Pastor Manuel pastors a church in the foothills of the Dominican mountains. The town is called Mogollon, a small farming community about thirty minutes from San Juan. The first time i saw Manuel, he was standing across the street, hands clasped in front, shoulders slightly hunched. He was wearing a dark brown sports coat, bright red plaid shirt underneath and nicely flowing brown trousers. Eyes cast low, i saw a spirit of humility and meekness…and perhaps a little sadness. El Pastor has a beautiful family. He met his wife through a situation he thought he would dread, yet the Lord had other plans. They fell in love and they started a family here in San Juan. One daughter and three boys, Moses, Nehemiah and Joshua…all who love the Lord and are examples to others. Just over a year ago his wife died. This could have explained the glimpse of sadness in his eyes…but there is more to the story.
My team was supposed to go up into the mountains for our ministry. When they told us this, we were all really excited! The mountains are visible from San Juan, and for me, to get back into the trees and cooler weather was certainly something to look forward to. Yet a couple days after we were told this, one of AIM´s staff came to me and said our location had been changed. There was a pastor in a near by town who wanted a team to come and help his church. The situation was delicate and our ¨mission¨ could look a bit different than other teams…a bit more compassion and sensitivity to this particular gentleman was needed. Jimmy then told me the events of the past 2 weeks in the life of Pastor Manuel.
One of Manuel´s sons, Joshua, had been in Santo Domingo, the capital, preparing to travel to Chile to evangelize. He was a translator and had a calling of missions on his life. He enjoyed traveling and sharing the gospel and this was to be his life. Joshua was excited to go once more into different nations to bring the Good News of Jesus! Yet on December 30th, Manuel got a phone call saying that Joshua had fallen ill due to his Sickle Cell Anemia. Infact he was so sick, he had been admitted to the hospital. It didn´t take long to know how this story was going to end…on December 31st Joshua died at age 25. Instead of going to Chile to spread the gospel, he went home to be with his Heavenly Father.
My team was supposed to go up into the mountains for our ministry. When they told us this, we were all really excited! The mountains are visible from San Juan, and for me, to get back into the trees and cooler weather was certainly something to look forward to. Yet a couple days after we were told this, one of AIM´s staff came to me and said our location had been changed. There was a pastor in a near by town who wanted a team to come and help his church. The situation was delicate and our ¨mission¨ could look a bit different than other teams…a bit more compassion and sensitivity to this particular gentleman was needed. Jimmy then told me the events of the past 2 weeks in the life of Pastor Manuel.
One of Manuel´s sons, Joshua, had been in Santo Domingo, the capital, preparing to travel to Chile to evangelize. He was a translator and had a calling of missions on his life. He enjoyed traveling and sharing the gospel and this was to be his life. Joshua was excited to go once more into different nations to bring the Good News of Jesus! Yet on December 30th, Manuel got a phone call saying that Joshua had fallen ill due to his Sickle Cell Anemia. Infact he was so sick, he had been admitted to the hospital. It didn´t take long to know how this story was going to end…on December 31st Joshua died at age 25. Instead of going to Chile to spread the gospel, he went home to be with his Heavenly Father.
Thus, the sadness. So, with this in mind, i crossed the street and introduced myself to this man who had not only lost his wife this year, but now his son. My team sat with him there in the shade of the street for about half an hour and talked, shared stories and just got to know one another. That evening we went to his house to chat some more and enjoy some refreshments. The more time we spent around Pastor Manuel, the more we realized that despite his circumstances he continued to see the good of the Lord! His passion for the gospel is still strong and present. And when he sings…i´m pretty sure even angles´voices pale in comparison. He closes his eyes and sings to the Great Comforter…to the One who passes all understanding. Wow! What a lesson we learned that night about life…about love and loss and remaining strong in the faith through it all. The flowers from Joshua´s funeral were still on the kitchen table. A picture album was passed around with photos of Joshua in his other travels. Yet the six of us sat there with Manuel and his two remaining sons and sang praise songs together…as a family.
While talking all of this in, a passage in 2 Samuel came to mind. 
¨David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground….On the seventh day the child died…¨
This passage talks about how David plead with God through prayer and fasting while the child was sick, but once the child died David knew and accepted that this was the will of God. He did what he could to pray forth a miracle…but at the end of the day he accepted the Lord´s will for the life of the child and moved forward. Pastor Manuel just walked that story out two weeks ago…and just the other day, he took us to a field in Mogollon and showed us where he envisions building a Christian camp for men and women. He has big dreams of moving forward with the gospel. This may be hard to understand how he can still dream and move forward with life after these two tragedies…but at the end of the day, he has a correct understanding of the way God works. It is our responsibility to carry out the Lord´s will here on earth, but when God speaks…His word is final, and we must then begin to eat again and move forward.
I tell you all of this, so you know the spirit in which we are serving here in the Dominican. It is with a heart of compassion for Manuel and his family, but it is also with a spirit of urgency to help spread the gospel and build up the faith of those who do believe. There is severe poverty here…yet, they pray to the same God. Domincans have similar prayer requests as we do. Team Luminous feels very much a part of the body of Christ here, and we are thankful for that.
