Debbie's Thoughts

Bill has asked me to give my thoughts of the week at the conference and the events surrounding it. My mind has a million thoughts but I will try to touch on the God moments I experienced.
My main role here is to host groups/speakers/teachers that come and stay at our house.It has truely been a blessing for me to do that. But today especiallly I could see God at work in spite of me and working through me. I know crazy eh! But how God has so reinforced in my mind that He never ever lets us go if we are His.
The conference was so good for the reason that these 'men' are so hungry and desperate for God's truth. The conditions of the meeting room were not good like what we would expect in North America; it was hot, hot, hot, no air conditioning, no breeze, sqwished in this small room like sardenes with about 60 men. Hidden amongst the 'men's meeting' were a few women that decided to come. They didn't care that it was for men they wanted to hear from God. Yaaaah women yaa!!!
It was the third night of the meeting and a women walked in late. All the seats had been taken so as she walked past me to get to the back of the room I had made eye contact with her to motion her to come sit with me. So I had one cheek on Bill's seat and the other on my seat. We were a cozy group. In retrospect I see God's hand in it, He arranged it that all the seats would be taken so that I would meet this lovely sister in Christ. Her name is Keisha and God had His hand on her.
Over the past 4 days I have gotten to know this 31 year old single lady. She told me her testimony ( oh how I wish I could tell it to you.) But to make a long, awesome story short, she rebelled against God for a long time and God brought her back to Himself. God never gives up on His own! She told me how she almost died 3 times  (all incredible stories I wish you could hear) But on the third death experience she realized God's hand was in it. That God did not allow her to die but had mercy on her. She at that point turned to God and cried out to Him and she repented.

Keisha has a very hard life, she lives with her old mother and tries to make a living for the two of them. I asked her if I could go and see her house. So as we were driving there I got to know her a little better. She is the only child of her mother and her father has 10 children with a lot of women. I asked her if her mother was a christian and said o yes she was and she has been praying for me for a long time. As we walked in her front door there was her old mother sitting on a tin can reading her Bible. There was nothing in the house, no chairs, no table, nothing but she had Hope and it was in her hand.

I am so honored to meet this beautiful, beloved child of God. And look forward to watching her grow in Christ. The women here are desperate for God's truth and there is a real lack of good teaching. So I feel so priviledged to encourage and disciple Keisha and have fellowship with her in Christ. It is her desire to share her testimony of what God has done in her life with other young girls.
I had left her with a verse that has meant so much to me this past year and she was so excited to hear it and go home and find it herself in the bible.
Eccl. 7:14 " In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything  that will be after him."

Debbie

God's Work in the School

Day 3,4 and 5 of the evening DL Institute classes were amazing. We settled in with #'s over the 60 mark each class. Hardly a square in of floor space was left unused. Herb continued with great teaching. What was most amazing to me was that after the first 2 days of classes, when we arrived 20 minutes prior to the start of the class, the room was 95% full, note books and Bibles were out and ready. Hungry and eager was what I saw in their faces.

 

A total of 8 women attended the Institute. There is an obvious need for women teacher/trainers to come and help. Debbie has made a good friend with one of the ladies, named Keisha. Please pray that God will send women to come along side these ladies.

 

We also decided to try a new idea. We invited 5 of the men to our home for lunch and a more intimate training time with Herb. We have also video taped these session to be used for future training tools for all class members. We did the small class twice ( Keisha attending the 2nd ) and have decided that it will become a regular part of each week for the Institute. 3 small classes per week, and each student will have this additional opportunity for teaching over the course of the next 9 months.

 

I have met with one of our students at his house and his church in the very poor batey of Saman. Pastor Walex may (Lord willing) be the first missionary/Pastor that The Project will send back to Haiti. Please be praying for Walex, his wife and his 8 children as he seeks Gods will in this direction. He currently travels back and forth to Haiti (at much sacrifice to his family) to pursue what he believes God has called him to. The Institute has given him even greater clarification on what he is do in response to our Lords command in the Great Commission, to go and "make disciples". Herb Hodges has had an impact on another life here in the D R. Praise God.

 

Debbie and I will be wrapping up our stay with visits and follow up to our Haitian brothers and sisters. They are ready and waiting for the next week of DL in DR classes with Jason Seville coming in October to teach on the Gospel of Mathew.

 

There is much to be thankful for and much to be prayed about. Thank you for all of our praying friends. Please continue.

 

Bill

Day 2 of Classes

Where do I begin ? So much to share. We have now completed Day 2 of DL in DR Institute. Day one had 51 in attendance. When we arrived 20 minutes before the class was to begin, I was surprised (why am I always surprised ?) to find the room already 3/4 full. More chairs had arrived as I am certain that men who were standing the night before had brought their own chairs with them for Day 2. As Herb began to teach I was able to count about 50 men in the room. Our final count at the end of the night came to 55. We had another awesome teaching time with Herb. Mathew 28:16-20 was the text for the evening. I must also mention the great job that Rosvelt is doing with the translation into the Creole language. It is not an easy task to keep up with Herb. Herb never seems to change gears. It was "pedal to the metal" for over 2 hrs again. Debbie was so concerned with Rosvelt and how hard he had worked trying to keep pace with Herb on the first night, she brought him a cloth to wipe the sweat as he translated and a bottle of ice water to refresh himself. Did Herb use a sweat rag or need water ? (remember, Herb is 77 yrs old !) No, he just kept on teaching. We did go home for ice cream later. Herbs request - strawberry.

