God is faithful and it is well with our souls. We are enjoying each and every day that God has given us in Monte Cristi. We are overwhelmed as we see God at work in and through the people here as well as through our team.
We have been working diligently each day rebuilding the house for Chava and her family. It encompasses a big chunk of our day. We have been able to do CHE home visits in the neighborhood which has been an incredible blessing. We have met new brothers and sisters in Christ as well as people who are interested in learning about Jesus. WAY COOL!!!
We were able to have a special evening treat last night which included ice cream and team time at the beach during sunset. It was breath taking and was a reminder of just how powerful our awesome God is.
We began the morning at the Christian School and was able to perform our puppet show for preschool age children. It was a great morning to hear the sweet laughter of the kids as we shared God's Word with them in a creative way. We are returning this afternoon for the elementary age children as well.
We are mixing, pouring, spreading (that's construction talk!) cement this afternoon and placing the tin on the roof.
Our team is strong and confident in the Lord. He has provided for every need and we are grateful to Him for every experience and person we have encountered. Our team time has been rich and meaningful. Each person's testimony has deeply touched a fellow team member. We are still celebrating the baptisms of Claudine and Lisa!! Praise God for all that He is doing!!
We have a block party planned tomorrow afternoon for the neighborhood. We will perform the puppet show again, provide face painting and balloon animals for the kids!! We plan to paint each other as well. We have plenty of pictures to share with all of you.
We send our love to all of our families. We are praying for you each day and we love you very much. Thank you for allowing us to come on this journey. We have been forever changed...
Love to all in Jesus name,
The DR Team
P.S. Today is Fried Chicken for Lunch!!!!!!!!!! Yeah Baby!!!!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Greetings from the DR
Dear Family and Friends,
Wow! It's amazing to see how God is moving in this place! We are thrilled to be here and the blessing is ours as much as it is the Dominicans.
Here are a few highlights from our team members and missionaries:
Claudine- loved meeting Damian (the youth pastor who is recovering very well from his motorcycle accident last week) and his new bride Suyapa and what a great godly example they are to the community and church
Lisa- astounded that language is not a barrier and she can share the joy and love with Maribel (a deaf and mute church member)
Marlene- enjoyed seeing the multi-cultural and mult-generational people who are working so hard at the worksite on the home we are building
Jenny- had fun sharing our puppet show with Damian and Suyapa and how easy it is to love the people here
Andrew- had the opportunity to give a mini-sermon to the youth
Greg- pleased to see the growth in the church (both with the new church building and activities flourishing)
Jill- how quickly and easily we have connected with the Dominican people; also seeing the team members grow throughout our week
Steve- renewing Dominican friendships from previous trips
Theresa- how incredibly at home she feels here with the Dominicans and how much she enjoys interacting with them
Karl (a friend from Mountain Christian who visits here often)- It's all special!
Valerie (the missionary)- We can't come home to Mountain Christian (our home church), but the "mountain" came to us! God still moves mountains!
Sandy (Valerie's husband, the other missionary)- team is a godsend for various reasons: encouragement for support and calling others to come here for the same mission, being a blessing from home, blessing to know. meet, and fall in love with each one of us!
Although we miss our families, we are drawing closer to the Lord and are inspired that He is the God of this city and He is doing awesome things here!
Love to all,
Theresa, Jenny, Claudine, Lisa, Andrew, Greg, Marlene, Steve, Jill
Wow! It's amazing to see how God is moving in this place! We are thrilled to be here and the blessing is ours as much as it is the Dominicans.
Here are a few highlights from our team members and missionaries:
Claudine- loved meeting Damian (the youth pastor who is recovering very well from his motorcycle accident last week) and his new bride Suyapa and what a great godly example they are to the community and church
Lisa- astounded that language is not a barrier and she can share the joy and love with Maribel (a deaf and mute church member)
Marlene- enjoyed seeing the multi-cultural and mult-generational people who are working so hard at the worksite on the home we are building
Jenny- had fun sharing our puppet show with Damian and Suyapa and how easy it is to love the people here
Andrew- had the opportunity to give a mini-sermon to the youth
Greg- pleased to see the growth in the church (both with the new church building and activities flourishing)
Jill- how quickly and easily we have connected with the Dominican people; also seeing the team members grow throughout our week
Steve- renewing Dominican friendships from previous trips
Theresa- how incredibly at home she feels here with the Dominicans and how much she enjoys interacting with them
Karl (a friend from Mountain Christian who visits here often)- It's all special!
