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Salgado DR Mission

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

We are forever grateful for your support through giving and praying. May the Lord bless you for your acts of love and service through supporting this ministry. We have some important prayer requests for our family and ask you to please join us in praying for the following needs. We have no doubt that the Lord has heard your prayers in the past to help us, provide for us and protect us. Those who pray for and give to missions play a role just as important as the missionary on the field. We are thankful for you.

Concerning our family:

First, we ask that you pray for Christen. She has had health issues for a while now. She is on blood pressure meds, but her hair has been falling out quite a bit and consistently, she is also still having some skin issues. At first the symptoms seemed minor, but the fact that they have persisted for so long does cause some concern. It may be the water, it may be stress, or a combination of both. It may even be something else. We are having the underground cistern cleaned, but if the water coming in is contaminated it will just get dirty again.

We were recently at the city’s water department here and they are having some people come to check things out sometime next week. The water usually looks clean but has come out very dirty several times,  and doesn’t smell quite right. It even has come out brown on several occasions.  The woman we spoke to actually said they have seen this before. Although we don’t drink that water, we use it to bathe and wash with which could potentially make us sick.  Christen did have parasites and a bacteria a couple of months ago.  Please pray that we would finally get her some relief from those symptoms that seem to continue lingering. Her immune system seems to be weaker than the rest of ours since she seems to be the one who has been most affected. Other than that she is ok, but we need and hope to get her healthy and the water issue resolved quickly. Please pray. This brings us to our next prayer request.

Please pray for Yeison. He has been displaying some behavior issues at school. We have had several meetings already with some of the counselors from the school and are having some recommended tests run. He recently had an electroencephalogram. They recommended and MRI as well.  He seems very bright and speaks English and Spanish well, but there are a couple of things that concern us. Please pray for that.

We have been told that there are some conditions that can show signs at 6 or 7 years of age that could be rooted in trauma suffered at birth, the first few months of life or even from when he was still in the womb if the mother had an excessively stressful pregnancy. With his mother’s mental condition and quality of life, I do wonder.  I’m not sure what to think about all of this, but we want to do everything we possibly can to help him and already have several appointments coming up for several different things. . If any of our supporters or friends back home reading this have knowledge and experience with children with special needs, would love to hear from you. Prayers  are appreciated.

Apart from the behavior issue, we also went to the first appointment to begin the process for the surgery on his legs. A few things have to happen before that, but at least we have the ball rolling now. Please pray for Yeison during this process.

Please also pray for our family and for provision. Even though we have insurance now, with  3 or 4 appointments a week between both issues, it can easily be an extra couple of hundred bucks a week which adds up fast, and some things are still not covered.  Christen will also be needing to get some more tests run soon. I am having some trouble concentrating and very foggy minded and even my vision has not been the best lately, so I  will need to get that checked out for that. My workload has increased between teaching, studying, editing and writing for different things. You can see how having difficulty with concentration would cause me some concern. Needless to say, we will be spending a lot of time and money at the several appointments we have in the near future . Prayers and any help financially at all is very appreciated.

All of these things do bring along with them some stress and concern to be honest. But we are trusting the Lord.  Personally, He has taught me (and still is teaching me) to rest in Him more and more. You can read something I recently wrote on suffering on this website. If you scroll down underneath this  newsletter, you will see the English and Spanish versions of that article titled “The Father of Mercies and Comforter in Our Afflictions” or simply click here.

Concerning ministry:

Pastor Victor and I recently taught on evangelism  at the church in Hato Mayor. I am working on developing it into a 2-3 day workshop as a BCMS effort to share with other local churches that may need some help or encouragement in this area.

I am also regularly sharing the Gospel with children and youth at the school and had the opportunity to sit down and explain the gospel to two other English teachers last week. Please pray for the Lord to use us there so that some may come to repentance and faith for God’s glory. It is a VERY Catholic environment, but by God’s grace they seem to like us and have given us a lot of freedom to share. Many are just flat out curious about us and see us as different (apart from being foreigners). Most of my English lessons have some teachings from Scripture where I use short texts that lead into explanations of God’s truth and the Gospel. Pray for the seeds being sown there with students and teachers.

Next week we will finally be doing the medical outreach we have mentioned in past updates. This will be held in three different locations, the church of Hato Mayor, the school of San Lucas and Piedra Gorda where Yeison is from. Please pray for us, our efforts and the workers helping us. Pray for the opportunities to preach Christ and to glorify our Father in heaven though service to the suffering.

We help people because of Christ, we wish for them to see Christ in us and see love in our acts of service towards them. But we also help them simply because well…they need it. A duty is put upon us as Christians to help the needy and glorify God by reflecting His generous and loving nature in being a merciful  and giving people. The Bible has countless examples of God commanding His people to help the poor, widows, and orphans. But, many times as humans we make some good sounding excuses and label them as rational and logical reasons. Praise God that Christ did not make such excuses as we sometimes do in order to not help others,  but He freely gave Himself in service, even unto death on the cross, though He knows what is in man. He showed us what it meant to humbly serve others, yes even those we would consider undeserving. It is interesting how we as humans even often come up with plenty of reasons why it would be “unwise” to be generous to people.

There is a very good article by Matt Perman with notes from a classic sermon by Jonathan Edwards on Christian Charity that you can read by clicking here. I have recommended books like “When Helping Hurts” in the past, and it makes sense it really does. The book makes some valid points that raises concerns. But it is often difficult when using only the Scriptures (which are our supreme authority and rule of faith) to come to the same conclusions about generosity and helping the poor, as reasonable and logical as they may sound. I think we often get it backwards. Not everything we read in Scripture is exactly logical and it is often contrary to the current of the world we live in. To live by faith and not by sight, the first shall be last and the last shall be first, the list goes on and on.

The Bible says…

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding,” 

It doesn’t say..

“Trust in your own understanding with all your heart, and do not rely on the Lord.”

And though many would hate to admit it, that is often what we do.

I am in no way discarding the need to be reasonable and prudent in our thinking and planning, but we must spend more time in the Word to better know when those moments are or we will always live solely according to our understanding. Otherwise we will be inconsistent and contradict ourselves as we profess one thing , but then live and think as many do, like practical atheists. May the Lord give us grace to live more according to His Word, even if the world ( and sadly, even many in the church) see it as foolish and craziness. Pray.

 

 

 

 

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Padre De Misericordias Y Consolador En Nuestras Aflicciones (Artículo En Español)

Seamos realistas, todos tienen problemas con los que están lidiando. Y puede ser difícil, muy difícil. Si se trata de malas noticias sobre su salud, un diagnóstico terminal o de cambio de vida de un niño o de alguien muy cercano a usted. Podrían ser problemas de conducta de un niño pequeño o un adolescente rebelde, conflictos matrimoniales, pérdida de empleo o alguna otra crisis financiera que puede agravar y empeorar seriamente cualquiera de estos problemas. Para asegurarse de que puede suceder en los entornos aparentemente más seguros. ¿Cuánto más sucederá en el campo misionero, en un contexto diferente al tuyo, lejos de todo lo que alguna vez fue querido y familiar? Donde el estrés y los peligros se multiplican y la dificultad se convierte en una forma de vida. Son cosas que viene con el territorio. Nuestras dificultades a veces pueden estar enraizadas en nuestro propio pecado, negligencia o irresponsabilidad. O podríamos encontrarnos atrapados en el fuego cruzado del pecado de otra persona. O simplemente los efectos de un mundo caído en las personas más cercanas a nosotros. Todavía puede afectarnos profundamente.

