Isn't it so good having our Dominican brothers
and sisters here today? I love them so much and
it's so good to have them here. If I don't know
you, my name is Bob. I am one of the pastors
here. And I want to tell you a little bit about
my connection with Dominican Republic. So the
first time I went on a missions trip there was
2012. And I went down there thinking, man, we're
going to help them and we're going to make an
impact on them. myself and that entire team left
there being more impacted by them than they possibly
could have been by us. And it was so good. And
at that time, I got to meet the man running the
mission that we went down to, which was Vision
Trust, Nelson Paulino. And Nelson, if I have
to say one thing, he is a man after God's heart.
And I have the privilege now of not just calling
him a brother in Christ, but a close friend.
And so as we continue to go down every year,
probably about five, six years ago, Nelson said,
I think God's giving me a new mission other than
vision trust. So what he started doing is he
started Casa Misionera. And what Casa does is
he will call churches and schools throughout
the country and say, hey. Give me a couple of
your students that are in love with Jesus Christ
and would love to go to college. And even if
they don't have the money, we're going to get
them to college. We'll take care of their college,
but they have to do a four -year leadership program
through Casa Misionera. And so we went down the
first time, and I got to witness what they're
doing with these students. And so far, about
20 have graduated after their four years, and
there's probably 40 more in the program. but
had the privilege of watching him lead these
students. And Nelson's goal is this. He wants
to raise the Christian leaders of tomorrow today.
That is their vision. And with that, he hopes
to change an entire country. And so it is exciting
to watch what they're doing and how he quickly
changed what he was doing and went on a new mission
for God. So we are in a collection of talks right
now. called Snapshots. So would you give a big
hand for mi hermano y mi amigo, Nelson Paulino.
Gracias. Muy buenos dias. Yes, we can do this
in Spanish, right? I know, I know. Thank you
so much. What an amazing opportunity for our
students in Casa Misionera, for myself. Thank
you, High Church, all your leadership. I praise
the Lord because I had no idea five years ago
when we started Casa Misionera, no idea that
this day I was going to be here speaking to you.
So the Lord has been really good and I praise
him for each and every one of you. Amen. And
he brought me today in his will to challenge
somebody in this room. Might be one person, might
be 10. Challenge you because you have been given
talents. You have been given opportunities, experiences.
You have studies. You've been working. You have
a level of influence. You know people. You have
friends. You have family. You've been trained
in so many different ways. Just like the man
that we're going to be reading about in a minute
in the book of Acts chapter 9. You are equipped
to do God's work. In the book of Acts chapter
9, verse 1 and 2, we will begin to read about
this man whose name at the moment is Saul. And
the Bible says, meanwhile, I got to say before
I read this, English is not my first language.
So if I mispronounce... One or two words here.
I will just say it in Spanish and you need just
to follow me on that, okay? Okay. So, meanwhile,
Saul was still breathing out murderous threats
against the Lord's disciples. He went to the
high priest and asked him for letters to the
synagogues in Damascus so that if he found any
there who belongs to the way, whether men or
women, he might take them as prisoners. To Jerusalem.
Okay. That's the end of verse 2. I'm sorry. And
so this is the mission that this man has. And
he's a very equipped, very educated man that
has been trained for years. And he had all kinds
of credentials. And he has all kinds of access.
If you think about it, he had an appointment
with a high priest. He had doors open to talk
to such level of authority, which I believe was
not only a religious authority, but it's also
a very high in politician authority. So in Dominicans,
we will say Paul, in this case Saul, he had all
of his problems resolved. He had probably a nice
job, good access of information and people that
he can talk to. Doors open everywhere to the
point that he can actually meet to this level
of people by the high priest and get letters
signed from them. to do this that he calls his
mission. Later in life, when he's already a Christian
and he's trying to testify about what happened
to him, he gives a little bit more details about
his credentials, about the things that he's been
through, the things that he has learned, and
who he really is. And it's interesting to see
all of those details. So I'd like to invite you
to read with me in the book of Philippians chapter
3, verse 4, 5, and 6, some of the things that
he was... testifying as part of his gift and
talents that he had. So I myself have reasons
for such confidence. If someone else thinks they
have reasons to put confidence in the flesh,
I have more. Circumcised on the eighth day, on
the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin
and Hebrew of Hebrews, in regards to the law,
a Pharisee. As for seal, persecuting the church,
as for righteousness, Based on the law, faultless.
And we read more of that description that he
gives in another chapter in the Bible, in the
book of Acts, chapter 22, and verse 3. He elaborates
a little bit more about his qualifications. Verse
number 3. I'm a Jew born in Tarsus of Sicilia,
but brought up in this city. I study under Gamaliel
and was truly trained in the law of the ancestors.
