Jluy 11th

Can it be our last day in the Dominican?! Yes, I think it is!

Today we were up for breakfast at 7:00 AM. Afterwards we had our devotions, then we broke into three groups (there were three interpreters) and hit the streets in the immediate area of the school/church/mission house inviting people we met to the church to see our skits and hear some testimonies. There was a good turnout! Brad played the guitar and sang, then we had all four skits (there’s another church group here as well) and about five people shared their testimonies including Becca. At the end of our presentations, people were asked to come forward for prayer. Four or five people asked for prayers for health, to find lost loved ones, or for their children; however one young Dominican (he is actually a worker/mason on the orphanage) asked Christ to be his Savior! Another young man rededicated his life to Christ! It was truly wonderful!

We announced it was time to play games for the children. Some kids played soccer, hopscotch, and jump rope. However very soon, a pickup game of baseball began! It was very competitive and everyone had a ton of fun!!

Then another trip to the beach, it was a different beach today. We piled into three vehicles and drove about 45 minutes. Afterwards, we were taken to a lookout with a great view.

We came back to camp and there was a huge line for the showers! Pastor Pedro arranged to have some of the Dominican church ladies prepare dinner for us … or should I say feast! It was delicious and plentiful! We even were given ice cream for dessert! A BIG hit!

We are now sitting, chatting, and playing games. It has been an eventful week. We have many tales to tell when we get home. We’ll see you very soon!

Your CCGF Middle School Team

July 10th

AAAHHHHH!!!! Our last day of hard labor on the orphanage!!! YeeHaa!! Our team began moving block through our ‘bucket brigade’ system after breakfast and devotions this morning. We also hauled sand, cement, and water to mix into yet even more concrete.

We had lunch at 11:30, took off the first layer of dirt, and then went to a new batay. We broke into groups and walked through different areas inviting people to come for prayer and testimonies. There were no skits today, our students wanted a break from performing. There were a lot of people that came including many children. It was Jarrod’s and Brenda’s turn to give their testimonies and then people were asked if anyone would like to come forward for prayer. It was good to see about 12 people stand up. Afterwards, Pastor Pedro helped us hand out candy, small toys, shirts, and sport equipment. It’s great to have him there with us, otherwise the children would ‘mob’ whoever hands things out. Pastor keeps them very well behaved.

A side note on Jarrod: The Haitian children like Jarrod’s hair (his Mohawk). Today, one boy ran his hand over Jarrod’s hair, said something in Spanish, and then pointed to a rooster! So very cute! Jarrod knows a little Spanish and asks the kids if they like his hair, how old they are, if they have brothers and sisters, and their names. He has fun with them.

We came back to the mission for showers and afterwards ome vendors came to sell handmade jewelry and carved ‘knick-knacks’ in the little patio area in front of our common area. Some great deals were made!

Tonight’s dinner was more typical Dominican food than we’ve been having. It was wonderful and there was lots of it!! (The Jamacan lady in the photo on this blog is Momma Cherry. She's a fantastic cook and does everything according to the glory of God.)

Everyone is now getting prepared for evening devotions and that means me too!!! tomorrow night’s blog update will be our last post. It seems hard to believe our time here is almost over.

Your CCGF Youth Mission Team

Thursday, July 9th

We started the day as usual with breakfast, team devotions, and then a personal time of reflection and prayer. Today's focus was on having a heart for the poor. We were challenged to think through how we can make a difference.

In the morning we continued our work on the foundation walls of the orphanage. With the promise of going to the beach in the late afternoon, we worked our tails off under the burning sun. It was good, hard work.

After lunch we traveled to a small community about 25 minutes outside of Barahona called Paulo Alto. This suburb is not a batay but neverthless it has its problems with the teens--alcohol and violence. We split up into two teams and walked the streets knocking on doors and asking families if we could pray for them. Each of us took turns praying for their needs. Then we invited them to come to the local church for our dramas and for a time of spontaneous fun playing baseball, football, and volleyball (the latter with a make shift pole held on both ends by two team members).

We then went to a nearby beach and swam in the Carribean Sea. We negotiated coral reefs and enjoyed pockets of cool water springing up from the ocean bottom. The surroundings were absolutely beautiful. All of us were refreshed.

We closed out our evening after supper with an evening worship and a hands-on devotional project to help us develop a more authentic relationship with God. It was a full and rewarding day.

Until tomorrow, your CCGF Dom Rep Mission Team.

