Stones on the Altar

Quick Update

2012-01-16T15:40:00.000-08:00

I realize it's been been a while since we updated our website so I thought I'd provide a quick update.

Things are going well with the family. Chase and Eisley are doing well and each one loves really loves the other. While Chase is still learning the concept of "personal space" Eisley smiles from ear to ear whenever her big brother enters the room to say "Hello" and love on his little sister.

Our preparations for departure to the Netherlands are still on track for mid-April. We are currently working on collecting our legal documents and getting the necessary paperwork ready, preparing new prayer cards, planning to revamp the website, purchasing items such as luggage and cold-weather clothing while selling almost all of our other belongings.

I (Ryan) continue to work with and mentor Miguel in the D.R. via Skype video. Miguel continues to work among his nine church plants and recently started a ministry to drunks and drug addicts along the main street in his neighborhood as well as developing a new ministry to reach, train and develop men to reach San Cristóbal for Christ.

Below are a couple of photos of a dinner at Ezequiel 33, one of Miguel's church plants, as well as a few photos from a recent baptism service.

Miguel reading out of the Bible at the baptism.

Miguel preparing to baptize.

Miguel with the three he baptized.

Prayer at the dinner at the church Ezequiel 33.

One of the men Miguel is training giving his testimony at the dinner at Ezequiel 33.

The Society

2011-09-24T15:53:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was an apple grower who had acres and acres of apple trees. In all, he had 10,000 acres of apple orchards.

One day he went to the nearby town. There, he hired 1,000 apple pickers. He told them:

"Go to my orchards. Harvest the ripe apples, and build storage buildings for them so that they will not spoil. I need to be gone for a while, but I will provide all you will need to complete the task. When I return, I will reward you for your work.

"I'll set up a Society for the Picking of Apples. The Society -- to which you will all belong -- will be responsible for the entire operation. Naturally, in addition to those of you doing the actual harvesting, some will carry supplies, others will care for the physical needs of the group, and still others will have administrative responsibilities."

As he set up the Society structure, some people volunteered to be pickers and others to be packers. Others put their skills to work as truck drivers, cooks, accountants, storehouse builders, apple inspectors and even administrators. Every one of his workers could, of course, have picked apples. In the end, however, only 100 of the 1,000 employees wound up as full-time pickers.

The 100 pickers started harvesting immediately. Ninety-four of them began picking around the homestead. The remaining six looked out toward the horizon. They decided to head out to the far-away orchards.

Before long, the storehouses in the 800 acres immediately surrounding the homestead had been filled by the 94 pickers with beautiful, delicious apples.

The orchards on the 800 acres around the homestead had thousands of apple trees. But with almost all of the pickers concentrating on them, those trees were soon picked nearly bare. In fact, the ninety-four apple pickers working around the homestead began having difficulty finding trees which had not been picked.

As the apple picking slowed down around the homestead, Society members began channeling effort into building larger storehouses and developing better equipment for picking and packing. They even started some schools to train prospective apple pickers to replace those who one day would be too old to pick apples.

Sadly, those ninety-four pickers working around the homestead began fighting among themselves. Incredible as it may sound, some began stealing apples that had already been picked. Although there were enough trees on the 10,000 acres to keep every available worker busy, those working nearest the homestead failed to move into unharvested areas. They just kept working those 800 acres nearest the house. Some on the northern edge sent their trucks to get apples on the southern side. And those on the south side sent their trucks to gather on the east side.

Even with all that activity, the harvest on the remaining 9,200 acres was left to just six pickers. Those six were, of course, far too few to gather all the ripe fruit in those thousands of acres. So, by the hundreds of thousands, apples rotted on the trees and fell to the ground.

One of the students at the apple-picking school showed a special talent for picking apples quickly and effectively. When he heard about the thousands of acres of untouched faraway orchards, he started talking about going there.

His friends discouraged him. They said: "Your talents and abilities make you very valuable around the homestead. You'd be wasting your talents out there. Your gifts can help us harvest apples from the trees on our central 800 acres more rapidly. That will give us more time to build bigger and better storehouses. Perhaps you could even help us devise better ways to use our big storehouses since we have wound up with more space than we need for the present crop of apples."

With so many workers and so few trees, the pickers and packers and truck drivers -- and all the rest of the Society for the Picking of Apples living around the homestead -- had time for more than just picking apples.

They built nice houses and raised their standard of living. Some became very conscious of clothing styles. Thus, when the six pickers from the far-off orchards returned to the homestead for a visit, it was apparent that they were not keeping up with the styles in vogue with the other apple pickers and packers.

To be sure, those on the homestead were always good to those six who worked in the far away orchards. When any of those six returned from the far away fields, they were given the red carpet treatment. Nonetheless, those six pickers were saddened that the Society of the Picking of Apples spent 96 percent of its budget for bigger and better apple-picking methods and equipment and personnel for the 800 acres around the homestead while it spent only 4 percent of its budget on all those distant orchards.

To be sure, those six pickers knew that an apple is an apple wherever it may be picked. They knew that the apples around the homestead were just as important as apples far away. Still, they could not erase from their minds the sight of thousands of trees which had never been touched by a picker.

They longed for more pickers to come help them. They longed for help from packers, truck drivers, supervisors, equipment-maintenance men, and ladder builders. They wondered if the professionals working back around the homestead could teach them better apple-picking methods so that, out where they worked, fewer apples would rot and fall to the ground.

Those six sometimes wondered to themselves whether or not the Society for the Picking of Apples was doing what the orchard owner had asked it to do.

While one might question whether the Society was doing all the owner wanted done, the members did keep very busy. Several members were convinced that proper apple picking requires nothing less than the very best equipment. Thus, the Society assigned several members to develop bigger and better ladders as well as nicer boxes to store apples. The Society also prided itself at having raised the qualification level for full-time apple pickers.

When the owner returns, the Society members will crowd around him. They'll proudly show off the bigger and better ladders they've built and the nice apple boxes they've designed and made. One wonders how happy that owner will be, however, when he looks out and sees the acres and acres of untouched trees with their unpicked apples.

-- Originally written by James Webber, missionary to Japan, 1979

It's a Girl!!!

2011-09-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

Emily and I would like to take a moment to introduce you to the newest member of “Team Buttes.” Eisley Joy Buttes (pronounced ‘eyes-lee’) said hello to the world at 5:39am on Saturday September 17th. She weighed 7 pounds 5 ounces and measured 19 inches.

Both mommy and baby are doing great (albeit we could all use a little sleep right now) and Chase is “cautiously optimistic” about having a baby sister.

Thank you for all of your prayers,

This was her reaction when I asked her if she was excited to have a big brother.

Still trying to take in this whole new world.

Team Buttes

Protestantism (?) in the Netherlands

2011-09-09T13:05:00.000-07:00

Some have asked us why we're going to a country with such a rich Christian history. The following article from the BBC explains some of the new thinking and teaching of a growing number of Dutch Protestant Pastors. I've highlighted in bold some of the most disturbing trends.

To see the original article, view photos, or watch a video CLICK HERE.

Dutch rethink Christianity for a doubtful world

5 August 2011
By Robert Pigott Religious affairs correspondent, Amsterdam

The Rev Klaas Hendrikse can offer his congregation little hope of life after death, and he's not the sort of man to sugar the pill.

An imposing figure in black robes and white clerical collar, Mr Hendrikse presides over the Sunday service at the Exodus Church in Gorinchem, central Holland.

It is part of the mainstream Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN), and the service is conventional enough, with hymns, readings from the Bible, and the Lord's Prayer. But the message from Mr Hendrikse's sermon seems bleak - "Make the most of life on earth, because it will probably be the only one you get".

"Personally I have no talent for believing in life after death," Mr Hendrikse says. "No, for me our life, our task, is before death."

Nor does Klaas Hendrikse believe that God exists at all as a supernatural thing.

"When it happens, it happens down to earth, between you and me, between people, that's where it can happen. God is not a being at all... it's a word for experience, or human experience."

Mr Hendrikse describes the Bible's account of Jesus's life as a mythological story about a man who may never have existed, even if it is a valuable source of wisdom about how to lead a good life.

His book Believing in a Non-Existent God led to calls from more traditionalist Christians for him to be removed. However, a special church meeting decided his views were too widely shared among church thinkers for him to be singled out.

A study by the Free University of Amsterdam found that one-in-six clergy in the PKN and six other smaller denominations was either agnostic or atheist.

The Rev Kirsten Slettenaar, Exodus Church's regular priest, also rejects the idea - widely considered central to Christianity - that Jesus was divine as well as human.

"I think 'Son of God' is a kind of title," she says. "I don't think he was a god or a half god. I think he was a man, but he was a special man because he was very good in living from out of love, from out of the spirit of God he found inside himself."

Mrs Slettenaar acknowledges that she's changing what the Church has said, but, she insists, not the "real meaning of Christianity".

She says that there "is not only one answer" and complains that "a lot of traditional beliefs are outside people and have grown into rigid things that you can't touch any more".

Dienie van Wijngaarden, who's been going to Exodus Church for 20 years, is among lay people attracted to such free thinking.

"I think it's very liberating. [Klaas Hendrikse] is using the Bible in a metaphorical way so I can bring it to my own way of thinking, my own way of doing."

Wim De Jong says, "Here you can believe what you want to think for yourself, what you really feel and believe is true."

Churches in Amsterdam were hoping to attract such people with a recent open evening.

At the Old Church "in the hottest part of the red light district", the attractions included "speed-dating".

As skimpily dressed girls began to appear in red-lit windows in the streets outside, visitors to the church moved from table to table to discuss love with a succession of strangers.

Professor Hijme Stoffels of the VU University Amsterdam says it is in such concepts as love that people base their diffuse ideas of religion.

"In our society it's called 'somethingism'," he says. "There must be 'something' between heaven and earth, but to call it 'God', and even 'a personal God', for the majority of Dutch is a bridge too far.

"Christian churches are in a market situation. They can offer their ideas to a majority of the population which is interested in spirituality or some kind of religion."

To compete in this market of ideas, some Christian groups seem ready virtually to reinvent Christianity.

They want the Netherlands to be a laboratory for Christianity, experimenting with radical new ways of understanding the faith.

Stroom ("Stream") West is the experiment devised by one church to reach out to the young people.

In an Amsterdam theatre young people contemplate the concept of eternity by spacing out a heap of rice grains individually across the floor.

"The difference from other churches is that we are… experimenting with the contents of the gospel," says Rikko Voorberg, who helps to run Stroom West. "Traditionally we bring a beautiful story and ask people to sit down listen and get convinced. This is the other way around."

Stroom focuses on people's personal search for God, not on the church's traditional black-and-white answers.

Rikko believes traditional Christianity places God in too restricted a box.

He believes that in a post-modern society that no longer has the same belief in certainty, there is an urgent need to "take God out of the box".

"The Church has to be alert to what is going on in society," he says. "It has to change to stay Christian. You can't preach heaven in the same way today as you did 2,000 years ago, and we have to think again what it is. We can use the same words and say something totally different."

When I asked Rikko whether he believed Jesus was the son of God he looked uncomfortable.

"That's a very tough question. I'm not sure what it means," he says.

"People have very strict ideas about what it means. Some ideas I might agree with, some ideas I don't."

Such equivocation is anathema in Holland's Bible Belt, among the large number of people who live according to strict Christian orthodoxy.

In the quiet town of Staphorst about a quarter of the population attends the conservative Dutch Reformed Church every Sunday.

The town even has a by-law against swearing.

Its deputy mayor, Sytse de Jong, accuses progressive groups of trying to change Christianity to fit current social norms.

"When we get people into the Church by throwing Jesus Christ out of the Church, then we lose the core of Christianity. Then we are not reforming the institutions and attitudes but the core of our message."

But many churches are keen to work with anyone who believes in "something".

They believe that only through adaptation can their religion survive.

The young people at Stroom West write on plates the names of those things that prevent earth from being heaven - cancer, war, hunger - and destroy them symbolically.

The new Christianity is already developing its own ritual.

Report on my Trip to the Dominican Republic

2011-08-28T16:30:00.000-07:00

Well it’s been a few days since I’ve returned to the US from my two weeks in the Dominican Republic. While I’m still processing through everything I saw and experienced, one thing I quickly re-adjusted to here is the lack of constant tropical rain – especially Hurricane Irene. Thank you to all who prayed during that time. Other than eliminating several days of ministry time, I was not very affected by the storm. But not everyone was so fortunate. Many of the houses of those that attend the church plants (including the home where of the pre-churches meet) were severely affected or destroyed by Irene.

Here is a video of one of the houses being destroyed in San Cristóbal.
(Usually the water level is around 20 feet lower)

My purpose in returning to the Dominican Republic was much like that of the first part of Paul’s second missionary journey. It was a time to assess, mentor, teach, train, connect, network, encourage, learn and most importantly, to pray.

As I mentioned above between Irene and the normal tropical storms that are present in August, much of San Cristóbal was rainy and very muddy so we weren’t able to go out and do as much one-on-one evangelism as I would have liked. Oftentimes the church meetings were cancelled as people were returning to their hometowns to care for their families before the storms. The churches that weren’t cancelled had significantly fewer people attend. However, I was fortunate to still visit every site (even if sometimes it was without people there) and pray over it.

The following are a few categories and bullet points of highlights of the trip.

Spiritual Warfare

It seems as though Satan is not happy with Miguel’s work (that’s a good thing). The church Casa de Dios has been experiencing significantly more attacks in recent weeks. For example:

One man publicly professed Miguel as an antichrist and a witch. (However, that man has since repented and now regularly attends the church.)
One of the leaders of Casa de Dios was walking strong in the faith and then all of the sudden announced she was returning to her old works-based faith. This has had a profound effect on the church as its members are dumbfounded and hurt by this decision.

I was not immune to the attacks either. During my two weeks there I: ruptured an eardrum, was stung by a bee, was stung by a jellyfish, and had significant vehicle problems and breakdowns.

While many would be discouraged by such attacks, Miguel and I have come to view them as encouraging signs that Satan is not happy about the work.

Teaching

I spent significant time with Miguel working to deepen his knowledge of the Bible. Of particular emphasis we worked on hermeneutics (how to interpret the Bible), doctrine and theology, as well as diving deeper into the Old Testament. We also explored different locations on the island where he can find various resources to help deepen his and his churches understanding of the Bible.

Churches, Pre-Churches and New Works

The vast majority of my time was spent visiting the church plants. Right now there are

Three full fledged churches: Casa de Dios (House of God), Emanuel (Immanuel) and Ezequiel 33 (Ezekiel 33). These churches recognize themselves as a New Testament church, are baptizing, tithing, and participating in the Lord’s Supper.
Four pre-churches. These are groups that fall across the spectrum from a first-time seeker group to just about ready to carry out the functions of a church. These pre-churches may or may not have baptized believers. These pre-churches start via a person of peace (Luke 10:6) that the Lord has sent Miguel via walking in the street, conversations on a bus, or a friend of a friend, etc.
Two new works. These are areas that Miguel has identified as areas where there are no existing churches and he has taken active steps to begin a new pre-church there.

This is a map of the churches (pink & purple), pre-churches (yellow) and new works (blue) Miguel is working on. The circle around them represents a diameter of 1/3 of a mile. You can click on the photo to enlarge it.

During my time attending these churches and pre-churches I:

Saw a stroke survivor profess his faith in Christ for the first time.
Met a man named Miguel and a girl named Marlene who are going to be baptized next week when all the churches come together.
Discovered that the neighborhood mayor of La Factoria attends Ezequiel 33.
Learned that often times the churches are using the proceeds from the tithes to pay for medical bills for various people in the community who could otherwise not afford them.
Participated in a worship style in which each person brings a song to worship the Lord with and then leads the entire group in their song.

Some of the absolute highlights of my entire time in the Dominican Republic were when I learned that:

Miguel has churches and pre-churches meeting together every day of the week.
All the churches meet together in a park on the last Sunday of the month to worship together, baptize, and encourage one another.
Two daughter churches have been born from two of the three churches. One meets in the middle of the island and another in a far off neighborhood in San Cristóbal. (Unfortunately I wasn’t able to visit either of these daughter churches).
Almost all of Miguel’s church plants are in very poor and very, very dangerous neighborhoods. They are literally the only light in a sea of darkness.