 

This night seemed to have more than the normal distractions. The heat, the packed room, motor cycles roaring by, children playing loudly (and fighting) just outside the windows,are some of the normal and regular distractions that we must battle as it seems the enemy will attempt to keep us from hearing Gods word. Day 2 seemed to have additional distractions which caused me to think "there must be something important tonight". Day 2 we can add the airport landing approach had changed to be directly over our training room. The planes are so low that you can wave to the pilots. The biggest distraction was the mosquito attacks which kept most of us swatting and smacking the little critters. There was a few times that Debbie asked if she could wipe the bloody remains of a critter that had obviously been tapped into someones blood stream, onto my pants. In spite of all these distractions the men remained focus on Herbs teaching and took notes as fast as they could.

 

The high-lite of the night for all of us was when I thought that Herb had somehow gotten off track. It appeared as though he had wandered away from the planned topic and began to "preach the gospel". He told us all that he had been prompted by the Holy Spirit to simply "preach the gospel". At first I was puzzled as this was a meeting of Pastors, church leaders and eager and hungry brothers. After Herb "preached the gospel" he ask if there was any man present who had never truly asked Christ to come into his life. If there was a man that had never "opened the door when they had heard HIM knocking", Herb said just to stand up and acknowledge this before God and man. To my amazement and sheer joy, 2 men instantly rose to their feet. Praise God ! We are so very thankful for Herbs teaching but even more for his example of being obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Oh what a night ! Even the new distractions could not keep God from working in the hearts of these men !!

 

Please continue to pray for Herb and the men. Especially pray for our "new brothers".

 

Thank you for your prayers and your interest in this work in the D R.

The Start of the School

Day ONE is now behind us. Praise God for the 1st class of Downline in the Dominican Republic. As I had previously mentioned, we were hoping for 20 - 25 and as we drew closer to the day of our 1st class, we were told to be anticipating up to 40. Monday's preparation involved locating additional chairs that would be required. 4 plastic chairs from our house were dropped off at the meeting room in the Haitian batey called Congrejo. We made a journey to Rosvelts church in Chichigua to pick up another 13. This gave us 39 total chairs. Could we really have 40 men come to class ? After all, they were required to sign a commitment/covenant form requiring attendance at all sessions over the next 9 mths. What many of you will not realize is the sacrifice in attending includes the cost of transportation on moto taxis to get to each of the meetings and back to their homes. For some men, attending the meeting and paying for transportation each day will require a decision over food the next day. Yes, there is a big cost. Well, just picture a room that most would say 20 -25 would be capacity. Now imagine temps in around the 100 degree mark. Now be amazed with us as we counted at least 51 in attendance. Praise God. This was scheduled as a mens meeting but we had been informed that several women were planning on "crashing the meeting". 4 women did manage to find a way in. We are grateful for the desire of these ladies to hear the word of God. We are also praying that God would touch the hearts of many women to come and help to disciple these ladies. The comment I heard was, "we have no women to teach us". This must be dealt with !!

Herb Hodges is our teacher/trainer for the week. I have read 2 of Herbs books and have been told by others who have heard him speak, that we should have seat belts installed on the chairs for when Herb is teaching. 51 men (me included) were not fully prepared for what was coming ! I am still amazed at the hunger of these Haitian men to be taught Gods word. Sitting on plastic chairs in a 100 degree room, packed wall to wall to wall is not something most of us would be willing to endure. It is not something that I see very often in Canada. Obviously many men were standing (39 chairs - 51 men). One challenge for Herb was the continual collisions with the men standing at the front because of lack of seating and even open floor space. Herb is 77 yrs old. I have had the privilege of spending many hours chatting, questioning and learning from him in the 2 days since we picked him up Saturday night at the Santiago airport. This has been a great blessing. I am certain that I will never be the same. My excitement had been rising in anticipation of the training the men will receive from Herb. Herb was on fire last night. I have never seen a 77 yr old man, sweat soaked and truly enjoying every minute of bringing the word of God, never to take a break, even for a drink of water for the 2 1/2 hr session. Herb truly is passionate about getting the true message of Gods word in the Great Commission to these men. His passion is contagious. It is spreading here. What an awesome way to give your life for others ! This was not about just passing on more information, but about laying the groundwork for "true disciple making". Disciples who will reproduce themselves and on and on. World impacting disciple making !! All of our sessions are being video recorded as our desire is to build a large supply of training materials in the Creole language which can be used by any man who wishes to make disciples.

Please continue to pray for Herb and the men attending. It is truly an honor to be able to serve along side of Herb. Debbie is also enjoying our time with Herb, and Herb and I are thoroughly enjoying Debbie's cooking. We are now preparing for tonights meeting. We will be meeting each night this week from 7-9:30 pm. Wed, Thurs and Friday we will also hold some smaller teaching times at our house with 5 men. These will also be recorded for future use.

I will ask again, please continue to pray. We do not take lightly the importance of these meetings.

Your brother in the battle,
Bill