So this is the man who, of all of these qualifications
that he has and all of this background that he
can exhibit and all the influence that he had,
the studies and all the resources, he got himself
on a mission. Can you repeat that word? Mission.
Mission. He was determined to get that work done.
He had all the tools and access to do it and
the possibilities of doing it. One day, everything
changed for him. The day that he's doing this
mission, he's on his way to accomplish, in verse
number 3 of chapter 9 of Acts, he then declares
what happened. He said, you know, I was on my
way to Damascus, and in that journey, suddenly,
and maybe you want to repeat that word with me,
suddenly, a light came all around him. And now
he is in the dirt, and he can't see, and he hears
his voice, soul, soul, why do you persecute me?
That day, the life of Saul changed forever. That
was the moment everything begins to change for
him. Something happened to me also in my life
when I was 20 years old. If you, well, that's
29 years ago. I know I look like 35, but I'm
49. But when I was 20 years old, I was involved
in every possible ministry opportunity in my
local church. Since I grew up in my church, since
I was a kid, I was involved with the kids' ministry,
the youth, the worship team. I was outside in
the evangelization work that we were doing. I
was never involved in the women's ministry. That's
not the one I did. But in every other ministry
possible, I was involved in everything. I had
the blessing to be registered in college, which
in my family, that was a miracle. Just to give
you an example, all the way from Adam and Eve
history, all the way to my father, I was the
very first one to go to college. And on my mother's
side, I was the third one to go to college. So
if you were to ask me, Nelson, where are you
going? What is your future? What do you think
to do? I would probably never verbalize, never
say it out of my mouth. I'll be doing ministry
full time because that was not part of my vocabulary.
But something happened on the evening of October
30, 1996. It was a Wednesday night. And if you
want to hear the whole testimony, you have to
come to the Dominican and give me three hours.
So that night, two guys tried to kill me because
they wanted my scooter that I was driving. And
as they tried to kill me, it was a very difficult
moment. I was taken to three different hospitals.
Everybody thought I was going to die. But the
Lord spared my life. And six days later, I was
declared completely healed. And as that happened,
now I'm just a guy in my local church being invited
to share my story. Services after services around
the country, so many youth groups, so many churches.
And then my pastors and my mentors and my friends
were like, Nelson, you know, I don't think you're
going to be doing computer coding anymore. I
think you need to think about other ideas, other
choices for you. Maybe you're going to become
a preacher or an evangelist. You know, we need
to think about ministry. And that was the moment
that everything changed for me when I was 20
years old. I think that the Lord brought me out
today to give you that moment, to give you that
suddenly moment. It might be that you realize
you read something on the Bible recently that
is like, this is the moment that I was speaking
to me. Maybe watch a movie, maybe watch a video
on YouTube or Facebook, or you just listen to
a crazy Dominican preacher on Sunday morning.
And then you get inspired to change something
in your life and ask the Lord. The same questions
that Saul asked when he was in his mission. Now,
remember, Saul had a mission. Can you say with
me, mission? Now, we are Dominicans, and you
have to shout out loud, mission. There you go.
He had a mission, but the moment that Jesus comes
into the scene for him in that way to Damascus,
His mission changed to a submission. Because
now the guy who was so powerful, he had all this
influence, all these resources, is now in the
dirt. And his posture has changed. He's now speaking
from a different position. He recognized that
he's not on top. He's now in a very humble situation.
Not only his posture has changed, but it's also
his perspective changed. Now every time he talks
to this light that he doesn't know who it is,
he says, Lord. Who are you? Lord, what do you
want me to do? I think those are very important
questions that we all have to ask. Lord, what
do you want me to do? And his priorities changed
because from there on, everything that he had
in mind was completely changed. Now he's taken
to the city by people that he didn't know. Everything
is new for him. I think this is the kind of things
that we have to consider in our life today with
the resources that we have. and the influence
that we've been given, and the gifts and talents.
Lord, what is this that you want me to do? You
see, Saul was a very, very self -sufficient and
self -oriented man. You can imagine, because
of all of his resources, that he was very determined
in the things that he was doing. But in this
moment, when he has this suddenly situation,
his mission, can you repeat the word mission?
His mission. Hey, you did it right this time.
His mission changed to an admission. And now
he is in the middle of a situation where he has
said many, many times, you know, I can see for
myself. But now he can't see. He's blind. He
can't see anything unless somebody guides him.
And he will say many times, you know, I can do
it. I can steer myself wherever I want to go.