The following are photos from the three churches. Due to many people returning to their family homes because of the storm, as well as the constant coming and going during the church time that is common to barrio life, the photos only represent a small portion of those that attend each church.

Casa de Dios

Ezequiel 33

Emanuel

As exciting as all of this was, not everything was enjoyable. One of the more difficult things I had to do with Miguel was help him come to the decision to close down one of his pre-churches in 5 de Abril (This is not one of the four mentioned above). Anyone who has started a church or a pre-church knows how much love you have for your flock. However, seeing some type of fruit is necessary if one is going to continue (Luke 13:6-8). So after much prayer, discussion and confirmation by God, the decision was made to end the group. By ending this group, Miguel now has freed up enough time for his two new works.

I would like to point out that everything that I have written about thus far, has been accomplished just in the last six months. Isn’t it amazing what God can do when we don’t bog down believers with a bunch of man-made rules but instead turn them loose to bring Jesus to the people!

(I realize many of you may be asking by this point if I visited UASD during my time in there. While the main purpose in my trip was to visit with Miguel, I did find an afternoon to spend back at UASD. I was able to reconnect with several of the students I used to work with and was encouraged to hear about the new pre-churches they have planned for the upcoming semester. I also was able to visit a new Christian community center a block away from UASD run by a colleague of mine. To have this type of building was a mutual dream of ours when I was ministering there and now it is finally realized. I had the awesome privilege of praying for UASD in the prayer room and was able to connect the students I worked with, with this awesome new ministry. I am excited to hear about how God uses it in the future.)

In closing I’d like to share three prayer requests from Miguel:

1. Miguel’s greatest battle and greatest source of spiritual attack, is from his immediate family. None of them are believers and several of them are even hostile to his work.

Would you pray for peace in his home and for the salvation of his family?

2. Miguel has begun to truly understand Matthew 9:36-37 which reminds us that “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” Specifically Miguel is struggling with finding male leaders for the groups and churches. It is easy to find females, but not males. This puts Miguel in the dilemma of turning over leadership to a female (1 Timothy 2:12) or being tied down and unable to leave the group which would therefore stop the church planting movement.

Would you pray that the Lord would raise up godly young men to lead these churches?

3. For a new relationship that Miguel is in. Miguel strongly desires a godly wife and he has recently begun seeing a young godly woman.

Would you pray for wisdom and the Lord’s guidance on this new relationship?

God is truly at work in the Dominican Republic. Despite extreme darkness, the light of the gospel is slowly starting to seep in.

Would you lift up Miguel and the young believers in Northern San Cristóbal?

Julie Pickern - Update 25

2011-08-26T15:23:00.001-07:00

Recently several people have asked me how Julie is doing. I just received the following prayer email from her and wanted to share with you. (You may also remember Gene's emergency heart surgery in 2009). God is healing them both. Truly a miracle.......

Dear Prayer Partners,

WOW, the summer has come and gone and I am just now writing a prayer gram. Each month I intended to send one but before I knew it, that month had passed by. Thank you for your continued prayers anyway.

Gene just got a clean bill of health from his doctor. He said that Gene's blood work and everything was amazing. For that we are VERY thankful!

I can't wait to tell you about the changes in my life. Since May I have not used my walker or cane. I've been walking all the way around the church - up to four laps! I am also helping to cook and clean. I was even able to sweep and mop the kitchen PLUS vacuum the living room the other day. I was so excited. AND, my daughter stopped by the store, and instead of her asking me to sit in the car with the baby (which I LOVE doing), she asked me (ME!) to run into the store for her. How exciting is that!! The first time in over a year! God is doing wonders! Do I still feel like I have MS? Yes. Is my left-side still weak? Yes. Can I overcome it? YES! In the Lord and only with His help.

Ministries:
I am teaching a Ladies Sunday School and leading the women for prayer and Bible study on the first Wednesday night of every month. I am also going with a pastor's wife to our county jail every Thursday night for Bible study. I get to share my testimony for the next two weeks. (I've never had two hours to talk before, pretty excited!)

Gene is preaching - and doing a great job. God is really anointing him. He is also working with a group of Hispanics, teaching a English class. He is also making plans with our associational director about a mission trip.
Plus he is still in contact with church leaders in the DR, encouraging and training them through Skype.

Prayer:

1. Women's Prayer & Bible Study in 2 weeks

2. Jail ministry on Thursdays - especially the next 2 weeks

3. Gene's Hispanic ministry - that God would open spiritual doors as he builds relationships

4. That the churches in the DR will continue to grow and multiply

5. That the the DR pastors will have their needs met and know the will of God and seek the wisdom of God rather than from men.

6. The people in the DR are suffering from the flooding of Irene.

Thank you again for loving us and being so very faithful in praying for us. We love you very much!

In Christ,
Julie

Irene - Update 1

2011-08-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to give everyone a quick update as to how we are doing with hurricane Irene. Thank you for praying. God has graciously turned the storm northwards from us. So while the northern part of the DR is being hit, the southern coast is relatively untouched. We've had some wind and light rain, but nothing like what it could have been.

The picture below was taken yesterday during the "peak" of the storm here. The three red circles represent areas of very heavy rain and wind. We are in the tiny area in the middle where the yellow arrow is pointing. Despite being surrounded on three sides by storm, God has graciously spared the vast majority of the population of the island.

We are along the coast in between the three red waves of heavy storm.

Irene

2011-08-21T04:50:00.000-07:00

I have a quick prayer request. Tropical Storm Irene formed yesterday (Saturday) in the Caribbean. It is expected to turn into a hurricane today and strike the Dominican Republic tomorrow (Monday).

Would you take a moment to pray for the residents of the Dominican Republic and Haiti and that the storm would be weaker than expected?

Would you also pray that I'd still be able leave the Dominican Republic on Wednesday?

Back to the Dominican Republic

2011-08-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

Hello, remember us? It’s been several months since our last update (sorry about that). Much has happened since then as we’ve continued our readjustment to life in the States. In addition to studying the Dutch culture and language, daily life has centered around Ryan working various odd jobs to augment the generous support of our church and friends, while Emily works on graphic design for International Sports Federation and cares for Chase. Here are a couple of highlights of what we’ve been up to:

We are continuing along in our path toward Amsterdam. We attended a week-long conference in Virginia in June focusing on Europe. We have also received confirmation that, because of the timeline of the baby’s arrival, we will be appointed in late March 2012 and will depart for the Netherlands sometime in April 2012. Although it feels so far off, we are very excited to finally be able to put some dates on the calendar.

With just five more weeks to go, baby #2 is continuing to develop healthily. We’ve had no complications or pre-term labor scares with this child like we did with Chase. We decided not to learn the gender of the baby, but we anxiously await his/her arrival sometime around September 12th.

As this update is written, Ryan is just hours away from his first trip back to the Dominican Republic since we returned home last February. Ryan will be there from August 10-24 as he continues to mentor and train Miguel as well as visit many of the new church plants that have been started.

Would you take a moment to pray for Ryan’s safety while he’s in the Dominican Republic?

Would you also lift up Emily as she cares for Chase while Ryan’s gone?

We look forward to sharing with you what the Lord is doing in the Dominican Republic when Ryan returns.

Thank you for holding the rope, while we go down into the pit,

~ Ryan, Emily, Chase and Baby

“I believe it will only be known on the last day how much has been accomplished [overseas] by the prayers of earnest believers at home” – J.O. Fraser

Julie Pickern - Update 24

2011-05-09T13:11:00.000-07:00

The following is the latest update from Julie. Praise God!......

Dear Friends,

I am writing today with such a full heart. God has been blessing in ways I cannot count. Even though I am very disabled and am reminded of this every day by my the weakness in my body, the limitations I have, and (oh what was I going to say?) oh yes, my mind!! The swelling is there, but barely.The pain and tingling is SO much better. AND, I AM ABLE TO WALK WITHOUT A WALKER - around the house or church, on flat ground. But isn't that amazing?? Only God could do something like that. If He can restore my legs and get me out of that wheelchair, don't you think he can bring you out of your storm?

Now, the next amazing thing is this - and the most exciting - I am teaching a ladies Sunday School Class.I never thought I would be able to minister again. That was my heart, my life. But God restored that back to me also. How awesome is that! To God be the glory! So, don't give up! It doesn't matter if it's a physical need or a spiritual need, GOD IS ABLE!!

I want to ask you to pray for Gene. He is in the DR for a total weeks. I talked with him yesterday and he said everything was going good. He is there with a church from Mississippi. They are having a retreat with national pastors/leaders. There are many new church starts in the DR. God is really working. I will give you a report when he gets back.

Please pray for me tomorrow. I will be sharing my heart during the morning worship service. Thank the Lord for more and more opportunities!

In Christ,
Julie

Finally....News to Report!!!

2011-04-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

It's been a little over a month but we finally have some news to report. Lots of wheels were in motion during that time and things were constantly changing but it looks like we're about 95% sure we have a destination. Rather than just tell you outright, I thought I'd give you a few clues to see if you can guess it first:

1. While our city lies 6 feet above sea level, most of the country is located
below sea level

2. The immigrant percentage of the population in the city proper now stands at about
50% with over 176 different nationalities

3. It was the first country in the world to legalize gay marriage

4. It has been called the bicycle capital of the world due to having more
bicycles than people.

5. Rembrandt and Van Gogh called this city home

6. A young girl wrote a famous diary from here

7. Certain drugs are legal and the sex tourism is world famous

Have you guessed it yet? If not, see if these photos help.

Have you guessed it yet? Well if not, we are going to AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS!

Emily and I are very excited as this city will be a great fit for our giftings and passions. So now that we have a location, the next question is what is our timeline. That's a tougher question. Since Emily is pregnant, there are more factors that need to be weighed into the deployment timeline.

Though things can always change, right now it it looks like we will either be leaving in early January 2012 or late March of 2012.

Thank you very much for your prayers during this time of transition and we will be keeping you updated as we hear more.

Chase's World is About to Get Rocked

2011-04-24T11:31:00.000-07:00

So do you notice anything different on the sidebar of the website? That's right, in just 144 days or so Chase will be welcoming his little brother or sister into the world. A few days ago we went in for the ultrasound exam and everything indicates a healthy growing baby. Below is our best ultrasound pic (can't afford the 3D ultrasound in the states) and some photos of Chase as he's learning about how to be a big brother.

Chase's Chores

2011-04-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that Chase began his obsession with cleaning when he was 10 months old. As you can see from the video below not much has changed.

Is 17 months too young to be responsible for vacuuming the house?

Crossing Continents

2011-04-06T15:32:00.002-07:00

I just finished talking with Miguel and wanted to share some awesome news for those who have been praying for him. As you know from a few posts ago, Miguel has been doing some awesome work reaching his city for Jesus.

But did you know he's also reaching Spain?

That's right, thanks to free video conferencing software such as Skype, every Monday night, Miguel leads a seeker Bible study for 5 people meeting together in an apartment in Spain. Isn't that amazing? Miguel was asked to start this group through some relatives that had moved to Spain and it looks like it is beginning to bear fruit.

Miguel, the youngest of 19, who lives in a very impoverished part of the Dominican Republic, would never have the means to fly to or live in Spain, but God is using him there.

Would you take a moment to pray for this group?

Decision Time

2011-03-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

I write this post from the eastern United States. Our journey here began last summer when we asked you to pray for our future plans after our February 5th departure from the Dominican Republic. Due to various factors including the economic crisis and a complete restructuring of our organization, we knew we would not be able to return to the DR. Beginning tomorrow, (Thursday 24th), we will spend the next three days meeting with representatives from our organization as we assess together:

1. If the Lord is still leading us to overseas missions

and

2. Where He would have us serve Him.

We went through this same process in April 2007 and it was a stressful time for us. As we try to hear the Lord’s voice and direction, the enemy does as much as he can to cause confusion and disrupt the process.

Would you take a moment to pray for us now and over the next few days as the Lord brings us to your mind?

Would you pray that we would be able to clearly hear His voice and discern His will?

Would you pray that He would speak clearly to our organization's leadership about where our next field of service would be?

Thank you for your prayers. They will have eternal ramifications.

We look forward to sharing with you the results of these meetings as we find out more in the upcoming weeks.

Mireli

2011-03-22T13:37:00.001-07:00

I don't have any details yet, so this will be a short post. Back in February of 2010 we began to ask for prayer by name for one of the original people attending the Esmeralda church plant to come to know Jesus as her Savior. (For those who know the story, she is also one of the four girls that lived in the house that flooded). Mireli attended the Esmeralda church plant for about 7 months and then stopped attending. While she was attending she never really seemed to be paying too much attention. But we, and you, kept praying that she'd fall in love with Jesus.

Miguel sent me an email today saying that Mireli's name was now written in the Book of Life.

I don't know how it came about, but I have no doubt that it is due in large part to your prayers for her all those months.

On behalf of Mireli, thank you for praying.

Mireli is on the far right wearing the pink shirt

The Technological Revolution

2011-03-20T15:19:00.000-07:00

Thanks to living in the age of the technological revolution (or information revolution as others have called it), I have the ability to see and speak with people thousands of miles away. With technology like Skype, I have been able to remain in contact with several of the Dominican leaders I worked with while we were in the DR.

I wanted to share a a quick update as to what Miguel has been doing over the past month. I have been speaking with him on average of twice a week. Right now Miguel has 2 established churches and 6 “pre-churches” (that is, seeker groups intentionally designed to become churches) that he has started and is leading. Last month one of those churches ended (actually “ended” probably isn’t the most accurate term. Each person in the group decided the best way to reach their city was to each start their own church among their own circles and networks of non-believers. So instead of the church ending, I suppose it’s more accurate to say that it split off or multiplied into 5 or 6 new churches, each led by former church members). Additionally, Miguel also meets with two other people individually who are homebound for evangelistic discipling.

As if that wasn't exciting enough, so far in 2011 he has baptized three people and is about to baptize four others.

He is also training and mentoring four others as church planters/evangelists.

Isn't God good?

Would you continue to lift up Miguel and the work he is doing?

Readjusting

2011-02-21T18:13:00.000-08:00

Well we've been back for about two weeks now and we thought it'd be good to give a quick update. We've been visiting with family and friends, visiting doctors and dentists and moving into our new temporary home (side note: Emily and I did the math and this is our 10th home in 5 years). I (Ryan) have signed up for a seminary class on urban church planting that starts in 2 weeks and I am trying to get into another urban ministry class as well.

In addition to continuing to meet with guys like Miguel and Rider via Skype, I've also begun to prepare for a speaking engagement at one of our home churches in a few weeks.

Oh ya, one last thing, would you take a quick moment to lift up a prayer for Chase? In addition to multiple teeth coming in, he's having a hard time constantly readjusting to new family, new homes, and new weather.

We Made It!!!

2011-02-06T09:20:00.004-08:00

It involved being awake 21 straight hours but we finally made it home. Reverse culture shock set in as soon as we landed at our layover in Miami, but that's another story.

Instead I'd like to thank whoever it was that was praying for us as we were heading to the airport on Saturday. That person, whomever you are, clearly has the direct red-line to God [yes, I am aware that all believers have the direct red-line to God, just go with me here]. Whomever you are, thank you.

Through your prayers:

1. God provided a ride for the person who was supposed to take us to the airport but had his car breakdown at 4am on the way to our house.

2. God blinded not one, but two ticketing agents to the fact that every single one of our bags was over the weight limit, but we weren't charged any fees. (Ironically enough, the only other time I've ever had this happen was on our trip to the DR - SEE THIS POST)

3. God granted us favor with the ticket agent who offered to take several of our heavy carry on bags and check them through all the way to California so we wouldn't have to lug them through the airport.

4. God provided a porter with a cart large enough to handle all of our bags as we cleared customs. Something I couldn't have done by myself.

5. God allowed our 14 month old baby who has been having some serious "digestive problems" to go the entire day without causing an "incident" at 38,000 feet.

6. God allowed us to go through security without having to be body scanned (See This Article).

There were many more ways God took care of us. We are enjoying seeing family and friends and trying to adjust to the dry cold windy air.

Now, if that same person would just pray for a severely jet lagged little boy who at 4:00am is convinced it's time for breakfast and play time.........

