big way. We have been getting estimates on the expansion and additions to the church building. We hope to be able to expand the sanctuary and also be able to build upstairs. The Lord has put on the hearts of many in the church to minister and help abused, underprivileged, and/or orphaned children. There is definitely no shortage of those around here.

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction… – James 1:27

We are praying for the Lord to provide for phase one of the project so that we may then have the space prepared which is necessary for growth as a church, and begin to be able to build the addition needed to begin to work with these kinds of children. It is a very big need but we simply do not have the room right now. Even our sanctuary is so small it is full with 40 people..  The piece of land we have is big enough, we are now praying for the resources to begin phase one of a what may be a three or four phase project. Please pray for the Lord to provide for this need. With only $10,000 we can get much accomplished and even complete phase one. Using local labor we can make the money stretch as well as give work to people in the church and/or their family members. This may seem like a lot but the Lord can do much more than we can even think or even imagine! Please help us pray that the Lord would provide for this endeavor and that above all, we may continue to glorify Him in all that we do in Hato Mayor. Pray.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.             – Ephesians 3:20-21

If the Lord so leads you to give towards this project or any other need, you can easily give online by clicking on the “donate” button of this page. For other ways of giving simply contact us here or send us a message at salgadodrmission.com. Thank you and God bless.

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Salgado DR Mission Newsletter

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

We have been working hard already in this early part of the year and your prayers are needed. This month we are doing a two day outreach event in Hato Mayor. Brother Kelvin and I will be preaching evangelistic messages on those two days. We also have a brother from the States who is coming to teach  for three days on the family. Please pray that the Lord will use these two events to receive glory for Himself, strengthen families, and to call sinners to repent and trust Christ. I have recently been asked to preach at a few other churches as well. Please pray that the Lord would give me just the right message that He would have for those who will be present, I pray the Lord will use me to glorify Himself as I exalt the name of Christ. Please pray.

We have recently committed to taking a small group of brothers to the town of Cotuí which is about two hours away on a regular basis. We will be going twice a month to share the gospel and hold church services in a place that has no evangelical presence whatsoever. Two families have already opened their homes to us and we pray that the Lord will save and allow us the privilege of seeing a new work started there. It is exciting to see such a young church as ours already beginning to see the need for mission work in other places as well. We had eight people volunteer to go last time and had about 25 people show up for the worship and a message once we got started there. Praise the Lord!

The sanctuary on the church building in Hato Mayor is tiny and the tin roof is very old. We are growing and are now planning for the future. Presently the sanctuary is full with about 40 people. We are getting quotes on what it will cost to knock down the front wall and a side wall to make the sanctuary larger and put a permanent cement roof on it. We have a quote on the labor and I just received the material list of what will be needed. As soon as I get the price on those materials, we should have a total number for what we would need to raise. Please pray about your church helping us raise the funds we will need for this project. This is a project that would give us the necessary room we need for growth and to be able minister more effectively here. But we have recently been made aware of an even more urgent need.

Unfortunately we received some very bad news this month and really need your prayers and your help. Our sending church is in a financial crisis and has notified us that they will be cutting down our support possibly all of it. They are our biggest supporter and this is a huge financial blow for us as a family and as a ministry. It is quite possible that we are in danger of losing up to 50% of our already low budget. I ask that you pray that the Lord would open doors and make possible the connections we will need for more mission partners very soon. We are presently running with no emergency fund, no insurance for our family, and still have yet to raise the money needed for the children’s schooling for next year among other needs.

Brothers and sisters we need your help. If you or your church are presently not mission partners, would you please pray about supporting? We are putting together an information pack about our family and ministry to send to churches that are mission minded and that would be willing to come alongside of us in financial support. Any contact information of such churches would be greatly appreciated.  You can always reach us here or at salgadodrmission@gmail.com. Feel free share this newsletter with friends and others. We will be praying for the Lord to provide the necessary funds that would allow us to continue the work He has called us to here. What we need most of all now is consistent, fervent prayer. Thank you and God bless you all. Pray.

In service to our Lord and King,

Antonio Salgado and family

 

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. – Ephesians 3:20-21

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Salgado DR Mission Newsletter

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

We hope everyone back home had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We are very thankful for another year that the Lord gave us serving here in the Dominican Republic. The last week of December marked one year of our new work in the community of Hato Mayor. It came with it’s share of challenges, but we definitely saw the Lord move and bless.

We are so thankful to the faithful giving of the brothers and sister back home who the Lord uses to provide for our needs so that we may minister here. May the Lord bless you for your sacrificial giving in the past year and hopefully in the coming year as well. With the new year upon us we are focusing on organizing ourselves as much as possible and exhorting the brothers and sisters to committment and to serve.

