Prayer Request: "The Lord Gave...

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." Job 1:21

Yesterday afternoon as I walked up the stairs on the 2nd floor of the Educational Center: The Meadows (Centro Educativo Los Prados) toward the auditorium where the International Baptist Church congregates, I no longer smelled the distinct scent it always had every Wednesday, Saturday night, Sunday morning and any other day I went there to gather with my brothers and sisters in Christ. The fowl smell that penetrated my nostrils had erased it. No longer were the large wooden doors wide open for the visitors and attendees to go in through there, the engulfing fire had blown them away. As I entered the auditorium, referred to as Temple by its congregates, there were no bright white lights illuminating the place, no air conditioning to refresh even the hottest day, no comfortable chairs and pews, it was all dark, wet, empty and chaotic. Now we the IBC/IBI are building-less, but never homeless for our Heavenly abode awaits us as the Lord has promised in His Word, the auditorium may have burned completely but the Church still stands ready to continue serving the Lord wherever he leads us, whether it's in the middle of the desert or in a promised land. We rest in knowing that the Lord, our God, is in control always, He is faithful and good.

Father now that you have washed off our make-up, may we continue to worship you in Spirit and in Truth as we remain striped bare of our commodities that you had provided us for the past 10 years. What lies ahead is unknown to us, but the One who goes before us we do know, and that is our comfort.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Incendio afecta iglesia Bautista

En Los Prados, Distrito Nacional

Por Máximo Zabala / El Caribe

Viernes 15 de agosto del 2008 actualizado a las 12:18 AM

Acción. Los bomberos acudieron a sofocar el fuego.(María Peña) Un incendio provocó ayer cuantiosos daños en la Iglesia Bautista Internacional, en la tercera planta del Centro Educativo Los Prados, en el sector del mismo nombre, en la capital. Varias unidades del Cuerpo de Bomberos de Santo Domingo acudieron al lugar ubicado en la calle Eugenio Pichardo logrando impedir que el siniestro provocara daños en el resto del edificio. Se informó que una persona, sólo identificada como Luis, resultó con heridas en un brazo, ocasionadas por los cristales, que fue necesario romper para que los bomberos pudieran sofocar el fuego, cuyo origen se desconoce. Neridania Martínez, profesora del centro educativo, dijo que el fuego fue intenso y que se quemó todo el mobiliario de la iglesia, tras agregar que el mismo inició cerca de las 12 del mediodía. La educadora dio gracias a Dios que el fuego se produjo, precisamente, cuando los estudiantes se encuentran de vacaciones, lo que evitó la ocurrencia de una desgracia mayor. En los dos primeros pisos del edificio funciona el Centro Educativo Los Prados y en el tercero la Iglesia Bautista Internacional, la cual sufrió daños de consideración. La profesora Martínez indicó que tras verificar el piso que ocupaba la iglesia y que está hecho de madera, vio que se quemó casi completo.(1)

1: El Caribe El Portal Informativo de la República Dominicana (The Informative Portal of the Dominican Republic)