July 8th

Today is the 8th. I’m writing earlier in the day because we have a slight break before dinner. Everyone is still well. We’re all being very careful not to use the water here, even for brushing our teeth. We’ve been successful so far! 

This morning our team visited another batay. The students presented their skits and testimonies again. This batay is more affluent than the first we went to. The residents have a formal, brick school and clinic. Many people came! Pastor Pedro (the pastor who runs this church, school, future orphanage, and sponsors this mission) came with us today. He has a church at all the batays we have visited. He helped us translate along with two others. Our kids passed out candy and small toys to their kids! It was great! Hannah was mobbed!!  Many kids crowded around her clamoring for toys. The bags soon dropped to the ground and the kids scrambled to get as many as possible.

Upon returning to ‘home’, we had lunch and rested for about 30 minutes. We then got to work on the orphanage again, more hauling blocks and mixing concrete. We only worked on the orphanage for an hour and fifteen minutes because of the heat and intense sun. Tomorrow we’ll work in the morning and we can put in more hours.

Last night we listened to their worship band and sang along with them. We are looking forward to hearing more tonight!

Buenos Dias!

July 7th

It’s Tuesday, the 7th. It’s almost 9:00 PM and as I type, the rest of the team is gathering around the tables after our devotions to play scrabble and card games. It has been an amazing day!

After breakfast this morning, our team went to work on helping to build the orphanage. We set an assembly line up and proceeded to move a lot of concrete blocks. We were instructed to set them in a line along the dug foundation for easy placement by the masons. There were three or four masons working and we were able to keep up with them! While the assembly team worked, others on our team carried wet cement in buckets for the masons. There were still others mixing up the actual cement. Much was accomplished!

We had lunch and then rested from the morning for about an hour. Then everyone piled into two vans and we were driven to a batay (a Haitian refugee camp) about 45 minutes away. We stopped near the middle of the village and unloaded. Our group split up, stopping where ever there were people and inviting them to see our plays and hear our testimonies. Many Haitians came! The students performed flawlessly, the Haitians really enjoyed the skits, many people stepped forward in response to Gordon’s invitation to receive Christ, lots of people asked for specific prayers, and finally we handed out candy to the children!!! What a rewarding time!

A quick note to you Moms at home, your children are phenomenal!! They are really, really stepping up and stepping out of their comfort zones. We are so proud of them! Our team is getting to know each other better and drawing closer together.

Everyone is still well and healthy!
Your Middle School Team

July 6th

Today is the 6th, the day of our arrival!! We flew into Santo Domingo last night (Sunday night) around 10:00, were picked up, and drove into the YWAM camp at 2:30 AM. The YWAM facility is located in the town of Barahona. We were tired but super excited about being here.

This morning we got to sleep in until 10:00 AM when breakfast was served. After breakfast, we had drama training for two skits that will be performed in the Haitian refugee camp of Batay (about 40 minutes away from our lodging). In the afternoon YWAM coached us in writing our salvation testimonies which we will share at Batay after the drama presentations.

Later in the afternoon our team played ‘getting to know you’ games and had a lot of fun. Then it was shower time which felt really good to all! Right now, we’re all sitting around tables talking and playing board games. OOPS!!! Dinner is being announced!

Everyone is in good spirits and healthy. All of our flights were on time, and we have all our luggage! Keep up all the prayers – They work!!

Your CCGF Middle School Mission Trip

Today is Thursday the 2nd of July. We have two more days before our Dominican Republic Mission Trip! We will leave Sunday. How excited are we??!!

Our group meeting last week was relaxing and informative. We ‘broke bread’ together and after dinner everyone had the opportunity to state one thing they were looking forward to and one thing they were apprehensive about. I think every person said they were looking forward to meeting and sharing Christ with the D.R. children. For some people, this will be their first opportunity to be in another culture or to be a member of a mission trip. Concerns include the multitude of bugs we will discover and the heat we will encounter. :)

We were given packing lists, departure times, a general schedule while there, and arrival times back home. Robby spoke of the need to search ourselves for our ‘gifts’ or talents to share with the people of the Dominican Republic. Brad played his guitar and we sang. We also had a group prayer and as the evening wore on, our excitement and anticipation grew!

Our group will meet one more time before the 5th departure date. Tonight we are gathering at the Manges’ house for some team building exercises!! Please pray for the wisdom to recognize God’s will and the strength to do it.

Thank you,
D.R. Mission Team