Hurricane Emily, Travel Plans, Updates

It's been too long since we posted an update! Currently, Hurricane Emily is showering us with an abundance of rain. The streets are flooded and thus, driving is very nice. We appreciate your prayers in this matter and should anything change we will let you know.

Well, if you have looked at our countdown you have probably noticed a change. We are so excited! Our family has pulled their money together and purchased tickets for us to come back home for a month. The kids are pumped! Grandparents will get to see baby Adelyn for the first time in almost a year and a half. So much has changed with baby Adelyn. She is walking, talking, screaming and filling our lives with joy 24/7. She has her siblings completely wrapped around her little fingers. It is so cute to watch each of them nurture and care for her.

DeNiel has been very busy starting homeschool with Jacob. My wife is truly incredible! She is doing such a fantastic job with our kids. They are truly blessed to have a mother that walks with the Lord and longs to teach her kids a biblical worldview and how to walk with Him. The girls started school this week. Kylie is in the 6th grade and Brooklin is in the 4th grade. They are both little ladies and learning to love the Lord.

I have been very busy with property issues, teams, discipleship and personal study. The office is getting closer and closer every day to being organized. We almost have all the titles for every IMB owned property in order with the local government. I have been working on this for about 7 months. My goal was to be done by October 1st. I don't know that we will make this deadline. However, I am so thankful for the Christian lawyers that God has put in my life. When we meet it's a time to work but it also a time of mentoring. As my language increases, the level of discipleship that I am able to offer also increases.

The Lord has blessed me this year with my language acquisition. Last week I was asked to preach on a Wednesday night. The lesson was great! Everyone was involved and we didn't finish until 10pm. We started the teaching time at 7:30pm. Granted, my Spanish is NOT perfect but it is so much better than before. I thoroughly enjoyed engaging my Dominican brothers and sisters in an in depth study of the Word.

Recently, I was able to work with a team for a week in Santiago and the Lord really used this time to solidify how to properly share the Gospel. Now, I know this sounds weird but if you would be interested in discussing this more with me please, let me know and we can Skype about it. It would take me 10-15 pages to lay it all out for you.

One last thing, it was a blessing to have Kolby with us for three weeks during the month of July. I believe the Lord used that time to show Kolby God's sovereignty. Pray for him as he begins college and seeks the Lord for God's will in his life.

In closing, please continue to pray. We are always so thankful for the prayers that you offer on our and the Dominican's behalf. I will be preaching Sunday, August 7th. We also have a fellow missionary friend that will be living with us for two weeks. We look forward to seeing many of you in the States!

In Him,
The Gillens

Wow! How the weather has changed since our last post. The heat has been brutal here in the Dominican Republic. I (Anthony) was so exhausted from the heat yesterday that I went to bed at 8:30pm. The only thing we do nowadays is sweat and drink water. Food is just not appealing at this point. However, ice cream at Burger King has become a necessity. Did I mention that they have air-conditioning?

One of the reasons that we are struggling with the sudden change in temperature is because of our week in Guatemala. We recently traveled to Guatemala for the OGM. This is an Occasional General Meeting for all missionaries serving in the Americas. It was a great time of encouragement and meeting old friends. A BIG THANKS goes out to all of our SBC Churches for making this possible.

The Lord has blessed our time with discipling and door to door evangelism over the last month. DeNiel and I were both able to translate for a mission team in Bayona. One lady was filled with anger and bitterness towards her ex-husband. He had left her and her 3 kids for another woman. The sad thing is that they were both involved in their church and professing believers. As we talked with the woman, we realized that she had left her church family due to being embarrassed and was hurting more over the loss of her church than her ex. Granted, she experienced much pain but had been unable to fully heal due to the loss of her church family. As we spoke with her and walked through the scriptures, you could see God literally restoring a joy within her life for her church family! Would you join us in prayer that she would be restored to her church family and that she also would receive total healing through her many broken relationships including her ex?

During our time with the mission team, we had the pleasure of spending time with a friend we met at language school in Costa Rica. It was great catcing up on old times and reflecting on our journeys. Plus, he brought us a trunk filled with goodies! His family truly blessed us with the trunk! Ken is traveling back to the states today and has had many opportunities open up for him in ministry. Would you pray for Ken that God would make it abundantly clear where He would have him serve?

