This morning we had the opportunity to attend the Ebenezer Church service. The first part of the service the dance team performed. Even though we couldn't understand the words to the song, we were able to understand the message they were presenting through their movements. Moise said a couple things and then Tracy went up and spoke to the church for the team. Alexis and Marisa shared their testimony with those in attendance as well. It was so neat to hear about their journeys and current walk with Christ. After that, we were able to worship. Thanks to the projection of the words, we were able to sing along even though we didn't know what we were singing. The dance team had tambourines and moved along to some of the songs in addition to the drums and piano that was played. Throughout the service, there were 2 songs that a group of 8 young adults sang. The vocals and harmony were amazing! Ruth was able to translate the message for us that Moise presented. At the end of the service, we had the opportunity to take communion and those people that were baptized last week became official members of the Church. Once they were members, the Church had the opportunity to walk through and confirm/congratulate them in their decision to take the next step in their faith. We were truly blessed throughout the couple hours we were able to participate in the Church service here.

After an amazing lunch of mac-n-cheese and shredded chicken, everyone enjoyed some down time.

Later this evening we'll be attending the evening church service which will be followed by pizza! We're all looking forward to see what the rest of the evening will bring in addition to the rest of our time here. Enjoy the pictures!

Brittany



Today was a bit of a change of pace for us without having any campers but it was just as exciting since we were able to attend church services and spend some time with the congregation. This evenings service was a smaller service but we all saw the passion of the attendees. The Dominicans really worship with all that they have and then some. To begin the service we all joined hands in a large circle and prayed out loud together. Everyone prayed their own prayer and thanked God for the many blessings he has bestowed upon us, it was a powerful experience. Tonight's sermon was on obedience and trusting in God's word. It was encouraging to see how many youth are actively engaged in the church and sermons. Two members of our team contributed tonight as well, Kayla and Mackenzie each gave their testimony before we wrapped up. To close out the day we had some pizza and talked about our day and what stood out to us. We all agreed that we admired the enthusiasm everyone at Ebenezer has for the Lord and how contagious it is.


Allie

The whole team after a day of worship

The 2 Shelbys

 

The Lyon Crew

So exciting to be on this trip with Keaton

Mackenzie and Kayla each shared testimonies in the evening service

Alexis and Marisa shared testimonies in the morning service (Ruth translated)

Shelby and her 2 buddies

Moise jumps in on a photo

Allie and Mackenzie are called up during the evening service.  They had no idea why.  A little nervous, but it was just to demonstrate how to move during worship

Mackenzie and Brittany all ready for church

Lunch crew in between church services

After lunch and a little rest we organized camp prizes for our last 2 days

Hello to anyone reading this.  Today was exciting, but I miss home and my friends.  It is a lot of fun here.  For breakfast we have had poptarts, pancakes, and eggs.  My favorite is the poptarts.  Today I played with a Dominican girl.  We hit the volleyball back and forth.  We don't speak the same language but we didn't need to to play.  I got to run drills with some of the kids for basketball and then got to play games with the older kids.  I like it here and making new friends, but can't wait to get back home.

Bye,

Noah



Hi everyone! Today by far was my favorite day. Camp today was great, the children here arrive everyday with a smile. I have learned that even though sometimes there is a language barrier, communication is still possible. The children try to communicate in English using the most that they know. With our older group session today we had an abstinence talk.  We learned many cultural differences between those in the United States and those in the Dominican. To end our day a few of us girls joined in the youth church service in the court yard. The Dominicans shared with us their ways of glorifying God (singing, dancing, etc.).  After the church service we met in the cafeteria with some of the Dominican teens to share our testimonies. It was incredible to hear all the different ways they had found God in their lives, some starting from the very bottom. In only three days here I can not even begin to share the ways this trip has already changed my life. The people here go through many hard things and live in an unimaginable amount of poverty, yet still are the happiest people I've ever met. They still give glory to God when everything around them tells them not to. I wish i could stay here longer, but I know my family and friends cannot wait for me to come back home. Thank you to everyone who has made it possible for me to come on this trip and I cannnot wait to share all my experiences with you! Mom and Dad don't worry about me, I am perfectly fine and having a GREAT time.

