Many times in the New Testament Christ is referred to as our savior. It is a common title applied to Jesus and is also foundational to our relation to him as Christians. But do we know him as our healer? In Greek, savior and healer are the same word. Jesus came to heal what’s wrong inside of us, outside of us and between us.

This truth has become more real for me than ever this week as I have observed our new team from Puerto Rico. For three days they have been running a Medical Clinic here in the barrio, starting at seven-thirty in the morning and wrapping up around four. Through it, they have not only brought health and hope to countless people, but have demonstrated love in such a way as to reflect Jesus Christ: the One true doctor who means to heal us of every disease- physical and spiritual.

It has taken the collective efforts of the Medical Team, the School Staff, T.E.A.R.S. and the El Camino Church Staff to make this a reality: sorting pills and assessing problems, taking blood pressure and measuring heart rates, diagnosing and choosing the proper medicines, writing at break-neck speed and showing incredible patience and care to every new face-even when the auditorium is filled; grandfathers, infants and everyone in between waiting to be helped.

I’m sure Jesus himself felt weighed down at times, facing what G.K. Chesterton referred to as a “dreadful demagogy”- people swarming to him and longing to be touched by his healing power. Yet even so, he always responded gently and from an inexhaustible well of compassion. What has struck me about this unique team of disciples is that they, too, have shown Christ-like care to the needy multitudes of Maria Auxiliadora; tenderly encouraging little ones not to be afraid and attending to each infirmity with wisdom and mercy. It has been both commendable and encouraging.

We have all felt and seen the blessing that this team has brought, liberating people from pains and infections and freeing them from hindrances. It has kindled a flame of hope in my own heart, and caused me to look at the coming kingdom from a new perspective. May the restoration and redemption continue, until all things are reconciled to God and we are brought into an unspeakably joyous and enduring community, rejoicing forever in the glory of our savior- our healer.

Grandfather and Grandson in the barrio of Los Pomos

On Thursday I was able to get a glimpse of a real and incredible aspect of T.E.A.R.S.- to gain insight into what’s going on in the barrio of Los Pomos. Bautista and Fe are part of the T.E.A.R.S. Church Planting Team and- along with Danny, Sandy, and Tracy- are visiting six families who, after a recent evangelistic campaign, requested prayer and support. These disciples are going house to house and sharing the book of John with the people, leading enriching lessons about the truth of Jesus and, through God’s grace, impacting hearts.

Before my visit to this new community, Bau and I were hanging out at his place, discussing the ministry and future dreams. I noted that if every Christian were currently engaged with so many families, the world would look a lot different. He added that, even if every believer in the El Camino Church went so far, the community would be utterly transformed.

One concern of Bau’s has been providing for people in a full way, as Jesus did: spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally. He mentioned that many people they see are suffering from hunger and often have not eaten all day. It is difficult to take the time to sit down and share because mere nourishment, for many, is a struggle. In Maria Auxiliadora as well, there are countless children who eat next-to-nothing all day- perhaps a small amount of food in the night. When Jesus shared he preached truth and fulfilled needs. This is Bau’s vision: an all-encompassing invasion of God’s Kingdom in this neighborhood.

Bau enlightened me to the realities of two particular friends who he really has a heart for: Diego and Airina. Diego is a young guy who is caught up in a cycle of drug use and robbery. He wants to change and is searching for the means to do so. Before he can overcome these problems, he needs to encounter something overwhelmingly more satisfying, someone transcendent: Jesus. It is the wonderful, existential fulfillment of the gospel that will turn him away from futile addictions and toward a true savior. Everyone knows him and jokes about how he will never change. This, Bau says, creates the potential for a powerful testimony. With Christ there is always hope- that’s the beauty of all this.

Airina and her son

Airina is an older woman with a story of profound troubles. She formerly practiced sorcery and is still desperate to break free of real spiritual barriers and torments- the remnants of a fearful past. Her sleep is constantly haunted by demons, she says, and she can’t overcome this on her own. She has given birth to sixteen sons, five of whom have died, and suffered an injury in one eye when a nail struck her. She now has only one eye, and also wrestles greatly with alcohol abuse. The greatest fight, however, is between her new desire to seek God and live for Christ, and the temptation to return to her old ways. It is Bau’s prayer- as Airina reads the first chapter of John this week- that a light would pierce the darkness within her: that Jesus’ overpowering grace and truth would give her life and set her free from the evils that keep her bound.