20 Things We Will Miss From the Dominican Republic

2011-01-23T11:07:00.000-08:00

Last time we told you about things we were looking forward to in the States. Now here's a list of 20 things we will miss from the Dominican Republic. With the exception of the first three, they are in no particular order:

1. Deep and meaningful relationships that will last into eternity
2. Our church
3. Having a slower pace of life
4. Fresh mango from street vendors
5. Being able to start random conversations with people anywhere at anytime without them being suspicious of our motives
6. Beautiful tropical flowers
7. Plátanos Maduros
8. Watching new believers continue their discipleship and bear even more fruit
9. Not having to worry about a face to face conversation being interrupted so someone can tweet or text at the same time.
10. Caribbean Beaches
11. The land of Chase’s birth
12. Pharmacies delivering medicines to your home 24 hours a day without the need for prescriptions
13. The colmados (local corner market) will deliver anything to your house at anytime
14. Having a 1-year old blond-haired, blue-eyed muñeco (doll) instant conversation starter that the Dominicans just absolutely love
15. Palm trees everywhere
16. Sunshine 365 days a year
17. Very personalized medical attention (i.e. same day appointments, doctors who insist you call them at home after hours if you have any questions)
18. Cheap prices for attractions (i.e. $1.60 to go to the National Aquarium).
19. Being guaranteed to see 30+ humpback whales on a whale watching tour.
20. SCUBA Diving in the Caribbean

20 Things We're Looking Forward to in the States

2011-01-22T10:05:00.001-08:00

As we're just two weeks from returning to US soil, our minds have begun to think about what it will be like to return to life in the States. The following are, in no particular order, some of the things we are looking forward to:

1. A Double Double from In-N-Out Burger
2. Free Refills
3. Pedestrians having the right-of-way
4. Free condiments at fast food joints
5. Fountain Dr. Pepper
6. Cashiers not getting frustrated if you don't have the correct amount of change
7. Affordable Ice Cream actually made with sugar
8. Air conditioning
9. Walmart and Redbox
10. Traffic laws (or the relative obedience of them)
11. Urinating in public is frowned upon
12. Not having to worry about “Wow, you’re getting fat!” as a conversation opener
13. Flushing the toilet paper
14. A “good day” is completing more than just 2 errands
15. Reliable Internet
16. Electricity 24 hours a day
17. Being able to communicate with anyone without “I’m sorry I didn’t understand, can you repeat that?” as every third sentence.
18. Not beginning to sweat the moment we get out of the shower
19. Carpet
20. Brushing my teeth with sink water again

Heading Home

2011-01-21T08:59:00.000-08:00

Serving the Lord as missionaries over the past six years has been an incredible experience. We have seen churches planted, disciples made and even “spiritual great-grandchildren” professing Jesus as their Savior. It has truly been a blessing. We want you to know that YOU, the reader of our website, have played a large role in all we’ve done. Your prayers, comments of encouragement and following our lives through www.stonesonthealtar.com have enabled us to do what God has called us to do. We sincerely Thank You.

On February 5th Chase, Emily and I will board a plane bound for California. Due to budget constraints resulting from this economic crisis, our organization has had to reduce personnel in this part of the world. As such, since it is the end of our term, our time in the Dominican Republic will be done.

Beginning last summer we asked you to pray for God’s will to be done in His plan for our lives. We thought at that time that meant a return to another Latin American country, but recently He has shown us that He has plans for us in another part of the world. The details and location of this new assignment are still being finalized, but we hope to have the final details by late spring of 2011.

In preparation for deployment overseas in 2012, our focus in 2011 will be:
• Studying the language and culture of our new country as well as beginning to network with already existing ministries
• Enrolling in several specialized seminary courses in urban church planting
• Travelling to several functions with our organization.

We will also be involved in significant ministry including:
• Continuing to disciple and mentor Miguel, Jose Manuel, Rider and others in church planting both via Skype as well as traveling to the Dominican Republic
• Volunteering with various ministries and churches in California that are focusing on Hispanic outreach
• Teaching, training and speaking at various churches about missions and church planting

We look forward to sharing more details about our future as they become available.

Blessings,

~ Ryan, Emily, and Chase Buttes

Julie Pickern - Update 23

2011-01-17T12:33:00.003-08:00

...the latest from Julie

Dear Prayer Partners,

Guess what? This is Julie. I'm typing with both hands! Praise the Lord. I want to share something with you. As I have been reading in 1 Samuel 1:6, I can really identify with Hannah. The Bible says that she was embarrassed and grieved. She was embarrassed before people and was grieving over her situation. Then she poured her heart out to the Lord and He gave her peace. Now her embarrassment was different than mine. But embarrassment and grieving are still the same. I am losing my hair, am in a wheelchair, have gained weight because of meds and fluid, and am limited in what I can do. For those reasons, I was embarrassed. I was grieving because I was not on the mission field anymore and felt like I could not do any ministry here. But I have given all that to the Lord and received His peace.

We all may feel embarrassed about things or may be grieving about different things, but if we honestly give it to the Lord like Hannah did in 1 Samuel 1 when she prayed, we too can receive the peace of God. Please do that today.

Please pray for the decisions Gene and I have to make pretty soon concerning our future. Also, we might have to change doctors that we just found out are not in network. Finding good doctors is hard to find. Gene is doing well. He is preaching regularly and going periodically to the DR. He is also holding conference/training calls with pastors/leaders in the DR through Skype.

I have started my MS shots. They aren't too bad. It should get better in a few months. My daughter gives them to me every day - not Gene! I am having major shoulder problems and just had part of a toenail removed. I will see an orthopedic for my shoulder soon. Please pray that these health issues improve, and that I will continue to tolerate the daily injections well.

In Christ,
Gene and Julie

It's Not Fair

2011-01-13T08:54:00.001-08:00

I will never forget a particular moment in a field in the Karamoja region of northern Uganda. It was, for me, a great moment of truth and conviction.

When our plane landed on a grassy air strip, we were greeted by native tribesman armed with spears. Because of tribal warfare in the area, all the cattle belonging to the Karamoja had been stolen, and 185,000 people had died of starvation within just a few months.

They took us to a field where we saw a pile of skulls, maybe six feet high. I picked up two of the skulls, one in each hand, and held them. As I looked at them, I realized that six months earlier these were people who had been alive. They had been living, breathing human beings who had simply starved to death.

I held their skulls and wondered if they had ever had one opportunity to hear the message of Christ. I wondered how much people in this region knew about who Jesus really was.

That afternoon we entered a little village, and I asked my interpreter to help us find out what people knew about Jesus. We lined up fourteen or fifteen individuals, and I began to ask them one at a time, “Tell me, what do you know about Jesus?”

One by one they shook their heads and said, “I don’t know Him.” “Where does He live?” “No, I never heard of Him.” We came to the last person, a little eight-year-old boy. I said to the interpreter, “Just ask him to tell me anything, anything at all, that he’s ever heard about Jesus.”

A big tear ran down the little boy’s face, and the interpreter said, “Sir, he would like to tell you about Jesus, but he has never before heard the name.”

It’s not fair, I thought, that there should be so many opportunities to receive Christ in our country, and this small child doesn’t get one chance to hear the message.

- Paul Eshleman, director of the Jesus Film Project

January 2011 Prayer Calendar

2010-12-31T07:18:00.004-08:00

Dear Friends, Family and Prayer Partners,

Happy New Year! What a year 2010 was. We were able to see several new churches planted, dozens of seeker groups started, disciples made and new believers baptized. God is at work in the Dominican Republic and it has been a blessing to be a part of it.

The church in Esmeralda continues to grow deeper with God. Just last month alone: they adopted a young Haitian man that lives at the city dump and helped him find and pay for the care he needed to have a life threatening tumor removed, they began networking with other churches in the city in outreach and they celebrated their first communion together. So what does 2011 look like for the church in Esmeralda? Only the Lord knows the answer. However, I believe that it is quite possible that it will close down and I couldn’t be more excited.

Why is that? From its beginning, the church has had the goal of multiplication. Recently it has become clear that the Lord has been working in the lives of each person at the church; showing them groups of people they already know that have no church. Rather than try to gather these various and spread out existing networks of people into one place at one time, almost every person in the church has expressed interest in planting a new church among these networks.

It is entirely possible that in 2011 the church in Esmeralda could birth upwards of 10 new churches!

You can imagine, the enemy does not want that happening. Would you take a moment to pray for God’s wisdom and protection over Esmeralda?

As our time in the Dominican Republic is rapidly coming to an end, we find that we have an entirely new understanding of Paul’s emotional goodbye to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:17-38. God’s will for Paul (and for us) was to leave his place of ministry and so despite the sadness we have, we rejoice in knowing we will see many faces again in Heaven.

Last week I was reflecting on everything that the Lord did in the Dominican Republic in 2010 and the thought was not lost on me that 100% of that was possible only because of your prayers.

On behalf of the people of the Dominican Republic, thank you for praying.

We will be leaving the Dominican Republic on February 5, 2011. As such, this will be the final prayer calendar from the Dominican Republic. We will continue to update our website regularly and will be in contact with you shortly about our next steps.

You can download the January 2011 Prayer Calendar by CLICKING HERE.

Thank you for holding the rope, while we go down into the pit,
~ Ryan, Emily and Chase

“I believe it will only be known on the last day how much has been accomplished [overseas] by the prayers of earnest believers at home” – J.O. Fraser

First Steps

2010-12-08T10:48:00.007-08:00

Emily and I are taking this parenting thing just one step at a time... :)

(For those with RSS feed readers that don't show the video, you can watch it here)

Julie Pickern - Update 22

2010-12-04T09:13:00.003-08:00

...latest from Julie

We were appointed as missionaries to the Dominican Republic in September 2001. We are very grateful to God for the opportunity to help Dominicans come to know Jesus, and for the wonderful blessing of serving alongside our Dominican partners. We have learned a lot more from them than they got from us. And our family of missionaries has also been a great blessing in all our mission adventures.

Our greatest desire is to return to Santo Domingo to continue our missions adventure. However, it seems that God has a different plan. Three different doctors have told us that Julie is permanently disabled by multiple sclerosis (or whatever this disease turns out to be). We will be on medical leave until the organization's board of directors meets again in March 2011. Please pray with us that the review process will go smoothly. And please pray that God will give us wisdom to understand His plans for us.

We also have good news to share. Julie had another MRI yesterday. Thank God with us that the lesion in her brain stem has not enlarged any, and that the swelling has decreased. Also, Gene had another chest x-ray to check the nodule in the left lung and there was no change indicating that the nodule is only scar tissue. To God be the glory.

Thank you for being so faithful to pray, to send cards and letters, to make phone calls and all the many ways you continue to minister to us. We thank God for each of you.

God bless,
Gene and Julie
5441 Highway 99 N
Century, FL 32535
251-368-6117 or 251-238-1438

You Know You're in the DR When...

2010-12-02T10:28:00.001-08:00

... all prices include both pesos (think dollars) and centavos (think cents) but there is no currency that exists for the centavos so you always have to either round up or down.

The coins here are 1 and 5 peso coins

December 2010 Prayer Calendar

2010-11-30T12:29:00.005-08:00

Dear Friends, Family and Prayer Partners,

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! (Aren’t you glad you can read that instead of having to listen to Ryan sing it?) Whether Christmas for you means warm weather or snow, it is that time of year where we gather with distant family and reflect on the birth of our Savior.

Christmas came early for us this year as both Ryan and Emily’s family came for visits in November to celebrate Chase’s first birthday. However, it is still a bittersweet time for us as we will be spending our last Christmas with our friends in the Dominican Republic.

November did hold several exciting times for us.

The highlight of our month was when we heard that a young Christian named Antonio whom we thought had been killed by his father, actually fled to another part of the island to start a new church. (You can read more on that story HERE.)

Another exciting time was when Ana Karina became a follower of Jesus and wants to start a new church in her neighborhood. (You may recall praying for Ana Karina on the 16th of November).

Finally, we are excited to report that the Lord has sent additional missionaries to UASD bringing the total to 8 new missionaries in the last 4 months.

In closing, I’d like to say thank you so much for joining us in prayer, even just 30 seconds a day makes all the difference in the world for us. Some have even found it helpful to print out the calendar and use it in their daily devotional time.

You can download the December 2010 Prayer Calendar HERE.

Thank you for holding the rope, while we go down into the pit,
~ Ryan, Emily and Chase

“I believe it will only be known on the last day how much has been accomplished [overseas] by the prayers of earnest believers at home” – J.O. Fraser

Chase's First Birthday!

2010-11-21T14:36:00.007-08:00

Today we celebrated Chase's first birthday. He has brought such a joy to our lives and we love him VERY much.

Best year ever!

Happy Birthday Chase-man! We love you.
~Mommy and Daddy

(For those with RSS feed readers that don't show the video, you can watch it here)

He Went All New Testament Style

2010-11-12T06:15:00.002-08:00

“He just disappeared.”

“Miguel, what do you mean disappeared?”

“I mean, one day he was here and the next he was gone and no one seems to know where he went or what happened to him.”

“No one knows at all?”

“Well…. There are a lot of rumors that he was stabbed to death by his stepfather. But no one knows for sure.”

That conversation between me and Miguel took place in late May of this year and that was all I knew of what happened to Antonio… Until yesterday.

“Ryan, he just appeared.”

“Huh? Who just appeared?”

“Antonio.”

“Antonio? He’s alive?”

“Yes. He came to my house yesterday”

“Where is he? Is he here? Can I see him?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“He left again, but wait until you hear what happened to him.”

To say that I was shocked at what I heard next is an understatement, but first let me remind you who Antonio is.

On May 2nd of this year, Miguel led Antonio to the Lord. (You can read that story by CLICKING HERE [Doesn’t the wording of that post seem almost prophetic now?]). Antonio was 15 and lived in a nearby neighborhood. Miguel started to disciple him and he also began to attend the Esmeralda church plant.

We knew two things about Antonio. First, that he loved his mom and desperately wanted her to be saved and second, his stepfather was a very violent man.

About a month after he was saved, Antonio disappeared. I mean he just vanished. No cellphone. Nothing. We went to his house and his family refused to talk about what happened. Naturally we feared the worst, but we never stopped praying.

Last night at the church in Esmeralda Miguel told me that on Tuesday, Antonio had appeared at his house. To make a long story short, Antonio had to flee in the middle of the night because of his violent stepfather. He left for a small town on the island that is far from San Cristóbal and has been living there ever since. Now…are you ready for this?

While living in this town he has already planted a church there and has several people attending regularly!

I’ll admit that my eyes got watery as I heard that this spiritual grandson of mine, whom I thought was dead, had gone all New Testament style on us.

Talk about a true Genesis 50:20 testimony!

Would you join me in praying for Antonio and his church plant?

On the Road

2010-11-11T13:28:00.000-08:00

I recently was reading a newspaper article about two really bad traffic accidents that took place a few blocks from where we live. One part of the article really caught my attention. It said that "...One of the leading causes of death in the Dominican Republic is traffic accidents and 80% of those fatal car accidents are caused by human carelessness."

I can attest first hand that driving here is scary to say the least.

Would you pray for safety on the road for all the missionaries in the Dominican Republic?

Julie Pickern - Update 20 & 21

2010-11-11T11:47:00.002-08:00

Things have been crazy around here lately so I've fallen a bit behind. Here are the last two updates on Julie from Nov. 6 & Nov. 8.

November 6, 2010

Julie was discharged from the hospital Tuesday November 2. However, she had another episode Wednesday November 3. It was back to the emergency room; back to Sacred Heart; back to fifth floor. She was disoriented and we could not keep her awake for more than 20 or 30 seconds.

She is still in the hospital. She had a difficult day Friday with low blood pressure and disorientation, but today she is much better. She is alert and talking. She is eating well again. The doctor said she may be able to go home tomorrow.
Gene got his biopsy results last Thursday. It was all negative. He will need to have blood tests once a year.

Please pray that Julie will remain stable and be able to be discharged soon. Since we still do not have final results from the lumbar puncture, please pray we get those results soon. Please join us in giving praise to God for Gene’s good report. Thank you for being so faithful to pray for us.