Valerie (the missionary)- We can't come home to Mountain Christian (our home church), but the "mountain" came to us! God still moves mountains!
Sandy (Valerie's husband, the other missionary)- team is a godsend for various reasons: encouragement for support and calling others to come here for the same mission, being a blessing from home, blessing to know. meet, and fall in love with each one of us!
Although we miss our families, we are drawing closer to the Lord and are inspired that He is the God of this city and He is doing awesome things here!
Love to all,
Theresa, Jenny, Claudine, Lisa, Andrew, Greg, Marlene, Steve, Jill
Monday, April 20, 2009
D.R. team trip update
From: lisa robbins
Sent: Sunday, April 19, 2009 8:58 PM
To: Andrea Stross
Hello everyone,
We just wanted to send you the latest update from the DR. Yesterday we began our day at the work site, working on our main project, which is rebuilding a house. While we were doing that, we had a chance to observe the neighborhood and interact with the people here, especially the children. It was very overwhelming to take everything in. The conditions they live in, to us, would be unbearable, but the joy that surrounds them is evident in everything they do. It was a very interesting and emotional experience.
After dinner, we hosted the ladies' night, which went very well. We had devotions with the ladies, and then we had three crafts for them to work on, which they really enjoyed. We were touched by the fact that it's the simple things in life that seem to make them happy. They treasured their paper flowers and the bracelets they made like they were gold.
On Sunday (today), we started the day in Madre, which is a very remote town 40 minutes away from Monte Cristi. We visited with the people there and invited them to a church service, where we also did a puppet show for the kids. The children latched on to us the moment we arrived and walked us hand in hand through their village, and they really seemed to enjoy the time we spent with them.
We then headed off to a private baptism back in Monte Cristi, which Claudine and Lisa decided to participate in. It was a beautiful experience shared by all.
Afterwards we made a visit to the childrens' ward of the local hospital. Luckily, there weren't many sick children, but we perfomed the puppet show again for the few that were there.
Then we attended the weekly church service in Monte Cristi and enjoyed the fellowship with the locals.
We end each day with team time, where we can share our feelings of the day and a little bit about what we've been experiencing. In just two days, we all agree that we are growing tremendously in God's love!
We look forward to giving you another update soon.
Blessings,
The Dominican Republic Team
Sent: Sunday, April 19, 2009 8:58 PM
To: Andrea Stross
Hello everyone,
We just wanted to send you the latest update from the DR. Yesterday we began our day at the work site, working on our main project, which is rebuilding a house. While we were doing that, we had a chance to observe the neighborhood and interact with the people here, especially the children. It was very overwhelming to take everything in. The conditions they live in, to us, would be unbearable, but the joy that surrounds them is evident in everything they do. It was a very interesting and emotional experience.
After dinner, we hosted the ladies' night, which went very well. We had devotions with the ladies, and then we had three crafts for them to work on, which they really enjoyed. We were touched by the fact that it's the simple things in life that seem to make them happy. They treasured their paper flowers and the bracelets they made like they were gold.
On Sunday (today), we started the day in Madre, which is a very remote town 40 minutes away from Monte Cristi. We visited with the people there and invited them to a church service, where we also did a puppet show for the kids. The children latched on to us the moment we arrived and walked us hand in hand through their village, and they really seemed to enjoy the time we spent with them.
We then headed off to a private baptism back in Monte Cristi, which Claudine and Lisa decided to participate in. It was a beautiful experience shared by all.
Afterwards we made a visit to the childrens' ward of the local hospital. Luckily, there weren't many sick children, but we perfomed the puppet show again for the few that were there.
