Pray for Housing

The return of a missionary family to Haiti has left them struggling to find housing.  The earthquake that struck Haiti has created a very unique housing boom.  Many agencies have taken up residency to assist in the aftermath.  Organizations like the UN seem to have unlimited resources and pay whatever the cost.  Granted, supply and demand is playing a huge part as well. 

Nonetheless, would you please pray that God would guide the family in securing housing by the middle of March?  Pray that God will allow the family to be patient as He works things out in his timing.

David and the Giant

“Who has heard of the story, ‘David and Goliath’,” I ask.  No one raises their hand. Maybe they misunderstand me. After all, my Spanish is not perfect. “Who knows the story of David, from the Bible, and the Giant”? Nothing.

I ask if anyone would like to pray and little Juan raises his hand. This is good because his Spanish is certainly better than mine! I don’t get every word he says, but it sounds like the same memorized prayer he prayed last time. 

So, I pray, “Lord Jesus, open our eyes to see you and our ears to hear you. Give us understanding of your Word, your stories in the Bible. Amen.”

As I read and retell the story of young David’s courage and defeat of the huge giant, the children’s eyes are huge. The entire time I’m sharing with them I am thinking, ‘Wow. This is the first time they are hearing this!?!’

Afterward, we talk about what this story means, and what it means to us. No matter how difficult life is, how hard a situation can be, God is bigger and stronger. He is our protector and provider. God, our creator, gives us exactly what we need when we need it. David prayed, obeyed, & trusted in his God, and God knew David’s heart. He helped David.

These five & six year olds are beginning to squirm a little. It’s been almost fifteen minutes. I notice one boy is really hanging on every word. After asking them if there are any questions or comments, we pray. “God, our creator, draw us to you. Remind us of your faithfulness, even during hard times, throughout this week. Amen.”

There are over twenty kids living in our complex (including our four). Some of these guys have a little knowledge of God’s Word. Many of them know nothing. One boy, Diego, asked his Nanny, “Who is God? I don’t know Him. Tell me who he is.”

That is where you and I come in. Many of you are involved in a ministry that you know nothing about. You have been praying for and sending out missionaries, but what exactly are they doing out there? This is just one tiny snippet of what we, with the help of our Lord, are doing.

Every Thursday evening we have a children's Bible study in our home. The stories that most of us know, and have always known, do not exist in their little worlds. It is time to rally the troops (that’s you and me) to pray. Would you please pray specifically for our Thursday night Bible study here in Santo Domingo? Pray that God would allow these children, ranging from 4 years to 15 years old, to stay attentive to the Bible stories. Pray that God would draw them into a relationship with Himself to further His Kingdom. 

And, thank you for your involvement and work in the ministry here in the Dominican Republic. The giant we face cannot be defeated by man alone. Your prayers are crucial!

Nomination for President

Posted on Feb 17, 2011
Baptist Press

by Erich Bridges

RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--Thomas (Tom) D. Elliff, longtime Oklahoma pastor, Southern Baptist Convention leader and former missionary, is the unanimous recommendation of a 15-member trustee search committee to be the next president of International Mission Board.

The nomination of Elliff -- who served as a missionary to Zimbabwe with his wife, Jeannie, in the early 1980s -- will be presented to the full board of trustees for consideration and a possible vote when they meet March 15-16 in Dallas.

If elected, Elliff would succeed Jerry Rankin as leader of the mission board, which coordinates the work of more than 5,000 Southern Baptist missionaries worldwide. Rankin retired as IMB president July 31, 2010, after 17 years at the helm. Veteran missionary and Executive Vice President Clyde Meador currently serves as interim president.

IMB trustee chairman Jimmy Pritchard, who has led the presidential search committee throughout its selection process, announced the nomination Feb. 17. He said Elliff emerged as the committee's clear and unanimous choice in January.

"Throughout the process, we talked to some great and godly men, but we just could not get a sense of God's peace about any one of them," said Pritchard, pastor of First Baptist Church in Forney, Texas. "When Dr. Elliff's name came before us, we had a subtle sense of God's Spirit speaking to our hearts. That may sound mystical, but that's really what happened.... Every one of us senses that God spoke and said, 'This is the moment you've been praying for. Here is your man.'"

To see the full article please click here.

