BCMS UPDATE FROM THE MISSION FIELD

 Monthly Newsletter: Dominican Republic, Haiti, Venezuela 

 

Greetings from the field, everyone!

This month has been a whirlwind of activity for our missionary team serving in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Venezuela. Below are some of the highlights of the activities over the last month:

 

Preaching & Bible Studies:

 

The team has been busy spreading the Gospel and teaching the Bible in various communities. By God’s grace, Pastor Job has continued his Bible study in Laguna Prieta, despite the challenges there, by God’s grace, things are going well. In Yaguita del Pastor, Francisco is teaching and preaching on a regular basis. In August, we held an activity in his church distributing school supplies to vulnerable children and presented the Gospel to them and their family members present. Victor and Job will begin working together on outreach efforts in Hato Mayor, beginning with an apartment complex on the backside of the barrio. There is a good brother who lives in that complex and there is an available common area where we can meet, Lord willing. 

 

Frantzdy, our dedicated brother in Pedernales, continues to serve tirelessly despite facing immense challenges, including a slow but steady gunshot wound last Novemeber. His commitment to the people is truly inspiring. Apart from the the church services, Bible studies and prayer meetings, there are four other spots in the town that he visits regularly to share the Gospel and give Bible studies, all with people in vulnerable situations. He also frequently goes to another church that he planted in Cerro de Aguila to preach and teach. Pray for Frantzdy his continued recovery.

In Juana Mendez, Haiti, apart from local church activities and studying for his  bachelor’s degree in theology, Leonel is actively reaching out to new believers, leading Bible studies, and even visiting a local prison to share the Gospel. He has also begun sharing the Word of God in the nursing home in Juana Mendez. He is often invited by other churches and ministries in the area to teach.

Rafael, serving in Maracay, Venezuela, has been visiting and sharing the Gospel with Mr. Ines and Mrs. Nora. He’s also providing food and support to other individuals in need, like Nina and her family, and giving continued follow-up visits with those who have professed Christ, or are receptive to the Gospel.  We are now praying and planning for a new Bible study in his home soon, Lord willing. Pray 

 

Outreach & Community Engagement:

 

We’ve been actively involved in the communities of our team’s local churches, organizing workshops, providing food, and supporting those in need. A workshop on evangelism and missions brought together representatives from several Dominican and Haitian congregations from Puerto Plata to Santiago. By God’s grace, it went very well and are inviting those who attended the workshop to our online teachings coming later this month. We have created a group in order to maintain communication with those brothers and sisters, and to give follow up from the teachings. 

In Juana Mendez, Leonel organized food donations and a worship service for a home for the elderly. By God’s grace, we received a donation that will cover the cost of the monthly food provision to continue to show the love of Christ and the Word of God to this group of very vulnerable people. Pray for the salvation of this group since they are nearing the end of their lives here on earth.

 

Challenges & Growth:

 

It’s important to acknowledge the challenges that many missionaries face. This in in the context of many American missionaries serving overseas. Many leave the field within the first five years due to various reasons. However, with our team of nationals, that is much less likely to happen. They know and are used to the lifestyle and the challenges, and the team remains dedicated and resilient. 

 

Some of the recent challenges we’ve faced include, poverty, a lack of technology for some team members for quality recording of activities in pictures and videos as evidences of the activities held by the team. There are also the usual field conditions like power outages and inadequate shelter for meetings, the need for bibles and study resources for the team and those they serve. There are also some recent transportation difficulties in the DR. 

 

I need to travel within the country and visit Haiti soon, but sometimes, getting around can be challenging if it’s far. To reach Haiti, I can take a bus and meet Leonel at the border. No problem with transportation there, other than the obvious risks due to the present situation in the country. However, the van has taken a beating over the years. There are several men in different parts of the country I need to meet and spend time with in regard to expanding our efforts and taking the teachings from the workshop on evangelism and missions. While the van still runs well for daily errands here in the city and even a little further, I’m hesitant to travel long distances more than 2–3 hours away in it. Especially after it heated up twice on a mountain road recently. 

 

Near the city I feel things are easier to find. But, to breakdown far from home, find a trustworthy mechanic or getting it back to Santiago would be expensive and somewhat of a nightmare here. Especially if far from any decent sized city because car parts are scarce in many areas outside the main cities. When I lived in Esperanza, I often had to drive all the way to Santiago to find parts, often spending the entire day shop to shop until the needed part was finally found. Unknown mechanics can be risky and often not trustworthy. I speak from experience.

 

Some might say that a cheap motorcycle would be a quick solution. For city travel, it is ideal and more cost-effective. I even used to travel quite far for ministry on the one I had. As far as Jarabacoa in the mountains, Cotuí, La Isabella and Punta Rucia. However, after not one, not two, but three accidents on a motorcycle in this country, unless it is absolutely necessary, I’d rather not. I am a risk-taker, you have to do things out of your comfort zone from time to time, but not all risks are always wise. Yeison needs me, and I want to be there for him.

 

Pray that the Lord would provide for the rental vehicles when I need to travel, or eventually provide for a more reliable and tougher vehicle, ideal for the bad road conditions and mountains here. Rental cars can be affordable here, but require a minimum 2-3 day rental. I’d be very content with whatever the Lord provides. I just need to be able to get around more frequently in a reliable form of transportation for those longer trips.

 

Future Plans:

 

We’re excited about upcoming plans. We’ll be continuing our virtual conference series on the Gospel. The next session will be on September 21st, focusing on “The Gospel for the World” and “The Gospel for the Church” in another session if time does not allow us to finish that day. Following that, on September 28th, we’ll have a teaching session led by our own team member, brother Rafael Rodriguez. Please pray for the expositors of God´s Word and the edification of the hearers of these sessions.

 

Please Pray For:

 

Our team members and their ongoing ministry efforts.

Strength, continued faithfulness, wisdom, and protection for our team.

More laborers for the harvest.

Opportunities for further outreach.

The name of Christ to be lifted up among those we are reaching and further.

 

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Soli Deo Gloria

In Christ,

Antonio Salgado & the BCMS team

 

Please pray for our BCMS workers serving faithfully in hard places. May the Gospel continue to go forth, to God be the glory.

If the Lord so lies on your heart to give back to Him by supporting this ministry, you can easily donate online through PayPal. Click the donate button below to send support of any amount directly to the ministry. This is the fastest option to get funds to the mission field.

 

 

Also,

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

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

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

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

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

https://www.cmcmissions.org/donate

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

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

Whatever you decide, thank you so much for praying for us. Grace and peace.