Puede ser suficiente para enviar a alguien a una depresión o algún otro estado mental no saludable que se siente como un inevitable valle oscuro de desesperación. Durante esos momentos, Dios puede parecer distante y nuestras oraciones y gemidos de angustia hacia el cielo pueden incluso sentir como si no fueran escuchados. ¡Gracias a Dios que ese no es el caso! Pero si somos honestos, a veces puede sentirse así. Como creyentes podemos confiar verdaderamente en el Señor durante la tormenta, pero no siempre lo hace más fácil, humanamente hablando. Puede que incluso nos encontremos en el extremo de nuestro capacidad, llorando de miedo como lo hicieron los discípulos en el bote “¡Señor, sálvanos! ¡Vamos a morir!”

Aunque puede llegar una temporada de paz y tranquilidad después (tal vez), por el momento, puede sentirse aplastado como si fuera demasiado para soportar. Algunos sufren por una temporada, algunos lo enfrentan por toda la vida.

Aun cuando yo pase
    por el valle más oscuro,
no temeré,
    porque tú estás a mi lado.
Tu vara y tu cayado
    me protegen y me confortan. – Salmo 23: 4

Muchas “tormentas” en la vida causan estragos y dejan un camino de destrucción a su paso como las tormentas reales. Y al igual que una tormenta real, por lo general lleva mucho tiempo “reconstruir” una vez que se ha hecho el daño. Algunas tormentas pueden cambiar la vida y, para algunos, incluso acabar con la vida. Muchos se encuentran en estado de shock y sacudidos hasta el centro, dejando solamente la opción de llorar por su situación y recoger los pedazos que quedan de su vida a medida que avanzan cojeando de la experiencia traumática e hiriente. Esto les sucede todos los días a muchas personas, por diferentes períodos de tiempo, en algún lugar. No deberíamos sorprendernos. De hecho, deberíamos aprender a esperarlo si entendemos lo que las Escrituras dicen acerca de la naturaleza caída del mundo en el que vivimos y los efectos del pecado mientras vivamos aquí.

Dios, de hecho, nos da más de lo que podemos soportar. Por favor, no seas una de esas personas que dice que no lo hace, o que solo lo hace porque sabe que podemos manejarlo (como si en realidad fuéramos tan fuertes en nosotros mismos). Si pudiéramos hacerlo solos y con nuestras propias fuerzas, no lo necesitaríamos. Gedeón viene a la mente. (Y puedo decir brevemente, es probable que el versículo popular pero a menudo mal citado en 1 Corintios no significa lo que usted piense que significa).

El Señor trae sufrimiento a nuestras vidas con más frecuencia de la que queremos. Pero Él tiene Sus razones y debemos confiar en Él a través de ellas. Debemos. Claro que podemos conocer el plan y la voluntad de Dios en general, pero a veces Sus planes para nosotros como individuos en los detalles de nuestras vidas no son tan fáciles de ver o entender. Los planes de Dios para nosotros a menudo son bastante diferentes de los nuestros.

Pero si nos encontramos realmente luchando mientras sufrimos, deberíamos preguntarnos esto. Cuando las cosas se ponen difíciles, ¿a dónde más podemos ir realmente? ¿De dónde viene realmente nuestra ayuda? Seguro que el Señor usará a las personas como un medio para consolarnos y ayudarnos, pero en última instancia, solo Él puede darnos paz. Verdadera paz.  ¿Dónde encontraremos nuestra fuerza para soportar más que en la naturaleza inmutable de nuestro Señor, las promesas fieles en Cristo y Su cuidado amoroso para con nosotros? Él es nuestra Torre Fuerte, nuestra Roca, nuestro Escudo y Fortaleza a la que corremos para buscar consuelo, refugio y paz. Solo en Cristo estamos verdaderamente a salvo y, aparte de Cristo, no podemos hacer nada.

El Señor es mi pastor; tengo todo lo que necesito. Salmo 23: 1

Me recuerda un himno moderno bien conocido que dice maravillosamente:

Solo en Cristo encuentro mi esperanza

Él es mi luz, mi fuerza, mi canción

 Esta piedra angular, esta tierra sólida

Firme a través de la más feroz sequía y tormenta

Qué alturas de amor, qué profundidades de paz

Cuando los temores se calman, cuando cesan los esfuerzos

Mi Consolador, mi Todo en Todo

Aquí en el amor de Cristo estaré

Bellas palabras conmovedoras ¿verdad? Pero la pregunta es, ¿lo creemos? ¿Realmente le creemos? ¿Realmente confiamos en Él? ¿Realmente creemos que Él es bueno? ¿Realmente creemos que Él está obrando todas las cosas para bien para aquellos que lo aman, incluso cuando no podemos verlo? Es importante recordar que independientemente de lo que creamos, Él será glorificado. Incluso a través de las circunstancias aparentemente más terribles. Pero también debemos recordar que Él es un Padre amable, compasivo, inmutable y fiel y acercarse a Él. Debemos aprender a permanecer en Cristo. Su mano soberana y su amor por su pueblo serán la almohada sobre la que descansaremos nuestras cabezas cansadas.

El Señor es mi fuerza y mi escudo;
En El confía mi corazón, y soy socorrido;
Por tanto, mi corazón se regocija,
Y Le daré gracias con mi cántico. – Salmo 28: 7

La naturaleza inmutable de Dios es un ancla que nos mantiene aferrados a la Roca que nunca nos fallará o nos echará en esos momentos difíciles,  si estás en Cristo por supuesto. Mientras escribo esto, muchas personas que amo vienen a mi mente. Miembros cercanos de la familia y familiares en la fe que actualmente están lidiando con algunas de las cosas que mencioné al principio, o incluso peor en este mismo momento. Oren por nosotros y por otros misioneros cercanos a nosotros que conocen muy bien estas tormentas. Pero también ore por aquellos en su iglesia que están sufriendo. Un vecino, un amigo o tal vez alguien en su propio hogar.

Bendito sea el Dios y Padre de nuestro Señor Jesucristo, Padre de misericordias y Dios de toda consolación,  el cual nos consuela en todas nuestras tribulaciones, para que también nosotros podamos consolar a los que están en cualquier aflicción, dándoles el consuelo con que nosotros mismos somos consolados por Dios. – 2 Corintios 1: 3-4

Para ellos solo puedo decirles que confíen en Él, Alabadle, permanezcan en Él y Su Palabra y orad. Él es el Padre de las misericordias y el Dios de todo consuelo, quien nos consuela en nuestra aflicción. El Señor es nuestro Pastor, tenemos lo que necesitamos. Si perseveras,  serás más como Jesús al final. Y si lo creas o no, incluso estaremos agradecidos por esas tormentas difíciles pero transformadoras en nuestras vidas. Orar.

 

He aprendido a besar la ola que me arroja contra la Roca de las edades.- Charles Spurgeon

Escrito por Antonio Salgado Jr.

