I guess they were right

  I haven't blogged in a while. But today's experience would have been too long as a fb post, but is also definitely a story worth sharing. If not for anything else, to help you pray for us and this country more specifically We have heard the many stories. The protests, the riots, or what they call here the "huelgas". The word really means "a strike". There are many days the kids here do not go to school because of them. Class is canceled and the teachers refuse to show up. They happen often and for various reasons. The people get together and protest in such a way as to send the government a message. I have seen the beginnings of one getting back from teaching at night in other towns. I have seen the aftermath of them. Tires and garbage burned in the street. Giant rocks and blocks thrown in the road to keep vehicles from passing through. But they aren't as bad or as often in our town of Esperanza. At least not that I have seen yet.

    But we have heard some pretty crazy stories. And I guess just because I know that many Dominicans tend to exaggerate just a little when telling stories, (and by that I mean a lot), I just wasn't really sure if it was as bad as many people said it was. The next town over from us, just past a military post is called Navarette. This town has quite the reputation. It has been said to have the worst "huelgas" in the whole country. I have heard about the cars being blown up, the killings, the chaos, but I didn't know how much of it was true.....until today.

   Today we went to the city of Santiago to get some groceries and supplies. It is the biggest city around  our part of the island and we can find what we need at a considerably cheaper price. The town of Navarette is between us and Santiago, so we have to drive right through it to get there. In the morning everything seemed normal as we passed through. Except for the fact that I remember seeing more armed guards out than usual and positioned on a certain corner with face masks. But at the time I just thought maybe they were about to do a drug bust or something. We made our way through the city getting the things we needed as usual, and in the late afternoon we began to make our way back home. That's when it got crazy. I didn't notice right away, but now looking back I realize that there is usually a lot more traffic and people out at that time. About halfway through the town I saw a group of maybe ten police officers together, but nothing was around them. Then, as we got a little further down the road we realized something was definitely wrong. In the distance we saw fire. As we got a little closer I realized it was a burning tire in the middle of the road. Just as we began to realize what was taking place, it happened.... BOOM! There was a sudden explosion (extremely loud), just about fifty feet in front of the vehicle we were in. I think it was enough to make all of our hearts drop. I know now, by a report I read, that it was a homemade bomb people there were making and detonating in the streets! We kept moving forward past the fire in the road, and just a little past that were many rocks in the road that were purposely thrown there to stop traffic, some of them were pretty large.

    By this time we knew we were right in the middle of one of their huelgas. After the group of police we passed, there was hardly any people out for a few blocks. Now I know that what the cops were actually trying to do was to stay clear of the danger. There just aren't enough of them here and they don't make much so don't really do much either. Then we saw a bunch of people in the street not too far in the distance. The crazy thing was that the police let us go right in there, but by this time there were some locals waving us down trying to warn us of the danger ahead. We were a little confused and went forward a bit more but it was clear that this was no little protest and that our lives were in danger. There was a large group of men walking towards us and just then we were turning around but not sure where to go or how to get out of here. When we finally got turned around I noticed a man in the street to my right, (by this time the group of people was much closer), who had a revolver in his hand and he did not seem very happy or afraid to use it by the way we was openly walking with it and by the way he was holding it. So quickly we darted down the closest street on our left to escape the danger. We asked some locals if they they knew a back way back to Esperanza. Some told us to go by the canal but we weren't familiar with that way and asked again. Finally, a woman we asked had us pull up near a home and a man explained to us how to get back (kind of). So we set out towards the canal. We found the road we needed to be on (a rough and rocky dirt road), and found many others going and coming the same way to avoid the chaos on the main road. We noticed in the distance to our left some pretty big puffs of black smoke and it was pretty evident something fairly big was set on fire. We got to a confusing part of the road and weren't sure if we were heading the right way, but thankfully some guys in another vehicle told us to follow them because they were heading the same way. We weren't sure if we could trust them, but at this point we didn't have much choice. Praise God they led us to where we needed to be and we came out on the other end of the town away from all the craziness. Looking back I know God was protecting us.I am not sure if the bomb was already in the road, or was thrown there right before it went off but it was very loud and right in front of us. The vehicle we were in runs on propane fuel with the tank mounted in the back. If it were just a couple of seconds later that bomb would have went off right beneath us or it would have landed right where the propane tank was and we probably would have went up in smoke!

