BCMS – Updates From The DR

 

 

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

I would like to begin with a very special thanks to those who continue to support the work here in spite of the difficulties and changes that have occurred over the last couple of years. Without your help and faithfulness in the past, we would not have been able to do what has been done over the last almost ten years. God bless you.

My desire is to resume and add to much of what we have not been able to do, due to insufficient funds, continue helping, teaching and serving the people of the Dominican Republic and the many Haitians and Venezuelans who also live here among us. Right now the biggest need we have is more mission partners. Without funds, I’m stuck. Without help from brothers and sisters back home I am forced to rely on the very little bit of money  I can generate here, and it doesn’t provide enough for myself, family needs and expenses of doing ministry. I would love to resume the medical clinics, bible distributions and different outreaches and workshops we do. I would love to resume the work in Haiti with Leonel. I haven’t been physically back to Haiti since the pandemic, though Leonel and I keep in contact frequently. Sadly, I have had to draw back on some of what I was doing before the pandemic.

Right now, I am in survival mode. Almost living check to check trying to do my best with the little that trickles in these days. I make here about 1/4 of what I would make at a secular job back home. I work at the orphanage to pay my bills. Furthermore, I love the work, the children and teaching and helping others here. But it does not pay enough for me to pay my bills and do ministry and offer help to others. I really love the work, but with each passing month I am realizing the need for much more help from the outside very soon. Even so, I have still helped as many as I can, but won’t be able to soon, if something doesn’t change in the funds that come in or if new mission partners don’t come on board.

For years, we depended on the generosity of others to help me live and work and serve here, as Paul did on his missionary journeys. Praise God for the help we received over the years. When I arrived here in 2012 we came with very little, practically nothing.  And although there has been changes, there is work to do, the needs remain, and there are many. I am committed to stay. I am committed to serve. But Yeison requires help, and sometimes I fear that soon I will not be able to do so as I have in the past. Even though I trust in God’s provision, the thought of not being able to not only help people, but not even provide for my own very much terrifies me, if I am honest. My only options are to pray and ask for help.

Please share the need for help with your friends, church, or other brothers and sisters who the Lord may touch to help and become a part of the work that is being done here.

Even the Apostle Paul rode the emotional roller coaster, rejoicing at times, but suffering needs and moments of feelings of abandonment. In the letter to the Philippians writes in the beginning a very warm thank you to these special brothers and sisters.  

“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.” 1:3-5

But later in the letter we see why this church was so special and beloved by Paul. It appears that at one time, many turned their back on Paul, and in the beginning only the Philippians were willing to help him in his journeys. Later in the letter he writes:

 “I rejoiced in the Lord greatly because once again you renewed your care for me. You were, in fact, concerned about me, but lacked the opportunity to show it. I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through him[d] who strengthens me. Still, you did well by partnering with me in my hardship.

 And you Philippians know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone.

First we see how he rejoices at the fact that the Philippians gave, and even though for a time they were not able, but when able they began to send him help again. Later he states that at one time, no other church helped, they were the only ones supporting.”

I  can relate to the situation. Content with little, trusting the Lord, but not afraid to ask for help and rejoicing when brothers and sisters back home get on board and are willing to support again. To the Romans, he wrote that he expected them to help with his needs and travels. 

I am planning to go to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off in Rome. And after I have enjoyed your fellowship for a little while, you can provide for my journey. – Romans 15:24

So asking for help isn’t bad, in fact it’s biblical when working in foreign and cross-cultural ministry. Over the years things change, people change, situations change, but the work and the mission remain the same. And the need for help also remains. Please pray about becoming a mission partner and/or sharing the needs here. Thank you for your prayers and support, God bless.

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.

If the Lord so lies 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

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

You can also donate to this ministry online with Paypal. Click the donate button below and you can send support of any amount directly to the ministry. You can choose the option of doing a one-time donation and this is the fastest option to get funds to us. Click the link below for that option.

https://www.paypal.me/SalgadoDRMission

For tax exemption, you must send your donation through Central Missionary Clearinghouse (CMC) at the address above. 

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 and helping this ministry. God Bless You!

 

Update from the Antonio in the DR

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

In the last newsletter, I explained some changes in life here. I will still remain here to raise Yeison and desire to continue the work, but I cannot do so, or at least not very well, without some help. Since the school I worked at changed their language program, I found myself without the monthly income that helped, a lot, even though it wasn’t much. Thank God, I am now working with the same orphanage we used to visit and serve. But the income here is not much at all either, and I am finding myself in a financial difficulty.

At the orphanage I am the supervisor of operations, that means I only have one boss above me, the founder. But the responsibility is immense. Every need that the child has from the moment they enter to the moment they leave is my responsibility.

If a child gets sick, I must be sure they get the medical attention quickly and keep records of everything. When they go to school, when some may have appointments with family members or government officials, I must make sure they get there. I must be sure they have supervision around the clock and everything they need at all times. Thankfully, I have a team of supervisors and caregivers under me, but the logistics of it all is still mind-boggling. There is a lot to still learn, but I feel like I’m finding my place there, and they are pleased with my work, by God’s grace. There are also innumerable opportunities to minister to the children there, and the Gospel is a priority.

I can use the ministry van there to help transport children and youth to their activities. Recently, two different camps right before the start of the school year. One was more recreational, the other more spiritually focused with the older boys up in the mountains. The orphanage is also connected to a good church in this city, which I attend now.

I am personally studying strategic planning for non-profit, and biblical counseling through a program in Lafayette, Indiana. That has been a tremendous blessing too, but also a ton of more work. The boss wants me to take other courses, but I think I am full for now. Between the workload, the extra reading and studying and a little time for Yeison in the evenings, I’m going full speed 12-14 hours a day, six days a week. I thank God that I still feel pretty good and still have my health for now.

Working with the children is rewarding, but it is also extremely difficult. Children that come there come from some of the worst situations you could imagine, and  it really is heartbreaking. But the place really is much more than an orphanage. They have their own school, they go to church and have several kinds of programs, agriculture, painting, technology, etc. There are plans for a center for women who are victims of abuse and much more. Thankfully the staff is helpful, patient, experienced and mostly Christian. The children there attend church, have daily devotions, and are saturated with a Christian worldview and biblical principles. Praise God for that.