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Salgado DR Mission Newsletter

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

First of all, we want to say thank you to all of our supporters: To those who pray and give faithfully so that we may continue our work here. It is through you that God provides for our needs which allows us to pay the bills and keep the ministry going. We know it is all from Him, but we also know that He uses His church as the means to provide for us. Thank you for your help.

We are getting ready for a medical clinic on Oct. 31- Nov 2. Please pray for that activity. Anthony and Stephanie Willis are coming again this year to serve the people in three communities. We will be in Piedra Gorda, San Lucas School, and the church of Hato Mayor. There are always plenty opportunities to share the gospel with people and obtain follow up contact information.

Pray that Anthony and Stephanie who are funding and working the operation arrive safely, that we will have all the supplies, doctors, nurses and translators we will need and that above all, God will be glorified. We appreciate their way of serving, generously bringing in almost everything needed to get the job done themselves, yet humbly serving alongside the nationals in a supportive role.  A wonderful and sacrificial example to follow. It’s just them coming and the rest of the team will be made up of local workers.

In the family we have had less health issues as of late, praise God. But Yeison did have to go to the hospital about two weeks ago for a high fever. There was something going around, but he got over it pretty quick.  We all had a cold and some sore throats, but nothing serious. Maya did hurt her ankle a few weeks ago and it turned purple and got swollen, but she is much better now and not limping anymore.

We are teaching English at a school and that is going well. They are mostly Catholic  and a few who don’t know what they are. But we have been well received and pretty much have an open door there to share. I am praying with students, have shared the gospel several times already and working on getting a Bible study started with some of the other teachers.  Please pray for that. One of my English projects for the high school students is about God and evolution. This is provoking tons of good questions and conversation from the students. Pray that the Lord would use us as an instrument to save some there through our Gospel proclamation.

Since my trip to Haiti, I have spoken often with brother  Leonel and he has been quite busy. He has been evangelizing, giving Bibles to new converts and discipling those who are making professions of faith. Pray for him and his ministry in Ounaminthe. He was asked to preach this coming Sunday at his church. The Lord is using him and opening doors, praise God. Please remember to pray for him.

I was recently asked to join a team of editors for a project called Theo Magazine. It is a very good and theologically solid resource for the spanish speaking world. It addresses all kinds of modern day issues the church faces and gives answers to questions about things that pertain to  LGBTQI agenda,  evolution, Christians and the arts, theology, apologetics, church history, missions and more. It is a quality project with several doctors and theologians from Latin America  doing much of the writing and on the team of editors. I was very humbled to even be considered apt to help in even a small role in this. The general editor who is also the president of a seminary  (Southern Baptist School) approached me about joining the team and doing some writing, networking with missionaries in other parts of the world, reporting and sharing practical ways for others in Latin America to get involved in missions, among other things relating to missions in general. There is even talk of a possible English version of the work. I was already asked to translate some of the articles to English and they approved of the quality of the translations, praise God. There is a lot of work going into this with launches in NY, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, Puerto Rico and Colombia. Please pray for me and others working on the project. It is truly a privilege and an honor to be involved. May God be glorified and many edified through the work.

A special prayer request for our family, especially for Yeison.

We have noticed some minor behavior issues with Yeison for a while. But he seemed to have been improving. He listens when he is corrected, pretty good about sitting through church, but he’s also just a five years old kid with a lot of energy and a short attention span. But he is different from many kids in some ways. We recognize this and that he may possibly may have some special needs that weren’t as noticeable or as easy to diagnose before, but that are now being noticed because of the stage of development and learning he is in.

The school he is at (now attending with Maya and Nito) has contacted us several times in the past two weeks. We have gone in for meetings three times already about this and have a fourth meeting tomorrow. The claims of his unruly and reported extreme behavior are hard to believe, but many there have supposedly witnessed it.

Counselors and others are involved now but he is ONLY behaving this way at the school. And he has never done the things they are now telling us about before. It has been somewhat alarming. There are behavioral conditions that don’t show symptoms or can even be diagnosed until around 5-7 years of age.

He admits to his behavior later and knows it is wrong. To be honest, this has kind of rocked us as a family and we are trying to figure out what is the next step in helping him. Why is he suddenly acting out like this, and what triggered it when he did not do this before? We are still processing this whole thing.

One counselor at the school said it may be that he feels unsafe there without us. It is a new and intimidating environment. We taught at the school he attended last year and he did see us on a daily basis there. They say the tendency of kids who feel that way is to fight or flee.

Another said it could be subconscious and something he doesn’t understand, but may be a reaction directly connected to the first three months of his life. We don’t know at this point. He is fine at home but many who follow us through the newsletters or facebook know about his mother’s condition. Yeison also had a very rough start in life. But we are not sure what to even think about that right now.

We had a hard time even believing some of the things they said at first, but we are just concerned now and want to help him, praying that this is just a phase or something that will pass, or something that with a little help, he can grow out of. But we really don’t know at this point. We are receiving lots of advice from people back home with experience and even some books to read from those who know more than us about these kinds of things. For that we are very grateful. We just know we need lots of prayer for us and him.

Please pray for him and for wisdom for us as we work through this and seek help for our little man. Pray.

We have also been a little strapped financially for a few months now. Thank God for a couple of unexpected love offerings from a couple of churches, we have gotten by due to that.  But we are struggling paying the kid’s schooling and  do have a lot of other commitments besides our own bills and family’s needs here, so we are still in need of new monthly mission partners to keep up with all the needs and have more stability month to month. There are things we had planned but were unable to follow through with due to a shortage of funds. Some other things just have priority when things get tight, but there is so much more we could do if we were a little more stable financially.

10 people or churches at just $200 a month, 20 people or churches at $100, or 40 people or churches at $50 a month, would definitely free us up and give us the needed ministry money to work with. There are some churches able to do this on their own or with little help. Others can take this on as a project and help raise the needed funds for this mission. Please share the needs and pray about helping.

There are others we would like to help on this side but cannot at this point. There are things needed for the church building we would like to purchase, and resources for some of the men we work with but are not able to just yet. We have no emergency, furlough or reserve fund at this point. We are also hoping to get some life insurance one of these days. Please consider helping, by sharing these needs and prayer requests, or giving if you are presently not a monthly mission partner.

Please continue to pray regularly for our marriage, our children, the church. Pray for the Dominican republic and especially Haiti, that right now is in political turmoil. Pray for the Lord to grant us wisdom, patience and to guard our hearts during difficult times. There has been no shortage of those either. God has been kind to us, our own sin and shortcomings have kept us humble, suffering has molded us, His grace has sustained us, we are thankful for His love and faithfulness in spite of us. Pray that God will continue to be glorified in and through us. Pray.

In service to our King,

Antonio Salgado Jr.

 

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 to meet real needs.

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

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. This gives us liberty to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and make decisions about present and urgent needs. This is one of the reasons why we went with CMC to receive and get donations to us. They also only charge a tiny fee for administrative purposes (about 2%). This is the best way to get the most out of every donation straight to the field.

You may begin sending your support at any time at the address above. Simply include a note on a separate piece of paper that says “Antonio Salgado or Salgado DR Mission”(Checks should be made payable to Central Missionary Clearinghouse or C.M.C.)

