By Joe Widick
Tuesday night was one of those memorable nights. John Derrick took the field for his very first T-ball game. Elaine and I have looked forward to each new adventure in the lives of our grandchildren. This was one more memorable occasion. I don’t think that most of his teammates grasped the concept of the game. One boy on the team, after getting to first base, decided the next place he needed to run to was the pitcher’s mound. When John Derrick took the field he was more interested in playing in the dirt of the infield than watching for the ball. When Kevin got John Derrick watching for the ball two others would want to play in the dirt. So went the first game. After the game we were congratulating John Derrick. He proudly pulled up his ball shirt and told us he had gotten some dirt on his chest. It was like a badge or a rite of passage saying, “I play T-ball!”
In the new testament the early Christians faced many difficult and challenging moments as they tried to serve the Lord. The movement of Christianity was spreading and the Sanhedrin along with the Pharisees were doing all they could to stop this movement. In front of the Sanhedrin the apostles were flogged and ordered not to speak in the name of Jesus anymore. LISTEN to what was said about this situation; “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name” (Acts 5:41). This was what the apostles were willing to do. It was their “badge of courage” saying to all who witnessed this, that nothing was going to keep them from spreading the gospel of Jesus. I don’t think we have to have a “badge of courage,” like the first century Christians had in order to be pleasing to God. I do however believe it becomes important to be able to show and tell the world that we are Christians because of the way we live our life. Is there something unique and special about you because you are a Christian? Do the people you work with know of your Christian values? What about at school, or on the golf course or on the ball field, can people know that you are a Christian? It is time that we let others know that we have a hope of eternal life because of the sacrifice that Christ made. We need to be able to proudly wear the name of Christ wherever we go. We need to be able to say “no” to certain activities. Do I wear the name Christian proudly? John Derrick was so proud of the dirt he got on his chest. Until you and I are proud to wear the name Christian, can we really make a difference?
By Joe Widick
Dear Brothers and Sisters at Maple Hill, Joanne is in Texas enjoying time with 3 of our 4 daughters. She flew in on the 6th to help Rebecca find a prom dress. Joanne is staying at the vacant house of Dwight’s mother. She is greatly enjoying the much faster Internet speed for completing her course work. One thing we have noted is that the internet access in Central Honduras (Tegus, Comayagua, etc) is much faster than it is here.
Dwight will be arriving Friday, May 21, in time for the annual Senior Recognition at the A&M congregation and then Rebecca’s high school graduation on Friday, May 28. During the intermittent week Dwight has an annual physical, dental cleaning and eye exam scheduled.
The morning after graduation the entire family, grand kids and one son-in-law included, will be heading up to Branson, MO. to use our two saved-up time share weeks concurrently. We will return on Saturday, June 5 and then on Sunday the 6th LST will be at the church for an information presentation to anyone interested. That Sunday, the 6th of June, will also be Dwight’s 60th birthday.
That leaves us one day to get all packed up before heading back to Catacamas on Tuesday, June 8th. That following weekend we will be going to see Siguatepeque with Noe Perez, who also owns two homes there that are currently vacant. We have already visited La Paz and Comayagua as potential sites. We also have invitations to work in Nacaome, Santa Cruz de Yojoa, & Santa Rosa de Copan from friends who are preachers active in those areas. Dwight has also received an invitation (again) to teach in the prison system with Rigoberto Vargas.
Dwight attended the annual Baxter Seminar last week. He had good conversations both pre and post seminar with Howard Norton (President of Baxter), Bob Young (Chairman of the board of Baxter), and Dan Coker (primary speaker at the seminar and expert in cultural issues in Latin
America) about issues surrounding his leaving the MPRC.
Dwight also thought his 2 weeks spent at language school in Xela, Guatemala were well worthwhile (if maybe too short). It is a long, long series of bus rides to get there and back. Xela is close to 8000 ft above sea level (Tegucigalpa is only 3000′ and Catacamas 1300′) and was at the start of the rainy season. After being used to Catacamas weather and thinking 2 long sleeve shirts would suffice, he said that Xela was COLD. Note that in the tropics, altitude is far more a factor in climate than anything else.
We will keep you posted on developments. Please be praying as to God’s will for us to continue our work in Catacamas or to go elsewhere. Pray for our trips to and from the states.
