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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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THE FATHER OF MERCIES AND COMFORTER IN OUR AFFLICTIONS

Let’s face it, everyone has problems they are dealing with. And it can be hard, very hard. Whether it be some bad news about your health, a life changing or terminal diagnosis of a child or someone very close to you. It could be behavioral issues of a small child or a rebellious teen, marital strife, loss of employment or some other financial crisis that can seriously compound and worsen any of these issues. To be sure it can happen in the seemingly safest of environments. How much more will it happen on the mission field, in a different context than your own, far from all that was once dear and familiar. Where stress and dangers are multiplied and difficulty becomes a way of life. It  just comes with the territory. Our difficulties at times can be rooted in our own sin, neglect or irresponsibility. Or we could find ourselves caught in the crossfire of someone else’s sin. Or just the effects of a fallen world on those closest to us. It can still affect us deeply.

It can be enough to send someone spiraling into depression or some other unhealthy state of mind or spiritual low that feels like an inescapable dark valley of despair. During those moments God can seem distant and our prayers and groans of anguish towards heaven can even feel to us as if they go unheard. Thank God that is not the case! But if we are honest, it can feel that way sometimes. As believers we can be  truly trusting the Lord through the storm, but it doesn’t always make it easier, humanly speaking. We may even find ourselves at our wits end, crying out in fear like the disciples did on the boat “Lord save us! We are going to die!”

Even though a season of peace and tranquility may be coming afterwards (maybe), at the moment, it can feel crushing and almost too much to bear. Some suffer for a for a season, some deal with it for a lifetime.

“Even when I go through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—they comfort me.” – Psalm 23:4

Many “storms” in life wreak havoc and leave a path of destruction in their wake just like actual  storms. And just like an actual storm, it usually takes a long time to “rebuild” after the damage has been done. Some storms can be life changing and for some, even life ending. Many find themselves in shock and rattled to the core, left only to mourn over their situation  and pick up the pieces as they move forward limping from the traumatic and hurtful experience. This happens every day to some people, for different periods of time, somewhere. We should not be surprised. We should actually learn to expect it eventually if we understand what Scripture says about the fallen nature of the world in which we live and the effects of sin as long as we live here.

God does in fact give us more than we can handle. Please don’t be one of those people who says that He doesn’t, or that He only does so because He knows we can handle it (as if were were actually so strong in and of ourselves). If we could do it on our own and in our own strength, we wouldn’t need Him. Gideon comes to mind. (And may I briefly say, the popular but often misquoted verse in 1 Corinthians does not mean what you may think it means.)

The Lord brings suffering to our lives more often than we like. But He has His reasons and we must trust Him through it. We must. Sure we can know God’s plan and will in general, but His plans for us as individuals in the details of our lives are not so easy to see or understand sometimes. God’s plans for us are often quite different from ours.

But if we find ourselves really struggling while suffering, we should ask ourselves this.  When things get hard, where else can we really go? Where does our help really come from? Sure the Lord will use people as a means to comfort us and help us, but ultimately only He can give us peace. True peace. Where will we find our strength to endure other than in our Lord’s unchanging nature, faithful promises in Christ and loving care?

He is our Strong Tower, our Rock, our Shield and Fortress to which we run to for comfort,  shelter and peace. Only in Christ are we truly safe and apart from Christ we can do nothing.

The Lord is my shepherd;
I have what I need.- Psalm 23:1

I’m reminded of a well known modern hymn that beautifully says:

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

 

Beautiful moving words right? But the question is, do we believe it? Do we really believe Him? Do we really trust Him? Do we really believe that He is good? Do we really believe that He is working out all things for good for those who love Him even when we can’t see it? It is important to remember that regardless of what we believe, He will be glorified. Even through the seemingly most terrible of circumstances. But we must also remember that He is a kind, compassionate, unchanging and faithful Father and draw near to Him. We must learn to abide in Christ. His Sovereign hand and love for his people will be the pillow we rest our weary heads on.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart celebrates, and I give thanks to him with my song. – Psalm 28:7

The unchanging nature of God is an anchor that keeps us clinging to the Rock that shall never fail us or cast us out during those difficult moments, or ever for that matter if you are in Christ. As I write this many people I love come to mind. Close family members and family in the faith who are presently dealing with some of the very things I mentioned at the beginning, or even worse at this very moment. Pray for us and other missionaries close to us that know of these storms all too well. But also pray for those in your church who are suffering. A neighbor, a friend or maybe even someone in your own household.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.- 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

To them I can only say  trust Him,  praise Him, get alone with Him and His Word and pray. He is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in our affliction. The Lord is our Shepherd, we have what we need. If we persevere, we will be more like Jesus when it’s over. And believe it or not, we will even be thankful for those difficult but transforming storms in our lives. Pray.

