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SPECIAL NEWS EDITION
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Greetings from the Dominican
Republic! We have had so much work going on
that we have wanted to tell you about but
it does not all fit into our regular
newsletter! We're thinking of expanding the
newsletter and either send it more often or
a larger edition. Too much news and not
enough space!!
J.K. JCms TEACHES II CCKINTHIANS!!
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We were thrilled to have J.K. Jones
here from Ozark Christian College to teach
a course on II Corinthians. He is an
outstanding tesicher. When he came last year
for our Youth Conference he taught on the
Sermon on the Mount and at the first break
we had, all of the preachers came up and
asked, almost in unison, "When can he come
back to teach?" We had about 95 leaders
that participated and we're looking forward
to having J.K. back in May of 1994 for a
retreat for our leaders and their families,
Lord willing. Thanlvs J.K.!!
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FAMILY NEWS!!
Our girls are growing up so quickly!
Emily is 13 and in the 8th grade. She is an
honor roll student and really enjoys art
and reading. Laurie is almost IKApril 4)
and is also a good-student and is the CNN
ot our street! Not much happens here
without her knowing about it, usually
within 10 minutes or so! They both will be
starting French classes soon so they will
be able to acquire another language. Their
Spanish is excellent and they have acquired
a Dominican accent. Suzanne continues to
teach kinder at the Santiago Christian
School, where the girls go. It's a K-l^i
school and we're so thankful for the Lord
providing such a good school for the girls.
We're hoping to be able to take a
short vacation this summer. We have been
on the go" since last summer and the
demands of the work, along with so many
teams from the U.S., make time away a
precious commodity!
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GREAT PROOIESS IN MEDICAL WORK!!
We have been blessed in the past three
months to have Gary and Cindy Klein working
full-time with us in the medical aspect of the
ministry here!. Through their efforts and the
work of our Dominican doctors they are
treating over 1000 patients a month on the
medical evangelism trips. This ministry is
very effective!! We've seen over 60 people
accept Christ because of the contacts made.
Gary and his team go for three days on each
trip, taking Christian films, Bibles and
tracts along with their medicine. We're hoping
to expand the ministry to three, three day
trips a month, at least. That will mean at
least 10,000 people treated in 1993, along
with at least 10,000 vaccinations for DTP
given and 10,000 New Testaments distributed,
Lord willing. Please pray for this ministry!!
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FAME TO DCWATE MEDICAL VHUCLE! !!!!
We were thrilled to have Dr. Bob Reeves
and Dave Butts here from FAME(Fellowship of
Associates of Medical Evangelism)at the end of
February. They travelled with Gary, myself,
and our medical team to Nagua for a three-day
clinic. Over 300 patients were treated and
hundreds heard the gospel. 12 people accepted
Christ while we were there and many have done
so since then. FAME saw the need we have for a
four-wheel drive medical vehicle for this
ministry and have agreed to provide one. Lord
willing this year! It's a very expensive piece
of equipnent, $35-40,000-!-!Wehave a tax
exoneration for getting it into the country
tax free and it will allow Gary and the
medical team to reach any town or village in
the country, no matter how remote! THANKS FAME
FOR YOUR HELP!!
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YOUTH CCMiEEiENCE A HUGE SUCCESS!!
Close to 300 people gathered for four days
in Feb. for our 3rd annual Youth Conference.
Christ in Youth, from Joplin, MO, was once
again the sponsor and what a great job they
did! Our young people really impressed the 17
Americanos that came with CIY! Our young
people are some of the best I've ever seen,
anyvdiere! Mature and confident in the Lord,
they're going to be dynamite leaders of the
church in the 21st century, here and
throughout Latin America! Pray for them!!!
SU CA^ PROJECT OFF TO CaiEAT START'
As many of you know, we have stated
raising funds to build a sT:arted
that ui 11 ; I j mission center"
for- ^ncj-ucle a home for us, offices
visitors^that"^
Your aupp^rf of 1^6 in 1992!
firent project will be a
fl^SoO in to have iu,uuo in the fund by September to beein
sta^! T f r ^ to a great
churoh r^r? c I ^ project for , your
f taaa! We've teai
honiM Pteoe of property aikt--Me'te
Miliina pi ^ <^thing this sunnier,' Lbrt .!
fon '^tease find enclosed an envSlbre i
special project. IHANKS FOB Vm
HERE ^ SEMINAR ON TEACHING!