  When we got back to Esperanza and told some people what happened, they told us someone was killed yesterday in the huelga (it lasts for days at a time), and that after the person was buried the town was going to erupt because it was a 13 year old boy killed by gunfire, some say it was the police. Who knows the young man's involvement in all of this. Someone told us three were killed but we only know of one for sure. Unfortunately, this town is notorious for this and the young people do what they learn from the adults and it's complete madness. I have no doubt that the Lord was protecting us during this potentially life threatening situation. And who knows what could have happened if we would have continued on the main road. We are grateful to God that we made it home safely. Many people have died in the past years because of these huelgas. We thank all of you who pray for us on a regular basis and ask that you continue to join us in prayer for the people who God has called us to serve. That God would move, and that the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ would penetrate the darkness around us and would change lives. It must be a work of God for.... the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil (John 3:19). We must pray for God to move here, for God alone has the power to transform the hearts of men. Pray.

pray without ceasing, - 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Take down your idols!

   Here in the Dominican Republic, as in most Spanish countries, they have a deep rooted Catholic background. Along with that comes all the superstitious beliefs, and unbiblical practices and stories handed down from generation to generation. Even within the Catholic church, the idols they pray to and make many frames and statues of, vary from country to country. In Cuba for instance they tend to focus more on San Lazaro, in my father's home country of Mexico it's  la virgen de Guadalupe, there's la virgin de Candelaria, and the list goes on. Here it's la virgin de la Altagracia and of course one of their favorites, the divino niño (the divine child). All the different versions of the virgin Mary in each country come with the stories ( none of which are found in Scripture), of alleged appearances of her in different parts of the world and even in different colors. Sometimes she is black, white, or spanish.
   Here, you can many times hear the Catholics praying to her and asking her to intercede for them although the Bible is clear when it says ...
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,  - 1Timothy 2:5
   The other one is divino niño which supposed to be Jesus as a child which probably comes from the many extrabiblical stories of Jesus as a child working miracles and wonders (which are not in Scripture either). The problem is that the Bible talks the least about Jesus' childhood. Except for the instance of him staying behind and talking to the teachers in the synagogue (Luke 2:49), the Bible seems to be almost silent on the matter. It fast forwards into His adulthood, so it seems backwards to make such an emphasis on something the Bible says so little about. They have this  eight year old looking Jesus with a halo above his head EVERYWHERE here. The Bible says that Christ grew into adulthood, living a perfect, sinless life, went to the cross as a grown man, died and was raised again on the third day and seen by many witnesses (again, as a grown man), and ascended to the right hand of the Father. It doesn't make sense to pray to and worship an unbiblical version of Jesus, when we have the actual biblical accounts in the gospels. Unfortunately, some Catholics will have it no other way.  They insist on having their rosaries and their large paintings of their virgin or divine child displayed proudly in their living rooms.
   You may have heard or read about a place we minister to called Piedra Gorda, such has been the case there. It would sadden and baffle us to see such things in the homes of even professing believers  Many here, even with the many sermons preached there, and the gathering of believers there for some time now, just couldn't seem to part ways with their idols.....until recently. We have been spending more time in Piedra Gorda lately and will continue to do so. But today we saw what seemed to be a light of hope in what has for the most part, seemed like a spiritually dark place, where sin and satan has had a strong grip on people.
   We were given money by our friends from New Hope in North Carolina to help fix the tin roof of a woman who visits the church regularly and even lets us use her small property for church functions (the church there meets outside, there is no building). As Jared and I went through her house and were examining the damaged sections of her roof, we noticed one of these paintings in her living room and asked her about it. She asked if she should take it down. I told her it I believed it was wrong for a professing believer to have this in their home, but did not tell her to take it down. I said, "if you believe it is wrong because the Holy Spirit convicts you that this is sin, then take it down." Today when we were in her home to make sure  some had materials arrived, and to talk and pray with the family, Jared noticed the painting was gone.  We didn't say anything to her but were happy to see it had been taken down. Then, a little while later, we were at her sisters home who also attends service regularly, and the family invited us in. We have noticed  the same kind of painting in their home as well, and in the past she just would say "it's just a painting like any other." But today when we noticed it was gone, Jared decided to ask her about it. She told us she still had it in her possession but felt like she should take it down. She went on to tell us that they have grown up with these beliefs but didn't have knowledge of what the Bible really said,  (sadly, most cannot read in Piedra Gorda). She said she heard it was wrong, and for some reason finally decided it should come down. We have been plowing and preparing these fields by the preaching and teaching of God's Word. And we have been praying and waiting.
    The Bible says in Isaiah 55:11-
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
    Also in John 16:8, Jesus speaking of the Holy Spirit says- And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
    One thing the Holy Spirit definitely does is convict people of their sin. Pray for the people of Piedra Gorda. It seems God may be awakening some and making them aware and more sensitive to their sin. There is a long way to go. The families are a mess and need strengthening, leaders are lacking, and many other challenges, but this is a start and a very good sign. There is even a whole other side of the community that has not been reached yet, and so there is much work to be done. But first we ask you to help by joining us in praying for this community. We will continue to preach and teach God's Word faithfully, but we are fully depending upon the Spirit of God to move here. Pray.

