We are excited about the challenge God has placed before us here in T-County (Tuscarawas County) in having us reach out to a long established, uni-cultural community that has transformed into an multicultural society in a very short time.
God’s timing and placing is certainly amazing! In speaking to the men of Athens, the Apostle Paul said it like this: “And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands and territories” (Acts 17:26 Amp).
I was born in T-County, Ohio, which during my childhood years was very much a uni-cultural area. I left in 1977 to serve full-time in a ministry that involved a lot of traveling and working with people of many different cultures. I loved it! During those 11 years I learned Spanish while serving in churches throughout various Latin-American countries. In 1989, I married my wife, Marietta, who is Cuban, but born and raised in Miami, FL. Together we planted and pastored a bilingual (English-Spanish) church in San Francisco for 14 years.
Then the Lord called us to Houston where we worked in a Spanish-English church. Hurricane Ike hit in September of 2008. “The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm” (Nahum 1:3 NKJV). Through a series of expected events, that hurricane crisis landed us in my hometown. We originally just assumed that it was merely a temporary stop, but God had other plans (like always!). He opened our eyes to a timely opportunity to serve this community.
We currently find ourselves befriending and working with a precious culturally-diverse group of people – Hispanics from a variety of Latin-American countries and Americans who have a heart and passion like us to connect with the Hispanics in our community. It is quite surprising to see how, even though they speak the same language, Hispanics from one country are very different from those of another country.
My wife and I work as medical interpreters in the local hospital, doctors’s offices, and in other social service organizations in T-County. Our son has organized a very successful and professional business in serving the Hispanic community’s transportation needs. We have also made connections with churches and some organizations that want to serve our multicultural community.
Music seems to be one area of ministry in which we have connected with others also. Our family is musically-oriented. My oldest daughter married a Salvadoreño who plays drums and has a real passion to train others and bring them into an authentic worship and worship leading experience. We have several youth in the church that are involved in both the music and media productions for our Sunday and Tuesday meetings.
I am currently mentoring several youth and a few men in the church who show a real passion to want to win souls. One of them keeps me busy taking me to the homes of people he meets on his job or in the community. His gifting is growing! Another brother helped us organize a community soccer event which is huge with the Hispanics here! We are planning more events like this in the near future.
Together we are connecting and networking with people in our community in some very unique ways, but we are not satisfied. There is an inner feeling that there is much more. In Acts 17, Paul continues his discourse with the men of Athens, by explaining that God has a reason why He determined the times and boundaries: “This was so that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grasp for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27).
God has opened up a wonderful opportunity by placing us in this time and in this place. We are seeking Him for direction and relying upon His divine wisdom to lead us onward and upward in His mission to this community.