“Your committment to the local church says alot about your committment to Christ!”

We have a new solid curriculum for the children’s ministry we are now using that systematically goes through the redemptive history of the Bible with verses to memorize. We are also using it at home now with our kids. We are finally setting dates for two weddings and a couple of baptisms. We are drawing up the church calendar and praying and planning some outreach events and a possible teaching event we will host on the topic of biblical family open to everyone. We are going out in the community weekly sharing the Gospel through open air preaching, Gospel tracts and church invitations. We are seeing the people we engage in the streets show up to church. Praise the Lord! We try our best to obtain contact informationa nd follow up with them. Please especially pray for our evangelism efforts.

“There’s nothing in the Bible that tells the world to come to the church; but, there’s everything in the Bible that tells the church to go to the world!”

We have begun visiting the brothers on a regular basis to spend time with them in their homes and observe their families, pray with them and begin the necessary Bible studies in different areas of discipleship. These things are coming together and being put on the calendar as well. We understand the importance of being consistent. We also hope to soon establish a membership and we are working on developing that process and what what it will look like. We don’t want people to come in and just sit around. We want to engage everyone personally and lovingly, and as soon as they are ready, put them to work.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:10

So we are putting a plan together so that after we visit with new people, we know and have in place, somewhere to plug them in. Whether it be continued visits and attempts at sharing the Gospel with a specific family, baptism class, further discipleship in areas of family, Bible study, etc.

We hope to organize a couple of  teams to come later in the year as well with churches willing to serve and meet needs. Our building needs many repairs. The termites are eating away the wood beams that hold the tin roof, the wiring is very old and shoddy, and many other things we need help with. We have very few resources here but the Lord has been more than gracious with us in the past providing all that we need. We still need and pray for the Lord to lead people to help and become partners in this ministry. Those who give to the mission not only help to provide for our family’s needs, but also are enabling us to help others.

“Those who pray for and give to missions, play a role just as important as those on the mission field.”

What we receive directly impacts the church’s ability to meet needs. On a regular basis we help families with food, prescriptions and several other needs as well. Please pray about becoming a mission partner. Pray that we may see the Lord do great things in Hato Mayor this year and be glorified in all we do. Please continue to pray for our family as well. Ministry here is very challenging and comes with it’s share of sacrifice and trials. We are learning more and more to rejoice in all things. May the Lord make His name great in Hato Mayor! Pray.

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts. – Malachi 1:11

If the Lord so lays on your heart to give back to Him by supporting this ministry, and would like to join us as a regular mission partner, you can send your tax deductible gift to:
Romeo Baptist Church 20545 SW 5th Pl. Dunnellon Fl, 34431.
*Please be sure to write Salgado DR Mission in the memo.

Or

If you feel led to give a one time gift of any amount, you may go to the home page of this site and click on the “donate” button to conveniently give online. Thank you and God bless.

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Salgado DR Mission

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

I am getting settled in back here in the DR after spending seven weeks of traveling in the States. It certainly was wonderful to be reunited with my family. It was a blessing to have had the opportunity to share the ministry and preach on biblical mission partnerships with different churches. It was humbling to receive so much positive feedback from so many, but in the end, all that matters is that Christ was exalted and churches were exhorted and motivated to action. May God receive all the glory! Pray that God used those messages to move churches to be more involved in what God is doing all around the world, hopefully in the most biblical and God honoring way possible. Misions is our mission as the church.

“The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed” — Hudson Taylor

We really needed to raise more support are in need of mission partners. That was the main reason for such a lengthy stay. We pray that the Lord moves some churches and individuals to partner with us. Please pray with us. We pray someday the Lord will provide enough for us to not to have to stay away from the ministry for so long. But our family has needs, the church has needs, and everything costs money, this is just what comes with the territory. Our family has also outgrown our present vehicle. We usually have people riding on laps especially when the carseat is in. With all the people we help get to and from church we are often having to take several trips, We are praying the Lord will provide for us to be able to get get a van or larger vehicle. Even a large mini van would help us to get around better. Please pray for the Lord’s provision to be in abundance. There is much work to do, we are experiencing growth, with that comes the needs of the people, and the church building needs a lot of work.

“All the money needed to send and support an army of self-sacrificing, joy-spreading ambassadors is already in the church.” — John Piper

The Lord certainly provided for me during my stay and many loving brothers and sisters opened their homes to me and even let me borrow vehicles to get around. It is always beautiful to see the church come together to care for one of her own. God is so good and gracious to the undeserving. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

I am very thankful for those who were able to keep everything going in my absence. It is a blessing to have a group that can come together and do that in less than a year of existence. Christen always is sure to pick up take home some of the families that come (yes, she can drive in this craziness!),  and our daughter Trinity organizes the songs picked by sister Rosalina and controls the music and projector. It was also good to know the pulpit was in good hands with brother Kelvin. He has been a tremendous blessing to the church. The Lord sent us a likeminded brother, a fellow laborer, a fellow soldier in the faith. Please keep him and his wife Yaris in your prayers as well.  It was really encouraging to hear him say to me in one conversation before I returned, “the Lord seems to really love Hato Mayor and is wanting to do something big here!”

