Dominican Republic Mission Team

 
Forest Dale delivers Living Waters to the Dominican Republic

Monday, June 9, 2008

We worshiped at three churches yesterday. Each congregation welcomed us warmly and all send greetings to their Brothers and Sisters in Northern America. The Dominicans consider themselves "Americans," and we are "Northern Americans."

Worship music was sung acapella, or accompanied by drums and/or guira. Guira is actually not the correct spelling, but the English software in which we are typing will not allow us to use the correct Spanish characters. Guira (say, GWEE-da) is a metal instrument that is played by scraping the side with a metal stick...imagine playing a cheese grater with a screwdriver. Jay's guitar-playing and Tracy & Cris' singing were a big hit. The Dominicans are very expressive and LOUD in their worship, with or without a sound system. We passed several churches driving to our services and could hear the singing and clapping from the street. Can you imagine doing that at Forest Dale?

The last church we visited is located in a very poor, very rough neighborhood. Darkness fell while we were there, then the power went out during the singing. Without missing a beat, the minister and one of the men lit oil lamps and placed them in brackets on the walls. We finished the service by the light of those three lamps.

To tell you a bit about the neighborhood, imagine the "Save the Children" commercials you have seen. Think of houses with corrugated roofs, bars on the windows, and open sewers. The people with whom we worshiped – men, women, children – all live in that environment every day. But they sing and worship with joy.

From Bill: Hello to Sandy, Becky, and the family. I love and miss you.

From Pat: One of my favorite parts of the worship services was when Jay told them that Forest Dale sends greetings to their brothers in the Dominican. The whole congregation breaks out in wild applause and cheers of "Amen, Amen"! Every service, no every part of every service, starts with the worship leader crying out in Spanish, "Who lives?" They all shout, "Cristo!". "And his name is?" "Glorious!". I think we could probably work that in at home on Sundays, can't we?

Note to Sandra and or Francis Huntley: Please forward this to Abbi and Kay. Thanks

From Diane: What a blessing it is to be able to sit in on this culture and worship with them, They are so happy singing and praising God, It warms my heart, Very hot here but we are coping for the most part, We went to three churches on Sunday. Got a wee bit tired.

From Jon: Hi to Kathy (1-4-3), Ben, Stephen, Tim, Joel, & Maggie. Love you all and miss you much. We've been pretty busy, but not so much as to be wearying—except we are weary of the heat and humidity! Hon, it's worse than Colombia—very humid. We've met some really wonderful folks and have mostly enjoyed what we've been doing. We ate lunch at the mall Sunday—not so different from American malls—except nobody speaks English! Love you all. God bless.

From Tracy:

From Cris: Hi family—Dave, Michele, Eli, Ben and Gabby—I miss you! Hey, Jeannine, Bev-- Zoila, the secretary here at the center where we are staying is involved in the drama ministry with her church! I had a chance to talk to her about how she works at involving the youth and women in the skits.

From Jay: Hello to Jesse and Abi – dad and mom. I was offered the opportunity to preach in 3 different churches on Sunday. The last church we visited was in a frighteningly poor part of town – at 7:00 PM it was dark and the electricity went out in that part of the city during the worship service. They praised God all the more. Their joy is not limited by such things. It seems the church is seen in a favorable light by the people who live in that neighborhood. We are treated with such affection by the Dominican people– it is overwhelming. This trip is beyond anything I could even imagine. The heat is consistent – but I don't seem too bothered by it...yet.

From Leigh Anne: Love and Mommy-kisses to Jesse and Abi. Love to Mom and Dad, Mom and Dad Russell, Kristen, Kerry, Michael, Audrey, Stacy, and Kevin, and to my extended family and friends. I think all of the team members missed home during worship yesterday despite being joyfully welcomed at all of the churches we visited. The Dominicans received your greetings with cheers and clapping. They prayed blessings on their brothers and sisters in the USA. We already have so much, and they want to bless us more.

Our visit is a band-aid on the gaping wound of need here. The pastors and church leaders are working with facilities and resources that we would not tolerate. The people sit in cheap plastic chairs and on unpainted 2x8 wooden benches. One of the churches couldn't observe the Lord's Supper because the communion juice spoiled. But they anticipate worship with joy and thanksgiving. They do not hurry through it, do not worry that church might run long, do not prevent anyone from sharing their service. Worship is special to them. No matter the surroundings, they come expecting to meet God. They put me to shame.

We never know if we will have another chance to communicate, but have found a wireless connection in the area that may allow us to do so.  Please keep praying for us and know that we are praying for you.

To God be the glory,

The Dominican Living Waters Mission Team

 

Sunday Morning, June 8, 2008

Yesterday was a busy teaching day. Jon and the men led studies at two churches, Leigh Anne and Cris led the ladies groups, Tracy and Diane taught the children. We enjoyed meeting our Dominican brothers and sisters and sharing worship and study with them.