Hannnond? mnis'S^V\T"^p^
Chricji-?* at the Greenford. OH
i'or a LeadSshin^^i^^^^''" weeks ago
Creativ#a t i, Training Soninar on
creative Teaching. Our lead^^T^Q frr^^-
ereaf j-eaaers got some
-nd?he/rot I^vol^m ^Te
Domingo Christian Church in Santo
serv^t'of^ ^ tumble
- anSii?
thankft^V? Thanks Dean anb
free!y. Dominicans can travel ireeiy. We re praying that the doors wi n ho
open and that we'll have the workers and fun^
to go! FRAOmraS^^SmLITr?
!!!**************************
WtKK lEAMS tUNNBD FOR AIRIL''
T,, . . searing up for two work 1/.^"..", fr,
Illinois in April. The first will
Uncoln Oiristian College. The coll^ge^
f ^th and Mission!
IL. ti^p here ih
- ^ years r He^s l^
^ PPte here and has^I^
helped in many areas!
First "tng from the
wm bf^if Naperville and it
in 1-h ^^rd trip tor many in the group
i!ad^ ^"ting ^ leading the group again and we're lookina
fmS^ having them again. The teams bring
iunds for construction ami get stranse
sunb^ and alot of blistSi in
to^^k!^^ c^ng back because they r&lly get
to know the people and see what lovfTy
Thanks Brook and Roger'"
F>ff machine DCNAim Bf CHRIgr m
a FAX ^ Joplin. MO, we now have
!u!ter^ i!e t home. The
We h! home (8091580-1930.
o!r^out^^ translation for
f^in! t^TY materials and
^ 1^ ^ tt much
ir+ k consuming! Pius it's a
lot cheaper than a i ..T m. . t.... ^
thanks to the church'^^re tbr it^ ^ phone ^^iVf ThanJfs CIY'
S^^RVEY TRIP TO CUBA PLANNED SOON* *t VBS PROGRAM AVAILABLE FOR THIS SUMMER''
TRIP TO CUBA PLANNED SOON!''
discuss^'^fh^ men were here from we aiscussed the possibility of sending two
Dominican preachers tn p.iKo + ^ two
possihi Hi-Jr to Cuba to explore the
toere til mission work
Martinez Rodriguez and Benito
. S-tr "T~"srS'
who is ve^ int!Ss?Tin'?r ^^ibbean
!i!i^!! U Chri?ti^ S
mister. U.S. citizens cannot legally
VBS PROGRAM AVAILABLE FOR THIS SUMMER!!
We have a very good VBS program
Re^blio^ summer using the Dominican
d!v mission project. We inciude a five day slide program, color sheets for each
Seine n^'^' banners, along with recipes for
Call or fax me SOON
program!
FLIsASB FRAY FOR OUR FAITHFUL rrMTMrnAXT
and MEN
FOR us AS WE LEAD THAT
Sto CONTINUE TO PROVIDE FOR ALL OF
CUR NEEDS AND PLANS! THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!
(^0 375^
.V
Victories Continue to be Won in the Dominican Republic!!
Since July of 1991 18 work teams from the United States have
travelled to labor on 13 work projects for the Christian
Churches/Churches of Christ in the Dominican Republic. Rick and
Suzanne York report that the teams have finished 7 churches and are
presently working on 6 more projects! The teams live with Dominican
families and one of the greatest blessings for the team members is
getting to know the vibrant Christians in this growing work.
New church planting and Leadership Training are high on the
York's priorities and 1993 has seen four new churches planted in
the country, three in the northern section and one in the southwest
of the rnnntry,. All were planted and are being led by national
workers. The monthly Leadership Training Institute has been blessed
in 1993 to have J.K. Jones visit in January from Ozark Christian
College, teaching on II Corinthians and Dean Hammond from
Greenford, Ohio teaching a course on Creative Teaching Methods.
Average attendance for the courses has been near 90.
The Lord has blessed the medical outreach program of the
Christian churches also under the guidance of Gary and Cindy Klein,
along with Dr. Jesils Peiia Dume and Dr. Luis Comas. Two 3-day
medical evangelism trips are underway each month with a goal of 3
per month hy tin i ml ni' Right nra?,, rinnr tn patients a
month are being treated and/or vaccinated and given medicine
t-hell l1 11lULii,La , all free of charge! One of the greatest benefits
has beeni ? st i r> f-hyiigt of the-mcdicAlw^>4-__w4trh an
average of 10 people accepting Christ as Savior during each trip.
