— Updates —

july 2024

How is God moving in your ministry/what can we celebrate with you?

For us it is exciting to see how our entire family is involved in the ministry of our local church. While Randy and Emilie both have official roles in church leadership, our children have become integral parts of our church and this can only be described as a gift from God. The three older kids, Autry (18), Clarabelle (17) and Adelaide (15), have all become key figures in our church’s Sunday School Ministry. It would be safe to say that the Lord has given all three of them the gift of teaching, and it has been amazing to see this gift developed within the local church.

Gibson (13) is an usher and every week he serves one of the older ladies of our church, comes up to us and tells us the blessing he is to them when he greets them with a big hug and smile. Gibson was the first teenager to become an usher, and now other teens are starting to see that this is a way they can be involved in church ministry.

Our kids LOVE our church and are constantly looking for ways to be more involved in church. In fact this year Adelaide and Clarabelle decided they didn’t want and MOTHERS involved in the Mothers’ Day preparations. They organized everything, including a small gift for each one, a Photo Booth and a small brunch.

What is your greatest need? Anything specific, large or small?

We have just been told that we will only have the house we are renting for another year. We are really sad about this because we LOVE our house. So, we are looking for a new house right now.

What is a fun fact or unique incident that we probably don’t know about you?

Right now the women’s Bible study in our church is the book, None Like Him, by Jen Wilkin, a book that LTCC went through several years ago. Emilie leads one of the groups and was able to give a class to the women of the church about why it is so important that we study the attributes of God.

How can we be praying for you?

• Randy and Emilie are in charge of the Family Ministry at our church. We either see in parents an apathy or a helplessness. We put on a parenting conference once a year, but we want to do something more year round. Please pray for us for wisdom.

• Our current house is only available for one more year. We pray with Randy and Emilie that God will provide the perfect new house for them, in a similar area and of a similar size, in His perfect timing.

• Pray for our children that they will know God fully and continue serving Him.

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FEBRUARY

Randy and Emilie Poor live in the Dominican Republic with their 4 kids; Autry is 18 and started online at Liberty University this fall, Clarabelle is 16 and in 11th grade, Adelaide is 15 in 9th grade, and Gibson is 13 and in 8th grade.  Their ministry includes partnering with the local church to help meet the needs of their church community and people around them. Randy and Emilie are involved in a variety of ministries in their church. 

Randy is part of the church's leadership/teaching team. He also leads a married couple’s small group and is in charge of men's ministry.

Emilie is one of the directors and teachers in our church's Sunday School ministry. She also teaches in the women's Bible study and is on the women's ministry team. 

She also helps out in their church's seminary. This year she will be helping out grading papers as the seminary has doubled in size and is operating in two different cities. 

Together they are in charge of their church's ministry to encourage and equip Christian parents. 

This next weekend from February 15-16 our church is putting on our annual parenting conference for our church members as well as members of other churches in the area.  This year we are focusing on Family Discipleship. We Are hoping around 150 people will attend. Please pray for us as we organize and prepare in the next week. Please also pray for parents to be impacted and to be convicted of the importance to raise their kids in godly ways.

The Poor kids are also involved in different ministries. All three older kids are Sunday School teachers, and Gibson is serving as an usher.  

Please pray for us that we will seek for God to be glorified in all that we do, and that we will preach the gospel with boldness to all the people we come in contact with. 

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SEPTEMBER 2023

Randy and Emilie Poor live in the Dominican Republic with their 4 kids; Autry is 17 and started university this fall, Clarabelle is 16 and in 11th grade, Adelaide is 14 and in 10th grade, and Gibson is 13 and in 8th grade.  Their ministry includes partnering with the local church to help meet the needs of their church community and people around them.

Randy and Emilie are involved in a variety of ministries in their church:

• Randy is part of the church's leadership/teaching team. He also leads the married couples small group, and is in charge of men's ministry.

• Emilie is one of the directors and teachers in our church's Sunday School ministry. She also teaches in the women's Bible study. This year she has started helping out in a Seminary that our church has started. She leads a group of women who are taking a yearlong biblical counseling class.

This September Emilie and Randy will be heavily involved in helping with an apologetic conference that our Church's seminary will be putting on in collaboration with Westminster Seminary.  They hope for around 500 people to attend.

• Please pray for this conference: that the truths that are learned will take root in the hearts of the attendees, and they will be able to better share the gospel because of it. 

The Poor kids are also involved in different ministries. Clarabelle and Autry are also on the leadership team for their youth group.  All three older kids help in Sunday School, and Gibson is serving as an usher. 

• Please pray for us that we will seek for God to be glorified in all that we do, and that we will preach the gospel with boldness to all the people we come in contact with. 

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APRIL 2023

Randy and Emilie Poor live in the Dominican Republic with their 4 kids; Autry is 17 and will be graduating this June, Clarabelle is 15 and in 10th grade, Adelaide is 14 in 9th grade, and Gibson is 12 and in 7th grade.  Their ministry includes partnering with the local church to help meet the needs of their church community and people around them. Randy and Emilie are involved in a variety of ministries in their church. 

• Randy is part of the church's leadership/teaching team. This May-June he will be teaching a 8 week class for all the people interested in being baptized or becoming members. 

• Randy also leads the married couples small group, and is in charge of men's ministry.

• Emilie is one of the directors and teachers in their church's Sunday School ministry. She also teaches in the women's bible study. 

• Emilie started helping out this year in a Seminary that their church has started. She leads a group of women who are taking a year long biblical counseling class.

