Hashtag Mustache

Hola from the Dominican!

We are excited to write to you about how God has been working in and through His people! We began our adventure with three flights and an overnight in the airport. It’s a rush to be on such a great adventure and reminded me of how we often seek adventure because of the great hunger in our soul. We search to fill the great need for something more. This great need is why we have come to the Dominican – to share with others the great God who fills that need.

As we flew we could see land for many miles and I thought of a great God that has removed our sins as far as the east is from the west and whose praise will come from every nation and tongue. As we began to venture in the Dominican we have faced the risk of the unknown and counted the cost as worth it. Psalm 105:4 Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually. Though we have only been here a few days we have known our great need for salvation as well as His daily presence. We continually need His guidance, strength, and grace.

On Sunday we made our way to a camp to visit a church in San Pedro. We enjoyed the fellowship with dear brothers and sisters. It is a sweet blessing to worship in more than one language and to know that language is not a barrier to the praise of God. The pastor spoke about humility and reminded us that it will take daily perseverance to stay humble. We are who we are by the grace of God alone--not by human ability. Humility requires dependence and allows God to be at work as His power is perfected in weakness. The pastor prayed stating, “We do not have to impress you because you know us.” God intimately knows each of us and wants to help us live in victory each day. This reminder of humility set the stage for our trips to the university this week. We know that God is at work and desire for people to see more of Him than of us.

During the first two days on campus, our team joined up with a team from the Omaha/Lincoln church. We have enjoyed getting to know them and seeing God work through them as well. We start our days with prayer and worship, and then head to the campus to share the great news that God sent His Son to die for us so that we may know Him.

Just as our abilities to speak Spanish varies so do the abilities of the Dominicans to speak English. We trust that God uses our attempts to bridge the language barrier when the conversation seems full of confusion. Our hope is for people to come to know Jesus as their personal savior, to understand what it means to live for Him, and to get plugged in with the group that meets on campus throughout the year. It is fun to have people want to talk to us because we are white “gringos” but we truly desire that they stay for God.

On Monday we made many friends and were able to have a few lengthy conversations. A few of the guys in the group were able to meet with someone to talk about the validity of the Bible and what it is. We saw one person come to accept and put their trust in Jesus to be their personal Lord and Savior! Our time sharing was refreshing despite our growing thirst due to the heat. As we walked toward the building of languages to meet for Bible study a group of girls invited a few people from our team into their classroom. It was a class of students that were waiting for their teacher to arrive so they invited us to come and speak with them. We were able to share the gospel and talk about specific questions. One student was joking with us and then decided to ask a question about being close to God. While the rest of the group continued to share with the classroom I was able to step outside and talk with this girl about how her life had changed and she did not feel close to the Lord anymore. The things she once knew had encouraged her she did not feel like doing anymore. We talked for a few minutes before she had to leave but then were able to meet up with us for dinner and more conversation afterwards. She continues to share her life with us and we hope to have more conversations. It is a great reminder as we translate from English to Spanish of the simplicity of faith. One person simply stated, “You are a follower of Jesus, that is a Christian.” It is such a simple reminded of a wonderful truth.

Tuesday we headed to the campus again and spent more time sharing. Multiple people from the group shared that they had been encouraged by the depth of the conversation that they had been able to have. For example, I spent a few hours reading a book with a girl about the first steps you take or need to know when you first become a Christian. She had so many insightful answers as we talked through the questions and wonderful questions that we were about to answer with God’s word.

God’s grace is incredible and goes beyond our insecurities or failures. As a group we have been reminded that we do not need to measure our own success because we know that God is at work bringing about His purpose and plan. Even when our plans appear to fail, God’s are not weakened. We are not what we do or what we have--even if we have a lot. In a land that knows poverty, we have learned of the riches of God.

Continue to pray that we have the humility to depend on God’s Spirit to guide us and to be tender to His conviction. Pray that our group would have unity, as ‘they will know that we are Christians by our love’. We pray that you are aware of the adventure that God is leading you on even as you continue in the mundane. Praying you are encouraged.

Erin, Emmie, Devon, Kaden, and Zach