Grace Church

We all made it safely without any problems. Once we got here, we ate our first meal (which was delicious) and then went out into the community to meet and see the people who we are serving with this week. After lunch, we were supposed to rest but we are all too excited for that! We painted nails and played ball until dinner. Now it’s time for some well deserved sleep so that we can be ready for what God has for us tomorrow! Please be praying for a strong partnership and unity as we enter into this week.

Our first Sunday service was wonderful! We got to praise and worship our God not only in Spanish but Creole, too. It was an awesome thing to see many nations coming together under Christ! After a delicious meal, we brought out the jump ropes and played around with the kids. We ended up having a handstand and push up contest. Later, we got to shower in the rain! What an awesome God we serve and what a wonderful first full day of ministry. We didn’t know it was possible but we are even more excited about the week! Continue to pray for a strong partnership and that the kids who come to VBS this week would not only hear about the love of Jesus but to receive that love and accept him as their Savior.

So many good things happened today! We started with sports ministry at the baseball field, and not only played one game of ball but two! Everyone had a great time! After lunch, we entered into our first day of VBS. It was chaotic but fun! Look at all those kids! They were able to hear Christa share the truth – that God not only knows us all by name, but He loves us with a greater love than we can ever imagine. To finish off our day, we started our construction project. When it’s finished, the church will have more bathrooms and showers so that they can serve the community in a bigger way. Praise God! Continue praying for us as we enter into another day full of ministry tomorrow!

Today was another full day of ministries. We were able to play different games with the kids this morning such as sack racing, parachute games, and, of course, baseball! We were also able to enjoy VBS twice today, as we held two different sessions in the afternoon. We learned about relying on God’s strength, rather than our own. We ended our day with construction. It’s awesome to see God’s people come together to work on this project. It’s a physical representation of the body of Christ – different nations working together to bring glory to our great God. As tomorrow is our last day of ministry, pray that we get a good night’s rest and wake up feeling energized and ready to go! Pray that we continue to pour out every single bit of who we are to this wonderful community.

What a glorious day. We were able to spend all day with the kids again and then visit different homes in the community. Tonight, however, looked different than most nights here in the church because we held our final goodbye service. As you can see (or can’t see) from the picture, the lights weren’t working for the better part of the service. That only made the night even more powerful. We saw that we don’t need lights, microphones, air conditioning, or anything to worship our wonderful Savior. When the lights went out, the praises only got louder. So although you can’t see people or faces in the picture, you can see that the little light that we all have in Jesus is going to shine. Although tomorrow is our rest day, we are still on a mission - to share the light and love of Jesus - so please pray that we get more opportunities with the people here in the beautiful Dominican Republic.

We were able to take today to go and enjoy God’s beautiful creation - not only the sand and the ocean but with the beautiful joining together of His people. The team was able to meet up with past friends, who are really more like family, and spend the day just catching up and enjoying that time together. Praise You, Lord, that You give us family not only by our flesh and blood but by the blood of Christ. Thank You, Lord, for the opportunity that the team had to see their family here before returning home. Today was such a wonderful conclusion to an incredible week. Pray for safe travels for the team as they make their way home and continue to pray for them as they transition into normal, every day life. It is never easy to leave the ones you love but like Christa says "It's not goodbye, it's see you later."