I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.- Charles Spurgeon

Written by 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.

 

 

Posted on

Salgado DR MIssion Newsletter

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

Seven years ago we were getting on a flight to move to the DR. It sure doesn’t feel like it’s been that long and man has it gone by fast! Looking back we can see God´s grace and mercy countless times in our marriage, family and ministry. To Him alone be all the glory of any and all good that may have been accomplished in us and through us.

The kids started school here on Tuesday. Sahira is now a senior and Lord willing she will graduate at the end of the school year. Maya is a junior and Tonito is a sophomore. That means we will be having a child graduating each year for the next three years (Lord willing, of course)! It seems like just yesterday Trinity was graduating. This season of life has not been without it´s challenges, and we are still adjusting to the many changes the kids have gone through in the last couple of years. Continued prayers for them are appreciated as they become young adults. Yeison is the only little one left now. And although this is his third year in school, the two previous years were pre-k levels. So this is his first actual year of kindergarten. May the Lord grant them all wisdom and protect them from bad influences and temptations. Please pray for our children, including Trinity who is in Florida.

I just got back from a three day ministry trip to Haiti last Sunday. It was a short but fruitful trip. Maya came along to keep her old dad company and was very helpful. I was not able to make an extra trip to the capital in time to get the needed documents to cross the border with the mission van.  So Maya and I carried what we had and jumped on a bus to the border town of Dajabon. When we arrived we simply jumped on a motorcycle taxi to the bridge that connects Haiti and DR.  Leonel met us there with his motorcycle. We spent those three days getting back and forth with him as our transportation.

We were able to purchase  twenty one whole Bibles and ten New Testaments to take with us. Leonel has been needing Bibles for several months now. And although they weren’t as many as we wished to have taken, he was very thankful when they finally arrived.

Most of the time was spent with Leonel discussing the best possible ways to glorify God on future trips through teaching. We did a great deal of running around as he introduced me to several brothers, mostly pastors and other leaders from nearby churches. While we spoke about studying and teaching in general, most of the men I spoke with actually expressed their own desire to learn more  about Scripture in order to teach better.  And all of them were happy to hear of our desire to partner with them in this area and bring in teachers to help. This was an answer to prayer since some of them knew about my visit but we had never met before so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But two of the men specifically said that they have desired this very thing for a long time. It was encouraging to hear and perhaps a confirmation of sorts. So that´s three locations we will be teaching at on our next visit in and around Juana Mendez, Lord willing. We are thankful to God for opening this door to work with these brothers and churches. Pray for the humility of the teachers and the hearers, so that Christ´s name would be glorified and that His church would be edified.

In other news, there has been a drop in giving in recent months and unfortunately it´s at least in part to our inability to get back for longer lengths of time to report and fundraise. Sadly, it can be “out of sight, out of mind” for many churches back home. Some donors commit for a specific amount of time, whether it be six months or a year. We are thankful for them all and how God has provided our needs through each one, but we are always  in need of new donors and supporting churches in order to continue meeting all of our monthly ministry commitments. With growing ministry needs here and few visits back home, we are praying for new ministry partners. We find ourselves today with more needs than ever. Although we are short of our projected budget, we had a financially stable season where we paid the bills and were  able to do quite a bit of ministry and still help people above and beyond the usual. But as every year donations rise and they fall. Some stop giving, new ones start giving. God has been faithful to provide, but it has always been through His church, faithful , mission minded brothers and sisters back home. And we know that is how He will continue to provide for us.

The difficulty in fundraising now is that we are unsure when we will be able to get back to the states again. We ask that you please consider helping by praying often, giving generously and sharing the needs of this ministry with others. Your donations not only go to meet our family´s needs, but also the nationals we support, the church that was planted and all the expenses of ministry that come with those. Though we believe in keeping the main thing the main thing, we also believe in our responsibility to love, pray for and help,  bearing the burdens of others, especially those in the family of faith. Everything costs money and we could use your help during this low point in giving. Please consider helping us by:

  1. Praying- Please pray consistently and often  for our family and the ministry the Lord has entrusted to us.
  2. Giving- It would certainly help the financial strain we are experiencing if are willing and able to give an extra gift this month above and beyond your present commitment.
  3. And by sharing – Sharing the needs and prayer requests with others who can possibly help by becoming a ministry partners with us in praying giving and possibly even coming and serving.

It is important that you know who you give to and what your donations are going towards. For this reason we ask anyone who is willing, to come and visit us to see what we do here. We do wish more were willing to visit and see for themselves what the Lord has done and is doing. For pastors and teachers we need some to be willing to join us in our encouraging and teaching the nationals laboring faithfully with very little. But it is also an opportunity for those interested in serving the Lord in missions to come and get their “feet wet” a little. We are willing to open our home for those who wish to come for either reason. You can contact us through this website or at salgado@bcmissionarysociety.org.

