Thank you for taking the time to read our Messenger! This Messenger is full of stories of success and achievement from some of those we are fortunate enough to serve. I wish you had the opportunity to see and understand the way God is working throughout our ministry each day. The challenges are great, but we were created to overcome!

The word believe is defined as one’s acceptance of something as true, correct or real. It could be said that once you believe, you are convinced that you know the truth. Today, we believe all sorts of ideas. We might believe that one brand of automobile is better than another, we might believe that one type of food tastes better than another or we might believe that certain types of music are the best to name a few examples. What then is correct?

What does it really mean to believe? For me, it is difficult to explain what it means to believe without understanding what it means to trust. The idea of trust can be defined as a belief in the reliability, truth, ability or strength of someone or something. In other words, we can’t really believe unless we trust. We have all known people who have broken our trust, that can really hurt! Becoming someone who trusts again after we have experienced hurt can be difficult.

In this Messenger, you will read stories of belief and trust, and how they were vital factors that led to success. Christina’s story is one of great difficulty but also great success. She states that in a moment of great uncertainty, she received a great blessing! We have many “Christinas” in our care now that are struggling to find their purpose and meaning, to find something to truly believe in and trust. God provided what she didn’t know she needed just at the exact moment she needed it, what an inspiration! You will also read a story about Pastor Rudy, one of the most dedicated godly men I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. It would be easy to see his vibrant church in the Dominican Republic now and not realize the challenges he faced throughout his journey. Pastor Rudy’s accomplishments are impressive, but simply put, he loves God, and he loves people.

I see many similarities between Christina’s and Pastor Rudy’s experiences. They both had to believe and trust. They had to believe in God, accept Him as their Savior and trust in His plan. They both faced serious challenges and struggles but they trusted His plan. They knew they were created for a purpose, and they marched forward boldly even in uncertain times. I know I have been challenged and motivated by their stories! While you may never meet Christina or Pastor Rudy, if you support us in any way, you are part of their story.

As we serve throughout our nine ministries, we see a pattern. The first step is healing, hearts and souls need to be healed. We have highly trained staff that the Lord uses but make no mistake the healing comes from Him. The second step is restoration, hearts and souls need to be restored and made new. The final step we see is transformation, hearts and souls need to be transformed. What an amazing privilege it is to be a part of so many stories. You make it possible for us to heal, restore and transform. Please keep the STCH Ministries team, Christina, Pastor Rudy and all those we serve in your thoughts and prayers!

Romans 8:31- What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

“Drop a pebble in the water: just a splash, and it is gone;

But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on,

Spreading, spreading from the center, flowing on out to the sea.

And there is no way of telling where the end is going to be.”

– James W Foley

A MOMENT IN TIME, an action by one person can change the trajectory of a life and cause a ripple effect, much like a pebble in the water, with the lasting impact unseen. For Christina, a moment in October 1994 changed her life forever, but the impact would span decades to reach multiple lives, families and generations to come.

From a young age, Christina faced many difficult situations. Child Protective Services separated her and her four younger sisters from their parents. After spending years moving from foster home to foster home, the state legally terminated Christina’s parents’ rights to all of their children. The girls were then given a big decision to make, go to their aunt’s home in Ohio or remain within the foster care system in Texas. Christina, age 16 at the time, asked if she could stay in Texas even if that meant moving to a different home, away from her sisters. After making this difficult decision, Christina was told she would move to STCH Ministries Homes for Children.

While driving out to Boothe Campus in Pettus, Texas, Christina realized how remote the campus was and how it felt like they were putting her in the middle of nowhere to keep her out of trouble. However, as they pulled onto the campus, her thoughts shifted. “I remember pulling up and thinking, ‘Wow! This is beautiful.’ But I was still apprehensive. This was much nicer than any home I ever lived in,” Christina recalled. Upon her arrival, she moved into Faith Cottage with her houseparents, the Thompsons. Christina instantly felt welcome in her new home, but she still had fears and reservations.

Once settled in, Christina started to let her guard down, she recognized no matter what, she was going to remain at Homes for Children. “I realized I could either be happy about being here or I could be grumpy about being here. And if I am grumpy about being here then I am just making everybody’s life really bad,” Christina shared. As time went on, Christina observed as her houseparents handled situations in the cottage with love, and she watched as they prayed before every meal and again in the evenings. She noticed something different about them and wanted to see the difference in herself. After much prayer and conversation, Christina chose to give her life to Christ and was baptized at New Life Church in Beeville. Her life was now marked with new meaning.

