Missionary Doug Reiner with the Lord
Received news that Missionary Doug Reiner is with the Lord. Prayers requested for his wife Renate and family
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Since receiving my pancreatic cancer diagnosis, Renate and I have received our share of news as it relates to the progress of the disease. Since we last wrote, my doctor informed us that the tumor in the pancreas has shrunk a bit with the chemo treatments but that tumors in my liver have increased in number and size. We have since switched to another chemo regimen in order to better manage the progress of the disease. We have quickly learned that any “good” news from the doctor is not really that good overall. But you know what? The bad news we frequently get turns out to not really be that bad either. When the doctor sat in front of Renate, my sister Jo and me last month, he told us that the remainder of my life here on earth can be measured in months and not years, the Holy Spirit seemed to nudge me at that very moment. He brought to mind that He was still there and what the doctor was sharing did not change God’s plans for my life in the least. I am still in His hands, not the doctor’s!!! That, my friend, is the best news God could have reminded me at that very moment. Tomorrow we head back to another treatment, bracing ourselves for possible more “bad” news while at the same time, knowing that no matter what is shared, “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain”!!! It’s already good news!!!
“What about Renate?”: God has given me perfect peace beyond all understanding as it relates to my immediate future. I have struggled often, however, finding peace as I think of the wellbeing of my dear wife of 30 years. I find myself constantly pondering what God’s plans are for Renate if He should choose to take me before her. Will she be ok? Will her needs be met? What will she do next? Will she stay in full time ministry? Will she get a job? Renate, mind you, is not eager to talk with me about these matters and that is understandable. She has all she can do to take care of me. At the same time, God is giving peace. He reminds me through emails and personal contact that our supporting churches, individual donors, and the Baptist Mid-Missions home office will be by her side as she seeks what God would have for her next. God gives Peace!!! I can only thank the Lord and thank you all for the assurance Renate will be ok.
“9 to 5”: God still gives strength to be able to come into the office virtually every day. We are blessed that God has given us this opportunity to serve Him here at BMM as Director of Missionary Finance. I have coworkers who look out for me, missionaries who are patient with me, a President and administrators who care for me and assistants who pick up the slack for me. I am often asked how I am doing. I say, “Better than I deserve!!!”.
https://www.bmm.org/learn/articles/doug-reiner-with-the-lord/
Douglas Reiner, Baptist Mid-Missions’ administrator for Missionary Finance, stepped into the presence of his Lord and Savior on May 2, 2017, following a battle with pancreatic cancer.
In 2016, after serving nearly 30 years as Brazil missionaries, Doug and his wife, Renate, moved to the US for Doug’s new role in the BMM Home Office. A week before Doug was to start, doctors discovered pancreatic cancer. Doug and Renate’s courage showed strongly as they faced this challenge in dependency on their Lord. In between chemo treatments, Doug kept up with his job at the office and worked from home when he was able.
In March 2017, Doug suffered a stroke and struggled to make a recovery. In late April, he experienced multiple strokes that weakened his body, leading to his homegoing. Funeral arrangements are still pending.
Doug’s story
Doug was born to Brazil missionaries Harold and Joan Reiner on February 13, 1964. He spent his childhood in northeast Brazil growing up with his missionary aunt and uncle, Ray and Jan Reiner, and their family. At age five, Doug attended a Vacation Bible School with his mother, where God touched his heart. He prayed with his mother and asked Jesus to save him and be the master of his life. From that time on, Doug began to feel God’s call on his life.Doug attended Baptist Bible College to prepare for ministry. There, he met Renate Damm, and they were married in 1986. They joined Baptist Mid-Missions and served in northeast Brazil as church planters. In addition to the churches they started, Doug was interim pastor of three Brazilian churches, director of Treasure Island Camp, president and treasurer of the BMM northeast region, treasurer of the Brazil field, and director and ministry facilitator of the Fortaleza ministry complex.
The Reiners have two adult children, Alex and Candice. Doug’s brother and sister-in-law Tim and Vicki Reiner continue to serve as Brazil missionaries as do Doug’s cousins Jonathan and Jeff Reiner and their families.
http://andrewcomings.com/when-the-coach-takes-the-mvp-out-of-the-game/
“What are you thinking, coach?”
What sports fan has never found himself hollering those words at the TV as they helplessly watch the coach of their favorite team remove the star player from the game? What soccer mom has never screamed those words at the youth-league coach as the best kid (usually her kid) is called off the field?
Similar feelings are going through my head this morning.
“What are you thinking, God?”
If Baptist Mid Missions of Brazil had a MVP, it was Doug Reiner. And last night, after a heroic battle with pancreatic cancer, God took Doug out of play.
To list Doug’s contributions to our work here would be to write a very long article indeed. A second-generation missionary, on the field since 1987, he was the go-to guy for questions about finance, policy, and the ins-and-outs of the Brazilian financial system. While many of us (yours truly included) see these aspects of life here as an inconvenience, Doug seemed to revel in them, which made him indispensable to our work. When I first arrived in Brazil it was Doug that drove me around the city of Fortaleza to make sure all my paperwork was in order
But more importantly, the spiritual and personal impact Doug Reiner had here in Brazil was enormous. Through his tireless work in the São Francisco Valley, countless people came to Christ and a small army of young men and women were motivated and equipped for ministry.
Doug (Pastor Jota, as he was known here) had a habit – more of a personality quirk – that endeared him to everybody who knew him. He would always great a person with a smile, and a hearty “My friend!” – in English even for Brazilians. But the words were usually spoken with a slight Portuguese accent – rolling the r, softening the d, and adding a slight e sound at the end – so it sounded more like “mai frrendge”.
Ín the Facebook tributes to Doug that have blossomed and multiplied since his homegoing it is amazing to see how many of them mention this one aspect of his personality. Indeed, a colleague of mine here in São Luís – yet another fruit of Doug’s ministry there in the São Francisco valley – confided in me that he thought the “mai frrendge” expression was Doug’s specific way of referring to him, until he read all the other Facebook posts.
Doug’s love for Christ, his skill and tireless energy, and his genuine, overflowing love for Brazil and Brazilians made him invaluable to our cause. And now this MVP has been removed from the game.
I can think of a number of reasons for a coach to take a star player off the field: he is tired and needs to rest, his particular skills have served their purpose, other players need to step up…and all of these may parallel the reason God took such an essential player as Doug Reiner out of our game…or they may not. God’s ways are far above our ways, and we may never even guess the reason this side of Glory.
But one thing is certain: when the star player leaves, the rest of the team feels his absence…acutely. With Doug’s leaving, a hole has been blown into the side of our work which one man alone (or two or three) will find it hard to fill.
But that’s us. For Doug, an eternity of incredible joy is just beginning.
In my minds eye, I like to imagine the arrival of beloved saints into the presence of their savior. Of course it is just my imagination, with the knowledge that the reality is far above what my limited mind can conjure up. Still, I can see Doug coming before the throne, where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father. A broad smile of recognition spreads across Jesus’ face, He stands, His arms spread wide.
“My friend!” he exclaims.
Except, in my imagination, it sounds more like “mai frrendge!”
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