Our first day of teaching flew by like a whirlwind. The children were overjoyed to have us here, and their over-the-top energy kept us on our toes. It took a couple tries for each of us to settle in to our respective stations before we were communicating efficiently, but to see the excitement from the children as they were learning was a blessing and got us excited for the day. The theme for the week is the promises of God, and each day we will be sharing a different promise from the Lord. The promise that we shared today is that God continually loves us, protects us, and walks with us each and every day guarding us from temptation. Regardless of how we act, the love of Christ is eternal and inseparable. We performed a skit as a large group to teach this, then broke it down further in each station.
It was an exciting first day, and we are all stoked to continue and see the kids again tomorrow. Our prayer for today is that we would continue to communicate effectively, and that the Lord would soften the hearts of the children and His Word would impact each and every child. He loves each and every one tremendously, and we have the opportunity to be His voice here this week.
-Armand- (Describing Monday)
The past few days that we’ve spent in the DR have far exceeded my expectations for the trip. There was some initial nervousness present because this trip was my first international experience, in terms of the process of getting here and the initial culture shock I might experience. There were a few hiccups in our travel time (barely making our connecting flight in Boston) but God was truly present in that process and everything worked out the way it was planned due to His protection.
We had the opportunity to spend time at 3 different churches on Sunday, and having spent time with the local community I have grown to be a lot more open-minded of the world around me. There was a significant language barrier and we have our differences, but the Dominicans made us feel welcome in their community. As soon as we arrived many people willingly gave up their seats for us and shook our hands and exchanged hugs afterwards. We may have cultural and language differences, but we believe in and worship the same God in strikingly similar ways.
-Kaitlyn
Since this was my first time leaving the country, let alone my first mission trip, I had no idea what to expect of the Dominican Republic. So far, every day has been an adventure! We rode a bus through Santo Domingo, shopped at Mercado Modelo, almost drank the water, attended multiple churches that spoke multiple languages, taught the kids English, and so many other amazing experiences. Living in the Dominican Republic has opened my eyes to the way other people live. It’s one thing to learn about a different culture in anthropology class, but another to visit and live in their environments; it’s a completely different experience. The way they live compared to the way we live isn’t wrong, it’s just different, and that’s alright. I found it beautiful that the people of the Dominican Republic worship the same God I do, and I can call them my brothers and sisters in Christ.
I’m so thankful to have this opportunity to grow closer to God, teach the beautiful kids of the Dominican, and have a community of believers of my own.
-Kaleb