After her baptism, Christina considered how she could change herself to reflect Christ but not change herself so much that she became unrecognizable. Sports and friends were important parts of her life and, at that time, priorities. Although finding a balance between her existing life and new faith was a challenge, Christina found a way to juggle both in a way that glorified God and reflected Jesus through her actions. Although she did not engage in personal Bible studies, she cherished the cottage devotionals her houseparents led. As Christina matured, she realized the importance of studying the Bible as a household. Even in the moments when she swayed from God, she found peace in these practices that were instilled in her; she even incorporates these devotional times with her family to this day.

In May 1996, Christina graduated from Pettus High School and started the next chapter of her life. She moved to Corpus Christi and began attending Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. There she studied psychology with plans of opening her own counseling practice to counsel foster youth. While in school, she met her husband, Jerome. Eager to begin their lives together, they were married only a few days after graduation. Christina often reminisces about how important it was to her that her housepop from Homes for Children walked her down the aisle at their wedding; even after leaving Boothe Campus the relationship between Christina and her houseparents continued to deepen.

Shortly after their wedding, Christina and Jerome found out they were expecting! Christina was elated to start a family of her own where she could hand down the love she received while at Homes for Children. It was important to both Christina and Jerome to share with their children not only the love they have for them but also the unconditional love that Christ has for them.

After starting a family, Christina continued her education at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and received her master’s degree in counseling. Soon after finishing her counseling certification hours, Christina realized that counseling was not the path God was calling her down, and in turn, she started working for Lutheran Family Services in Corpus Christi as the director of the Preparation for Adult Living Program for foster youth. A few years later, Christina and her family moved to San Antonio where she started working for Alamo Colleges. This became a great way for her to impact the lives of foster youth in their next stage of life. Through this process, she decided she wanted to further pursue her own higher education and began attending Lamar University. In August 2023, Christina received her doctorate degree in educational leadership.

Today, Christina is the Director of Alamo Colleges District Welcome Center and District-Wide Onboarding. She and Jerome have three beautiful children: a son and two daughters, and faithfully attend and serve at Journey Church in San Antonio. Christina uses her past experiences to speak to children in foster care and those who have aged out of the system. She frequently shares with them that their circumstances do not define who they are or who they will become. She recognizes that much of her success in life is due to the life change she experienced while at Homes for Children and the relationship she built with Christ; she strives to enact the same change within the lives of foster youth that she encounters every day. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without my houseparents. I would say that that came from the Biblical principles which STCH Ministries fostered to create a solid foundation for who I am,” Christina shared.

Christina does not share her story seeking accolades, rather she shares it to bring light to what the impact one pebble dropped in the water can have. In Christina’s own words, “I really want people to understand the impact of what they’ve done to change a life because they didn’t change one life, they changed my husband’s life, they changed my kids’ lives, they’ve changed lives of people I’ve interacted with, and they’re going to continue to change people’s lives. Thank you to the staff at STCH Ministries. Thank you to my houseparents. Thank you to the people that donated to make sure we could function, and we could have the commissary. You didn’t realize the lives that you’ve changed due to that one little pebble that you dropped.”

Throughout her childhood, Christina faced many decisions that could have drastically changed the trajectory of her life. She thanks God for placing her on Boothe Campus because, as she explains, in one of the roughest moments of her life she received the greatest blessing.

Christina is still very close with her houseparents, whom she calls “Mom and Pop,” as well as her Child Protective Services caseworker. Christina thanks the three of them for believing in her, supporting her and pushing her to be the best she can be; she will never stop sharing her story and reminding people that what you do today can impact someone for generations to come.

IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, north of the capital city of Santo Domingo, over 900 congregants meet at the Quisqueyana Baptist Church each Sunday and celebrate their risen Lord with joyful songs of praise. During the Bible study hour, the hard, wooden benches are circled into individual classes. Although the cacophony of voices would deafen American ears, they have learned to focus on the voices of their teachers. Together, they learn and grow as disciples. Their pastor, Jacinto de la Cruz (Rudy), lives close by in a beautiful two-story home, while additional buildings on the property provide a large kitchen and dining room, plus the Children’s Ministry Building, a three-story educational facility.

