Logston (Dominican Republic) Update – December 2024

J4 December 2024 Newsletter

New Beginnings: Chapter 2, Page 1

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

Luke 2:16-18

Jordan, Malachi, and Justin arrived safely to Santiago, Dominican Republic! Thanks be to God!

Merry Christmas dear friends in Christ!

On this 5th day of Christmas, we pray that the joy of the ultimate gift, Jesus’ birth, is ever present in your hearts. We also thank you for your prayers and support as we are settling into our new home in Santiago. We put up our 2nd piece of decoration this afternoon.

Malachi (left) with new friends Johann, Jhina (pronounced “Gee-na”), and Easton at the Lutheran church in Palmar Arriba.

We are thankful for our coworkers at the LCMS International Center, Mission Central, Human Care Team, and many others who coordinated thousands of details to get us here on the ground and settled in our new apartment. Malachi is acclimating well and, as you can see above, already has several missionary friends his age.

Merry Christmas from the Dominican Republic missionaries! Can you find our very tall toddler?

This was a group picture taken on Christmas day at the Krey house. Ted Krey, our Regional Director, and his wonderful family hosted a “Cerdo Asado” dinner and talent show. It was a wonderful evening full of eating, singing and fellowship.

The flags are the five Lutheran churches currently in the Dominican Republic: three in Santiago, to the north, and two in Santo Domingo, to the south.

As you know, we are living in Santiago. We have visited the three churches here and hope to make the two-hour drive to Santo Domingo to visit the other two churches soon.

Displaying our crafts from Saturday morning Kid’s Club at Pueblo Nuevo with Deaconess Rosita (far left).

We have been predominantly attending the Lutheran church in Pueblo Nuevo on Sunday mornings, along with their Kid’s Club on Saturday mornings. During one of the  Kid’s Club mornings, the deaconesses taught the children the story of Ruth along with the 4th Commandment: honor your father and your mother. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.

Scripture in Motion’s first video!

So what else have we been doing these past couple months since we arrived? Although we don’t have any pictures from our weekly language and culture classes, we do have a video to share with you! Justin has begun using his voice skills with Scripture in Motion, a crowdfunded animation studio that delivers pure, untouched Scripture through engaging video and multimedia content to empower the church across the globe in effectively reaching their communities.

Jordan officially begins as Associate Regional Business Manager next week. We are grateful that our new apartment is just one block from the regional office. She is very excited to learn more about the regional work across the Latin America & Caribbean (LAC) region and contribute her gifts of business and finance.

Just like the shepherds hurrying to see and tell people about Jesus, now, more than 2,000 years later, we are still excitedly sharing the Great News of Jesus. We thank God for the honor to do this boldly as LCMS Missionaries, and we thank all of you who want to hear about how we are spreading the Gospel, planting Lutheran churches, and showing mercy across LAC.

Merry Christmas from the Dominican Republic!

Prayers

• Continued prayers for Jordan, Justin, and Malachi as we continue learning the language and culture of our new home in Santiago, Dominican Republic.
• Prayers of thanks that we have our new home in Santiago.
• Prayers for Jordan’s parents, Deb and Dale, as they continue searching for a new church home in southwest Florida.
• Prayers of thanksgiving that our nephews are doing well at their school in Florida. Brooks received a math certificate in his kindergarten class!

May the Joy of Christmas carry you through this new year!

Vivit,

J4 – Jesus, Jordan, Justin & Jamie Malachi