BRAUNINGS' BY-LINES
Stephen & Sandra Brauning & family Serving with DMG 13923 7990 15th St. East Christian Reformed World Missions
Sarasota, FL 34243 In the Dominican Republic
Phones: Home 809-530-9008 E-Mail: stevebrauning@yahoo.com
Office: 565-9601 www.oocities.org/stephen.mark/index.html
March 21 2006 Santo Domingo
Dear friends, supporters and loved ones;
We appreciate the support, the love and prayers that we have received and felt from our many supporters over the years. We as missionaries may be on the “front lines” of the advance of God’s Kingdom, but it is only as part of God’s family that we can do this. It is through you, our partners back home, that the Lord provides the necessary support through prayers and funds for us to remain on the field. Over and over we are reminded that this is God’s work, His will, and He assures the means by which this happens. And truly the Lord has always been faithful to meet the needs even beyond what we expect.
This year we will have an opportunity to share directly with you about this marvelous ministry as we return for Home Service, Lord willing. It will have been three years since we last returned to the US, so it is about time we showed up again!
We are beginning to make plans to visit all our partner churches: starting in September, going through December, for churches in the Northeast, and during January for Florida churches. To arrange a visit for your church, we ask that the church’s missions representatives contact our regional missionary rep., Mr. Eldon Syens, at 43 Canterbury Woods, Ormond Beach, Fl 32174-2449. Call 800-484-1107(code: 7691), or 386-672-8166; or e-mail Eldon at syense@juno.com.
Steve is heavily involved in promoting, facilitating, and training in the Evangelism Explosion program. This ministry is active in eight Christian Reformed Churches, as believers are being trained and the gospel is being preached. Soon we will graduate eighteen evangelists at four different churches.
Project Juan, a series of evangelistic Bible Studies based on the Gospel of John, has had a slow start, but we are now beginning a more intensive training program. Steve is preparing the materials and working along side national promoters to get the training and materials out to hundreds of youth in Christian Reformed Churches throughout the country. Pray that the Gospel will go forward through the many laborers and through His word. Pray for more laborers, for continued harvest and praise the Lord with us for the spiritual fruit being borne!
We had another view of God’s big, wonderful family as our mission team here hosted the triennial Latin American Assembly for Christian Reformed World Ministries, here in Santo Domingo back in January. About 70 leaders from 13 countries were present, and ministry vision and programs were shared. It was encouraging to learn of other practices, but most of all we were impressed with the way the Lord is working all over Latin America to gather a big, wonderful family through Christian Reformed World Ministries, and the dynamic and quality staff serving the Lord is a wide variety of ministries.
In April, we are looking forward to hosting a work team from Faith Community Christian Reformed Church of New Jersey. They are coming to assist pastor Antonio Franscico in building a house. For nearly three years, he and his family have been living “temporarily” in the Sunday School rooms of the Christian Reformed Church in Ranchito, La Vega, where Antonio is pastor. Finally they are going to have a home of their own, and the class rooms can be developed to serve the needs of the church.
God indeed has a big, wonderful family. We are blessed to be a part of it. Thank you all for being part of it, too, and thanks again for your prayers and support.
In Christ's Service,
Steve, Sandra, Jesse, Rebecca, Hannah and Mark Brauning