Caribbean News

Report from a DR Ministry

On Saturday, October 21, 2006, the NYI of the Tropical Church of the Nazarene in the Dominican Republic made an impact on the community around where their church has an on-going ministry. This ministry is the “Café of Herrera” where the NCM Project “Footprints” is located.

Around 20 young people with the desire to evangelize went to “Café of Herrera” to evangelize from four in the afternoon to six in the evening. They handed out tracts and invitations to an event that would take place in front of the location of project “Footprints”. Around 6:00 pm the people began to arrive with their chairs to sit in front of the space we had designated as the stage. Around ninety people, including adults and children gathered that day. And surpassing all inconveniences, once again God moved through dramas, choreographies, a Christian film and the Word from the pastor. The community was pleased.

We thank God for blessing this activity.

Dhariana Balbuena
Child Development Coordinator
Tropical NYI Member

Make smiles sponsoring kids!
www.ncm.org

Pastor Charlotte Bowen

Supporters of the Caribbean,

The Jamaica West district is suffering yet another significant loss.

Below is the report from D.S., Rev. Lionel Brown.

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Jamaica West District has lost another soldier of the cross. This time it is retired Pastor Charlotte Bowen. She passed away on Thursday, October 19.

Pastor Bowen has pastored several Nazarene churches to include Mt Carmel, Petersfield and the Redberry churches. Her service to the church has spanned over thirty years.

The Thanksgiving Service for the life of the late Charlotte Bowen is scheduled for Saturday, November 04 at the Mt Shiloh Church.


Lionel Brown

Warm Welcome to Dr. Andres Hernandez

Dr. John Smee, Caribbean Regional Director, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Andrés Hernandez as Assistant Regional Education Coordinator.

Dr. Hernandez comes to this ministry opportunity with 17 years of pastoral ministry in the Nazarene Church.  He has pastored Nazarene Churches in Luquillo and Bayamon, Puerto Rico, as well as in Jersey City, NJ in the United States.  His present pastoral ministry is in Cataño, Puerto Rico.  He has served as Chaplain and teacher at Christian Nazarene Academy in Levittown, Puerto Rico, as well as Professor of Nazarene Bible College's extension program in New Jersey.  He presently serves as professor and director of the Instituto Biblico Nazareno in Puerto Rico, and is currently a member of the Puerto Rico East District Advisory Board. Dr. Hernandez received the Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the Universidad de Puerto Rico, the Master of Arts in Religion from  Seminario Evangelico of Puerto Rico, and the Doctor of Ministry from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey.

We are pleased to welcome Dr. Hernandez to our Caribbean Regional leadership team.

A Letter Of Thanks

Dear Nazarene family:

The Jamaica West District, the family of the late Pastor Errol Haughton, and the Petersfield and Mt Carmel churches in particular, wish to thank you for your letters of condolences, words of encouragement and prayerful support during the past two weeks.

The Thanksgiving service was held on Monday, October 16 and drew hundreds of mourners from all walks of life. The service was more like a “holiness convention.” It was fittingly held on one of our public holidays, “National Heroes Day.” For our church family, Pastor Haughton has gone down on record as one of our Spiritual heroes.

We do crave your continued prayers for his family and our district as we seek to fill the vacancies in our Pastorates in the days ahead.

Lionel Brown
District Superintendent, Jamaica West

To see a picture of Rev. Haughton click here: www.caribnaz.org/haughton

Jamaica West District Faced with Another Great Loss.

Pastor Errol Haughton passed on early Saturday morning (Sept 30, 2006).
He pastored the Mt. Carmel Church of the Nazarene and the Petersfield
Church of the Nazarene in Jamaica.

D.S., Rev. Lionel Brown writes, "We were just about to complete our
final class in “Caribbean Thought and Culture” with our instructor, Dr
Edmonds, when our brother collapsed in one of the rooms. He had been
complaining of a severe headache when he arrived in Mandeville five
minutes before. He was rushed to the hospital where he failed to respond
to any treatment. The doctors ordered a brain scan, which revealed that
he had several blood clots all over his brain."

To see a picture of Rev. Haughton click here: www.caribnaz.org/haughton

"Please pray for us at this time as we are all morning the loss of
another soldier on the battlefield for Christ, a brother and a friend."
writes Brown. In November 2005, Rev. Desmond Rankin from the same
district in Jamaica was attacked and killed coming home from a Wednesday
night service.

If you would like to pass along condolences please send them to Rev.
Lionel Brown, D.S., and he will make sure they reach the family of
Pastor Haughton.

Rev. Brown - jennlionn@hotmail.com

Rev. Sewkumar

Caribbean Supporters and Friends,

From time to time, interspersed with other news, we would like to highlight some of the leaders of the Church of the Nazarene serving in the Caribbean.  We would like to continue to create connections among the global church family.  This is a small way in which you can meet and pray for each other as we all continue to serve.

Our first leader to highlight is Rev. Tajera Sewkumar. He is the District Superintendent of the Suriname district.

