I will start off by saying we have appreciated your prayers, and have certainly felt God’s hand guiding this week. For those who do not know, we have struggled to retrieve 21 bags of donations that we came to the country with. They were taken by customs at the airport when we arrived on Saturday and we do not know when or if we will get them back. It has been heartbreaking to struggle with the idea that we may not see those bags and the items in them again. We are not disappointed for us, but for the good those items could be doing for the people we interact with. Your prayers are definitely appreciated as we continue to put this entire situation in God’s hands.

However, this struggle has not hindered God continuing to work. On Monday we were able to present our message on the Armor of God to the Joe Hartman school. They loved seeing Damian in a roman soldier costume and were able to hear what it means to prepare ourselves to be in God’s army. We interacted over crayons, the playground and even a 5 of 5 students vs. Americanos basketball game. It was fun to play and interact with the students even though we didn’t speak the same language. Kids are kids, no matter where they are from.

Woody and myself share the gospel at a men’s and women’s group. As the week unfolds some things get lost in translation. What got lost that evening was the translator. It was a surprise to realize on the way to the church that we had forgot to bring one of our translators. Thankfully, Elza did a great job of taking our words and sharing them and it was great to be able to hear them sing and spend time with each other and God that night. Our opportunities to share God’s message with different groups of people throughout the week have been a huge blessing to me and I pray we have been able to be the hands of God’s blessing to His people as well.

We did spend some time at the Batey 35 school yesterday and had the opportunity to distribute a lot of food as well. I will share a bit more about that in the coming days. For now I want to challenge us with a piece of Pastor Woody’s message to us last night. Matthew 22:37-38 says, “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Jesus teaches in Luke 10 that everyone is our neighbor. Friend, stranger, family, foreigner, enemy; they are all our neighbors. So, who is your neighbor this week? How are you being called to love your neighbor this week? We are all on mission, not just our team here in the DR this week. God is still up to something this week and I am just glad we can play a part!

-Pastor Josh

(If you would like a song to listen to today, try Brandon Heath’s “Give me your Eyes” or “Do something.”)

What a day of Worship it was! This is my second trip to the DR and I am still amazed at what God can do, even when you don’t know the language. We attended two separate worship services today and I could truly feel the presence of God among the people we were with. There were very few words in the service that were spoken in English and most of them came from me.

At first thought, it would seem that we just sat there until the service was dismissed and were not able to connect to God. But despite the language barrier it was evident that the people around us were joyfully praising the same God we came here to serve.

So it was awesome to know that at the same time praises were being sung in Creole, praises were also being raised in many of our churches in English, and many other languages around the world. It reminds me that we are not alone. It reminds me that God came for all. He broke societal, economic, language, and any other barrier or category we tend to think can’t be broken. We are all a part of a global body of believers seek God’s guidance in what we do everyday.

So, as we step into our week tomorrow with both feet, we covet your prayers for our team, our ministry, the people we will come in contact with and also our families back home. As were reminded of the verse I shared yesterday from Proverbs 3:5-6, we are putting our Trust in Him today and for the rest of the week. I also trust that God has a plan for you this week as well. But for now, let us just pray for one another for the coming week.

-Pastor Josh

Ephesians 6:18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”