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Happy Holidays!
Samuel & Kendra
Landon,
Nathan,
Andersen |
Greetings!
May Christ's love fill your heart this Christmas season! We are deeply grateful to the Lord for the hope and joy he brings to our lives. We want to share with you some of the ways God has been working. Thanks to those who have prayed for us as we facilitated the retreats for pastors and missionaries followed by the NET team from Michigan! Your prayers were greatly appreciated!
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This Christmas vacation the boys are looking forward to riding horses!
Samuel's brother Joel, and his family, is coming from Kentucky to spend 10 days in the DR. This will be the first time Samuel's entire family has been together in almost 10 years!
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On November 20, Brent & Linda Smith arrived leading a team of 11 from the Sandstone church in Jackson, Michigan. These 5 young ladies did a super job working with the children of the Bison Clubs. They taught Bible truths through puppets in 4 of our Bison kids club communities. The girls, along with their three moms, helped the kids make their own puppets. The Bison club kids were delighted!!
The team helped us host a fun day with the 130 youth from all 6 Bison clubs! The best news is....... We prayed with two of the five young ladies on the team who made new commitments to Christ!! Please pray with us that they would make decisions that move them toward God as they grow in their new faith. |
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A MURDER PLOT DETAINED!
The NET ministry house was robbed last week. We are still not sure of all that may be missing but we know there are 15 pairs of new shoes that were donated for needy children, 10 gallons of paint and some other miscellaneous items. Samuel spent a day driving the police around as they investigated. Once they figured out who the thief was, they picked up Pablo (the cop that is infamous for "cleaning up" -shooting and killing thieves or accused thieves) and were ready for Sami to drive them to the thief's house. They made a call to the captain and received orders to "eliminate" him. They jumped in our jeep armed and with orders to kill! As they rode to the thief's house, Sami explained that he was a pastor and did not want their kind of "elimination" without the opportunity for a legal process. As they pulled up to the house, the thief took off with the speed of lightning and jumped over a back wall. After an angry exchange of violent words with the man's wife and 80 year old mother (who had come out with a steel tube); the police stormed away promising to return and kill.
It happens that we know the thief's neighbor. The neighbor called and a gave Sami new information. Sami felt very burdened by the situation and returned to the thief's house the next day. He warned Miguel to change his ways and offered him information about a Christian rehabilitation program in another part of the country. Miguel is a repeat offender who specializes in robbing Christians and particularly missions. We know of at least seven robberies he has committed. It is ironic because we were forced to either permit the killing of the thief or he goes without any consequences whatsoever! Please pray for Miguel to commit his life to Christ. Please pray for our protection. We feel rather vulnerable as this thief is a repeat offender and knows our identity, our jeep, Sami's cel phone number and possibly where we live! |
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A friend of ours, Alan Fadling, is the associate director of the "Leadership Institute" www.tli.cc/ and "The Journey." "The Journey" is a two-year, six retreat process, which integrates spiritual formation with discipleship and leadership development. In October, Samuel & I finished "The Journey." Our lives were so deeply impacted that we wanted to be catalysts for the same kind of renewal among Dominican pastoral leadership. Likewise, Alan and the Leadership Institute staff, were praying about expanding internationally. Alan recently came to the Dominican Republic and helped us facilitate spiritual retreats for the English speaking missionary community and the Dominican pastors. I would like you to hear Alan's reflections and blog entries in his own words.... ____________________________________________________________________________________
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On  Nov 14th Alan wrote, "I just
returned from the overnight retreat for English-speaking missionaries which began Friday evening at 4:30pm and ended tonight at 8:30pm. We held all of our meetings in an open, thatch-roofed gazebo, which was a perfect location for the group.
A couple of random memories. Friday morning, Samuel made me some Dominican coffee. I don't know if it was the warm milk or the coffee beans, but it was absolutely delicious. He said that he will send a pound home with me. Yum! Then, Friday night an adolescent rooster here decided midnight would be a good time to practice his crowing skills. I wasn't impressed!
The group included my friends Samuel & Kendra Luna (who just completed the Journey Gen 16), the national director of YWAM, a few YWAM staff members, a pastor from Ohio who has been here in the DR for a long time trying to finalize an adoption of a two-year old little boy, a woman who is reaching out to the upper middle class in the capital city of Santo Domingo as part of the Christian Missionary Alliance mission.
To close, this overnight retreat was one of those times when I felt a profound sense of the blessing of God in my thoughts and words. What happened in these 24 hours was far more than a fruit of my ministry-it was the fruit of dozens and dozens of friends remembering me in prayer here. I have a great sense that this retreat (and perhaps the one Monday through Wednesday with Dominican pastors) is the beginning of a significant movement throughout the nation. What an honor to be present at its launch. Thank you for ways you invested prayerfully in this ministry time."
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On Nov 19th Alan wrote, "The DR pastors retreat ended yesterday after lunch. I don't know how it could have been more remarkable. God's palpable blessing was with us every moment. It always sounds cliché to say, "I felt prayed for," but I did, perhaps more than I can ever remember. I had occasional anxious thoughts enter my mind, but they never took root. Among the twenty-five who came, we had the bishop of the Free Methodist Church in the DR (the oldest denominational church in the nation, representing about 300 churches), a Free Methodist superintendent, the pastor of one of the largest churches in the capitol city of Santo Domingo, two other leaders of large pastoral networks throughout the nation. Their response to the time of solitude and silence with God was overwhelmingly positive and passionate. I am rather confident that this was the birth of a movement in the DR. This group has the network to help that happen." |
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PLEASE PRAY!
