April-May 2025
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world." (John 11:25-27) |
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Above: Pastor Kilvys Candelario, a STS graduate, and me at the COMIBAM convention in Panama City concerning mobilization of Iberiolatinoamericans to missions to unreached peoples. I was able to make some important connections at this event with over 1600 from all the world.
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| | Santiago Theological Seminary - Praise God for answering prayer in bringing 80 students plus auditors this year in our Certificate in Christian Counseling! A prominent pastor of a large church studying with us stated, "It has been a great blessing to be able to learn from these concepts that are so specialized." We now have four other churches inviting us to come begin the program in their city too!
- Praise God that the STS board has decided to start two new programs this September: 1) A two-year 12 course Diploma in Theology designed especially for church lay leaders. Pray for Harold de Leon in his coordination of the program, and for full funding for his position. 2) A one-year full-time Certificate in Theology and Ministry, with both residential and commuting students. This 50 credit program is designed as the first level for those with a calling from God towards the pastoral ministry or missions. Pray for Julio Padilla's coordination and recruitment of students. Also, pray for scholarship funding (@$50,000) to enable students to enroll (including room & board), without which it will be impossible for them to attend. Residential students will live in an apartment close by the Oasis Church, where classes will be held.
- Continue to pray for the GAP Year students, who have been having a wonderful experience of Christian growth and social maturity. Unfortunately, the board decided we will not be able to continue the GAP Year for several reasons, including the property being rented is being sold. The above one-year intensive theology program is its replacement.
- Praise the Lord STS received a foundation challenge grant of $20,000 for new donor gifts. Pray about whether God is leading you to contribute.
- We have an exciting announcement of plans to build for STS a classroom, a hospitality room for visiting professors and small teams, and a cafe. This $200,000 project was recently endorsed by the Oasis Christian Church in Santiago with their pledge of support. We have another two churches in the USA supporting the project. But this is just the beginning, so we are counting on your prayers and support as well.
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| | | Family Update - Praise the Lord for a wonderful reunion at the beach in the DR with Kevin & Brooke (my daughter) Nearman and our three wonderful grandchildren.
- Praise God that we will be grandparents again! Abby and Aaron will be having a girl in mid-July. So Ace will be a big brother.
- Praise God Kaleah is now making good progress in her reading skills and Spanish. Pray for her fine motor skills development, such as hand-writing and getting herself dressed.
- Praise God Anne is adjusting and is doing well in teaching at Santiago Christian School. Pray for her to be a blessing to her students, colleagues and neighbors.
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| | This moth landed on our back concrete walkway. When I took a course on evolution, I learned that moths that had adapted their coloration to the bark of the tree survived to a much greater extent. Isn't it amazing how God gave the lowly but beautiful moth the ability to find coloration that matches it own color to survive?
The moth, as the butterfly, is a symbol of the resurrection as it transitions from one form as a caterpillar to being wrapped in a cocoon, as Christ in the grave, to bursting out with brilliant beauty to ascend up to the heavens bringing new life. |
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Prayer Requests - Praise God for leading the seminary board to make exciting and full of faith decisions for our next steps, as we need to trust the Lord to provide, both with the new programs, and the construction project.
- Instead of the apologetics conference this year, August 29-30 we will be having a symposium on theological education with three speakers--Sugel Michelen, Otto Sanchez, and Richard Pratt. They are widely recognized leaders in this field. Pray for those to attend (primarily pastors), the speakers, Alvaro Rodriguez's directing of it, and financial provision.
- Praise God for Bruce, Kilvys, & Chris and Melody Istrati being able to travel together April 22-26 to Panama for COMIBAN. Pray for us to be used in training and mobilizing Dominicans to the unevangelized of the world.
- Praise God for answering prayer in December's letter for a part-time fundraiser, likely to begin this summer.
- Pray for Pastor Alvaro Rodriguez, the STS exec. director, as he travels for two weeks fundraising this month.
- Pray for our family's plan to visit southern FL and Philadelphia at the end of June to July 24.
- Pray for divine appointments towards STS having their own classroom, hospitality room, and cafe built.
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| Partner With Us
Mailing address for support checks:
Reformed Evangelistic Fellowship PO Box 847 Bristol, TN 37621-0847
Be sure to include "McDowell ministry" on memo line of check so it goes to correct account. Include your email address. Or donate on-line:
https://www.refglobal.org/mcdowell-bruce.html |
| | | Santiago Theological Seminary
New Non-Profit Donation Website
Donations should now be made through Allegro Solutions: - https://allegrosolutions.org/index.php/giving/ . Contributions can be made via credit card, Paypal or bank draft/ACH.
- Payments by phone at 1 (713) 874-1519.
- Mail a check payable to Allegro Solutions with the account designation on an attached note to:
Allegro Organizational Solutions, Inc. 5535 Memorial Dr., Ste. F-811 Houston, TX 77007 USA
Important—use giving account designation code: DR-STSantiago.001
The STS website: https://stsantiago.edu.do/wp/ Contact me regarding donations directly to our STS bank account in the DR. |
| | | Above: Proposed facade of new construction for STS Below: Interior design for cafe below & classroom & hospitality room on 2nd level. |
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