Erik Nielsen's group gave us contact information for people that they talked to last week. Two of these contacts, Phillipe and Carlos, have been faithful in meeting up with us. Phillipe became a Christian in 2008 and Carlos just accepted Christ last week! We started going over the Primeros Pasos book with both of them, and we have plans to meet up with them later in the week.

God has provided us with people who are hungry for the Gospel and we have had encouraging conversations. Seeds are being planted, and we are seeing the Holy Spirit work in the hearts of so many people.

God has been faithful in reconnecting us with people from past years, it has provided us with the opportunity to follow-up with them. It has been encouraging to see how they have grown. One of the women named Solange gave an update on her life and she told us about how she is sharing the Gospel. We have been gifted with the ability to see God's work in these peoples life.

Please pray that:

• Phillippe and Carlos will get connected with La Vid
• We will meet up with Smerlyn
• 40 more people to share the Gospel with
• Work through the discipleship workbook with 4 more people

On the university’s campus, there are meeting spots that the locals call Embajadas. Translated, the word means embassies. Each one of these embajadas is a designated space for students hailing from a certain parts of the country, a social embassy for students’ hometowns. They consist of stone benches, tables, and any number of students from none to twenty as students come and go. This is not to say that the Dominicans are segregated, that they dislike talking with strangers. In fact, they are very warm and welcoming. They are willing to take time from their day to talk to perfect strangers and, when approached, not a single person will turn away from discussion. As today being our first day on campus, this was a pleasant surprise. And, as our first day on campus, it was our mission to meet students while they were passing time between classes in these embajadas.

It is difficult speaking with a person that does not know your language. Thankfully many Dominicans relish the chance to test their English skills, especially with Americans. For example, one bright, young, amiable student named Carlos traveled an expensive bus ride from home just to meet us on campus. He greatly wished to speak English with native speakers. Carlos knows of the Gospel but does not yet know the Gospel. He will be the recipient of many thoughts and prayers, much invested time. Like our talk with Carlos, some conversations with the students are deep and take up the time of an hour while others, as a result of the language barrier, are made up of talk of small things. Yet, with each conversation, we approach them as though they are opportunities to impact eternity.

Fortunately, God has also blessed us with impeccable timing. Just as our group was enjoying a few nice slices of cheese, a girl excitedly ran up asking for some cheese that we had just pulled out. It was for her pregnant friend. Immediately following the provolone exchange, the girl asks what our purpose in the Dominican is. It’s hard to ask for a better opportunity to share what we came down here to share.

As we meet new friends and as we reunite with old friends we find that the work God is doing in the Dominican Republic is meaningful and lasting. We pray that we can lead our new friends into their walks with Christ by giving them a good example of what Christ’s love looks like in action. We ask that you pray for soft hearts and souls yearning for the love of Christ. Each day, with the strength God gives us, we will show that love in words and in action.

El Equipo de Suenos (Shaly, Kim, Lindsey, Amelia, David, Jake)

On our first full day in the Dominican Republic, Fuego del Cielo had quite the adventure. We spent a majority of the time at UASD. UASD stands for Universidad Autonomica Santo Domingo. We were touring with our group and a girl named Yuri Valenzuela. Our first stop was at the library and as we were leaving someone said, "I think it is going to rain," and all of a sudden it started thundering and raining and we had to run back to the library. As we were sprinting back to the library there was this random man who was just staring at us in shock. Little did we realize that it was Wilfrey De La Cruz, one of Hillary and Jason's friends from last year. While they were talking, Yuri and I met a man named Luis who we shared the gospel with. He understood that he was a sinner and needed Jesus and understood what it meant to repent. So many amazing stories that happened at the library, it was as if the Lord literally was telling us to go back and He had to create the most spontaneous storm to force us to go back to the library! We spent the rest of the day talking with people and reconnecting. We ended our evening at Adrian Tropical for some delicious Dominican food.

On Sunday we went to San Pedro to visit Sabino's farm. Sabino is the pastor of the church we are connected with in the Dominican. We sung music in Spanish and English which was wonderful to know that there are people all over the world praising Jesus. He shared about how whenever anyone shares the gospel we win. It was a good reminder to just keep sowing. After the sermon, the group made us dinner and we spent time walking around the farm and playing baseball.