Video Done

The 2015 video can be viewed by clicking on the link on the right side of this page. Hope you enjoy.

Epilogue

Looking back after a few days of trying to catch up on sleep, one can more easily put things into perspective. 2015 was a unique year. The team was the smallest in 7 years with only 3 men and 3 women and only 1 first-year member. While we may have had to pull-back a bit on our ministry, it turned out to be quite positive for a number of reasons.

The smaller group allowed Dan & Paul to spend much more time with the team doing day-to-day activities and less time trying to manage 14 people going 2 or 3 directions. The smaller team had more of a close-knit feeling as we did everything together. It meant greater individual participation at morning devotions. It made basic household living easier without mattresses on the floor, less food to prepare, more bathrooms per person, etc. Having fewer numbers also eliminated the need for the bus and allowed us to use just Pablo's truck and Genesis' van. It did mean Paul and Shawn driving more than usual.

This was an experienced team. While it was Deb's first year it was year 3 for Chloe, the 4th for Chris, 8th for Shawn, 10th for Dan and 11th for Paul. As the youngest member that has been on this team (15), it has been fun watching Chloe mature and the relationship she has with her dad. With the start of college this fall it will be difficult for her to return and they took that to heart and cherished every day to make memories that will last. Serving Christ in this capacity with your child is something special.

While team numbers were half of recent years, the ministry activities were only slightly reduced. There was some concern early about finances as team members are solely responsible for raising funds but our supporters have been generous with their blessings. Bibles, tracts and food was all reduced by about 20%. The following items were the major expenditures for 2015:

- 400 adult bibles
- 1080 children's bibles
- 1200 gospel tracts
- 125 wheelchairs (plus a number of walkers, crutches, and canes)
- 825 lbs. of beans and rice (plus oil) to make 275 family sized bags
- continued funding for 2 year-round feeding programs (hundreds of kids fed weekly)
- concrete floors for 2 churches
- tin roofs for 2 churches
- bathroom for church
- 5 mattresses
- other various small projects, items

The wheelchairs were unique this year. Much of our total budget (125 chairs at $200 each) was allocated to this ministry. Besides blessing people with a physical item, it allowed our spiritual ministry into homes and people's lives that we don't always see. We weren't totally prepared for the impact and response that this ended up having. The tears shed in the name of thankfulness to Jesus is something to behold and words cannot do it justice.

The Bible talks about the "body of Christ" as analogous to the human body (1 Cor. 12). Each member has a role for the entire body to be successful in caring out it's mission, all need to be functioning correctly, and every part is vital. We may have had only had 6 individuals but each one is blessed with spiritual gifts that complimented each other to allow the light of Jesus to shine.

We had a leader; someone with the ability to coordinate multiple situations at one time, have an understanding of the overall goal, how to reach that goal, and enable others to believe in that goal. We had a leader/servant; a person that worked in harmony with the leader and gives great effort with usually little recognition. Someone that is able to perform any task asked of them and is really the backbone of the team. We had a teacher; this person is called "pastor" in the DR. This is someone always focusing on the spiritual nature of our mission with the ability to speak the Gospel to the masses. We had another with the gifts of teacher, servant, and mercy. A soft heart with the ability to not only speak the native language but do it with truth, conviction, and compassion. We had another servant; always looking to get their hands dirty and do physical labor but with a touch of mercy and the ability to communicate well with the youth. And we had another member with mercy as their principle gift. While a servant when needed, always looking to the children and showing them the love of Jesus through hugs. The body was complete and functioned well.

While this blog may appear to some to focus on the team and what we did let us be clear. We want this to be about Jesus; only Jesus. Jesus is the reason we spend our own money to leave our families, jobs, and school for 9 days. This is not a vacation but the spiritual rewards are greater. We know what Jesus did for us and we cannot help but tell others and share the blessings He gave us. How much would we have to hate someone to know what Jesus did for us and not tell them? This isn't done out of a sense of duty or obligation (Eph. 2:8-9). We do this because we are called. Jesus chose us and we cannot help but follow Him and do works in His name (Matt. 5:16, James 2:26).

