We spent the morning painting the front of the Charthouse, the curb, and helping Raul & Karen organize some of the clothes that have been donated by other churches. It’s awesome to finally see our painting work wrap up, and getting one step closer to seeing the finished product. It was also really fun to see everyone coming together and having a good time helping others.

After lunch, we loaded up on a bus and set out on a tour of the surrounding villages. It’s crazy to see how you have such a lively and growing area and just across the street its like a completely different world. Seeing that really opened our eyes to some realities we don’t get to see everyday back home. We also made a stop by the farm, and saw the work so many hands at UBC had done. We harvested the vegetables and got to try some of the freshest tomatoes, peppers, jalapenos, and broccoli we’ve ever had. Yes mom, we ate our vegetables!

When we came back to the Charthouse, we had a devotional. Today’s virtue was forgiveness, and we went around the table sharing stories. One of the ways we saw forgiveness was when we were acting kind of rowdy, and Anthony sat us down. We totally thought we were in trouble, but he said to us “I forgive you.” That was the last thing we expected, and it felt good to see how our leader practices the virtues that Jesus expects us to keep. It’s great to learn the little ways we can become more like Him. It was also great to see each person’s unique stories of forgiving & being forgiven. It really is an example of how we can practice this when we leave the island.

During devotion, we took communion. But it was very different from the way we do it at church! We took the bread and dipped in the drink. We read our bibles and some of talked to God. It was eye opening and it brought us back to the reason God brought us here, which is to serve Christ and to show the Bahamians of his forgiveness and love, and the price he paid just for them!

We miss you guys back home and we thank you for your prayers.

- Elizabeth, Natalie, Trevor

We received this update yesterday afternoon:

Greetings to Everyone, I just wanted to give you a quick update, the team has made it to Hyderabad safely and every one is very tired and some are in bed already, it was a long day. As our trip is coming to an end we look forward to seeing our families and friends, We all have many touching stories to tell and I know that India has made an impact in our life’s. Please pray for safe travel tomorrow night as we depart for the States.

We so God show up in so many ways on this trip and all The Honor and Glory goes to Our Lord Savior. We saw many people come to Chirst and last Sunday we had a Muslim Lady receive Christ in to her life. We saw God’s protection on the roads with so many trips that we did during the last two weeks. I want to thank you for all your prayers and all the blessings that were giving to support this Compassion Trip to India.

How great has been God’s grace since we arrived in San Juan de La Maguana!  All the fears and doubts we might have had before the trip, God, not only has dissipated but has also opened doors to new horizons.  We came to serve 150 children and the number has increased to almost 500 which have absorbed from other churches.  Instead of one shift, we now cover three.  And the budget that we had has miraculously multiplied to accomplish this.  What more can we ask?  What better proof that for God nothing is impossible?  The entire team feels blessed to be God’s instrument for His plan because we certainly never envisioned this.

The first day we arrived at San Juan we met with the director of the school to become familiar with the school curriculum, with the students, and to share the activities that we planned to carry out.  Next day in the morning, we met the Pastor from the church next door and talked about their Sunday school program and about the needs of the neighborhood.  That evening we attended their service and it was impressive to see that many people gather in such a small place, in spite of the heavy rain, and the strong faith that was evident.  It was fabulous to feel so welcomed, to feel the presence of the Spirit and to feel the miracle of God that evening.

Our second day in San Juan was even more exciting and moving when we met Pastor Joel.  Not only he is a living testimony of God’s grace, but he lives totally committed to reach extremely poor children in the most undesirable neighborhoods.  We were so touched by what he described that the following day we decided to stop by unexpectedly at his VBS. What we saw was beyond what we had imagined.  At that moment there was not a single doubt in any of us that we wanted to participate in his ministry.  His tiny church consists of a bare floor, hot and humid 550 sq. ft. room.  Under the most furious rainstorm, there were about 80 children there that afternoon, barefooted and dirty, singing and praising God, and immediately we joined into the songs.  We had taken sandwiches and juice because we knew that most of these children would not have had anything to eat all day.  One little boy held on to his sandwich and when we asked him why he wasn’t eating it, he said that he wanted it to take to his mother who did not have any food.   Fortunately, there was enough not only for his mother but for everyone to have seconds as well.   We left drenched in water and covered in mud but filled with joy.

