Marisa here. This morning we all woke up very early (well some of us didn't sleep at all... :p) to have a quick breakfast before all but four of us headed back to the U.S. I feel that I can not even describe with words the amazing experiences I had with you all here... but I thought I'd try. First, for all of you returning home, I've made a couple top 5 lists of our time here together with LBMP.
Funny Top 5
5. Eli trying to speak Spanish... and English, plus trying to hear.
4. Griffin's all-natural speedo made of leaves.
3. Brian's M&M smile, and english class photo :D
2. Mitch sleeping on the bus
1. Tortuga/Sarah going to the bathroom in a bucket, and telling us the story during devotions.
God Top 5
5. Waking up to God's beauty surrounding us every single day.
4. Watching every team member grow in their faith and experiencing God in a new way.
3. Seeing the smiles on the children's faces who have almost nothing.
2. Seeing how fiercely the Dominicans worship the Lord from their songs of praise to their every day lives
1. Sharing testimonies in Spanish with the great friends, American and Dominicans, that we've made here and that we'll never forget.
As I reflect on this past week I'm sad that it went so quickly but praise God for all of the new friendships I've made with every single team member. Now all of the LBMP team is probably somewhere over the Atlantic right now, and the Gateway team is on a bus experiencing their last bit of air conditioning that they'll have for a week. Mackenzie, Alexis, Shelby and I are getting so anxious for the next team to come... We've done laundry, cooked, read, almost anything to pass the time, but it hasn't gone quick enough. This will actually be my fifth team in the DR that I get to be a part of, and I know that by no accident did these teams get put together this June - God perfectly planned it out. After the weeks I've spent here, it still never ceases to amaze me how God works in my heart and how much I feel his prensence here and I can't wait for the "newbies" to experience all of this for the first time. They need to be ready to be changed, becasue I can tell you for sure that its going to happen to everyone.
God bless! Praying for you all back home!
Marisa Sonrisa
Hola!
Mackenzie typing. Oh dear, where to even begin! This week has been absolutely INCREDIBLE- there is no way describing it would do it any justice...but I'll try my hardest! Through painting and working on construction on the Creole church almost everyday, we all learned to work together as a team quickly and effeciently(especially taking up 1,000 cement blocks to the top of the church in one day with only 8 people in our construction shift!) We also had lots of fun getting to know each other while working... there are way to many funny instances to name, but Marisa gave you a pretty good idea of what they were like! Anyways, my most favorite part of the whole trip was the relationships. Being able to introduce all of me and Marisa's American friends to our Dominican friends was so awesome because we all had a blast hanging out together- whether it was playing basketball or just talking, we all got to know each other really well. I know this has been talked about before, but hearing the testimonies of all of my friends(Americans and Dominicans) was, without a doubt, amazing. I kept realizing again and again how God can use our past circumstances for His purpose, no matter what our circumstances were like. Each of us has a story, unique and special that God wrote for us..1 Peter 3:15 talks about how we should always be prepared to give a reason to anyone who asks for the hope that we have. Basically, be prepared to share your testimony at any time. It seems that everyone we talk to here is always happy to tell us their testimony, any time and any place, which is great because I love listening to them! I can't wait to hear everyone's testimonies for this next group and to see how the people of the Dominican Republic will change their hearts, just like they change mine for the better everytime I come here.
Hasta Pasta!
-Maquendi (or Mackenzie for you English speakers) :)
P.S. I can't wait to share all of our adventures to everyone back home!!