Gene and Julie

November 8, 2010

Julie was discharged from the hospital Sunday afternoon November 7. Please give praise to the Lord with us. Please pray that she will continue to get stronger and that she will not have any more episodes that require hospitalization. She was very quiet on the ride home from the hospital. When asked if she was okay, she said, “I’m just enjoying the ride.” She really wants to be home for a while.

Also, she has a follow up with Dr. King on Tuesday November 16. The doctor should have all the results from the lumbar puncture and other tests. Please pray that the doctor will give us a firm diagnosis and treatment plan for Julie.

Next, Gene has been asked to speak at a Missions Surge conference for Cleary Baptist Church Saturday November 12. Please pray that Julie will be well enough that he can go do this. It will be a great opportunity to encourage others to be more involved in missions.

God bless,

Gene and Julie Pickern

UASD Virtual Prayerwalk - Introduction to the University

2010-10-30T13:30:00.006-07:00

Prayer is the foundation of everything that we do. We can do nothing without it and we need your help.

If you're a visual person like me, you may find that you want to pray but after a few minutes your mind begins to wander. Or maybe you don't know exactly what to pray for? With this in mind, we have begun to create a short series of virtual prayerwalks that will allow you to send up specific and targeted prayers for UASD while seeing exactly what you're praying for.

This first brief video serves as a guide to lead you through a brief virtual prayerwalk at La Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD). It will introduce you to the campus and will provide a foundation for future, more targeted, videos that will be coming soon.

Would you be willing to take 5 minutes out of your day to lift up UASD to the Father for us?

Here are some helpful tips:

If you feel the video is moving too fast, feel free to pause it to pray.

To get the best resolution we had to make the file size big and this means slower loading times. You may wish to allow it to load before viewing or you can click on the video to view it directly at www.youtube.com where you can select a lower resolution with faster load times.

Alternately, if you prefer to have the video on your computer so you can pray regularly, you can download the virtual prayerwalk by CLICKING HERE (note: the file size is large and you need a free vimeo account to do so).

* Please note that this video may not appear in your RSS feedreader. If not, you can view the video by CLICKING HERE.

November 2010 Prayer Calendar

2010-10-30T13:00:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends, Family and Prayer Partners,

I’m struck by how as we move into November, that means so many different things for each of you. For some it means hot dry winds, others it means the snow is coming, still others it means spring is getting ready to transition into summer. Having lived in a country where an attitude of thanksgiving isn’t common, Emily and I hope that no matter where you are, you are able to find a moment this month to thank the Lord for all that he has given you.

Several people have been asking if we’ve heard about what our next step is yet after our term ends in February. At this point we can say that nothing is definite, although we have been in conversations with many people and it looks as if God may be opening a door. We hope to have more information on this in the very near future and will share it with all of you as soon as we can.

Those who know me know how important I think prayer, and prayerwalking is. That’s why I’m so excited to announce the first (of hopefully several) virtual prayerwalks of UASD are now available on our website. With this video you can virtually walk through the campus and pray at strategic locations.

Would you be willing to take just 5 minutes to prayerwalk UASD for us?

The video is available by CLICKING HERE.

In our ministries October was very similar to a tennis match. There were victories and there were setbacks and they always seemed to alternate back and forth; one victory followed by one defeat. For example:

* Two Christian students have expressed interest in being trained to lead Bible studies on campus.
* UASD breaks out in riots again

* The church plant in Esmeralda has begun to see some new faces.
* The President of the national convention told them he doesn’t recognize the validity of them as a church.

* A dozen Gnostic students show up for Bible study one week.
* None of them show up the next.

But God is here and we can clearly see Him working. People are coming to Christ and lives are being changed. Just last week I had a divine appointment with two police officers. Police officers in the Dominican Republic are pretty much hated because of the incredible amount of corruption. Because of my background in law enforcement, I was able to strike up a conversation pretty easily that eventually led to me sharing my testimony and presenting the gospel and giving them each a pocket Bible to carry with them. Divine appointments like this may seem like a drop in the ocean, but it is a first step in changing a nation.

In closing, I’d like to say thank you so much for joining us in prayer, even just 30 seconds a day makes all the difference in the world for us. Some have even found it helpful to print out the calendar and use it in their daily devotional time.

You can download the November 2010 Prayer Calendar by CLICKING HERE.

Thank you for holding the rope, while we go down into the pit,

~ Ryan, Emily and Chase

“I believe it will only be known on the last day how much has been accomplished [overseas] by the prayers of earnest believers at home” – J.O. Fraser

Julie Pickern - Update 19

2010-10-26T14:44:00.001-07:00

Here's the latest on Julie......

Dear Prayer Partners

Thank you for praying for Julie. She was moved from the Critical Care Unit to a room on the floor Friday night, though she was still in isolation and we had to wear the gown, mask and gloves to visit her. Sunday afternoon the isolation was lifted and the doctor disconnected the oxygen. She was also able to sit in a chair for several hours and we had some good conversation together. However, Monday she had to start using the oxygen again and had a difficult day with fever, difficulty breathing, pain and weakness in both legs and some unexplained sores in her mouth and on her lip. When the physical therapist tried to help her walk she could lift her left foot some (her weak side), but could not lift her right foot, which is her strong side.

The plan now is to do an MRI of the spine on Tuesday, and hopefully do the lumbar puncture while she is in the hospital (Tuesday or Wednesday). Please pray that Julie will rebound from the difficult day Monday. Also, please pray that the MRI and lumbar puncture will give the doctors the final clues they need to finalize a treatment plan for Julie after the pneumonia is healed. May God bless you richly for standing with us in prayer and for all the encouragement you all are giving us through your prayers, cards, phone calls, emails, gifts and other expressions of love and support. Julie and I appreciate you very much.

God bless,

Gene Pickern
5441 Highway 99 N
Century, FL 32535

251-368-6117 or 251-238-1438

You Know You're in the DR When...

2010-10-24T16:23:00.002-07:00

....knock-off products reach a whole new level.

Julie Pickern - Update 18

2010-10-22T05:45:00.001-07:00

Julie's back in the hospital.... please keep praying.

Dear Prayer Partners,

A Prayer Request: Julie battled a high fever and some disorientation for a couple of days. Finally Wednesday night October 20 I (Gene) took her to the emergency room at Jay Hospital. Her blood pressure was very low, her oxygen level was only 85%, she was dehydrated and she could not stay awake. The emergency room doctor transferred her back to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. Today, Thursday October 21, we learned that Julie has pneumonia. She is in the Adult Critical Care unit in isolation until blood cultures return showing what type infection is causing the pneumonia. However, praise the Lord with us that her oxygen absorption level was back up to the mid nineties using less oxygen and her blood pressure was back up to normal Thursday night, though the blood pressure is still going up and down some. The doctor says that the worst case scenario for Julie is 14 to 21 days in the hospital, but Julie wants us to pray in faith without doubting that God will heal her much sooner from the pneumonia so that she can get back home. She is scheduled to speak to a ladies missions group, and has some other ministry things that she is ready to do. And she just prefers being home with the family instead of being in the hospital.

A Praise Report: Please rejoice with us that Gene survived the bone marrow biopsy Thursday. Also, the x-rays of his bones all came back negative for any problems. And the new blood tests came back negative for problems. He will get the results from the biopsy in two weeks on November 4. Please continue to pray that this will also be negative and give our Lord praise for the good reports already received.

Thank you for being faithful to stand in the gap for us. We could not survive without the grace and mercy of God being poured out upon us in these up and down times through your prayers.

Julie Pickern - Update 17

2010-10-17T09:59:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest from Julie as of Sunday October 17, 2010.....

dear prayer partners,

gene and i want to thank you for praying for us during this last doctor's visit. it was a long and hard trip. we couldn't have made it without your prayers and God's help! we would like to report what the doctor said. he believes i have MS and that i am permanently disabled, he also believes there is irreversible damage, but although the damage can't be repaired, i can improve in other areas. i was able to see a MS specialist who also believes i have MS after looking at all the reports and films. she wants to start a lifetime regiment of medicine (shots given at home), which would also have their side effects. we have to decide what to do. i do know that God is bigger than anything the doctors are telling us. i know what He is telling me. He alone can heal this thing and He alone will receive the glory.

gene still goes to the doctor on the 21st. please be in prayer for him. he is so busy taking care of my needs, and trying to still be the team leader for our team in the DR, plus handle all the needs and wants of the insurance company, plus preaching on sundays sometimes. his plate is very full. thank you for your prayer support. we love you very much.

in Christ,
julie

Riots at UASD......Again

2010-10-13T16:40:00.003-07:00

Well it happens about once a semester. Well, actually it's more frequent than that if you count the protests as well, but if you only count the riots, they average about once a semester. While I usually sympathize with legitimate complaints the students have, their means of expressing their frustration leaves a LOT to be desired.

Today the riots began again. The students were upset over another student who was killed yesterday at an extension campus in the country. Due to the assassinations of politically active students by former presidents on the campus, the law states that the police are no longer allowed physically on campus (yes I've actually seen them get turned away at the door). Apparently for some reason the police killed a student on campus at the extension campus yesterday and the students in Santo Domingo are not happy about it.

Luckily neither I, nor most of the students I work with, happened to be there today (Divine Providence?) But this serves as a good reminder as to the need to pray for UASD.

You can read posts about previous experiences with the riots HERE and HERE (this second link has video).

Breakthroughs and Football

2010-10-12T10:28:00.002-07:00

These past few weeks have been difficult. There has been an increase in the level of spiritual warfare that we, and those we work with, have faced. It's not the huge kind where people are in major accidents or have very serious illness, but the little things here and there that continually chip away at your resolve.

(It's kind of like in football. You have your high-powered offensive teams that specialize in big plays such as the hail mary to the endzone and then you have other teams that do little more than handoff the ball for short yardage gains that eventually take them all the way to the endzone. Both can be very effective).

The last few weeks have been like the team that handsoff the ball. Little things like: nobody showing up for the Bible studies at the university, the Dominican denominational President telling Miguel that the church in Esmeralda isn't a real church, both of our toilets breaking down 7 times in 3 weeks, Jose Manuel's severe daily migraines, and Chase waking up at night every 45 minutes for the better part of 2 months. They're not big things at all, but when you start to add them all up, they take a toll.

However it seems that some of you back home have been praying because we've started to see a turn in the tide. For example, just last week alone:

Rivero had five new people come to his Bible studies
Jose Manuel had seven new people come to his Bible studies
Jazmin came to know Jesus and is being discipled and trained to start new Bible studies
One of our Dominican prayer warrior's friends and Rivero's father were miraculously healed within one hour of praying for their severe sicknesses.
Jose Manuel's mother found a job after months of searching
The Lord brought another believer named Massel to us that wants to be trained to lead a Bible study on campus.

Thank you to all who are praying, it's making a real difference.

You Know You're in the DR When...

2010-10-11T12:04:00.007-07:00

... an angry judge will bring out the entire police contingent to arrest and beat you because she wanted bigger pieces of chicken for lunch.

Here's the full story:

Santo Domingo.- An abuse of authority by National District Instruction Court Coordinating judge Rosalba Garib is what witnesses call the Tuesday morning arrest of three Chinese after a discussion over an order of chicken in their cafeteria.

“The judge bought chicken filet, she didn’t like it and told the Chinese that she was returning it and a discussion ensued that culminated with the Chinese escorted by a police contingent assigned to the Ciudad Nueva Courthouse on the judge’s order,” said Richard Manuel Mejía, who witnessed the incident.

He said the judge brought out the entire Police contingent and abused the Chinese, and arrested the woman cashier by beating her, “what she did was an abuse against those people.”

Last night Nancy Abreu, of the Office of the Prosecutor released two of the three Chinese, although the eatery’s proprietor was still being held as of Wednesday morning.

Miwong Loung and Mailay Wang were released as the latter presented a medical certificate to confirm the injuries caused by the agents.

Upon receiving her order in the business located on Independencia avenue a few in front of the Courthouse, Garib reportedly demanded that all the pieces of chicken be large, but Wang’s refusal led to the ruckus.

CLICK HERE FOR THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE

The Final Outcome?

Permanent Attention judge Alejandro Vargas ruled that Weicong Hu had to attend a class on behavior during six months, while Mailay Wang was to show up weekly in the Office of the Prosecutor.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOLLOW UP ARTICLE

So a Judge abuses you and the police beat you and YOU have to learn behavior management? And you thought Judges in the US were activists?

A Different Type of Stretched Resources

2010-10-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

"Consider this interesting fact. They aren’t making any more demons. Their number is finite. That means that the more prayers are prayed, the more hell’s resources are being stretched. The more who are saved, the more hell’s resources are being stretched. Satan used to do his work with fewer people praying. His existence is getting more difficult by the hour. We are the reason. Let’s stretch his resources!"

~ Steve Schultz

Daddy's Retirement Plan

2010-10-05T10:43:00.000-07:00

In these uncertain times of financial hardships, many parents are left wondering how they’ll pay tuition for their children as well as how they’ll be able to afford their own retirement. As missionaries, the reality is that it will be difficult for us to pay for both. That’s why at 10 months old, we’ve already begun to prepare Chase for his future (and ours) as a pro-athlete.

We eagerly await his discovery of applying his new skills with a basketball to his dinner.

In the meantime we've begun to train him how to help out around the house so he'll be ready as soon as he learns to walk.

Julie Pickern - Update 16

2010-10-04T14:47:00.001-07:00

Here's the latest on Gene and Julie....

Julie had an MRI on Thursday Sept. 23. She also had more tests yesterday (Friday Oct. 1) to check the blood clots in her legs. If everything looks okay, the doctors hope to schedule a lumbar puncture in the next few days. The goal is to get this done before Julie sees the doctor at Shands in Jacksonville, Florida on October 15, 2010. The lumbar puncture should help confirm whether she has a type of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Julie is working hard on her therapy at home, but one of the hindrances is severe swelling in her lower legs and feet. Her face is also very swollen. She says it feels like her whole body is puffy and swollen. This could be a side effect from the steroid therapy. After checking the MRI mentioned above, the doctor hopes to be able to start reducing the steroid treatment.

Please pray that the doctors will make decisions this week about scheduling the lumbar puncture and reducing the steroid treatment. Pray that the swelling will be reduced. However, priority one is to pray that Dr. Petr in Jacksonville will have God’s wisdom and insight to understand and diagnose Julie’s condition. Pray also that Dr. Petr will know what treatment is best to help Julie recover. The last thing is to please continue to pray for Gene. His bone marrow biopsy is scheduled for October 21, 2010. Thank you for being faithful to pray for us. God bless each of you.

Gene and Julie

Pastors Retreat and Conference

2010-10-02T04:05:00.001-07:00

Last week we had the opportunity to get away for a few days to meet together in Puerto Plata (on the north coast) with Dominican Pastors and their families from all over the island for a conference. It was a great time of rejuvenation and connecting with others. Here are a couple of photos.

Kicking off the conference on the first morning

Men's breakout session

We took a gondola ride up to the top of a mountain overlooking the city of Puerto Plata.

At the top of the mountain there is a statue of Jesus that overlooks the city.

October 2010 Prayer Calendar

2010-09-29T09:26:00.003-07:00

Have you ever stopped and asked the Lord to show you your city through His eyes? How does He see it? How is His view of the city different than yours? These are questions I’ve been praying through recently and the Lord has begun to show me quite a bit. Drug/alcohol abuse, unloved children, absentee fathers/husbands, pastors losing hope, religiosity, fatalism, apathy, entitlement, promiscuity; these are just a few of the spiritual strongholds that grip Santo Domingo, but God isn’t done here. Inch by inch we see darkness being replaced by light because of your prayers for the work here.

Encouraging you by sharing some of the ways the Lord has answered your prayers is important to us, so here are a few of the prayer requests you’ve been praying for that the Lord answered:

Carolín has been rejuvenated in her relationship with Christ. She is excited again and devouring His word daily. She led our church service a few weeks ago and is eagerly applying what she’s learning to her life.
The Dominican Republic was spared being hit by a hurricane during the two most dangerous months of August and September.
Gina and Emily’s Bible study at UASD kicks off this week.
Paola continues to grow closer to God daily and is very close to making Him the Lord of her life.
Miguel began a new work in a poor barrio near his home that he hopes will become a church.
The Lord has heard our prayers for laborers at UASD and 5 one-year missionaries from Campus Crusade arrived a few weeks ago.
Bible Studies and prayer meetings take place Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at UASD and Tuesdays and Wednesdays in San Cristóbal.