                                         Pray for the people of Piedra Gorda



And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."- Matthew 4:19
                        

Family focused

   Well, it's been a while since we have blogged. It has been so hectic since our trip to the U.S., then getting back in the swing of things here in the DR, and now God has blessed us with a house (from a tiny apartment) that has a yard. God works things out. Someone here (who claims to know us and we have no idea who it is) knew someone else, who knew the owner of the house in New York, who decided to rent us the house and even dropped the rent to fit our small budget, because he has "heard good things about our family". I have never met him or the people who know him! He even said this was a "God thing", because he would never rent it that cheap and is very picky with who he rents to. I didn't think we were even looking for another place, but my wife said she had been praying since we got back (the building we live in has no yard and the kids are stuck inside most of the time) and the Lord seemed to just put this place right in our lap.  It is a nice house and has room for the kids to play in the back, which is very cool, but now comes the part I am sure everyone hates....moving. Oh well, not complaining, God has been so very gracious to us it doesn't even make sense really. Thank you Lord.
   Óther than the trip to the US (which went very well ), and our our big move coming up (which is actually just around the corner, lol), here's the latest on what God has been doing in our lives and here in the DR. Since we have been back, it seems that God has been showing us the importance of the family. Not just having or being a family, but the actual biblical roles of the husband/father, wife/mother, and children. Allow me to be transparent and vulnerable for a moment. God has used people close to me who lovingly pointed out areas of my life as a christian husband and father that I had been neglecting (unintentionally) because of my busy schedule. Ministry is tough and it takes a toll on the minister, his marriage and his family. But our family is our number one ministry. And I am thankful to God that he opened my eyes to some very important things. Being missionaries, our focus is on disciplship, making disciples of Christ who make disciples of Christ. And in the ministry, especially on the mission field, you can get so busy with hours of study, getting pulled in all directions, and consumed with so many overwhelming needs that we sometimes unintentionally put those closest to us on the backburner. But if I am going to make disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, then I should begin with those most important relationships first, those I will give an account for to Christ Himself on that day, my wife and children. As a christian husband and father it is my number one responsibility to love my wife, and teach her and our children God's Word!
   We have now changed things a little in a way I believe is more biblical and God honoring. We now start most of our mornings with a family time of prayer and a family Bible study. We are going through the Scriptures so that I can teach my family God's plan of redemption as it unravels progressively, so they get the "big picture"  ultimately getting to the most important time in history, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ! We have been using David Platt's Radical experiment family worship year plan. We are all enjoying it and the kids are responding well. It is awesome knowing this is God's will and seeing the family respond as we are bonding and learning together. I want to encourage all husbands/fathers to do the same with their families.
    Not only is our family "family focused", but the thrust behind much of our teaching and preaching in the churches here have been on marriage and family with Christ always at the center of it all. The families here are in bad shape and it is deperately needed. Brother Jared has preached a very good series of sermons on the family and roles of husbands and wives out of Ephesians 5. Pastor Jose, Jared and I had a meeting and we all agreed that we need to be very disciplined and consistent when it comes to discipling our families because only then can we help teach other men to do the same with theirs, leading by example. This is not an easy task, and we are sure to be met with opposition from the enemy,so we will need your prayers. We are all excited to see what God will do next, not only in our family, but to those families we are ministering to as well. The church is made up of families and if those families aren't healthy, then the churches wont be either. Pray that the Lord raises up more faithful men  to lead their families and His churches.  To God alone be the glory! Pray.

Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,- Ephesians 5:24-26 ESV

Planning a visit, asking for prayer

  Well, it's Feb.22 and we have purchased our tickets for our trip back home. It will be here before we know it. We will be back in the states from March 28th - May 7th, and we have tons to figure out in that short period of time before we leave. With everything going on here, I am torn between leaving with so much work that still needs to be done, and the joy of spending time with family and friends back home. But this will be far from a vacation. We have churches we need to speak to about what God is doing here. The needs are great and the resources are few. It can be quite overwhelming at times (major understatement). We are asking for prayer, fervent prayer. We are asking that God would open new doors of opportunity for this ministry. We are so very thankful to the Lord for those who have stepped up to support us, they have indeed been faithful in their giving. We are also very thankful for all of the saints back home praying for us and the people of the D.R. Be sure that the very God on high, who dwells in unapproachable light, the very Creator Himself has heard and is hearing your prayers. We could tell you of many times we have requested prayer either through facebook, our newsletters, or this blog, and God has heard those prayers and given an answer to which we see the result here on our end. Let us stop and take a moment to thank God for His faithfulness to His people. Many times, unthankfulness itself can be a hindrance to our prayers, because we ask and ask, and because of our forgetful nature, many times we fail to see the many answered prayers and therefore forget to stop and give thanks. Let's do that now. Thank you Father for inclining your ear to Your children's cries and responding, forgive us for our unthankful hearts.
  This is again one of those times we are asking our brothers and sisters in Christ to join us in prayer. We need your help. We need some to step up and become mission partners. We need recommitments. We need lots of prayer. We actually never shared that we never met our budget to begin with, but God has time and time again provided for our every need. Boxes of food arrive when money is low, just in time. When we are about out of money and I begin to worry, the Lord provides through His people, proving His faithfulness. This has happened a few times in our short six months here. We have not lacked. With so many here struggling just to survive, the Lord knows we try to be very giving with all we receive. Even with our share of struggles and failures and moments of weakness, He continues to bless us, although we deserve none of it, it is all of His grace. Our God is good and merciful.
 