We are blessed. No way to get around that. Blessed with life in the U.S. Blessed with good health and safety while in the DR. Blessed with our ministry partners from the DR. Blessed by our financial and prayer supporters. Blessed by the faith we see in some of the Dominican people who live in conditions less than most of our pets. Blessed in the knowledge that Christ has saved us from an eternal punishment and allowed His Spirit to dwell in us for His glory.

Gracious Jesus!

Day 7 - Seeing God's Hand

The final day of this journey is always somewhat bittersweet. One side of the coin is being tired and looking forward to seeing loved ones after 8 or 11 days. The other side is that this place is a part of us. We will be leaving our “DR family” and there’s so much more to do.

After breakfast, the team went to the YWAM center for devotions. While we don’t actively participate, it’s relaxing and moving to just sit and immerse ourselves in the songs, prayer, and scripture readings of these young people from around the globe that God has called to his service.

Since we didn’t take a trip to the ocean yet this year and it’s only a few miles from YWAM, we drove down to the shore and found we had the beach to ourselves for a little walk. Not exactly to resort standards but a view found only in the Caribbean: bright blue water, palm trees, and mountains in the background. God may not have blessed this country with financial wealth, but he sure did with natural beauty.

A quick stop at the house to load the van and the team headed north to La Vereda. We have a soft spot for this very poor town. It’s some of poorest we see in terms of human needs but very strong in terms of spiritual wealth. The pastor and others continue to tell us that they are wealthy because they have Christ in their hearts. In fact, as we were blessing an elderly woman with food (who we also blessed with a mattress as she slept on a pile of clothes) we ran into a man of great faith. He earned money making coal, had lost his wife, had serious health issues of his own, and was raising 3 children. His thin tin house is pictured below. The team noticed his well-used pocket new testament in his back pocket and asked about it. Without hesitation he pulled it out and praised God for what he had! Not complaining, not asking for a handout, not blaming God or man, but praising His name in the midst of human hardship by anyone’s standards. Moments such as these can be both humbling and uplifting. 

While at La Vereda, the team played with kids and blessed them with food, bibles, and money for a small structure they needed to enclose an electrical box at the school.

At 2pm the team had an appointment to meet with the blind at their center in town. This is an annual ritual that is always inspiring as they never ask for money, only prayer and encouragement. While living with a significant disability in a third-world country they continually look for ways to educate themselves to ensure they are self dependent. In fact, a couple are teachers and one a lawyer! Dan blessed them with audio Bibles made possible through the Lion’s club. Another example of the “wealthy in spirit” blessing the “wealthy in possessions”.

The team then made some last stops to include checking on one of the church builds and delivering crutches to a young man they met the day before who lost a leg in a shooting. This is a “God story” best left to the telling by one of the team. An example of the Holy Spirit’s power and His ability to change hearts using simple Americanos.

While it was a couple of hours before the going-away party the team used that free time to finish errands or just relax. Chloe, Shawn and Deb used that time to walk a few miles down to the tidal flats looking for shells.

The house was full (50?) for the annual pizza party on the last night. Everyone (and their families) associated with the team over the past week comes looking their best for pizza, soda and cake. Kris, Alberto, and Nathanial are there to help with interpreting. It’s an evening of socializing with praise, prayer, good-byes and a few tears.

After cleaning up and a final team meeting to go over the last financial decisions the team was in bed by 12:30am to be ready to leave at 8am.

A final post will be written in the coming days to wrap up the 2015 trip.

God bless

Day 6 - Nearing the Finish

After breakfast Shawn led a devotion from Romans 12 on spiritual gifts.

The team then headed for the Compassion International School where Dan, Paul and Shawn's families each have a sponsored child. They play with all the kids at the school, treat them to ice-cream and then spend a little time with their individual compassion child families. Less than 1% of the over 1 million kids in the Compassion program worldwide get a visit from their sponsors. These 3 children have been visited now at least annually between 8-10 years. While brief, it's a special day in our and their lives.

Pablo had a true Dominican lunch back at the house which consisted of boiled plantain, plantain chips, rice, a pumpkin and chickpea dish and salad.

After a siesta to recover from yesterday the afternoon was spent running errands, tying up loose ends with the wheelchairs from yesterday, and making a concrete wheelchair ramp at the disabled center.