Thank you so much for joining us in prayer, even just 30 seconds a day makes all the difference in the world for us. Some have even found it helpful to print out the calendar and use it in their daily devotional time.

You can download the October 2010 prayer calendar by CLICKING HERE.

Thank you for holding the rope, while we go down into the pit,

~ Ryan, Emily and Chase

“I believe it will only be known on the last day how much has been accomplished [overseas] by the prayers of earnest believers at home” – J.O. Fraser

Iglesia Peña de Horeb (Rock of Horeb Church)

2010-09-20T15:51:00.004-07:00

A little while back Emily shot this short little video during the worship service at the church Iglesia Peña de Horeb in San Cristóbal. Although we spend a majority of our time with our church plants now, for the entire time we lived in San Cristóbal (and even today we still attend from time to time) this was the church that loved us and really ministered to us so that we could minister to others.

I thought you might like to get a quick taste of what worship time is like.

P.S. Those wearing the facepaint are actually Brazilians on a short-term mission trip who are preparing to present a drama.

P.P.S. Peña de Horeb has the only ministry to the deaf that I know of in all of San Cristóbal. Those signing in the last two rows are deaf who attend the church because of this unique ministry. I love to watch them worship the Lord right along with us.

Julie Pickern - Update 15

2010-09-18T11:05:00.001-07:00

From Gene and Julie....

Update on Julie: We brought Julie home from the Century Care Center on Wednesday September 15. Obviously some adjustments are required again, but she is really glad to be home. And we are glad, too, especially our grandson Beneah. The last visit with Dr. King was a little unsettling. Dr. King told us that he is 95% certain that Julie has a type of multiple sclerosis that looks like a tumor. He also said she probably has reached the ceiling for her recovery and he does not expect her mobility, etc. to improve much in the future. He thinks she will be permanently disabled. Julie will still visit Dr. Peter at Shands Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida on October 15 for his evaluation and input for treatment. Our hope and prayer continues to be that God will give him supernatural wisdom to properly diagnose Julie and provide a treatment plan that will result in a more positive prognosis. Of course, if Dr. King’s opinion is affirmed, we firmly believe that God will give us His grace to press onward in the strength of Jesus our Lord. Sometimes God takes us out of a crisis. Other times God carries us through it by His grace. We both struggled with the news that Dr. King gave us, but we still cling to the hope we have in Christ for a miracle. Please continue to pray for the doctor in Jacksonville, and that Julie will improve despite the clinical opinion of the doctor.

Update on Gene: I had a consult with the hematologist this past Thursday. He confirmed that there is a problem with my blood. The problem is most often seen when people reach 60 plus years of age, not at the age of 55. The doctor said if I was 65 he would only watch the situation through blood tests every 6 months, but because I am younger he wants to do more tests. I had a bunch of x-rays on Thursday before leaving the hospital, and some more blood drawn for more tests. I am scheduled for a bone marrow biopsy on October 21, 2010. The goal is to rule out lymphoma or myeloma. According to the doctor, there is a much greater percentage that this will only be something to be monitored instead of any type of cancer. Of course, that is what we are praying for, too.

Thank you for your prayers, gifts, cards, flowers, phone calls and every expression of love and support. Julie and I are very grateful to God for you.

Gene Pickern

Julie Pickern - Update 14

2010-09-12T18:07:00.002-07:00

Here is the latest on Gene and Julie...

Hello Prayer Partners:

Update on Gene: As Julie communicated earlier, a chest x-ray revealed a nodule in the left lung. However, a CT-Scan done last Friday, Sept. 3, indicates that the nodule is only scar tissue. Gene will have another chest x-ray Nov. 30, 2010 to check for changes and hopefully confirm that the nodule is not a problem. Also, Gene has an appointment Friday Sept. 17 with Dr. Herrera, a hematologist, to follow-up on the abnormal blood test that indicates the possibility of some type of lymphoma. Praise God with us that the nodule in the lung appears to be only scar tissue. And please continue to pray for Dr. Herrera to have God’s wisdom to deal with the abnormal blood test.

Update on Julie: Julie continues to gain strength and her mobility continues to improve with the rehab she is doing at Century Care Center. She is improving, but she still must use a wheel chair or walker. The plan now is for Julie to be discharged from the care center to the home where we are staying on September 15, 2010. Hopefully she will have a home health nurse checking on her and will be able to continue therapy 2 or 3 days a week at home. Please pray that the details can be worked out between the insurance representative and the nursing home social worker without any problems.

Also, after much prompting and pleading, Dr. King finally connected with the Cigna Medical Director to discuss the next steps to reach a diagnosis and treatment plan for Julie this past Wednesday. Unfortunately, the Cigna Medical Director denied our request to wave the out of network penalties so that Julie could be referred to UAB in Birmingham. Instead, he directed Dr. King to refer Julie to a doctor at Shands Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. However, Julie cannot see the doctor there until October 15, 2010. We have been trying to get this referral set up since August 18. Now Julie will have to wait another month to see the doctor in Jacksonville. These long delays are eating up Julie’s medical leave rapidly. In fact, on October 15 she will have only about 20 days of medical leave left. Please pray that a door will open for Julie to be able to see the doctor in Jacksonville sooner and/or that the doctor will be able to diagnose Julie quickly and develop a treatment plan. This process is very stressful for both of us. Please pray that God will cause us (especially Gene) to yield all this to the Lord and trust God for our future. Of course, we also ask that you continue to pray that God will heal Julie in His way and His time.

Thank you for being so faithful to pray, and to encourage us with your emails, cards, flowers, phone calls and many other expressions of concern and love. Below is an address should you want to send Julie a card or letter. She is making a big collection to remind her later of how God used each of you to lift us up during this time. God bless!

Gene Pickern
5441 Highway 99 North
Century, FL 32535

Julie Pickern - Update 13

2010-09-02T06:04:00.002-07:00

Here's the latest from Julie.....

Dear Prayer Partners, Gene and I need you to be praying. We just found out that my doctor didn't send my records to UAB last week for a second opinion while he was on vacation. But I know I wasn't supposed to see the doctor at UAB I was set up to see. I just didn't have a peace about it. Now, not only were my records not sent, but I am scheduled to see a doctor who is out-of-network and not until the middle of October, which is only 20 days before my medical leave runs out. That means I will have 20 days for them to find out: what is going on, why it has been going on, how to fix it, and to be cured! Now we serve a BIG GOD! We need to clearly see and know the mind of Christ in this. The red tape is unbelievable! But we serve the God of the unbelievable! Please pray that God directs us to the right doctor at the right hospital at the right time for the right diagnosis and the right treatment plan. Thank you for your love, faithful praying, and just always being there. We love and appreciate you. You are an awesome prayer partner!

In Christ alone,
Gene and Julie

September 2010 Prayer Calendar

2010-08-30T17:02:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends, Family and Prayer Partners,

Have you ever seen a person glow before? I mean truly glowing. I hadn’t until about 2 weeks ago. For those that have been Christians for a long time, do you remember the first time you went to youth camp? The fellowship, discipleship, spiritual renewal, and hearing from great speakers? What if your entire life you’d never gone to camp? Well up until a few weeks ago, Miguel had never been to camp. A few days before, he was invited by a friend and was very excited about going, but didn’t have the money. God provided the money (while at the same time teaching Miguel several valuable lessons about faith and patience) and for the first time in his life, Miguel went to camp. When he came back he was literally glowing. Spending the week with 150 other youth on fire for God definitely had an impact on Miguel’s life. He had been so close to the Lord that week that I was jealous to have that same intimacy too. God is good!

Here is a brief rundown on what else has been happening here:

171,917 students started school last week at UASD. The vast majority of them do not know the name of Jesus. Rivero and Jose Manual are in the process of starting up their seeker groups again and each is praying about starting a second group. Emily and Gina are working on starting a seeker group among female English-speaking students and two students from a nearby university have expressed interest in starting seeker groups on their campuses as well.

The church plant in Esmeralda had a very rocky July and August. God pruned half of the group away, but what is left is a solid group. We are very excited that they are starting to really see themselves as a New Testament church and, on their own initiative, have even begun collecting tithes and offerings. New people are beginning to come and perhaps the most exciting part is that Miguel, and not us, has assumed the leadership role during this change.

Spiritual attacks against us have continued. You can read about our latest battle against the enemy by CLICKING HERE.

Julie Pickern continues to be stable during her recovery and remains in a nursing home in Pensacola. Last weekend was she was allowed to go out on a date-night with Gene and that really lifted her spirits. Please continue to pray for her.

Thank you so much for joining us in prayer, even just 30 seconds a day makes all the difference in the world for us. Some have even found it helpful to print out the calendar and use it in their daily devotional time.

You can download our September 2010 Prayer Calendar by CLICKING HERE.

Thank you for holding the rope, while we go down into the pit,
~ Ryan, Emily and Chase

“I believe it will only be known on the last day how much has been accomplished [overseas] by the prayers of earnest believers at home” – J.O. Fraser

Never Been so Glad to be Stuck in Traffic

2010-08-27T09:52:00.001-07:00

What do you do if you’re in a third world country, you’re by yourself with your 9-month old child, your husband left the 30 minutes ago to minister in an area with no cell phone coverage, and you get a phone call from the police saying your husband has just been in an accident and killed someone and if you can’t post his bail right now, the family of the victim will kill him?

That is the situation Emily found herself in last Tuesday. She had seen me leave the house 30 minutes prior to drive the 20 miles to San Cristóbal to meet with Miguel for mentoring. When the phone rang the caller introduced himself as the police and he told Emily that I had been in a car accident and that a Dominican had been killed. The caller said that the accident had created an uproar and that the family of the victim was very upset and was seeking to hurt, injure or kill me in revenge, but that he had contained me in a safe location for the time being. The caller told Emily that if she told anyone about the accident or brought anyone else into the discussion about it, he would release me to the victim’s family and they would hurt or kill me. Emily’s initial thoughts were that he was a corrupt police officer at the site of the accident, willing to try to keep me safe in exchange for a payment.

Knowing that where I was in San Cristóbal had no cellphone reception, Emily quickly dialed our friend Anthony on another phone line and told him that there was an emergency and he needed to get to our house immediately. Anthony then contacted Sharon (another missionary) who began to notify our organization’s leadership and other missionaries on the island and began to give them specific assignments such as checking the jails and streets for signs of an accident.

The caller told Emily that in order to protect me she’d need to pay a bail immediately and that I was being held at the jail. He stated that the bail was 35,700 pesos ($991.00 USD) or she could give collateral that would equal that value. He specifically mentioned jewelry or a plasma TV. [Side note: does it bother anyone else that the bounty on my life was so ridiculously low? I mean the Taliban demands millions in ransom and mine is less than a grand. Really?] Emily told him that she had neither of those and did not have the money in her home.

During this time the caller continually yelled at Emily and tried to create a stressful situation. Emily was intentionally being compliant and telling the caller she would work with him to get the money as a means of stalling for time until other missionaries could arrive at the home to help her as well as verify that an accident actually took place. She was also constantly on the other line with other missionaries, passing information on to them.

Now here is the cool part…. During the entire time that we’ve been here, never once (let alone during peak traffic times) have we ever passed by another missionary on the road or met them in traffic. Not one single time. However, God knew that this situation was going to happen and he arranged it for Rodney and I to not only see each other, but to talk for a few minutes while sitting in traffic at the exact turn off for the only road to San Cristóbal. Had I been 4 cars further up, or 4 cars further back we would have never seen each other. Had we been 100 yards further along, or 100 yards further behind, Rodney wouldn’t have known that I was going to San Cristóbal. So when Sharon called Rodney, Rodney said “that’s impossible, he’s in San Cristóbal” and he then drove the 20 miles to the exact location where I was.

As he turned the corner he saw me in a mentoring meeting with Miguel, completely clueless as to what was happening (because of the lack of cell service). Rodney quickly explained to me what was happening and I immediately left Esmeralda heading back home, while setting a new land speed record and trying to contact Emily to tell her that I was okay.

About an hour after the ordeal began and shortly after some other missionaries arrived at the house, I was able to contact Emily to tell her that I was okay and that it was all a scam. Within the next few minutes approximately 12 other missionaries and Dominicans arrived at our house. Having been disconnected during this time the caller called back and Anthony began talking with him over the phone. When the caller heard a male voice he quickly hung up.

So how does the story end? Well, one of the Dominicans who came to the house is a trainer of the Dominican SWAT team. Emily gave a statement to him and provided him with the information from the caller ID. As of right now, the caller has not been heard from again and hasn’t made any attempts to call the house again. Furthermore, since this incident happened, several Dominicans have mentioned that they too have relatives who have been victims of this same extortion attempt.

But there is a bigger issue here. Simply put: Spiritual warfare is real and prayer is our only weapon, but our God is bigger and he is always in control (Isn’t it awesome how he orchestrated the timing just perfectly for Rodney and me to see each other?) Emily and I have sat down and reflected on just the past two years alone with: the robbery, the demon possession, the riot at UASD, our emergency return to the states for pre-term labor, stolen credit cards, a minor kidnapping by an angry bus driver who felt cheated, cars breaking down at strategic ministry times, crazy health problems, four family members passing away, and many other things and though you never want anything things like this to happen, we find comfort not only in God’s protection for us, but also in knowing that Satan is not happy with what we’re doing here. If we didn’t have things like this ever happen, we’d probably begin to wonder if we’re truly being effective.

Thank you to everyone who was praying for us. We CANNOT be here without your prayers.

I’m sure there are others whose names I’ve forgotten to mention and I apologize for that, but I’d like to publically thank the following people for their help during this situation: Carlitos, Salvador, Anthony, Jochi, Elvis, Ted, Kerri, Steve, Stephen, Alejandro, Rodney, Sharon, and Pedro.

Hurricane Season

2010-08-27T09:20:00.002-07:00

Would you keep the Dominican Republic in your prayers this week? Hurricane Danielle (Category 4 hurricane) turned northward and will miss us, but Tropical Storm Earl is expected to become a hurricane by Saturday is still headed towards us. Also, there is a third tropical storm forming which could also become a hurricane right behind Earl.

Click to enlarge

Sweet Surprise

2010-08-26T13:56:00.002-07:00

Despite a rough week, there was definitely an ......(wait for it)...... "icing on the cake" here in the Dominican Republic. Click Here

oh yeah, I said it!

Julie Pickern - Update 12

2010-08-26T13:46:00.001-07:00

Here is the latest from Julie in her own words:

dear prayer partners,

God has been doing so much, i want to share what all He has been teaching me without writing a book! back in june, i thought i just had a stroke which brought me to the states. by the time i got to atlanta, my symptoms were beginning to get worse rather than get better and i couldn't even stand by myself. my flight was delayed in atlanta , so i was stuck at a hospital there on my way to the hospital in pensacola, florida. there, they were 99% sure the thing on my brain stem was cancer. it could have been, God could have just turned it around. it could have been a tumor, but God could have turned that around too! now we know it was neither one! PTL!

i finally was sent to a nursing home facility for rehab. it was a God send. a church where gene used to be the pastor for 12 years, offered a home for all of us to stay in as long as we need it during this time, another God send. so now we have a home and a place to worship, how awesome is God!!

you know the story about God speaking to me through the book of is.43. which is amazing that holy God speaks to unholy man and draws him to Himself is amazing to me.

a pastor came by and asked me to come to his church and share my testimony. here i sat in my wheelchair when he asked me that. i was overwhelmed that God would and could use this broken body for His honor and glory. i realized that God used the Lord Jesus on the cross and He could not be any more perfect or whole even though His body was broken, yet He said by these stripes you are healed. i am healed, now, in this broken body. if God wants to use this body broken, in a wheelchair, so what! if 'he wants to use it like a "normal" person's body would look, so be it. it belongs to God. i would not change a thing. not what He has taught me about Himself, nor the people He has brought onto my life, not even the the pain (as long as i have God and pain meds!!). lol

please pray:
* that we go to the correct doctors & that at the right time they will know the diagnosis & what the best treatment plan is.
* God's perfect will to be done & Himself to be glorified
* energy, strength, rest, health, & peace for gene during this time. God has blessed me with such an awesome husband and family.
*that God will guide in all the details that must be worked out to prepare for Julie to return home.
we love you & appreciate you very much,
gene and julie pickern

Let the Classes Begin!