These next several weeks many short-term mission teams will come. Please join us in prayer that God will:
*use these teams to glorify His name and accomplish His will, drawing the lost Dominicans and Hatians unto Him.
*protect them, and us from the extreme heat.
*use this time to grow Kolby,  our summer missionary who will stay with us for 3 weeks & help w/ Anthony.
*continue to cast His vision in our hearts for a godly family as we raise our four sweet children.
We cannot express our thankfulness for your prayers on our behalf and the behalf of the Dominicans. God is working powerfully and we have had the opportunity to see several prayers answered! Praise God!

April Updates

Recent Travels
We are so thankful for the prayers of His saints that continue to intercede on our behalf. The recent trips to Haiti, and Lima, Peru were successful. I am happy to report that the missionary family in Haiti officially has a place to call home. The Board recently approved our proposal for their rental home.  The family was so excited when I called them with the news. The wife cried out "Praise the Lord!" Would you join me in praying for them to receive their belongings from the States and the Dominican Republic without any issues and in a timely manner? The kids are in need of their home school curriculum.

Discipleship
My recent trips made it very difficult for me to continue my discipleship with Alex and Christian, but upon my return they were more than eager to spend the night with us and just hang out. We went swimming, played Wii, and ate at Taco Bell! They loved it! I know this doesn't seem too spiritual but the guys were able to relate to us on a personal level (I believe discipleship is a life on life process). The weekend was great and we are all looking forward to the next time that we get to just "hang out." Would you please join me in praying for Alex and Christian as we continue to walk through Romans in our time of study? Pray that the Lord will continue to draw them unto him, guard their purity, and further solidify their desires for his Kingdom.

Mask and Snorkel Anyone?
This weekend was a getaway weekend for the family at the beach. It was truly a refreshing time to experience the awe and wonder of our Lord's creation. The view of the ocean with the waves crashing on the shore was amazing, and to observe the ocean melting into the horizon, breathtaking. The time spent with our Lord was truly incredible. During this time, the Lord really spoke to me through Jacob. We had been out swimming and kayaking with the kids in the ocean the first part of the day, so late afternoon I opted for some personal time snorkeling. It was beautiful watching the different species of fish feeding around an old abandoned dock. Sometime had passed and Jacob came running down to the ocean shaking like a leaf from swimming in the rather cold swimming pool. He asked if he could go snorkeling. Reluctantly, I gave up my personal time and said, "Of course but you are freezing cold."  He said he didn't care he just wanted to be with me (he's such a smooth talker). So, I gave him my snorkel and used his .50 cent snorkel (another sacrifice but who's counting). We had been floating around for three or four minutes pointing at different fish and giving each other thumbs up under the water when Jacob pops up with a BIG SMILE and says, "Daddy, this is AWESOME and I love snorkeling with you. I never knew it was so AWESOME under the ocean!"

Wow! I realized right then that like Jacob, I once believed everything my eyes were seeing was 'it' and I had no idea of the AWESOMENESS of God all around me. Jacob's story is a lot like salvation. He saw the ocean but never saw the fish until his eyes were opened with a mask and snorkel. He was asking me today, "Dad, when are we going snorkeling again?"

I want to close with these questions. Has God ever opened your eyes to experience his glory? If he has, then you realize what a sinner you truly are and your need for his forgiveness and salvation. This world is like the ocean view I described earlier. It's beautiful, but in order to truly experience life you need the word of God to open your eyes to see the life that's waiting in Jesus Christ. Once the Lord opens your eyes, you will never want to go back to your former way of life. Like Jacob, you will always want to go deeper than the surface. You will want to experience the depths of Christ love! Are you ready to grab your mask and snorkel to experience the depths of God's love?

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:1-5).

Continued Prayer

As I read over our last blog entry I realized that this entry may be a little redundant, but we are still seeking prayer warriors to intercede on our behalf and on behalf of the missionary family returning to Haiti. Anthony is in Haiti for the week trying to secure housing for this family. Would you please take a moment right now to pray for:

*Safety.

*Anthony & this family to find THE house that God has for them.

*A fair price, as housing is very expensive in Haiti right now.

*Lastly, a peace for this missionary family as they are transitioning.

Also, Anthony is traveling to Peru soon. Please pray for our family to experience the peace of God and His protection while Anthony is gone.

Once again, thank you. Thank you for being the other half of our ministry here as we could do nothing apart from Christ. Praise God for His grace and that He hears the prayers of His saints.

Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

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!