By Joe Widick
The last week of April was a week filled with relaxation and time together. It was vacation week for the Widick household. Elaine and I didn’t go very far. We went to the big bustling town of Ten Mile, Tennessee. You would have to really want to see us to find us. On one day of our vacation we went to Kingston to see the sights. In Kingston there is Bethel Cemetery. One of the claims to fame of the cemetery is the fact that there is a soldier buried there from every war that America has fought in. This is from the American Revolution through Desert Storm. The cemetery is on a hillside overlooking Watts Bar Lake. As we strolled through the cemetery one can not help but think of the lives of those buried there. Some had lived long lives while others had been on this earth for a short time. One wonders about contributions that were made by the lives of those there as well as the impact they had on their family. Did they laugh often, enjoy time with loved ones? Did they live lonely lives, or was their life filled with people whom they loved? I find thoughts like that intriguing, because each marker that is in the cemetery represents some type of life.
What type of relationship did they have with the Lord? Did they know the Lord, love Him and worship Him? Was their life better because they decided to live for Him? If they could do it all over again what would they change about their relationship with the Lord? Question after question comes to mind. Then I find myself asking the same questions about my life. Do I take time to strengthen my relationship with the Lord. Is He first in my life, being the most important part of my existence? Do I show others by the type of life that I live that I truly love the Lord and know that he has richly blessed my life. In Mark 6:31 Jesus told his disciples “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” Maybe that is what I need to do from time to time. Just slow down, rest, think, meditate on those things that are really important. Ask the Lord in those quiet times to come into my life and strengthen me and encourage me in my walk with the Lord.
Vacations, quiet times, times of meditation become more and more important in our busy world. I encourage each of us to find those quiet times in our life and spend it in reflection about what is really important.
By Danielle Gray
5-16-2010
By Joe Widick
Micronesia
For The
Master
Pohnpei
Brethren
Give From
The Heart
When the
Christians in Pohnpei
heard of the destruction
in Haiti they
wasted no time in deciding
to help out financially.
The men of
the Kolonia congregation looked at their bank information and decided
that they would send half of the funds in the account. After
hearing what Kolonia was doing the Mand congregation decided
to match their donation by giving half of the funds they
had saved. The total contribution from the Pohnpei churches
to the Haitian relief effort was $750.00. Keep in mind that the
brethren in Pohnpei gave these funds out of deep poverty and
could have put these funds to use for their own needs and desires.
However, they chose to help people who were worse off
than themselves. The brethren do not wish to be praised for
this, but I think it is important for you all to see the maturity
your Christian family has shown in this time of need.
T he Pohnpei School of Preaching
has been meeting for a
year now. The three students,
Charlie, Valerio and Christian
have studied the books of Genesis -
2nd Chronicles from the Old Testament,
The books of Matthew, Mark,
Luke, Acts, Romans, Galatians and 1st
& 2nd Corinthians in the New Testament,
plus sermon preparation and
Delivery, how to study the Bible, evangelism
and Christian Evidences. The
men have done a great job in their
classes. None of their GPA’s are below
3.8 and we have seen a tremendous
amount
of
growth
from all
three of
the
men.
The
second
year of
classes
will begin
upon
our return from reporting.
The men will
continue to study the
remaining forty-four
books of the Bible.
Please keep them in your prayers
By Joe Widick
Micronesia
For The
Master
Pohnpei
Brethren
Give From
The Heart
When the
Christians in Pohnpei
heard of the destruction
in Haiti they
wasted no time in deciding
to help out financially.
The men of
the Kolonia congregation looked at their bank information and decided
that they would send half of the funds in the account. After
hearing what Kolonia was doing the Mand congregation decided
to match their donation by giving half of the funds they
had saved. The total contribution from the Pohnpei churches
to the Haitian relief effort was $750.00. Keep in mind that the
brethren in Pohnpei gave these funds out of deep poverty and
could have put these funds to use for their own needs and desires.
However, they chose to help people who were worse off
than themselves. The brethren do not wish to be praised for
this, but I think it is important for you all to see the maturity
your Christian family has shown in this time of need.
T he Pohnpei School of Preaching
has been meeting for a
year now. The three students,
Charlie, Valerio and Christian
have studied the books of Genesis -
2nd Chronicles from the Old Testament,
The books of Matthew, Mark,
Luke, Acts, Romans, Galatians and 1st
& 2nd Corinthians in the New Testament,
plus sermon preparation and
Delivery, how to study the Bible, evangelism
and Christian Evidences. The
men have done a great job in their
classes. None of their GPA’s are below
3.8 and we have seen a tremendous
amount
of
growth
from all
three of
the
men.