2010-08-23T03:00:00.001-07:00

Today 171, 917 students started classes at UASD. In addition to secular philosophy and evolution, they will be exposed to Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Hare Krishnas, a very legalistic form of Pentecostalism, and almost 500 years worth of spiritual baggage. There is virtually no evangelical presence at UASD. Please remember the UASD in your prayers.

Father, the harvest is truly great at UASD, but the laborers are few. Therefore I pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers. Lord, send out workers into the harvest field of UASD, into the harvest fields of every campus in the Dominican Republic. Lord, send out workers today - thousands of them - and guide the non-believers to find the new Bible studies/church plants. Put it in the hearts of the students that do know you on campus, to go into the harvest fields and preach the gospel and reap a great harvest. Lord, stretch out your mighty right hand and perform signs, wonders, and miracles in the name of your Holy servant Jesus, through the hands of your servants, your workers at UASD. Thank you Lord, that it is your will that none should perish. The harvest is plentiful at UASD, therefore, send out more workers! In Jesus' mighty name, Amen.

Julie Pickern - Update 11

2010-08-18T19:09:00.001-07:00

Latest info on Julie......

It is a long story that I best not explain, but Julie was finally cleared to return to the Century Care Center to continue her rehab yesterday Tuesday August 17. Her therapy was restarted today. She had her hair cut and highlighted. She looks beautiful. We have a date set for Saturday to resume our tradition of having a date night each week.

Also, Julie’s doctor in Pensacola is sending all her records to UAB hospital in Birmingham, Alabama for review and input. We will have a conference with the doctor in 2 weeks about that review, and hopefully to learn what can be done to reach a firm diagnosis and treatment plan for Julie.

Please pray for us as follows:

That God will give Julie strength for the speech, occupational and physical therapy sessions, and cause the filter and medication to prevent any other blood clots from forming and going to her heart or lungs.
That God will give the doctor in Birmingham His wisdom and knowledge to review Julie’s case and understand what the problem is and what should be done for further evaluation and/or treatment.
That God will calm my anxieties and give me peace in this storm. I have had to argue, push and shove almost every step of the way to advocate for Julie and get her the care she needs. And to be honest, I am tired. Maybe I should not be this transparent with you, but I need your prayer support more than ever right now.

Last week Julie and I celebrated 33 years of marriage. Julie is the best Christian I know, and this is not the first time I have said that. I have said it many times through the years. She demonstrates the unconditional love, mercy and grace of Jesus our Lord more than anyone else I know. I have reminded our children several times that their mother’s grace rescued them from my prophetic instinct toward pronouncing judgment now, and asking questions later, more than once. If not for Julie’s capacity to forgive and continue to show God’s love to me, I doubt seriously that our marriage and our ministry would have survived 33 years together. If not for Julie, my life and ministry could have been shipwrecked many times. I still need her, and continue to prevail in prayer for her healing. Thank you for being so faithful to pray with me for the best Christian I know. May God richly bless each of you.

Gene Pickern

Money or People?

2010-08-13T06:45:00.000-07:00

At the close of the meeting the chairman said that by my request it had been intimated on the bills that there would be no collection; but he felt that many present would be distressed and burdened if they had not the opportunity of contributing something toward the good work proposed. He trusted that as the proposition emanated entirely from himself, and expressed, he felt sure, the feelings of many in the audience, I should not object to it. I begged, however that the condition agreed to might be carried out; pointing out among other reasons for making no collection, that the very reason adduced by our kind chairman was, to my mind, one of the strongest for not making it. My wish was, not that those present should be relieved by making such contribution as might there and then be convenient, under the influence of a present emotion; but that each one should go home burdened with the deep need of China, and ask of God what He would have them do. If, after thought and prayer, they were satisfied that a pecuniary contribution was what He wanted of them, it could be given to any missionary society having agents in China; or it might be posted to our London office, but that perhaps in many cases what God wanted was not money contribution, but personal consecration to His service abroad; or the giving up of son or daughter - more precious than silver or gold - to His service. I added that I thought the tendency of a collection was to leave the impression that the all-important thing was money, whereas no amount of money could convert a single soul; that what was needed was the men and women filled with the Holy Ghost should give themselves to the work: for the support of such there would never be a lack of funds.

~ Hudson Taylor from The Biography of Hudson Taylor

Julie Pickern - Update 10

2010-08-11T19:02:00.003-07:00

Latest update as of 10pm on Wednesday night (Aug. 11). Blood clots are extremely dangerous so please keep praying.

Sorry to be sending so many updates this week. However, things are happening very fast with Julie right now. The doctors confirmed this afternoon that Julie has multiple blood clots in both legs. They will insert a filter in the morning to catch any blood clots that may break loose from her legs to prevent a blood clot from going to the heart or the lungs. They will also check to see whether she already may have a blood clot in the lungs. They wanted to do an MRI of the spinal column today, but this will now have to wait until the blood clot issue is resolved.

Thank you for continuing to pray faithfully for us. Josh, Christie, Julie and I have all thanked God again today that Nicole, Julie’s speech therapist, saw the new symptoms that prompted us to get Julie to the emergency room last night. Otherwise, she could have been doing her physical therapy today with blood clots in both legs, and that could have gotten really bad. These struggles are not easy, but we are seeing through each step in this journey that God’s providential and purposeful grace is sufficient. His strength is being made perfect in our weakness. Thanks in advance for remembering to pray for Julie tomorrow as she goes through this new trial.

Gene Pickern

Julie Pickern - Update 9

2010-08-11T07:12:00.003-07:00

This first update came in at around 1am EST on Wednesday (Aug. 11) in the morning.

The speech therapist recognized some new and some worsening neurological symptoms during her therapy session with Julie Tuesday afternoon, August 10. After notifying the doctor’s office, the neurology group nurse asked me to take Julie to the emergency room at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, FL. They did another MRI, but they could not locate the previous ones to compare the new one with. However, the emergency room doctor did tell me that there is still only one lesion on the brain stem, though he could not say if it is larger or smaller than before. The ER doctor admitted Julie to the hospital and said the neurologist will see her Wednesday, though the nurse had told me the neurologist on call would see her Tuesday evening.

Wednesday morning someone from our organization's medical department should be discussing Julie’s care with the neurologist in Pensacola. I will be pushing for Julie to be referred to a hospital and a doctor with more experience dealing with Julie’s condition, since all the doctors here agree that it is very rare and they are not sure yet how to proceed to get a firm diagnosis and treatment plan. Please pray with me that God will work through someone to get Julie to the right person and the right place. If that is another doctor here in Pensacola, so be it. If it is a doctor in another place, may His will prevail soon. Should it be the same doctors with a new zeal to get some answers, this will also be okay. Please pray that God will fill everyone involved with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. That is the cry of my heart right now. Thank you for continuing to stand in the gap praying for us.

Gene Pickern

This second update came in at around 10am on Wednesday (Aug. 11) morning.

Thank the Lord Dr. King came in this morning announcing that he will be more aggressive in his approach to reach a diagnosis and develop a treatment plan for Julie. The MRI done last night did not reveal anything new. The doctor is ordering an MRI of the spinal column/central nervous system, blood tests for auto-immune disorders, eye tests and other things to begin today. He will also be testing for lyme disease (the tick thing), which is what Dr. Kathy thought it could be before we left the DR. The new and/or worsening symptoms the speech therapist saw yesterday seem to be better this morning. Julie and I believe God may have orchestrated the entire episode to get her back to the hospital and motivate the doctor to become more motivated in his approach. Please join us giving praise to God and praying that the new tests and exams will help Dr. King reach an accurate diagnosis soon. Thanks for being faithful to pray for us.

Gene Pickern

The Future

2010-08-09T08:11:00.003-07:00

This past week we spoke with our regional supervisor about what our future in February 2011 might look like. (Our term is up in February and due to the economic crisis there are cutting back the missionary force rather than expanding it).

He told us that he was doing everything he could and that this month would be a critical month as some final decisions are being made about a couple of potential new positions. It is a long process and nothing is by any means certain, but there is a very small chance we could land in one of those jobs.

This month would you please raise us and this situation up to the Father. Pray that His will, and not ours, would be done.

Julie Pickern - Update 8

2010-08-08T15:03:00.003-07:00

Here's the latest update on Julie as of Sunday August 8th:

We learned nothing new during our visit with the doctor on Thursday August 5. He reviewed what he told me in our phone conversation the week before, and said he will schedule another MRI soon to check for any changes. The next visit was scheduled for September 13, 2010. Since we do not have a diagnosis or treatment, waiting 5 ½ weeks for the next visit is confusing and frustrating for us (more me than Julie). Someone from our organization's medical department will be speaking with the doctor this coming week, hopefully to get things moving faster for a diagnosis. Please pray that God will guide those conversations toward a better plan.

Concerning the nodules on my [Gene] thyroid glands, I have good news. One of the nodules has disappeared and the other measured smaller than it did in Santo Domingo. It is too small to biopsy and poses little risk for developing thyroid cancer. Therefore, the doctor will check it again in 6 months. All I need to do now is continue taking the medicine each day. Thank you for praying with us about this. Now we can give God praise for answering our prayers.

Hi, it’s Julie. I want to share a note. As I was lying here in the nursing home and was reading Isaiah 43:19 and following, the Lord showed me something awesome! The Bible says, “I have created you, I am doing a new thing, can you see it?” At the time, I physically could not see it. My eyes were blurry and I just could not see very well. So I read it again. The words became clear and seemed to jump off the page at me. I knew it was God. I said yes Lord I see it! Then it talks about streams in the desert, and God forgiving us (me) of our sins already simply because He loves us. How awesome is that! There is not one thing we can do to earn it. Here I am, a perfect picture of that. I am totally dependent on others to do everything. I am also totally dependent on God’s forgiveness and love. Please read Is. 43 when you have a chance, it will bless you. I love you. Thank you for your prayers and emails. God bless.

Gene and Julie

Julie Pickern - Update 7

2010-08-05T13:44:00.003-07:00

We are still waiting word on the meeting between the Pickerns and the Doctor. In the meantime, I wanted to share a note to all of you who are praying, from Julie's son and daughter Josh and Christie.

We just want to thank everyone who has kept mom in their prayers. Without you we wouldn't have made it this far. When our faith was weak, your faith was continuously strong. God's people are amazing. You have blessed us in ways words cannot express. Your generosity and compassion has been overwhelming. When the outcome looked bleak, you lifted our spirits. Know this, God wanted to use you to bring encouragement to us and we are forever grateful that you allowed Him to use you.

You were also part of a miracle. I have no doubt that the doctors in Atlanta saw a cancerous tumor in mom's brain stem. I have no doubt the doctors in Pensacola saw the same thing. There was little hope in their eyes. But our hope wasn't in doctors. Our hope was in an Almighty God's hand. And He heard our cries, and He listened to our prayers. And He worked a miracle that only He could work. And we rejoice with you.

We're not out of the woods just yet and we still covet your prayers. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you and may God bless you. Here's a scripture passage that is helping me get through this. I just wanted to share it with you guys. Much love,

Josh and Christie

Psalm 97:1-6 (NIV)

1 The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad;
let the distant shores rejoice.

2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

3 Fire goes before him
and consumes his foes on every side.

4 His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.

5 The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the Lord of all the earth.

Julie Pickern - Update 6

2010-07-30T14:51:00.002-07:00

This just came in from Gene. We are praising the Lord while awaiting more information. (Please note the part I put in bold)

Finally, we started getting some news from the pathology report and biopsy yesterday. First of all, the oncologist called to say that Julie does not have cancer and to tell me that we would not need his services. Today, Dr. King, the neurologist, called to tell me the following:

1. We know what it is not. It is not cancer, and it is not a tumor. He reminded me that they thought it was a tumor and cancer in Atlanta, and that the team of doctors in Pensacola thought the same thing, but said the pathology report from the biopsy shows that it is not.
2. We know what it is. It is "active inflamatory demyelination neurological", which is inflamation and/or damage to the covering of the nerve fibers.
3. We do not know the cause, and the next important step is to determine the tests necessary to discern the cause if possible. Dr. King could not give me a prognosis without first determining the cause.
4. The steroid therapy they started in Atlanta, and continued in Pensacola is exactly the treatment they would have prescribed if they had known this from day one. Since Julie's motor skills have begun improving after only 3 days of therapy, the doctor said this is a possible sign that the steroid treatment is working to some degree.
5. Julie will see Dr. King on Thursday, and he should have a plan of action to discuss with us then.

The final diagnosis is still a mystery, but Julie and I thank God that we got some news that gives us a glimmer of new hope. In Atlanta the doctors told me there was nothing that could be done--no biopsy, no surgery, no treatment--to help Julie. In Pensacola the surgeon said he could do the biopsy, and did it. All the doctors thought Julie had a malignant tumor, but now we know different. When we left Santo Domingo, Julie walked from the apartment to the car with my assistance. By the time we got to Atlanta, she could not walk at all. In Atlanta they were giving her morphine and other strong pain medicines "just to keep her comfortable". Today she walked again down the hallway by herself with only the assistance of the walker. What the end of all this will be is still a mystery, but we can see that God is working. And Julie is giving testimony of God's grace to everyone who enters the room. We know we have some hope today that we did not have three weeks ago because of God's grace and all the prayers being lifted to the throne of grace by our family, friends and fellow missionaries. Thank you for being so faithful to pray. Please continue to pray that God will give Dr. Lawrence King the necessary wisdom and insight to unravel the rest of this medical mystery for Julie and me. We do love you, and appreciate each one of you.

Gene

August 2010 Prayer Calendar

2010-07-30T14:48:00.001-07:00

Much has been happening here in the Dominican Republic lately. Here is a quick snapshot of what’s been going on during the last month:

In response to dropping attendance, and a general feeling of becoming stagnant, the church plant in Esmeralda decided to switch from meeting on Sunday afternoons to Wednesday evenings. We were encouraged with a great first meeting on this new day and time last week with two new people coming and bringing signs of new life to the group.

UASD remains on summer vacation until August 17th. Jose Manual and Rivero both concluded their seeker groups with students saying they couldn’t wait until the groups started up again next semester. Also, it seems that the Lord may have put a young English language student in Emily’s path who is interested in starting a Bible study among her friends. We’re excited to see how this will develop.

Something that we are very excited about is next week a church from the states has graciously offered to come and host a prayer retreat for those of us working here in the Dominican Republic. We are looking forward to getting away for a few days for some concentrated prayer for the work here.

Thank you so much for joining us in prayer, even just 30 seconds a day makes all the difference in the world for us.

You can download our August Prayer Calendar by CLICKING HERE.

“I believe it will only be known on the last day how much has been accomplished [overseas] by the prayers of earnest believers at home” – J.O. Fraser

Julie Pickern - Update 5

2010-07-27T17:51:00.004-07:00

This is the latest info sent out by Gene on Tuesday (27th) evening, please continue to pray:

Though we still do not have results from the biopsy done last Tuesday July 19, Julie was transferred today from Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Florida to Century Care Center (a skilled nursing facility/nursing home) in Century, Florida. The purpose is for more physical therapy and rehab. We had to transport Julie by car, and the logistics of loading and unloading were a little difficult. The idea of transferring to a "nursing home" at age 52 was also very difficult for Julie and all the family. However, once there she quickly began the adjustment. She depends totally on God's grace.

Even if we get the biopsy results tomorrow, the doctors indicated today it could be another week or more before they get a treatment plan together. Please pray the biopsy results get back soon, and that the doctors will be motivated to act more quickly in Julie's behalf. Also pray for us both as the adjustment is made to life in this new place for Julie. We love you and really appreciate your prayers and expression of concern for us.

