Partner with COTN through Malou Faublas
September 2026
Dear friends and prayer partners, Greetings from St. Louis, Missouri!
I know each and every one of us, at some time in our life, have experienced the truthfulness of Proverbs 16:9, “a man's heart plans his way, but God determines his steps.” Right now, this verse is the best way to explain my time in the USA.
Our Lord has blessed me this year to spend my summer here in the USA after so many hot ones in Barahona. The hot, super humid summer in Barahona is not the problem, the issue is the lack of electricity to turn on a fan, never mind an air conditioner. Around here the summer was very bad also, but most of houses have central AC that helps a lot.
My time has been very interesting! I got the chance to spend some quality time with Carolina, Daniel and Danielito, as well as with Lucrecia and her family. Then I had cataract surgery in my left eye with Nat being my nurse. I was planning to go back to Barahona the beginning of October because there is so much going on over there in October: The Women's Retreat in Santo Domingo, the pro-Israel march, the national evangelism and so on. I did not want to miss any of these activities, but our Lord has something different for me.
On September 2nd around 9:00 p.m. my daughter Natalia was going downstairs to her bedroom when she fell and broke two bones in her right ankle: her tibia and her fibula. We called 911 and she was rushed to the Emergency Room where we spent the entire night and got back home at 5:00 a.m. It is useless to tell you about the daily pain she is still going through. She had her surgery one week later, September 11 and has a long physical therapy waiting for her.
It’s in those moments that we experience the goodness and the faithfulness of our Lord. Because the same week I had cataract surgery in my right eye, we also had Nat's ankle surgery. So here I am, only God knows for how long I am going to be in St. Louis, because Nat lives by herself.
We give THANKS TO GOD for me being there when Nat’s accident occurred. What we give in life is what we receive: as intercessors Nat and I have been praying for so many people, and now you know we have received a lot of prayers and support from my churches in St. Louis and in Barahona. There is nothing more painful than to see our loved one suffering and there is nothing we can do to help. But THANKS GOD for the Presence of our Heavenly Father Who promises HE will never leave us nor forsake us, especially in the time of trouble.
WOULD YOU PLEASE ADD YOUR PRAYERS TO MINE?
“Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” Job 2:10
A THANKSGIVING PRAYER to our Lord for giving us the best orthopedic surgeon in St. Louis! We did not know that until we arrived at the hospital when we were told that Nat's surgery was going to be done by that doctor! HALLELUJAH!!
A THANKSGIVING PRAYER for my eye surgeries (I did not even know I had cataracts!) Now I can see much better. PRAISE THE LORD!!
A THANKSGIVING prayer for the two angels—Denyce and Caryol—our dear neighbors that our Lord put in our path to help. BLESSED BE THE NAME OF OUR LORD!!
A PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING for our dear sisters of Metro Christian Worship Center whose response to our situation showed the caring love of Christ. THANK YOU, METRO!! (over)
A PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING to the intercession ministry and our friends in Barahona for sharing in our troubles even while far away from us. Our Lord is FAITHFUL!!
A PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING to everybody—the brethren of Bezer Church, and the intercessors of Trail Christian Fellowship—for caring and for their prayers. OUR GOD IS SOOO GOOD!!
A THANKSGIVING PRAYER to our Lord Who allows us to experience, moment by moment, that the Joy of the Lord is our strength, in the midst of this difficult, unexpected situation, we continue to be joyful declaring that nothing and nobody is going to take away our peace and our joy that our Lord Jesus has given us, to HIM BE THE GLORY FOREVER AND EVER.
As always, I give THANKS to you all who have been an active part of what Christ has done and continues to do in my 35 years on the mission field, touching lives for the Kingdom of Christ.
THANK YOU SO MUCH for your faithful friendship and support. I love you all very dearly. May our Holy Spirit keep you focused on the soon coming of our King Jesus to put order in the messy world going on all over this
planet. Aren’t you glad to be IN this world but not OF the world!
LOVE AND BLESSINGS FROM
Malou
your missionary friend in the Dominican Republic
Feel free to contact me with any questions at cotnbara@gmail.com
or call 786-901-2534 or Barahona 809-524-5273
To view my book: go to Amazon.com/books and type in Malou Faublas in the search)
Dancing in the Fire: The true story of Malou Faublas, a single woman missionary in Haiti & Dominican Republic
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08QWSDNHD/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_PD9B3ABK0JH4MYXRAFYQ
The Life of a Stateless Child
Published Fri, Sep 03, 21. Written by Kelly Flannery (Former staff).
When the COVID-19 pandemic threw the world into chaos, many governments tried to provide aid and relief to their citizens. But what if you weren’t a citizen of any country?
Many of the children we serve in the Dominican Republic would have been left to face the pandemic alone. They are stateless.
These individuals were born in the Dominican Republic (DR), but because their parents, grandparents, or even great-grandparents are from Haiti, they aren’t recognized as citizens.
In the eyes of many in the Dominican government, they do not exist.
That means more than 133,000 people in the DR don’t have access to any public services like education, medical care, clean water, or government aid. They can’t vote. They have no rights.
This keeps them in a vicious cycle of poverty that is nearly impossible to escape.
Imagine being told you don’t belong in the only home you’ve ever known. That you also don’t belong in the country your ancestors are from. That you aren’t worthy of the care and compassion the other people around you are shown. What would that tell you about your worth? How could you feel any sense of dignity?
In the DR, one of the most dire secondhand effects of the pandemic has been the food and hunger crisis. While Dominican citizens received food from the government, children and families who are stateless have not.
This affects many of the children that Children of the Nations (COTN) serves in the DR. About 50% of them are stateless.
COTN usually receives funding and meals to feed these children through the school system. But this support went away when schools closed during the pandemic.
Francisco, our country director in the DR, says that during the pandemic many of the parents weren’t able to leave their homes to find work—it seemed that there would be no way for them to feed their families. But “Thanks to [Children of the Nations], during the pandemic the children had food on their tables every day.”
Thanks to your generosity, not one child in the communities we serve has gone hungry during the pandemic. You helped feed 1,451 children and their families throughout 2020.
You also provided clean water, hygiene kits, medical distributions, health checkups, and more to keep children and their families safe during the pandemic. Without your help, the children would have no access to these resources.
The problems Haitian-Dominicans face are a big part of why Children of the Nations came to the Dominican Republic. Now, you are changing the lives of thousands of these children—children like Luisa.
Luisa grew up without any basic services. She could not dream of attending school—her community had none. “In the past,” she shares, “it was very difficult to study because we did not have a school and we were discouraged to study.” But that changed when COTN came to her community and built a school. Finally, Luisa could get an education and dream of a better future.
Now, she works as a teacher for COTN and is an inspiration to the children in her community. “Many children say they want to be like me in the future, a teacher,” says Luisa.
COTN also serves Haitian-Dominicans through our medical clinic. Because of this clinic, children and their families who can’t afford medical care are able to receive the life-saving surgeries, medicines, and treatments they need. Hundreds of surgeries are performed there each year through the help of visiting surgical teams.
Because of you, lives and communities have been transformed. But there is still much more work to be done.
The DR has been hard hit by the pandemic, and they had another severe spike of cases in June. During this spike, schools had to return to virtual learning, ICU capacity filled up, food prices skyrocketed, and some of the children and staff were infected. The challenges of this pandemic aren’t over yet.
But with you by their side, these children will have the physical, educational, social, and spiritual care they need to become the next generation of leaders. These children will know they matter, they are worthy of care, and they belong right where they are.
P.S. To help children in the Dominican Republic, donate to the Dominican Republic - Most Urgent Funding Needs fund.
