By Meredith Chase, Director of For the Widow Ministries
Hello Friends,
We have been busy the past six weeks, so we’d like to catch you up with our February update! Last week, we took a group of women on a mission trip. The theme was “Widows Serving Widows.” It was a fantastic trip, and we will have an email coming out in two weeks to recap! But the BEST news for the past month is that one of our widows accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior. Hallelujah! Sharing the gospel and seeing our widows find eternal salvation is the primary mission of this organization.
Gloria Has Accepted Jesus Christ
Praise the Lord– Gloria accepted Jesus as her personal Lord and Savior! What a blessing and an answer to prayers.
Miqueas brings the widows from one community together once a month to worship and discuss the gospel. At the end of February, Gloria and Antonia gathered with Miqueas to sing and discuss “the purpose of having God in your life.” Miqueas shared that God created humans to worship, serve, and obey him. No one is here by chance or accident. He explained that if you allow God in your life, he will make his purpose known to you. Miqueas does a great job of repeatedly asking the same questions to ensure the ladies truly understand.
After sharing the gospel, Miqueas always asks the widows if they want to accept Jesus. This time, Gloria said, “I want to accept Jesus!” He asked again to make sure, and she confirmed she was ready. He asked Gloria what it meant to accept Jesus just to make sure she fully understood. Miqueas doesn’t pressure the widows to accept Jesus, but he always gives them the opportunity!
Miqueas prayed the prayer of salvation with Gloria. When they finished, he said, “Now, you are saved. Do you know where you will go if you die?” Gloria said, “Heaven.” He asked, “Who saved you?” and Gloria exclaimed, “Jesus!” Gloria said, “When the Americans come, I need my dresses so I can start going to church.” We brought her six beautiful dresses to wear to church!
Gloria’s daughter, Josefina, also accepted Jesus about four months ago.
Want to join us on June 22-29 for “Families Serving Together”?
Learn more at https://forthewidow.org/mission-trips/june-22-29-2024/
Sign up to Receive Monthly Updates
Widow Updates
Praise the Lord! Our first 10 widows are sponsored and we are working on bringing more into the program. For more information about sponsoring a widow, visit https://forthewidow.org/sponsor-a-widow
Gloria (Los Robles)
As mentioned above, Gloria is good because she has accepted Jesus! She is having some issues with one of her children and is bearing the burden of caring for her grandchildren. However, we have seen such a dramatic change in Gloria over the past five months. When we met her, she was not eating and was very thin. Fast-forward to now—she is getting up early to cook and eats throughout the day! She also gets her blood pressure medicine monthly, which makes a huge difference.
Antonia (Los Robles)
Antonia is very sad right now. Her nephew (39 years old) died recently, and it was a heartbreaking situation for the whole family. The community of Los Robles is a tiny, close-knit community. When something terrible happens, it affects everyone. He went missing for several days and, unfortunately, was found dead. There is great mourning. She told us that her sister cries all the time, which reminds Antonia of the sadness she felt losing her husband.
When Miqueas shared the gospel with her this past month, he encouraged her not to worry so much. He explained that we don’t have control over everything in our lives. However, we spend so much time worrying and thinking about things we can’t control. God sometimes permits things to happen to others to bring change in their lives. We don’t always understand what God allows to happen, but we must trust God in all situations. Miqueas is very honest with all of the ladies because he cares so much about them and their salvation. He told Antonia, “You are not saved if you don’t have God in your life. But when you have God in your heart, you don’t have to worry because God has a plan for you. What hope God can provide in this sometimes difficult life!”
Antonia (Alidia) (Mena Arriba)
Antonia is so much more talkative than she was five months ago. We can see her coming out of her shell. She is doing well, but she has some issues with her house. When her husband was alive, they purchased property in Mena Arriba. However, the owner sold them the property but not the house on the property and has been charging her rent ever since–rent for a home that is on the property that she owns!! Does that sound right to you? We need someone with experience in Dominican law who can help with this situation. The house is not in good condition, and she has probably overpaid for it now!
Jungara (Mena Arriba)
Jungara lives with her granddaughter, Christal. She is a sweet young lady who wants to learn to speak English! Jungara is doing very well. She is happy and healthy. The biggest change has been her consistently receiving her blood pressure medicine each month. Before, she couldn’t afford the medicine because she needed two different pills. Jungara wants to start selling charcoal as a way to earn an income. We are discussing ways to help her with this.
Elvira (Barahona)
Elvira’s smile is contagious. She is 90 years old and still going strong! She laughs and jokes with Miqueas and the team when they visit. She can’t leave the house to attend church, so she puts different services on her TV on Sundays. She sometimes stays up until 11 pm to watch a full day of church. Her daughter lives next door and tells us how much the food, support, and regular visits are helping Elvira. She has some issues with her roof that need fixing so it no longer leaks when the rain comes!
Nosilia
Nosilia is doing well. When Miqueas brought food to her this month, she said, “First, thanks to God. And then to the Americans for providing for her and Miqueas for bringing her food.” She used to worry all the time – the Spanish word for worry is “preocupado.” She cares for two of her grandsons, and she didn’t have much food before being in the program. Now she doesn’t worry because she knows food is coming every month. When her sons send money, she doesn’t have to spend it all on food, but she can save money for other things she needs and buy them for herself. She also started listening to Christian music in her home. She told us it gives her peace and joy. She even dances in her house!
She likes to spend quiet time alone in her house and avoids going around talking to other people and participating in drama. She likes to be in her home with her grandsons, a 3-year-old and an 8-year-old, who live with her. She talks to them about God, cooks, and enjoys time with them!
Betania
Betania has been working to buy a sofa for her living room. One of her sons is 18 years old, and he sends her money when he can. Since the ministry provides food for her every month, she is able to save any extra money she gets so she can buy things that are needed for her home.
She recently was able to buy a new sofa! Her three sons that live with her are doing well. She said the food she receives helps a lot because now she is saving money to put windows in her home to help make it quieter and safer.
Santa
Santa is so thankful to God for everything. She has the strongest faith of all our widows. She understands the Bible well, even though she cannot read. She loves the new Bible we gave her in September. She lives with her 9-year-old granddaughter, Lesley, who is a sweetheart with a beautiful voice.
Miqueas always tells her that God is good and that she can trust in Him. Santa’s daughter is sick, and her son is not a Christian, and sometimes, she is sad about these situations. Miqueas tells her to trust in God because he has a solution for everything. God does the things we need–not always the things we want.
Santa has been able to stop working three jobs and now has one job in a local kitchen. She gets up each morning to make homemade empanadas to sell. She has a new fence to keep wild animals out and is growing things on her land.
Agripina
Agripina’s family situation has been difficult. Miqueas has been talking to her grandson about the importance of being kind to Agripina and his responsibility to care for her. Thankfully, the situation with him has gotten a lot better. However, now her daughter has moved in and is not treating her well. We are praying for this situation and that God will provide a hedge of protection around Agripina. She is quiet and shy, a woman of very few words. However, when we visited this past week, her sponsor, Janie Walters, got some laughs and conversation out of Agripina. It was beautiful to see!
Agripina needs some repairs to her home, which we will post about in the coming weeks.
Rellita
Rellita is so funny and always says the funniest things. She asks Miqueas all the time, “Why do you want to go past me? I want you to be here more often.” She is talking about when he passes her house to visit the other widows in La Guazara. She tells him, “You have to come more days and stay all day long… come in the morning and leave in the afternoon.” She loves visitors!!
Rellita has had back pain for the past four months. We are encouraging her to go to the doctor to get checked out.
