Archive for 2015

Home Archive for 2015

With our time split between Santiago and Santo Domingo the week seemed to fly by. Here is a recap of the second half of our week.

Wednesday was an encouraging day in Santiago. We were able to meet back up with people we met earlier in the week and help connect Christians with each other and encouraged them to have weekly fellowship. The group decided to meet on Tuesdays to have a bible study. It was encouraging to see the believers getting people's contact information and start to plan for future bible studies. It was also really awesome to see God lead people to the group. We were getting ready to have lunch and a girl name Annie came up to us. She said she was a Christian and wanted to get connected with other Christians on campus. She then asked us if we could have a bible study after lunch, which we did! It was awesome to see her zeal for The Lord. You can be praying that the Christians on campus would be faithful in meeting each week and that they would bring their friends. Wednesday evening we traveled back to Santo Domingo and linked back up with the other groups.

Thursday and Friday we went to campus with the rest of the teams and were able to meet up with friends from past years and we also had many opportunities to share the gospel. One thing we were really encouraged by was God's faithfulness in bringing people to us that He wanted to hear the gospel. We talked to quite a few people who had been shared with in years past or just last week and were able to water seeds that were already planted by our brothers and sisters. It was obvious that the Lord is trying to get a hold on their hearts as they have heard the gospel many times now.

Friday evening La Vid had their weekly meeting at our hostel and we were all able to join them. This was a really encouraging time to see brothers and sisters in the faith worship The Lord and come together in fellowship. There were also some new faces there with was encouraging as well. Some of our men encouraged them to continue to share the gospel after our teams leave and they also emphasized the importance of fellowship. You can pray that more people would get connected with La Vid and that their relationships with each other would be a light on campus.

It's crazy to think that we head back to Iowa tomorrow, the time seemed to fly by. We're so encouraged by everything The Lord has done in Santiago and Santo Domingo over the last two weeks and we would encourage you to continue to pray for our brothers and sisters and pray for more laborers in the Dominican as well.

Team Hi-Q,

Greg Altmaier, Israel Lopez, Amelia Gibson, Megan Lyon, Kim Sadewasser, Rachel Bohacek

Today a few of us went to various places in the Dominican and God used us in many ways. The girls headed to San Pedro to meet up with the child, Adrian, that Nicole sponsors through Compassion International. They were blessed with the privilege of meeting him and his family and with seeing how the money she sends helps Compassion to impact the lives of children and their families. Compassion not only helps with the physical needs of families in deep poverty, but also helps them come to know the Lord so they might have an eternity with God. They take time to educate these children and better their home lives and their spiritual, mental, and emotional health. Not only did Adrian get these benefits, but his mom, uncle, and grandma became Christians through the program! It was a moving opportunity for the girls. Here are a few photos of Nicole and Adrian.

Tim had the opportunity to join Israel as his film crew and experience the Dominican culture. He was reminded of Romans 8, about how we may suffer but are brought to glory in God through Christ. He got to see first-hand a lot of the suffering, as well as the lifestyle of many of the Dominicans. It reminds us of how thankful we are for the chance to share our faith with the Dominicans and see some of them come to know God.

The other missionaries, including Pat and Ed, went to campus and were able to witness many people chose to accept in Christ in to their lives. Around one o’clock, the group was in the process of leaving for lunch when Pastor Terry got into a deep conversation with a Dominican. Shortly after, both David and Ed also began some really great conversations. All three conversations led to salvations in Christ, within 15 minutes of each other! It is really great to see how God is growing the relationships between the Dominicans in La Vid and how they are getting connected with those who are choosing to let Christ be Lord of their life.

We are reminded how none of us can work on our own, but rather we may merely plant the seed or water it but it is God who grows the fruit. Through each of our experiences today, we were humbled to see God working. We are excited to one day see the full fruit of our labor here in Heaven, where will see how God took the little steps of faith we made and multiplied them to make an impact far beyond anything we could have ever imagined. Praise God for the many salvations and for the work being done here daily. Romans 10:1-13.

