Tuesday night

Hola again from Dominican Republic! We have finished up our third full day here and are still full of energy and excited about being here.

Yesterday, we worked on a construction site for Harvest Ministries, a partner of STEM here in DR. We helped to add a third story to their building with concrete blocks. Some people worked on the site and some people ministered to some of the children and teenagers in the neighborhood. It was a long day, but very fulfilling and we had a handful of children accept Christ for the first time. Praise God!

Today, we went back to the same site in the morning. Some people continued to work on the construction, some ministered, and a small group of us traveled down to the river, called Rio Osama. We paid a toll to be taken accross the river in a rowboat to minister to some people in a very low-income area of Santo Domingo. It was a huge step of faith for us because it was well out of our comfort zone. However, it was fruitful because we did get to lead a few to Christ. It is amazing how God works when we're willing to step out in faith. In the afternoon, we split up into two teams and went to separate locations to minister to children (VBS style). Both locations were with a local church in the respective areas and both had a large number of kids show up. It was a lot of fun and a great experience for us. We have also had the opportunity to learn more about the different areas of Santo Domingo as well as the culture here.

Aside from a couple minor dealings with illness, we are doing very well. Everyone is in great spirits and very motivated to continue to share the gospel with people they meet. Our team has not backed down from obstacles and has continued to step out in faith when given the chance to do so. Praise God for helping us to persevere and praise Him also for giving us so many amazing opportunities.

Hola from Santo Domingo!

Hola! We are here in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. We arrived safely last night and got to the school where we are staying. We ate some delicious food by candlelight and slept without AC. It was a good lesson in humility. We are all incredibly happy to be here and blessed to have met our hosts.

Today, we went to a park and played soccer, baseball (with broomsticks and bottle caps), and frisbee. It was really fun to meet some of the local youth. We spoke with a few of them and were happy to know that they were already believers and were part of a church. We also had some girls share the gospel with a crowd of other children. We are getting excited about the opportunities we will have to meet more of the nationals over the next few days.

Tonight, we will be attending the church that our hosts attend. We will be performing a drama, giving a testimony or two, and three of our students will be speaking a short message through a translator. Over the next several days, we will be helpling with a construction project in the mornings and sharing the gospel through sports and ministry gatherings in public places in the afernoons.

Please continue to pray for us to persevere through any trials that we're not used to in Texas. Please also pray that we may be able to communicate the gospel efficiently despite any language difficulties and help to add to this body of believers here in Santo Domingo. Success equals relationships.

This might be our only blog as it is difficult to get internet access where we are. However, if given the chance, we will update you with how everything is going. Thanks for your prayers and support!