At one point last month, I almost had to leave this job for another job opportunity (due to a little desperation at the time) that would have left me needing to commute to another town every day. But when I told the director of my present job that I may have to end my employment with them for a better opportunity, they asked me to stay and matched the other salary that was offered to me. Almost immediately, so at least I feel like I’m doing a good job there. Now, to be clear, even with the raise in income I make less than $900 USD a month. Only about $220 a week! Don’t get me wrong, I am extremely grateful for my job. And yes, SOME things may be cheaper here, but some things are also much more expensive, especially fuel. I could easily burn through at least $100USD a week just with my normal routine. Thankfully, at least I won’t have to commute now. But it’s not much at all to pay all the bills and raise a young child.

Sadly, because of the financial hardships, I have had to cut support to some who depended on us in the past. Tough times call for drastic measures, literally, but I am really uncomfortable after so many years of helping others, and now not being able to, and even finding myself in need. By God’s grace, a dear family I have known for years helped me a few months back with what allowed me to resolve many needs and get by until now. But, things are getting rough again quick, and I’m in survival mode. I have fallen way behind, sending Leonel in Haiti financial help. We often speak, but his needs are great too and the feeling of helplessness definitely looms overhead. Not being able to help with his needs are one of the things that bother me the most. He has been such a good and faithful friend, fellow servant and brother over the years.

Yeison´s uniforms and school supplies alone cost over $300 USD just because it’s a good school, and they require a lot. Thank God that this is the same school I taught at, and they decided to give him a scholarship this year, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to pay it. Everyone that meets Yeison just falls in love with him. And the school was very clear when they told me that they have never given anyone else a scholarship, ever. So I definitely see God’s provision there and am very thankful for that.

Yesterday, the clutch went out on the van and there are other repairs needed that I just can’t cover at the moment. I barely made it home. I have no doubt that God will provide for needs again as He has in the past, but to be honest, humanly speaking, the situation makes me very nervous. I’m surviving, but the help I received in the past from mission partners has dwindled to almost nothing. Sometimes I understand, other times I just don’t and struggle for a little while to be honest.

Yeison is growing up quick and doing very well, but he does struggle in school a little. A test we did on his brain just under two years ago determined that the central part of his brain processes a little slower than average. But for the most part, he is doing well and learning a lot of big boy stuff like organizing his room, washing dishes and folding and putting away his clothes. So I thank God for that. Please pray for us, God’s provision and that I can maintain my workload and continue to do well at the orphanage. They also receive volunteers and donations and I can put you in direct contact with the department that handles that if you wish to visit the facility or to donate be a part of something beautiful being done here you will find a link below for donations directly to the Fundación Red de Misericordia. Thank you and God bless.

In Christ,

Antonio Salgado

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

To donate to me personally, the work I do here in the DR and financial help for Yeison and I, you can donate at this link through PayPal.

https://www.paypal.me/SalgadoDRMission

To donate directly to Fundación Red de Misericordia to help with the needs of the children we work with, you can donate at this link:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=GKASFXK6R4EYC&source=url

Salgado Newsletter BCMS

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

I would first like to express my gratitude to all the mission partners who have prayed for, supported, and even visited us over the last nine years. We are extremely grateful for each and every one of you that God has used to help us continue the work here, share the Gospel, help us with Yeison’s (and the rest of our family’s) needs and for every encouraging message to let us know that there were always countless people praying for us and those we have been serving. When we were in hard financial times, when one of us were sick, when loneliness and other hardships came and went, I have no doubt that it was through the many prayers of the saints that God continued to help us and provide in every situation.

It is STILL humbling to remember how everything started. Almost nine years ago, my family and I came here to live full time to serve with pastor Jose. We came here by faith and with very little support. We spent almost three years working with him and the three churches that were planted there in and around Esperanza. We visited the country, kept in touch with him and would send financial help during nearly five years prior to the move. Through a series of events, the Lord opened the door for us to serve in Santiago. Eventually, a church was planted in Hato Mayor which is still doing well and has their own Dominican pastor now, by the grace of God.

There were ups and downs as always of course. Some of us got sick many times. Most of us have had our share of dengue, chikungunya, parasites and bacterias (including shigella). I was involved in a few motorcycle accidents and fell ill quite a few times myself. But the Lord continued to work through weak and broken vessels. Besides health problems, there were marital issues, family issues, financial issues and other situations (including opposition quite often), that at times, had me in despair. We suffered in silence many times. The kinds of things you don’t read about in newsletters. Most missionary families have real issues but are afraid to speak about them. Between the pressures of living in a foreign context, far away from family and the fear of losing needed support. Only a few trusted people close to us knew all that we had endured and were enduring on a personal level. Most people only saw the pictures and videos in the posts on social media. Mostly the good side. But there was always so much more, that often had us to our limits. The pandemic certainly hit us hard too.

Some children came to live with us for a time over the years, but then would move on. Yeison and Sahira stayed with us. Our own kids grew up. They spent at least half their life here in the DR. But over time, our children began moving out and becoming independent one by one. The family has certainly been through many changes, especially over the last 1-2 years, and our family looks much different today than it used to. Trini left a couple of years ago and is married now. Maya moved a year ago and just graduated high school. She has a car and is working and planning for college. Nito is working and became independent and recently moved out on his own here in the DR. There have been many family issues, and we desire to remove ourselves from the “spotlight” so to speak. Things are much different now than they were a few years ago. But there is still much that can be accomplished, and I will still be in country for Yeison. But the work will hopefully continue, Lord willing, with a few changes.

Therefore, it’s my desire that neither I, nor what’s left of the family, be the focus of anything done as ministry here in the future. Even so, my desire is not to stop the work or cut off potential help that any national partners of ours would or have received through BCMS. The plan is that although the “Salgado DR Mission” will go away, the hope is that BCMS (which started as Salgado DR Mission but grew to start and help other ministries here and even working in Haiti), would continue with the support and prayers of mission partners back home. Support has certainly gone down through these rough seasons and transitions, yet my prayer is that support would continue so that the work and help can continue as well. That the medical clinics, evangelism, help for the poor, food and school supply distribution, providing bibles and supporting nationals who we have worked with for years would continue as we function as necessary  support system, a lifeline of resources for others here, Lord willing. This all depends upon what the Lord provides through our partners back home of course. People like Leonel in Haiti come to mind, who has many needs, serves faithfully and received financial help through us for his family so that he would be able to continue ministry there.