From,
Ed, Lauren, Loren, Nicole, Pat & Tim

Update from Santiago Round Three (New Group)!

Greetings from Santiago! God is doing big things in this city, so our team was sent here on Monday to follow up with the believers that the first team met. We traveled from Santo Domingo to Santiago Monday morning, dropped our bags at our house, had a picnic in our taxi and arrived at campus in the early afternoon. We were able to meet up with Marcos and Jailenny shortly after arriving on campus and we were encouraged by their excitement to meet us. They had nothing but good things to say about the first group and were excited to join us on Tuesday to help translate and meet more people. Even though we were only on campus for the afternoon, we had time to get our bearings and meet some new people. We were amazed by God's sovereignty in providing English speakers and how He brought the nation's to us, as two of our girls met a girl from the Middle East who was able to hear the gospel.

On Tuesday we were able to meet Alexis (who was baptized last week) in the morning and he jumped right in and helped us share the gospel with multiple people in the morning. Jailenny also met us on campus in the morning (even though she didn't have any classes) and helped translate for us. We were encouraged to see her taking ownership of her faith and sharing boldly with people. After lunch our team split into smaller groups again and the Lord really seemed to multiply our efforts. We were encouraged by the following things:

- the men were able to have a bible study with Marcos, Alexis, and Gabriel (he's not a believer, but he's so close)
- the Dominican men's excitement to organize a group to meet weekly to study God's word
- that God provided English speakers for us to share with
- meeting Frameli, a Christian girl, who was excited to join with other Christians on campus
- many more encouraging conversations and opportunities for follow up tomorrow

We'll be on campus Wednesday before heading back to Santo Domingo in the evening. We're excited to see what God will do tomorrow!

You can pray that God would continue to work in Santiago and that our Dominican brothers and sisters on campus would be committed to meeting together and studying God's word and would continue to share their faith after we leave. Pray for Gabriel's salvation.

Team Hi-Q
Greg Altmaier, Israel Lopez, Amelia Gibson, Megan Lyon, Kim Sadewasser, Rachel Bohacek, Terry Amann

As we write you this update several of our members are sitting at the Newark airport waiting for their flight to Des Moines. Returning after such an amazing trip will make adjusting back to life in Iowa difficult. God blessed our time in both Santo Domingo and Santiago so much. We heard it said that you cannot have much impact on a short term mission trip. They have a large impact on you, but not much on the locals. We have found part of that to be true of our mission trip to the Dominican Republic. Yes, it has greatly changed all of us, but we believe, thanks to the Lord, we have had an incredible impact on the Dominican Republic as well.

Since the last time we wrote you, God greatly opened doors for us in Santiago. On Wednesday we were able to host two campus Bible studies, with about 15 Dominicans between the two of them at the University of Santo Domingo at Santiago. This was such a huge blessing, especially since only two days before we did not know anyone at that campus. God opened so many doors for us.

Prior to the first bible study, Pastor Tim and Laura were able to meet up with two young students that had received the message of the gospel with soft hearts on Tuesday. The group talked through some questions these students had and reiterated the gospel. The two students walk over and join the bible study, and stayed afterwards to be introduced to Alexis. We are praying they have a real desire to grow in the faith that was planted in their hearts, and that they connect with Alexis next week.

At the Spanish and English Bible study both Dominicans and Americans shared their testimonies and studied Ephesians 2 together. Bettina was brave and shared her whole testimony in Spanish. During the first bible study, a young woman named Jailenny saw us meeting and stopped to listen. She was already a Christian, and has been looking for a community of believers. She had class and said she would come back afterwards. Alexis then made a pitch to start a new group of believers that would labor to bring a biblically modeled community to UASD Santiago. Jailenny did return and was able to hear the vision for this community. The rest of the day was spent meeting with other Dominicans one on one and sharing the Gospel throughout the campus. Several Dominicans joined us and helped us translate.