You can also now give to the ministry online through the new giving solution called “click and give” at the CMC website. Just a simple click on the donate button on their page (see link below), and then click the “click and give icon/button”.*Note – On the list of missionaries there, click on Antonio Salgado / Dominican Republic.

https://www.cmcmissions.org/donate

Thank you for taking the time to read this update, and whatever you choose, thank you and God bless.

 

 

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Salgado DR Mission Newsletter

Dear mission partners, friends, 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

We have been back in the DR now for about three weeks and settling back in. This month we celebrate exactly seven years on the field. Thank you for your faithfulness in giving and especially your prayers over the years. We are eternally greatful for each of you.

We have an opportunity to teach again and have decided to begin teaching English at another school to help supplement our income until we are able to go home for a longer period of time and do some fundraising. Quite frankly, we just really need the money right now. It is only part time but Christen and I will both be teaching. I will also be helping at the previous school we have served for the last two years, but more in the area of counseling, meeting with the youth (and anyone else willing) for Bible studies after school hours and evangelism in that community. And although we need the money, I cannot commit to full time work either with all the other ministry responsibilities we presently have.

If I seem to have been more silent than usual in communicating in recent months, it is due partly to thew fact that most of my time and energy has been invested in the BCMS (Biblical Christian Missionary Society) project. For this reason I would like to apologize for a gap in time between communication and newsletters. But we have also been dealing with personal issues in the family, both here and back home which urgently needed our attention. We have served on the mission field for seven years now this month with no furlough, and it has it’s way of taking a toll on everyone. Please forgive me for this lack of communication. I will certainly make an effort to be better at communicating.

We still are present and financially supporting the work that was started in Hato Mayor. The church there will always be home and the brothers and sisters there are family near and dear to us. Recently, a Dominican brother named Victor Dominguez was installed as the new pastor. He is a godly man who loves the Lord, is a good teacher and we are very happy with him and his wonderful family and their willingness to serve. We ask that you please pray for him.

There are still challenges as there are in any ministry, and although the work will celebrate five years this December, the church is still very much an infant church and there is still much work to do there. But brother Victor truly has a servant’s heart, and is more than willing and aware of the challenges he will face. He has also expressed his desire for our continued help in the ministry. We remain in a supportive role and continue helping in ministry endeavors there, whether it be evangelism, providing resources, organization, edifying conferences with visiting pastors and teachers and/or helping raise money for projects and needs.

As I mentioned, we are not only working together with the church of Hato Mayor, but also on a national and international level too, investing in men in the DR and Haiti as well, bringing them resources, teaching and much needed encouragement. In fact we not only support and help with the financial needs of the church of Hato Mayor, but also support another pastor in Santiago, a sister teaching English for us at the church, a brother working as an evangelist in Haiti and several other individuals we help in different ways as donations and resources that come in allow.

I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, – Philippians 2:25

The website for BCMS is up and running (biblicalchristianms.org). Although we had a few hiccups getting it started in the beginning, and are still experimenting with different themes for the site, we have begun posting updates and profiles about the men we support. The main purpose of the this ministry is to invest in faithful men that can teach others as well, whether they are presently in ministry or preparing for ministry. We certainly believe in the local church and do not want to interfere in other churches and their work in any way. We only wish to invest in, and help the men there to better serve right where the Lord has planted them. There are many faithful men here who lack resources and guidance and much needed encouragement.

Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, – Colossians 4:7-8

We are planning to help the children of Hato Mayor and another church with school supplies this year as we have in the past. In this country, even for public school, if the children do not have the necessary uniforms and school supplies, they cannot attend. Unfortunately, many kids do not receive the education they need due to the family’s lack of resources. Please pray about helping with this important need.

I am also continuing my own studies in seminary now, which has unfortunately been put on the back burner several times when things got too busy with work in the church. I was actually in Santo Domingo last night discussing with one of the directors what I will need to graduate by next year. Please pray for me for wisdom in time management with a consistently busy schedule.

We have never stopped helping the church and many others we serve behind the scenes, but we do not really like announcing everything that we do either. We have received criticism in the past from both sides of either “not sharing enough” or “sharing too much.” There is always the existing tension of serving and helping without receiving the recognition, (“not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing,”) coupled with the fact that we are missionaries and have a very real need of being good at communicating well with supporters, sharing updates and the work concerning the ministry. I have often felt that I find myself on one side of the spectrum or the other. The balance isn’t always so easy to identify and maintain. I have always struggled with exactly how much to share and how much to leave between us and the Lord. Prayers for wisdom in this area are certainly appreciated.

After a difficult year of health problems that Christen and I experienced, and worries of the declining health of our parents back home, and a season of other trials that just come with the territory of being in a foreign context, we are refocused and moving forward with several ministry plans. We are both much better in health and trying to take better care of ourselves now. Since we have been awaiting approval for Yeison to travel, and are at a standstill as far as a furlough for now, we have been working hard on organizing the details to make these plans happen, Lord willing of course.

On the Salgado DR Mission website, I will continue sharing updates and important family/ministry needs and prayer requests. As the ministry grows, the needs do too, but there are still needs we have as a family.

For example:
In past years, we have often done fundraisers specifically for the cost of the kid’s schooling. But for at least two years now, we haven’t had to do a fundraiser due to some generous individuals who helped cover a major percentage of it. And by God’s grace, we were able to cover the left over amount. But this year, we have not had anyone give specifically towards this need yet. They are already enrolled and the school will be expecting money soon. This need is very important to us and our children. PLEASE pray for this and consider helping by giving towards their education. There may be a fundaraiser coming if we do not have anyone help us with this soon.

We are preparing for another visa application for Yeison. But before we do, we will need to have many proofs that they (the US embassy) require that will guarantee his re-entry if he were approved for a visa. This time, with much prayer and guidance, we are doing everything we know to present the strongest case possible showing our ties here and his guaranteed return. We must do this until we can officially start the adoption process which is still a couple of years away. But we will have to begin meeting with the lawyer again to obtain documents of  proof of intention to adopt according to an immigration specialist for a State Senator back home. That is apart from the legal guardianship papers we presently have. Lawyers do not work for free either as we all know. Pleas pray and consider helping towards this as well.

We have not been able to take a furlough mainly for this reason, and we very much desire to be able to travel with him on our visits home. We soon will need an extended stay in the US for rest, time with family, but also for some serious fundraising. We are presently at our financial limit and need new ministry partners in order to meet the new budget. Please pray about this and consider joining us as a ministry partner.

The ministry van has been a huge blessing in many ways. It has been used not only for the ministry of the local church, but we have also been able to serve several other pastors and their churches who do not have resources by making it available to them for transportation for various activities. And of course, for transportation when visiting pastors and teachers come with their church members to teach and serve with us. But at times, it too comes with a hefty price tag of maintenance and repairs. We do everything needed to keep it running like new in order to be able to go to any part of the country at any given time. We may even be taking it to Haiti soon and are presently investigating what forms the government requires in order to cross the border with a vehicle. But it’s maintenance is costly (as most vehicle maintenance and fuel is here), and the terrible road conditions certainly do not help. Any help towards this need is also is very appreciated.