The trips are in coordination with established Christian Churches
but the plan is to also use the medical programs to help start new
churches in 1994.
One major goal is to be able to send out Dominican preachers
as missionaries in to the rest of Latin America. These dedicated
men and women can almost automatically fit in to any Spanish
speaking country. Language barriers and cultural barriers are
almost nonexistent. The "proof is in the pudding" as the saying
goes and Juancito Rodriguez, a Dominican evangelist sent to Panama
in 1987 has led the dynamic work and helped plant over 20 churches
in the past 6 years. "Third World" missionaries are going to be the
difference in Latin American evangelism in the 21st century. The
Christian Churches in the Dominican Republic have at least 6
families or couples that are willing and ready to go. If your
church is interested in this effective and much more economical
means of opening new works in Latin America, call or fax:
Rick York
(809) 580-1930
RICK AND SUZANNE YORK. MISSiONARIES
DOMINICAN UPDATE
This Issue: Exciting news of
continued growth of the mission
work of the Christian Churches in
the Dominican Republic!
June 29.1993 / Voiume 21 Number 3
Greetings once again from
the Dominican Republic! God con
tinues to bless our family as we
serve Him here. As you can tell, we
are intorducing a new format for
our newsletter, one that we hope
will be more interesting and easier
and more enjoyable to read. Our
special thanks to Scott Pelton and
the Cary, NC Christian Church,
for their help in getting a new com
puter system on line. It has a lot
better desktop publishing capabili
ties than my old system and we are
really thankful for it. Scott and his
wife Donna, are friends of ours
from our work in Puerto Rico many
years ago and their generosity is
greatly appreciated!
We have been "on the go" just
about constantly for the past several
months and the next couple of
months look pretty busy. Suzanne
and the girls finished school on
June 4th and our first work team
came on the 7th so they didn't have
much time to catch their breath but
it's been a lot of fun and we already
have poured a lot of concrete on
one of our projects.
Emily and Laurie did very well
in school this year and are also en
rolled in a special French class. The
French government has a 4 year, 12
level school here in Santiago that
the girls started in April. We're
hoping they'll acquire French with
out it being too much like work!
MEDICAL EVANGELISM PROGRAM
CONTINUES TO IMPACT CHURCHES!
number of baptisms that the preach
er, Bro. Frederico Rodriguez has
prepared.
The program is working so well
because of several reasons:
1. The pro
gram meets a
need in the com
munity and shows
the non-christian
community that
the church cares
about the people!
2.There is an
effective follow-
up program that
calls the people to
repentence and asks themto make a
decision.
3. The program is organized
and oriented to the local church.
Benevolent programs are good and
needed but what is most important
is winning people to Christ! Be
nevolent programs come and go but
the church remains and if the
church is strong then the communi
ty benefits in a number of ways!
Gary travels once a month to
Puerto Rico to fulfill his duty in the
Air National Guard and receives
and organizes all of his medicines
there.
Gary and Cindy Klein continue
to do an outstanding job with the
medical evangelism program of the
Christian Churches here. Gary was
by on June 9th on his way to a clin
ic in Barrero and re
ported that in the past
6 months they have
had 248 decisions for
Christ! What a bless
ing for the churches
and such an encour
agement for them as
they labor with us to
see the churches
MEDICINES NEEDED!!
WE HAVE AN URGENT NEED
TOR THE FOLLOWING;
AMAPICrU.tN
ANTI-DIARRHEAI^
CHILDREN'S AND ADL'LT VTTAMINS
IXfTRfMIN TOPICAL CREAM
PRP.-NATAI, Vrtainiiis
SE.ND TO; GARY KLEIN
P.O. BOX 37849
SAN JUAN, PR 00937-0349
grow.
The program is usually a three
day trip to one of the local
churches. The first evening the
team shows the "Jesus" movie on
VCR and there is usually standing
room only in the church. The se
cond day is dedicated to the medi
cal work. The team gives
vaccinations in the morning and
sees patients in the afternoon and
evening. After the clinic is finished,
or even while it continues in the
evening, some of the team members
have a preaching service . The third
morning is dedicated to follow up
with visits to the homes of those
that came to the medical clinic the
day before. Every church has re
ported conversions because of the
program! The team is travelling to
La Piha this afternoon to witness a
Work Teams Continue Support
We've been blessed the past three years with a
number of great work teams from churches and
colleges in the U.S. that have travelled to help in our
many construction projects. We have had over 20
groups in that time and while each group is different
and has different interests and needs, they have all
been a blessing and have been blessed by their trip.
