Satuday, June 27

Today the team began their journey back home, though the trip back has also been fraught with travel woes. Despite the frustration, the team has found time for plenty of fun.
Please pray for safe return home, and especially for those teens turning around to go to camp tomorrow!
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Cedar Rock friends, join us on Sunday at 11am to hear a report from this mission team about all God has done!

Friday, June 26

We woke up at seven or so and had breakfast before leaving for the Braves Dominican Republic team game. On the way to the game, we got to pass by about half of the major league complexes, and they were all beautiful. They’re kind of secluded out in the country, but all within a 10-mile radius I guess. Josemi, our driver, said his friend gave him instructions to get to the facility. He said it was a quicker way. It was a lot quicker, but he forgot to mention that there were massive potholes, mud, and a single-lane dirt road out in the middle of nowhere. I told our bus driver that I’ve seen movies like this, and they don’t end well. Everyone got a good laugh out of that, and some of the others questioned how good of a friend he was.

It was neat to see all the different facilities. We arrived at the Braves facility and unloaded off the bus. We could tell that a lot of the people there were somewhat surprised. I don’t think they have that many spectators for a game. We connected with a few American scouts and had some good conversations. I asked which ones we needed to keep an eye on, and he told us the catcher was really special.

It was neat because the pitchers that weren’t in the rotation and weren’t playing that game sat in the crowd with us. It didn’t take long before we struck up a conversation with them. Two of them were from Venezuela, one from Colombia, one from the Dominican Republic, and one from Panama. The conversation first started out when I asked them how fast they threw. Almost all of them were in the 90s, with two throwing 98. It seemed like they were well-disciplined and welcoming of our group. I asked them if I was asking too many questions, and our translator told me that they didn’t mind at all. We chatted about how many games they played a week, which was five, and they have a summer league in which they play 50 games.

The game we came to watch was against the Astros. They ended up losing. I think it was 9 to 2, but it was a fun experience to watch them. We were also able to cheer and see some good plays. There was a home run or two and some good plays. They brought over a giant cooler full of water and sodas, and our translator made the comment that they had just made more Braves fans.

We explained to the pitching group that we were in town for ministry work and were lucky to come see them play. What was neat was that all of them had a verse on the back of their hats. I asked the Venezuelan players if their families were okay from the recent earthquake, and they were because they weren’t located near where the earthquake was. It was a fun time for all of us, and we had front-row seats for a good show. I’m sure someone we were talking to we will see on TV one day. I got the opportunity to pray for them right before we left, and the prayer briefly touched on a quick gospel presentation and let them know that many people think that money or idols bring them happiness, but true happiness only comes from the Lord. I prayed that they would continue to work hard in baseball and that they would have a rewarding career.

We had to head back to SCORE for lunch because we had an afternoon in downtown doing some small gift shopping. The lunch was amazing, as always. We went into downtown, and it was pretty crazy with the traffic. The whole trip, the running nickname for our driver was Vin Diesel. He is an awesome driver—very charismatic. He doesn’t speak English, but the way he beeps at every other car and motorcycle...he even cut the air off so we could make it up the mountain hill. Pretty fast driver, but safe. We were able to express a little bit of our gratitude for him on this trip.

We all got done shopping and then headed back to SCORE. On the way back, we got to pass by a lighthouse that was built in the early 1900s, a statue of Christopher Columbus, and some other sightseeing. After we got back to the mission training center, we realized that it was going to be the last time we saw most of our friends who were with us translating this week. We invited them to dinner with us at a really nice restaurant. Luckily, everybody was able to make it, and Josemi brought his wife and kids.

We had such great conversation over dinner, and it was a fun way to cap off the trip. We all had many reflections on the trip, and they were similar. The coolest thing, in my opinion, is the assembly of the group. We come from all different backgrounds, some from different churches and some from SCORE, but I know that God assembled us for a reason. He put the right group together, and we were able to all have an unforgettable time.

It was a sad moment when we realized that this was it, and we got to take pictures together and say our fun goodbyes. They all hope we come back sooner rather than later. Angel, one of our translators, specifically said that he almost didn’t work this week because he had some personal stuff going on, but he was so glad that he did and that he had a great time.

We exchanged our goodbyes with Jose and Angel once back at the mission training center. It was a bittersweet moment, and they know our desire to come back and continue the ministry where we left off. I do feel like we will be missed and that they enjoyed having us. Most of us, I’m assuming, feel the same way—that we don’t want to leave and that there’s more back here.

