by Pat Creed

Recently, Gary Sprunger and I took a group of pastors to the Dominican Republic. We had a great time visiting our missionaries, preaching in many churches, and seeing scores of Dominicans come to Christ and many Christians respond to God's Word. It was also a time to be reminded of the great need for church planting missionaries throughout the Dominican and the Caribbean. There are many cities throughout the DR with no Gospel preacher, and the people are so open to the Word of God.

There are many other needy places throughout West Indies. Recently, a missionary left Grand Cayman and Good News Baptist Church. We were able to recommend someone for that situation, and they have called this man as their new pastor. However, this is not true in many places. Presently, there is a church in Aruba, where the missionary had to leave. Brother Dennis Bellew and his wife, Francis, have been filling in for more than four months. They desperately need someone who can come and be their pastor. The missionary on a small island, Cayman Brac, is at retirement age with some very difficult medical problems and he needs someone to come and take this church. These situations are arising so often and in many cases there is no one to go.

In other places there are tremendous needs for missionaries to become a part of a team effort. In Trinidad there is a law that a missionary can only stay three years and then he must leave for a year and reapply to go back into the country. This makes it extremely difficult to start to build a church. There is a tremendous need for the team concept in this area. David and Terri Long will be leaving for Trinidad in July. They have an area where they are planning to start a brand new independent Baptist church. There is a great need for a family who will go and join them and work together so that their ministry can be covered in a permanent way. Swante and Linda Lindquist have started a church in Jamaica. They would love to have a family come and join them. It is a very difficult area and a missionary team would be able to do a much better job in this type of situation.

Maybe as you read this article in this issue of the Islander, God would speak to your heart and you would consider going to the Caribbean.

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by Mrs. June Creed

Pat and I have been enjoying the busy life on the road. Recently, we have had some conferences that are close to home, so I have been able to work in my flower garden. I use this time in God's creation to pray and think.

This year my youngest granddaughter, Merilee, graduates from high school. She has already been accepted into a college. We are so proud of her accomplishments. Her mom says that she is a lot like me in my taste and in some other areas.

The other day, while working in my garden, I was musing on what advice I would like to give Merilee and any other young person upon their graduation and transition into this new season of their life. I would like to say the following:

Pray about everything. Make sure that you are completely in the center of the Lord's will. I would also like to say, in everything that you do, do your very best. When you make a mistake, don't dwell on it but learn from it - pick yourself up and move on.

Choose your friends wisely and know that everyone will not always be a true friend. I like to compare friendships to flowers. Some friendships last only for a short time and as soon as the storms hit, they die away. Others are strong and will weather the most distressing storm and come out of it even more beautiful than they were before.

Be careful with social networking. Many people reveal their true selves on avenues such as Facebook. Sometimes we learn more about the person than we ever wanted to know! People will say things online that they would never say to your face. Angry, bitter people use the internet as an outlet for their frustrations instead of dealing with those frustrations as they should. Don't let it be said that you are one of those people.

Pray that the Lord will lead you to the husband/wife that He has planned for you in His time. Don't ever date non-Christians and always ask your parents to approve of any prospective young man/woman. They see more clearly who the young man/woman is...when our eyes are filled with stars it's hard to see anything but good.

Enjoy your life to the fullest and realize that this is just the beginning - there is still a world to come!

Pat and I talk about the season of life that we are in right now and how much we are enjoying where God has us. We would like to continue our mission work until the day He comes for us or He calls us Home.

Enjoy your season!

Love and Prayers,
June

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Pineapple Orange Cake

Recipe from Charlotte Sines
1 package yellow cake mix
1 can (11 oz.) mandarin oranges, undrained
3 eggs
1/4 cup applesauce
Topping
1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, undrained
1 carton (8 oz.) cool whip
1 package vanilla instant pudding
In a large bowl beat the cake mix, oranges, eggs, and applesauce on low speed for two minutes. Pour into 9x13 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool.

In a bowl combine the pineapple and pudding mix. Fold in cool whip just until blended. Spread over cooled cake. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

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By Stephen Brockell

Did you know that it only takes 6-9 months for a banana plant to grow and produce fruit? On the other hand, one must wait 5 years for a mango tree to grow and give its first crop. Banana plants do not last very long and must be grown over and over again. They are unstable and cannot survive unless the conditions are near perfect. They must always have it their way... not too hot, not too cold, not too dry, not too much rain, and definitely no strong winds. This is because their roots are very shallow. Mango trees are a different story. Their roots go down deep and they can survive just about any climate or condition. Their strength and fruit comes over time. After 20 years, a mango tree produces thousands of fruit annually. Our ministry here in La Vega, DR, is much like a Banana and Mango Co-op!