Kayla Trevino



Hi everyone! Today at camp was AWESOME! These kids here are absolutely amazing. They come to camp everyday with a huge smile on their faces ready to learn and have fun. They are a blast to be around even though they can be ornery at times, but hey, somethings never change no matter where you are in the world! Communicating with the kids can be tough at times, but we both try to make each other understand what we're trying to say. Today after camp, we had an abstinence talk with the older kids. Its crazy how some things can be so different, yet the same. I learned a lot of cultural differences between all of us, but I think the message still means the same. After dinner, we joined in on a church service. There, they all shared bible verses, dances, songs, and poems. It was really cool to experience that. Then, some of us all sat down and shared testimonies, and let me tell ya, they were inspirational. It was incredible to hear all of them. Knowing these people come from nothing and have nothing, yet still wear the BIGGEST smile on their faces, makes my heart smile. Even though I only have three days left here, I cant wait to see what else God has in store for me. I'm sure everyone at home can't wait for me to get back! I miss you all so much and want to thank everyone for letting me experience this.  It is such a blessing. Special little shout out to my mom, dad, and sister, hi. I love and miss you bunches. hopefully you don"t miss me too much and say hi to Cabo for me.

Alyson Hughes

                             (camp basketball drill)

                         All smiles during 1 of our volleyball camp drills

                                  Kayla working on a watermelon for a fruit mural

       An amazing bicycle added to the transportation mural at the preschool

                                 The younger kids starting a dribbling drill

                                 Noah playing some defense

                

        All of us making new friends and having lots of fun sharing Jesus!!!

Broken things are beautiful. There is poverty everywhere, but yet the people are still happy and have smiles on their faces everyday.  It makes you feel special when the kids stop what they are doing and wave to you and try to talk to you.  I met a girl named Kayla today.  She is 6 years old.  When she saw my leg was bleeding, she put a leaf on it to try to stop the bleeding.  That just shows how caring and loving these people are.  And they try to make the best of what they have around them.  Kids were playing in the street and they were using a bottle cap and stick to play baseball.  I've learned a lot of Spanish and that has helped me connect with others.   I see God in those interactions.  A kid named Hosea kept calling me LOCA Gabby, which means CRAZY Gabby. It was funny.  Another trick they played on me since I don't know a lot of Spanish is to tell me that one of the boy's name was Gabrielle so I thought we had the same name.  They were dying laughing the whole time.  This is definitely an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Gabby



I thought after yesterday things couldn't get any better, but I was wrong! Today was even more fun, so I can't wait for the experiences tomorrow and the rest of the week God will bring us. In the morning we worked with the younger kids and they were nothing but excited! The little girls played with my hair and it's funny how such a little thing can bring a smile to my face...it's the little sisters I never had because they look up to us. After lunch when we had the older kids and were playing volleyball and it started to rain there was mud all over the volleyballs and our clothes. I'm a clean freak and I was having a blast with mud on my face! It's also really awesome how quickly we are all picking up on the Spanish words and being able to communicate a lot better with the campers. They are all very helpful when we don't know how to say certain words in Spanish and have to point at things and do a lot of demonstrations. The first day all some of us could really say was a whole lot of "Hola"s and even just two days later we are much improved! I'm looking forward to the rest of the week and I am excited to tell more stories when I get home!

Rachel


PS - This team has been great.  Everyone is working so hard.  Below is a glimpse of our day!!!
  -Tracy

Hola friends and family,

Today has been a full day of sports! We had a great turn out for our first day with around 70 Dominicans ready to learn. We started with volleyball, then soccer, then basketball. The group I was mainly with were the nine and ten year old's. They were so much fun to hit volleyball's back and forth with and one little boy had fun using my arms as a basketball hoop. Luckily I didn't get hit in the face too many times. When we took the nine and ten year old's over to the preschool to help conserve space, we began to improvise the games and ended up playing tag, four square and some one-on-one. Noah and Keaton did an awesome job teaching the kids that needed a little break how to play a cup stacking game. We ate a delicious Dominican meal for lunch and I got to cook Dinner with Tracy and Marisa. I'm looking forward to what God has in store for the rest of the week! Thanks for everyone's prayers. God is good.