Be sure to remember these two in your prayers as well, along with the community of Los Pomos and our Church Planting Team, who are influencing many with the hope of Jesus and bringing glory to God, the source of all love and transformation.

The vision to provide housing for teams and an apartment for the Davis family is under way! Thanks to the McQuiddy Construction Company we have embarked on phase two of building the T.E.A.R.S. Center housing project. The second floor, over the office area is now being transformed into a three bedroom apartment in which the Davis family will live. This will free up the main dwelling for small short-term teams of 10 to 20 people to stay on the T.E.A.R.S. center property. The property is located on the outskirts of the barrio Maria Auxiliadora close to many T.E.A.R.S. outreaches including: T.E.A.R.S. School, El Camino church, the Haitian outreach in Soto and the Church planting outreach in Los Pomos. This will also help cut cost for teams making it easier for them to come and build relationships here in the D.R. The McQuiddy will be arriving on November 3rd with a team of builders to add a traditional A-frame style roof and to help with the first phase of electrical and plumbing work. We are so excited and grateful for the generosity and servant’s hearts of Kirk and Barb McQuiddy and their team.

If you are interested in bringing down a team and being a part of Phase-three of this building project please contact us and we will give you all the information you need! God is doing great things here in the Dominican Republic, and you can be a part of it. We hope to see you soon!

Rosmary’s class is an awesome place to be. She outlines and explains things with expertise and grace- a wonderful balance all too uncommon among teachers. She is building and preparing her grade two class with solid foundations that will promote future learning, growth and independence.

After physical education it took a while to calm everyone down and get them seated and silent. Rosmary began her math lesson with some essential concepts: the order and construction of numbers. She immediately had her students working away at understanding patterns and relations between numbers, as well as their essential components. Memorizing the sequence and structure of numbers will be crucial as these students enter into the more difficult areas of arithmetic, and yes, eventually algebra. All those 5x²s and (2x/3)^-4/7s, believe it or not, start here.

Students who finished the activity moved right on to reading or catching up on work from earlier in the week. Aneudy and I had been sitting in the corner preparing templates for the upcoming art class so that, just as the children were wrapping up and tucking their math books away, Aneudy was at the front and ready to explain the next activity.

The end product will be pumpkin men, but step one had the students cutting circles carefully and forming…conics! Who ever said the mathematician and the artist were at odds? Here they meet in perfect unity, the right and left sides of the brain working wonderfully together. Logic and creativity.

During the time I spent in Rosmary’s class, kids were continually coming to me with math and art questions, or excitedly demonstrating what they had accomplished. It was heart-warming and inspiring to see these children growing and developing in so many areas; children who may have otherwise found themselves wandering the streets, disregarded and without hope.

Now, however, they are left with a high sense of value. They have teachers who lovingly invest hours and hours in their personal journeys, insisting that they have skills, potential and a bright future. Underneath it all, and most central, is the sense that they have the ultimate love of Jesus Christ, their guiding light and the lover of their souls.

I am so grateful to everyone for all the support and prayers. I really feel like I am not in this alone. I have been in the states for a bit now, both for the T.E.A.R.S. Board meeting and to visit some churches. Boy has it been a challenge! As soon as I got of the plane in Miami, Florida my senses were bombarded by hundreds of smells, signs and colors telling me to come try the food, desserts, coffee and snacks! It seemed as if my cravings went into hyper-drive! Everything looked so good and smelled so wonderful. I was sure that they piped the smells into the walkways just to get to me! So, I found a little place that had salads and ordered a small Cesar along with a bottle of water. The total cost was $13.95, wow! I could have purchased two Whopper deals for that much at Burger King! It seems as if this whole trip has been like that for me. There are so many great restaurants and junk food places (like Cinnabon, an old favorite of mine) lurking around every turn.