Click on the link below to read a few words about Rev. Sewkumar.

http://www.caribbeannazarene.org/WMCaribbean/Portals/0/Documents/Bish%20Autobiography.pdf

Wife of Pastor in Antigua Diagnosed Again with Cancer

Mrs. Patricia Holder, wife of Pastor Holder of Gray's Farm Church of the Nazarene in Antigua has been re-diagnosed with cancer.

Mrs. Holder fought breast cancer several years ago going through a long struggle with chemotherapy treatments. At the Leeward / Virgin Islands District Assembly two years ago the Holder family noted that the doctors said they had removed all of the cancer.

However, after a MRI in September the doctors report that the cancer has returned and spread to her spine. Dr. John Smee, Caribbean Regional Director, said this of Mrs. Holder and family, "She is a delightful lady. Pastor Holder is one of the top people in the Caribbean or from anywhere. This family helped bring to life this church. Now it is a growing congregation. We must pray for this wonderful family and especially for Mrs. Holder."

Pastor William Holder writes this, "Please join me in prayer for Patricia my wife. . . the Doctor is recommending radiation and Chemo. She will be required to be in Trinidad for three months and the cost for [hospital] accommodation and food is $11,000. US. [Medical] treatment is not included [in this]. I believe with God all thing are possible so I covet your prayers."

Please pray with us for this godly family.

To see a picture of Mrs. Holder and Pastor Holder click here: www.caribnaz.org/holder

To send a message to the Holder family please write the D.S., Rev. Kenneth Sharpe, and he will pass along your thoughts and prayers.
Kenneth Sharpe <ceps@candw.ag>


Other Caribbean Prayer Requests Include:
1. Rev. Haughton’s family from Jamaica with his sudden passing.
2. 3rd Wave Conference (NYI) in January 2007 in South Africa — Visas and finances for Caribbean participants.
3. W&W teams coming to the Caribbean. Their safety and a productive time of ministry.
4. Haiti’s security issues and safety for Nazarenes.
5. Missionary Children whose parents are serving in the Caribbean Region.

Pray for Those Affected by Dengue Fever in the DR

Please pray and include in your prayer list the serious situation that is happening in the Dominican Republic as a result of an outbreak of dengue fever. 

Many people are affected, including Nazarenes, and there have been deaths.

What is dengue fever? Click here for a description.

NCM (Nazarene Compassionate Ministries) helps people worldwide in situations just like this. Click here to donate.

 New Photo Galleries Added

The Caribbean Region is happy to announce that 4 new photo galleries have been added to the regional website.

The San Fernando Church of the Nazarene (Trinidad and Tobago) traveled into Guyana to work on the District Center there. Pictures of their experience can be view here: www.caribnaz.org/SanFernando

The Parkersburg Broadway Church of the Nazarene from West Virgina traveled to Belize to help with our District Camp Ground near the Guatemalan border. Their pics can be seen here: www.caribnaz.org/parkersburg

Both the Tulsa Central C/N, (Tulsa, OK) and the South Lake C/N (Crown Heights, IN) worked with the Fontenoy Church in Grenada. The Fontenoy Church and parsonage were destroyed after Hurricane Ivan in late 2004.  Their pics can be viewed here: www.caribnaz.org/tulsacentral and www.caribnaz.org/southlake

Other Galleries can be viewed by clicking here:  www.caribnaz.org/wwphotos

To see where you can help with Work and Witness in the Caribbean check out our available projects. www.caribnaz.org/wwprojects

Pastor Jean Francois Perez Dies

Bill Dawson, Missionary to Haiti, reports that one of our finest pastors on the Haiti Central District, Rev. Jean Francois Perez, died suddenly a few days ago. He was approximately 62 years of age.  Pastor Perez ministered at Nazon Church of the Nazarene.

Rev. Lucien, District Superintendent of the Haiti Central District, is lamenting the loss of this great pastor and said, "We were dear friends and he was one of the finest pastors on our great district."

Please pray for Pastor Jean Francois Perez family and church.

Trini Wins Big in China

Rhonda Watkins, a sophomore at UCLA in California, won the Gold Medal in the Long Jump at the recent World Junior Championships in Beijing, China.

Ms. Watkins is a member of the St. James Church of the Nazarene NYI in Trinidad.  We also send our congratulations to Rhonda on being awarded the Humming Bird (Silver) Medal at Trinidad & Tobago's recent National Awards.

-Pastor Kwame Payne, Trinidad

To view the online article from UCLA about Ms. Watkins click here: http://uclabruins.cstv.com/sports/w-track/spec-rel/081906aab.html

Caribbean Region hosts NCM Conference for Latin America, Focus on Children.

August 20-25, 2006, the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America (MAC), and South America (SAM) Regions came together in the Dominican Republic for the Latin-American Nazarene Compassionate Ministries Conference. The focus of conference was children and ministries to them. The event was held at the Camatillo de Yamas campground in the northeast part of the country. The last two days of the meeting convened at the Hotel Talanquera east of Santo Domingo.

God was present in an amazing way at this conference, where regional NCM coordinators of Child Development participated. Coordinators from other programs specializing in children were also present. Everyone sang in unison, prayed and interceded for the children of their country and children worldwide.