On the BCMS website I will be sharing updates and needs more specific to that ministry’s vision and mission, Being primarily a 2 Timothy 2:2 ministry focusing on coming alongside and equipping the nationals. We have also begun working on writing original articles and resources for supporters and those we are serving, and translating them to make them available in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole.

We have a list of worthy candidates we desire to help and support in different ways, but until we acquire more commitments and/or new ministry partners, we are limited. Presently we only have posted those that we support on the website. But Lord willing, we will also post profiles of the candidates so that others can learn more about each individual and their own personal and ministerial needs too.

In the mean time, we are planning to help by taking the teaching to them through workshops and conferences that a couple of pastors here and I will teach. And though in a sense this is their most important need, their needs do go beyond that. Anyone serious about studying about the Word and ministry will need a computer, books, and other helpful tools like the internet for example, for ease of access to online resources. Internet access will also help for ease of communication between us (video calls and virtual meetings.) This also cuts down on the costs of travel until absolutely necessary. Most of these men also have basic needs for their own ministries like bibles, tracts etc., that we would love to help provide as well when possible. Please pray about helping with any of these needs.

Be on the look out for updates from our family and the brothers of BCMS, and please remember to pray for each of us. Pray for Yeison’s visa. Pray for grace and strength. Pray for wisdom. Pray for God’s provision in the often overwhelming amount of needs. Pray.

In Christ,
Antonio Salgado and family

 

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 to meet real needs.

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

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. This gives us liberty to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and make decisiones about present and urgent needs. This is one of the reasons why we went with CMC to receive and get donations to us. They also only charge a tiny fee for administrative purposes (about 2%).

You may begin sending your support at any time at the address above. Simply include a note a separate piece of paper with “Antonio Salgado or Salgado DR Mission”(Checks should be made payable to Central Missionary Clearinghouse or C.M.C.)

You can also now give to the ministry 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”.
*Note – On the list of missionaries there, look for Antonio Salgado.

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 on the home page of this site and you can send support of any amount directly to the ministry. You can choose the option of doing a one-time donation, but this is the fastest option to get funds to us.

Unfortunately through Paypal we are not set up for receiving recurring donations. But the other online giving option above does have 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.

As stated above, we do not use a sending agency that gets a percentage of the money donated as other ministries do, so you can be sure that almost your entire gift goes directly to the mission field.

Whatever you decide, thank you for praying for us and helping this ministry take the Gospel to the Dominican people, God Bless.

 

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Salgado DR Mission newsletter

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

As I write this we are still in the States. We have been here about three weeks now spending time with family. This trip has been very different from our trips in the past. Although we don’t come home very often, we do try to stay a bit longer than a month. For Maya and “little” Tony (who is bigger than me now) and myself, it has been almost two years since our last visit. I hoped to speak a little if possible and visit with some supporters and churches, but this trip was not planned for very long and the purpose of this trip was, sadly, to see and spend time with those loved ones who may not be with us for very much longer. I have only had the time to speak at two churches this whole month. One church close to home in Florida, and one in Louisiana. But we want to be close to the family as much as possible.

This trip was put together rather quickly due to the declining health of Christen’s father who has Alzheimer’s and is in a home. Thankfully, we have been able to check him out and bring him to the house we are staying in for days at a time for some much needed time together. But it has really been an emotionally difficult trip for all of us, especially for my wife.

Prayers are very appreciated for her, her father (Edward) and the family. My mother (Clorinda) has been in and out of the hospital with several health issues over the last few months with her health on the decline as well. Our time here has been spent traveling back and forth between Ocala and Tampa trying our best to prioritize who we can visit with and for how long, but it has proven to be very hard. Please pray.

The reality of being here for these reasons, on top of having to be away from Sahira and Yeison for this long has been very hard on us all. Yeison told us yesterday he packed his bag and was ready to get on an airplane to come to us. He doesn’t understand why he can’t come with us and this has been heartbreaking for everybody. Being between two worlds, feeling pulled and stretched in both directions in every way imaginable is not easy, but is just a reality of missionary life. Emotionally, spiritually, physically and mentally we are challenged all the time with tough decisions to make. I find myself constantly crying out to God for wisdom with feelings of helplessness and inadequacy. At times we feel like we don’t belong anywhere.

It will be seven years in August, in a different cultural context, and it will take a toll on anyone and certainly change you in many ways. Feeling too American to be Dominican, feeling too different to be comfortable back in an America at times, especially with the rapid pace of change for the worst here. You can probably imagine the confusion and strange emotions we deal with sometimes, especially the children. Praise God that we find our true identity ultimately in Christ and we understand we really are pilgrims and strangers in this or any land for that matter, even the land we were born in.

This helps us not to get too attached to places or things anywhere, but it’s never easy and very few people back home understand. Even well meaning  brothers and sisters who don’t know about life outside of their own context, or don’t have experience overseas or counseling missionaries, can fall short of giving us the counsel and encouragement we often need. Of course, any peace or comfort that we feel comes from Christ and the Spirit, reminding us and confirming God’s promises in the Scriptures. I thank God for His living Word. But humanly speaking, nothing seems simple and things are much easier said than done. It is God Himself who wills this so as to have us depend completely upon Him. This is when the rubber meets the road and we must surrender and simply have an attitude of the heart of “may Your will be done and not ours oh Lord”.

In a great article about the challenges of cross cultural church planting written by Jen Oshem, she describes just a few of the many challenges faced by those in situations similar to ours.

She is right on when she describes the following difficulties for families serving cross-culturally:

1. Traversing two or more cultures can prevent children from having a strong sense of identity and belonging. Also, the endless goodbyes with other expat families or with locals when the church planting family relocates can lead to loneliness and unprocessed grief.

2. Being immersed in a highly secular setting can have a greater influence on a child than their parents’ Christian influence. Kids might be exposed too early—and too often—to the realities of violence, poverty, sex trafficking, corruption, drugs and alcohol, and other dark, worldly trappings.

3. Physical health may suffer, as access to good healthcare may be nonexistent or far away. Everything from a middle-of-the-night fever to scoliosis can morph into a major, life-altering crisis.

4. Kids raised outside of their home countries don’t get to know their cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, or the neighborhoods their parents grew up in. They face significant gaps in knowing about their home culture’s norms (going “home” sure doesn’t feel like it) and everyone misses out on the support of extended family in the formative years.

5. Education is a constant concern. Learning in two languages is tough, not to mention dealing with special needs, keeping up with home country requirements, and navigating classmates’ and teachers’ expectations in a foreign country.

6. While everyone says, “Kids are so resilient,” the truth is they probably just don’t have the words to express the grief they feel in living through upheaval and uncertainty. Chances are their emotions are stuffed and saved for later. Many cross-cultural kids experience a season of processing trauma as young adults.

Even with the challenges faced, there is nothing else we would rather do. There is no other way we would rather spend our lives than to pour it forth in service for the glory of God. As we look beyond the trials and difficult moments, it is worth it. It is working in us an eternal weight of glory that greatly out measures any light momentary affliction we may face in this lifetime. And in comparison, as we consider eternity, yes it is light.