The following days were hectic preparing activities, helping the VBS and coordinating everything, but we felt blessed to see how God’s grace was guiding us and sending Angels our way to help achieve His plan and to give us the strength we needed. We used to spend the mornings with the kids at the school that was co-sponsored by Alfalit, in the afternoons we helped the church and after that, we went to the suburbs where Pastor Joel gather “his kids”. Without any doubt, these kids were really in need. It was admirable how the Pastor was able to keep the order and the peace among all the kids that some days were more than 100.

The coordination and the willingness to help between the Pastors and the school for the good of the kids was remarkable, and at the wend of the week, even though we felt running out of energy and sadness because of our departure,  we felt that God was planting seeds in each kid that will have its fruits.

-DR Team

Come to the Missions Celebration Dinner on September 11th to hear more stories!

Unfortunatly the Cuba team does not have access to internet during their trip, but they called yesterday to update us on their trip.

The arrived safely and are doing well. They left yesterday to head to Vinales, which is a small town. For family members of the team: if there is an emergency, they can be reached at the international line of  011- 53-1013-22.

Betty, the team leader said they are doing fabulous and God is already doing amazing things! Keep the team in your prayers during this week on mission.

After a great week in Nicaragua, we made it back to Miami safely! We are thankful for the people we met, the experiences we had, and the mighty ways we got to see God work in and through us in Nicaragua. Thanks you to everyone who supported our trip financially and through prayer.

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”

Isaiah 52:7

I love waking up to the sounds of the awesome mountain sounds of all the different animals, birds, frogs, crickets, etc.  They all try to out-do each with louder sounds. We are quickly reminded that we are in Nica country! It is a glorious day in God’s kingdom, and am so excited to have the opportunity to serve and care for the children of La Chureca.  Breakfast greeted us with an amazing shower storm, and by the time we were ready to load the bus to head to the school to see all of our new friends from the day before it was sunny and beautiful outside.

We took a different route into the dump today and saw many of the homes that the children from the school and our VBS lived, it was sad, shocking, and painful to experience. It was hard to imagine them leaving us at the end of the day full of smiles, laughter, love and light and heading back to their small, bare, dirty shacks. For many of them, the only food they will receive is the snacks provided at school and with us at VBS. The hugs, kisses and praise given will end when they get on the bus to head back home.

We have hope that they are loved by God and the missionaries abundantly, and they are protected by his Mighty Power. – The Lancaster Family

Hey, it’s Max! Today is our first day in Nicaragua. It was a lot of fun. The first thing we did was wake up and go see George the pet monkey, he is awesome.Then we had breakfast – eggs, toast, fruit, and beans. Then we went to church in spanish and is was cool because I was able to help people that could not speak spanish.Then we came back to the farm and we got ready to go to the market. When we got there it was amazing and there were so many interesting things, especialy the food. I bought a sling shot and back at camp I practiced my shots…it was awesome!!! We ate dinner and had a devotional, where we talked about “letting our light shine.” I am very excited about going to La Chureca tomorrow and making a lot of new friends…. Viva Nicaragua!!! – Max Diez, 10 years

Hey guys – this is Jose Diez. Today was a very special day. We got to spend the whole day with the team. We are coming together as a family. It is an awesome group!! We went to church early in the morning, a spanish speaking church, great worship and more than 600 people on Sundays. After lunch we went to a local market where we got the opportunity to buy some unique local artisans and we got to talk with some local people.

When we came back we unpacked more than 30 suitcases with donations we brought from Miami. We got all these donations classified and ready to go to the rescue homes. Clothing shoes, medicine, books and toys. It was great to work together men and women and all the kids. It was fun and very rewarding to know that tomorrow some kids in Nicaragua are going to smile big time as they receive very cool stuff donated by families from Miami.

After dinner we had a devotional where the kids share their thoughts about letting their light shine tomorrow at the dump. It was inspiring to see the families, specially the kids excited about serving tomorrow. We are enjoying every minute of this amazing experience. – Jose Diez, 52 years

We arrived in Nicaragua… After eating dinner, we unpacked, and then enjoyed  a night together as a team before we start our week of camp with the children from La Chureca.

Keep checking back this week for team updates, pictures, and ways you can pray! We are so thankful for all of you readers and the way you’ve supported us financially and through prayer. We can’t wait for the week ahead!