The
second
year of
classes
will begin
upon
our return from reporting.
The men will
continue to study the
remaining forty-four
books of the Bible.
Please keep them in your prayers
By Joe Widick
March 2010 Volume 6 Issue 3
Kaselehlie Maing Ko (Greetings to you all in Pohnpeiian), Re- becca and I hope
that this newsletter finds you all well. As most of you know this year we made our third trip to the States to report
to all of our investing congregations in America. We left from Pohnpei the first week in February and just
returned last week (April 10th). This trip was by far the busiest we have ever had, but I also think it was the
best. We managed to visit with all but one of our investing congregations, met one new congregation, spent
time with both sides of our family and we were able to attend two lectureships and a gospel meeting. All of that
brought us to seven different states. We put over 8,000 miles on a car, flew to three states and took a four hour
bus ride. It was exhausting, but well worth the time spent. We hope that you all enjoyed seeing us as much as
we enjoyed seeing all of you. Sadly, we can’t spend the time that we would like to spend with each family member,
friend, congregation and investor, but we did get to spend some time with many of our closest friends and
got to know some new ones.
Time With Family Is Time Well Spent
Probably the highlight of this trip was the amount
of time we were able to spend with our families. The first
weekend we were in the States we spent two nights with
Rebecca’s parents and then just a few weeks later we
were able to get together with Rebecca’s parents, her
brother and his wife. It was Rebecca’s mother’s birthday
and we were blessed with being able to spend four
nights together in a cabin in the smoky mountains. After
that my father
came to visit
us for a weekend
in Georgia,
after which
we flew up to
New York and
spent a few
short days
with my
younger sister
followed by a few days in Massachusetts with my older sister and
(Continued on page 3)
With Rebecca’s family in the Smokies. (Opposite): Rebecca
and my dad in MA.
One of the interesting things about being foreign missionaries is that while we were just visiting,
“home” we are glad to be back, “home.” I once heard a man at a missions workshop reading a list of “You might
be a missionary if’s” one of them was, “You might be a missionary if the only place you feel at home is in the
airport.” It is confusing at times (especially when someone asks, “where are you from?”), but it is a great reward
to have two places that you consider home.
We arrived back home to Pohnpei one week ago today (I am writing this on April 17th). We got right
back to work Sunday morning worshipping with the saints in Kolonia and then Sunday evening in Mand. Monday
morning we were up bright and early (one of the benefits of jet-lag is that you wake up at 5:00 in the morning
ready to take on the day) and got right to work preparing our classes and lessons for the week. The preaching
school started back on Wednesday and there was a lot to do to prepare for that. On top of that there were a
million errands to run, lots of people to visit and a house to get back in order. Rebecca and I had a great visit to
the States, but are very glad to be back to work in our adopted home land.
Brethren Continue Steadfast In Our Absence
One of the goals of the work that you and we are doing is to establish independent congregations of the
Lord’s church. Each time Rebecca and I go off island is a test for the brethren who will one day be on their own.
Each time we are greatly pleased with the results. Both congregations met faithfully for worship and Bible class
while we were gone. The men in each congregation did a great job of developing their own sermons and teaching
the Adult Bible classes. The women made sure that the children’s classes were kept up with and took turns
teaching them. Also the brethren made sure that our newest brother, Salter, was well taken care of. He also
was able to attend each service while we were gone and looks like he is much, much stronger than he was
when we left. We are so happy that our family here in Pohnpei is growing in the Lord and we look forward to
them becoming completely independent in the future.
Plan the Work, Work the Plan
Rebecca and I were blessed with being able to meet several times with our deacon of missions while we
were in the States. With him we are planning a campaign for 2011. I will have more details on that in the next
newsletter. Rebecca and I have also spent a lot of time together sharing ideas for the work and making plans
for the next few months. Here are some of the things that we have come up with that we want to try to do. We
ask that you will pray for us in these efforts: First, we have not been able to spend the time that we need to in
Mand and as a result the church there has had negative growth in the last year. Because of this we want to
step up our efforts in that community. One thing that we will do is start spending a part of every Monday there
(we plan to call them, “Mand Mondays). Our goal will be to get Bible studies going with people that may one
day come to Christ. When we don’t have Bible studies going on we will go door to door inviting people for Bible
classes and we will visit some of the erring brethren in the village. Also Rebecca has decided and planned to
discuss with the women in Mand how we can increase the attendance for the children’s Bible class in that village.