Although sometimes, it may not feel that way in the moment. Humanly speaking, is it hard? Yes. Are there moments when you want to throw in the towel and retreat? Yes. But, it is still so worth it. And the day we see our Savior face to face we will understand and even be thankful for those trials that formed us, grew us and forced us closer to Christ. We will understand and we will worship as He wipes away all of our tears, and we will finally be free from the presence of sin and suffering. Pray.

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Salgado DR Mission: update

“What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭2:2‬ ‭

Salgado DR Mission will soon be associated with and working under the “Biblical Christian Missionary Society”. We are the the first american family on the mission field serving under BCMS. This ministry will be helping and serving outside of our local church on a more national and international level.

The focus apart from the local church that has been planted (who we still work with and are supporting and still has many needs themselves), will be the scouting, supporting and teaching of these men, creating a network of nationals who are called, have gifts such as of evangelism and/or teaching and preaching, and ultimately help them by getting the necessary tools and resources they need to reach their people with the Gospel.

Be on the lookout for the new BCMS website where you will find pictures and profiles of the men who are being helped through receiving necessary resources and/or supported financially.

There is a lot of work and prayer that is going into this 2 Timothy 2:2 ministry. 100% of donations will go directly to the mission field to working missionaries, evangelists and pastors and teachers. No overhead fees, like in the larger organizations. Please pray for wisdom in this process and for more mission partners to come alongside this important ministry to help these men.

For our friends back home who preach and teach, there will be opportunities to come and serve by teaching for conferences and workshops organized in different parts of this country and Haiti as well. Please pray for this ministry, our family and everyone involved in this project.

Thank you and God bless!
Pray.

“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 ‭

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Salgado DR Mission

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

Recently, a few of us went out evangelizing again in the barrio closest to the church. Please pray for several people who heard the Gospel that night.

The kids at the school are catching on fairly well with English, and there are several opportunities for evangelizing to the staff, students and the parents. There are plans for a new bible study which would be held there at the school. I had a meeting with the director and there will be some teachers and students attending. But I also  intentionally throw in Bible for english lessons sometimes. Pray for all of that and for Trinity who is in Malaysia serving now for a while.

In Hato Mayor, right now there is a rotation of preachers from churches we fellowship with for Sunday mornings. There are several the Lord has raised up in a few churches we know of, and they have been very gracious and helpful to us. They are coming in to help as I step back a bit from the leading pastoral role there.

This also allows me the necessary time to focus on some other very important areas, like my personal physical and spiritual health, the family´s and other needs, and future ministry plans. If He wills and as He leads of course. We are still present, supporting, serving and helping in many other  ways.

Others are stepping up and assuming responsibilities. Brother Carlos has really stepped up and is leading meetings and the evangelism. It is good to see that the core, is very united and committed to the continued growth of the church. Praise the Lord for that and the work he is doing in Carlos.

So we will be on a sort of ¨in country/on the field furlough¨ at least until we get Yeison’s visa. We are due for a break, some tell us  way overdue for a break, but our situation with Yeison is very unique and unfortunately hinders us from all being able to travel as a family together. So limiting some things we do for a while gives us a chance to get some much needed rest and to pray for and tend to so many other things that have unfortunately been unintentionally thrown on the back burner.

Some of you who have supported and followed from the beginning may remember when we got here and hit the ground running with pastor Jose and the three churches there , because I already spoke the language. Those who have followed us know we have stayed pretty busy, many times too busy for our own good. More than a handful of well meaning brothers and sisters have told us to slow down for a while.

In fact, we hit the ground running in 2012 since we were familiar with the culture, after many prior visits and our established relationship with Pastor Jose and the churches in and near Esperanza. But all that running hard over time takes it´s toll,…. has taken. This August will be seven years on the mission field by God´s grace. Many of you know how in the beginning we came here with almost nothing and very little support. The Lord has sustained and blessed us beyond what we imagined over and over again through the years.

But just as many enlisted soldiers serve for 4-6 year deployments , missionaries very similarly usually come home on furlough between extended times on the mission field. This is for several reasons. For their health, (spiritual, mental, physical,) for their longevity on the field, for much needed rest and healing and encouraging.

And usually, even when on furlough in the states, a missionary must often work hard reporting to churches and supporters, fundraising for much needed support for family and ministry needs. Which usually means much traveling for necessary speaking engagements (whether it be preaching, reporting, teaching,)  which is expensive and an added financial strain. It can be exhausting and stressful traveling with children and constantly living out of a suitcase, and many times literally only trusting the Lord to provide a vehicle or place to stay.

Our little budget doesn’t cover all of it. As a matter of fact we need to get back soon to do some fundraising. We still need new mission partners to be able to continue the work. There is still much we want to do, to help ESPECIALLY in the area of coming alongside and making available help and resources for men called to the ministry. We still need funds for projects, an emergency fund (currently non existent) etc. For this to happen, we need more churches and individuals, willing to partner with this mission. Please pray about giving or sharing the needs here with others.

We certainly pray and need more than ever more prayer and support during this time of attempted rest, spiritual recharging, and honestly some healing. We still have many needs, our family´s, as well as the church. We want to continue supporting in every way possible, and we have some special individual cases of brothers and sisters with special needs we wish to continue helping with. There are no shortage of those here.

The christian life is very much an intense battle, every christian must fight and knows it. But be sure that the battle is fiercest for the minister and those closest to him.- unknown

Please continue to pray for Yeison’s visa to be approved. Please also pray for us as we will be switching very soon, (Lord willing) to Christian Missionary Clearinghouse which a ministry that helps independent missionaries like us for a very very small fee and they presently help hundreds of missionaries like us.  We have been told to be patient since this is a very busy time of year for them.

Please be aware but do not worry, we will be emailing everyone immediately as the switch takes place officially so that your donations can be sent to the new address.

The same tax write offs will be available to donors and the processing of checks should be much quicker and smoother.

Our paypal account for online giving, you can reach on our website and still functioning the same for quick online giving or one time gifts. There should also be a click and give button on the website of Christian Missionary Clearinghouse for us as well once we have officially switched.

We do apologize for any  inconveniences this may cause, and  we are eternally grateful for Romeo and the support and love they have showed and continued towards our family. They will always be a very special group of brothers and sisters to us, especially since the Lord saved us there, I was ordained there and we were commissioned out of there. Pray for Romeo, Pray for Pastor Rob, pray for our family, pray for the church here  . Pray.

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Salgado DR Mission

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

The last week of October we did a massive medical clinic that extended over four days and was in three different locations. The first two days  were at the church, the third day was at the school San Lucas, the fourth day we did at a christian clinic in downtown that helps people for very low costs and can sometimes offer some medications for free. Over all it went very well. All praise and glory to God.

Before that we had Brother Kenny Rodrigue from our friends at Woodside Baptist in Ocala, visit us and do an excellent three day conference on the church being the temple of God. A wonderful and edifying time of preaching and teaching. Praise God for that time of teaching and fellowship!

