And the Word of God increased

Amid troubles in Acts 4-6 Luke
points out that “the Word of God
increased, even those from
among the priests came to
faith”. We see this great
manifestation of success the first
church had in spreading the
good news in Jerusalem.
Frankly, it seems impossible
with all these internal/external
problems to even think about
the growth. Yet, the Lord was
giving them a revival which was
greater than their troubles.
That’s what we often see in the
time of crises here in this area.

ESL school and Workshop
We continued to teach English
as second language in March.
Although we were not pleased
to learn the landlord wants to
raise the rental. Continue to pray
for those who attend, with
whom we maintain meaningful
connections for the Kingdom.

The workshop for prospective
leaders is going to be on April
29-30. We have a lot of things to
discuss. After that, I and a few
leaders are going to travel to
Kazan for a conference. Pray for
that, too.
Pray for Easter service which is
on April 24th this year according
to the Eastern Calendar. Pray for
people to come to our
fellowships and be saved.
Please pray with us as we think
and plan for the future events
even as many things remain
uncertain.

Featured Leader
This month we are going to tell
you about a young man who
yet to become a leader. Marsel
was a student in our English
class for several years. He first
came to us when he was very
young. Little by little he started
to stay after our classes for an
extra cup of tea and discussion.
It turned out he had problems
in his family. As we spent more
time together we discussed
some Bible stories and he
shortly received Jesus as Lord
and Saviour. Marsel boldly
shared about being born again
with his family members. His
life bloossomed and his family
became our friends in the
village.

Friends and Family
Tim and Christinas continue
their classes. Pray for good
attitude to the studies and
good memory. Also, for good
prep for the final tests.
Thank you for your standing
with us during these days. We
truly appreciate your love and
prayers. That’s what co-
working for the Kingdom is!

You can make tax deductible contribution to
Ufa Bible Ministries which is recognized by
the IRS as a 501c3 non-profit entity. Make
checks payable to:
Ufa Bible Ministries
PO BOX 1761, Columbia, SC 29202

Dear loved ones and friends,
We hope and pray that this newsletter will bless you.
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow…One day at the time, trusting Him who is faithful and true!

February…Was a month of grieving for our congregation because four different members of our church lost someone in their family due to sickness in the time space of one and a half weeks.
You might ask, why share it? We share it because it’s important to know that one of them didn’t know Jesus, one did know Jesus and two others received Jesus as their Savior before they died. Three out of four, that is a reason to rejoice. It also admits of the pain and is a wakeup call to make the right decision before it’s too late!

Construction of the Sunday school…We have the roof on and are now hoping to finish up with the doors and windows. Since it is a holiday season, we are not actually building but are more into the logistics of material gathering and preparing the site to be able to pour the floors and install the electrics.

Feliciano: God answers prayer in amazing ways…In February we started to pray for new people and converts. Due to the pandemic the church attendance suffered a lot.
One Sunday we came to church and there was a man sitting on the steps. It was 6:30 am and we greeted him. His name is Feliciano. He is in his late fifties. He was introduced by one of our members during a testimony time we have at our Sunday services. He came forward to explain that when he was much younger, he had visited a Baptist church while living in Asuncion. After a while he left there and went back into the world and messed up. He went through a depression that he couldn’t shake off and that went on for years. Then he came back to his village in the country, which is about 3 miles from our church.
A month and a half ago he finally dared to ask God for help.  (He thought that because of his many sins, God wouldn’t want him, or listen to him for that matter.) One morning he started walking and he saw a man dressed in beige signaling him to follow him…He followed him from a distance not knowing what to think. The man who led him to our church walked in and when Feliciano got there… he disappeared. He looked for him, but could not find him so he just sat on the steps.
Now, one and a half months later, he received the Lord,found forgiveness for his sins, and is being discipled  and has such hunger for the Word. He comes to help to clean the church on Saturdays and helps with the construction of the Sunday school. He volunteers happily for whatever is needed and walks back and forth to church and to his Bible classes. That’s 6 miles every time he comes and he says it keeps him healthy and happy. Last Sunday he came up to us and gave us a list of 11 people which he said were his brothers and sisters and if we could please help him to pray for their salvation, which we gladly do!

Which brings us to: The Glory of Easter!!!

I found this little gem many years ago and it’s very dear to my heart, but I have no idea who the author is… but it gets deep into the very soul.

The throne…
When I stand before Your Throne
Dressed in beauty, not my own
When I see Thee as Thou art…
Love Thee with unsinning heart
Then, Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe…

A very blessed Easter to all of you and much love wrapped up in prayers.
Robert and Joy.