My decision to remain in the DR, apart from overseeing the work here,  is mainly because of Yeison. After God, then our spouses, comes our children. In the case of , my next priority must be to my children, mainly Yeison since the rest are older and independent now. Just as God never abandons His children, I could never come to terms with leaving him behind for something so superficial as a better life temporarily for me. Of course, I would do better off in the States financially. Some think I should come home. Work is easier to find, there is easier access to resources and I would be closer to family. But what about Yeison? What would happen to Yeison? How would he feel? What would that do to his emotional state and his future? How could I even live with myself? He’s been with us since he was barely three months old. I just can’t come to terms with leaving him behind. My other children feel the same way. They have expressed to me how there is no way I can leave their brother. They love him very much and so do I.

This entire process has been very stressful and painful. Since the letter I wrote about the furlough and break from ministry, giving has gone down significantly. On top of that, the school I have been teaching at for a couple of years has decided that they are trying a different kind of English program that partners with another institution. Which means they are bringing their own teachers. Which also means another loss of income for me. Thankfully, the school decided to give Yeison a scholarship for next year, because everyone that meets him loves him, and wanted to somehow help me. This was purely the grace of God since right now, I cannot afford that on my own.

So, I now find myself at a very difficult transition in life, praying for God’s guidance and relying on His provision. Ironically, after years of helping and serving others, now I find myself in need of much help myself. This letter is not only an update to our crisis, but also a very real cry for help at the same time. I did not expect to lose my job at the school and work is not easy to come by here. I admit, I worry quite a bit. I worry about Yeison and what will happen to us. I worry about how we’ll survive if support no longer came in. I worry about others who have depended on the help that came through BCMS/ Salgado DR Mission. Even with the changes, there is still much good that can be done and plenty of work to do through BCMS and the nationals here. But that takes resources and willing mission partners.

I ask all of our supporters to pray for all of this and help if you can. I have faithfully served the Lord here for almost nine years, and several years before that in our local church back home too. Please bring these requests before the Lord in prayer and consider helping, supporting and praying if you can. Thank you and God bless.

In Service to Him,

Antonio Salgado Jr,

“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 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.

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

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

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

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

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 and helping this ministry. God Bless You!

Salgado DR Mission Newsletter

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

A few update and prayer requests:

Just a few weeks ago, our second daughter Maya went back to Florida to finish school there. It was hard for us considering that it feels like just yesterday Trinity was leaving. Now our two oldest daughters will be in Florida. Those of you that follow us on Facebook may have noticed that a fews ago I went silent for a short time on social media. We were ok, but it was mostly for security reasons. Tonito traveled along with Maya and I. But that left only Christen, Sahira and Yeison at home. A short time before our trip, there was man that had been killed just a few houses away from ours. Crime is on the rise around here, and even though I usually post frequently on social media, I intentionally did not post during that time since I was not going to be home. We really felt better if most people here in the DR that follow us didn’t know I was gone, especially since it was only a short trip anyway. I personally only told Pastor Victor that I’d be gone. He offered to help with anything Christen and the kids needed, even though she handles herself well around here and is a pretty tough cookie.

Unfortunately, since the pandemic began and things got financially rough for most people, the crime here has increased. So, just in case, I tried to slip in and out of the country unnoticed for the most part. Thankfully everyone is safe and no one has gotten sick. People around here seem unsure around foreigners and those who have traveled recently anyway with COVID on the rise again. So it was just best that way all around.

Yeison has been going to therapy since his surgery and is progressing quite well. He couldn’t walk at first. Then he walked with a bit of a limp and rather uncomfortably. But he is doing better these last couple of weeks and he actually loves going to therapy now. All the workers there love him and he calls it his “gym” because of all the exercises they make him do. Please pray that he continues to make progress and can finally walk with a more natural posture.

You may have seen in the news how the hurricane came through here and did some damage. Pray for Pastor Kendar who we have partnered with to take relief to the flood victims in Hato Mayor on the East Coast. He is originally from that area and has expressed a burden to help. They got hit pretty hard with the storm that came through. There were care packages with staple food items and toiletries prepared several days ago and have been distributed. Thanks to your donations we were able to extend some help to the people there. You can contact us if you wish to help more with that, just attach a note that states “Hurricane relief” and it will be designated to provide either, food shoes or clothes for those impacted by the flooding.

Please also pray for the several pastors who are struggling financially to eat and sustain their families right now. Some were full time, some are bi-vocational. But even those who work usually do not make much, and the average churches in most areas here don’t bring in much to begin with. There are countless churches that haven’t met in months. We began doing what we can to provide some financial help for a few we know of personally. But we would need help in order to continue to do so. Thankfully, Pastor Victor and his wife have not been hurt too bad at their places of employment.  The church in Hato Mayor began to meet for a couple of weeks, but had to stop again for a time since things were tightening up around here. We are even back under a curfew, but we hope to start meeting again at the end of the month, Lord willing.

Pray for Leonel in Haiti who, despite many difficulties, has continued to do an amazing work with very little. The Gospel continues to go out and he is regularly meeting with new believers for discipleship. I haven’t been able to get back there yet, but we remain in contact and receive updates from him regularly. His children and parents are all still healthy and doing well for the most part. By Gods grace, and thanks to your donations, we were able to send a love offering to help provide for his children’s school supplies, clothes and shoes, apart from his regular support this month.

All of these things that go above and beyond our own families needs are only possible thanks to your generosity and prayers. We know that God provides through His people, and we are extremely thankful for those who support us. When we receive much, we are able to do much more. When we receive little, we do what we have always done. But we are always in need of new mission partners to help us keep up with the ministry commitments we have here like: needs in the church, medical help for the sick, Pastor Victor’s studies (which is a blessing for him and the church), Leonel’s work and family in Haiti, regular mercy ministry for the poor, the recent disaster relief, etc. Our family will always have our own bills and needs too. The Lord has continued to provide through the pandemic so far. Please pray that He would continue to show us such kindness. To Him be all the glory and honor.

We believe that your role in missions is just as important as ours. There are no “all stars” in the Kingdom. None of us even deserve to be on the team to begin with. But we can only do what we do because of your help. Those who pray for and support missionaries play a role just as important as those on the field. Consider partnering with us so that the work here may continue. Thank you if you are already a mission partner and are praying for this ministry. We will always need others to hold the rope for us on the other side, and thankful for those who have done so faithfully over the years. Thank you and God bless. To God be the glory.

In service to our King,

Antonio and Christen Salgado and family

“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 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.

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

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. This is one of the reasons why we went with CMC. There are also three trusted pastors which sit as our mission board.

You may begin sending your support to the Salgado DR Mission 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

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

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

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 and helping this ministry. God Bless You!