Just a week later, A wonderful young couple (Anthony and Stephanie Willis) had been wanting to do something with medical missions for sometime. They were put in contact with us through a good brother who had visited us on a trip a couple of years back. We had never met and it was going to be their first mission trip that we knew of. And although we have been part of countless medical trips and and likes, it wasn’t something we had ever set up completely on our own like this one. So it was a first for both of us in that sense. We have organized all kinds of different trips ourselves but as far as the medical ones, we were usually called in to help organize, translate, or share the Gospel with those coming through. Thankfully we had the help of experienced friends who did help guide us in certain areas we needed a little more knowledge in.

In all of the teams we have received over the years, (and there have been a lot), we have never had an issue getting the meds through customs since they were very obviously for helping the people here of their country , and thankfully in the past they have been usually gracious and appreciative about that, usually. Unfortunately on this occasion, like always customs had no problem and released the meds to be allowed in the country after a short explanation about who we were and what they were for and where we would be working.

This time though a woman from public health got involved and really complicated the situation to the point  that we still haven’t been able to obtain the medications. we spent money sending a rep´representative of the mission to the capital with the paperwork they gave us to the office they told us to go, but after investing the time and money, still to to no avail. Upon returning to the customs office at the airport here in Santiago they were again very gracious and nice (even repeatedly apologizing for the other department’s  behavior)and said that according to them they were released but there was now a conflict between customs and public health officials about what to do with the meds in  the capital city. A simple non issue suddenly became an issue.

We then were instructed in a confusing process to supposedly properly be able to obtain the meds. At this point, and very frustrated to say the least, I personally asked the public health representative herself to guide me through the steps online, that according to them were so very simple. Now she as the government representative of the Dominican public health department was not able to answer my questions or show me exactly what we had to do but assured us it was as they said , (although she was not able to even to it herself, and getting frustrated stopped attempting to try to show us herself!)

We are still trying and will be making a trip to the capital soon to hopefully finally resolve this. But a side from all of the problems, the Lord was glorified and the Gospel was preached and many were people were helped. At the end of the day that is what mattered.

Aside from that , we have been taking a much needed break from ministry. A sort of in country furlough, at least until we get Yeison’s visa. The convention and other churches we fellowship with have been very helpful in helping the church and supplying a rotation of preaching men to help with pulpit supply. We were even able to help people out in Piedra Gorda, a much needed area, with many left over meds to people we know needed them. We are very thankful for Anthony and Stephanie and their willingness to come and serve and do such a  massive project with us, basically with the funds from their own pockets, no team, no other churches involved, just a couple who love the Lord and decided to come and serve needy people instead of taking a nice vacation for themselves. Certainly an example worth imitating. The Lord is has been very gracious over the years to bring such people across our path.

Please continue to pray for Yeison’s visa to be approved. Please also pray for our sending church “Romeo Baptist” which is dwindling as a church. We will be switching very soon, (Lord willing) to Christian Missionary Clearinghouse which a ministry that helps independent missionaries like us for a very very small fee and they presently help hundreds of missionaries like us.  Pray that the transition will be quick and not difficult. Please be aware and we will be emailing everyone immediately as the switch takes place so that your donations can be sent to the new address. The same tax write offs will be available to donors and the processing of checks should be much quicker and smoother. Our papal account is still functioning the same for quick online giving or one time gifts and there may also be a click and give button on the website of Christian Missionary Clearinghouse for us as well.

We do apologize for the inconveniences of the past, but we are eternally grateful for Romeo and the support and love they have showed and continued towards our family. They will always be a very special group of brothers and sisters to us, especially since the Lord saved us there, I was ordained there and we were commissioned out of there. Pray for Romeo, Pray for Pastor Rob, pray for our family, pray for the church. Pray.

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Salgado DR Mission

Thank you to all of our friends, mission partners, and brothers and sisters in Christ for your ongoing prayers and support. This month I will briefly share some urgent prayer requests and share an article I wrote a couple of months ago from personal experience in the ministry which was originally written in Spanish, but due to some encouraging and  positive feedback, I decided to translate it to share it here for everyone in English as well.

But first and foremost, Pray!

Our entire family has been under attack in every way imaginable. Our marriage, our children, the church, an all out war of the worst kind. Sadly, we feel at times that we are barely remaining afloat but desperatley desire the prayers of the saints back home. Please pray for us during this time of difficulty. We have been affected spiritually, emotionally, physically and it has been just all around draining. Enduring the storm is never easy, and we don’t recall a time it has grown to this intensity, but we know that the Lord walks with us through it. I ask that you please intercede specifically for each of us by name when you remember our family.

Antonio Salgado Jr, Christen Salgado, Trinity Salgado (although not present with us here), Maya Salgado, Antonio Salgado III, Sahira Lora, Yeison Rosario, and our nephew Dominic who is here spending a few months with us. May the Lord protect us, strengthen us, and teach us in this process for our own good and His ultimate glory. Pray brethren. Thank you and God bless.

 

The article begins below, and I pray some pastor or preacher out there may be encouraged by it. Also that some brother or sister out there would stop, think and come to a realization to show the love that they may be lacking in situations as the one presented. If the shoe fits…wear it.

 

“For it is said, “His letters are weighty and powerful, but his physical presence is weak and his public speaking amounts to nothing.””
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭10:10‬ ‭CSB‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

The apostle Paul was an extremely intelligent man. To Him had been revealed the mysteries of God hidden to those generations before him. His letters and sermons were extremely deep and theologically weighty.

However, we see it had ironically been said about him, “his presence is weak and his public speaking amounts to nothing”. (really!?)

Even with the incredible amount of knowledge he had, by God’s grace of course, there were critics (and we all have them, especially preachers), that simply did not like his preaching or way of speaking. He would speak true and beautiful things, pure words from God, nothing unbiblical in any way. But perhaps he was not as eloquent as other preachers or even the philosophers of his day. You should remember this before we are so quick to judge your pastor, or any other preacher of the Word of God.

God has given us pastors and teachers as gifts to His church for our edification. At the same time, just like with the different human authors of the gospels, each of them have, (and each of us too) will have a unique way, due to our different characters, personalities, education, etc. of communicating the same truths. Some may just sound better than others, some may have more passion that others. Some are certainly more eloquent and academic or teacherly than others. Each one of them are their own individual persons as God created them. And its is quite probable that none of them may ever meet your own persoanl standard, please you in their way of thinking or philosophy of ministry, according to your personal preference, opinion, or tradition perfectly. (NONE of which ultimately matter anyway).

The question is , are they preaching the Scriptures or not? Do they love the Word, do they love the Lord, and do they love and care for His church?

They may or may not preach exactly to your preferred method, they may fail at times. We all have those days where we just preach a bad sermon, or miss a point of the text or a certain detail you thought should have been emphasized more in the text here and there.

But he question is, is the Lord using this man to grow and edify the church or not? This is not about if he will have his own weaknesses, struggles and even sins? Of course he will! Someone once said that even the best men are still just men at best.

Will they perhaps even have even a few different (hopefully secondary) theological views on certain things that you may understand differently in the Scriptures? Yes of course, and if you don’t see it now, eventually you will.

Almost always, there will be something you eventually will disagree with for sure. But guess what…its ok! Its good and well so long as they aren’t missing the mark on the fundamentals of the faith. Isn’t it time we show ourselves mature? There should always be unity in the main things, liberty on the secondary issues, but love in everything. And there is truly an amazing beauty in such a diversity.