It was not always that way. Rudy has known defeat and deprivation, trusting God for daily bread. At one time, he lived with his family of four in one room of a wooden chapel, without water or a bathroom. Surrounded by these difficult circumstances, perhaps ridiculed by peers, he founded the Quisqueyana Baptist Church (IBQ) in 1998.

In 2006, a family connection with pioneer Baptist work which originally began in 1947, led STCH Ministries to this location. Since that time, the ministry of Pastor Rudy, the IBQ church and STCH Ministries have woven their common vision into a heart-tapestry of ministries to give children hope and a future. Motivated by his own life experiences, Pastor Rudy believes that today’s children soon become tomorrow’s young people and the adult leaders of the future.

He was only eight years old, the oldest of eleven children, living near the village of Hato Mayor, when he heard the Good News and accepted Christ, by faith, into his life. The only Christian in his family, he matured quickly and at the age of twelve, began teaching children’s Bible classes. He also took clarinet lessons, foreshadowing the impact of music on his future. By the time he graduated from high school, Rudy knew that God was calling him to full-time service. Leaving behind a future in business, he enrolled in a small Bible school founded by missionaries. In 1974, he was one of six students in his class to graduate. A year later he married Patria, who became his lifelong partner and staunchest ally in the ministry. God blessed them with two sons, Lemuel and Eliel.

After planting Hato Mayor, Rudy went on to develop and establish numerous churches throughout the southeastern part of the island — San Pedro de Macoris, Consuelo, La Romana, Bani and Cerros de Buena Vista, to name a few. With other co-laborers, he also founded the largest Baptist school on the island at that time.

After 14 years of ministry experience, he began the IBQ church with a specific vision:

1. Sharing the Gospel, beginning with children, and completing their families in Christ

2. Discipling believers

3. Preparing both men and women to carry on the work of the Kingdom, to hear and answer the call with, “Here am I. I will go.”

Pastor Rudy reflected, “I believe that my greatest strength is faith. I have been told that I am like Abraham because he obeyed, not knowing the future. I have observed that there are two kinds of faith: active and passive. Active faith takes action even when there is much that cannot be seen and known. Passive faith sits around and says, ‘I have faith,’ but until they can see and hold, they will not move forward.”

Earlier experiences in ministry had left Rudy wounded but still determined to pursue his calling. He began with an active outreach, visiting with people personally, door-to-door, sharing the Gospel. The work was slow and difficult. He held on to the promise, “With God, nothing is impossible.” God honored these faith steps and at this critical juncture, TIME missionaries Zeral and Dorretta Brown returned in 1992 to the Dominican Republic. Brown said, “Come on, let’s get to work.” They purchased undeveloped land on a credit card and joined the ministries of IBQ and TIME in their common calling to spread the Gospel. To this day, TIME continues constructing portable chapels and enabling church plants throughout the country.

Faithful to pursuing God’s vision to prepare men and women to serve, Rudy began the Berean Bible Institute in 1996 with a small class of seven adults, reminiscent of his own seemingly insignificant beginnings. It is an arduous commitment for four years, three hours every Sunday afternoon, before celebrating a graduation ceremony in full-scale regalia. Only then are the next class of students signed up. A total of 132 laborers for the Kingdom have graduated. The majority actively serve God either in IBQ or pastor their own ministries in various locations, as far away as Haiti.

In a recent interview, we asked Pastor Rudy about various aspects of the relationship between STCH Ministries and the IBQ church.

“For me, personally, STCH Ministries is a door that God opened in 2006 to spread the name of Christ and enlarge our ability to meet the needs of our growing congregation and the surrounding community. The benefits we have received are multiple.”

Rudy went on to explain that STCH Ministries methods coincide with the IBQ calling and vision. “They work by faith and seek to identify the needs of the local congregations and assist to find solutions. They use the resources that God has given them to share with the needy. For me, STCH Ministries is an example of love, servanthood and courage, as they leave behind the comforts of home for the purpose of serving Christ.” He continued, “I want to testify that if more groups were like STCH Ministries, we would have greater support to fulfill the Great Commission, spreading the Gospel throughout the world.”

In what specific ways has STCH Ministries amplified the ministry of IBQ church?