Salgado DR Mission Newsletter

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

We thank you for your ongoing prayers and support. May God bless you for your faithful and sacrificial giving so that we may continue to labor for the Lord here, reaching people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our daughter Maya just turned 18 years old last weekend. We have been trying to send her and Nito to Florida for at least part of the Summer. But with all the travel restrictions, it’s not looking promising for their trip as of now.  Tickets have proven very hard to find and are more expensive than the regular cost if you can get them. They go quick. We are still hoping to find something, so they can at least see the family, even if it is just for a short time. Our daughter Trinity in Tampa is also turning 20 years old tomorrow! So that has us feeling a little old, haha. The years continue to just fly by. When we first arrived here we had three young children, now we have two adult children and Nito will be 17 and passed me in height some time ago. May the Lord give us wisdom and teach us to number our days and redeem the time we have left. It is fleeting.

We finished out the month of doing lots of food distribution and evangelism. Throughout April and May we spent over $7,000 for relief funds that was used to buy food for 500 families in the DR and in Haiti. At least $1,500 more was spent for some extra things we did for a few heartbreaking special cases, and the love offerings for some beloved pastors who really needed help.  We are thankful for God’s provision in all of this since the quarantine has left many people unable to work and in great desperation.

We love serving people and getting out there preaching the Gospel, but we did have to take periodic breaks. We were still in the school year and had commitments teaching and planning during those months. It was not easy balancing those two things plus making sure our kids were where they needed to be with their school work too. Each distribution alone was about three days worth of work including purchasing, packaging, preaching and driving time while distributing. It did put us behind on some other things. But seeing the needs, it quickly became a priority for to us to help as much as we could. But by God’s grace, we got it done.

Pastor Victor was active in helping us often. He was very helpful and it was an incredible experience overall and Christ was glorified through the expressions of love for the suffering and the preaching of the Gospel. In a lot of cases we were able to preach to entire families, their neighbors and other groups near where we were working. If the people were very receptive, we spent a lot of extra time with them.

When we didn’t work in our area near the church in Hato Mayor, we were intentional about working through another local church helping them help the communities they are in. Praise God for everyone who donated to make this possible. We could not have done any of that without your help through financial support and prayers. Thank you

We have a little break from teaching English now that it’s Summer. We may need tocontinue to do it next school year though. The extra money helps, especially during the tight months and when unexpected expenses pop up.  We have other plans that need funding too, including possible ministry in another part of the island. But for right now we must focus on Yeison for a little while.

He just had a tendon extension surgery to fix his extreme toe walking condition. If not corrected, it can affect not only his gait, but also his hips, spine and the bone structure of his feet (it already has a little). Those who have followed us over the years may remember when we started this process when he was much smaller. The braces on his legs, special boots, a second pair of braces, LOTS of therapy, all in hopes of not having to operate. In the end the doctors said there was little improvement and the surgery was definitely needed anyway. We are hoping that by doing it now, he will be in good shape when the new school year starts, Lord willing.

The surgery itself was postponed twice. Once because we finally got insurance (after not having it for about seven years), but they said we had to wait a six-month period before they would cover any surgeries. Then, the pandemic put it on hold the second time. Then, as we were getting the ball rolling the third time, and having almost every single test done again, the insurance company informed us that they would not cover it. First they said due to us being foreigners we didn’t have all the coverage a Dominican could have. Then they said because it is a preexisting condition and wasn’t covered. I admit this left us very frustrated after being so close time and time again and not having some of this information sooner. We were led to believe earlier in the process that it would be covered, but oh well. We understood it would be done eventually in God’s timing. And that time finally came, shortly after we received bad news the last time.

Thankfully, some generous supporters are now covering the cost of his surgery and in the healing and therapy process. I was able to make the payment for the surgery yesterday, and he was operated this morning. God has been so gracious once again.

Most of our time on the mission field has been like this, depending on God and seeing His faithfulness and provision time and time again. Ever since the beginning. We were sent out of a tiny country church, no sending agency, with very little support,  just hoping that the Lord would confirm that this was His will for us. By God’s grace, that was almost 8 years ago now. I pray that our children never forget how much the Lord has done for us over the years, and I hope to set apart time some day to write down some of the stories, so that we can remember, give thanks to God anew and perhaps encourage others in some way by sharing them.

We still aren’t sure exactly when the church here can meet again. But it’s supposed to be very soon, and we are very much looking forward to it. In the meanwhile, we have still been communicating through messages, sharing and  watching the  sermons online as well. It will be interesting to see how this quarantine has effected people. For sure, some are eager to meet again. Others may be afraid to meet yet, probably for good reasons if they have serious health issues already. I fear that sadly, some have grown used to being at home and may have no desire to return. Time will tell and this may very well reveal more about the spiritual state of many “churchgoers” from all over.

Please pray for the church,  pray for our family, our marriage and our needs as a family. Pray for Yeison’s recovery and that the Lord would have everything turn out even better than expected.

Pray for the many people who have recently heard the Gospel and that Pastor Victor and/or I can follow up with them.

Pray also for the many people who are still in great need, having been home for so long without work or any income. We hope to be able to help more people soon. We are still humbled by the fact that God uses us at all. It is a great privilege to serve the Lord in this way, He is definitely worthy. To God be the glory!

Thank you for your love, prayers and support and God bless.

In Service to our Lord and King,

Antonio and Christen Salgado and family

 

If the Lord so lays on your heart to support this ministry in any way,  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

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. This is one of the reasons why we went with CMC. There are also three trusted pastors which sit as our mission board.

You may begin sending your support to the Salgado DR Mission 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”. Look for Antonio Salgado on the list of missionaries there.

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

Unfortunately through Paypal we are not set up for receiving recurring donations at this time. But the other online giving option above (CMC) 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 or online. 

We do not use a sending agency that gets a percentage of the money donated. Apart from the 2% that CMC charges for processing fees, you can be sure that almost your entire gift goes directly to the mission field.

Whatever you decide, thank you so much for praying for us and helping this ministry. God Bless You!

 

 

Salgado DR Mission Newsletter

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

We would first like to give thanks to God for our mission partners. Especially during these difficult times. We trust the Lord completely, but humanly speaking, we have had moments when we have been a bit concerned with the hit that the economy is taking in the US, and how that would affect the ministry here. Especially with so many people losing their jobs. But the Lord has graciously continued to provide so far. He has done so in a such a way that since April 6th, we have been able to provide food to 445 families.  We have been amazed at God’s provision in a time when we actually expected funding to go down. And though we don’t know what the future holds, our hope is to be able to continue ministry as usual if the Lord wills.

