Dominican Republic Outreach Trip

Monday, June 26 - Saturday, July 8, 2006

Watch this page, as we hope to be able to post regular updates on the senior high ministry team's trip to the Dominican Republic, serving with Students International. Please keep them in daily prayer for their various ministries, their safe travel as well as their impact for Christ.

Trip Journal  Click on blue hyperlinks to view photos

Monday, June 26  - After meeting at the church at 3:00 am for some last-minute coordination that involved pre-weighing and marking baggage and a time of group prayer, our caravan of 28 students and leaders left for Cleveland airport. Check-in went smoothly and, after the group photo and the farewells were finished, the 6:40 am departure for Newark, NJ went off without a hitch, with the connecting flight arriving in Santiago at 1:15 pm local time.

   Pastor Clinton Lowin called at 2:43 pm, saying that they were all in the vans heading out from the Santiago airport in rainy weather. All the luggage arrived safely... praise God! Everyone is doing well and made it through customs without any problems. God's favor and grace is upon them as they were immediately identified as missionaries (with their green t-shirts on!) and were sent straight through without even having to get bags x-rayed!

   A 45 minute van ride got everyone to the Students International compound situated outside of the valley city of Jarabacoa, a mountainous region known as the "Alps of the Caribbean".

Tuesday, June 27  - Today was a day for team building as well as community building. We had a chance to experience Dominican culture... we learned how to do the merengue dance, drank coconut milk and played some "Dominican" games.

Click play to hear a merengue song ("Me Enamoré")

Along with experiencing the culture, we also learned about the religions here in the Dominican Republic.

   Students and leaders went through a "site orientation" and are excited for the upcoming work and are ready for their missions tasks. Overall, today was a day of rest and recovery from the flight as well as the heat. Worksite outreaches will begin on Wednesday 6/28. The evening ended with dormitory devotions - we have been studying the book of James and the kids are really digging in.

ALL ARE HEALTHY!! ---Praise God!!!!!!!

Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Wednesday, June 28  - We woke early this morning at 6:40 am for worship. Singing in Spanish is awesome! All things are great. Here we are building relationships and working hard (Clinton sent this update from a construction site with his hands covered in cement!). Despite chiggers and mosquitoes, everyone is going strong! Teamwork and blessing are the themes of the work sites. Katie and Jana were going to be cleaning people's teeth; others are just excited to be with the people.

   The weather is hot, but nice. The orientation yesterday was excellent and made all the students feel prepared. Many are seeing God working in them as they work for God. Tell the others that we are praying for them.

Thursday, June 29  - All is going well. The excitement level for all remains high and the kids are very upbeat. This evening we had our community meal where we actually were able to go into the homes of the Dominicans and have fellowship with them. Some kids had commented on the food being the best they've ever had!! (Of course it was all prepared with specific health and safety guidelines).

   Everything at the ministry sites is going well. God is awesome in that the language barrier is not a problem. We are seeing lots of "love with action" from both the kids as well as from the Dominicans. Communication has been amazingly easy. Other than a few sunburns and bug bites, everyone is healthy! We are doing outreach tomorrow (Friday) and will have a break on Saturday. Sunday will be a time of worship... in Spanish!

Friday, June 30  - Tonight we prepared for outreach to be done next Wednesday in the surrounding communities. This will be an evangelistic outreach in 3 communities. Pray for God's favor and saturation.

   The students are still very excited. The kids are tired, but tomorrow we'll have a time of rest and an outing to the waterfall. We will also be doing an activity called "creeking". Tomorrow night we will go to town to shop, and Sunday we will worship at a Spanish church. It's going to be AWESOME!

Saturday, July 1  - A full day, though we got lots of needed rest. We also jumped into the waterfall!! For those of you who were wondering what "creeking" is, it is walking up a moving stream/river and then floating down with the current. The shopping trip went well; all are looking forward to the Sunday worship service tomorrow morning.

Sunday, July 2  - On Sunday, we split into 2 different groups. Group one went to a church in Mata Gorda. It is a church of 40-50 people with very lively worship including a conga line! Group two went to a church in downtown Jarabacoa where they were celebrating their 8th year anniversary. It is a church of about 250 people that were all very welcoming and had an interpreter.