But now he's found himself in a situation where
he can't go unless somebody takes him. He could
have said many times, no, I can go, I can lead,
I can do things the way I want. But he's in a
very humble moment where he can do much of that
but follow this voice. He's sitting in the dark.
He's in what we would call a solitary confinement.
He's being broken. This man, this powerful man
is being broken so he can be used. And all of
these gifts and talents that he has received
now be used for the glory of God. Jesus teaches
a lot about this self -dependency and all this
auto, I can do myself things. And how he gives
us an example. So I want you to read with me
in the book of John chapter 5, verse 19 and 20
and verse 30. How Jesus himself, the man, our
Lord with all the power, how he says about himself.
Jesus gave them this answer. Very truly I tell
you. The son can do nothing by himself. He can
do only what he sees his father doing because
whatever his father does, he, the son, also does.
Verse 20, for the father loved the son and chose
him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even
greater works than this so that you will be amazed.
Verse 30, by myself, I can do nothing. I judge
only as I hear and my judgment is judged. For
I seek not to please myself, but him who sent
me. Wow, I think those are great examples of
all of us to consider how do we make decisions
and what do we do? Are we doing something that
is what I want to do? Or Jesus, what do you want
me to do? Can you repeat one more time? Mission.
Mission. Saul was in a mission, but then suddenly...
Jesus comes in the scene and now his mission
is changed to a co -mission. Let's read one more
time what was his mission and we will make a
comparison about his mission and now this new
co -mission that he has found in Christ. Let's
read again one more time, verse 1 and 2 of Acts
chapter 9. Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing
out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples.
He went to the high priest. and asked him for
letters to the synagogues in Damascus so that
if he found any of these who belong to the way,
whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners
to Jerusalem. What a mission he had. But now
with Jesus, he has a co -mission. And let's read
what that co -mission is that he has and also
that you and I both has. Matthew chapter 28,
verse 18, 19, and 20. Then Jesus comes to them
and said, All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me. Therefore, go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything
I have commanded you. And surely I'm with you
always to the very end of the age. Wow. The mission
is changed to this commission, and now his authority
is changed. He has now a higher authority before
he was submitted to the corrupt and anti -high
priest, and now he is submitted to the holy Jesus
Christ himself. First, he was committed to a
broader scope that was about Damascus, but now
he's more wide open. Now he's sent to the whole
world, which is better. He has a much better
purpose because before he was in the mission
of introducing Christians. to the prison, but
now he's introducing prisoners to Jesus Christ
and be free. What is better? He had a mission
to go into the city of Damascus, but now he,
I mean, into Jerusalem, bring those prisoners
to Jerusalem, but now he's bringing people to
the new Jerusalem. You see, Jesus has much better
plans than your own plans. And I encourage you
today to ask, Lord, what is this that you want
me to do? In the Dominican Republic, we are training
the Christian leaders of tomorrow. And I'd like
to introduce you to two of our students who will
share their stories about how they, at their
own age, have been determined now to say, Lord,
use me with the gifts and talents that you have
given me. I'd like to introduce you to my friend,
Cesar, who is coming this way. I met Cesar in
a very unique way. He was helping in one of our
dynamics distributing food. But he was in every
picture that I was taking that night. And I was
like, who is this big guy in every picture we
take? And he was very close to one of the girls.
And I asked, is he trying to be her boyfriend
or what? Great. God bless you, church. It is
so awesome to be here. And thank you very much
for the warm welcome that you have given us so
far. So, well, as Nelson was saying, I joined
the ministry in 2023. And the story of how I
became a student is kind of funny. Because in
2022, some of the students from the first class
of the ministry, they went over to my community
to do some food distribution. And as they were
there, they needed help and I was there. So,
and as we were like visiting different churches,
they were taking pictures of the dynamic. And
so in every picture that they were taking, I
was like in each one of them. It was like uncomfortable
at the moment, you know, like you'd be like,
yeah, why are they taking pictures? So, but I
was cool with it. And so a couple of days later,
I had a meeting with Nelson and my pastors. And
so I was sure everything about the ministry.
And so that's how I got to become a student of
the ministry. So this has been a life changing
ministry. So it's only been three years. since
I joined. And so I can tell that my life is not
the same as it was in 2022. And people around
me actually tell me that. So my relationship
with the Lord has grown and has gone deeper.
