Tuesday’s activities

Tuesday happenings…

We enjoyed a pleasant night with power (yea!) and woke up to rain!  Breakfast was at 7:30 and was great as usual.  After clean up, we all headed to Makarios.

Johnny directing the kids as they play in the mud.

Twelve of us stayed at the school doing a craft and recess while the rest of us continued on to the Makarios soccer tournament.

Recess turned into movie time.

Our craft team put together something fun for the kids.  They made a mobile to help them think about what they could do to allow Jesus into their lives and provide for them.  (“I am the bread of life.  Whoever comes to me will never go hungry.  Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”)

The soccer tournament was NOT about to stop for a little rain (or a LOT of rain!).  Everyone there got completely soaked, but it was so worth it…those kids treated this tournament like it was the World Cup!

Amy and Debbie began picking up the trash around the soccer field and it didn’t take long for a few kids to join in and help!
After lunch, we returned to the Mak house to celebrate the completion of an ESL program run by Imani for the children in the Los Ciruelos neighborhood.  It was a fun change to help the kids with their English (instead of trying to communicate to them in our broken Spanish)!

Dinner, a beautiful sunset, and devotionals completed our day.

Some questions to help you continue to process…

*Information taken from Short-Term Mission Workbook, by Tim Dearborn, and various other related sources.

1.  Who am I?  What have I learned about myself?

2.  Who is God?  How has my understanding of God changed?

3.  Who are we?  What have I learned about community?

4. What is the impact of culture on faith?  How do I see life and gospel different as a result of this trip?

5.  What is wrong with the world? Why is there such suffering and injustice in it?

6.  What does it mean to be a follower of Christ?  What have I learned about discipleship?

7.  What is of value?  How do I live here in the light of what I’ve seen there?

8.  Where am I going?  What is God calling me to be and do as a result of this mission experience?

Devotionals

During our devotional times we challenged ourselves with these questions…

Why are we here?  What is our motivation for being here?  Is it a response to the Gospel (having been moved by receiving free grace upon grace) or is it a desire to ‘do the right thing’ attempting to please God?  (Matt 25, Ezekiel 34)

Who is your mistress?  Meaning, what things of the world appear so attractive to us that they pull our affections and attention away from God?  And if you don’t really know, think about what it is that you are missing the most while here and how being without it allows you to turn to God?

Do you long for eternity with God?  Or do you allow the comforts of this world to lead you into contentment?  We are missing many of the comforts from our homes in the states…and we long to return to them.  But do we feel so comfortable at home that we don’t long for our heavenly home?  (1 Peter 2:10-12 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you  as sojourners and exiles  to abstain from the passions of the flesh,  which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers,  they may see your good deeds and glorify God on  the day of visitation.)

Back at home, do we look different from people who do not love Jesus?  Or do we blend in?

What does it mean to abide in Christ and how do we do it?  (John 15:5 I am the vine; ^(A)you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.)

There is a reason why God brought us here to the DR and it should change us.
(Eze 16:49 ⁴⁹ Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.) (James 1:27 ²⁷ Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.)

Who is the God you worship?  (Gen 1:24-27 – Elohim, Gen 2:4-8 Yahweh)
When we have a Elohim focused view of God, we tend to think “God is probably frustrated with me when I sin.  I’m just waiting for the hammer to fall.”
When we have a Yahweh focused view of God, we tend to think “When I sin, it will be ok…because I know God will forgive me.” - tend to be somewhat complacent
Do I know who God really is???

Who is the Jesus you trust?  When you leave this place is your life going to look different? (James 2:18 ¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.)  Our works are a result of the overflow of our faith.

Church Service….a collection of thoughts….

On Sunday we enjoyed a Sabbath day with a trip to Iglesia Templo Biblico for church service and a sightseeing stop to the beach (where the posted group photo was taken).

We were expecting the church worship and service to be in Spanish. And it was.  But the church provided a translator for us Americanos.  For this we were very thankful!

The sermon focused on 2 Tim 3:10-17 and we were led to ask the question “Are my children a testimony that Jesus governs my home?”

Here are our thoughts…

~I never experienced hearing the Word spoken in a language other than English and was struck by how important it is for it to be translated and distributed in all languages.

~The issues that the pastor was speaking of are just as pertinent to us…we ALL (Dominicans in poverty and Americans in luxury) want to be Godly parents and to raise up the next generation to live for Christ!

~Worshipping in another language made me long for the day that all of God’s children from every tribe tongue, and nation would sing one song praising our Heavenly Father!

Cara

I am sitting here on my bed and looking around.  All the Christians here serving the Lord amaze me.  He has brought so many people here to help and serve along side of Him and it is an amazing sight and experience. God has placed each and every one of us here for a specific reason.

 

Today was an outstanding day.  I woke up to the sound of rain early this morning and it reminded me of God’s wonderful works.  The Dominican Republic was in need of rain and God answered many prayers this morning.  As we drove to the Makarios School, Josh, the house director, stated that the Dominicans do not really like the rain and they do not usually venture out in this weather.  When we arrived, there were only 9 students present.  I sent up a little prayer asking God to please be with the other kids and let them know how much we would love to worship with them today.  About 10 minutes later, Sandy came around the corner and told me 22 students are now here.  God answered another one of our prayers. 

 

As school started, we got to work in the craft room where we were teaching John 6:35:  ‘Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry. Whoever believes in me will never go thirsty.”’  We taught the kids and they taught me that Jesus is going provide us with all the necessities as long as we believe in him.  As I look at the kids in their little chairs, I thought to myself they have everything they need to survive.  They have the love of Jesus Christ and God has truly provided for them.  I have really been thinking about this verse these past few days.  I do not need A/C, nice clothes, or even electronic devices to survive.  These kids have nothing, yet they are so joyful.  It is God’s love and grace that brings ultimate joy. I work with kids almost every day, but these children have truly impacted my life in more ways than one. God has showed me through these kids, that God will give us what we need and will give us joy if we trust and believe in him.  