Thursday, June 25

Today we we woke up early to travel from Pendernales to the mission training center, which was a 5 hour drive. As we step out of the hotel. I saw a tsunami warning for the whole south coast of Dominican Republic. A couple of us were uneasy because for half of our journey that day, we would be staring out at the ocean. When I asked our translator about it, he laughed and said, "We are here this morning. You slept well last night. It’s okay." Come to find out the warning was at its peak when we were sleeping! Praise God that we didn’t have any issues and the bus ride back was uneventful. Once back at the mission training center, we had lunch and got to chat with some of the other folks of the mission training center. Josemi our main translator and missionary was excited to see his family. I messaged him and asked if he could let me know when they were going to arrive. I was able to meet his wife and two young kids. We had Argentina barbecue for dinner tonight, which helped supported a local pastor and his mission. He asked that we pray for his family and specifically is 22-year-old son Carlos who doesn’t know Jesus.

Later some of us went to a local coffee shop, got smoothies, and then headed to the beach. We had a few different people with us from the mission training center, so we were able to share some of the stories that we encountered this week, which was great to recap. Our stories encouraged them, as most of them were interns who serve a for a week rotation.

So let me tell you the story of the landfil... Earlier this week, our translator Josemi made the comment, "Man, I wish that I knew that y’all were a baseball team because I would’ve scheduled a tour of the Marlins facility here in Dominican Republic." He is the chaplain for the Marlins Dominican Republic team. I guess he has some connections with a friend who works at the Braves facility and he knows that most of our crew are Braves fans. On Tuesday he asked for names and ages because he had to get it cleared, and we didn’t find out until 8 PM tonight that we were going to get a chance to be able to meet with the players and watch them play a game. So on Wednesday, we decided that we would tell the youth since the plans were not concrete that instead of just relaxing the beach and going out to eat on Friday that we had another service project. We told them that we would be working at a local landfill and having to wear hazmat suits to clean up waste. The funny thing is that most of our youth willing to roll up their sleeves and actually do some work. One even commented that they were glad that we could do some more work here in the country. This morning, I let them know that the landfill was just a joke and that we were trying to plan something different for tomorrow, but they didn’t necessarily know what it was. So tonight we got to tell them what we’re actually doing — and they are super stoked.

I think it’s a testament of our group that we didn’t want a day of nothing. We would rather clean at the landfill and hazmat suits then go to the beach and market. And now they I’m sure we’re gonna have a fun day tomorrow and really cap off this week.

• Pray for those that we’ve impacted this week
• Pray for those that we were able to encourage this week
• Pray for those that are active missionaries in the DR
• Pray for our safety and opportunities to advance the gospel tomorrow.

Wednesday, June 24

Today marked our final day in Pedernales, and it was a busy, spirit-filled conclusion to our time here. Let me let the Cedar Rock youth tell you all about.

Morning VBS 
by Alayna M,, Kamden M,, Andrew M,, and Tyler S 

We left the hotel at 8:15 AM and headed to Rudy’s for breakfast before traveling to a local church for VBS. We were expecting a smaller crowd, but were thrilled to see around 150 kids show up! We started with music and performed our "Daniel and the Lions’ Den" skit to share the story across language barriers. Alaina and I (Alayna M) shared our testimonies, and we were even treated to a special dance routine by some of the local girls. Since we were short on supplies for the bead bracelets, we improvised by having a child wear different colored shirts (black, red, white, blue, green, and yellow) to walk the group through the gospel message. We finished the time with high-energy games like Simon Says and a "Moo Off," which the kids absolutely loved.

Community Lunch
by Andrew M.

After VBS, we headed back to Rudy’s for another delicious lunch. It was a great time for the team to fuel up and recharge before the afternoon activities.

Baseball Clinic and Games 
by Tyler S, Kamden M, Alayna M, Andrew M.

We headed to the local baseball fields to play a local baseball team. It was a fantastic way to connect with them, and we even had the unique honor of playing ball alongside the president of the community. They heard we were coming back to play so he brought his team. We played several games throughout the day at different fields against local teams who were older than us. The competition got a little spirited—there was some very "creative" scorekeeping from the locals—but it was all in good fun and filled with joy. We won one of our games 6-4, and Tyler S. and Andrew M. had the opportunity to share their testimony for a large group.

Reflections on the Community
by Jett H.

It has been really cool to witness how the people here in the Dominican Republic take such great care of their belongings and are so considerate of others' property. They are incredibly friendly and kindhearted. They find so much joy in the simple things, and it is a humbling reminder that things we often take for granted back in the US—like basic food and water—are truly gifts. Seeing their gratitude for everything they receive has been a powerful experience.