Over the past 11 years we have seen hundreds and hundreds of professions of faith through street preaching, drama presentations, evangelistic movies, sports tournament outreach, annual ladies events, musical programs, and Vacation Bible School. This is all in addition to the results from weekly door-to-door soul-winning, youth group, Sunday School, and Gospel preaching. Literally, over a million Gospel tracts, Bibles, and John and Romans have been distributed as well. Much like the banana plant, this has produced fruit, and fast! The continual planting has meant there is always a new "bunch" hangin' around, too. This is an exciting part of our ministry! We praise the Lord for the true converts that have kept growing over the years due to these different Gospel presentations. The other side is that there are many who never put down roots and they wither away due to their fickle nature. We see the need for planting bananas and are joyful in the harvest, but they are just one component of our overall vision. We know the strength and stability of our ministry must come from the mango crop.

Our most desired result and most difficult challenge has been planting a strong church. Planting this church has been much like nurturing a mango tree. Much effort must go into cultivating spiritual roots that go down deep in a personal relationship with Christ and in sound doctrine as well as observing evidence of true spiritual fruit in the power of the Holy Spirit. This takes time and patience-LOTS of time and patience! This kind of fruit comes slowly, but it will last. It is one thing to have a congregation full of attendees, but it is quite another to have a body of baptized believers who desire to be conformed to the image of Christ and concerned about reaching their community and the world for Christ.

Over the last several years the Lord has taught us that we must cultivate and nurture the seed that He has planted -the Abundant Life Baptist Church. Our work is to teach them, motivate them, pray for them, be an example to them, care for them and love them. But we also have learned that the outcome does not depend on our labor, but on HIM. The hardest lesson has been to wait on Him to do the work below the surface and let it grow until the fruit becomes evident. It is a matter of faith - letting God do His work His way and in His time. Jesus said, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." Doctrinally we can all stand on this, but practically we must rely on this as well. Christ builds His church by changing lives, and this takes time. Yes, we must work diligently, but "except the Lord build the house we labor in vain that build it." Waiting as God transforms His children is the key.

It might surprise you to know that the first Baptist churches were established in the Dominican Republic more than 70 years ago. Yet, there is still much of the country that does not even know what a Baptist church is. The reason is that the churches were started too quickly. Young men were barely trained and then placed into the ministry. For decades these churches have struggled and some have not survived. The stable churches are those that have years of maturation, and those that are flourishing have a team of workers involved in the spiritual lives of their people. It is therefore vital that as we wait on God to do the unseen work, we invest our precious time in the lives of others, not only to train them to do the work but more importantly to teach them to develop their love relationship with Christ. They need to become deeply rooted and grounded before branching out. Again, time and patience are needed to see results from our mango tree.

God has challenged us to look at our ministry with His eyes. Yes, we enjoy the excitement and fast showing of the banana plants, the fruit that comes quickly as a result of preaching the Gospel. We love to evangelize as Christ commissioned us to do. This is a great joy in ministry. But we understand that He has also given us the task of cultivating the mango tree, which is to build a strong and stable church that can stand through any climate or condition. This tree will change size and shape through the years, but that is not our concern. God just wants us to make sure the tree stays healthy and growing while He does the unseen work of stabilizing underneath. We cannot be in a hurry. If we stay faithful in nurturing their personal relationship with God and we keep trusting God to grow His tree His way and in His time, we will see the results that we long for... a beautiful, strong, mature church that has the capacity to produce abundantly and reproduce even more churches in the future. This combination of dynamic evangelism and patient maturing of believers is God's plan for our partnership with Him in this great Banana and Mango enterprise.