Hasta Later

I can remember sitting down with our kids, in our living room, in St. James and sharing with them that we were going to be moving overseas to serve with the company.  They began to ask so many questions.  They didn't understand how we could live overseas and still see all their friends and family.  Brooklin said, "Daddy, what will happen with Bear (our Bullmastiff)?  I then shared with Brook that God wanted Bear to have a new home and then the tears began to flow.  Oh my goodness, did we ever cry a little river! It was easy for me to now imagine the Jordan at flood stage as the Israelites were preparing to cross.  We were shedding some serious tears.  As I began to pray and ask God for wisdom on what to say these words came out of my mouth, "Girls, the Lord will give us friends and a family on the field and someday, we will be sad because they are leaving us, in the Dominican Republic."  The girls laughed and said, "No dad that won't happen...we don't know anyone in the Dominican Republic."  I said, "Not yet!"  Wow!  I had no idea that it would happen so soon.

On February 5th we said "Hasta Later" to our new family and our dear friends Ryan, Emily and Chase.  We have had the privilege of being with them since language school in Costa Rica.  Ryan and I have shared trips to Nicaragua, Haiti and various excursions that were always filled with laughter, disaster, anger, repentance, near death experiences and God ordained encounters with people in Hostels that neither one of us will ever forget.  DeNiel and Emily have also shared many eventful times that will forever be G14 classified!  We know that we have developed a relationship with them that we will cherish throughout our lives. 

The last week and a half has been difficult but we do have a Krispy Kreme nearby for comfort food!  However, today our kids asked, "Who will fill the void now for our grandparents since Uncle Ryan and Aunt Emily are gone?"  And for that I had no answer.  Yet, I assured them that God knows our needs and his timing is perfect. 

In closing, as DeNiel and I submitted to the Lordship of Christ to join him on the field, we had no idea who we would meet, where we would ultimately serve or live. Yet, God knew and today we are thankful for the blessing of knowing Ryan, Emily and Chase through their obedience and our obedience to the Lord.  So I ask, "What blessing from the Lord have you, could you, or will you experience because of obedience?   Oh... to always be obedient.

Prayer Request:

• Pray for Ryan, Emily, and Chase as they seek to join the company once again. 
• Pray for our work here in the DR that we will encounter those whom the Lord is drawing unto himself.

Pedro Brand

The winter here in the Dominican Republic is nearing the end; at least this is my opinion. The last couple of weeks I have broken a sweat just sitting in my living room. The break from the heat has been nice and the nights are still cool but unfortunately, it will be changing soon. I know this is drastically different from the weather many of our friends and family are experiencing back in the States. It's been freezing rain, snowing and just very cold! Well, hang in there because warmer days are coming for you too.


I would like to share with you about the new church plant that we have been working with. The pastor's name is Alehandro. Alehandro is a young accountant with a beautiful wife by the name of Joanna and they have 4 kids. One day, Alehandro came into the Baptist Bookstore and stumbled across a book about church planting. He went home, read the book, and called the author of the book.

The author of the book is the executive director of the Dominican Baptist Convention. His name is Manolo. Manolo, as a young boy, was basically raised by an IMB missionary (Paul Sierberman) and grew up as a missionary kid here in the Dominican Republic. In fact, to fast forward many years, now he is also the pastor of the church that Paul Sierbman planted in Puerto Plata. He has planted many churches and has started Macedonia school which teaches believers how to plant churches.

Alehandro was so encouraged by the conversation. Feeling the Lord leading him to be a church planter, he began a bible study in his neighborhood and thus, started the church 'Pedro Brand'. The church now has a building and recently, Alehandro started teaching the Macedonia curriculum. There has since been many "professions" of faith, but time will reveal the real nature of their lives. God is the only seeker.

Several of the "professions" have been young teenage boys. Since, I had started discipling two young men by the name of Christian and Alex in October; we have just begun a new study. Now, we have around 8-10 teenagers on Wednesday nights and we are going through the book of Romans. I will blog more about this next week.

It's funny how the Lord works things out. I was a youth pastor for 11 years in the States and here I am in another country doing the same thing. I feel honored to be discipling the future church pastors and leaders of the Dominican Republic. But, I wish I had the higher level of language that was needed to go along with it. It’s also interesting how often times the verses of inspiration for me are found in Numbers 22:22-35. If only I would be as effective as the deliverer of truth found in this passage.

Would you joing me in praying for the church at Pedro Brand? 

Pray that the Lord would:

-Deepen Alehandro's walk with the Lord.
-Convinct the church of sin.
-Draw people unto him in Pedro Brand.
-Grow his kingdom in the lives of the new believers.

Reflecting on 2010

As we look into the year 2011, we must look back at the amazing journey of 2010.  DeNiel and I were so excited to finally be done with language school and boarding the plane for the Dominican Republic.  The flight was very difficult but normal for us.  Anytime you travel to another country with almost every pair of socks, shoes, shirts, jeans, shorts, toothbrush, books, chairs, computers, etc. and for 6 people, it's going to be a long day.  We were modern day Gypsies (with 28 pieces of luggage but who's counting) and thus, at the airport, we are funny looking, painfully sticking out, and as parents, we have the look of 'will this day ever end.'