We have examples in Scripture of men who preach or tell of histories correctly, but in slightly different ways or with some different details. Many men praised Apollos for his great eloquence, while others despised or at least had no appreciation for Paul. Some preachers today include some details and applications that others don’t. So what!

But again the question is,  “are they preaching the Word in such a way that what they are saying can be seen and understood from the text, and is the congregation being edified and benefitted from the teaching/ preaching!?”

Are people in the church joyful and expressing so after the preaching, as God has spoken and taught them something new through His living Word that they now understand that something should change in their life? Are giving thanks to God for those same sermons that others despise and judge?!

Just look at the men that God has used greatly in the past and compare their sermons. Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, Whitfield, Pink, Tozer, Piper, MacArthur, etc. Everyone preaches the Word, and most with excellence! Some with different methods, some with more passion. Not only in the communication of the message, but also in the way of organizing it.

But it is beautiful how God, through different men and in different ways, always does His will through His Spirit to speak through a man and edify His people. Anyone familiar with Spurgeon’s sermons could attest that many times they sounded more like poetry than anything else.

When we cry out to everyone that we all must cling to only ONE single method, and in our useless way, try to limit the Holy Spirit of God by saying that only in SUCH a way should a sermon be delivered, and if it is not, then people will not be edified, we are showing nothing more than a deep pride in our hearts and very much immaturity. (And this is coming from a person who is an avid promoter of good, sound exegesis and expository preaching.)

Now, THE most important thing in any message of any preacher is that God is being glorified and Christ is being lifted up, … but also brothers, there is much wisdom in the following verse. Dont miss it…

“Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying: “Nothing beyond what is written.” The purpose is that none of you will be arrogant, favoring one person over another.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭4:6‬ ‭CSB‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

It is true that there are better and more accurate methods of preaching than others. There are ways to preach more effectively academically than others, but when we place ourselves as the judge of these things, (especially when it comes from those who are not pastors), we do not know the inner struggles of each man, or when we are not appreciating the time and effort that man dedicated  to be able to preach that message to the best of his ability at that moment, the time spent in prayer and mediating on the text….. we are doing just what the Word forbids. Just being a discontent hater and, murmuring…

“Do everything without grumbling and arguing,”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:14‬ ‭CSB‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
(For my theologians out there- yes I understand the immediate context of this text, however this can easily be applied to every aspect of the Christian life)

Oh how easy it is to judge another man instead of loving him and receiving the much good of the message that was preached! Mature people eat the meat and spit out the bones. But sadly, it seems that for many it is far too easy for them to desire another church, another pastor, or a better specific method of preaching, INSTEAD of loving and serving the church they have, loving and helping the pastor they have, and looking for the good in what was preached instead of judging with arms crossed as the expert that most certainly are not. There seems to be at least one in every crowd these days. Especially moreso among certain circles that shall not be named. That overly critical spirit is one of the ugliest personality traits a child of God can show, ESPECIALLY when its towards another brother or sister in Christ.

Let us be very careful as to how we treat our spiritual family. Philippians 2 teaches us that the humility of Christ is what brings unity in His church. And the lack of humility in any member of the church for any reason, will only bring division and the opposite of what Christ wants from us.
Pray.

“Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭4:8‬ ‭‬‬‬‬

“A fool does not delight in understanding, but only wants to show off his opinions.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18:2‬ ‭

“The one who has knowledge restrains his words, and one who keeps a cool head is a person of understanding.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭17:27‬ ‭

 

 

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SALGADO DR MISSION NEWSLETTER

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

First we want to thank everyone who prays for and  financially supports our family and ministry regularly so that we can serve and continue to bring the Gospel to the Dominican people. We are thankful to the Lord for you and your faithfulness.

There are many things to report this month, but in this letter I would like to share some important prayer requests:

Please pray for Christen, over the last few months she was diagnosed with elevated blood pressure. A couple of months ago it got so high that she was not allowed to leave the clinic until they got it under control. She is now taking medication for it. But recently she has had pain in her chest, jaw and the back of her neck. We had many tests run and everything came back fine, thank God. But the symptoms come and go. The heart doctor said it is stress related. She did pull a muscle in her chest picking up Yeison with one arm, but other than that, all the symptoms she has been experiencing seems to be from stress. Between the school, the family and ministry, things seem to be catching up with her and affecting her health. Please pray for her.

Please pray for Yeison, last Friday he swallowed a large coin. We have been back and forth to the hospital with him many times this week. He is acting fine but the coin still has not come out. Every X-Ray shows progress but he has been constipated which really slowed things down. It’s been over a week and we still have yet to confirm that it has come out. The doctors said that as long as he does not have pain, and there is no swelling of the belly not to worry. But it’s been over a week and it’s hard not to.

We are giving him medicine that stimulates the intenstines and helps him “go”, but please pray. We are going very soon to do another X-ray to see if it has come out or not. It is possible he went to the bathroom and flushed without us knowing (which would be great if it is gone), but as far as we know it’s still in there.

Aside from that, we need to start taking him to physical therapy for his legs again. We are noticing one of his feet is turning outward more than it used to. We especially need prayer that the US embassy here would approve a visa for him which would allow him to travel to the states with us. It’s been over six years now with no furlough and it’s time for a break. But we can’t leave him behind. He has a passport and we have papers showing legal guardianship, but we just need the visa. Please pray for this.

Please pray for me as well. I had become ill and have had lots of symptoms which had us a little worried. I lost almost 25 lbs., had sever pain in the abdomen, vomiting and stomach issues. The doctors ran lots of tests and even an endoscopy and biopsy which cost us almost $400 since I do not have insurance. My hair has begun falling out too. The results… a mild case of gastritis!? That is all they could find! Now this didn’t make much sense to me and I expected worse news,  but the doctors said this too is mostly stress related and it has begun to affect my health.

The last few months have been a whirlwind of problems between the church and all the worries that come with pastoring (especially in this context), the discouragement from the sinfulness of sin  and how it slowly destroys people you love, shortage of resources, carrying such a large burden here and how it is now impacting even our health, expensive vehicle repairs, it seems to just be catching up to us and it is finally showing. Please pray that the Lord would allow Yeison to be approved for a visa. Only then could we go home and rest for a season. We realize that we really need it.

The church is doing well and we are seeing significant spiritual growth in a few people and regularly seeing new faces, that is good news! Our series in Philippians seems to be edifying many, certainl myself in my study and preparation. I am very thankful for what the Lord is teaching us as a church, us as a family, and  personally through this absolutely rich and wonderful letter.

Pray for Trinity who is in the states working for a while trying to save money. She is still planning on going to Indonesia but is still quite a way from reaching her goal and January is coming faster than we know it. We regularly share her fundraiser from our Facebook page. You can also find it on gofundme.com under “Trinity serving in Indonesia”.

We are also at a point where we really need the classrooms at the church property. Please pray that the Lord would provide the resources to be able to finally begin building. During service the children are in the kitchen or sitting outside in the the sun. We hope that a church or group of churches would be willing to take this on as a project. Pray and consider if this could be something you can be a part of. Please pray and share these prayer requests with your churches and friends. Thank you and God bless!

In service to our Lord and King,

Antonio Salgado and family

Salgado DR Mission