Shelby

 

Hey everyone,
This whole day has been quite an experience! It was very full, especially in the morning. We were all very pleased with how many kids showed up today. Shelby Eddington, Kayla, and I were in charge of the 9 and 10 year old age group. We started off the day with a devotional and then volleyball. I was a bit skeptical because I don`t know how to play that well but the kids just enjoyed learning something new. After we finished that we moved on to soccer. During that time I was put with the older kids who seemed to be very interested with what they were learning. When we took a break for lunch we I was able to get to know the kids a bit better and I was able to build a better relationship with them. After lunch the little kids began to grow tired so we improvised and just played tag with them around the preschool. When the camp was finally over for the day, we gathered together to sing a song and end in prayer. Our group thought that it was an eventful day and were very pleased with how everything turned out. Afterwards, I enjoyed a nice long three hour nap. I`m so very thankful for this opportunity that I get to have with the kids and I can`t wait to see how the week turns out. Thank you to all my friends and family for the prayers they are much appreciated. Love all of you and I can`t wait to see you!
Alexis

 

Hola,

 Today was awesome because it was so different from home.  I helped with volleyball and basketball.  One of my jobs was to chase down balls and another was toss the ball to a kid so they could practice hitting.  Noah and I taught some of the kids how to speed stack (see picture above).  I learned how to say I like  - me gusta.  I threw balls to kids for basketball and help teach them bounce pass.  The best part of the day was my shower.  I get soooo hot and the cold shower feels great.  Love and miss you dad, Griffin, Owen, Ian, and Jaxon

From Keaton

DR Sports Team - Wed, June 12, 2013

Hi family and friends! Just wanted to let everyone know that the team made it here safely and are ready for a great day tomorrow. :)

 More posts to come! Adios!

Travel Day June 12th LBMP

Hola Gringos!

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!!



Tuesday June 11 2013 LBMP

Hola Americans!
What a week this has been. This is Eli typing. Like they always say "best for last"  :D. This week has been amazing. I think I'm talking on everyones behalf when I say this a was an eye-opener and an experience that we will never forget. Today we worked a classroom in the school, outer-walls surrounding the school, and the pre-school walls across the street. The last three days including Saturday, we've been painting a lot. We have the very artistic people who can paint awesome, but very difficult murals on the wall and then we have the people that try to draw a flower but it ends up looking like a circle. I am the second person. But our talents do not matter in the end because both are being used for a great cause. After we painted, we had a quick lunch and then headed off to our final adventure. I guess you could call it our reward for the trip. First off we toured some bateys which are run-down villages where Haitian and Dominican sugar cane workers live. They are not the cleanest places in the world. After that we headed to a waterfall in the forest. It was quite an event to journey up the water and rocks. Most of us made to the top with a lot of teamwork. Finally to finish our final adventure off in the DR, we went to a beach where there was nice warm water. I enjoyed this trip so much. Not only did I meet and make new relationships with the Dominican people but I also made new relationships within our own group. In about 12 hours we will be US bound! See ya then!
Eli Norden

p.s. Sarah had to use the restroom after the climb of the waterfall so she found the nearest place and was in for a surprise. She asked the lady where the restrooms were and the lady handed her a bucket, a napkin, and then gave her privacy by shutting a "door". That gave everyone a good laugh. Poor tortuga.  Ask what she did with the napkin... :-)

All the blocks and sand we carried up are now made into a wall for the Creole church.

Daily life in the bateys.

Our group wandering through the batey streets.

Even though they have little, there is always something to smile about.

This was in Batey 5, about a half hour from Barahona

They all wanted to get in a picture. Only Julie took her camera through the batey so she will have to share them with all once we are home.

A house and stick fencing around it.

Walking up the waterfalls.

Sliding down was lots of fun.

All the gringo guys with Jonathon Sam pose for a picture.

At the beach on the way back from the waterfalls, Lauren got brave enough to ask if the guys would give her a push on the board down the hill into the water!