• The kids are also involved in various ministries: Clarabelle and Autry are on the leadership team for their youth group.  All three older kids help in Sunday School, and Gibson is serving as an usher. 

Please pray for us that we will seek for God to be glorified in all that we do, and that we will preach the gospel with boldness to all the people we come in contact with. 

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DECEMBER 2022

Randy and Emilie continue to be involved in leading/helping with a variety of ministries including family ministry, discipleship, preaching (Randy) and teaching/helping with a local seminary. These opportunities to teach in Spanish are always humbling, but we are so thankful for God's mercy and grace in our lives.

We are in the middle of planning a parenting conference for local churches in February.

The kids have been extra busy with their sports and schooling the last few months. All four kids are home-schooled and involved with different activities (4 in Judo, 3 in swimming and 1 in baseball).

If anyone’s interested here’s a link to our church’s seminary: https://stsantiago.edu.do/wp/en/

Please pray:

1) For clarity in translating for all the different ministries we work with.

2) For all the preparation that goes into the parenting conference and good attendance.

3) For health and safety for the kids in all of their activities. 

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JUNE 2022

Randy and Emilie Poor live in the Dominican Republic with their 4 kids; Autry is 16 and in 11th grade, Clarabelle is 14 and in 9th grade, Adelaide is 13 in 8th grade, and Gibson is 11 and in 6th grade.  Their ministry includes partnering with the local church to help meet the needs of their church community and people around them. Randy and Emilie are involved in a variety of ministries in their church. Together Randy and Emilie are in charge of leading activities for the parents of their church. This last April they put on a 2 day parenting conference for their church and neighboring churches.  Randy is in charge of the Family and Men's Ministry in their church. Emilie is one of the Sunday school directors and teachers. Randy and Emilie have also begun to be involved with the start up of a small Bible College that hopefully will begin in the fall of 2023. The Poor kids are also involved in different ministries such as teaching Sunday school. Clarabelle and Autry are also on the leadership team for their youth group. This summer they look forward to traveling to California for three weeks to spend time with family. 

Please pray that they will seek for God to be glorified in all that they do, and that they will preach the gospel with boldness to all the people they come in contact with

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FEBRUARY 2022

Randy has assumed a new and exciting role in their local church. He is in charge of helping all the ministries in their church that have to do with the family to work together as a team. He has also been put in charge of the Men's ministry at the church. This March they are working on putting on a 2-day parenting conference that will involve several churches in their area. The Poors are also a part of the initial planning of a bible college that will begin on a very small level this fall.

PLEASE PRAY . . .

. . . for the parenting conference, that it will be a blessing and a source of wisdom for families in the Dominican Republic.

. . . for Randy as he seeks to restart the men's ministry at their church. That this ministry will be a source of encouragement and growth for the men in their local church.

. . . for the starting up of the bible college, pray that all the details that need to be accomplished will be accomplished, and that the Lord will bring young people who need to be trained in the bible to the college. 

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September 2021

Randy and Emilie Poor live in the Dominican Republic with their 4 kids; Autry is 15 and in 11th grade, Clarabelle is 14 and in 9th grade, Adelaide is 12 and in 8th grade, and Gibson is 11 and in 6th grade.  The kids are actively involved in the church's youth group. They enjoy a variety of activities such as baseball, judo, and swimming. 

The Poor's ministry includes partnering with the local church to help meet the needs of their church community and people around them. This year has been a year of change and growth for the Poor family. Their goal throughout the year was to continue to be on the lookout for different needs in their church, and the community around them. Emilie has become heavily involved in the kids ministry at our church. This summer Emilie was involved in helping with and planning their church's vacation bible school. The kids were able to be leaders at the vacation bible school as well. 

For the next year, they are talking with their Pastor to figure out what other ministries they can partner with their church in, as the church seeks how to best minister to people in the post pandemic world.

Praises:

• The whole family continues to be involved in meeting the needs of the community.

• Praise that Emilie was able to help plan and be involved in the church VBS.

• Praise that the kids were all able to serve as leaders at the VBS.
  

Prayer Requests:

• Pray for Emilie as she continues to be heavily involved in the children’s ministry in their church.

• Pray as they meet with their Pastor to determine other ministries they can partner with in the local church as they seek to minister to people in the post pandemic world.

• Pray that they continue to meet the different needs of the people in their church as well as the needs of the people in their community.

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November, 2020

Randy and Emily and their four kids have experienced some major life changes recently. They have taken in two teenagers, one full time and one only on the weekends. This has made their house much busier, but it is going well for all of them.

Please pray that their “new" kids will adjust well to the family and that the Poors will know best how to help them through the transition and beyond. Please pray that their whole family will get along well and grow in kindness and love toward one another. 

With COVID restrictions in place, their programmed ministry events can’t happen yet. It has been really tough on them to be limited from ministry, but they’ve appreciated the time to recharge and have a bit of a break.

They ask for prayer that the government would make healthy decisions for the people of the Dominican Republic. Also, pray for safety for them now and when they’re allowed to resume normal activities.

Ultimately, they ask for prayer that they would fall more in love, everyday, with Jesus. 

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July, 2020

This year has brought a lot of changes for the Poor family. In March they changed churches and this last May they moved into a new house. They are excited about the new ministry opportunities both changes bring. However, just like the rest of the world, they are in a bit of a holding pattern as they wait for everything to calm down with COVID-19. Throughout quarantine they have been keeping their eyes and ears open, and they have been able to help several people with financial struggles.

Please keep them in your prayers as they look how to move forward during and after the pandemic. They have also offered to let a friend of Autry's come and live with them, but they are still working out the details.

Please pray for continued wisdom and guidance.