Supper was quick and consisted of lunch leftovers before the team headed out to show the Jesus film for the last time this year. Dan and Deb went to a church service. While the numbers were small, the film was well-received. This is an area that one of our church builds is happening and few are Christian. In fact, a recent hurricane destroyed the last church in the area that was worshipping idols. A message was given to the many kids in attendance and Pastors Anderson and Alberto also had something to say before the praise and worship.

The team finally got their ice-cream stop before returning home. Thanks Dan.

Day 5 - Gifts from God

After breakfast Chris led a devotion on trusting God.

The team split up immediately to prepare for the big wheelchair project. Dan, Paul and Kris ran errands while Shawn took Chloe and Deb to the marketplace to pass out tracts. While minimal Spanish can be spoken between the three, the gospel of Jesus transcends language. They are always warmly received and about 300 tracts were passed out in only 30-45 minutes. 

Later in the morning was the beginning of probably the largest single-day project this team has undertaken in terms of both financial and time. Of the 125 wheelchairs purchased, 75 were scheduled to be distributed through the Disabled Center using the Blind Center facilities. The chairs (in addition to crutches, walkers, and canes) had to be transported 10 at a time from a warehouse to the Blind Center. (It finally gave Chloe a chance to do the hard physical work she’s been looking forward to.) Part of the team transported and part of the team unboxed and assembled.

It took a lot of planning and things didn't go perfect but in the end every thing turned out great. Vehicles of all sorts (usually motorcycles) would drop someone off, a team member would help them into a new wheelchair, and then push them into the building where their name was checked off the list. They were then treated to a sandwich and lemonade before being wheeled into the back courtyard. When all had arrived prayers and praise were shared, hugs given, and tears shed. While a ton of work had to be done to make this happen, seeing all those emotional faces praising God was well worth it.

The Familia brothers had invited the team for supper earlier in the week so chicken, salad, and cheese bollitos (yucca) were served on their veranda.

Because of such a full day, by the time the team got to the site where the Jesus film was to be shown it was dark. We usually like to get to the site an hour prior to set-up, play music and canvass the area to encourage people to attend. To our surprise there were about 100 kids already sitting in chairs in the middle of the street waiting for us.  What joy to be welcomed in such a way! After the start of the film about another 50-100 people showed up to make it a special night. A very poor area but such an event. A moon almost full, many stars in the sky, 80 degrees,150+ people intently watching the Jesus film which was followed by a message on Biblical Manhood and Children. Genesis and his brother the local pastor also gave a call to prayer and music and praise followed.

The Team retired by 11pm after the nightly debrief: exhausted, some minor health issues otherwise in good spirits.

Day 4 - God is Good

After our typical breakfast of fruit, toast, and eggs, Paul led the devotion on the deepest faith. He took us to the book of Job where we discussed the faith of some of the early patriarchs.

On Sunday morning, the men typically head to the prison in Azua. There are always a few security issues as we are enclosed with them in their courtyard. Vacation tip: don't end up in a prison of a 3rd-world country; not pleasant by any imagination. Each of the guys gave a message pertinent to the men and their current "status". Two cases of soap and two cases of Bibles were also delivered.

While the men were in the prison, the girls went to a church service that was dedicated to women/girls with unwanted pregnancies. Teenage pregnancy is quite common here and some are as young as 14. Because of financial reasons, many become homeless. This ministry is trying to help them in their time of need. Kris gave a message.

Ham and cheese empenadas for lunch hit the spot.

Sunday afternoon is usually a rest time and the past few years have been spent at the beach. The team decided to go on a "Sunday drive" instead. We visited two of the church builds we are helping to finance, the site of the future home of an Azua mission center that Nathaniel and the team are looking to build, and at the home of Mileisy who was a past member of the team as our house keeper. Such a pleasant personality.

After a quick chow down of Pablo's famous burgers and fries, we headed to the Jesus film site: another village outside of town. It started small but the crowd grew quite large quickly (maybe 150?). They were especially attentive and messages were given by the local pastor, Genesis and Shawn ("Who is Jesus?").

Like every night, the team traveled back to the house, unloaded vehicles, and did a debrief to be finished by 11pm. No ice cream, again.

A big day tomorrow for us so continue to pray. Gracias.