6-17-15 Last Day, New Commitments

From Melanie Smith:

Dear church and supporters,

Today is our last full day in the Dominican Republic before we leave tomorrow. We spent the day at Catalina Island relaxing. Some of the team went cliff jumping into the ocean.

Although we relaxed today, there were some big things happening in the team last night after a church service with other groups serving at SCORE. Some people on the team decided to sponsor children, allowing the children to get meals, education, and clothing. We then went back to where we were staying and the group shared with each other about meaningful things we’ve experienced. Several of the youth expressed a desire to go into ministry when they’re older. There were many tears of joy during and after the sharing and praying that followed.

The team cannot thank you enough for the financial and prayer support you’ve given us!

 

6-17-15 Pasitos de Jesus Orphanage

Our last ministry visit was to Pasitos de Jesus. Which is a girls orphanage, although not all girls are orphans. They were really well taken care of and we were blessed to be with them and show the love of Christ.

(Click the photos below to see larger versions.)

6-16-15 Straw Market and Girls Home

From Kelsey Zimmerman & Laura Henry =) 

Dear church, family, and supporters,

We had another amazing day ministering! To start our day off we went to Score for breakfast. We headed off to the straw market at Santo Domingo around 8:30. On our way to the straw market we saw the house of Christopher Columbus and his son, which showed us a small part of the history of Dominican Republic. There we experienced a new way of buying things with a different culture. After spending 2 hours at the straw market we stopped for lunch by the ocean.

Around 2:00 we headed over to Pasitos de Jesus Girls Home for another 2 hours, ministering to them by singing songs, doing bracelets with the girls, and talking about what Jesus did on the cross for all of us. A majority of the girls were physically and mentally abused with some being permanent orphans. There they have a better environment with good food, clean water, and a good place to sleep at night. Then to end the day we learned more about the ministries of Score.

6-15-15 Diapers and Shoes in the Name of Jesus

From Ben Briggs:

Dear church and family,

We had an awesome day of ministry. We started our day at the Score complex for breakfast. Then we headed out to a daycare to share the Word with the kids. A few of our group members got peed on because the babies there did not have diapers. We went to the bus and got a bunch of diapers people from Millersburg had donated and were able to give them to the daycare for the kids.

After lunch we headed out to a sugar cane village to give the kids shoes. They had been walking barefoot and had many sores on their feet. Some of the kids didn’t fit in the shoes and were trying to jam their large feet into these tiny shoes. When they wouldn’t fit, they were heartbroken and so were we. So some of our group members took off their own personal shoes and put them on kids. It was a once in a lifetime experience that made the kids and us full of joy.

Today was a really amazing and encouraging day for us. We miss you all.

6-15-15 Shoes of Love

We had a great afternoon where we were able to give out shoes to a local village. We didn’t have sizes for bigger kids, so seven team members took the shoes off their own feet and put them on the feet of the village children. Many tears were shed. We were blessed.

 

(Click the photos below to see larger versions.)

6-15-15 Streams in the Desert

Great morning today at the Manantiel de la Desierto which means Streams in the Desert.

(Click the photos below to see larger versions.)

6-14-15 Worshipping God with Dominican Believers

From Lydia Smith:

Dear church family,

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. We are having an awesome trip and our lives have definitely been impacted! 

This morning we visited a church called Iglesia Bautista Cristiana Juan 3:16. It was an awesome experience! They had a full praise band and the first song we sang was Here I Am to Worship. It was amazing to see our group worshipping right alongside the Dominican church. Several of us started crying because we could tell that God was definitely moving in that place. After the Dominican praise band led us in worship, our team went up and led them in the 3 Spanish songs we learned. Then Timothy gave his testimony. He did a great job and it definitely made an impact on the people. Next was the sermon. There is a medical missions team here at Score and one of the doctors preached at the church today with a translator. He preached about God’s grace. After the sermon we sang one more worship song and then got to talk to the church members.

Please continue to pray for our team as we continue to minister to the children and families in the Dominican Republic.