This Week in Pictures - Edition #5

I hope and pray you all are having a good weekend.  I thought while I had some time I would put some pictures up of the last week here in the Dominican Republic.  I guess this week's edition could be entitled Snakes, Storms and Swimming Holes.  How's that for waxing poetic? 

Tropical Storm Emily brushed by us without incident. Thank the Lord there was no damage done in the area that we live in. 

Please continue to pray for me as I attempt to take another trip over into Haiti this coming Thursday.  Lord willing, Brother Maurice and I will be looking for a home for our family to rent.  I am asking for all to continue to pray for us, for this can only be done through the Lord's wisdom, grace, and mercy.  The spiritual battles are real and somedays you just want to pack it all up and go home, but the Lord is gracious and faithful.  The flesh does not want to be obedient to the workings of the Lord.  So often I want to try and figure things out according to my own wisdom, instead of resting upon God's word and his promises.

Proverbs 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

So often through the day, the Lord puts us through trials, in order that we may learn to rest upon and trust him.  If there are times in our life when we are tested and tried and we yield to the flesh, we will then only seek comfort and help from the world and our own selfish nature.  To many Christians to day are turning to worldly methods to deal with the problems in their lives, instead of turning to God and his word.  War is not easy nor is it a good time.  War is hard and so often the result is death.  May we war to put our flesh on the cross each morning and draw near to the God who loves us beyond anything we can learn or comprehend.

Matthew 16:24-26 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

1 John 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

I'm not very smart, nor do I have a college degree, but one thing I do know is that the Lord wants us to fully trust Him in all areas of our lives.  It not just something a preacher says to make a good sermon, but it is our life.  If we turn to our own wisdom, we will quickly make a mess of things and will not have a close relationship or walk with the Lord.  My desire is to draw nigh to our great Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ, and see his hand work in our lives.  The world needs to see a true Christian, not just one in word.  May we all desire to love the Lord more and rest in his everlasting arms.

I hope you all enjoy the few pictures I have below.



This was the Boa Constrictor that I found in the road near Brother Darren's house.  It was dead when I found it, some Haitians had killed it right before I arrived.  They tied something around its head, I guess to make sure that it was dead.
I brought the snake back home to show my wonderful wife. (edit by wife:  Next time, I'm hoping for a chocolate bar for a "special surprise" instead of a dead reptile.)

This snake measured around 5 1/2 feet.,  pretty good size for a snake down here!  Snakes don't have much of a chance down here of getting big!  (another edit by wife:  I wish the same was true of the spiders and rats!)



The boys and Eliana got a kick out of seeing a snake this big.




Trying to find the waterfalls.  This road was a dead end on the side of the mountain.



Joey in deep thought.

The view as we drove back down the mountain.

There was a huge drop off to our left as we drove back down. 

Us standing on a rock at Mata de Maiz.

This a beautiful place to see if you come to visit.  It is located very close to our home.

Eliana spent her time fishing for minnows.

It was a blessing to be able to go to this waterfall.  It is a privilege and honor to be able to serve the LORD our God!

Thank you again to all who pray and support the work here in the Dominican Republic and hopefully soon in Haiti.

Brother Chris and Family



This Week In Pictures #4

Hello from the Dominicna Republic!  Just wanted to post some pictures of last week.  Sorry to say, I did not get that many of them.  Last Monday, I spent most of the day in Barahona getting my truck fixed (no picutres).  Then on Tuesday, Brother Darren and I took a trip to the Capital to get our visas renewed (again no pictures).  On Wednesday, we traveled down to visit Brother Jewell's church and he asked me to preach, which was a blessing, but sorry to say I did not get any pictures of this either.  On Thursday, we attempted to take a box of food to a widow woman up in the mountains.  When we arrived at her home she was not there, so on the way back down we gave the box to a Haitian family (no pictures).  Friday and Saturday some of the children were sick.  On Sunday, Melanie, Eliana and I went to the market in Polo.  I then went up to La Lanza with Brother Darren, to hold church services.  I will try to do better this week, with getting some pictures of what is going on down here. 

Today Jonathan and I are going to try and go up into a village that is close by our home.  We are going to go up and hand out some tracks and just see the area.  I'm going to try and work this week on a sermon that is written down and then have it translated.  I will then try to go up to the village and read it to them.  Pray that the Lord will give wisdom and guidance.

Hope and pray everyone is doing well in the states!  Sorry again for the lack of pictures!



Benjamin caught a bird that had flown into our house!

When we let the bird loose, he was a little dazed and confused.

 

Eventually, he flew up into a near by tree.



This a mouse that the boys caught the other night!



This is the mouse before he was caught.  I was doing some work at my desk, when I noticed him in my trash can!


Hope and pray you all have a wonderful week!  To God be the Glory great things he has done!

In Christ our Lord,
Brother Chris and Family

This Week in Pictures #3

I hope and pray all is well back home.  I thought since I had a few free moments today, I would try to get a few pictures on here of the last two weeks.  This past weekend (03-11/03-13) was very busy, due to the accident that Timothy Truel was involved in.  Thank the Lord he his back home recovering.  We didn't realize how bad the accident was at first, but Brother Darren told me the other day that when they were taking Timothy to the hospital they were performing CPR on him.  He was dead on arrival. When they got to the Hospital they were able to bring him back, Praise the Lord!  Thank the Lord for His mercy and grace!  Please continue to pray for him though, as he is experiencing memory loss and sometimes confusion.   

On Sunday last week, we took a trip to the Airport.  Sister Jennifer Truel (Timothy's mom) and 4 of the Truel children flew back to the States to be with Timothy.  Thank the Lord, they had a safe trip back and are now in Columbia, SC.  Please keep this family in prayer while they are separated.

We are continuing to learn both languages and are coming along slowly.  Both Melanie and I sometimes want to speak Kreyol when we are trying to speak some Spanish.  Sometimes it can get confusing!

I'm also planning a trip into Haiti in the first week of May.  Lord willing, I'm going to try and visit Brother Maurice for a few days.  There has been a lot occurring in Haiti over the last few weeks, so please keep this in prayer, along with Brother Maurice and his wife.

Trains transport the sugar cane to the local factories.

A young sugar cane crop.

Cows often come to the rail road tracks, to eat the sugar cane that has fallen off of the train.

Another sugar cane crop.

This is a billboard for one of the local cell phone companies.

This is a local Dominican moving company!

Safety is their top priority!  You can purchase the man in the back to watch your stuff as it travels to your next location!

This is the original castle the Christopher Columbus built.

Cows in the roadway!

As they were passing, I could hear them whispering "eat more chicken!"

I believe this might be some kind of Humming bird here in the Dominican.

These pictures of flowers were taken by my sons.

Well I hope and pray you all have a great week.  Please keep us in your prayers and we will do the same for you all.  May we Praise the Lord today for all of his mercy, grace and love!

In Christ our Lord,
Brother Chris and Family