Oh, I forgot about my police issued expandable baton.  I was worried about it being stolen and I had asked if I needed to check it (2-3 times) and the man said, "no, your fine."  Whatever.  That was good for a near strip search, an array of questions, thorough examination of various bags,  further analysis of all our passports and I can't count the number of times that I said, "I'm sorry but I don't speak Spanish!"  DeNiel kept saying, "Honey, they are speaking English!" Meanwhile, Jacob is saying, "Daddy I am hungry, Daddy I am ready to go." It was terrible; although, we did receive a personal escort to our departing flight.

Well the day ended and it was so refreshing to finally lay our heads down in the Dominican Republic at 2:30 in the morning.  It was a journey that in reality took us two and a half years to complete.  We would spend the next 3 weeks attempting to install internet, phone service, setting up cell phone plans and acquiring our visas.  Oh, I am still trying to resolve my billing issues.  We won't even talk about the issues surrounding traffic.  Even if I did, you wouldn't believe me and would probably dismiss my description as mumbo jumbo.  Nonetheless, I hope you can just trust me on this one.  The traffic is bad.  Go ahead, pace yourself and drive 3 miles in 45 minutes!  It's fun, a time to catch up on your prayer life, a time to learn patience, and a time to reflect on what's really inside of your heart! LOL!

After all of our adjustments, we realized that the people in Dominican Republic didn't seem to speak Spanish.  It's a form of Spanish and it's just unique.  The reality of this was never clearer than the time we were at Pedro Brand, a new church plant. I thought they asked me to come forward to say hello.  But oh, was I wrong!  They had asked me to preach!  Once the language barriers were removed and we were all on the same page, I said, "not today."  And the pastor asked another missionary to preach and I was "SET FREE!"

It was about the end of our second month here that the excitement of being pregnant was quickly turning to nervousness, fear, anxiety, concern and pretty much every other day in the doctor's office. The doctors began to use the terms 'growth restricted' along with 'platelets dropping' and thus we were sent back to Missouri in a flury. DeNiel's blood pressure was rising quickly. We had only hours to pack for a very long (wintery) stay. We left on Sunday; the baby came via C-section on Friday, November 27, 2009. Adelyn weighed a whopping 1.14 lbs, more than what they had anticipated at least.

After 10+ weeks of daily hospital visits, close calls, 2 steps forward and 3 steps back...Addi finally came home on January 29th weighing 5.5Ibs. She was on oxygen until mid March. We had several tests run, one of them being a test to determine whether she had cystic fibrosis. Praise God that she is only a carrier and does not have any symptoms of cystic fibrosis!

Finally, in July we received medical clearance from the Board to return to the Dominican Republic. Aaahhh...ready to begin again in the place that the Lord has called us. After seven months in the states, our language came to a screeching halt. It's been tough starting over but day by day we are climbing back up the little language hill we built in Costa Rica.

DeNiel and I each had the privilege of starting bible studies.  She has one here in our apartment complex and I have one with some young men at the new church plant we are working with in Pedro Brand.  The kids jumped right back into the school work and picking up the language as well.  Finally, I was able to take over the LC position.  I went to Bogota, Colombia for a week of training and the rest of the time has been on the job training.

In closing, we look forward to what God has in store for us in 2011.  We have enjoyed learning the culture again and seeing where God is at work.   We will be bringing you up to speed with our ministry and our prayer requests in the days to come.  Also, we would like to say, "Thank You" to all of our friends and family that supported us this last year through your prayers, financial giving, use of a car, mission housing provided by South Gate Baptist Church in Springfield, MO, hospital visits by many pastors, family, friends, and we can't forget our home church FBC St. James, MO.  We could literally go on and on if we were to name everyone.  So please, you know who you are and how much we love you!

In Him,
The Gillen Family

P.S.  Today, we look at our 16Ib baby girl and we stand AMAZED! 

Michael Jackson

I just have to blog about a funny conversation with our four year old. A few weeks ago Jacob was listening to my MP3 player just before bed. I was on the other side of the room, busy with school planning, etc… Jacob said, “Hey Mom! I didn’t know you had Michael Jackson on here?! Look. He’s playing guitar.”


Mom: “What? Michael Jackson? Bring it here…Honey, that’s not Michael Jackson. That’s Jeremy Camp. And besides, how do you know who Michael Jackson is anyway?”

Jacob: “Duh Mom! He’s the President of the United States?!”

