Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Out of Prayer

Each week I update the bulletin for my church. Earlier this year, we began to include updates on the efforts of our missionaries on the back page. I typically update this section every month as we receive prayer letters. This past week, I received a prayer letter from our missionaries in the Dominican Republic/Haiti. They are Wesley and Melina Lane and I wanted to include a portion of their prayer letter as their battle to share the gospel in this area of the world is fierce and they need prayers desperately:

“Dear Friends, Psalm 91:5,6 says, "Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday." The whole Island of Hispañiola needs the comfort of these verses right now. Earthquakes, hurricanes, and disease continue to take their toll on the population, the churches, and the Christians here. Hurricane Tomas passed far out to the west of Port-au-Prince, giving mostly heavy rains, with the worst affected areas on the far western tips of the peninsulas far away from any news crews. There was local flooding in Port-au-Prince and the mud made the tents camps miserable. Fortunately the high winds and heaviest rains mostly affected sparsely populated areas.


As of this writing, the death toll in Haiti from the cholera outbreak has topped 1000, with more the 14,000 hospitalized and the epidemic has now reached the Port-au-Prince area. Thousands are hospitalized and no one really knows what the future holds for this outbreak. In many areas sanitation is very primitive or non-existent. The cholera outbreak has caused the frontier areas to be subjected to violence and new restrictions. This affects our ministry because we cross the border on a regular basis. I personally know the official in charge of the Jimani crossing and he has informed me that if I take my truck into Haiti, I cannot bring it back until the outbreak is declared over. In spite of reports like these, there is still some cross border traffic.


Fortunately, none of our church people have been directly affected so far. This outbreak is expected to take as long as a year to contain and some people feel that it is inevitable that is will spill over into the Dominican Republic. If it does, the political/social results will be unpredictable, but they won't be good in any case. These two countries have a long history of strained relations, sometimes escalating to armed conflict. Most Haitians living in the Dominican Republic are illegal and the situation parallels the illegal immigration problem in the USA in many aspects. In past times of stress, there are two recorded massacres of the Haitians in which thousands were simply slaughtered. There are still occasional outbursts of anti-Haitian violence in which dozens are killed, usually triggered by an act of crime by a Haitian against a Dominican, but these are generally kept out of the media.

I am sure upon reading this letter your reaction was similar to mine – we have no idea what suffering for the sake of the gospel means in this country. The Lane family is putting their life on the line every time they share the gospel in a place that has been recently leveled by natural disaster, further perpetuating the internal conflict that has been raging between the two countries for a long time. But still the Lane’s press on and urge us to pray for them and their ministry.

So often, it is easy to forget our missionary brothers and sisters because they are so far away which is why we decided to include updates in our bulletin and also on our church website. These people have truly counted the cost of the gospel and have deemed it worthy to sacrifice everything for the sake of Christ. Their reward will be great and we can have a part in that reward by supporting them, not with just our money but with our prayers and time. At our church, we encourage the body to send letters and emails to the missionaries to let them know that we are thinking of them and praying for them. It means so much for them to hear from us.

I wanted to encourage you to do the same. I know if I was in a foreign country battling even just a few of things that the Lane’s face every day, my spirits would be lifted tremendously to know my fellow Christian friends were praying for me and fighting the battle alongside me. Let’s enter together into their labors and reap eternal glory, "Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest?’ Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.” (John 4:34-38)

The Suffering/Glory Story

In I Peter 1:11 we read the following, “searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.” I bolded the second half of this verse because it is the only verse in the Bible that combines Christ’s two comings in a singular stream of consciousness. His first coming entailed his human birth, ministry and crucifixion for men’s sins. His second coming will take place at the end of the age of grace when he will come as the King of Kings and rule and reign over the earth.

The Apostle Peter wrote this letter to the various churches in Asia Minor suffering religious persecution. The preceding verses speak of the eternal inheritance these believers have waiting for them in heaven. Verse 11 deals specifically with Jesus Christ’s life and purpose from beginning to end. In just one short phrase, Christ’s sufferings are tied together with His future glory that will be revealed at His second coming.

In thinking of this verse and all that it signifies about our Lord, I decided to list His sufferings and then contrast each trial/tribulation with His future glory that will take place at His second coming. The majority of this list is taken from a commentary I heard a few months ago. I hope it is a blessing.

Suffering – Glory

Wrapped in swaddling clothes – Clothed in majestic purple

Nowhere to lay His head – Heir to all things

Wicked men took up stones to throw at Him – Wicked men will cry out for the stones to fall on them to hide them from Him

Clothed with scarlet robe in mockery – Clothed with the vesture dipped in the blood of His enemies

Wicked soldiers bowed their knee and mocked Him – Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess He is Lord

His hands were pierced with nails – His hands will carry a sharp sickle

He delivered up His spirit – He is alive forever more

Wearied traveler – Untiring God

Rejected by tiny Israel – Accepted by all nations

Lowly Savior acquainted with grief, man of many sorrows – Mighty God anointed with the oil of gladness

Smitten with a reed – Will rule nations with a rod of iron

Wore the crown of thorns – He shall wear the crown of gold

His feet were pierced with nails – He is the fairest of ten thousand

He was laid in the tomb – He shall sit upon the throne