Dear friends, mission partners, brothers and sisters in Christ,
Our family:
We are so thankful for the prayers and financial gifts of the many generous people that helped us during Nito’s sickness due to the dengue fever and a bacterial infection he had in his body. The doctor’s think that due to the infection he had, his immune system was weak and that is why the dengue hit him so hard. There were a couple of very scary moments to be honest. The doctor said that at one pint he was in a delicate and critical state. That is also the reason they kept him in the hospital an extra few days to observe him. Even after the worst part seemed to be over, the fever kept trying to come back.
But praise God he is much better now and still improving. His appetite is better, and he seems to have more energy now though he doesn’t seem to be 100% back to normal yet. He started going back to school today though he did complain about being more tired than usual. But we are thankful he is getting better and his heart rate is getting back to normal. That is definitely a good sign. We were concerned when we heard of a case of dengue in a girl here that affected her heart rate for a whole year before it retuned to normal. Usually it is much quicker than that and only lasts a few weeks when it does happen. That seems to be the case with our son. Praise God for that. We will be following up with a cardiologist in about another week or so just in case.
Please also continue to pray for Christen who is going to the doctor trying to figure out why her hair is falling out. It’s quite a bit and hasn’t stopped. She has a few appointments set up and a lot of tests to run yet. Pray for my dear wife.
In ministry:
I was recently invited to a biblical institute here that meets at a local church that is presently giving a course on missiology. I was asked to give my testimony as a missionary and share some of what I’ve learned and some of my views on missions with the students. Please pray for me. I will be speaking there next Tuesday night.
At the school I have many opportunities to share the Gospel and Scripture with teachers and students. I was asked to do a project with the high schoolers. They are mostly catholic but a majority believe in God. I decided to do a debate and have them research evolution and creationism. In the process of preparation I had many opportunities to share the Gospel and also speak on the evidences of the glory of God in creation. Because of that the students saw the foolishness of neo darwinian evolution, an atheistic worldview.
The debate then changed to theistic evolution vs. creationism. Any professing atheists in the class eventually abandoned that position and at least understood that without God, nothing made sense. Praise God for that. Nothing can come from nothing, of course. But, just because they acknowledge that there is a God doesn’t necessarily mean much.
The Bible says,
For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools .. – Romans 1:21-22
You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe—and they shudder.- James 2:19
Of course, they still need to come to repentance and saving faith in the person and work of Christ. Please pray for them.
But, this stimulated good conversations, challenging questions and even philosophical problems they began to see for themselves. I was impressed at the level of deep thinking of some of them. A couple on the creationism side spoke of Jesus quoting and confirming Genesis as real history. They spoke of morality, absolute truth, and more. But more importantly than the debate itself, they are listening. I have a voice with them, and they are always asking questions now. Questions like what do you mean someone has to pay for our sin? What does a missionary do? How do you know the Bible is true?
For English comprehension exercises I use texts of Scripture and together we ask questions of the text. My class often becomes a Bible study! And often there are other teachers and assistants in the class listening, sometimes intently. It’s kind of crazy how much the Director, who is a liberal catholic, allows and approves of me doing this with the students. Pray for her too. Pray for these students, that the Lord would use these Gospel opportunities and exposure to biblical truth to save some there. The seeds are being sown. The Lord has Christen and I there for a reason.
The church is doing well and on Wednesday nights we have been meeting for prayer and Bible study in homes instead of the church building. In the past this has brought growth that comes through inviting neighbors and family members of those hosting the meeting. We pray to see this happen again. Pastor Victor is doing a great job and himself has a growing love for missions and missionaries which we now pray for every Wednesday night. That has been beautiful to watch happen. Pray for him, his family and for the church to grow in knowledge, holiness, love and in numbers.
Pray for BCMS too, that we can do more in supporting and equipping the nationals we work with and the necessary resources to do so. We have plans in January for a conference with a visiting expositor. We have many plans for the church of Hato Mayor and for working together with other small churches that we have relationships with. We have plans working with Leonel and a few churches in Haiti. All of this comes with expenses. Pray for our family, for the health issues we’ve had, pray for continued provision for our family’s personal needs as well. Pray for perseverance in trials and difficulties. Pray.
Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.- Ephesians 6: 19
In service to our Lord and King,
Antonio Salgado Jr.