Friday

7am came early but the team is living on Holy Spirit fuel right now going into our final day. After breakfast the team went to the beach to visit Rodney and Roddis at the YWAM center (Crystal, Sheila, and Molly went by scooter). The next hour was worship and praise led by YWAM staff. This is always a powerful time as the team is balancing physical exhaustion with the emotions of the week. Listening to the beautiful music in the open air room with a gentle ocean breeze and the sounds of the sea in the background is a perfect time to reflect and ponder the past week in the presence of God.

Rodney gave us a run-down on current operations at YWAM. The team is always amazed at his faith and attitude and the many "God stories" he shares. Besides the DTS student training, their ministries are weddings, prison feeding and witnessing, traffic police, street kids, church work projects, pastor conferences, and prayer ministry in the park.

After a quick stop to drop off a cane to a blind man the team went to the Nelsons at Project Four. As this is one of the team's continual feeding programs, the team helped serve food to over 150 children and stayed to play games and do crafts.

During the morning the team received news about the important headline of the day in DR. The helicopter that landed Thursday night next to the showing of the Jesus Film was not due to mechanical issues; that was a cover story for the real reason: Joel. Because of ongoing issues between the teachers and government all 18 superintendents in the DR were fired and replaced by Friday morning. Our own Joel was one of those replacements and a helicopter with security personnel was sent for his benefit. Look back to a past blog to what this author called Joel: the real deal. He will now oversee approximately 600 schools in the Azua area!

Friday afternoon means a stop at the center for the blind. Blindness in the DR has ramifications far beyond what a blind person in the U.S. may have. There are limited resources to help those with disabilities and just being mobile is a significant risk. The sidewalks are uneven and full of holes, there are no crosswalks, a deep gutter usually separates the street from the sidewalk, and many obstacles are randomly scattered (not to mention many cars, trucks, and scooters. Crystal, Sheila, and Kim massaged hands while presentations and prayers were made. Donations of walking sticks from the Lion's Club along with audio Bibles from the team were made. It never ceases to impress how this group of individuals continues to strive for (and achieve) success.

The next couple of hours was spent running last errands and preparing for tonight's going-away party. Some of the team got a few minutes of rest or started packing for the trip home.

The team always hosts a going-away/thank-you party for our local ministry partners on the last night. Pizza is shared with laughs, introductions, messages, prayer, song, and a lot of hugs. The Dominicans come dressed in their best and it's an emotional time saying goodbyes never knowing if it's for the last time or not.

A final debrief was held and the team got back to the hotel some time after midnight to pack and get ready for a 7:30 breakfast.

Spent but blessed...so much done....so much emotion