Gene

Julie Pickern - Update 4

2010-07-24T16:05:00.004-07:00

Gene just sent out an update:

We are still waiting to get the results from the biopsy done last Tuesday. We are now told it will probably be Wednesday [the 28th] of the coming week or later before we get any news. The goal is to get a treatment plan for Julie so that she can be transferred to West Florida Rehabilitation Center. The rehab center will not approve her transfer until the doctors have the biopsy results and have decided on her treatment plan. Each delay is a little more discouraging, especially for Julie right now, but I am reminding myself to walk through this time one day at time.

I have been thinking a lot about the healing of the paralytic. His friends carried him to where Jesus was, made a hole in the roof of the house, and lowered the man down to the feet of Jesus. Jesus looked at the man’s friends, and the Bible says when He saw their faith (the collective faith of the group), He then spoke words of forgiveness and healing to the paralytic. Julie and I are very aware of the host of family, friends, and fellow missionaries who are praying for us and lifting us up to Jesus. I am leaning on your faith, and I am asking the Lord to see your collective faith, especially in those moments when my faith seems so weak. Your prayers are helping to sustain us. Thank you for being so faithful to lift us up to the Lord.

GlossoXenoglossophobia

2010-07-22T15:46:00.010-07:00

I found out a few days ago that I have a nasty phobia. It actually caught me quite off guard. Other than my regular fears of needles, anesthesia awareness and camel spiders, not too much phases me. Surprisingly even the most common fear in the world - Glossophobia - the fear of public speaking, isn't a problem for me. And after a little more than two years living in Spanish speaking countries - xenoglossophobia - the fear of foreign languages, doesn't phase me either.

However, I didn't realize that when you combine the two, I don't do too well. We're talking, the sweats, shakes; the whole package.

So when I was recently asked to lead a virtual prayer walk for 40 Dominican Pastors, I realized I had to invent a word to describe how I felt and so "GlossoXenoglossophobia" was born.

In the end, God gave me some last minute courage and it wasn't as bad as I thought. That's one of the beautiful things of having Christian brothers and sisters, they were so full of grace and mercy as I horribly butchered their language.

Below are some of the pictures as Pastors lifted up their city to the Father.

Mapping out the locations of existing churches in Santo Domingo.

I'm leading them through a virtual tour of UASD via Google Earth. After seeing and learning about a place we'd then focus in on spiritual hot spots and pray over them.

Pastors Praying

Julie Pickern - Update 3

2010-07-20T13:00:00.001-07:00

Julie tolerated the biopsy well this morning, though it was painful and a little scary. She is in the room now sleeping off the effects of the drowsy medicine. The doctor said the CT scan afterward revealed that he drilled into the center of the mass. He said we could know something from the analysis as soon as tomorrow, or as late as next week.

Julie Pickern - Update 2.5 (Updated)

2010-07-15T13:50:00.003-07:00

The biopsy on the tumor has been scheduled for Tuesday the 20th and could take up to a week for the results.

Julie Pickern - Update 1

2010-07-13T16:58:00.003-07:00

Yesterday Gene and Julie took a 5 hour ambulance ride from Atlanta to Pensacola FL (to be closer to family). They have arrived and are settled and have already seen some doctors. Today Julie was re-evaluated with some new tests that weren’t done in Atlanta. They met with a well-respected neurosurgeon and a well respected oncologist. The neurosurgeon wants to do a biopsy of the tumor to find out more of what they’re dealing with. This is something they were told couldn’t be done in Atlanta so they are both very encouraged. The biopsy will be scheduled in the next few days.

Julie is currently on steroids to manage the size/symptoms of the tumor as well as some pain meds. She has been sleeping a lot as the long road trip was hard on her. Gene said that the condition of her arm has improved and she moved her left leg and knee for the first time since last Friday. He mentioned that despite all this, she remains full of faith and peace, something he attributes directly to the prayer coverage over them.

Emergency Prayer Request - Julie Pickern

2010-07-11T09:14:00.004-07:00

Prayer Warriors,

I'm humbly asking you today to intercede for a miracle.

Our close friend, co-leader of the urban transformation team, and prayer warrior Julie Pickern is not doing well.

About eight days ago Julie's face went numb and she couldn't use her left leg. Two hospitals and two neurosurgeons both agreed that it was a minor stroke that could be fixed with medication. Over the next few days Julie wasn't improving so the decision was made for her to leave Santo Domingo and go to Pensacola, Florida for a second opinion. During the layover in Atlanta her condition deteriorated and she was admitted to Atlanta Medical Center immediately. She has been diagnosed as not having a stroke, but with an inoperable brain tumor. The location of the tumor on the brain stem also prevents them from doing radiation.

Julie is the sweetest women you will ever meet. We take comfort in the fact that she is deeply in love with her master and creator, but are still praying for a miracle.

Would you take a moment to intercede for Julie and Gene and their family?

Almost

2010-07-08T18:08:00.001-07:00

How do you teach someone about spiritual warfare who has never experienced it? Simple, just plan a baptism.

For weeks the plan had been in place. Bring two seeker groups and one church plant together for fellowship, networking and baptism. Three people from the church plant and two from the seeker group were to be baptized. Plans were made, a location chosen, assignments given to bring food, and transportation secured. Everyone was excited; this was going to be an awesome day.

Almost.

The first time we realized something was happening was about two weeks before the baptism. One of the 5 people wanting to be baptized disappeared. (To this day we don’t know what happened to him. His mother and stepfather are very abusive and involved in witchcraft so theories range from he ran away from them because they were trying to kill him to they actually succeeded.)

Things were relatively smooth after that until 24 hours before the big day. Then the attacks came one after another:

The second of the five to be baptized received an emergency call from his father telling him to return to Haiti immediately because his mother was very sick.
A close relative of four members of Esmeralda (including the third person to be baptized) was in a serious motorcycle accident. They couldn’t go on Sunday because they needed to care for him.
Another person's mother told him that he shouldn’t come.
Someone else had a last minute scheduling conflict.
The fourth person to be baptized had a massive migraine that came out of nowhere, but was still planning to come.

The morning of the baptism:

The fourth person to be baptized called Rivero and told him that she was feeling confused and started to have doubts. She also said that her mom didn’t want her to go. As she left the house that morning, she accidentally left her cell phone behind and was out of reach.
Another person came down with serious fever.
Someone else came down with the flu during the night.

So finally, after all that, Emily, me, three church planters and the fifth person to be baptized finally arrived at the river, and that’s when the next wave of Satan’s attacks started:

Our lunch plans fell through.
Some people had forgotten their entrance fees to the river.
Bibles were forgotten.
Swimsuits and towels forgotten.
Rather than arriving at 1pm as they always do, the huge crowds arrived right after we arrived at 10:00am.
For the first time ever, we were denied a table because they wanted to charge for it.
30 seconds after starting our prayer time, the loudest meringue music you’ve ever heard began blasting so loud, you couldn’t hear the person next to you.

But God was there too.

Right before the prayer time Miguel did something I’d never seen him do before. He stopped our worship time and asked the group if they felt like they’d “been under attack lately?” (I know I know - understatement of the year.) They then went around the circle sharing their experiences of spiritual attacks within the last few days.

It was amazing. This group of church planters, who’d never really before seen true spiritual warfare, was able to identify it as such, recognize that the battle is real and truly began to understand just how important prayer is as a weapon.

God knew that these church planters are going to face serious opposition in their future, and to prepare them for it, he allowed a situation in which they could all experience it together, learn together, support one another and pray together.

Just a little more than three months since his own baptism, Miguel baptized Carolín and we expect Roxana and Peter to be baptized within the next week or two.

In the midst of spiritual attacks, we can always trust that God is in control.

Miguel baptizing Carolín

(L-R) Jose Manuel, Miguel, Ryan, Rivero, Carolín

Having fun in the river afterwards

No One Came

2010-07-05T13:07:00.005-07:00

A few weeks ago both Rivero and Jose Manual started their very first seeker groups on campus at UASD (which will eventually transform into church plants). Rivero's got off to a rocky start.

Ryan: "Hey Rivero, how did your very first seeker group go today?"
Rivero: "Not too good"
Ryan: "Oh really? Why not?"
Rivero: "No one came"
Ryan: "No one?"
Rivero: "Just Peter, the guy I brought with me."
Ryan: "Oh man I'm sorry about that."
Rivero: "It's okay because I was able to spend time with Peter and he gave his life to the Lord today."

As if that wasn't awesome enough. I had the EXACT same conversation with him the following week, but substitute the name "Peter" for "Roxana." Two new believers in two weeks!

Rivero had received confirmations from 12 people that they would be there, but none of them came. But that's okay because God had something better planned. Sometimes we think we know the Lord's plans but he has something entirely different in mind.

My next post will speak of another recent example of how God's plans, Satan's plans, and my plans can all be very different.

Nuclear Bombs

2010-06-30T17:30:00.004-07:00

Last week I was giving a group of high school students on a short-term mission trip a tour of UASD. They asked me “What is your biggest need as a missionary?” I answered “Prayer.” They seemed a little disappointed with my answer so I explained to them that “Many people feel that, in terms of spiritual warfare, prayer is like a six-shooter revolver. We send up our requests to God as if we were lining up cans on a fence to shoot at and we hope that He answers them by knocking the cans off the fence. That is a mistaken belief. For us, prayer is not a six-shooter revolver, it’s a nuclear bomb. It is that important!”

This past month we saw an incredible amount of your prayers answered. Some of those were:

• Both Rivero and Jose Manual started new seeker groups on campus at UASD and are considering starting two more.
• Interest is spreading among other believers on campus to start their own seeker-groups which will turn into church plants.
• Carolín (June 11th request) accepted the Lord as her Savior.
• Alex (from Esmeralda) accepted the Lord as his Savior.
• Roxana and Peter both accepted the Lord in Rivero’s seeker group.
• All 4 new believers will be baptized Sunday, July 4th.

These names, which can now be found in the Book of Life for all eternity, are all a direct result of your prayers from back home.

Our July 2010 Prayer Calendar is available for download by CLICKING HERE.

Thank you for holding the rope, while we go down into the pit,

“I believe it will only be known on the last day how much has been accomplished [overseas] by the prayers of earnest believers at home” – J.O. Fraser

Rad like Dad

2010-06-30T07:05:00.002-07:00

Happy Birthday to the best daddy in the whole world!

I want to be "Rad like Dad" when I grow up!

We love you!

Love,

Emily and Chase

Happy Father's Day, Daddy

2010-06-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

My little eyes are on you,

And I'm watching night and day.

My little ears are quickly

Taking in every word you say.

My little hands are eager

To do anything you do;

I'm the little boy who's dreaming

Of the day I'll be like you.

You're my hero, Dad,

You're the wisest of the wise.

In my little mind about you

No suspicions ever rise.

I believe in you devoutly,

I hold all you say and do,

I will say and do in your way

When I'm all grown up like you.

I'm a wide-eyed little guy

Who believes you're always right

My ears are always open

And I watch you day and night.

You are setting an example

Every day in all you do

I'm the little boy who's waiting

To grow up to be just like you.

Thanks for being such a great Daddy. I love you, Daddy.

Love,

Chase

What Price is Too High?

2010-06-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

Leonard Dober determined that God’s call to him was to reach slaves in the Virgin Islands. He planned to reach these men and women by selling himself as a slave and working alongside others each day while sharing Jesus’ love with them. The thought of being a slave frightened and sickened him. He dreaded the treatment he would receive. “But Christ was willing to die on the cross for me,” he thought. “No price is too high to serve Him.”

It wasn’t the slave masters who were Dober’s harshest persecutors, but rather fellow Christians. They questioned his call to minister to slaves and ridiculed him as a fool for his plan. But Dober would not be dissuaded. He arrived in the Virgin Islands late in the 1730s.

When he became a servant in the governor’s house, he feared that this position was too far removed from the slaves to whom he had come to minister. So he left and moved from the governor’s house to a mud hut where he could work one-on-one with slaves.

In just three years, Dober’s ministry included more than thirteen thousand new converts.

Mmmm Rice Cereal

2010-06-09T19:21:00.008-07:00

Recently Chase started learning to eat rice cereal.

As you can see it's not going so well...

I asked him what it tasted like and this was his reaction

Strategic Prayer for Non-Believers

2010-06-08T16:34:00.005-07:00

Something we've seen time and time again, both on the field and back in the States, is the critical role that prayer plays in someone deciding to become a follower of Jesus. The following are just a few sample prayers you can use in praying for your own lost friends and family.

1. Lord, I pray that You draw _____ to Yourself (John 6:44).

2. I pray that _____ will seek to know You (Acts 17:27).

3. I pray that _____ will hear and believe the Word of God for what it really is (1 Thess. 2:13).

4. I ask You, Lord, to prevent Satan from blinding _____ to the truth (2 Cor. 4:4, 2 Tim. 2:25-26).

5. Holy Spirit, I ask You to convict _____ of sin and the need for Christ’s redemption (John 16:7-14).

6. I ask that You send someone who will share the gospel with _____ (Matt. 9:37-38).

7. I also ask that You give me or _____ the opportunity, the courage and the right words to share with _____ (Col. 4:3-6).

8. Lord, I pray that _____ will turn from sin and follow Christ (Acts 17:30-31; 1 Thess. 1:9-10)

9. Lord, I pray that _____ will put all of his/her trust in Christ (John 1:12, 5:24)

10. Lord, I pray that _____ will confess Christ as Lord, grow in faith and bear fruit for your glory (Rom. 10:9-10, Col. 2:6-7, Luke 8:15).

Why Did You Not Come Sooner?

2010-06-04T10:56:00.002-07:00

On one occasion I was preaching the glad tidings of salvation through the finished work of Christ, when a middle-aged man stood up, and testified before his assembled countrymen to his faith in the power of the Gospel.

“I have long sought for the truth,” said he earnestly, “as my fathers did before me; but I have never found it. I have traveled far and near, but without obtaining it. I have found no rest in Confucianism, Buddhism, or Taoism; but I do find rest in what I have heard here tonight. Henceforth I am a believer in Jesus.”

This man was one of the leading officers of a sect of reformed Buddhists in Ningpo. A short time after his confession of faith in the Saviour there was a meeting of the sect over which he had formerly presided. I accompanied him to that meeting, and there, to his former co-religionists, he testified of the peace he had obtained in believing. Soon after, one of his former companions was converted and baptized. Both now sleep in Jesus. The first of these two long continued to preach to his countrymen the glad tidings of great joy. A few nights after his conversion he asked how long this Gospel had been known in England. He was told that we had known it for some hundreds of years.

“What!” said he, amazed. “Is it possible that for hundreds of years you have had the knowledge of these glad tidings in your possession, and yet have only now come to preach it to us? My father sought after the truth for more than twenty years, and died without finding it. Oh, why did you not come sooner?”

A whole generation has passed away since that mournful inquiry was made; but how many, alas, might repeat the same question today? More than two hundred millions [sic] in the meanwhile have been swept into eternity, without an offer of salvation. How long shall this continue, and the Master’s words, “to every creature,” remain unheeded?

~ Hudson Taylor from Biography of Hudson Taylor, pg. 126-127

June 2010 Prayer Calendar

2010-06-01T04:45:00.004-07:00

Here comes summer! And so begins the season of summer vacation, pool parties, and graduations. (Speaking of graduations, I [Ryan] want to give a special shout-out to my brother Scott who just graduated with his Master of Arts in Philosophy of Religion from Talbot. I’m big time proud of you bro!!!). Summertime here brings us warmer temperatures, a new semester at UASD, and new works in North San Cristóbal.

Last month we asked you to pray specifically for Rivero and Jose Manual, two Christian students I’ve been working with at UASD. Both of them have done a great job during the last few weeks. We’ve been working on different types of evangelism and both are now actively sharing their faith daily with other student and are excited to start seeker Bible studies on campus in June.

However this month has been tough on many of us as well. Though we still have plans to one-day re-establish works there, the studies in La Finca and Moscú were ended for lack of interest. Although they served as excellent training grounds for Miguel and God is already opening up doors into new areas for new works, (and we are very excited about that), it is always difficult to watch a group end.

This month the Lord also taught me about the devastating effects of generational sin: For example:
• I met a 30 year-old grandmother
• Learned that a friend of mine has 18 siblings from many different fathers
• Was told that around 90% of all children in this country are sexually abused before the age of 12
• Have seen firsthand the effects of physical abuse and violence and absentee parents have on a family
• Learned that a daughter of a pastor is under demonic oppression and the entire extended family is involved in santería (a form of witchcraft).