The prayers and generosity of our mission partners have allowed us to continue the Lord’s work here, and are the means that the Lord uses to provide for our family, the local church here and much more. Thank you again, for supporting and praying for our family and ministry over the years. Those who pray and give to missions play a role just as important as the missionary on the field.

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 CSB

We are still on quarantine here. The children are all doing virtual school for now and will be finishing the year this way. Christen and I are teaching English from home this way too. Sometimes it’s a challenge with two teachers and three students all online at the same time and keeping up with everything. But it’s nice being more involved with their schooling at home again, especially with Yeison. He is learning how to read now and all kinds of new things, so it has been a blessing. They are all doing good in school and seemed to have transitioned well. It was pretty easy for Maya and Nito, since they have done plenty of virtual and homeschooling in the past, even before we moved here.

We have been waiting to see if the Senate of this country approved the President’s petition for 25 more days of a state of emergency. Today 15 more days were approved. This is not good at all. The percentage of people here who depend on tiny daily wages is high. There are already families everywhere with no income or food as it is. I have seen several desperate families, some with children who have special needs,  widows or widowers who are just pleading for someone to help them, anyone. If it seems that we have been posting a lot about the situation here, food purchases and distribution trips, it is because the needs are very urgent. We are trying to help as many as we can.

The borders are still closed, so I haven’t been able to get to Haiti in a while. But we are able to send funds to Leonel for purchase and distribution there. A couple of brothers that he is discipling are helping him with that, and his children help out too. Here on the DR side, Christen has been doing most of the organizing and packing along with the kids. Usually Pastor Victor or another brother comes to help me distribute and share the Gospel with people when we go out. Sadly, it seems like just a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of people who need help. We hope to continue to help as much as we can as for as long as the Lord continues to provide. What’s the alternative, do nothing? We don’t think that is really even an option. It would be hard for us to sleep at night having food in our refrigerator, while ignoring the fact that others nearby that we know, or know of, have families and are in dire need. Of course, we are aware that we can’t help everyone, but we can certainly pray, share the needs and do our best to help some of them.

 If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food  and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? – James 2: 15-16

This has not been easy in one sense, and it brings its own tension as we are always facing the question on how much to share or not share. But the needs are real, and if people don’t know about them, how can they help? The Lord uses ordinary means to provide for His people. And because we have made the needs known and share stories of them being met, more people have been moved to give. We should probably consider the fact that taking up offerings to help the poor brothers and sisters in another part of the world is a practice almost as old as the church itself. Paul shared needs on the behalf of others, knowing that the Lord would use His church to provide for them. And they did. This has been our experience time and time again. To ease the tension we feel there, we are intentional about doing good to others in two different ways:

  1. One way is found in Matthew chapter seven,  “being salt and light” and  “doing good works before everyone so that they may glorify our Father in heaven.” These are things that we share with our supporters and followers on social media who donate to the ministry. And let’s just be honest, many people don’t read newsletters that come to them in emails anymore, but on social media more do. Most people tend to keep up with us that way.  Even then, we share very few pics considering how many are taken for our own records. If a donor wishes to see more, they can be shared with them privately. We do not seek to “sound a trumpet” or “the applause of men,” but sincerely seek to help the church and love our neighbor. If brothers and sisters back home are willing to join us in helping others, praise the Lord! It is also just a good and responsible habit to frequently communicate things with supporters back home. Of course, some will always criticize missionaries for sharing too much or not sharing enough. It’s not such an easy thing to navigate, you get criticized and compared to others often. So we try to do the best we can to honor the Lord, seek resources to help the church here and communicate with our mission partners, sharing some things we do, and keeping other things private. Which leads me to the second way of doing good to others.
  2.  There are other things that we keep between us and the Lord as it says in Matthew chapter six,  so that our giving “may be done in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” I don’t think Jesus is contradicting Himself with what He says in chapter seven. There is a time to do things before others and give God glory so that the world may know Who we serve. There is also a time to do things in secret, when our “left hand does not know what our right hand is doing”  so that we may be humble and not seek glory and applause from men. This is pleasing to the Lord. Pray that the Lord would continue to provide for us and give us the wisdom that we need in all of this.

The church in Hato Mayor continues to meet online for a Sunday message, but we communicate and exchange prayer requests daily. Everyone seems pretty anxious to gather again for worship, but we have many people with health problems in the church. I imagine that some may not come back right away out of fear of becoming sick. With the health issues that some older members have, it’s hard to blame them.

Please remember to take a moment to pray for us. Our marriage, our children, provision and our health.

Pray for the churches here, those who have no way to provide for their families, and the many people who are suffering from more than just hunger during this quarantine.

Pray for the women and children who are stuck at home with an abuser. There has been an increase in cases of abuse since the quarantine started.

Pray for those with special needs or mental illnesses who are suffering.

Pray that the church would rise up during this time and be a bold messenger of truth and hope in the midst of falsehood, anxiety and fear.

Pray that we would all seek to help the brethren in need and love our neighbor in the name of Christ for the glory of Christ

Thank you for your love, prayers and support and God bless.

In Service to our Lord and King,

Antonio and Christen Salgado and family

 

If the Lord so lays on your heart to support 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

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. This is one of the reasons why we went with CMC. There are also three trusted pastors which sit as our mission board.

You may begin sending your support to the Salgado DR Mission 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”. Look for Antonio Salgado on the list of missionaries there.

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

Unfortunately through Paypal we are not set up for receiving recurring donations at this time. 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 or online. 

We do not use a sending agency that gets a percentage of the money donated. Apart from the 2% that CMC charges for processing fees, you can be sure that almost your entire gift goes directly to the mission field.

Whatever you decide, thank you so much for praying for us and helping this ministry. God Bless You!

SALGADO DR MISSION NEWSLETTER

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

Thank you all for your ongoing prayers and support. Without your sacrificial giving and prayers we would not be able to do what we do. To God be the glory.

We have committed to a few other things in this new year. One of which  includes another church plant, Lord willing of course. It is a very new endeavor. We are assisting another couple working in the community where they live, a community we are familiar with.  Right now we are with them two days a week doing evangelism and a bible study on Fridays and a meeting on Sunday evenings. It’s in the community of the school we worked with the last two years. Please pray for this.

 

People praying for us back home play a very important role in this ministry and are very important to our family and the work we do.  Here are some other areas that you can help us with by bringing these petitions before the Lord in prayer.