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by Michael Doering

On August 27, 2005 our family boarded an American Airlines flight to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to begin working together with the Chris Phillips family to plant the Grace and Truth Baptist Church (Iglesia Bautista Gracia y Verdad). We had known the Phillips from our days together in Cuba, and had been called by God to come and work together with them to reach Dominicans with the message of the Gospel. It was not an easy decision. We had been in and out of Cuba for nine years where God allowed us to be part of a team that planted the Aldabó Baptist Church. Several more churches were born from that ministry which continues on today. When we left for Santo Domingo, we had been part of a team that planted a Spanish speaking church in Charlotte, NC. We were comfortable, the church was growing, and we had no plans to go anywhere. But the Lord clearly showed us otherwise, so we obeyed. Two weeks after arriving in Santo Domingo, we received the news that our ministry partners, the Phillips, had to leave the field due to a medical emergency. We spent the next two and a half months unpacking our boxes and helping them pack up their belongings and sell much of what they owned. On December 4, 2005 we took them to the airport and bid them farewell. We were all devastated. Thrust into a role I was unaccustomed to, I began to doubt what the Lord was doing. I was discouraged and felt like packing up and leaving. One morning during my quiet time with the Lord, He used a verse from Deuteronomy chapter one to reconfirm to me that He was the one who sent me to the Dominican Republic and that if I would simply trust Him and allow Him to work, He would go before us and lead the way. With confirmation from the Lord, we lowered our heads, put our hands on the plow and trusted Him. We began with a core group of teenagers who had been won to Christ and discipled. Many of them are teaching Sunday school, and others are in positions of leadership in different areas of the church. We have no secret to ministry we are guarding. The focus of all we do is the preaching of God's Word and the personal application of God's Word to our lives. We are also committed to making disciples of those who make decisions for Christ. Today, the church owns two buildings, debt free, which are in a prime location. They are right on the main highway that runs east to west through Santo Domingo. The area where our church is located has no Bible believing church anywhere near, so we believe God planted this church in that area for a purpose. Our family has experienced the joy and thrill of spiritual victory as well as the disappointment and discouragement that comes with failure. We have made many mistakes but have seen God bless in ways we never thought possible. Since arriving in Santo Domingo, we have learned to trust in the Lord like never before. There are lessons we have learned here that we never would have learned if we had not trusted God and moved to the Dominican Republic. The focus of our ministry continues to be threefold: Present the Gospel message to all those who will listen, make disciples of those who trust Christ as their Savior, and train leaders who will be full time ministers of the Gospel and lay leaders who will serve in their local church. We have seen some tangible progress towards that goal as we currently have five young people taking seminary classes. Meanwhile, the Lord continues to build His church. Just last week we went to visit a lady who is dying of cancer. She is only twenty six-years-old, and her name is Ana. One of Ana's neighbors is a faithful attender at the Grace and Truth Baptist Church. He accepted Christ about six months ago. He has been concerned about her health and about the fact that she had never accepted the Gospel message. Knowing that her health was declining, we went to see her last Monday night during our regular church visitation time. We ministered to she and her family, and began to talk about eternity. After hearing about the love of God and all Christ did to provide for her salvation, Ana was ready to accept Christ. After praying and receiving Christ by faith, she was a new creature. She is still dying of cancer but is ready to go if God should choose. We followed up on Ana the next day, intending to bring her some food to eat. She was not at home but had been admitted to the hospital for a blood transfusion. Her mother had arrived from the interior part of the country, and she was simply distraught about her daughter. Anna and I sat and listened to her, and then we began to share with her the hope we have in Jesus Christ. She sat and listened intently to the message of the sinful nature of man and the message of salvation. After believing in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, she is now ready for heaven as well. Next Monday night we will be having an outdoor service in front of Ana's house. We just believe God wants to do something special in that little village. People like Ana give us the strength and encouragement to press on and work until Jesus comes.

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The Good News Baptist Church as of April 4 is now in a permanent location for all of their services. Since that time we have had 2 show interest in baptism and 4 were baptized. Visitor attendance has been good with follow up visits. This month (May) we have had up to 60 in attendance.

Just last week we had a team from the States to help with a 3 day VBS. One couple who came to help us was Roy and Jeanette Cole (retired), long time supporters of BIMI. The activities were held in the evenings with a total of 57 children. Even though there were no professions of faith, we will be following up with visits to the homes of the children this coming Sunday afternoon.
Dennis & Frances Bellew - Aruba

Last year on my birthday, I had the privilege to lead my best friend's dad to the Lord. He passed away of cancer in April. I was glad to take part in the funeral. My maternal grandmother passed away in the later part of March, forcing my parents back to the States for a little while. During my dad's absence, 13 folks received Christ during our Easter conference. Micah, our oldest, turned 12 on the 22nd of April. It's hard for me to believe I am the father of a 12 year old. I can still remember me in this same yard when I was 12!
Benji & Kerri Dryden - Haiti

