Like it says in Matthew 5, as Believers, we are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden and nobody lights a lamp and puts it somewhere it can't be seen. The lamp is placed on it's stand so that it may give light to everyone in the house. In building churches here in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, God has placed us on land that highlights the place of worship. In communities filled with drugs, crime and darkness, thanks to the partnership of many faithful people, we've had the opportunity to purchase land and build churches so that it will give "light" to everyone in the community.
Two weeks ago St. John United Methodist Church (our home church in Louisville) came down to serve on a short-term mission trip. For a week, they worked on our building in Hato del Yaque and did childrens' ministry in Los Perez. As mentioned before, this building, although unfinished, is already like a city on a hill. The group spent their time on the second floor tying rebar for what will soon be the sanctuary. The view is unbelievable! Not only will the community look from afar and see the beauty of the church, but as they come closer and look inside, there will be children being fed and people worshipping. Please continue to pray for the people of Hato del Yaque and the construction of their church. There will be great light provided for many years.
As the group had rebar-tying competitions and joined in fellowship on top of this church, they provided all of us with the opportunity to praise our Father in Heaven. Through their singing, encouraging words and determination to get the job done, we experienced God together. It was such a blessing to have one of our home churches come down here to join the efforts of the Dominicans, Hatians and Missionaries. You helped us understand Proverbs 27:17, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Thank you, we have been sharpened.
During the month of March, we hosted an inter-church basketball tournament in honor of a dear friend who passed away last year, Claude LaMaster. Claude was always such a great host and did such a great job of bringing all types of people together to enjoy each other. So in memory of our friend, we thought we'd attempt to do the same thing. We invited 4 teams to play in the tournament and the goal was to fellowship with the churches and people of this area (Hoya del Caimito). The Assembly of God church, Body of Christ church and Baptist church all particpated in the tourney. The fourth team was made up of a bunch of men from the neighborhood who don't attend a church. Our goal was to really become the body of Christ and understand that each one of us is a part of it (as it says in 1 Corinthians 12:27). Each weekend, a Pastor from the respective churches came and spoke to the teams and fans between games. The response was great and the crowd had a blast. The championship game was during the St. John UMC trip (Claude attended this church), so Chris Smith shared some words about Claude and delivered a message about what it means to be a part of the body of Christ. This was the 1st Annual Claude LaMaster Entre-Iglesias Torneo de Baloncesto. We look forward to the years to come and future participation of the rest of the churches in this area. Please remember the LaMaster Family in your prayers.
Next week we will particpate in a G.O. Ministries Celebration of Partnerships. All who work for the Ministry ( over 100 Americans, Haitians and Dominicans) will congregate at a camp in a nearby city called La Vega. This will be a time of encouragement, worship and team building. Just like we mentioned in the last update, this is another awesome provision from God as we'll have three nations at one camp praising what God has done, is doing and will continue to do. Please ask God to do big things during this time together!
Partin Family on the worksite
Jennifer Partin at the feeding center in "The Hole"
One of 120 children who are fed 6 days a week in "The Hole"