 

Last night, I was reading my Bible, and one verse that has stuck with me throughout today is Proverbs 28:27.  “Whoever gives to the poor will be blessed, but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed.”  There have been several times in my life where I have turned the other way to avoid talking or hearing about families living in true poverty.  I was hoping this trip would bring me out of my comfort zone and allow me to really understand and serve these people in need just as Jesus served others in need.  I am still trying to wrap my head around this verse and I am pressing hard into it this week, but what I have gotten so far is that when we help others when they are in trouble or in need, they will do whatever they can to return the favor.  Paul promises that God will supply all of our needs (Philippians 4:19). I think God provides through other people. I have given love to these children and they have truly blessed my life and given me more than I could imagine.  I challenge myself to ask myself every morning “What can I do today to help God supply someone’s need?”  It is a great feeling serving and helping others in need.  I praise God for his blessings on this group and all of his children. 

Ana

God is great.  As I’m sitting here trying to muster up something to write, a flood of memories fills my head.  Thoughts of the kids. Images of the villages. Reflection on relationships I have built. But one thing cannot escape my mind is that God is great. 

I have had the opportunity to see things I could never imagine, feel emotions that one can only hope to feel, and grow as a woman of God.  I am on the photography team so one of my responsibilities is to capture moments.  I wish I could capture every second of the day because it is all worth remembering.

My eyes have really matured because I am now more aware of the world outside of my “bubble.” It’s sad to say, but I never fathomed what a third world country actually represented.  Minimal street signs, bumpy dirt roads, sporadic electricity, etc. While what I have written thus far sounds pretty sad…just hold on.

When I first arrived, I couldn’t help but to cry.  Who is ever deserving of such conditions? No one.  In the matter of a few days (and still going), my heart has made perhaps one of the biggest shifts.  I have gone from feeling torn and sad for the people her to feeling SO joyous and admirable of how much the people here LOVE God.  Froms saying heartfelt prayers to singing songs of praise with their souls to proudly proclaiming their faith, these kids are not ashamed. How precious is that?

It overwhelms me so much because the families and kids we serve find the simplest joys in life.  Why can I not say the same? It’s easy to say I’m on a mission trip with an amazing team to share the light and Gospel but I can honestly say I have learned so much more from the people here. Here are a few examples:

-It is not about me. (Compliments of Sandie) Nothing is. My life should be focused on the Lord and His plan. This is such a struggle to grasp, but my life has gotten so much easier with this constant reminder.

-God will always love me.  He is not sketchy. He doesn’t have his off days. Regardless of what I do, His love will always be constant. He will never fail me.

-Enjoy the simple things in life…water, electricity, fellowship, the sunset, the Bible. Enjoy and be thankful.

-God is great. 

Lainey

(from Monday, July 30, 2012)

Today we went to the Makarios school and I had the opportunity to help lead the arts and crafts class.  We taught about how, with God, you will always be full.  We handed out cups to the children and every time they fulfilled commitment and trust in the Lord, we gave them beads to “fill their cups.” The verse we taught was John 6:35:

“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”

At the end of the lesson we taped the cups with paper that said, “Jesús me suple,” meaning Jesus is my supplier.  We then sang and dances with the children and the entire thing was just amazing to witness, let alone be a part of.  As these children, who really don’t know where their next meal is coming from, praised the Lord for the little he has blessed them with, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed.  The joy of dancing and singing, worshipping the Lord with these children of God was amazing.  Throughout our time here, it’s been difficult realizing we cant always communicate with them in Spanish, but dancing and singing with them was enough to move any heart closer to the love and joy of our God.  It really was awesome.

After lunch, we returned to the school where I was a part of the VBS team.  This was a trying time of day, as the afternoon sun had driven us all to exhaustion and dehydration.  On the verge of throwing in the towel for the day, I realized that through the discomfort, this wasn’t about me. I prayed to God to help me through the next 2 hours and by the end, the amazing light shining through those those children’s faces had me on my feet again dancing and singing in praise.  What a blessing those children have been for us, teaching us more than they could ever fathom.

We then took a walk through the local village where many of the children who attend Makarios live. It doesn’t matter how much you try to prepare yourself for the conditions of poverty, there is nothing like witnessing it with your own eyes.  We walked down to a river flooded with trash, dirty diapers, and most likely disease.  A boy no older than 2 was preparing for a bath and a woman was carrying her dishes to “clean” them.  What an image for God to bring to my awareness.  I can personally say, I myself can’t seem to manage the conditions of no A/C, scarce power, and constant sweat without complaining.  These people don’t even have time to think about those things because there are so many more issues at hand.  It has brought tremendous light to the abundant blessings in my life and called me closer to the Lord.

Makarios is truly an amazing blessing in these villages; I’m nothing but grateful to be a part of such a devoted mission.  It’s not about aid and suffering in a worldly sense, but community and getting back to the heart of God by teaching accountability and sustainability.  May God continue to bless the team and staff of these wonderful people fulfilling His work.

I couldn’t feel more grateful for the amazing people God led to this trip with me.  So many relationships formed within hours and days with strong women and men with the most loving and open hearts.  Thank you, thank you, Jesus! I hope on my arrival back home, I can only continue what Ive learned here in the developing community and sharing in the joy of the Lord with others.  It’s a difficult mission and I know I will fail at times, but with the Lord I will get through it all.  That is something the children of Makarios have taught me. XOXO

Lainey

P.S. Don’t worry mom! I’m safe.