Recently, I visited missionaries, national pastors and believers in Port-au-Prince, sharing with them much needed relief funds. Some of those funds came from churches founded or pastored by BIMI missionaries. Bless you who came over to Haiti and spent time helping those who have suffered so much. What a contrast to Job's friends who pointed a finger but not one of them offered to take a pot sherd and help him scrape! A national pastor (Previlon Paul over 70 years of age), my dear friend of 34+ years, lost his home and a great deal of his belongings. As I walked around his community, the way that he was greeted made me think I was walking with royalty! Yet, he and his wife lived in a tarpaulin enclosure a bit bigger than a king size bed in the median of a main highway. What a blessing for this worthy servant and his wife to now be able to sleep in a very modest home made of plywood on top of their old foundation. Your gifts help make this possible.

The future for Haiti is as shaky as its past no pun intended. Not only were schools, homes, churches and government buildings brought down many businesses were either destroyed or closed due to deaths of the owners. Relief is just that, relief for a brief time. Please pray for Haiti as they recover and the hurting will find comfort and solace in the Lord Jesus and the courage to rise up and rebuild.
Don & Bridgitt Dryden - Haiti

Time of Celebration
In March, we celebrated the fifth anniversary of Templo Bautista de Jarabacoa with special services. Our people worked diligently inviting friends, family and the community to celebrate with us. We had 256 in attendance for our Sunday service with several decisions for Christ. In April we saw 7 baptized and we have 4 who are in discipleship and will be baptized soon.

Grace Baptist Church, our Haitian church, held a week long revival of Thanksgiving in April. After so many of our people lost friends and family in the Haitian earthquake, these service held very special meaning for us. We had over 250 each night with a high attendance of 320 on Sunday morning. As good Baptists, we had Sunday dinner on the grounds with 93 lbs. of chicken and over 100 pounds of beans and rice cooked. Missionary to Haiti Leny Funtecha preached and we had 9 saved during the week with the altars full each night as many recommitted their lives to the Lord.

We are also continuing our Haitian relief efforts. Currently we are rebuilding 3 church buildings and 3 pastors' homes with many more waiting. We will be working on rebuilding 74 independent Baptist churches or the homes of Baptist pastors over the next several months. We also have a medical team scheduled for September.
Jeff & Traci Garrison - Dominican Republic

We have enjoyed our busiest and most blessed month in the young history of our ministry here in the DR. After a wonderful missions month in March in which we were able to begin supporting our first missionary, we turned our focus to "friend day." We had been really trying to encourage the church to invite family and friends who didn't attend church to this special day. On "friend day" we had 39 visitors and several professions of faith. One family that was saved during friend day has since enrolled in our discipleship class and has been very faithful to our services.

We are now getting ready for our first annual "family conference" to be held May 19-21. The Chris Phillips family, former BIMI missionaries in the DR, will be ministering to us through preaching and music. We are praying that God will use this conference to encourage the church and see more families added to the church.
Erik & Holly Johnson - Dominican Republic

I recently witnessed to two gentlemen, William and Mr. Petty. Both men trusted Christ and I explained assurance of salvation to them. When I finished, I asked them if they had any questions. Mr. Petty said, "You can't question something this good." Well said. Three more churches have informed us they will take us on for support within the next few months, so our monthly support level is now 92%. We still need about $500.00 monthly support.
David & Terri Long - Trinidad

This year has been a splendid one for seeing growth in our men here in Barbados! At the beginning of the year, I started a men's prayer meeting, and several joined with me in prayer each week. These men have really stepped up in their determination to be at church and to properly lead their families, as well as grow in their own spiritual lives. The meetings are fervent with sincere-hearted prayers. I often will bring either some church business to their attention so that we can bring it to God together, or I bring a brief devotion relating to our responsibilities as men. They just seem to soak it up like so many dry sponges. What a blessing! I believe that we have seen the blessings of God fall in unusual ways in response to their prayers and their new devotion to Christ. Hallelujah!
Robert & Rhoda Smith - Barbados

One unusual aspect of our ministry is having facilities to house teams that come to experience the mission field. So far this year we have had 45 visitors stay in our guest facilities. The first group for the year was college kids here to do VBS over Christmas. Now we have a dad and his two teenage sons here for a week to help complete the water catchment cistern. Over the last couple months we had teams from Calvary Baptist in Simpsonville, SC, and a CLAIM team working on the cistern, our main source of water for the facilities. It looks like this summer we will have two large teams here to do VBS and Bible clubs.