That afternoon, following the Bible studies, we asked our cab driver to drive us down to a nearby river so Pastor Tim could baptize Alexis in the river. It was such an encouragement for all of us. We are so proud of Alexis and amazed at his maturity in the faith. Following the baptism, Alexis joined us at our apartment and all of us went out to eat. We had our new friend Marcos join us at a restaurant he used to work at. That night everyone came back to our place for a time of games and fellowship.

The next morning Duane and Tim had to leave us, but we met up with Marcos and Alexis on campus. Marcos decided to recommit his life to Christ that day and go through a discipleship book with us. Our group leader Greg Baker and Bettina spent some time with Alexis sharing with him the vision of the church and the great opportunities we see the Lord opening at UASD Santiago and the role he will play in that. We are glad to have met Alexis and will do everything we can to support him.

We hosted another Bible study on campus and had about eight Dominicans join us. We studied 2 Timothy 4, which was the apostle Paul’s final letter. We wanted some insight from a hero of the faith’s final words. After all, we share the most crucial things for our final words. The time in Santiago was used to build into believers, as well as build a foundation of brothers and sisters in Christ at the UASD Santiago campus, to see where God could take this group in the future. We pray that we will see an active community of believers who share and live life together as a family and work to live out the Bible, much like those in the early church did and we do at Walnut Creek.

That night Jailenny joined us for a meal at our home. She was kind enough to make the meal for us when the Americans were quite confused on how to make Dominican rice and chicken. And the meal was superb! That evening we said good bye first to our friend Alexis, then Jailenny, and finally, Marcos. It was hard to say good bye and we had to hold back tears. It is amazing how close God grew us in just a few short days, but leaving Santiago was so difficult.

Friday morning we headed back to Santo Domingo. We got to spend time with friends at UASD, share the Gospel, and have one last church service as La Vid. That night our group began to head for home. We all cannot wait until God brings us back to the Dominican Republic. Until then we will work to fulfill the Great Commission at our home, Des Moines.

If you ever want to travel to a place that is full of genuine, hospitable, and kind people you will not find a better place than the Dominican Republic.

Praying for the RD,
Tim, Duane, Greg, Kendall, Colleen, Bettina, and Laura

Although we are all sad to be leaving the Dominican today, we have all been greatly encouraged in our faith during our time here.

Before we came on the trip, Erik was praying to be able to meet up with two people that accepted Christ into their hearts last year. His prayer was answered! He was able to meet up with two Dominican friends from last year and encourage them in their faith.

This was Stephanie’s first trip to the Dominican, and she was able to meet many Christian friends from La Vid. She was greatly encouraged by their desire to follow Christ. She was able to spend some time reading the Bible with Dominican friends and it was awesome to see how Christ continues to work in their hearts even after the Iowa Teamleaves each year.

One thing that Ellie was encouraged by was God’s sovereignty throughout the trip. Even though many of the plans that Ellie made to meet up with new friends during the week fell through, she was still able to see God working through her. She was reminded that even though she may not see the fruit of her labor immediately, God’s word never goes out in vain. Isaiah 55:11 was a great reminder of this for all of us.

“So is my word that goes out from my mouth:

It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

Mitch got to hang out with friends from last year. He was also able to make new friendships in Christ this year, and meet new friends from La Vid.

April spent most of her time this trip reading with her old friend Miguel who accepted Christ last year. Showing him how to journal and watching him learn how to read God’s word has been amazing. Other than that, we also met (probably) the only Malaysian out of the 180,000 studentsat UASD (that’s a 0.0005% odds), but really, what are odds when it comes to God? We (the Malaysians) have been mind-blown by how we have gotten to share the gospel in our own language in a country whose language we don’t speak. God is indeed the God of all nations. April was also really encouraged by the Cookies ‘N Cream Oreos in the Dominican (:

This year was Kodee’s fourth trip and she was excited to meet new friends and see old ones! God continues to be faithful in the lives of people here in the Dominican Republic. It’s awesome to be able to meet up with people from the very first trip and see how God continues to pursue their hearts.

