It's been a while. Yes, I know. But I have definitely been keeping busy between work, life, MaineDrama (more to come on that in later posts). I recently went back to the DR for a missions trip again. I spoke about it last year and this year was just as humbling. I went down with McLean Bible Church again and a group of steppers that labored the entire week! Our bodies were aching, but we enjoyed each minute of it.
It was the rainy season when we got down there, so it rained each day, but that didn't stop us from going out and doing what we were called to do. With more steppers this year, we were able to split ourselves up into more groups and really spread out. I had a wonderful team with Christina Denard and Nina Sears. Here are a couple videos from one of the villages that we stepped in.
It was really such an honor serving with everyone during this trip. Each person had such a heart to serve and bless the lives of each person that we came in contact with. No one let circumstances keep us from doing what we came down there to do.
Those kids were so excited to see and interact with us. One thing that I lost words for was when we went to Los Chifles. As we were walking through the village to gather people for the program we were going to put on, one of the girls with us had brought a pair of shoes with her. She saw one of the little girls in the village walking around barefoot (which was a common site to see), stopped and put the shoes on her feet.
It was amazing to see. Humbling, but you knew that you needed to do more. You just had to. We have to.
The highlight for me was when we went through Las Cuervas. Our purpose was to do surveys with the villagers to find out their needs and how the organization that we were partnering with, Score International, could further help them. As we were doing the surveys, we came to this one house and met Yonely and David. After conducting the survey, we began to talk to them about Christ and what they believed. Yonely was saved but thought she lost her salvation because she didn't go to church anymore. David wasn't saved and didn't want to because he said he wasn't ready. What's sad is that a lot of them are being taught that in order to be a Christian, you can't wear pants, makeup, jewelry, dance, do anything. As a result, a lot of the people that we meet have an understanding and knowledge of Christ but do not want to give up those things to live for him. They are bound by doctrine and legalism. After talking with them for a while and explaining that God wants them and not all the rules that were pushed upon them, David decided to come to Christ. I told Yonely that she hasn't lost her salvation, that God still loves and wants her. I just remember her looking at me and saying, "Thank you." We made sure to connect them with a church through Score so that they would receive sound doctrine. I left so excited that we helped someone see the truth and understanding that this is what our Christian walk is suppose to be about.
As the week continued, we kept working hard at everything we did; even when we got the threat of a tropical storm and being locked up in our hotel. But, come rain or shine the step team stepped....
And we did it all with a smile on our faces...
And even a little fun at the end of it all. The fellowship was amazing and we are driven to do so much more now that we are back. So, stay tuned for more information about how you can get involved and more, even from your home.