Another unusual event was the Mother's Day International Outreach Tea that Barbara and Linda had for 30 women and their daughters. We had thirteen countries represented. Barbara did a monologue of Fanny Crosby and Linda led the Fanny Crosby songs. A number of unsaved friends attended. Last month Waites hosted a luncheon for the Spanish church that has grown out of the Caribbean Radio Lighthouse Spanish broadcasting.
Curt/Barbara Waite & Jerry/Linda Baker - CRL

We just celebrated our 3rd anniversary of Iglesia Bautista El Faro. The Lord blessed and we had a special day with 175 people in attendance. Just prior to our anniversary, we had remodeled our auditorium to double the space and on that particular day it was packed out. We thank the Lord for His blessings and look forward to what He has in store for us.

From all indications, Stephen seems to be doing well. We appreciate your continued prayers for him as we continue his chemotherapy here in Santo Domingo.
Joshua & Joy Wesson - Dominican Republic

As the director of the children's ministries in our church, it would bring great joy to me if all of the children I have taught would go into full-time Christian service. However, even if just one of them grows up to serve the Lord full-time, it has been worth it all.

Jesenia and Denise faithfully attend our AWANA club and Sunday School. Recently they invited some of their friends to church. What a joy it was to see 5 new teenagers in church! Please continue to pray for the urgent need of a full-time youth director.

I have known Beth, the oldest daughter of missionaries David and Heidi Racke, since her birth. She and her Bolivian husband are missionaries in Peru. Raquel Zaya attended our AWANA club and Sunday School as a little girl. She recently graduated from Bible college and on May 22 is marrying a Peruvian. They have been called into full-time Christian service.

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).
Joan Whiteheart - Puerto Rico

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By Gary Sprunger

Do you remember when folks would respond, "PTL." The short acronym means "Praise the Lord." Already 2010 could be identified as "PTL" year. We praise the Lord for His goodness to us. BIMI celebrated its 50th Anniversary on the 8th of June. Around 1000 folks came to celebrate this unique event. The Lord supplied weather that was perfect for the event. BIMI staff worked hard to get the grounds manicured and everything presentable. Dr. and Mrs. Ray worked endlessly in making this a wonderful memory of God's goodness. During the celebration service, the General Director's mantle was transferred from Dr. James Ray to Dr. David Snyder. The entire celebration was a time to reminisce about God's blessing upon BIMI. It was humbling to think that I am only one of about 1100 missionaries that make up BIMI, but I am proud to serve the Lord with so many fine missionaries. BIMI now has missionaries and ministries in over 100 nations. Around the world, the sun never sets on the ministries where BIMI missionaries are serving. We are privileged to be a part of such a blessed ministry like BIMI.

This year's candidate school is one of the largest that we have ever had. Wes and Faith Bartley (to St. Lucia), Coco Chan (to Trinidad), and Keri Emmett (to Haiti) are finishing up their second year of school, and Tim and Sharon Fluegge (to Dominican Republic) are completing their first year. Soon David and Teresa Long will be leaving for Trinidad, and Al and Tamatha Grubber with their family will soon be in language school before heading to the Dominican Republic.

"PTL" the shipment of 300,000 Romans and the 20 cases of Spanish Bibles have arrived in the Dominican Republic. The Lord worked out the details, and customs released the container in minimum time. We now have the materials ready for distribution at our Caribbean Field Conference. The Lord also has supplied the funds to secure over 150,000 tracts for the Central American games in Puerto Rico. Eight national churches and two American churches will be working together in distribution of these Gospel tracts during the Central American games. Pray that the Lord will use these tracts to bring conviction and salvation to thousands who will be coming for these games.

During May and June our attention is drawn to graduations. Last week we celebrated this at Bluewater Bible College. Five young people finished their studies and walked. It was a special moment for these who had come from around the Caribbean and from Albania to study God's Word. This week, Don and Benje Dryden are giving out diplomas to 24 Haitian men who have labored for over 5 years for this moment. We praise the Lord for all that is being accomplished in the Caribbean.

The Psalmist David said, "But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD" (Psalm 115:18).

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Scot C & Katie Daku -  AMERICAN SAMOA
Paul J & Wendy Daku Jr -  FIJI ISLANDS
James & Dawn Daley -  INDONESIA