Even though we are only here for one week each year, it’s awesome to see how God continues to work in the hearts of our brothers and sisters in the Dominican Republic.

Unfortunately, many of our group members got sick during our trip. Please keep them in your prayers as we return home. Please also pray that the people we met would live their lives for Jesus, even after we are gone. We also ask you to pray for those who we shared the Gospel with, that they may give their lives to the Lord. Pray that we will have safe travels home, and for comfort for those who have to travel while they are sick.

“16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” – 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Our group (Tim Rude, Duane Laugerman, Greg Baker, Colleen Bragg, Laura Brill, Kendall Schroll, and Bettina Khanthongdy) arrived in the Dominican Republic on Friday afternoon. We began our time in the city of Santo Domingo but have journeyed on a new mission trip for our church to the city of Santiago, which is about 2 hours north of Santo Domingo.

Upon arrival to the Dominican Republic we were greeted with a very hot and humid climate, friendly faces, and a language barrier that, at the beginning, was very overwhelming. Thanks to the hospitality and grace of the Dominicans, and even more grace from our Lord, we have been able to have a huge impact even with the language barrier.

Our time in Santo Domingo was only three quick days, but we saw so much in that time. We had the opportunity to visit with members of La Vid, which is a sister student ministry at the University of Santo Domingo. They have all become dear friends of ours, and it was a great time of encouragement to fellowship with them. We also had the opportunity to visit our sister church in San Pedro where we witnessed many baptisms and got to meet even more of our brothers and sisters.

We’ve had several opportunities to go to the University and witness on campus. With the help of Dominicans who were willing to translate and many of our own team members who speak excellent Spanish, we got to share the Gospel with many students on campus as well as at Guibia, a public beach on the Atlantic Ocean. At Guibia, several of our team members had the opportunity to witness to some of the street kids, many of whom do not have a home, and some who look as young at 8. One of the conversations on the beach was with a believer who was following Christ, but after struggling with repetitive sin, decided to walk away. He had begun praying to God that he would like to return, but he did not know how. We had the opportunity to encourage him and remind him of the Lord’s love and grace, and that He was calling him home. He plans to attend church service on Friday. Please pray that he does.

On Monday we journeyed to Santiago, which has a satellite campus of the University of Santo Domingo. We do not know what the Lord has for our church in the future here, but there are a lot of excellent opportunities, which could include a campus Bible study and ministry similar to La Vid, and maybe an eventual church plant. For now we will labor and see where the Lord leads.

Our first day on campus the Lord brought us to three Dominicans who speak English. They have been so gracious and helpful and have been willing to read the word of God with us. Overall, the students have been kind and open across campus which has resulted in many great conversations. Many are interested in the Gospel, and we continue to pray they will all actively live out God’s word. We are so thankful for the favor God has given us here.

Yesterday we spent some time with Alexis, who now lives in Santiago, but was a member of La Vid in Santo Domingo. Alexis has an amazing understanding of God’s word, and we know the Lord will do great things through him. Alexis got baptized and will be joining us on campus as we continue to labor.

Alicia Jones has also joined us in Santiago. She has been in the Dominican Republic for the past few months laboring with La Vid in Santo Domingo. She has been so helpful here with her wisdom, love, and ability to fluently speak Dominican-style Spanish.

Today we will also be hosting two Bible studies on campus. With several students interested in God’s word, we felt that it would be wise to host two Bible studies today to better fit the schedule of the students we’ve met. We are planning to discuss God’s word together and share our testimonies.

We look forward to further updating you on our work here in Santiago. The Lord has been so gracious to us in a city we started with knowing no one.

Praise God!
Tim, Duane, Greg, Colleen, Laura, Bettina

Hola from Equipo Despuerto!

Monday morning our group ate breakfast together and then climbed the 7 floors up to the rooftop to have worship with the entire Iowa team. After worship, we prayed as a group and headed to the Supermercado to pick up lunch before going to campus. Once we got to campus, we split into groups to share the gospel with the students. We also reunited with many friends from previous years.