Closing Devotions and Reflections 
by Kamden M, and Andrew M.

After both games, we gathered everyone together to pray over the community and share a brief devotion. It was beautiful to see how joyful and helpful everyone was. You can truly feel God moving here; I know He is working in many hearts and faithfully watering the seeds that were planted this week.

Prayer Requests: 

• Pray for the hearts of the 150 children we met today, that the gospel message they heard stays with them. 
• Pray for the relationships we built with the community members and leadership, that these connections continue to bear fruit. Pray for safety and continued opportunities as we wrap up our time here. 
• Thank you all who made this possible! God continues to open doors. Your prayers are felt!

Tuesday, June 23

We left the hotel at 8:30 to go to the church for breakfast. After breakfast we hung out around at the church and with the kids. At about 10:30 we started VBS. For VBS we started out by singing a few songs. Then we did a skit of Daniel and the lions den. We had the translators translate and help us wrangle the kids. Then we made salvation bead bracelets with all the kids and explained what each bead meant, and explaining the bracelet communicated the gospel to them. Then Kamden shared his testimony with the kids. After that we played a relay race game and gave them snacks.

We ate lunch and the community came by to pick up our food bags we made for each family. We had 31 bags to distribute of essential foods. We were to hold a brief service with these families before we handed out the goods. We started with songs. 2 local girls asked if they could sing to Michael’s guitar (Goodness of God). John, Gage, Alaina H. shared their testimonies in front of them translated all seemed to listen well. Michael preached a quick sermon laying out the gospel in a very clear manner. Our translator also felt led to follow with a brief message. We led worship singing gratitude after. We then handed out the bags one by one, and every single one of us was to pray over each family. With 31 we were all able to be included.

A funny story: Alaina H. mentioned that she doesn’t necessarily enjoy praying in front of people, but realized they couldn’t understand English. After she finished with her prayer the young lady said thank you in a clear English way. It made her laugh! In addition I was able to explain the gospel to another gentlemen and shared my testimony. He was very responsive and I walked him through how to accept Christ. I asked if we could pray together and he said not today, but he still allowed me to pray over him so I prayed that he reads the testimony and that God moves within him to the point of salvation. I didn’t realize at the time, but later that night Angela mentioned that there were two other young men listening to me share the gospel with him so many seeds were planted during that time.

We had some time to kill before dinner and we were tempted to rest, but God called us to explore. At first we wanted to go to the Haiti border, but once on the bus the bus driver said he didn’t have enough gas or time before dinner, so we decided to hit the lagoon. God planned this as we pulled up there was a group of adults around 18-50 years old playing softball. We knew we were at the right place. Our translated talked to them and they wanted to play us in a game of softball. They allowed us to use their gloves when in the field. I think they weren’t expecting us to be that good. We went up at least 6-2 at one point. It started to become a spectacle all the locals came and were watching. They were recording us playing verse them. Giving each other a hard time for us playing good ball. They switched balls to a brand new one, tried multiple different players until they found their crew that could beat us. We ended up losing 20-10, but we put on a show and put up a fight. Our translator was able to gather everyone together when we were done to pray. Jett led the group in prayer and they were appreciative of us. We had a brief conversation through the translator and said how much we enjoyed it and thanked them for welcoming us. They wanted us to keep playing!! Our translator exchanged numbers and I’m sure we will be playing game 2 tomorrow. We are also going to bring some of our gear that was donated to leave with them.

Dinner and back at the hotel to recap. Another awesome day advancing the gospel.

• Pray for continued opportunities and safety tomorrow. 
• We hope that we continue to have God moments and sow seeds. 
• Thank you all who made this possible! Know we are taking advantage of every opportunity to share the gospel, and even in our down time we are able to find opportunities.

 

Monday, June 22

After an exciting first day, we got to finally catch up on some sleep. We departed out hotel around 9:30am. God answered prayers today. We had the opportunity to have some gospel conversations and show the love of Christ through out actions.

The assignment and part of our raised funds were used to build a wall in front of Rudy's church and in front of the AC units. When we showed up there was a local hired crew working on the block wall. Initially I assumed we may just need to stay out of the way, but our youth and adults were eager to jump In. It just so happened that the road the church is on was getting some work done too.

The road crew had extra sand that we were able to use so we were able to level out the entire front of the church. We spread the old debris pile and also placed the sand on top to smooth it out. We made an impact not just on the church, but the on the crews — who witnessed our love for Christ and desire to do hard manual labor to serve the church.

