Thursday…only two more days in the Dominican Republic….hard to believe it! The trip has flown by so quickly! Today from the work crew in San Jose…. We were able to finish hanging all of the siding on the walls..we were able to finish the metal roof except for two pieces of metal. We waited on the metal for a couple hours before heading for lunch at 1…the way things work in the D.R. are like this: The guys bringing the metal told the missionaries this morning at 8 that they were on their way…at 3 p.m. the metal wasn't there yet and the guy bringing it had shut off his phone (more than likely so we couldn't call and ask about its whereabouts). When It started to pour and thunderstorm, we called it a day and headed back to the highlands. Hopefully the metal will come by tomorrow morning and a crew of 4 guys will head out there at the break of dawn to finish it up…God willing.

The rest of the group isn't back yet as I write this (it's about 4:50) but I'm sure they'll be back soon. They went to the straw market this morning in the capital. Then they went to a place owned by some Christians who have family that work at Score. These people are starting a preschool next week and have had a heart for teaching young people about Christ before they enter the public schools in kindergarten. Our group was scheduled to go there this afternoon and paint so that they can open on time next week. I hope they were able to get that done today!

Tonight we are going to SCORE for missionary night and an Argentine BBQ. The Argentine BBQ costs $20 and all proceeds go to church planters in the Dominican that work with SCORE. We will be hearing some of the testimonies of the young people who go through the discipleship program. People like Greg, from Los Montones. He shared his testimony with us two nights ago (He's staying with us here at the Highlands to spend time with Caleb and Abe and our group…we met him 5 years ago on our first missions trip to the D.R.). The discipleship program takes place at SCORE and is roughly a 3 year program and it prepares the students to pastor church plants. It is amazing to see someone like Greg who we met years ago as he is preparing someday to pastor his own church…and someday soon not years from now. He is being ordained in the fall as he will have completed his discipleship at that time. GOD IS DOING AMAZING THINGS HERE…these people not only give up three years of their life, but there is a SIGNIFICANT change in their life when they decide to follow Christ. Can we say the same thing?

Tomorrow we are headed to Emmanuel's house (an orphanage) in the morning and to Olivares (the place we put the roof on the church last year) in the afternoon to feed a village. It's our last day of ministry in the D.R. These days have been packed but wow has God been working here!

We have things to share about our trip on Sunday…a video montage of the trip and some of our favorite "God moments". We can't wait to tell you all about it Sunday. J

Love,

Your Team in the D.R.  

7/11/12

Today our group split up. Half of us went to San Jose where we finished almost all of the siding for the walls and put on half of the metal roof. God certainly provided as we ran out of water twice on the hottest day yet. However we ended up getting water from a small store in the village and everything worked out. God is good! The other half of the group went to La Romana-the girls' orphanage, and had a sweet time of ministry and making bracelets with the girls and some boys who live there too. I hear that there was even dancing! ;) This afternoon they went to Honduras, a village we visited last year. What a great day! We are definitely worn out but it's been worth it! We have devotions soon, then bed. Tomorrow we are splitting up again-half to San Jose and half to Santo Domingo. We are painting a preschool that is opening next week! Some are also going to the straw market. ;) We are having a great time thank you for prayin!! Please continue to pray for safety and the people of the DR. ;)

What a great day! We spent the entire day in San Jose, stopping for a lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches, chips and "cola real" the Spanish equivalent of Cola. The guys spent the morning readying the trusses and putting up some more of the walls. They worked harder in hotter sun than I have ever seen. I'm surprised (GLAD) that they all made it to the end of the day! By the end of the day all of the trusses were nailed in place. Thank God for His provision and protection. The remainder of our group spent the morning doing a VBS with the kids under a huge tree on their baseball "field". Suzanne spoke in Spanish and presented the gospel to them, talking about how Jesus died for them and it's a free gift. The kids were so great this morning. We had a blast! At lunch we rested for about an hour and then it was back to work/play! Some of us put in the windows on the church and everyone worked hard to meet our goal for today! We did meet our goal before we left around 5. J A long but fruitful day. Praise the Lord. Tonight we had our devotions at SCORE. It was great to be back at the Score Complex to have devotion with all of the Score people. We are headed back to the girls' orphange tomorrow while some keep working on the building...What a trip this has been so far. Please come and hear more about it on Sunday at 10 a.m. at Alden Community Church! :) We can't wait to share with you all!

 Tuesday Morning Before....

 Trusses are up!!