All said and done I realized I would rather feel good than give in to the pressure of bad habits. So, I am still drinking tons of water, and it helps a lot. I have increased my run/walk from two miles a day to three! I have allowed myself an occasional treat but that means extra sit-ups before bed. I am now down below 300 lbs. As of October 4, 2007 I officially weigh 297lbs. It has been years since I have been under 300lbs and it feels great!! Thanks again for your prayers and encouragement.

The Biggest Loser,
Rod

Weigh-in Update (a total loss of 45 pounds in 3 months!):

Weigh-in #4 (October 4, 2007): 297 pounds
Weigh-in #3 (September 4, 2007): 311 pounds
Weigh-in #2 (August 4, 2007): 325 pounds
Weigh-in #1 (July 4, 2007): 342 pounds

Next weigh-in November 4, 2007.

Restoration is messy. Have you prayed for restoration?

Monday, a national strike was declared. No school on Tuesday! “What will I do with a free week day, the kids out of school and child care to help me with the baby?” I decided to paint Helina’s room. I ran out and got the paint and was so excited until I returned home to 35 feet of 6 inch border. “Hmmm…to paint, strip or conceal.” I got online and read up on stripping wallpaper. Hot water and vinegar for 30 min then pull off—“easy”, so I went for the stripping. About three hours into the project I still had about 33 feet left and I was less enthusiastic about the project, in fact a bit discouraged.

I hate this about myself. I want to learn to enjoy the journey, so I decided to pray. I focused on “my girls” and their restoration. God began to speak to me through the wallpaper. Not literally but figuratively. You see, I was only able to take off about one inch of paper at the time and never reach all the way to the clean wall in a single pull. I had to soak first. Several times, sometimes, scoring the paper ever so carefully, so as to not damage the wall, then pulling the top layer that held the picture- inch by inch. Then I had to soak again, and inch by inch scrap the bottom layer of paper filled with glue that held it sticky to the wall. I scrubbed and scraped each section many, many times to get all the remaining gunk off before I was ready for paint.

These girls of mine have a lifetime of gunk on them, passed on from generations and tightly attached with the strongest glue. We are not looking for the quick fix of consolation, but interested in total restoration. I’m now cautious of the manuals and their description of the amount of effort and time involved in such a process, so I’ll cling to what I learned from the walls today. It will get messy because there are lots of layers to shed. We will need to spend plenty of time soaking and will be careful not to wound the good stuff hidden behind the mess. It’s OK that only tiny pieces fall off at a time because it’s a journey. It will take divine energy, power, patience and prayer….most importantly…soak, soak, soak.

Please join us in prayer for the restoration of these girls.
Joy

I was hanging out in Marisol’s grade three class the other day, and I was struck by the comprehensive nature of her teaching. She handed out a connect-the-dots activity, inviting the students to pull out their pencils and go for it. The image slowly began to take shape, children carefully counting- pointing to various spots on the page with their fingers- and searching for the next number. Their pencils slowly formed the mysterious object, and before long it was shown to be a starfish.

Below the drawing section were several questions about starfish, one of which was: where does it live? One child to my left wrote: in the sky. I grinned slightly as I pictured the image of a starfish flying effortlessly above the clouds- avoiding sea gulls and the like. Marisol went on to explain that this particular “star” (the word used in Spanish is “estrella”) lives under the sea. It soon became clear that many of the children had never heard of such a creature.

What I was amazed by, during this situation, was the length to which Marisol went to help her students. Rather than being bound by a tight schedule or feeling obligated to move right on to the next subject, she announced: “We’re going to learn what a starfish is.” She walked briskly down the hallway and into the office, searching for a book that outlined marine life. Upon finding one with plenty of good pictures she returned to her classroom, calling the students to grab their little carpets and have a seat with her.

Marisol held the book up for everyone to see, looking her students in the eyes and explaining the wonder of this new creature. Many were amazed afterwards, doubtless wondering what other beautiful and mysterious things existed beyond their realm of knowledge, in the immensity and diversity of God’s creation.

I am so thankful for the teachers we have been blessed with; the gifts they have for what they do, and the love with which they do it. They are operating in their sweet spot- exactly where God wants them- and it shows. I can only imagine what the impact will be in the lives of those they teach and disciple.