Some prayer requests for our family:

– Pray for Christen that the nodules on her thyroids would shrink with the meds she is on before her next appointment in a couple of months. She is feeling better, praise God. Hopefully her blood work will get back in normal range soon. She is exercising and eating better now. Actually the whole family is now after the health problems we have had between us. So we all exercise several times a week now and have changed many eating habits. This is important for our health in general, but also for our longevity and effectiveness on the field.

– Pray for Nito. He has been well and active and eating healthy for the most part. But we still worry about him since discovering his condition. The cardiologists say he can lead a normal life and should even exercise and should not limit himself, but he may need a procedure in his fifties or sixties.  The fact that we never knew about this since his birth still kind of shocks us, but we are thankful it isn’t worse. He should see a doctor every few months to keep an eye on it. He has another appointment in a couple of months.

 

 

Prayer requests for the ministry:

– Pray for the hearers of a series in Ezra that I am teaching through in Sunday School at the church in Hato Mayor. I am moving fast and trying to cover several books of the Bible throughout the year looking at the main themes of the chapters of each book. It’s been a blessing for me studying and going through these books I haven’t taught before.

– Pray for me as I hope to get my bachelors in May. I still have a few things to turn in. My final work will be a paper about 40 pages long, but Lord willing, I can finish everything in time. I am hoping to continue my studies after that.

– Pray for a project I am a part of with several others who are working on a Theological Magazine available in Latin America and the U.S., where I am the editor of the missions section of the project. By God’s grace, my first article got published in the new issue. It was on the topic of the church in Latin America having the potential to send the next big wave of missionaries out to the nations in the coming years, but there is still a need for local churches to teach on and focus on the task. I’m pretty sure I am the only guy on the team without a masters degree, most have their doctorates. I don’t even know what I’m doing there really, but they approached me about helping. Apparently the Lord does use the foolish things of this world!

– Pray for the plans this year at the church of Hato Mayor. We have some outreach activities, conferences and medical clinics planned. Pray for the Bible studies in different homes every Wednesday night, and for more neighbors and family members to begin attending these meetings.

– Pray for me as I begin teaching in a Bible institute here based out of a good local church. I will be teaching homiletics and missions on Tuesdays nights over the course of the next two years. It’s a great two-year program and very organized. It’s a privilege to join the team of Dominican  pastors and professors working together in this labor of love.

– Pray for a conference we are having on the 7th and 8th of February on early church practice in the New Testament with a visiting speaker from Atlanta. Stephen Atkerson is a great Bible teacher and brother. This will be his second time coming to teach for us.

– Pray for the students and teachers of the school we teach English at as we have had many opportunities to share the Gospel with them. One teacher is already attending Bible studies with us. Pray for Jailin’s salvation.

Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive and has chosen to continue partnering with us in prayer and giving in this new year. We have a lot more going on than we have in a long time, so we certainly need your help now more than ever. May God bless you for your prayers and sacrificial giving. 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

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 (who receives funds for us) 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 for emergencies and priorities. This is one of the reasons why we went with CMC. There are also three trusted pastors which sit as our mission board.

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

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

You can also donate to this ministry online with Paypal. Click the donate button below and you can send support of any amount directly to the ministry. You can choose the option of doing a one-time donation and this is the fastest option to get funds to us.

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

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 and helping this ministry. God bless you!

Salgado DR Mission Newsletter

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

Forgive the lengthiness of this month’s update. As we draw to the end of one year and enter another, we reflect on everything that we have experienced, the good and the bad and we feel compelled to take the time to express our gratitude to those who the Lord has used to provide for our family and every ministry need met. We are extremely grateful for each and every person who has taken time out to pray for this ministry, for the church, for our family. Especially those who take the time to personally reach out to us on occasion for much needed encouragement.  For every person who has donated any amount throughout the year. Thank you, we love and appreciate your love for the Lord and the desire to be involved in mission work.

Anyone who has followed us for any length of time has probably read in a newsletter, or a post on social media, or maybe has heard me in person speaking somewhere say that, “Those who pray for and give to missions play a role just as important as the missionary on the field.”  I say it often, especially when doing some speaking back home or talking missions with anyone. I say it a lot because we really believe that. The church or person who gives any amout faithfully over time, or the grandmother who wakes up early every morning to pray for the missionaries that she has pictures of or names of on her fridge. Both play a crucial role in this long term partnership in the Gospel we call mission work.

When it comes to funding a missionary, some would say very simply that if it’s God’s will He will provide, and they take the position of not seeking to share needs or raise money. They firmly believe that in this way they are truly trusting the Lord. That’s fine, if it is their conviction, and I believe that if it’s God’s will then He will provide too. But to leave it so simplistic would really be to miss something important on the other side of the same coin. Something clearly revealed in the Scriptures that should not be avoided. We understand and believe that God has ordained all things, absolutely. But He has also ordained the means by which to reach those ends. One confession puts it well when speaking on the decree of God. It says that: 

“God hath decreed in himself, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably, all things, whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby is God neither the author of sin nor hath fellowship with any therein; nor is violence offered to the will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established; in which appears his wisdom in disposing all things, and power and faithfulness in accomplishing his decree.   

And it wouldn’t take long reading through the epistles before you would start to notice a couple of things:

First, Paul absolutely depended on God and prayed expecting God to answer, and God often did. 

At the same time we see other examples of Paul making his needs known to the churches. He also expected the brethren to help him with his needs and the needs of others. Both are true and they go together.

Yes, at times he worked with his hands out of a conviction and even necessity. In Philippians he writes that at one time “in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone.” (Philippians 4:15) This is incredibly astounding. Consider the great Apostle Paul, the Apostle to the gentiles, the great missionary. Now consider churches that he himself and perhaps others had planted, unwilling to give or help Paul so that the Gospel may go forth in other places?! If we lost all of our support, and only one (fairly young) church supported us, we would have to do the same. We too have had to do a little tent making  as of late until we acquire some new mission partners to help ease the burden of new needs and to prepare for future plans we have. But that hasn´t always been the case.

One realistic downside of bivocational missionaries to consider, is that it is easy to become overloaded and overwhelmed, and hence comes the possibility of becoming less effective and their longevity on the field may then soon be in play. Unless somehow, they had established in the past a business, or a high paying career before they moved to a foreign mission field, and they were able to somehow keep it going and make money for their family and ministry without sacrificing all of their time. But those are exceptions, and often bivocational missionaries usually end up spending less time working for the Lord (of course everything we do is unto the Lord, but I mean specifically mission work and ministry here) and more time working just to survive and make ends meet. 