Then we attended the weekly church service in Monte Cristi and enjoyed the fellowship with the locals.
We end each day with team time, where we can share our feelings of the day and a little bit about what we've been experiencing. In just two days, we all agree that we are growing tremendously in God's love!
We look forward to giving you another update soon.
Blessings,
The Dominican Republic Team
Sunday, April 19, 2009
greetings from Monte Cristi
Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2009 8:11 AM
Dear Friends and Family,Our team arrived safely Friday afternoon in Santiago and enjoyed the many sights and sounds on the two hour drive to Monte Cristi. We spent Friday evening unpacking our supplies and heading out into the neighborhood for a prayer walk. This was an awesome time of stopping at local homes and businesses to pray and talk with the residents. We were very warmly greeted and welcomed by all! It is awesome that there are no language barriers when you are all in God's family. The power of a warm smile and a hug goes a long way!
We also saw the construction site where we will begin today's work shortly and met the family to whom the home belongs that we will be continuing to rebuild so that it sits above the grade level (and no longer will have rainwater and dirt from the street washing into the home). We were able to pray specifically with the family outside of the home, which was very special.
We did get some sleep...actually the ladies needed to wake the men up today (!) Even in the midst of all the sounds....the roosters don't really seem to know that they should be quiet until dawn! It is very warm (85-90) and sunny, which is great!
It has been super to talk with the Lamms (the missionaries here) and the Dominicans who are on the church staff. They are doind a wonderful job connecting with the community and serving. They have made us feel so welcome!
Tonight the ladies will be having a "ladies night" for the local women while the men help with a youth service. Tomorrow will be a busy day doing children's programming for church services both here and in Madre.
We look forward to updating you every couple of days. Please know that we are praying for our loved ones at home and we thank you for your continued support and prayers!
In Christ,The Dominican Republic Missions Team
Dear Friends and Family,Our team arrived safely Friday afternoon in Santiago and enjoyed the many sights and sounds on the two hour drive to Monte Cristi. We spent Friday evening unpacking our supplies and heading out into the neighborhood for a prayer walk. This was an awesome time of stopping at local homes and businesses to pray and talk with the residents. We were very warmly greeted and welcomed by all! It is awesome that there are no language barriers when you are all in God's family. The power of a warm smile and a hug goes a long way!
We also saw the construction site where we will begin today's work shortly and met the family to whom the home belongs that we will be continuing to rebuild so that it sits above the grade level (and no longer will have rainwater and dirt from the street washing into the home). We were able to pray specifically with the family outside of the home, which was very special.
We did get some sleep...actually the ladies needed to wake the men up today (!) Even in the midst of all the sounds....the roosters don't really seem to know that they should be quiet until dawn! It is very warm (85-90) and sunny, which is great!
It has been super to talk with the Lamms (the missionaries here) and the Dominicans who are on the church staff. They are doind a wonderful job connecting with the community and serving. They have made us feel so welcome!
Tonight the ladies will be having a "ladies night" for the local women while the men help with a youth service. Tomorrow will be a busy day doing children's programming for church services both here and in Madre.
We look forward to updating you every couple of days. Please know that we are praying for our loved ones at home and we thank you for your continued support and prayers!
In Christ,The Dominican Republic Missions Team
Friday, April 17, 2009
A team of 8 from MCC and other Harford County churches is serving in the Dominican Republic Apr 17-25, 2009
Updates will be posted here and on FaceBook.
Updates will be posted here and on FaceBook.
You can be a prayer partner for Steve and Marlene Adams, Andrew Duggins, Jenny Krichton, Theresa Miranda, Claudine Riportella, Lisa Robbins, Jill Shuck, Greg Lehman in the D.R. - and team administrator Andrea Stross their stateside contact person.
Our team serve under the direction of Sandy & Val Lamm MCC missionaries Monte Cristi, D.R. as part of Christian Dominican Evangelistic Mission
Our team serve under the direction of Sandy & Val Lamm MCC missionaries Monte Cristi, D.R. as part of Christian Dominican Evangelistic Mission
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