Sunday

Upon arrival in the DR on Saturday afternoon the team got busy immediately and visited the mission building to see the progress and meet with the locals. A short prayer/music service followed. This was a great way for the 5 first-time members to experience our mission right away.

Because of logistical issues with the house we rented in the past, the team is staying at the local hotel. While it does complicate some things slightly, the plus side is that it allows us better sleeping/hygiene conditions.

The base of operations is Nataniel's garage and Shawn led devotions there at 7:30 focusing on what it means to be a true follower of Jesus. After a quick breakfast the men went to witness in the prison while the girls stayed behind to package food. Our retired cops returned with a different perspective.

The team then traveled to the Compassion School to spend time with the kids playing, face painting and learning about the program. Dan, Paul, and Shawn have children here so they were able to spend some time with them also. The team helped with the feeding and delivered ice cream treats. Less than 1% of the over a million Compassion kids world ever get a visit from their sponsor and ours have seen their's for at least 10 years now.

The disabled center was the next stop. We heard their cries and made efforts to better their situations. A message of hope was given. A difficult emotional stop.

That night some went to the church service in Nataniel's garage while the rest showed the Jesus film in a local community. Maybe 100-150 were in attendance. A message focusing on biblical family relationships was give prior to worship music. 

The evening concluded with birthday boy Dan buying ice cream downtown and our daily debrief back at the hotel.