PRAISE
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (I Corinthians 10:13) We praise our kind and loving God for His faithfulness during these trying times that the entire world is facing. Our God has truly been good to the Tirado family. Before all the restrictions were implemented in the Dominican Republic, the Holy Spirit opened the hearts of 7 precious souls who heard the Gospel, believed, and received Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour! We praise the Lord for giving us the opportunity to win lost souls.
PRAYER
Please join us in prayer for the members, regulars, and new converts to whom we have been ministering. The Dominican Republic is in quarantine and under curfew. Unfortunately, since implementing the curfew, the police, alongside of the military, have been arresting thousands of individuals for breaking the curfew. As of April 8, 2,111 persons have been confirmed with COVID-19, and 108 of these have gone off into eternity.
The U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic sent an email to all Americans living in the Dominican Republic. The email strongly encouraged U.S. citizens to leave the country as soon as possible. We first were looking into flying into Florida, but that option was not available. Because my family and I had been praying since January about changing our mission field to Puerto Rico, I decided to investigate going there. Our Tuesday morning flight to Puerto Rico was canceled, but we were finally able to fly there on Sunday, March 29. Currently, we are staying in an Airbnb house in the town of Rincon, located on the west coast of the island. We are obeying the Puerto Rican government’s requirements for all travelers, and we are under a self-quarantine for a period of 14 days.
We firmly believe that the Lord has guided us to serve Him in Puerto Rico. This will not be an easy move for us, as we have faithfully served Jesus in the Dominican Republic for 11 years. We have loved serving the Dominican and Haitian peoples and reaching them with the Gospel of Christ. As of today, with the virus expanding, we are unsure when we will be able to complete the move to Puerto Rico. As a practical matter, I will have access to the VA hospital and clinics throughout Puerto Rico. With my recent health problems, this will be a great help to me.
Another missionary, who has been serving in the Dominican Republic since May of last year, is currently praying about continuing the work that we began in El Café de Herrera. This would be a blessing to the people we’ve loved and served.
GRATITUDE
We appreciate each church and individual that has prayed for and financially supported our ministry. We pray and ask that each one of our supporting churches will continue to stand alongside us and help us to establish a church in Puerto Rico and win lost souls to Christ.
For souls,
Roberto Tirado