Toward the end of our day, we were getting ready to leave for dinner, and our Dominican friend Izael encouraged us to talk to three girls sitting outside of the languages building. Erik, Mitch, and Stephanie started sharing the gospel with them. Another friend joined them shortly after we began sharing, and the group continued to grow until we were sharing with 17 people! Thankfully our friend, Steve Rosa, joined us to help translate. Some were Christians and were encouraged by what we were doing and wanted to help their friends learn about Jesus. They were excited when we handed out the information about “Intercambios” (an opportunity for Dominicans to practice English with native speakers) and many told us that they would join us later this week.

We then went to an authentic Dominican restaurant for dinner. We enjoyed spending time with Steve, a Christian from the Dominican Republic whom we met a few years ago and have gotten to know fairly well. We also enjoyed getting to know a new friend, Dairon. He and Mitch have become good friends – and we’ve appreciated the time investing in him. Alicia also joined us. We had fun laughing and learning about the Dominican from her.

After our dinner of delicious Dominican food, we looked at our bill and saw that we had been able to feed 9 people for $28. We also may or may not have eaten about three dessert courses that night. :) It was a good night of fellowship for our group.

Please continue to pray that the gospel would go out and that we would be able to disciple people. God is at work in the DR – and we are thankful to be working alongside Him!

Stephanie Gaub, Kodee Wright, Mitch Post, Erik Nielsen, April Tan and Elizebeth Tan

We call ourselves “The Enmercíoneros,” and the first two days have been fantastic! On Saturday, we all walked to the University of Santo Domingo to take a tour and to get a feel for the campus since all of us but Ernesto have not been here. It was really encouraging to meet Ernesto’s bestie, Ezequiel, on campus and to meet some of his friends. Ezequiel became a Christian last year and it was encouraging to see him continuing in La Vid and being faithful and growing in the Lord. Then we went to a restaurant called El Canuco and ate a Dominican styled buffet where there was some live dancing called Meringue. Eventually they grabbed the whole group to dance, and we all learned some pretty neat moves. Afterwards we walked back to campus and ran into a rainstorm but were able to seek shelter right before it downpoured! So we waited it out at a Wendy’s and prayed for our upcoming time on campus for God to open up some great opportunities. The rain eventually stopped, and we continued onto campus.

Upon arriving we split up into our groups to find people to share the Gospel with. Shelby and Ernesto met a girl named Gena who did not speak English at all really, but she was open to talk about what she believed in. One thing that we want to emphasize to these people here is Ephesians 2:8 where it says that you are not saved by good works but by the grace of Jesus Christ. We also invited the people that we met at campus to come back to our hostel for a fiesta and to get connected with La Vid. We’re excited for what the Lord is going to do the rest of this week and ready to get back on campus during the week!

Some things to be praying for would be:

1. Individuals to be saved and to be connected with La Vid

2. We wouldn’t be discouraged by the language barrier

3. To sow the Gospel at the University and entrust these people to the Lord

4. God would humble their hearts and for them to understand that they cannot be saved through their good works

5. For safety, good attitudes, and love for one another in our fellowship

Thank you for your prayers! Hasta Luego, Colleen Frank, Brooke Chilton, Rylee Willett, Ernesto Escobar, and Shelby Berg.

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Update from Team Hi-Q!

Update from Como Un Hefe!

Update from Santo Domingo and Compassion International!

Update from Santiago, Round Three (New Group)!

Update from Santiago, Round Two!

Hola from Santo Domingo!

Hola from Equipo Despuerto, Round Two!

Que lo que from Los Mensejeros!

Greetings from Santiago

Baptisms of Dominican Believers

Update from Mike and the Ikes!

Hola from Equipo Despuerto!

Update from Los Mensejeros

Hola from the Enmercíoneros

Greetings from Los Soldados!

Mission 2015