In a praise report, we do finally have health insurance.  Christen is also feeling much better since her latest experience with parasites and several symptoms such as rashes, hair loss and stomach issues . We have been “deworming” everyone in the house over the last few weeks just in case anyone else may be carrying uninvited visitors.

The church in Hato Mayor is doing well and meeting regularly Sundays and Wednesdays. We also have a teacher giving English classes on Saturdays to many children in the community which is helpful in meeting new families nearby. Pray that this would open doors to share the Gospel with the children’s  families.

Here are some of the needs and prayer requests we ask you to prayerfully consider:

Pray for one dear sister of the church named Arelis who recently discovered she has breast cancer. This is the same sister who cares for her husband who had a bad stroke over a year ago. Please pray for her during this trying season.

Please pray about helping with our children’s schooling. This is one of our biggest financial needs we have as a family right now.

Please pray for our new ministry endeavors working together with nationals teaching both in the DR and in Haiti. For wisdom in the planning and for the funds necessary to carry them out. If you are interested in coming and joining us in reaching and teaching others, or are able to financially support this effort, contact us at salgado@bcmissionary society.org.

We are thankful and in awe at what the Lord has done over the last seven years. We pray that there is still much more in store for us for God’s glory, and that we may also be a means of blessing to those in need, especially those faithful but struggling men laboring in difficult places for the glory of Christ.

Pray.

In service to our King,

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 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 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. 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.

 

Posted on

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.

 

Posted on

Being Forgiven And Being Forgiving

“bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3:13‬ ‭CSB‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

The Gospel is not just for the unbelieving world. The Gospel is very much for us believers too. We must never stop remembering. We must never stop preaching the Gospel to ourselves first, because we are indeed forgetful creatures. We must never stop looking to the cross in awe and wonder of what God has done, at the fact that we ourselves can be forgiven.

It was Charles Spurgeon who once said,

“While others are congratulating themselves, I have to lie humbly at the foot of Christ’s cross & marvel that I am saved at all.”

The pardon we receive really is very humbling, but it is also very liberating. How so you might ask? This Gospel mentality frees us and reminds us of the extent of God´s grace towards us in the death of His Son on the cross. It also reminds us of the depth of our own sin and the offense it is to God. Far more offensive and wicked than any sin anyone else has ever committed against us. For our sin is ultimately against our Creator, a God so Holy, so absolutely set apart, and with infinitely more worth than we as mere creatures have in and of ourselves.

But when we “get” the Gospel, really grasping why the death of Christ was necessary and it´s implications, we are freed from thinking higher of ourselves than we ought to. We also must recognize that unforgiveness and bitterness is a poison that is most toxic to our own hearts. And it is often our pride that is at the root of it. We should definitely be humbled by the grace demonstrated at the cross, but this grace should enable us to truly forgive others too. We may struggle at times, when the hurt is deep and person who hurt us is someone near and dear. We may get things wrong and go about things imperfectly. But the Spirit of God in us will cause us to desire to forgive, and we will eventually come to a place of true forgiveness towards others.

As Christians, we should be a forgiving people. Preaching the Gospel to ourselves and meditating on our own standing before God is most helpful when we struggle to forgive others, for it is a constant reminder of God´s grace towards us, AND the depth of our own sin. A sin so wicked and deep rooted in our own hearts, that it was only by the death of the Son of God that it could be paid for.

And it is indeed paid for. There are no more consequences or wrath reserved for us because Christ took it all upon Himself. All of it. For this reason ” there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” For those who are in Him. Yes, even those who you are having a hard time forgiving, if they are believers, their sin is covered. We have been shown a grace so wonderful and a love so transcendent, so beyond our understanding, that we will worship for all of eternity absolutely amazed that we actually were forgiven.

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:4-5‬ ‭CSB‬‬‬‬‬‬

So pray, then go ahead and forgive that person. Don´t waste anymore time feeling bitter´and harboring such feelings. Your wounds will heal, and you will grow from this experience. Be “imitators of God,”  by showing grace and being forgiving.

Along with Spurgeon, I too must often..

“..have to lie humbly at the foot of Christ’s cross & marvel that I am saved at all.”

If we are in Christ we are forgiven, completely, fully, perfectly. Therefore, one of the distinctive marks of being a Christian, is to forgive others, just as we too have been forgiven.

Written by Antonio Salgado Jr.

Posted on

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: La historia de Yeison (version en español)

“Muchos de ustedes saben acerca de la adopción de nuesto hijo Yeison. Muchos de ustedes saben que lo hemos tenido desde que tenía solo tres meses, saben que nació de una madre que presenta una discapacidad mental y que vive en circunstancias muy pobre y difíciles.