I mean, in some ways that I could have never
imagined before joining the ministry. And I find
myself now doing things that I never would have
imagined before joining the ministry. Like being
here in Arizona, speaking in public in front
of all of you, that was a challenge for me, especially
speaking in English. So it's a big testimony
of how my life has been changing so far. And
so. So this ministry has encouraged me to do
things. I mean, like I said, that I've never
thought I was going to be doing. So like, for
example. We in the Dominican, we don't have such
a thing as a reading culture. And so now I find
myself reading a book every month, which is one
of the dynamics of the mission house. So that
is something that has helped me in my walk in
Christ. And also it has encouraged me to now
mentor guys in my church and help them keep faithful
in the walk of the Lord. So, for example, early
this year, I told Nelson at the beginning, that
I wanted to be used translating stuff for the
ministry. And so a couple months later, we had
a ministry that visited the mission house. And
so all of a sudden, Nelson just asked me, like,
Cesar, stand up and translate. It was challenging
at that moment, but I did it. So then a couple
months later, that ministry, they reached out
to me and they asked me to go with them to Puerto
Plata, which is in the north of the country,
about five hours from my house. And so I was
with them for like two weeks, helping translating.
And that was awesome. It was life changing. And
so I'm really thankful for the opportunity that
the Lord gave me to be part of this ministry.
Because it was something that I cannot expect
in my life. And it's proof that when we trust
the Lord, He shifts our plans towards His will.
Amen. Amen. Thank you. Very, very proud of this
young man. The next student is actually a graduate
student. Her name is Chris Bell, and she might
be coming up this way. She and I met when she
was only 17 years old. She was a tiny little
girl in the middle of her congregation, but her
pastor's thoughts, Pastor Tom Nelson, this girl
has a fire inside her. Let's find out what that
is. Let's hear her story. Hello, everyone. My
name is Chris Spell. I'm very happy I came with
the team last year as well, and I'm very happy
to be again and now sharing my testimony with
all of you. So I come from a small town in the
Dominican Republic called Nagua, which is two
and a half hours away from the capital and also
the town where the Heights team got to serve
in. So praise the Lord for that. I come from
a family of five with me being the youngest.
And I came to Christ when I was 16. It was there.
I started to serve really quick in worship team
and also youth leadership team. And that's where
my pastor found me and said, hey, I have this
longtime friend that the Lord has called him
to create this ministry for young people. And
you will get to practice your English. with American
people, and I think it will be good for it. And
I was like, Pastor, hey, I don't know if this
is good for me. I don't know what you're talking
about. But if you say that it will be good for
me and that I'll learn a lot, then I will do
it. Late 2021, I got called by Nelson to go with
this mission team to translate. So you can imagine,
17 -year -old. I speak English, but I've never
translated for anyone at that point. And I was
a little bit like, hey, okay, Nelson, I will
go. It was a week long, but by day two, and that
experience has like something had like exploded
before my eyes. I went from not had like this
type of experience before to realize that this
was something I was being called by God to do,
that I wanted to be in mission, that I wanted
to be in ministry. Fast forward to 2022, I get
contacted by this organization in my country.
So now I'm traveling all over the country to
translate and also help with their mission teams.
And all of a sudden, I'm on a plane to Colombia
to serve with this same organization in the border
with Venezuela. That trip for me was another
confirmation that the Lord was calling me to
ministry. 2024 and I graduate from the program
so I'm not one of the students anymore but I
it became very clear to me that this was the
Lord's calling for my life that I wanted to be
in ministry I was I'm going to school to be an
English teacher and I was done with that um but
I could realize that the Lord had a bigger plan
for my life and at that point I like I knew that
this was something I wanted to do for my whole
life. 2025, January 2025 comes, and now I am
working with the ministry in the Dominican Republic.
I am supporting the ministry with short -term
mission teams logistics. And I'm convinced, and
I become more convinced every day that this is
the Lord's will for my life. That this is really
what He wants me to do, and it's serve the ministry.
I cannot tell you how proud I am of this young
lady who joined us as part of our family and
began to learn about her gifts and talents could
be used for the glory of God. And being a teacher
is great, but the Lord had a much greater plan
for her. And now we actually welcome in the Dominican
this year already 10 mission teams. It's a lot
of work, a lot of logistics that Chris Bell,
he was in charge of a lot of that. So I challenge
you this morning. You've been given all these
possibilities. And I know if you ask me, I don't
know, but I can see the country and people are
here. You had all this access, technology and
education and resources. Just ask yourself, Lord,
what is that you want me to do? I'd like to lead
us in a prayer and I will pray for you in the
Lord's first language, according to my version,
which is Spanish. So my angels know what I'm
saying. But I'll be praying for you so you have
that moment of understanding that you've been
given the opportunity to serve the Lord with
your gifts and talents full -time or part -time,
at least as a volunteer. So would you close your
eyes and pray with me? May the Lord bless you
and keep you. Have a wonderful day.