The groups all have brought funds for construction
and have helped tremendously. Projects have been
finished that were well beyond our normal means of
support and projects have been begun that would
never have gotten started if not for the different
teams.
One thing that we have seen hold up for each
group is that they all leave feeling that they have
received more from the people than they have given.
It's a good chance for many of the people to see what
poverty is really like, where people have no running
water and outdoor bathrooms. In the summer of 1991
I took a group of young people up to the church in
Nagua, where we slept in the local school and used
their outhouse! When I first showed the outhouse to
the kids, they all took off running! I thought they
were scared but they were all running to get their
cameras! One girl said, "My mother will never
believe this!"
The teams come and do a lot of manual labor
but realistically, I could hire someone here to do the
Iabor(proyiding funds were available) so their labor
is not the most important aspect of their trip. The
relationships that are formed with their Dominican
brothers and sisters are really what is important. The
people here realize that they are not alone in their
stand for the Lord and the Americans realize that
there are vibrant and strong believers outside of the
United States.
Work teams are a lot of work, keeping the
crews busy and working but not killing them with
too much work. They live with the Dominican
Christians and eat Dominican food but we also take a
day off duringthe trip so that they can sightsee and
get to know the island. Our champion teamleader so
far has been Brook Brotzman, Youth minister and
Minister of Missions at the Lake-Land Christian
Church in Mundelrin, niinois. Brook is here right
now with his sixth team in two years! He has worked
on at least four of our projects and is heading up the
coordination of our 1994 CAMP
CONSTRUCTION EXTRAVAGANZA!! We've
got some property on the south coast that has been
donated for a camp and we're gearing up to have
between 20-30 groups next summer to work on it!
Brook has been promoting this project and has been a
great blessing for us! THANKS BROOK!
SU CASA PROJECT GROWS!
We have been thrilled with the response of
our "SuCasa" project to get a home and offices built
for us here in Santiago. We had set and original goal
of raising $10,000 by Sept. 1st to begin the initial
part of the construction. As of June 1 we have
received $8100!! We are so thankful for the faithful
and sacrificial support of this project. We are going
to continue to push this project as it is a real need!
We still have several boxes of books that we have in
storage becausewe don't have room to put them
where we are living now.!
Here are some figures about construction that
might help you in your giving for thisproject:
100 bags of cement cost $440 U.S.
1000 6" blocks cost $400 U.S.
1 load of gravel or sand costs $80 U.S.
a good carpenter earns about $15 U.S. a day!
We are going to move on to our next goal of
raising the next $10,000 for a total of $20,000 for
this construction by Jan. 1st, 1994! We're trusting in
the Lord to provide this through His people! The
giving so far has been almost exactly divided
between individuals who have given between $5 and
$500 and churches that have given between $25 and
the Old Union Church of Christ in DanvlUe, IL,
our Living Link supportingchurch that recently gave
$2000 to this project. Again, interest rates here have
gone down to 21% a year! That makes a
conventional mortgage just too expensive to get or
even if we could afford it would be a real poor use
of the Lord's money. Many of you who receive this
newsletter have not been able to give yet and we
hope that you'll really consider this need. If only
40% of the people or churches that receive our
newsletter would give just $100 for the Su Casa
project, we'd have it built inthe next three or four
months, debt free! Please use the enclosed envelope
for your gift. We appreciate your help.
LEADERSHIP TRAINING A KEY
TO CONTINUED GROWTH!!
We continue to emphasize that well trained
leaders are the bright hope of the church here in the
Dominican Republic and around Latin America! We
are not able to send many of our young men to the
States for training and, I believe, that is probably for
the best! It might sound strange but I think it's true.
The temptation for a young man to want to stay in
the States and make a life for himself is so strong
that it takes a very focused young man to come back
home to work. In addition, if that young man does
not have support from a Stateside church, when he
gets back to his third world home after living in the
U.S. for four or five years and discovers that the
local church can't support him and he's going to have
to find a secular job, for which he has no training, it
becomes a very difficult situation.