Pero aquí hay algo más que tal vez muchos no saben…

Y es que nuestro hijo es un producto de una violación. Su madre fue abandonada, maltratada y violada por un hombre desconocido y más tarde se descubrió que ella estaba embarazada. Esto es trágico y horrible, y todo aquel que cometa este delito debe ser llevado a la justicia. ¡Castrado incluso!

Sin embargo, agradezco a Dios que el aborto no es legal aquí en Rep. Dominicana. Al menos no lo es todavía, aunque lamentablemente puede ser solo un cuestión de tiempo.

Su madre biológica debido a su condición tiene la capacidad mental de un niño de cuatro o cinco años y nunca puede vivir sola y siempre necesitará atención, aun así ella sabe que tiene un hijo, sabe su nombre y tambien lo ama. Al mismo tiempo estoy seguro de que ella recordará lo que le sucedió, y tal vez no pueda procesar todo lo que sucedió durante esa experiencia traumática.

La pregunta es, ¿es culpa de Yeison?

Pues no, por otro lado lo que otros no saben es que Christen (quien es mi esposa) y yo habíamos estado orando durante algunos años para tener otro hijo el cual no podíamos concebir. Es cierto que al principio yo no quería volver a empezar de nuevo. Nuestros hijos estaban grandes y yo tenía mis planes. Pero mi esposa oró por mí y el Señor cambió mi corazón.

Oramos por un largo tiempo, y curiosamente, durante ese tiempo, Dios nos tenia trabajando en un lugar donde no teniamos recursos, solo compartiamos el evangelio, daba estudios bíblicos y predicaba con frequencia.

Luego el Señor orquestó las cosas de tal manera que no solo contestó nuestras oraciones, sino que nos puso en una posición para ayudar a Yeison, a su madre y a la hermana quien cuida ahora de ella. Yera (su madre biológica) está en una situación mucho mejor hoy que el día en que la encontramos con el bebé Yeison, por la gracia de Dios.

Probablemente habría muerto si el Señor no hubiera cruzado nuestros caminos. Yeison estaba malnutrido y deshidratado cuando lo encontramos. La madre de Yera se estaba muriendo a causa del cáncer y Yera no tenía idea de cómo cuidar de él. Ella ni siquiera podía cuidar de sí misma.

Pero esto me hizo pensar y realmente me horroriza pensar, ¿qué hubiera pasado si el aborto fuera legal aquí?

Estoy casi seguro de que tendríamos un hijo menos de lo que tenemos hoy. Me rompe el corazón solo en pensarlo. Incluso en casos de violación, como con nuestro hijo, el niño nunca debe ser quien pague el precio. Nunca está bien asesinar a un niño en el vientre de su madre.

Si Dios quiere, Yeison podría ser el primero de su familia en estudiar y tal vez en ir a la universidad. Hoy en día es bilingüe y muy brillante. Lo amamos tanto y realmente no podríamos imaginar la vida sin él el día de hoy. Sus hermanos lo aman y lo cuidan. Él ha traído tanta alegría a nuestra familia y Dios nos ha enseñado mucho a través de él durante los últimos cinco años. Estoy muy agradecido de que el Señor le haya permitido a Yeison nacer en un país donde el aborto todavía no es legal, o él no estaría con nosotros hoy. Solo pensarlo hace que mi corazón se ponga pesado. El aborto es asesinato, y aunque debemos ser amables al abordar el tema, los cristianos deben trabajar juntos para ponerle fin. Ministrar y dar esperanza a quienes hayan tenido un aborto y que ahora sienten la profunda pérdida y el dolor.

Cuando veo a Yeison me veo a mí mismo. Él es un recuerdo constante del Evangelio para nosotros. Porque cuando no éramos hijos de Dios, Cristo vino a rescatarnos y a través de Él, podemos ser ADOPTADOS en la familia de Dios.

Para mí, aparte del matrimonio, la adopción es una de las imágenes más hermosas del Evangelio.

El Creador Todopoderoso se convierte en nuestro Abba Padre. Pasamos de ser enemigos perdidos y rebeldes a convertirnos en hijos e hijas privilegiados. Esto hace que mi corazón se regocije y sea extremadamente agradecido.
Esto debería motivarnos a adorar apasionadamente y vivir para él. ¡Alabado sea Dios de quien todas las bendiciones fluyen!

Que vivamos y actuemos de tal manera que las personas puedan ver el Evangelio en todas las áreas de nuestras vidas y que de ningún modo sea de palabras solamente.”

By: Antonio Salgado

Ministerio: Salgado D R Mission
web: www.salgadodrmission.com