Friday, May 29, 2009

The Dominican Republic



Many of you have been praying for me over the last few weeks leading up to my mission trip and so many more prayed last week while I was in the Dominican Republic. I can't even begin to tell you everything I saw and got to experience but I can tell you that God is in the midst of the people of the Dominican. I've never been around people with such big hearts that are thirsty to know the word of God.
Physically and spiritually I was prepared for a fabulous week. However, mentally, I was broken once I reached Sabaneta. In my simple mind, I guess, I thought that there atleast would be a big group of Dominicans that could communicate with us in English-- but I was so wrong. We had to rely on Miguel, a new believer who is learning English, to try and help us understand the needs of the people.
Jose and Yoannia (the missionaries in Sabaneta) are great people who have devoted themselves to spreading the word of God and getting house churches up and running in the area. They are so sincere and we had the best time with them all week. They just welcomed a new baby, Isai, into the world and he's definitely a cutie pie!!
There were many, many "firsts" for me on the trip. My first time to fly, first time to be on a "real deal" mission trip, first time to eat goat, first time to eat chicken tacos with mayo and ketchup (they were prepared that way?!?!), first time to have to brush my teeth with bottled water because we couldn't use the water there... I can go on and on. I had a great experience and absolutely loved being in the Dominican. However, when we passed through Passport control and customs in the Miami airport coming back into the states, the words "welcome home" never sounded so good!
I pray that God will continue to work in the hearts of the people in Santiago and Sabaneta and that He will continue the good work He is doing through Miguel, Jose and Yoannia so that they can help bring more people to Christ.

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