Our emphasis continues to be on training our
leaders, while they are leading the churches. We're
doing this with our LeadershipTraining Seminars,
wbere our church leaders and preachers come from
throughout the island to Santiagoonce a month for
8-10 hours of class over a Friday evening and
Saturday. They eat and sleep at the Christian Church
and School in Arroyo Hondo. Pastor and Maria de
la Cruz are responsible for the preparation of the
food, which is a big help for me. We have been
averaging about 85 leaders each month! This means I
am able to see every preacher from every church at
least once a month, saving me a lot of travel time to
the churches that are several hours from Santiago.
We're spending about $400 a month for the program
but it's the best money we spend each month! We're
doing New Testament studies this year and in 1994
will do the Life of Christ. In 1995 and 1996 we'll do
Old Testament studies, Lord willing.
Esperanza Church Needs Property!
We've got a problem with the Christian
Church in Esperanza but it's the kind of problem that
we're happy to see! The folks there have been on fire
for the Lord and the church continues to grow
monthly, to the point that they are having a hardtime
fitting inthebuilding they are using now for the
church! One of the families has built a second floor
on their home and are lettingthe church use that until
they get a building built. Wehad Jim and Rhonda
Bowyer from World Mission Builders herein April
for a set-up tripto builda church building in
Esperanza in November, Lordwilling. As of today,
however, we don't have property to build a church
on!
There is an excellent lot for sale, just down the street
from where the church meets now for sale for just
$3500! It is in a middle-classpart of town and a
growing community. We really need your help or
this project! Please let us know if your church
could help with this important project!
CUBA TRIP A GREAT SUCCESS!
Benito Martinez and Juancito Rodriguez
travelled to Cuba for a survey trip sponsored by
FAME to explore the possibilities of opening a work
there. They were well receivedby the Cuban people
that they met, including many Christians. The met
with several government officials and learnedthat if
the church was involved in benevolent programs for
the people then they could be recognized by the
government and meet freely as a congregation. We're
hoping that FAMEwill have the funding to send one
or two couples there to get the work off the ground.
We have offered some of our workers here that are
willing and eager to go. Please be praying for this
project! The team reported that there are many
shortages for the Cuban people of many of the basic
necessities of life, coffee, meat, tooth paste, etc.
They were approachedby many doctors who stated
that despite having a very good health system in
place, medicines were very scarce because of the
embargo and the disintegration of the Soviet Union,
who had propped up the government for so many
years.
4 New Churches Started in 1993!!
The Lord continues to use His faithful
workers here to see new congregations started.
Gregorio Grasesqui is the preacher in San Luis Moca
and has started two new churches in the Moca area,
in Quebrada la Llagua and Los Ginginbres. William
Decena started a new Haitian church on the south
coast in the village of El Cuchillo and Frederico
Rodriguez got a new church started near his home in
the province of Santiago Rodriguez. We'rehopingto
get another church startedthis fall in Santiago with
Aristedes Pimentel. We'll probably be targeting the
area of El Ingenio, which is a hugebarrio with very
few evangelical churches established. Your faithful
support of this work makes these new churches
possible!
SHOES, SHOES, SHOES!!!
Please do not call me the Imelda Marcos of
the Dominican Republic! The Broadway Christian
Church in Mattoon, IL, one of our supporting
churches, just sent us almost 1000 pairs of shoes to
be given away in the churches here!! Shoes are
expensive here, often times costing 30-40%of
someone's monthly earnings so these shoes are really
a blessing. They will be distributed to the preachers
for distribution in the churches. Thanks Broadway!!
We really appreciate their thoughtfulness and thanks
to Ken and Jan Rutledge, Youth Ministers (and
our forwarding agents) who helped organize the
project!
Lincoln Christian College Sends
Team of Students!
April 1st found us at the airport in Puerto
Plata welcoming a team of 10 students from Lincoln
Christian College. The team came and worked on the
church building at Las Guaranas, about an hour and a
half from Santiago. They poured the floor and put
the roof on. The team also raised funds to buy a piece
of property for the new church at Quebrada La
LLagua. Each student raised his or her own funds for
the trip and the construction funds came from the
chapel offerings at the college. We appreciate
Lincoln's help and
we're looking forward to their return next year. Lord
willing.
Catching Our Breath!
