Monday, April 11, 2011

Dominican Republic team Mon11Apr update

Hola Families!

There is so much to tell you since you were last updated. It will be hard to fill you in on all of the details since so many activities filled the past couple days, but we will try our best! We spent Friday night enjoying the company of the church leaders and getting to know them better over ice cream sundaes, minute to win it games (which were such a hoot) and a mean game of spanish word Bingo! The core group of leaders in the church are such willing servants and are so appreciative of our efforts. They have all made us feel so very welcome and cared for. It was nice to see them with their spouses just enjoying a fun evening.

Each evening, the last thing we do before turning into bed is to spend a little time together as a team. This "team time"has been a special way to reflect on our day, share with each other about the things that may have touched our hearts that day. This is a real time of bonding for our team and a really nice way to end our day.

We woke up bright and early on Saturday morning... and after a...shall we say......... refreshing "bucket shower"......we began to prepare for our big event of the day- a women's retreat for the leaders at 5 churches in the area. Fourteen women joined us for an overnight event that included teaching workshops, a craft, food, and worship. Denise, Susan and Juniper led a workshop related to mothering young children. We gave them some fun ideas of things to do with their own children and we gave them a copy of the book "The Power of A Positive Mom"in Spanish so they can use the information to help equip moms at their own churches. They used many props to help them understand the concepts we were teaching...who ever thought gumdrops, toothpicks and playdoh could be so much fun! Simultaneously, a workshop geared towards mothering teens was happening led by Theresa, Claudine & Lisa. Not surprisingly, we discovered that regardless of your culture, country or language, mothers of teenagers have the same worries and concerns. This group really bonded through mutual encouragement and ended a beautiful session with hugs and tears.

Wendy is such an asset to the team. She was able to really connect and challenge the women during a workshop about marriage. She provided the women with some valuable tools to use at home to strengthen their own marriages and to encourage other women in their churches to be the kind of wives that God wants us all to be. Claudine and Samantha shared some valuable advice for us all during this workshop. The DR women aren't the only ones who want to put these newly aquired skills into practice..our team misses our awesome husbands.

Helen and Jill (pronounced "Hill" in the DR) taught a workshop about friendship and compared cultivating good friendships with the preparation and enjoyment of a homemade chocolate chip cookie. They used real cookies during the demo and had everyone's undivided attention. In case you were wondering, a woman's love for chocolate is universal!

Kylie did a fabulous job explaining spiritual gifts. She gave all the leaders spiritual gift assessments that they can take for themselves and offer to the women in their church to help them discover their gifts and begin to better use them to serve with in their church and their community. The women seemed very receptive to this tool that Kylie provided. The children here, however, seem most fascinated with her long red hair.

Another highlight of the retreat day was a craft time. Susan (aka Susana in Espanol) lovingly prepared the materials to allow the women to create personal journals to use to capture their own prayers and dreams. We encouraged them to use these journals during daily quiet times with God. It was neat to see the expressions on their faces as they created these beautiful journals. The women loved the colorfully feminine patterned papers! I think it is fair to say that scrapbooking is NOT a popular hobby in the DR.

The last workshop of the day was presented with the finely tuned Spanish skills of our own DJ Jazzy Jenny! She taught the women how to incorporate the apprentice model in their churches as they train new leaders to take on new roles with in the church.

It was definitely a full day of teaching and sharing, but all the women were so attentive and open. Our team was so touched when some of the DR church leaders shared with us how much they learned and how they looked forward to using the books and information shared.

We were exhausted by the end of the day...but not too tired for a pajama party, Samantha style. So fun to see these ladies relax and enjoy a little pampering with nail polish, Satin Hands, flip flop decorating, dancing, jewelry making and a t shirt station. The ladies that came created the most elaborate and beautiful T shirts to wear to remember our time together.

Sunday.....after a refreshing bucket shower..... we all piled and we do mean PILED into the church's van to head to church in a nearby town, Buenos Aires. We were all so amazed that such a simple church service in such a simple setting with out the luxuries of sound systems or instruments could be so beautifully moving! Pastor Damion gave such a heartfelt message that even the women on our team who do not speak Spanish were able to understand the essential meaning.

After lunch together we headed to the BEACH! This time, we all piled into the church's open air truck! We felt like we were in a little parade as we passed through Monti Cristi towards the beach. Don't be jealous, but the water is breathtakingly clear and the most beautiful shades of blues and greens. Some of the DR leaders from the retreat came with us and we got to swim and relax.

We headed home to get ready for evening church in Monte Cristi. After a refreshing bucket shower, we headed upstairs for worship... LOTS of worship. LOTS and LOTS of worship! Apparently DR church services have a portion where people can come forward and share a song (kinda like an Open Mic night). Much to our surprise, as it turns out, our team was one of the participants! Thankfully, we had practiced a song with motions for the retreat which really came in handy when we were called up to the stage midservice. It was very evident as worshiped in two languages today, that songs of love to God are so easily understood regardless of your native tongue.

We shared the last two days with women from various countries and churches, languages and cultures. Despite our diversity it was very clear that in the Lord there is unity and only one church, God's church. There were so many special and tender moments shared with the women and children of these churches and these towns, it is impossible to describe all the connections that were made. We can't wait to show you pictures and tell you each about the experiences we are having. It is so obvious that God is present and guiding this trip. Things are going smoothly, everyone is feeling great (especially after a nice refreshing bucket shower).

To all of our families and friends, we love you and miss you! Thank you for your prayers. We feel them. PS- Good Luck tomorrow Steve! :)
Hasta Luego!
Dios te bendiga. Amen.

Love, The DR Team

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