Tuesday Afternoon After....Windows...Trusses...most of the wall! :)

Today we spent time again in San Jose. Some of The guys and Becka finished the trusses and put up the walls for the church while the rest of us did a VBS and played. Here are some excerpts from devos tonight: "I find it easier here to focus on God" "those guys (the Dominicans) were so excited to be working!" "it's God's church. We're no building for them, they're not building for them...we're all building for God" "Craig and Omar (missionary and Dominican pastor) were talking six months ago about building a church in 2-3 years..today  they stood in front of a building that will be used Sunday for it's first service!"

What a great day we had. Tomorrow we are headed back to San Jose to building a church and relationships. All is well-praise God. Will write more tomorrow as we will have internet access. God is so good!

Sunday, July 8, 2012

What an amazing day in the house of the Lord! Let me set the stage….this morning we drove through sugar cane fields to the village of San Jose. The village is small and as we drove past the one or two room houses, the kids out front waved as they recognized faces from yesterday. At the church we piled out of the bus and went into a small building filled with wooden pews. It is used as a school house, but on Sunday it transforms in the church. It was bursting at the seams with people! Nearing the church we heard the sounds of happy people..the moment we stepped in the church we could tell it was alive. As worship started and Pastor Craig (a Score Missionary from Atlanta) welcomed the Dominicans and Americans (us) we started worship. I'm telling you-you can ask any person that went to church at San Jose Iglesias de gracias…the people in this church know how to worship OUR GOD! Holding nothing back-they sang loud and clear…clapped their hands..danced in praise to God. It was truly a BLESSING to hear "Gloria….a Dios" (Glory to God) as it was sung at the top of their lungs, hands lifted in praise to the God we serve…It was truly an eye opening experience and a wakeup call…they didn't have musicians..they played the song over the stereo loud *so that everyone in the village could hear* and they sang their hearts out. After singing songs like " our God is greater" and "Glory to God" some of us took the children to a different area (a sort of kids church) and Suzanne had the opportunity to tell the Bible story of Adam and Eve to the kids there. She did a spectacular job! It was awesome as we listened to her fluid Spanish as she interacted with the kids. As some of us took the kids out to the coloring spot (a store front/slab of concrete) the rest stayed in the church and listened to the message which was preached by the missionary, Craig. What a great time this morning! When we got back we had some chicken, rice and salad for lunch and spent some refreshing time in the pool. After an hour or so of rest we were back on the road, headed to one of our favorite spots - Los Montones. Los Montones was a village that we spent much of our time in during our second year in the Dominican. Many relationships have been formed between Greg, Ridel and their friends and our team. At Los Montones we attended their Sunday night church service. It was awesome to see Ridel and Greg and the other friends we have there. Those who are on their first trip enjoyed visiting in the village as well, as the people there are so friendly. The change that Jesus brings is evident in this village.

This week we plan on going to San Jose most of the days to work on the work project. The guys will be putting up the walls, trusses, doors, windows…as much as they can before we need to leave on Saturday. Pray for the people of San Jose as we visit with them, teach and play. We hope that relationships that are made this week that will make a difference for eternity.

Thank you for praying for us! Please continue to pray for the hearts and lives  of the people here.

Your team in the Dominican!

Edwin had the opportunity to preach tonight at Los Montones. What an awesome experience! J He did a fantastic job!

Day 2!! ;)
What a day! We are finally ALL here! Our last team member arrived today, thank the Lord....and our last suitcase came in too!! After a couple bumps in the road-quite literally-we are all here and God is still good! We've had a great first day of ministry. Most of our guys went to San Jose where we will be building a church. They assessed the situation and began work on the trusses. The rest of us went to the girls' orphanage where Kelly and Haley were able to see the girl they sponsor. What a precious moment! This afternoon we all went to San Jose and met and played with the kids/teens who we will get to know in the coming days. Please pray for safety for the guys as they build. There was a huge thunder storm today...a definite show of God's power. Wow. Will write tomorrow. We are going to San Jose tomorrow for church and Los Montones for afternoon church  ;)  There is no Internet or phone here so thanks to Hannah Kelley for filling you all in through text. ;)
P.S. "Hi to my mommy and daddy!!!" -Shannon

We made it safe and sound to the DR! Easy flights. Praise God we are all here, we did have a little hiccup with a passport but by tomorrow night our whole group will be here:) PRAISE GOD for His mercy and grace on our trip so far! Thank you for your prayers! We will hopefully be writing each night about the day...! Stay tuned!                                                                                                                                         - Alden Community Church Missions Team 2012