The past two and a half years seem like a
whirlwind of activity, and they have been! With so
many teams coming and so many church activities
and construction projects going on, Suzanne and 1
say we go from "panic to panic"! Having 16-20
visitors to look after and organize into work teams,
translating sermons and translating for the work
teams that the concrete needs to be a little wetter or
dryer-the Lord has given us the right personalitiesto
do this type of work! We are just so thankful for the
way that the Lord is using us here. We really feel that
we are in the right spot at the right time and we're
expecting even greater things to happen for the
Kingdom in the next few years. Please continue to
pray for us!
Important Addresses!!
To write to us please use this address;
Rick and Suzanne York
C/OLynx Air DR-STO
Box 5600
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33340
For packages:
Rick and Suzanne York
C/0 Lynx Air DR-STO
1995 West Commercial Blvd.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309
Our Forward Agents Address(Ken Rutledge)
York Dominican Mission
P.O. Box 1264
Mattoon. IL 6193A (Phori^ig^g235-4009^'
Our Phone and Fax number (809) 580-1930
Thanks for your continued support. We hope that
you have enjoyed this new format. In our next
issue we'll be having some photos of the work also
included. We pray that the Lord will continue to
use you for the advancement of His Kingdom!
3-TSf
RICK AND SUZANNE YORK. MISSIONARIES
DOMINICAN UPDATE
This Issue: Exdttng news of
continued growth of the mission
work of the Christian Churcties In
the Dominican Republic!
November 30,1993/ Volume 21 Number 4
Su Casa Project Ready
To Begin Construction!!
Greetings once again from the
Dominican Republic! The Lord has
continued to bless our ministry and weVe
especially excited to let you know about
the progress of our "Su Ca.sa" project,
which will include a home for our family
and otTices for the growing work, plus
rooni"for 3ur many visitors! We were able
to pay Vi of the price for our building lot in
September and will pay the remainder in
January, Lord willing. We have received a
total of almost $13,000 from supporting
churches and friends and family toward
the construction costs.
We hope to raise another $7000 by
the 1st of January. If you have not been
able to help with this project, please do so
now! We are hoping and praying to begin
construction in January. We are confident
that the Lord will continue to provide for
this special need. The plans have are being
drawn up right now and we are really
excited about getting started. Please use
the enclosed envelope for your gift for the
"Su Casa" project.
The "Miracle" Church of
Fgppranya Isi Rnilt!I
In our last newsletter we told you about
the church in Esperanza needing land to
build on. Land was purchased lasthnonth
and on Nov. tst a team from World
Mission Builders, led by Ed Thomas and
Jim Bowyer, flewin and by the time they
left on the 12th, they had finished the
church building! The people in Esperanza,
Christians and Non-Christians, are calling
it the "Miracle Church"!! The footers
were in when the team came and they
started laying block and building the
wooden trusses and worked very, very
hard, along with a team of volunteers from
the Esperanza church and neighboring
churches. The buitding is 30 ft X 54 ft
and can seat over 300(Dominican style!).
We had the dedication service on Nov. 9th
and had well over 300 in attendance and
8 BAPTISMS!! The brethren in
Esperanza are just thrilled with their new
church. THANKS TO WORLD
MISSION BUILDERS!! We've already
put our wordin for another team in 1995,
Lord willing.
New Building Finished in
Las Guaranas!!
The construction of the new Christian
Church building in Las Guaranas, about
one hour from where we live, took a little
longer than the church in Esperanza. We
tore down the old building in January and
through the help of two work teams over
the past several months got the job
finished. We will have the dedication
ceremony on Nov. 21st, Lord willing, with
the participation of a number of churches
from this part of the country. The folks at
Las Guaranas have worked long and hard
and prayed constantly for this new
building and it will be a real blessingfor
them and the community!
Work Teams Continue
To Bless Our Mission.
Since our last newsletter we have had
^""flvrwortrTeHmsTrora the U;S. and thejr -
continue to be a blessing for our family
and for the work in general. Each one is
different but ail have come looking to
share with the Dominican people and
hoping to do some constructive work for
the Kingdom. We had a team of Youth
Ministers here the last of October and they
beganworking on a parsonagefor Santos
CiciUo Pefla, one of the preachers in the
Santo Domingo church. Santos* home now
is in very poor condition and only about 10
ft from a main highway and in a very
dangerous place. The Lake -Land
Christian Church in Mundelein, IL is
hoping to finish the project when they
come on Dec. 28tb, Lord willing! Praise
the Lord for their help!!
Family Gamp Draws
Over 450 For Weekend!!