“They not only share the Word of God but also demonstrate the heart of Christ for His children in the midst of difficult circumstances, support outreach efforts like VBS classes, provide clothes, food and occasionally even toys, enable ministry to orphans—constructing facilities, providing beds, food and school supplies, as well as repairing and replacing dilapidated housing for families.

They have provided resources for our church like a desperately needed generator, and the construction of the Children’s Ministry Building.

They expand our outreach to the community through medical and dental services for individuals both within and outside of the church body, and beyond to other churches and schools.

Of special importance is the Samuel’s Fund sponsorship of our children, and the university scholarships provided by CLEP (Christian Leadership Educational Program). Hundreds of our children and young people have benefited from la mano amiga (the hand of a friend) to receive an education. Tutoring, ESL classes, teacher workshops and counseling for parents from STCH Ministries partners all assist children to realize God’s dream for their lives.”

On a personal level as a pastor, how does God meet your needs?

“My wife, Patria, is often my motor. God uses her to lift me up and remind me of who God is and His calling on my life.

STCH Ministries mission teams refresh me and my people, like wells in the desert. I remember one group who came in September 2021, towards the end of Covid. We were exhausted and discouraged, as rumors and fears swirled around our whole community. We couldn’t believe that a group would come during this chaotic period! Their example of love and courage lifted and renewed our spirits.

I also find encouragement from many pastors who accompany their groups. They support and renew our vision. They help to increase my faith through their messages. Many also share through the pastors’ conferences that STCH Ministries sponsors. I hear different perspectives and learn from others. We also discuss our common struggles and receive understanding and affirmation from our common bond.”

Pastors John Hall from Field Street Baptist Church in Cleburne, Brian Hill from First Baptist Church in Corpus Christi and Matt Singleton from FBC Kenedy shared their experiences.

“Pastor Rudy has a genuine love for God and for people. He carefully preaches and teaches the Word of God. He has invested himself in the men of his church, intentionally and systematically discipling them to continue the work of ministry within and outside the church. IBQ church experiences vibrant music and worship services on the Lord’s Day. This is a reflection in part of Pastor Rudy’s personality and energy. Pastor Rudy has persevered through some excruciatingly difficult times. It is uncommon for any pastor not to face adversity. Pastor Rudy has walked through a number of those times and remains filled with joy.” – John Hall

“I met Pastor Rudy for the first time in January of 2016. I remember vividly how impressed I was with his humble demeanor combined with a deep sense of calling and vision for God’s movement. That encounter birthed a friendship and brotherhood that has grown through the years. I am blessed to have the opportunity to know him and work with him in ministry.” – Brian Hill

“His warmth overcame any language barrier. God has used him mightily not only to share the gospel but also to disciple men and women for ministry. I am so grateful for the many ways Pastor Rudy has blessed me and my congregation.” – Matt Singleton

When asked what the most challenging part of pastoring people is, Pastor Rudy responded, “The most difficult part of serving God as a pastor, painful personally, is the lack of gratitude from some who abandon the work, lacking appreciation for all of the time invested in them.”

The majority of church members echo Maria Luisa who expressed, “I’m a single mom and he has always loved my son. Pastor Rudy and the IBQ church have changed my entire neighborhood of Los Almendros, who have come to know Christ through his influence and testimony. He never seems to get tired.”

Russell Jerez, deacon and leader at the church shared, “I met Pastor Rudy when I was 17 years old. It became clear to me that I wanted to emulate the kind of leadership Pastor Rudy was showing. He became the father figure I was lacking, mentored me and helped me with anger management. Who I am is due in large part to the influence he has had in my life. When we were going to have our third kid, we needed to move out of our house because of mold. Pastor Rudy helped us for over a year to pay rent for the new place. That is only one example of how caring and loving he has been to me and my family.”

We concluded the interview with the question, “What is your goal for the future?”

“My greatest desire is that God grants me the health to be able to keep on preaching until He calls me Home. And my dream, si Dios lo permite (if God permits), is to leave behind a comfortable auditorium with air conditioning that will reach many more souls for His Kingdom.”

STCH Ministries is forever thankful for the partnership with Pastor Rudy and IBQ. Will you join us in praying for the continued work God is doing in the Dominican Republic? For more information about STCH Ministries International and mission trips to the Dominican Republic and El Salvador visit, www.STCHM.org/international.