There’s rarely a dull moment here. And don’t worry; I will start him on some history lessons this fall!

Absolute Privilege

Wow! I can't count the number of times that DeNiel and I have discussed how much FBC St. James has impressed people literally all over the world. During our time in Costa Rica, it was great when mail day finally arrived. It seemed at times that FBC St. James was the only church in love with their missionaries! Missionaries began to ask, "Can we join your church?" We had goody boxes filled with the necessary nutrients for increased memory, language development, and walking 5 miles a day. You would think those nutrients would be found in a "nutrient bar" or a "one a day vitamin" but for us, they were stuffed in these little packets called "fudge rounds, oatmeal cream pies, star crunch and Hershey chocolates."

Well, here we are in another country and the packages are still arriving! We are feeling like the only missionaries on the face of the planet. FBC has shared the love again. They sent us cards, gifts, candy, baking goods, and letters of encouragement.

It’s an ABSOLUTE PRIVILEGE to be a part of FBC St. James, Mo!

We love you FBC St. James,

The Gillens

New Address

Happy New Year! 

We find ourselves amazed and overwhelmed in looking back in 2010.  What a journey it was not only for us but for many of you as well.  We pray that the Lord will deepen all of our faith in 2011 and teach us how to walk deeper with him (Micah 6:8).

We wanted to give you all our new address and remind you that we have to pay around $2.00 per pound to receive mail from Agape! Please remember this when sending packages. If you know what the weight is, it is safe to put the money inside of the package and we can pay Agape with that money.

Mark & DeNiel Gillen

c/o Agape Flights DMG 25869

100 Airport Avenue

Venice, FL  34285

This must be copied EXACTLY as above.  

Thank you for your prayers and keeping up with us!  Also, the new blog colors/template is a work in progress.  We will be more dedicated to keeping the blog up to date in the coming year (with the help of Ryan).

In Him,

The Gillens

We're Back in the Dominican Republic!

There's a lot to catch-up on! After spending 8 months state side, we are finally back in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It's good to be back, but we would like to give you an overview of our time in the states before we give you the low down here.

After his time in Haiti in April, Anthony preached over 20 messages through-out Missouri. We were blessed to tag along for most of them and meet new friends. We spent lots of time with family and friends, snow sledding, fishing, swimming, etc... We were blessed with a nice home in Springfield, MO provided by South Gate Baptist Church. We were also blessed with a car for those 8 months, thanks to Bill & Randi Fetters. Thanks to Lance Mayfield, our Farmers Insurance agent, we even had a free cell phone! Our kids are old enough now (most of them) to see how God has richly blessed us using His people. Thank you everyone. There are too many to list.

The entire family went through the IMB 'medical clearance' process. Since Adelyn was suspicious for Cystic Fibrosis, each child had to undergo a sweat test (see pic) and blood work. No other CF mutations showed-up in the other 3 kids. We were released to go back in late June. We flew out on July 8th. I cannot describe the smooth travel because you wouldn't believe me! God blessed our travels. Adelyn was just over 7 months and weighed 14 Ibs! She had come a long way from 1.14 Ibs!

We arrived in Santo Domingo in the afternoon. Our fellow missionary friends gave us a warm welcome/birthday parties for Ryan & Kylie. Our sweet friends had our house clean, cookies made, and even had washed some of our mildewed laundry! We have been on our knees praying for our language and cultural acquisition-again. God has been faithful. Next week we begin a Bible Study with the kids in our apartment complex. Please pray that they are faithful to participate and invite others. The girls are very excited about this. I (DeNiel) am also in the process of inviting the maids (there are about 5-8) to our home. We also pray that God would open a door for Bible Study with them. They are so sweet and seem open to the Lord and His word.

So, here we are. I realize I jumped from here to there and every where trying to recount the main points of these past 8 months. But the latest...Anthony and Kylie went on a mission trip to the east to translate for a team from Texas. Pray for their Spanish! And the Big news?

Adelyn's blood test shows NO CYSTIC FIBROSIS! We cried tears of joy for God's amazing grace. I had to post this picture of Addi taken tonight after her bath. She's holding on to her mosquito net and talking away! I cannot thank you enough for each prayer you have spoken on our behalf. God has been listening and answering. Please keep it up! We have some new requests above and below:

• Pray for Alejandro (a Dominican friend of Anthony's) & his church and how God would use us in that area.

• Praise God for good health.

• Pray against any dengue or malaria. There is a dengue outbreak right now.

• Pray for our safety-especially with the crazy traffic here!

"Then I said, 'Here I am, I have come-with the scroll written for me. I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart." -Psalm 40:7-8