Monday, July 3  - Today started at 6:45 am with our kids leading worship for Students International. Everyone is still excited at their worksites. The people with Students International says that they see good community within our group! Last night the guys even served the girls dinner! Thank you for your continued prayers. Everyone is good and all are healthy. Worksites started again and the students are showing a lot of passion. Today they also learned how they can be involved in Students International. This sparked interest in our kids in who they are and what they can do.

Tuesday, July 4  - Just reporting to tell you that everything’s going very well. I know it’s a holiday there, but the kids are out right now doing their outreach. Pray that God will make us effective as we are having an evangelistic outreach to the community tomorrow (Wednesday).

   Team time tonight with a time of encouragement for all. We read from John
21:15-17 and discussed what loving Jesus means. We also talked about "starving bakers" - someone who has the ability to give out much food, but dies of starvation because they didn't feed themselves. We are to love God as a starving baker, but remember to feed ourselves in order to give to others. We spent time getting re-powered and re-fueled to give love to the Dominicans.

   Once again, our leaders with Students International have commented on being impressed with the community and worship of our group and sees our group as being "solid and tight."

   Everyone’s healthy, however Darrin Wentzel is dealing with some nausea and stomach discomfort. He’s okay but feeling a little sick. Be praying for him. Hope everything’s okay there. We’re looking forward to seeing everybody soon.

Wednesday, July 5  - Tonight we will be doing evangelistic community outreach in 3 different cities in the area:

1) Mata Gorda - evangelistic puppet show & games; 100-150 kids attending. 2) El Callejón - evangelistic movie, games with the kids.

3) Sabaneta - clown ministry and games with the kids.

Some of our kids have been preparing to share their testimonies tonight. They are prepared, but still a little nervous. Please pray for them.

   The construction team is now working at a new site which will actually be the same site where in November the Chapel will be built. Currently they are working on a warehouse there. Please pray as this new base is established.

   Health update: Darrin is better today but is still resting at home base. Please pray for both Kara Hanny and Kiersten Rhinehart as they are both suffering from intestinal upsets.

Thursday, July 6  - Worked at ministry sites again. Last night we had a long and encouraging de-briefing. We talked about what God has done and what He is teaching us.

Friday, July 7  - Today was our final day at our sites. It was a great last day. The kids were busy saying their final goodbyes. Some went to the river with their kids and others went to the sites. Some girls were getting their hair braided and others were buying souvenirs for families at home.

   We have a banquet tonight with finalization and awards. We will be watching a presentation of pictures of what we've been doing the past two weeks. Tonight we will be trying to get everything cleaned and sorted. Tomorrow our flight starts at 12:30 with a 4 hour layover in Newark. All are excited and will be sharing in Sr. High service on Sunday.

Health updates:
   Darrin, Kiersten and Kara are all fine
   Ryan Schott, Chris McDevitt and Nick Arner... intestinal upsets

   Please continue to pray for the team's physical and spiritual health, travel mercies and especially the many lives that have been touched among the Dominican people in the past two weeks.

Here is the team's scheduled flight information for tomorrow (Saturday):

Click for online flight status

   For automated Continental flight information, dial 1-800-784-4444

Saturday, July 8  -  Clinton just called (10:45 am) - All are at the airport, checked in, through security and now waiting for the plane. Flights at this point are all on schedule. Health update: No sickness symptoms! Praise God!

5:25 pm - Clinton just called, they are in Newark waiting for the next flight. All are well... minus some "intestinal" stuff. They were getting ready to get some dinner and then just waiting at the gate.

Please pray for Jana Reynolds as she has just found out that she lost a friend in a car accident while she was gone.

10:05 pm - Flight 425 arrives 15 minutes early and the group pours into the terminal to a joyous reunion. There were a lot of hugs for the kids, who were tired but otherwise in great shape (except for a few bumps, bruises and bug bites). The growth and bonding among the group in the last two weeks was evident in their voices and faces... it was a very emotional time for everyone. Clinton later led the group in a powerful time of prayer in the baggage claim area just before everyone departed for home.

Please pray for continued spiritual growth with these kids as a result of their experiences, but pray especially for those in the Dominican Republic whose lives they touched in God's service.