We decided that Tracy had the heaviest load by far, since she taught 73+ children with Diane and Stephanie (missionary's granddaughter) to help her. Imagine teaching ALL of the kids at Vacation Bible School by yourself! They had kids on the floor, tables, steps, outside the windows looking through the slats, playing in the church yard...everywhere!

Jon's studies were well-attended at both locations. The men said they found the lesson very interesting.

Besides speaking to the women, Leigh Anne took a picture of each lady and then printed photos with a Cannon Selphy photo printer. Judging from the reactions, it was a highlight for many of the women.

Today we will attend worship services at three of the mission churches, one in the morning and two in the evening. It will be a long day, but we are looking forward to it. Our plan is to have lunch at the food court of a nearby mall rather than drive all the way back to the Center between services. The morning worship service begins at 10:30, so we will be worshiping with you...just in a different country.

We don't know if or when we'll have another opportunity to send e-mail. Please continue to pray for fruitful ministry and for our health and safety. We are so grateful for the prayer support back home. Do not underestimate the impact you are having. We could not do this without you!

To God be the glory,

The Dominican Living Waters Mission Team

Friday, June 6, 2008

We had a beautiful and relatively uneventful flight yesterday. Diane used a wheelchair to get through the airport and we think it helped us clear customs quickly. Mike and Kathy hadn't even arrived to pick us up yet, that's how fast we got through. They arrived, then finally our van arrived, and then we visited Ben's and Digno's churches before heading to the Methodist Center where we are staying.

We all agree that Elaina is a wonderful cook and an absolutely delightful person. She has been kind and gracious with us, not to mention very concerned that we eat properly and get our rest. Elaina tells me to tell you you'll have to try her cooking to believe it.

Today we split between two work sites. Jay and Pat went with Doug Reed (missionary friend of the Girtons) to Ben's (one of the local ministers) house to set up the first water purification system. They used the hand pump and completed the first test run before lunch.

Bill, Jon, Kathy, Cris, Diane, Tracy, and Leigh Anne went to Digno's church to plaster and paint. The ladies bucket brigade never materialized, but the paint crew and the fellowship/networking group were in full swing. One over-zealous photographer/videographer should return with hours of entertainment for all. :)

From Tracy: I'm alive. Don't sell my stuff yet.

The Dominicans were all very welcoming. Even though we were short on time, we got a lot done today. We put 2 coats of paint on a bedroom. We plastered the facade of the church building. We got a water purification system running. It's been a fulfilling day. We may be pooped, but it was GOOD.

From Cris (Maria Cristina): The thing I enjoy the most is the opportunity to speak with the young people, the preachers' wives...it gives me great joy to be able to share with Christians from another culture. It always awes me.

It's taken awhile to deal with the physical surroundings. I will have a new appreciation for Woodland Lakes Christian Camp after this experience!

From Leigh Anne: Love and Mommy-kisses to Jesse and Abi. Daddy and I had an opportunity to "talk" with some Dominican children today. We met a brother and sister who are about your ages. The kids wanted to know the English words for lots of things and the boy brought his school notebook from English class and had your Dad explaining the words. They liked for me to take pictures and videos of them, and they sent a rousing "hi" back to you by video. I speak basically no Spanish, but others helped us translate and we had a wonderful time despite the language barrier. The children live right across the street from Digno's church, so we hope they will choose to come on Sunday morning when we are there. Their mother told Mrs. Fuller they will. Please pray that they come.

From Jay: Hi to Jesse and Abi. Everything is going well.

From Pat: This is an experience you will NEED to experience first hand. We'll be taking applications for our next trip upon our return. ;-) Everyone is working well with one another, and even though there is a language barrier, it gives us joy from the Lord to be here with these Christian brothers and sisters and to be working and praying and and getting to know each other.

This is definitely a third world country. The poverty is astounding. But even though these people don't have a lot, they are for the most part content. It sure makes us realize that even though we might not feel like rich Americans, by these standards we are truly kings.

From Jon: Hi to Kathy, Ben & Stephen, to Joel & Maggie, to Tim, and to everyone else who is interested in our trip! Today I met a young man named Jonathan. (Cool name, huh?) His father is the minister at one of the churches, but he is not preaching much any more. Instead he is mentoring Jonathan and six other young men to do the preaching. Jonathan has a real heart for ministry—what a great minister he is going to make. And how wise of his father to reproduce himself seven times over! I suppose if every minister recruited seven young men to replace himself, we would not be talking about a "preacher shortage." I guess we'd have to start a lot of new churches to put them all on the field. Now wouldn't that be great!

From Diane: I am doing pretty well and having a great time. The people here are just wonderful and fun to get to know. I had one lady trying to help me learn Spanish. I was doing well as long as she was sitting there telling me how to do it over and over again. It finally sunk into my head after a while. We had a good time painting the minister's house. It is very hot and humid here, but I don't mind it as much as I thought I would. Wish you were here! Keep us all in your prayers. God bless you all! Good night.

From Bill: Hi to Sandy and Becky. Give the dogs a pet for me.

 

Back to top