And as the Lord opens more doors, it also comes with more expenses and needs. In the past we taught English at another school free of charge for almost two years. We still even recently have helped that school. But there are seasons of life and ministry when you just do what you gotta do. So we are teaching at another school now. We are willing to do it and even enjoy it in many ways. Sure it is a blessing and the opportunities to share the Gospel are many. But, add a wife and children in that mix of a very demanding work load, both in ministry and secular work, and you will eventually have a recipe for burnout. Especially on the field where the needs are often much greater when working with the poor, and people aren´t so individualistic and private, but need and desire much more attention and time spent together with them. Often needing more time and resources than you have available, and need more than most Americansdo. It is this way with ministry in many other cultures, it’s just different. And if we are honest, most people culturally as Americans just like thier privacy and in general are better off financially. And that’s ok. I say this to mean that just because something is common and or easily done in the States, it doesn’t mean it will be so in a different setting. And though bivocational ministry is always difficult, it proves to be even moreso where the people are poor, often sick and less educated. In those situations, things usually take much more time, energy and money.

But why do some missionaries seem to always need money? Well, first we would certainly agree that the most loving thing we can do for a person is to share the Gospel with them and point them to Christ. To this we say yes and amen. Yet at the same time, it would very unloving to preach the Gospel and ignore someones obvious urgent, basic needs, especially if we were in any position to help them. Of course we cannot help everyone, and the “poor will always be with us.” But this is no excuse for not being as generous as possible and we must remember that we were saved not just from something, but also for somethings, 

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

Time and time again we see in Scripture the duty of the believer to compassionate, merciful and generous as we saw exemplified in the life of our Lord and the Apostles and the early church. When the other Apsotles extended the right hand of fellowship to Paul and Barnabas as they were getting ready to go off to proclaim the Gospel and make disciples of the gentiles, they reminded Paul of something that was important to them beacuse it was important to God..

“Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.”  Galatians 2:10 

In the book “Controversies in Missions,” a compilation of essays written on various controversial topics in missions, a chapter on Carl F. H. Henry’s regenerational model puts it this way:

“The particular eloquence of Henry’s position is this: one need not deny the important biblical commands regarding social justice in order to arrive at prioritism (the Gospel proclamation is the priority), and the way one does this is by understanding the full weight of the doctrine of revelation within Christian theology. When this is done, it becomes clear that there is a direct correlation between the doctrine of revelation and the priority of proclamation. However, such a prioritist position by no means renders what the Bible says about social justice as irrelevant or unimportant. In fact, the opposite is true. A high view of the doctrine of revelation, especially concerning Scripture, also gives rise to a robust social concern because the moral imperatives for God’s people are divinely revealed.”

This is in no way a “social gospel” as some understand it. But rather biblical ministry centered on God’s revelation and the ethical demmands put on those who are transformed by the very same Gospel proclamation. The latter (compassionate generosity) actually gives evidence to and establishes that the first and main thing, (Gospel proclamation and salvation) actually took place to begin with. One is a priority, yet both are necessary and biblical. The author offers a very helpful illustration from every day life to help us understand how both are necessary, while rightly keeping the main thing, namely Gospel proclamation, the main thing. 

“I might say that I am going to go to the bank to make a deposit and then to the post office to mail some bills. I furthermore declare that the bank is my top priority because if I do not deposit my paycheck, then the bills cannot be paid. Clearly, one has here a case of priority in which both things remain necessary. I still must deposit my check and I still must pay my bills. Yet one of these takes priority because the second thing depends on the first thing having taken place. It is the same with evangelism and social concern. The gospel must first be preached before converts can be discipled and, indeed, the content of Christian discipleship remains mired in obscurity apart from the proclamational foundations of the apostles and prophets, which is divine revelation. Thus, the logical priority of evangelism does not render compassion as optional. It simply affirms the ultimate place of Scripture and the unequivocal role given to proclamation in the life of the church.”

Consider this text in James:

“If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? In the same way faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself.” James 2:15-17

But now back to my first point on the funding necessary in order to do both of these things:

So we have the Apostle Paul, who was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write and explain the mysteries of God being revealed, praying to the Sovereign Lord, and at the same time He makes his needs known to the churches and seemingly expected them to meet those needs. We see true dependence on God through prayer, AND communicating to the churches his own needs and the needs of others. Why? Because He understood that the means to reach the goal of the church, IS the church. Specifically, the emphasis in the NT is overwhelmingly on the local churches. 

God´s people have a mission, to go and make disciples of all nations, baptize and to teach all that Christ has commanded. God´s people also have the real responsibility to be intentional in going, sending, praying for and providing for that mission and showing mercy and compassion to others in the process. There are ethical demmands that are put upon the beliver through the commands in the NT. It´s not rocket science, but for some at least, its hard to stay balanced. Many people error and fall off of one side of the horse or the other. It just isn’t as black and white as some would like. We live in a tension in this area. Consider the beautiful mystery of God’s Sovereignty and the will and responsibility that man has. His decrees and His means to reach His intended purpose.

Who´s mission is it?   God´s. 

Who has He commanded to fulfill the mission?   God´s people. 

Who´s doing the calling?   God. 

Who´s Word are we preaching and teaching?   God´s. 

Who did He choose and inspire to write and preserve it? God´s people.

Who is the one preaching and teaching?   God´s pèople. 

Who is forgiving sins and doing the saving?   God. 

Who is being saved and who is He using to proclaim the Gospel?   God´s people.

Who is opening the minds of people, illuminating them to understand the Scriptures? God is. 

Who does He use to do this?   God´s people. 

To Whom belongs the cattle on a thousand hills (and everything else in the universe)?   To God. 

Who is doing the praying and who is doing the providing?   God´s people.

Who has He entrusted precious resources to, to be used for His glory?   God´s people.

At the same time, who is really doing the providing and Sovereignly answering specific individual prayers of provision for His people who are doing His will on His mission? God is.

I could go on and on, but hopefully you get the point by now. His plans will be accomplished and cannot be thwarted, no doubt about that. But He has revealed and commanded how it is to be done as well. And we are very much responsible for being about the will of God in the work of the church. He will do it, and He will do it through His people. Paul knew this. But many who lean too much in either direction fall into error and become unbalanced, inconsistent or worse, unbiblical.