We have set Fridays as outreach day. We go out with a few others from the church and set up where there are many people in the streets and open air preach. We share the gospel pleading with people to repent, come to Christ and be reconciled to God. We also hand out some very good gospel tracts made by HeartCry Missionary Society and give out invitations to the church services with all of our information. Please keep those efforts in your prayers.

“If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” — C.T. Studd

We are going through our confession of faith on Wednesday nights as we begin organizing ourselves and are taking steps in establishing a biblical membership for accountability. We also have a time of prayer with that study. Sunday mornings we are taking an expository journey through the gospel of Mark. We are still seeing new visitors as well and hope to hae more soon as a result of our outreach efforts.

This is just some of what we are up to and we are so thankful to continue to see the Lord work among us. Please pray for our family. You cannot go out into the streets declaring war on hell and all of it’s forces and not expect to be attacked. We will most likely be the first target of that opposition. Keep our marriage, our children, and the testimony of those serving with us bathed in prayer.

We also have another praise report. We have just been accepted by a missionary aviation service to receive packages through them. Their name is Agape Flights. They are a ministry that delivers packages for missionaries at a reduced price. The christian pilots donate their time to offer these services. They do ask that we ask supporters to help with their cost through donations since they are also non profit. Some companies charge up to 4-5 US dollars per pound on shipping. Our cost is only $1.75 and we ask anyone sending a package to donate at least an extra dollar (perhaps more if you feel led to), which would come to $2.75 per pound. Anyone wanting to send a package should contact us first for us to determine if something was in bulk if it is better to go with the cargo company we have used in the past. But this is definitely a better option for small packages and several other things we have wanted to ship in the past and couldn’t. It has also been very difficult for us to receive regular mail (cards, letters of encouragement, etc.) in the past, but now we will be able to. Praise the Lord! The mailing address to send something to us through them is:

Antonio and Christen Salgado

c/o Agape Flights STI 28566

100 Airport Avenue

Venice, FL 34285

 

Pray about becoming a mission partner. Pray about helping. Pray.

In service to our Lord and King,

The Salgado Family

 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. – Ephesians 3:20-21

 

 

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Salgado DR Mission Newsletter

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

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

As I write this newsletter to you I am stateside. I am here alone this time, traveling and  sharing this ministry that the Lord has entrusted to us with churches Continue reading “Salgado DR Mission Newsletter”

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Salgado DR Mission Newsletter

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

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. All glory and honor and praise be unto Him, our Lord, King, and Saviour  forever and ever, Amen.

The Lord has been answering some long time prayers. But we have also endured some  difficulties in the starting up or “rebirthing” of this work in Hato Mayor. None of it unexpected though, and truly is miniscule in comparison to the blessings  and potential we are now seeing. Continue reading “Salgado DR Mission Newsletter”

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Salgado DR Mission Newsletter

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

Thank you very much to all of our supporters and family in Chris who pray for our family and this mission. This last month has been very busy. Even though humanly speaking we are doing much, we trust not in our works for a even a moment. But we do rejoice in knowing we have seen signs of the Holy Spirit’s work among us (conviction of sin and spiritual growth). Praise the Lord for His grace in showing us these moments of His activity around and in the people we minister to. The Lord is always at work. Continue reading “Salgado DR Mission Newsletter”

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New ministry video – Hato Mayor

Here is a new ministry video of this mission here in the Dominican Republic. Our family serves as missionaries here in a new work in Hato Mayor, Santiago DR. We are a small ministry dependent upon God’s provision and grace. We also have custody of a Dominican child who is the product of a rape from a mentally handicapped young lady. We are in a process of trying to adopt this child (Yeison, the baby in the family shot) who has been with us for over ten months.  Ministry is difficult here, but the Lord is blessing the new work in Hato Mayor and we are beginning to see fruit of the ministry.  We would appreciate your prayers and are also very much in need of mission partners who are willing to financially support our endeavors. We are a doctrinally sound ministry who’s only desire is to see Christ’s church here grow and see Him be glorified. Please pray about helping. You can learn more about this ministry by exploring the site’s buttons where you can read our statement of faith, see videos, read past newsletters, and even conveniently give online. Thank you and God bless. Pray.

Grace and peace.

In service to our lord and King,

Antonio Salgado

Salgado DR Mission