After morning devotions led by Mark, the team enjoyed another wonderful Dominican Breakfast. Some of the team was hoping to lose a few pounds on the trip but the abundance of good food is making that hard.
A small victory was had concerning this blog this morning. After walking up and down the street looking for free wifi Shawn was able to find a connection and get the password from the corner store.
The team is showing a little wear from the combination of long days, noisy sleeping conditions (traffic, dogs, and snoring by Betsy) and the emotional stress of witnessing but spirits are high and health is good. This is a very real blessing for a group this size. While about half of the team is new this year, they have gelled extrememely well for one purpose: showing God's glory.
The team split three ways in the morning. A purchasing team went with Dan and Paul to buy needed items. Witnessing teams led by Jim and Shawn went out from the El Bambu restaurant passing out tracts, children's bibles and witnessing to whoever they would come across. As Azua is a typical third-world city, the streets are very busy during the day so there is no end of people to talk about Jesus.
The team then loaded up and travelled to two villages outside of town. While things are poor and lives hard in town, life in the rural villages is more difficult yet. Sweet rice, toys, and crosses were given to the children and the women on the team spent time with the vilage girls painting their hands or faces.
It was really special at the second stop. The church was too small for the crowd we had so the work of the Holy Spirit quickly took over. In a matter of minutes a team was leading the children in the church, a team was leading the women in the yard of a bar and a team was leading a group of men. It's amazing how this village which appeared to be in the control of Satan was now cherishing new bibles. It was another example of how the Holy Spirit can work when His disciples step out in faith.
When the team arrived back to the house around 4pm a meal was served and then an hour or so of down-time to recoup. Around six we went out for the night's activities. It was another night of one group worshipping in a local church and a second group showing the Jesus film. The film was shown in an especially tough part of town but the Lord gave us who he wanted to. The church service again went very well with Hank & Laura making a special impact.
With a team this size it's impossible to report on everything that may happen during the day. So many individual stories are experienced by each of the 14 team members and all the people they come in contact with. Some of these will become special memories that I am sure they will be happy to share with you on their return.
The evening was finished on a celebratory note as the team enjoyed cake and ice-cream at Nathaniel's in-laws in celebration of Dan's and Lance's birthdays. Sonia presented Dan with a present from one of her travels. Another late night but the Holy Spirit is keeping everyone energized.
Until tomorrow, Dios te bendega (God Bless You)
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