Each region had the opportunity to present various projects designed for their specific countries. Programs presented from the Caribbean Region include: Nueva Luz (DR – New Light), Carita de Angel (PR - Face of an Angel), Huellas (DR - Footprints), Hijos de Pastores (CB & DR – Pastor’s Kids), and others.

Special guests added their support and input to the conference including Rev. Larry Bollinger – Global Coordinator of NCM, Esteven Gualberto – General Coordinator for the Child Sponsorship Program, Trino Jara – Child Sponsorship Coordinator Africa, Linda Bormer, Global President of MED, and Enrique Pinedo, a representative of Compassion International.

Many conferences like this one have been a great support and guide to reinforce the work of each participant wishing to broaden their global understanding of children’s issues. It also has been helpful to share ideas that each one can implement in their own ministry back in their home country.

The regional coordinators of Child Development were also introduced to a new online system that will facilitate the streamlined introduction of new children to the program. This online system will allow children to be “adopted” and supported more quickly after being introduced into the system. Mrs. Nell Becker Swedeen was one of the key initiators of this plan.

The entire conference was a team effort headed by Mrs. Paquita Bido, Coordinator of NCM in the D.R., Dr. Luis Carlos Saenz, MAC Regional Director, Dr. Luis Mesa, Dr. Helmer Juárez. A special thanks to these people for their planning and work. Thanks also to Dr. John Smee, Caribbean Regional Director, for hosting this great event on the Caribbean Region, and to Rev. Bryan Heil, Field Strategy Coordinator for the Spanish Caribbean. To God be the glory for a successful event that will impact this world.

Click here to see pics of the conference. www.caribbeannazarene.org/wmcaribbean/WW/PhotoGalleries/NCMConferenceintheDRAug2006/tabid/295/Default.aspx

or add this link: http://www.caribbeannazarene.org/wmcaribbean/WW/PhotoGalleries/NCMConferenceintheDRAug2006/tabid/295/Default.aspx

Click here to see how you can help. <http://www.ncm.org/contribute.aspx>
or add this link: http://www.ncm.org/contribute.aspx

--Dhariana Balbuena, Child Development Coordinator

Cyr at Home in the Caribbean

Caribbean Regional Director Dr. John Smee has announced the addition of Rev. Monte Cyr to the Caribbean Regional Ministry Team. Cyr will serve as the Youth Ministries Coordinator for the region, taking over from Rev. Curt Luthye, who has been serving in an interim capacity. Cyr’s responsibilities will include development of youth leaders, youth ministry training, resource development, and working with national leadership to help create regional strategies.

Cyr and his family come to the Caribbean from the Africa Region, where he served for seven and a half years as the Africa Youth Ministry Coordinator. Cyr is joined by his wife, Bethany, and their four children, Robbie (14), Amy (12), Bryan (10), and Nkele (5). 

Cyr graduated from Northwest Nazarene College in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts in religion, with an emphasis in religious education; and then from Nazarene Theological Seminary in 1990 with a Master of Divinity, with an emphasis in youth ministry. He served as youth pastor at Kansas City First Church of the Nazarene from 1990 to 1994, and at Boise, Idaho, First Church of the Nazarene from 1994 to1998, before going to Africa in January 1999.

In addition to his responsibilities in the Caribbean Region, Cyr also serves as the Global NYI president, having been elected at the 2005 Global NYI Convention.

Smee has said of Cyr’s coming, “I predict he will not only challenge all of us to greater youth ministries throughout the region, but he will work along with each of us in accomplishing much for the youth — our church of ‘today’ as well as our church of ‘tomorrow.’”

“I am excited to join the Caribbean ministry team,” Cyr said, “and am confident that God will work in and through the youth and youth leaders of the region in transformational ways.”

Please pray for Cyr and his family as they enter into partnership with the leaders of the Caribbean and continue the work of building up the church of tomorrow.

Cyr may be contacted at Cyr@caribnaz.org

View a picture of the Cyr family by clicking here.

Trindad Church To Do W&W In Guyana

Taking to heart Christ’s Great Commission, the San Fernando Church in Trinidad, West Indies, will embark on its first ever mission trip July 21-29.  A group led by pastor Aziz Abidh will travel to the Demerrara District in Guyana to work on construction and improvement projects at three different churches.  The anticipated highlights of the visit are the revival services for which the San Fernando congregation has already been praying.  Their hope is that the Lord moves in a powerful way through these services.   

To download and view a short Power Point presentation submitted by the S. Fernando C/N, click here.

Please pray for this group. As more and more Nazarene churches in the Caribbean catch the vision of how God can use them as short-term missionaries, we can all lift up their efforts in our prayers. 

To find out a project you can help with click our Available Projects.

Nazarene Missionaries Leave Haiti

Please pray for our home coming missionaries as they face this difficult transition. Pray that God will continue to bring forth fruit from their ministries. Pray for the safety of Haitian Nazarenes as they live through the complexities of daily life.

All ex-patriot missionaries are in their home country, safe and praying for their brothers and sisters in Haiti. Pray with us.