There seems to be a million children in this small village, yet often there are only a handful of kids in Bible
class. Rebecca, working with the local ladies is going to look at how to grow this into a program that the village
children will want to come to. Second, we need to grow the congregation in Kolonia. At least for now we are going
to take Tuesdays for door knocking and Bible studies in areas of Kolonia where we already have members
living. The idea will be to invite their family, friends and neighbors for Bible studies and eventually have larger
groups in more concentrated areas. This will mean that we will not be doing the school of preaching on Tuesdays
anymore. Instead the school will meet Wednesdays and Thursdays for longer periods of time. Third, we
are looking at doing a summer Bible school workshop in both congregations. There will be classes for adults
and children. We have not worked out all the details, but we will likely use public buildings. In addition to the
campaign that we are planning with Don in 2011 we are also looking for other groups to come out in 2011,
2012 and 2013. We will have more details on future campaigns and how you can get involved in the next issue.
There is much work to do and we desperately need your prayers and the help of our Father in Heaven to get
the work done. We thank you in advance for your prayers!
more time with my dad. We also were able to have Rebecca’s brother and sister-in-law for an overnight visit to
our house and we spent a night with them for Rebecca’s father’s birthday. Also we were blessed to spend a
night with Rebecca’s aunt and uncle in Middle Tennessee and have a dinner out with my aunt and uncle in
Boston. We had a great time with our families, but unfortunately it still doesn’t feel like enough time (and all the
nice visits made us miss everyone even more). We hope that our families know how much they mean to us and
how much we appreciate the short amount of time we had with them.
Lectureships & Gospel Meetings A Time of Spiritual Renewal
One of the things Rebecca and I don’t like
about living on the field is that, with the exception
of watching some DVD’s or listening to
CD’s occasionally we don’t ever get to hear very
deep lessons from sound gospel preachers.
Just like everyone else we need to be fed from
God’s word and sometimes it is nice to hear
other people’s lessons. This trip God blessed us
with an opportunity to hear some great lessons
from some fantastic gospel preachers. First, we
were able to attend the Freed lectures in Henderson
TN. After that we returned to Georgia
where the congregations in our area were hosting
Tom Holland for a progressive meeting
(each night the meeting is at a different congregation).
Then just a week or two after that we
were blessed with being able to attend the East
Tennessee lectures. Not only were we able to
hear some great lessons at each of these
places, but, just as importantly, we were able to
reconnect with friends from school and congregations
that we don’t normally get to visit. All in all this was just a wonderful time for us and helped us to be
greatly renewed for the Lord.
A Wonderful Surprise In The States
Another great thing about this trip was that our young friend from Pohnpei, John Ryan Johnson, happened
to visit in the states at the same time that we were there. As many of you know John is one of the early
converts of the work in Pohnpei that joined the US Army in 2008. John is stationed in Germany and could not
really afford to come all the way to Pohnpei on leave. Instead he decided to go to the States where he has an
open invitation to stay with our deacon of Missions family, Don and Janet Wilson. Being able to visit with John
was another highlight of the trip. Not only did we get to spend some great time with him in Georgia, but he also
joined us in Tennessee for the lectures there. When we went to the lectures he stayed with us at Rebecca’s
parents house. This was another great aspect of the trip. Rebecca’s family (and my dad) were able to meet
someone that we have worked with on the mission field. I will say it was a little strange for our worlds to come
together like that, I don’t think either of us ever dreamed that one day a Pohnpeiian would be sleeping over at
Rebecca’s parent’s house, but it went well and now John has a whole new family that he can visit and spend
time with if he ever goes back to the states.
All This And We Got To See Our Investors!
Not only did we have great visits with family, not only did we see a great friend from Pohnpei, not only
did we receive spiritual renewal, but God also blessed us with the opportunity to visit with all but one of our investing
congregations. Brethren, I am not exaggerating at all when I say that these visits with you, our loyal investors,
were by far the best that we have ever had. I believe it is because we have been at this now for four
and a half years (in fact many of you have been investing for more than five years) and have had the opportunity
to get to know one another better. Whatever the case may be Rebecca and I would like to thank you from
the bottom of our hearts (or from the bottom of your feet as the Pohnpeiians say) for all of your prayers, words
of encouragement and most of all the confidence that you place in us to invest in this work. We love you all and
thank God for you on a regular basis. May God continue to bless each one as you labor for Him.
