Ken, Letty and Nathan Myers
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
"That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm" [Mark 4:35-39 (NIV)].
It had been a long busy day and Jesus and the disciples were tired- Jesus suggested that they go over to the other side of the lake to escape the crowds and get some much needed rest. The sudden cyclone like storm came down instantly and the waves were beating against the boat- water was even coming over the sides of the boat. The disciples, some of whom had been fishing these waters all their lives, began to panic because of the storm. They noticed that Jesus was sleeping in spite of the rough waters, the loud winds, the splashing water, and in spite of the obvious danger. They cried out to Jesus, "Hey, here we are about to drown, and you are sleeping-wake up and help us." Jesus awoke and calmed the winds and the sea.
The lesson that the Lord has for me in this passage today is that no matter what the situation may be- no matter how dreadful it looks- God is in control! The storm in this passage is a physical storm, but for you and I storms may come in other forms. In each of our lives there are incidents that may cause us anxiety. When we face these storms we should look to Jesus just like the disciples did. Romans 8:28 tells us that "in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Sometimes our situation may seem hopeless, but God is in control and something good will come of that situation.
Well another month has almost passed since we've been here. Our report is much the same. We have been busy working with two different work teams this month and planning and preparations for others that are planned.
Ken traveled alone to work with a team of Canadians from Trulls Road Free Methodist Church, Toronto Canada. They worked on a church building in the little town of La Pasquala, on the Samana peninsula, on the Northern side of the Republic. It was a good week with them and the work advanced rapidly. The old church building is crumbling and could possibly fall at any time. The nationals had dug a new foundation, and poured it with concrete and rebar, around the outside of the existing structure. The team arrived to lay up block for the new structure. New friendships were developed with the Canadians as well as with the Dominicans in the La Pasquala area.
After spending time on the construction project we went to visit the Latin American Conference that took place in Santiago. There were church leaders from all across the Americas. There were at least four languages used at some of the meetings; English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole. Delegates came from the US, Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Haiti, and of course the Dominican Republic. It was a great experience.
The six delegates that came from Mexico were all long time friends of ours, including even a class-mate of Letty's from the Light and Life Institute in Mexico. We had a wonderful time with them. After the conference we had the privilege of hosting at the Rocas del Mar church, where we live, 20 Haitians. We again had a great time of fellowship with these leaders from the Haitian church.
The following Monday we headed to the city of Bani, to work with another team. This team came from West Morris St. Free Methodist Church in Indianapolis. This group is a team that has been various times and were pretty much self-sufficient. Although we always enjoy working with North American teams, we were getting pretty exhausted by the end of their week here.
The film ministry has not really started up yet, but we do have the equipment here. We are beginning to promote the ministry now. We hope to begin scheduling events for the month of May. It looks like we will have a break from the teams during that month.
We do praise the Lord for the many ways in which He provides for us. We thank you for your continued support of this ministry. Thank you for being faithful to the pledge that you made. This ministry is a reality because of your faithfulness and because of God's blessings.
Some may be aware of the situation that we have with our home. We live in a beautiful parsonage on the third floor above a church. The current pastor has not wanted to live here so it has been used as a home for short term missionaries. Beginning in June a new pastor will take over and he does want to live here. We are looking around for a decent rental house in a safe neighborhood in our price range. We ask that you help us pray about this, and that we may be able to find the perfect little house.
PRAISES
1. The Lord's constant provision.
2. Good experiences with work teams.
3. Our continued good health- especially Nathan.
4. New friendships made
PRAYER CONCERNS
1. A work team from Calgary Canada to be working in Las Terrenas from April 1-15.
2. The advancement of the film ministry.
3. That we might experience personal spiritual growth through our experiences here.
4. Our housing situation
We always look forward to receiving mail and news from everyone "back home." You can write to us at Ken and Letty Myers, C/O Lynx Air SD-DR, PO Box 407052, Ft Lauderdale, FL. 33340. Or e-mail to klmyers@tricom.net.
May the Lord continue to pour out His blessings on you,
Ken, Letty and Nathan Myers