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. -Galatians 2:20 ESV

   As I sit here reflecting on all that He has done I am filled with thanksgiving and at the same time convicted at my apparent lack of faith at times. I am thankful that the Lord is so patient with us. The Lord is good and He is Worthy, and as long as He allows me I will serve Him with all of my strength. The the days are fleeting, and there is always that sense of urgency, I do not want to waste time. I am thankful for this priviledge to serve my Lord as in this way for as long as He sees fit. I am thankful for the family he has given me, who have sacrificed much and have been so willing, they are truly a gift from Him.
  Brothers and sisters, beloved children of God, please pray that God will open new doors of opportunity. Pray that He will move on people's hearts to give and to pray faithfully. Please also pray for us about some details on this end regarding residency and immigration. The Lord has provided our every need and He has done it through His church and the prayers of the saints. Pray that God will move in a mighty way in the hearts and lives of the people we come in contact with, the ones we are discipleing, and everyone else we are ministering to. Pray that the school in Piedra Gorda will be finished soon. Pray for the new town we will be evangelizing this summer. Pray that the Spirit of the Lord will go before us and prepare hearts to receive the Gospel. Pray for the Duncan's and the Pastor's family as well. It may seem that we asking so much, but it is nothing for the Almighty.
"Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?- Jeremiah 32:27
  Remember, how we pray and talk about prayer reveals what we really believe about God. There is much work to be done here. I know my God is Sovereign and completely in control. I also know that He has a plan, a plan which He brings about using us, using our prayers. What a priviledge to be in Christ. The Father hears and answers our prayers when we pray according to His will (1John 5:14-15), Christ is at the Father's side right now intercedeing  for us (Romans 8:34), and the Spirit intercedes for us when we don't know how to pray as we ought to (Romans 8:26-27). He intercedes for us according to the will of God! What confidence we should have when coming to Him in prayer! Pray. Pray for us, pray for the DR, pray that the Lord's will be done. God bless you all. Pray!

If you are considering becoming a mission partner, or would like us to come to your church and give a presentation on this mission, you can contact us at salgadodrmission@gmail.com. We will only be in the USA for 5 weeks, we will contact you  as soon as possible. Thank you.

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ...- Colossians 4:2-3 ESV

                                                     
And he said to them.Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."- Matthew 4:19 ESV

What's on my mind

   As my wife and I were preparing for our trip to the Haitian border this morning, as we began to share our thoughts, we found ourselves both still affected by and thinking about our visit with the young man who was very near death with his mother at his side yesterday. Those of you who follow us on facebook probably read our post. As usual, we went to Piedra Gorda in the afternoon to hold church service. Before we left, two sisters there asked if we would go with them and pray for a friend of theirs in Guatapanal (the next town over). When we arrived we quickly realized this young man was very ill and dying. His mother said he was not eating or drinking and he was very thin. It reminded me of another very similar vist 4 or 5 years back. It was Pastor Shawn Cutshall, his son Caleb and I, and we were asked by a neighbor if we were missionaries, and then if we would go and pray for a man who was dying. We shared the Gospel with him and his family and prayed with him. He died hours later. I have no doubt that was one of those divine appointments arranged by God. That was on a short term trip. But now we live here, ministering to these people, and now I find myself in a similar situation, with another grieving mother about to lose a son in the prime of his life in the same town. I have seen death first hand. I have seen disease wither somenone to practically nothing. I have been at that bedside begging God to have mercy on a particular individual. I have seen someone take their last breath and then die. For me it does not seem to get any easier. Although there is that hope we have in Christ, and we have the confidence when someone seems to be a genuine, born again, blood bought, child of God,.....but there are the others. The ones we do not know and we enter the situation to intercede in the final moments of a persons life before they take that step into eternity. Those are the hard ones.
   The Lord has made His presence very real to me at times. He has also made the reality of heaven and hell very real to me as well. It is at times like these that I am reminded of what our Lord said and my heart breaks, "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.-Mattew 7:13-14
   But I also know I have a job to do. I know, as a soldier of our Lord and King Jesus Christ, I have a command, I have orders to follow. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."- Matthew 28 19:20.
   Today, as my wife and I stood on the bridge over the river that separates the Haiti from the Dominican Republic, we were told the story of the the massacre of thosands of Haitians whose bodies were thrown into that river in 1937. Then, as I looked up at the hundreds of Dominicans and Haitians walking all around us I thought that most, although seemingly alive, were in fact spiritually dead.  Death is all around us.  I must admit, when I begin to ponder such things as the eternal souls of men, the wages of sin, and the Justice and Holiness of God, and heaven and hell, sometimes I just about about have a panic attack because of the grief on my heart, the compassion the Lord gives me to feel for people at these moments, and the driving sense of urgency.
   It is in these moments that I am very grateful for the Word and  how God tells me who He is. I know that we serve an Almighty and Sovereign LORD. I know  we cannot do everything but we can do something. We must commit ourselves to spend ourselves for the sake of Christ, His Gospel, and the glory of God. But, I know one person can only do so much, and I rest in the Sovereignty of my God when times get hard and know that He is with me, He loves me, and ultimately has everything under control. Everything. And if you find that you are in a place in you life, where you do almost nothing for Kingdom, I just want to ask you to examine yourself. If you have grown cold, if you do not desire righteousness, if you do not desire holiness, or if you do not desire to know Christ more intimately and ultimately find your satisfaction in Him, pray. Pray and ask God to reveal to you where you stand. And I will be praying for you. Although I may not know you personally, God knows you and everything about you. Your sin, your struggles, your pain. Cry ouy to Him. Pray.