There was no mistaking the joy and
enthusiasm when we gathered in La Vega
for our annual Family Camp over the
weekend of September 17th. People came
from all over the island, many traveling
for as long as 9 hours, each way, to join in
some of the best fellowship this side of
Heaven! With our traditional Bible Bowl
competition. Talent contest, softball
tournament and great preaching services,
Family Camp is something that no one.
wants to miss. The only comparable
activity is our Youth Conference coming
up in Jan. 1994. We closed this year's
camp with 10 baptisms!! A great way to
end!!
Medical Work Continues
To Bless Churches!!
Gary and Cindy Klein continue to do an
outstanding iob in leading the medical
outreach part of the mission work. They
have been constantly busy, along with
their Dominican team of doctors and
helpers, out in the churches for 3-day
medical evangelism trips. Because of the
evangelistic nature of the trips they are
seeing an average of 34 people, per trip,
express an interest in knowing Christ as
their Savior. Several are baptized during
most clinics and the rest are taught by the
local preacher about the plan of salvation.
Several churches and groups are now
sending medicines to Gary via his address
in Puerto Rico:
Gary Klein
P.O. Box 37849
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00937-0349
Please continue to pray for this valuable
part of the work here.
Projects Still Unfinished!!
We still have five projects underway
that are in need of financial help to finish!
Tbey are as follows:
1. Parsonage in Arroyo Hondo, Santiago,
which needs plastering, windows and
doors, electrical and plumbing instai^ed.
Estimated cost- S3500 U.S.
2. Basketbail/voUeyball court at the
Christian School in Arroyo Hondo. We
have poured Va of the court and the two
basketball goals. We need to finish the
concrete work and paint the lines.
Estimated cost- $1300 U.S.
3. Church in San Francisco de Macoris.
We need to finish the floor, lighting, doors
and paint. Estimated cost for this building,
which will seat at least 250- $2500 U.S.
4. Parsonage for Negro T6mas, one of our
preachers. Needs floor, Roof, and
plastering. Estimated cost $2000.
5. Parsonage for Santos Cicilio Pefla in
Santo Domingo. This is the least advanced
of the five projects, with roof, floor,
windows and doors, electrical and
plumbing work yet to do. Estimated cost
$4500 U.S.
These projects are going to be finished
before we start any new projects, of which
we have many waiting. Please consider
helpingwith one of these projects.
Puerto Plata Baptisms
It was a great moment for the church on
Sunday afternoon, Sept. 12. Two vans
were loaded with church members from
the churches in Puerto Plata and imbert as
we drove down some dusty roads and
walked for about a mile and a half to
baptize 10 believers into Christ! It's
always a thrill for us to go and share in the
church's joy as the preachers and
members see the fruit of their labors. In
the past few months we have seen a record
number of baptisms, as many as 18 in
Mao, for which we praise the Lord. Again,
all of the evangelistic work is done bv our
Dominican co-workers!! They are doing a
tremendous job and we are proud to be
able work with them and hdp prepare
them for even greater victories in the
Lord. To Him be the Glory!!
Three New Churches
Started In Last Four
Months!!
New church growth continues as we
have helped in the beginning of three new
churches in the past four months. Freddy
Rodriguez, one of our most faithful
workers in La PiAa had just started a new
church near his home church about 8
months ago and then has started another
new work in Los Almacigos, about 10
kilometers from La Piha.
iSregorio Grasesqui has started a new
church in San Pedro de Macoris, the
cradle of most of the great Dominican
baseball players! This is the third largest
cHy on the island and in the southeast part
of the country. It*s an area we have not
reach yet so were excited about using this
church as a base to reach into the whole
eastern part of the country.
Gary Klein and Digno Espacio have
started a new work in Los Canoas, in the
central- part of the country. Our family Is
traveling down there tomorrow for our
first service with the new church. Please be
praying for our Dominican co-workers as
they humbly labor for the Kingdom.
Adopt A Dominican
Preacher- A Great
Investment for the Lord!!
One 01 the^eafest investments My U.S.
church can make is to "adopt" one of our
Dominican preachers and become his
"living-link" church. We now have 9
preachers that receive support from
churches in the States and it is a real
blessing for both sides. For $250-300 a
month your church can have a full time
worker on the field, that is ready and able
to evangelize his own people. One of my
responsibilities as missionary is to serve as
a liaison between the churches and the
Dominican preachers they support. I make
sure that reports are translated and sent
and correspondence from the U.S. is
translated and delivered. We're actively
searching for more churches to support
some of our workers. These men and their
families are doing a tremendous job for the
Lord and are certainly worthy of your
church's support. Please contact me if
you're interested.