To deny the real responsibility we have before Him would be somewhat foolish and would require the systematic focusing on some particular texts of Scripture, while at the same time ignoring of a lot of other texts. Or putting Scripture against Scripture versus putting the two things together. It would be akin to an error as in saying, God will provide for me but I refuse to work. Or that God will cause me grow in knowledge but I refuse to read or study. For the above mentioned reasons, we have come to the understanding that it is ok to ask for help and make needs known for us and for others. We simply say “these are the needs, pray about helping.” If the Lord puts in someone the desire to help, then praise the Lord! We have examples of it in the Scriptures and we simply accept it and live in the tension between the Sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. There is no need to even try to reconcile the two, we see both in the Bible and they do not oppose eachother in any way.

Why even address this? I feel the need to expalian this mainly because of our critics, who themselves are of an extreme position and choose not to communicate or share needs out of their conviction. Unfortunately, the same often suffer need more frequently and unnecessarily. God has blessed and given the specific gift of helping/giving to some. (1 Cor. 12:28)  People who desire to see the Gospel taken forth and to help the poor and others. There are people and churches somwhere, right now praying about which mission to give to. We could testify time and time again about how the Lord in His providence would bring such people across our path through their own prayers in seeking who to help, while at the same time answering our specific prayers for provision. Many of who we have never even met or had any prior contact or relationship with! The Lord really has provided and answered an innumerable amount of prayers like these. And He always did so through His people, whether a church as a whole or through individual brothers and sisters.

Having said all of that, we are extremely grateful to God and to our mission partners who pray for us and support us. Especially those who have done so faithfully over time. Without your prayers and donations we just wouldn’t be able to do what we do for as long as we have done it. That’s a fact. Thank you and God bless you.

There really is so much more I can say on the topic, but I will leave it there for now. 

But in other news:

Nito seems to be better and is much more active now, but still experiences ocasional headaches and dizziness. The doctor has been unavailable for a few days but the results of the holter are ready and we should have another appointment very soon. We will update soon after we have that apppointment and know more. Pray for Nito.

Since we were unable to have the surgery done for Yeison’s legs over the Christmas break, the surgery has been pushed back to the Summer because of school. He will need casts on both legs for a little while and need more therapy afterwards. The summer is the best time to take care of that. We have already done all the tests that the doctor who will perform the surgery requested. Perhaps one or two may have to be done again due to the time that will pass from now until then, but this should not be a problem. Everything else is in order. Pray for Yeison.

We brought in the new year as we usually do here, with a fellowship meal with the church in Hato Mayor followed by worship and a message. It was a wonderful time.

Pray for me as I have several things on my plate these days. Lord willing, I will be in Haiti again in the next couple of days. I will be meeting with Leonel and others, do some teaching and to take some food and clothes to some of the brethren from the market there on the border. The plans to help teach and prepare men from a few local churches we are partnering with there continue. 

At the end of the month we have a brother coming (Pastor Stephen Atkerson) to teach for a conference on early church practice. He has come in the past and has taught all over the world, literally. and the teaching on early church practice are a tremendous blessing to the church. I have slowly been translating his book on the topic with another brother helping in the editing process. Lord willing the first chapter will be done and printed to distribute during the conference as a small introduction on the topic. 

A few months ago I was approached by a theological magazine that is now available all over Latin America to be the editor of the missions section of the work. This month my first article on the need for Latin American countries to train and send out more missionaries was published in the magazine. I am the only editor that doesn’t have a doctorate on the team and have no idea why they sought me out, but a brother who is a seminary president, a pastor, author and the general editor of the work contacted me himself and well, here we are.  They like my Spanish to English translations as well. To God be the glory.

I was also recently approached by a small Bible institue ran out of a local church that we fellowship with to begin teaching as one of the professors. I like the idea that it is a ministry of the local church and the pastor and I are good friends as well. It looks like I will be teaching hermeneutics beginning in March. Please pray for me. These projects mentioned that we collaborate with others on are completely labors of love. To God be the glory.

Please keep all of these things in prayer. Our family, the needs, the church and for the strength and grace to persevere through the many difficult moments of life and ministry, and above all for God to be glorified in this new year. Thank you and God bless.

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 (who receives funds for us) 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 for emergencies and priorities. This is one of the reasons why we went with CMC. There are also three trusted pastors which sit as our mission board.

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

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

You can also donate to this ministry online with Paypal. Click the donate button below and you can send support of any amount directly to the ministry. You can choose the option of doing a one-time donation and this is the fastest option to get funds to us.

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

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 and helping this ministry. God Bless You!

Salgado DR Mission

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.

SALGADO DR MISSION

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

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.

A couple of important prayer requests:

Please pray for the medical outreach this coming Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We will be In Piedra Gorda, the school in Las Minas and the church in Hato Mayor. There will be free medical exams, free meds for the patients by our friends Anthony and Stephanie Willis who came and served here with us last year. We will be sharing the Gospel with as many as possible.

Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:2 

Please also pray for provision. We have hit a financial hard spot and are not sure when we can get back to the States to do some fundraising. When donations drop, any emergency or traveling funds we may have gets quickly eaten up in order to keep things going. Our family’s monthly needs, the kid’s schooling and many financial ministry commitments remain. That’s where we are at unfortunately. As of right now we can’t afford to pay the kid’s school for the month and couldn’t make a trip home even if we wanted to.

Still, you did well by partnering with me in my hardship. And you Philippians know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone. For even in Thessalonica you sent gifts for my need several times. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that is increasing to your account. – Philippians 4:14-17

It has always been a struggle raising money from out of country. By God’s grace we have gotten by in the past. And since Yeison’s visa hasn’t been approved, our past trips have been very brief. That doesn’t give a lot of time for travel and needed fundraising for family and ministry. The ideal situation would be to have new churches or individuals come on board as monthly mission partners. Sharing the needs with others who may be able to help, or a one time gift of any amount is also very helpful and very appreciated. But it is the faithful monthly supporters who help get us through the year.  And right now we are in urgent need of several new mission partners to get  where we need to be financially and finally get “out of the red.”  We ask that you share these needs with others if you can.

Please pray about how you can help. Thank you and God bless.

And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:19

In service to our Lord and King,

Antonio Salgado Jr. and family

 

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 (who receives funds for us) 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 for emergencies and priorities. This is one of the reasons why we went with CMC. There are also three trusted pastors which sit as our mission board.

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

You can also  give to the ministry here in the DR online through “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

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

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

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 and helping this ministry. God Bless You!