Final Update
What a great week we had! It was amazing to see God provide in every way possible. With it being Holy Week, campus closed and we were not able to have English class from Wednesday on. We also had to say goodbye to some of our new friends because they were going to their home towns to be with their families. God was faithful in bringing in new people to the English class that we, as a team, had not had the chance to meet yet.
Wednesday was a great day. We spent most of the day with a group of friends/classmates from the university and Abigail, JD, and Sara had the opportunity to lay out the gospel for two of them. They expressed understanding and have very soft hearts to hear of what God has given us as a gift. One of them is just not ready yet to take that step of faith. We also got to go to the orphanage which was an eye-opener for some of us who have never left the country. The most encouraging part was that we had 11 Dominicans to 5 Americans. They were so eager to go with us and help translate.
On Thursday David And JD were able to hang out with Felix who had rededicated his life to Christ on Tuesday. They were able to go through the Bible study for most of the day. Sara and Abigail were able to hang out with Anlly (Angie) and Brenda during that time. Thursday night was our farewell party which got cut a little short due to a power outage at La Guibia. However, prior to that we got to see a few new believers get baptized and Anlly rededicated her life to Christ. Shaly got to share with a woman named Sidhartha on the beach and pray with her to receive Christ as well.
About half of our group left on Friday so we combined who was left and headed out to the Old City. Friday turned out to be a very chill day, just hanging out at the hostel with our new Dominican friends and new believers. Even though our group had taken the day to relax and fellowship the Lord was still active. The door was opened for some of the guys to have conversation with a young man named Frankelis who had been ministered to for the past year by Mikel. The Lord allowed JD to share his testimony which ended up being nearly identical to Frankelis. Through God's grace, the message was received and Frankelis accepted Christ has his Savior!! It was the perfect ending to a incredible time in the Dominican Republic.
I believe I can speak for the team when I say that we saw God do some great things. He is definitely at work in the DR. Please pray for the people of the Dominican to see a need for community and fellowship. Pray for Anlly as she now faces some difficult things to deal with at home after receiving Christ. Pray for Reisi, that she would see the need for Christ in her life. Pray for Rafael and Santiago as they appear to have soft hearts but just aren't ready to ask Christ into their hearts. Lastly pray for Yuleisy and Angel that they will get plugged in at La Vid and grow in their faith and continue to reach out to new believers.
We are all sad to be leaving but we know God has great things planned for the people of this nation. They were all so kind, open to talk about the Gospel, and willing to hear what we had to say. I know we will all be bringing back different things from this trip but I think one thing we all will be bringing back is an understanding of God's love for all nations and His people.
To HIM be the glory,
David, JD, Abigail, Sara, and Shaly
Wednesday was a great day. We spent most of the day with a group of friends/classmates from the university and Abigail, JD, and Sara had the opportunity to lay out the gospel for two of them. They expressed understanding and have very soft hearts to hear of what God has given us as a gift. One of them is just not ready yet to take that step of faith. We also got to go to the orphanage which was an eye-opener for some of us who have never left the country. The most encouraging part was that we had 11 Dominicans to 5 Americans. They were so eager to go with us and help translate.
On Thursday David And JD were able to hang out with Felix who had rededicated his life to Christ on Tuesday. They were able to go through the Bible study for most of the day. Sara and Abigail were able to hang out with Anlly (Angie) and Brenda during that time. Thursday night was our farewell party which got cut a little short due to a power outage at La Guibia. However, prior to that we got to see a few new believers get baptized and Anlly rededicated her life to Christ. Shaly got to share with a woman named Sidhartha on the beach and pray with her to receive Christ as well.
About half of our group left on Friday so we combined who was left and headed out to the Old City. Friday turned out to be a very chill day, just hanging out at the hostel with our new Dominican friends and new believers. Even though our group had taken the day to relax and fellowship the Lord was still active. The door was opened for some of the guys to have conversation with a young man named Frankelis who had been ministered to for the past year by Mikel. The Lord allowed JD to share his testimony which ended up being nearly identical to Frankelis. Through God's grace, the message was received and Frankelis accepted Christ has his Savior!! It was the perfect ending to a incredible time in the Dominican Republic.
I believe I can speak for the team when I say that we saw God do some great things. He is definitely at work in the DR. Please pray for the people of the Dominican to see a need for community and fellowship. Pray for Anlly as she now faces some difficult things to deal with at home after receiving Christ. Pray for Reisi, that she would see the need for Christ in her life. Pray for Rafael and Santiago as they appear to have soft hearts but just aren't ready to ask Christ into their hearts. Lastly pray for Yuleisy and Angel that they will get plugged in at La Vid and grow in their faith and continue to reach out to new believers.
We are all sad to be leaving but we know God has great things planned for the people of this nation. They were all so kind, open to talk about the Gospel, and willing to hear what we had to say. I know we will all be bringing back different things from this trip but I think one thing we all will be bringing back is an understanding of God's love for all nations and His people.
To HIM be the glory,
David, JD, Abigail, Sara, and Shaly