It was hot outside, and on a local run to the gas station we picked up Gatorades for the entire crew including the road worker. He also decided to join the effort in helping smooth out the newly laid sand using their road equipment and also rolled and leveled the driveway.

It was mentioned tonight the impact we made today and our display of love for the church will hopefully encourage one of those working to attend Rudy's church. The kind of love we showed was contagious and I'm sure left questions with those who saw us hard at work.

I joined another group going to a local pharmacy. We were putting together 20 hygiene bags for the community of Juancho with whom we worshiped last night. The first stop we were able to get enough for 10, but we decided to go to another local pharmacy. We stopped at 2 who didn't have enough and we almost went back to the church with just 10 but at the last stop they mentioned another place that was right down the street. Once we arrived 2 of us wanted to take a quick stroll through the town just to sight see. We ran into a gentleman Peter Emanuel as in the picture. I immediately struck up a broken Spanish conversation with him. We exchanged names and information about our families, we both have 4 kids so connected about that and their ages. I asked him in my broken Spanish if he went to church and it was hard to tell his exact response looked like a yes from the expressions but I felt like there was more to the story. I went to the bus to grab my testimony I have printed out and he read through it word for word. At this time our translator was done purchasing the supplies so I asked if he would come over there with a minute.

I found out He was a believer but has since walked away from his faith because he felt like he was trying to be perfect one day and choose sin the next day. He didn't feel good about It and it turned him away from the church because he felt expected to be perfect. I shared my testimony, prayed with him, gave him an espanol Bible. My testimony and the prayer was compelling to him to consider fully trusting in Jesus. He welcomed that we would be praying for him and was very grateful for our time walking him through prayer. We invited him to come out and play baseball with us on Wednesday so I look forward to reconnecting with him.

Once back at the church we had dinner and were able to deliver the goody bags, once again displaying the love of Christ. A ton of kids and adults were in the street when we pulled up. We can tell that these locals are left with questions of why we would travel all this way and not be at a resort or on vacation, but working and giving, helping the communities. We concluded on the rooftop terrace of our hotel and singing loud enough the neighbors would hear.

 

Sunday, June 21

It was a full day in the DR! We drove the coast to Pedernales — it was beautiful scenery. I was most amazed by the way God was moving in the worship service with locals from the DR. We didn't understand the music, but it was so impactful. This small town church was jamming out and they were the light in the community. I encouraged them to continue the work and what a blessing it is that they are allowed to worship so openly. I also added that we would get complaints from our neighbors if we rocked our church out like they did. Just amazing. Most people in thay small town heard us whether they wanted to or not.

Some highlights from the day: 

• The team spent time praying over people,
• Sean lead the sermon, a message on Matthew 5:14-16.
• Tony shared his testimony in front of the congregation.
• Jett on the spot volunteered to share his testimony.

Ways to pray:

• Pray for Hector and his ministry and Rudy. They both seemed to emphasize that it is hard work, but I was able to encourage them that they are reaching so many and raising future generations
• The team is tired in all the best ways! Pray for endurance as they continue their ministry in this area.
• Pray for the people in the community they served. Pray that God would work to draw more people to himself!

Saturday, June 20

It's 8pm the night before our 6am flight out of RDU and we all get an alert that our flight was canceled. I immediately contacted the airline to see of any possible alternatives to just settling for arriving on the 21st. We were able to find a flight, but it originated out of Charlotte. On the fly everyone made earlier arrangements to arrive at Rock Springs at Midnight and gracious volunteers blessed us with a drive to Charlotte. We made our flights and connection to the DR. It was most of our youths first time being on an airplane and it was so fun to watch. All of them did great and most of us got in some sort of rest.

Once we arrived we had a 30 minute bus ride to the mission training center. We had a brief orientation and then our youth wanted to explore! We grabbed a local intern who lead us to the beach. We crossed a 4 lane highway, walked some strange backroads, hopped over a broken concrete wall, through a pile of trash and onto a clear path to the ocean. We were able to take in a couple deep breaths of fresh ocean air and soak in some of the local culture. We returned to the MTC and had a nice local dinner. Our youth had an opportunity to play a game of street soccer with some local elementary aged kids who live close by. They didn't speak English, but they were able to connect with them through sports and they were able to display the love of Christ through them.

Please pray for us as we travel tomorrow to Pedernales. Pray that we are able to have gospel conversations and share the love of Christ. We will have 2 translators with us tomorrow and attending an evening service.

Thank you to everyone who made this trip possible! See some pictures below from day one!