New Support Needed!!
With the continued growth of the work
here our budget has become very strained-
to put it mildly!! We have seen 7 new
works started this year, along with work
on at least 8 church construction projects.
We are seriously in need of at least $1000
more support per month. That sounds lite
a lot of money but if iust 10 churches
would start or increase $100 per month.
our goal would be reached.
We're looking at such a busy schedule
for the next 18 months that a furlough to
the U.S looks out of reach so we're
appealing to the churches that support us
now or who perhaps have thought about
it, to look at this work. We're convinced
that there is not a more cost-effective work
in Latin America., Please give us a call at
(809) 580-1930 if your church or church
group is interested in knowing more. We'll
gladly provide you with a list of people
that have been here and can give you an
accurate evaluation of the mission work!
Leadership Training
Gontinues tcrShape
Leaders!!
We've had some great classes for our
church leaders the past few months. Tim
Wallingford from the Shively Christian
Church in Louisville was here in August
and taught on II Timothy and the type of
leaders our men needed to be! David
Sepulveda from the Swiss Cove Christian
Church was here in September and taught
on the Parables of Christ Bud Yoder was
just here from Cogan Station, PA and did
a great job teaching about discipleship!!
FamUy News!!
Suzanne, Emily, Laurie and 1 continue to
really enjoy our work and lifehere in the
Dominican Republic. As many of you
know, this is a "third world" countrj'
which means that the infrastructure of the
country is very weak. The lights go off
often, but have improved a great deal from
when we first came. In September of 1991
we only had electricity about 4 hours a
day. The water goes off on occasion and
sometimes we may have to go a day or two
with no running water but it's amazing
how easily you adapt to the small
inconveniences.
We can get most anything that we need
as far as food and household items are
concerned. We do have our work teams
bring some things down that we can't get
and if your church would like a list, let us
know!
Emily and Laurie continue to do very
well in school, both on the honor role and
also studying French after school twice a
week. Emily is now wanting to learn to
drive!! f really am looking forward to her
learning so she can help in a couple of
years with the work teams! Emily and
Laurie both traveled and worked with our
teams this summer and help a great deal in
translating.
Suzanne continues to teach at the
Santiago Christian School. She teaches
Kinder Yi a day and just moved into her
new classroom in the new Early
Elementary building. She enjoys teaching
and does an excellent job.
We've all been blessed with excellent
health and enough energy to keep a very
busy schedule! We're all looking forward
to the holidays. We're having an island-
wide missionary gathering for
Thanksgiving, which is not celebrated by
the Dominicans. We're having turkey and
all the trimmings so Tm cutting back now
to be able eat my fair share! We realty do
haVe some great fellowship with the other
American missionaries.
Truck Fund Started!!
One of our most urgent needs is for a
good used pick-up truck. We need one to
haul construction materials and people for
a variety of projects and events. We've
received about S2500 toward our goal of
$5000, with which we can make a down
payment on a truck. We've set up an
account here so if you would like to
contribute please send any funds directly
here. We're hoping to get a truck by
Christmas, Lord willing!!!
Happy Holiday!!
We enjoy the Christmas season here
even though it is much different than in the
U.S. Roast pork or roast goat are the
traditional Christmas Eve dinners. Most of
the gift giving is not until Jan. 6th, which is
Three Kings Day, the day that tradition
says the three WiseMencame to visit the
Christ child.
We'd love to hear from you so please
take time to send a card or letter. We feel
blessed to have been led to work here and
know that we are doing the Lord's will.
We're lookingforward to a long and
fruitful ministry here as we seek to have
200 churches here in the next 10 years!
Your prayers and support will make that
possible. God Bless you all and we pray
that youwill continue to seek Hiswill in
your life in 1994!
Important Addresses
For correspondence:
Rick and Suzanne York
C/0 Lynx Air-DR-STO
P.O. Box 5600
Ft, Lauderdale, FL 33J40
For packages:
C/O Lynx Air DR-STO
1995 W. Commercial Blvd. Suite A
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309
Forward agents (allfunds go here)
Ken Rutledge
York Dominican Mission
Box 1264 Mattoon, IL 61938
Our Homephone & fax(809)580-1930