1.) Pray for us as we seek to implement a healthy rhythm of life which prioritizes the unhurried time and space alone with God that we need to grow in a contemplative relationship-centered transformational ministry. We desire to do ministry from overflow rather than leakage!
2.) Please pray for provision of our monthly living and ministry expenses. We had a month recently where we were not able to meet our fixed living expenses. We are trusting the Lord to provide a way to catch up.
3.) Please pray that the Lord would guide and direct the formation of "The Journey" (the series of retreats for Dominican Pastors).
4.) Please pray with us for the salvation of a neighbor named Matilde who I (Kendra) had a significant conversation with recently. We have a real sense that the Lord has us in this new neighborhood to bring His light and encouragement to some specific families.
5.) Please pray for our transportation situation! Our visits to the mechanic seem never to diminish! We have an increasing sense that our vehicles are running "on borrowed time." Our jeep just celebrated its 20th birthday! On Dominican roads that is like 40 years of usage! It has experienced 4 heart transplants (motor replacements) in its lifetime! On its last visit to the shop, the mechanic repaired a front end part that he cautioned us was not available either new or used. He told us that he did not know how long the repair would last. Pray for the Lord's protection on the roads - it seems like there have been an increasing number of accidents and road side hold-ups.
We are deeply grateful for you, our precious friends and family who show us Christ's love through your prayers, care and sacrificial giving! |
Contact us
Hm 809-574-4821 MAIL
S Cel 809-344-1804 3170 Airmans Dr. Ft. Pierce FL 34946 Skype Name: Kendra.Beth.Luna
Tax-deductible donations can be sent to:
Luna Support
C/O Davison Free Methodist Church
502 Church St.
Davison MI 48423
*Please attach a separate note specifying "Luna Ministry" instead of writing in the check memo.
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If you have a moment to keep reading, there are some additional photos and testimonies written by Alan Fadling.....
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On Nov 19th Alan wrote, "One bi-vocational youth pastor came. He grew up in a pastor's home. There were always people in their home growing up, so he never felt comfortable being alone, but felt very fearful and anxious. He has felt most connected to God in community with others. He doesn't feel afraid when he is with other Christians. So, he was very anxious about the idea of spending two hours alone with God on Tuesday morning. He shared later that his knees were literally shaking and he was sweating. As he sat with God, he began to write his feelings to God in a journal. When he read this prayer, I was deeply moved by its honesty and depth.
After 30 minutes alone, he decided to take a walk up the road. He almost brought his Bible, but then realized that he might actually end up "doing Bible reading" rather than "being with God." (It's ironic that one could get into the word of God to escape the voice of God). The last 90 minutes of his time alone with God were deeply peaceful and restful. He shared that his felt at home with God. His heart was light. He was deeply grateful!" |
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Alan continued, "Another participant, who was recently elected to the position of bishop over the Free Methodist Churches in the DR (about 300 of them), came to this retreat very tired. He shared that before becoming bishop, he had the habit of walking in the mornings for exercise and prayer. In the three months since becoming bishop, he has not been able to do this once. His wife had been sharing her concern for how tired he was and urged him to find some time to rest. She was thrilled when she discovered that the theme of the retreat was "Rest With Purpose."
As the two hours of solitude began, the bishop decided to take his first walk in a very long time. After a while, he sensed the Lord saying, "Sit down." He really didn't want to, so he kept walking. But God's voice to him was persistent, "Sit down." He finally responded and sat on the side of the road. Once seated, he sensed the Lord saying, "I want you to understand that your job is really My job." As he shared this story later with the whole group, he came to one of the comfortable seats in the middle of the group (he usually sat out on the edge of the group). He said, "So I am going to obey the Lord and sit down now." I could see a restfulness and peace on his face that hadn't been there as the retreat began." |
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On Nov 19th Alan wrote, "Another pastor works with over 150 children in a poor urban neighborhood of Santiago. She has been doing this for so many years that most of her young adult leaders were once her children. She is a strong, capable, godly woman. When the group gathered after the two hours of solitude, she shared very honestly that she had struggled since she was a child with deep fears. This has often led her to try to control the ministry. In her time alone, she felt God inviting her to release the ministry into His hands and let Him carry the burden. She felt God's great care for the many children to whom she ministers." |
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On Nov 19th Alan wrote,  "Thank you for your prayers. I was upheld by you. Dominican pastors were blessed by you. The church in this nation has been enriched by you. And, towards the end of the time, there was a strong request from the pastors before we even raised the idea of a Journey process for them in the DR. I believe the seeds are there for a first "DR Generation" within the year. Finally, one of the messages that became a running theme for us were insights that Chuck Miller has shared for years: Jesus is continually inviting us to "Come to me" and "Come, follow me." The invitation is not "Come to it" (a meeting, a building, a social, etc.) or "Come, follow it" (a mission statement, a ministry program, a leader's vision). The pastors saw these invitations very practically as Jesus' invitation to begin their day with Him ("Come to me" or "Ven a mi") and continue their day of ministry with Him ("Come, follow me" or "Ven sigueme"). They were very encouraged, as was I!" - Alan Fadling
We are so thankful to Alan for his willingness to sacrificially cover his own travel expenses to come and enrich the lives and ministries of so many serving here in the Dominican Republic. If you are interested in more details about the retreats, information about being a part of "The Journey", or suggestions for your own time alone with God you can click on this link to Alan's blog
We wish you and your family a Very Merry Christmas! Remember that Jesus is our source of joy!
Samuel & Kendra
Landon, Nathan & Andersen Luna | |
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