Easter Reflection and the Ministry Update

This past Good Friday morning (it wasn’t really a “good” morning for our Lord), I got up around 4 to go to the bathroom. Suddenly I heard a cock crow (not too uncommon here in the Dominican Republic). It was loud and clear and must have been nearby. Wow, my mind went immediately to Peter the night the Lord was betrayed. I waited a few seconds and it crowed again. Then the dark morning became silent. I went back to sleep for a couple of hours and then got up for the day. After breakfast I stepped out to see what Debbie had been doing with some plants that needed doctoring. There was a dry vine laying on the stone path. I rolled it up and realized it looked like the crown. I thought, yes, at about this time (mid-morning) on that fateful day somebody thought it cool to place a crown of sharp thorns on my Lord. I felt saddened. He would shortly be led out to be crucified.

He was politically incorrect to many Jews; he never supported a zealot uprising against the Romans. He was also accused of opposing allegiance to Rome by “supposedly” declaring himself “king”, thus the crown of thorns and the inscription on the cross. He represented a threat to the religious establishment with his views of the law. To them He was the nail that stood out and needed to be hammered down. But they had no idea that they were unconscious participants in fulfilling the prophecies of the Old Testament that spoke of the coming suffering Messiah (Isa. 53). Their punishment of Jesus helped fulfill His ultimate goal of winning forgiveness and acceptance before God for all who would believe. He willingly gave Himself up as an offering for us all. He took the bread and said “This is my body given for you”(Lk. 22:19), words he spoke the night before. “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”(Lk. 22:20)

So, something special occurred a couple of thousand years ago; a new era of forgiveness and acceptance for mankind before God. It was sealed with the sacrifice of Christ for us. It began in my life when I was 19 years old. I recognized my life was empty and I had wandered far from God. New life was offered to me at a church service I attended. I reached out and prayed to receive Christ into my heart. He began the life-transforming process in my heart that day!

I know his sacrifice for us was accepted because the heavenly Father bore witness to its validity by raising Christ from the dead. In the Resurrection we see he gave Christ the victory over sin and its consequences, death. For the next forty days, Christ visited and taught his disciples (up to 500 at one time) until he was taken to heaven. And now as we share this wonderful liberating news with others, we await his return from heaven.

It is Christ’s power and authority we celebrate with the Resurrection!

The Haitian Children’s Education Ministry: Over a thousand Haitian children are in school now who might otherwise not have an opportunity for an education. The language barrier, the over-crowded school situation in public schools, and the legal status of the vast majority of the Haitian children have created the need for these Education Centers.  Haitian churches are the base for the schools and they provide a strong spiritual foundation. Debbie is giving direction and help to 15 schools right now, thanks to the generosity of God’s people.  The basic salaries of 90 teachers with directors are being paid, and a mid-morning meal is being provided to the children.  We believe a future is being secured for them through education.  If you are led to help with these costs please email Debbie at lavegaschool@gmail.com, or call the US Vonage number 863-248-1119.

Featured in the photo above is the Ranchito Haitian School and church building.  We are praying funds will come in to get a them a property and build them a new facility.  Currently they rent their building, and use the four corners for their classrooms.  

The El PIno Haitian Church School is looking for property for their program to move to in the future.  Because of title complications they are now $9000.00 shy of the needed amount.  Land is high now, but we have already received the first $18,000.00 for this purchase.  

The El Hatico School Project was completed before the new year.  Currently 135 children attend there in the educational building.  The finances have been promised for the new church building.   We are coming out of the ground with blocks for the new church building.  Rick and Isabel Piña Ministries (RIPM) have raised the funds for these two buildings. Praise the Lord!

In Limoncito, the walls are at window height.  Finances have been coming in slowly for the completion of this 2nd story sanctuary.  This week the second floor exterior walls are receiving a concrete bond beam at top of the window height. Next come the last two feet of the walls and then the stucco work (inside and out) for the whole 2nd floor.  The cost of building materials have almost doubled in the last year and so our projects are costing more than usual.  But God is always in control.  As we wait on Him, the needs are being met.  We hope these two projects will be finished before the end of the summer, in time for the new classes to start in September.  The Limoncito 2nd Floor Sanctuary Project will free up the space on the first floor for the much needed classroom space.  

If you or your church would like to help with these projects, please email Debbie at lavegaschool@gmail.com or Mitch at dominicanmissions@hotmail.com.  We would be happy to answer any questions you have.  You can also visit our website at www.DominicanMissions.Org or call our US Vonage number 863-248-1119.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support!

Bishop Mitch and Debbie Martinez