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!- Psalm 139:23-24 ESV

Antonio and Christen Salgado, missionaries ministering to Dominicans and Haitians who live in Esperanza (Hope), Dominican Republic

                
                 American soldiers helping the Dominican and Haitian forces keep peace at the border

First Post

  Well it is Sunday afternoon and I am just sitting here thinking about all that God has done and is doing here. We have been here almost 5 months now and time is just flying. If you have been receiving our newsletters you know alot about what we have seen and been through in our short time here. Definetely too much to talk about in this blog, so here's some of the current stuff. (If anyone would like to receive any of our previous or future newsletters send us a message at salgadodrmission@gmail.com to be put on our email list.)

  We have our beloved Mili and Fernando here with us and they brought Pastor Manny Marrero with them from Primera Iglesia Bautista de Marion Oaks. And then the director of missions Pete Menendez arrived last night. Pastor Manny has been bringing some good lessons. I especially liked the class he is teaching on marriage because of it's Christ centeredness. Pete will be giving a class for pastors in Santiago on leadership, how to biblically deal with criticism, temptation, and srtuggles with discouragment in the ministry. Needless to say, having some visiting pastors here with us, we have postponed some of the studies we are giving in order to be fed by our visitors who we only have with us for one more week. Our normal schedule is already crazy here. We currently meet on Monday for prayer in Esperanza, Tuesday we have a small discipleship group going through the Multiply material, Wednesday night I am teaching a series called Who is God by David Platt which we are nearing it's end and will soon be starting another on the Body of Christ (both are excellent studies). The Lord seems to be blessing that particular study. We find the church having just as many and even sometimes more than a Sunday morning service! Thursday I will soon be teaching a new study, alternating every other week between Piedra Gorda and Boruco. Friday we have an evangelism night in the community of Esperanza and we meet with the youth afterwards. Saturday Jared is teaching One True God by Paul Washer in Boruco (also a very good sized group meeting outside under a tree in a brother's yard on a hill). And Sunday morning we have Sunday school and morning service in the Esperanza, then sunday school and service in the afternoon in Piedra Gorda. With a schedule like that our biggest struggle is prioritizing our time between family, studies, prayer, and all the other ministry going on. This has not been easy, and we certainly need your continued prayers for God's wisdom in making decisions in these areas. We also ask that you continue to be in prayer for our evengelism efforts as well. We ask that you join us as we together as the body of Christ, press into God with prayers and petitions for the lost souls here and for spiritual growth in the church as well. There is so much confusion when it comes to doctrine, so many cults and spiritists here with their false teachings, the effects of sin and satan's work can be seen everywhere. But our LORD is Sovereign over all! We beleive in the power of the Gospel, and we also know that Christ is building His church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Pray Hard!

 

Antonio Salgado Jr, Christen Rodriguez Salgado, Trinity Lee Salgado, Maya Julissa Salgado, & Antonio Salgado III

 

Manny Marrero, Pete Menendez, Jared Duncan, Luis Jose Rosario Martinez, Fernando Marrero, & Antonio Salgado Jr.

 

      And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." - Mattew 4:19 ESV

 

.