By Joe Widick
The culture of this place is different because here there is much delinquent but also some policemen living here. There are several churches but there is many violence, I know God does his work because the young persons of the church are good and the children are growing loving God, also I know the church is an alternative for all of us.
I have worked hard with the leaders brothers and in the restoration, thanks to God two sisters have returned. After May I wait every leader preaches every month on Sunday. I wait in two years for this church have strong leaders.
Our program of music not had successful. Nobody wants to direct the singings and the choir was not possible to consolidate it.
I have been invited to take a course of theology for the episcopal church, it is a program of eight classes, eight Saturdays from 8 to 12 am. This church is like catholic and they do not close the eyes when they pray.
In April I have requested extra help to the sister Linda Purdy of Amarillo Texas, but was not possible, I expect to acquire little more of money to improve some things.
Thank you for his your financial help, it is necessary for me.
I know always problems and you know of this. I believe firmly that the mission must continue, also because it is necessary to bring peace, consolation and hope to the world. We can help a lot with the healthy doctrine and God will bless his work.
I request your prayers for:
1. Brother Pánfilo, he escaped of the church, I hope he returns.
2. The sister Crusita 68 year old she lost her house.
3. The sister Suyapa has cancer. She has surgery this May 4.
4. for the three leaders of this church.
5. for the young persons of this church.
Blessings
Samuel Diaz
By Joe Widick
Dear brethren in the faith,
Thanks for the opportunity to address you through this short letter, and for the time you take to read about the things going on in the Lord’s work in Lima, Peru.
Until this day, God has been kind to us by blessing us, and helping us to continue in the faith, though some of our number are dealing with some health issues that are not allowing them to be with us regularly.
One member who has been sick, and was not able to be in church is Estelita Otero. We have been having Bible studies in her house. We also have been visiting Cruz Panta; she is an elderly lady in church.
Betty’s daughter, Rosario Barrutia, who quit coming to church for a while, has begun to attend church once again. We are encouraging her to be faithful, and to continue to be with her Christian family.
The young people had their monthly reunion. Nineteen young people met together. They have some goals in order to reach more young people for God.
We also had a fellowship meal with all the members. This was a very encouraging time for everyone.
Please, keep the congregation in your prayer. We always remember you and pray for you.
In Christ,
Yahyiré Pinedo
Here is the attendance and offering for March:
DATE ADULTS CHILDREN TOTAL OFFERING
Sunday 7th 32 6 38 $ 57.50
Sunday 14th 35 12 47 $ 92.00
Sunday 21st 33 10 43 $ 67.80
Sunday 28th 33 7 40 $ 71.00
By Joe Widick
Thank you very much Sister Melanie,
I appreciate a lot that you and Brother Pete are praying for me, it is mean a lot.
I am still in El Salvador but I hope that I can travel tomorrow to Honduras, I really miss my wife and my baby, I am just waiting that Ericka can get me some money to travel because I spended more than I thought and nobody can lend me here all country is having a very difficult situation. life here is very expensive.
these days here have been a big blessing because I could do many things:
1- I went to the hospital to make different test
2- I had spend time with my family
3- I have been working for the Lord
4- I could visit Ilobasco Church of Christ with Mario
last wednesday I was invited for Mario to preach in the new group of reunion that they have in a place called EL REFUGIO we were there about 20 adults and many children, we really had good time.
Today thursday we went to Ilobasco to visit all the brothers and sisters and they were so excited to see us again so we felt in the same way. they are having meetings every sunday and preachers from San Salvador travel to Ilobasco every sunday to attend the Church there. it is a joy for us to hear that they are faithful to the Lord. this day was a great day!
Mario and I took some pictures that we are going to share with you soon.
About Sister Mary Anne, I am glad to hear that she is doing well and that she looks great I know that God has the control of her health and He will finish his work in her life. today I am going to be praying that tomorrow will be a very good day for her in the surgery.
thank you very much for you love and care may the Lord bless you and Brother Pete always.
in Jesus,
Ricardo