It is only through your prayers that these chains of bondage can be broken.

In this month’s prayer calendar you will see more individual names. These names are real people, with real lives, real families, real problems and who really need Jesus. We’re including these names because we believe there is some serious spiritual power when we pray for people by name.

You can download the June 2010 Prayer Calendar by CLICKING HERE.

New Networks

2010-05-29T05:00:00.001-07:00

“We should join our groups together here to have fun, food and have a joint worship time together”

- Miguel, Jose Manuel and Rivero

After bringing all three of them together for the first time to meet each other, network, share, fellowship, trade ideas, and have a little fun at a local swimming spot in the river, I heard those wonderful words spoken.

"YES!! They are getting it!!!" I thought while smiling to myself.

Independent house/campus churches coming together on a regular basis for fellowship and worship! While it may not seem that new an idea to you, to hear these words from Dominican youth, who barely just met, in a country that is still struggling to accept the validity of non-traditional churches, THIS IS HUGE!!!

Praise the Lord.

New Work in Sabana Toro

2010-05-25T08:19:00.005-07:00

The last few days we've jumped in to help another missionary couple who have a large short-term team in town. Yesterday Miguel and I took 15 of them and headed off to an area Miguel is planning to start a new work in named Sabana Toro.

We broke down into 5 teams of three and went through the neighborhood prayerwalking, praying for/with people, identifying men and women of peace (Luke 10:6), and determining the overall receptivity of a new church start beginning there. (Jose Manual [from UASD] was able to come out and lead one of the teams.)

When each team came back to report, we were all amazed at what God had done. One team happened to meet the president of the neighborhood association who offered a nearby field for a church group, other teams came back with lists of names and phone numbers of people interested in attending.

God graciously surprised the team I was on and divinely guided us to meet the mayor of the entire area. We were able to share the plan of salvation with him, pray for healing for his back (which he says felt much better after we prayed), obtain his blessing for Miguel working there, and introduce him personally to Miguel.

God is good!

Please pray for this new work that will be starting over the next few weeks.

Please also pray for Antonio, a young man that Miguel led to the Lord a few weeks ago that happens to live in Sabana Toro. Pray that the Lord would raise up Antonio to participate in and eventually lead this new group.

Pray for the neighborhood of Sabana Toro (above)
and the new work that will be starting there

What is College Life Like Here...?

2010-05-19T12:40:00.002-07:00

During my lifetime I've been enrolled in 5 different universities at one time or another, and I've visited the campus of probably another 50 or 60 more all over the world. I'm pretty familiar with universities. Or at least I thought I was.

UASD is on the trimester system which means there are 3 back-to-back-to-back trimesters in a calendar year. As we complete our first trimester of ministry here at UASD, I thought I'd take a minute to share some of our more surprising learnings of what university life is like here at the first/oldest university in the new world:

Though there are 150,000 students from all over the island, there is no student housing on or off campus. That's right, no dorms! Most students commute several hours each way each day, the rest cram as many as possible into severely overcrowded apartments nearby.

Most students attend classes everyday from Monday-Saturday and some even have classes on Sundays as well.

Professors have a window of the final three weeks of school (with the new semester beginning on the last day of the 3rd week) in which to give the final exams. These exams don't have to be given during the normal class times which means if you have two finals given at the same time, you'll probably lose one of your classes.

Due to political assassinations under the Trujillo dictatorship in the 1950's, the national police are no longer allowed on campus. Ever. (I still haven't figured out who's in charge if there is a problem on campus).

The behavior of the professors is not regulated like it is in the states. I was quite surprised when many of the students began to educate me about what some of the professors really do. All of these examples below I've heard independently from at least 3 different students:

If a teacher doesn't post your grades (for any reason such as: they forgot, they were lazy, they didn't like you, etc.) you won't get credit for the class and will have to retake it. Almost every student I've met has lost at least one class this way, many of them have lost several.

If you are a male student in the class and the girl you are dating is also in the class, and the professor would like to start dating your girlfriend, it is quite common for him to fail you (the boyfriend) and fail the girl as well if she won't date him.

Teachers who were angry have been known to pick up and smash a student's laptop with no consequences.

After learning about some of professors practices here, I naturally asked about what options the students had to protect themselves from this kind of harassment. The short answer: None!

With all of the stresses from school added to the already stressful living conditions at home, I can begin to understand why many students so often result to violence as a way to express their frustration.

So for all of those reading this who are still in school back in the states and who have a professor that they don't really like, remember that it could be a lot worse.

Surge in Assassinations

2010-05-15T07:11:00.004-07:00

In the past few days the "regular" acts of violence and murder here in the DR have seemed to surge. Most of it is related to drug trafficking. (What Colombia was in the 90's and Mexico is today, I predict the DR will be within the next 3-7 years). However, with national elections tomorrow, a few political candidates have already started being assassinated as well.

Unfortunately there have been a lot of innocent bystanders who have been killed in the crossfire of these assassinations.

Would you take a moment to lift up Santo Domingo and pray for peace to fill this land?

What if we Treated our Bible like our Cell Phone?

2010-05-10T07:25:00.002-07:00

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purse or pocket?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it?
What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
What if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?

Makes you stop and think, what are my priorities?

~ Author Unknown

You Know You're in the DR When...

2010-05-06T17:46:00.000-07:00

...you can pull over to the side of the freeway to select which piece of goat you'd like.

Local Butcher

Parties in Heaven

2010-05-02T15:24:00.003-07:00

"Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
- Luke 15:10

Will you join with us and the angels in heaven in celebrating a young man named Antonio coming to the Lord today. Miguel met Antonio a week ago and invited him to the Esmeralda study. Today (Sunday) there were very heavy rains and Antonio wasn't able to leave his house, but Miguel was not deterred. Sensing that the Lord had plans for Antonio, Miguel braved the elements and went to Antonio's house. Miguel shared the gospel with Antonio and Antonio accepted Jesus as his Savior and the Lord of his life! Soon to follow will be baptism and discipleship.

All this from someone whom himself was lost less than 5 months ago.

Glory to God!!!

May 2010 Prayer Calendar

2010-05-01T09:17:00.002-07:00

A happy early Mother’s Day to all of you mothers. God has been very busy at work here in the DR thanks to all of your prayers. I’d like to start by saying thank you for all the positive feedback we received about the new prayer calendar format. It seems like the new format must have been much more helpful because the Lord answered quite a few of your prayers last month.

Here are just a few of the answered prayers from the past month:

• In addition to Esmeralda, Miguel started not one, but two new Bible studies in nearby neighborhoods and he is praying about starting a third. You can read more by CLICKING HERE.
• Both Rivero and Jose Manual (April 7th prayer request) have heard from the Lord and are on fire right now as they are learning how to evangelize and start Bible studies at UASD.
• Through several divine appointments the Lord has given me several connections with believers at UASD who are waiting to be mobilized to win their campus for Him.

However the battle is far from over. One of the leaders of a student group on campus shared with me some statistics last week that broke my heart. She told me that of the 300,000 total university students in the Dominican Republic, half of them (150,000) go to UASD. Of those 150,000 students, 50% of them will never make it to graduation. That is, 75,000 of them will drop out for various reasons. Of those 75,000 that are women, 62% of them will drop out because of pregnancy. So to crunch the numbers, let’s assume that half of the 75,000 that drop out are women. That means 37,500 women drop out before graduating. Of those 37,500 women, 23,250 will drop out due to pregnancy. That means 16% of the 150,000 students at UASD will drop out due to pregnancy.

Only the Lord can stop these kinds of epidemics and He does it through your prayers! Your prayers are vital to us over here. Our team (the Urban Transformation Team) has intensified our prayer time and would like to invite you to join us. This Tuesday May 4th we’d like to invite you to join our team for a day of prayer and fasting for Santo Domingo.

We’d also like to share with you about a new way you can keep up with us. As you know, we do a majority of our updates here at: www.stonesonthealtar.com. Up until now, remembering to check our website or using an RSS feed reader were the only ways to stay up to date. We’ve recently added a new feature which will hopefully make it even easier. In the upper left column there is a place for you to enter your email address. If you enter your email address (and complete the validation request that will be sent to you), all new updates to our website will be automatically emailed to you.

If you'd like to download our May 2010 Prayer Calendar you can do so by CLICKING HERE.

Spreading Like Wild Fire!

2010-04-18T17:00:00.001-07:00

“Look among the nations, and see;
wonder and be astounded.
For I am doing a work in your days
that you would not believe if told.
- Habakkuk 1:5

This verse pretty much represents the past two weeks. I can't believe all the things God has been doing at the University and in San Cristóbal. Let me tell you about just one small part that I'm really excited about.

A little over a week ago Miguel told me that he noticed a new development (called La Finca) a few blocks away from Esmeralda and decided to meet some of the people there. Within a few hours he had a group of people agree to meet on Saturdays at 3pm to study the Bible together. Yesterday (Saturday) was their second meeting together.

Today when I met with Miguel and asked him how the group in La Finca went, he told me "It went so well, they asked me to start a group in Moscú (the next neighborhood over)." I asked him when that group would start and he told me "We started yesterday." He also told me that he is bringing Jesús with him to these groups to teach him how to eventually lead one on his own. (Jesús is a young boy that attends the Esmeralda group).

When Miguel told me this, I was both amazed and excited. On his own, without any involvement from me, a believer of just a few months clearly heard the prompting of the Holy Spirit and is beginning a new work in 2 new neighborhoods and discipling a Timothy. Further into our conversation he told me of yet another neighborhood he knew of that had no evangelical presence and he was praying about starting another group out there as well.

Isn't it exciting to see what the Holy Spirit can do when there aren't a bunch of "mature Christians" around to tell a young Christian why they can't do something.

Please pray for Miguel every Saturday at 3pm and 5pm as he leads and disciples these new groups as he himself is continuing to be discipled.

Please also pray for divine guidance in starting another work in the neighborhood 5 de Abril.

The red shows the area of the current Esmeralda church plant, the blue is the new bible study in La Finca, the yellow is the new study in Moscú, and the purple is the area of the next study in 5 de Abril.

Who Are You Trusting In?

2010-04-14T04:55:00.001-07:00

A sticker on the back of a public minibus that reads: "With God and the Virgin"

Truth in Advertising

2010-04-10T12:09:00.004-07:00

The following advertisement for the national beer "Presidente" appeared on the back cover of a prominent magazine recently. The ad's slogan is a clever play on words that goes straight to the root cause of the incredible rates of alcoholism found here in the DR.

"Llena el vacío que hay en mi" -- translation = "Fill the emptiness in me"

Pray that Dominicans would discover that only the Lord Himself can truly fill that emptiness.

You Know You're in the DR When...

2010-04-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

...regardless of it's weight, shape, number or form, it will always be able to fit on a motorcycle:

Washing Machine, no problem

Vegetable Deliveries

Home Decorations

Four (or more) on a motorcycle is the norm

"Honey I'll grab the luggage and you grab Junior"

RSS Feed Readers

2010-04-07T04:15:00.000-07:00

I posted this a little while back, but thought it may be helpful to re-post it again in case you missed it.

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We live in a busy world. Emily and I (Ryan) realize that many of you want to remain up-to-date on our ministry and prayer requests, but are too busy, or can’t remember to check our website on a regular basis. I may have a solution for you.

RSS Feed Readers.

Here is a VERY basic definition of what an RSS feed reader does and how it may help you: Every time we post a new message on our website, a little piece of information containing the text of what we just wrote, gets thrown out into cyberspace. RSS feed readers are looking for this information and when we throw it out there, they will catch it, and deliver it directly to you, either into a special program, or right into your email inbox.

In other words, you don’t need to check our website for new updates, because they’ll come straight to you.

There is one caveat though, this only works for the postings we put out. Any pictures or info we put into the sidebars (addresses, locations, email, etc.) will NOT be picked up by the feed reader.

There are tons of feed readers out there. Go to your favorite search engine and type in "Free RSS Feed Reader" and there will be more results than you know what to do with. They all have different features and almost all are free. One will surely meet your needs. Here are some I recommend:

Bloglines - (will put a notification icon in the bottom right corner of your screen [windows] when we have a new post). I used to use bloglines for my RSS feeds. Go to http://www.bloglines.com/
Feedreader - I haven’t used it, but I hear good things about it. Go to http://www.feedreader.com/
Outlook 2007 - This is the one I use. If you are using the 2007 version there is an RSS feed reader already built in. For more info go to http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HA012304631033.aspx
MacMail - If you are using a Mac and use Mac mail, there is an RSS feed reader built in as well.

When setting up our website with your RSS reader for the first time you it will ask you for the feed URL. Either go to our website and look down the left column under the title “Subscribe” or use:

http://ryanandemilybuttes.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Some internet browsers, such as Internet Explorer 7, have RSS feed readers built into them. If you click on "RSS Feed (XML)" in the lower left hand column, you may be taken to a page that says "Subscribe to this page" without needing to download an RSS Feed Reader. If so, click on "Subscribe to this page" to use your browser's RSS Feed Reader.

If you have any questions, just shoot me (Ryan) an email and I’d be glad to help.

He has Risen Indeed!!!

2010-04-04T03:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!!!

May all of you have a wonderful resurrection Sunday as you reflect on the greatest miracle of all time.

One of my favorite classes in seminary was taught by Dr. William Lane Craig entitled "Defense of the Resurrection." Since our entire faith hinges on this one event, (1 Corinthians 15:17) it is a pretty big deal. After that class I wrote an outline of all that I learned and used it as I taught the material in several churches.

For those of you who'd like, you may download and use these notes by CLICKING HERE.

Game Time

2010-04-02T08:35:00.000-07:00

Some of the group from Esmeralda playing Jenga after a Bible study

Latest from Haiti

2010-04-01T14:32:00.000-07:00

Here is the latest update from a team member of mine who is still in Haiti:

“I was buying additional medications for the team and someone stopped me to shake my hand and tell me how much he appreciated the Americans coming to help his people. A seminary student stopped me and repeatedly said how much he appreciated our help both physically and spiritually. His smile seemed to be ear to ear and he repeatedly thanked us. Another stopped us this week to say thank you for helping his people. None of these were in the exact areas where we were working, but they know our hearts and why we are doing what we are doing. Tragically, a boy about 11 or 12 years old pointed at each one in the vehicle individually saying, “You have forgotten me. You have forgotten me. You have forgotten me.” While many are receiving help, there are still many who are not yet.” “I was able to show a Pediatrician his first actual case of mumps. We have seen skull fractures where the scalp was sutured, but the huge indention is still very evident, in addition to the by-products of the injury - such as confusion, memory gaps, etc. We have seen fractures that didn’t receive attention and amputated fingers that have been home-treated and healed. There is not one Haitian who has not been affected in one form or another. Everyone has lost someone they cared about. Many are sleeping in tents, but many are still sleeping under draped sheets. Mosquitoes are thick in many areas. We have seen outbreaks of Typhoid Fever. Crime is on the upswing. We all know the parable of the sower. Many people have heard God’s Word and have accepted it in varying degrees and time will tell how many are going to be productive. Pray that there will be much fertile ground with deep roots. There is a definite spiritual movement going on here and we pray it will be something that endures.”

April 2010 Prayer Calendar

2010-03-31T13:37:00.004-07:00

Here in the DR things are winding down in anticipation of Semana Santa (Holy Week) when much of the island shuts down to celebrate. This will be a much needed time of rest for us as March was an awesome month of ministry.

One of the things the Lord reminded me of this month was the absolute crucial need for prayer coverage from back home. Satan is not happy at the prospect of losing his control over UASD. As you know this month alone, being on campus brought an encounter with a demon and also found a short-term team caught in the middle of a riot.

While many who read about these encounters might find them unsettling, we find it exciting. Exciting because God is beginning to do a mighty work at UASD and Satan is scared. But we need your prayers. This is not something we can do on our own. As one student on the short-term team pointed out:

“Our university back home has only 7,000 students and there are 14 Christian organizations working there. UASD has over 150,000 students and there is only you and Emily.”

The April 2010 prayer calendar is now ready for download. You can download it by CLICKING HERE.

We’re experimenting with a new format and would love some feedback on if you prefer the new style or the old style.