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Dominican Republic Trip- Day 17

August 6, 2011 by admin

It was bittersweet to leave the Dominican Republic. It was sad because I would be leaving Brad and his team, who I have really had an opportunity to get to know over the last few weeks. It was sweet because I am ready to be home to friends, family, and my students!

Saturday ended up being a lot longer day than expected when my flight from Miami to Birmingham was cancelled due to a pilot calling in sick. It was very frustrating to be so close to home yet stuck knowing that I had been only minutes away from seeing family at the airport. However, God provided a hotel for the night and two free meal passes before my flight on Sunday morning.

This trip to the Dominican Republic has been an amazing experience that is truly hard to put into words. I feel like God used me to minister to people and that He also ministered to me in the process. I will walk away from this trip knowing that God is at work in the Dominican Republic and that I was truly blessed to be able to spend 17 days as a part of that great work!

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Dominican Republic Trip- Day 16

August 5, 2011 by admin

Today has been the first day that I have not had many activities planned. It was nice to be able to spend some time catching up with Brad and on sleep. This trip has been amazing but extremely busy. It was nice to be able to relax.

Tonight, we went to Sosua, which is a town close to Puerto Plata that has a large gringo (Spanish term for a white person) population to an American restaurant. It was nice to be able to have food that was a taste of home.

In Sosua, I was able to see more of the brokenness here in the Dominican Republic. In the restaurant where we ate, there was a man in his late 70s to early 80s who was with a prostitute who could not have been any older than 20.

In walking down the street to go to the restaurant, I passed by many restaurants that were full of prostitutes. These girls work for the restaurants and can be purchased just like an appetizer. It is saddening to think that these girls are working in this industry because it is the only job they can get that will help them to put food on their tables.

It breaks my heart to see the brokenness and the hurt that goes on in a society where prostitution is legal. So many tourists come to the Dominican Republic just to participate in this industry. The depth of depravity in some areas is eye opening. These are girls who are hurting and broken and desperately need the gospel!

I hope and pray that God would open the eyes of the church to the needs and brokenness around the world. May we not hide in our comfortable church buildings sheltered from the outside world that so desperately needs the transformational power of the gospel!

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Dominican Republic Trip- Day 15

August 4, 2011 by admin

Tropical Storm Emily was not as bad as I had imagined it being last night. There were just some strong winds early this morning. There has not been power at Brad’s house for most of the day. One thing that they do in the Dominican Republic is that they have selected blackouts in certain communities. It doesn’t matter that you pay your bill. They will just turn the power off for a time. The times that this has happened previously on my trip, it has only been for a few minutes. This time it has been off for several hours. It is aggravating because with no power we have no fans or running water. Therefore, I am hot and sweaty and cannot take a shower. This is another business practice in the Dominican Republic that does not make any sense to me. After about 14 hours, the power decided to come back on.

This morning, I had the opportunity to preach at the Cristo Transforma Drug Recovery Center. I was able to go with one of Brad’s translators, who has been through the program. It was neat to get a tour from him of the facility. There were about 20 men in the facility, who came to the service today.

The service began with a time of worship. My translator was explaining to me that the songs were songs of praise to God for deliverance and rescue from sin. It was clear from the looks on the men’s faces that they had known what it was like to be lost in sin apart from God. The joy from their hearts made it clear that they knew what it means to be rescued.

The text that the Lord gave me to share was John 15 . I was able to encourage these brothers to continue to abide in Christ and let the Holy Spirit continue to work in their lives. I reminded them that God is in the business of taking broken people, picking them up, and making them trophies of God’s grace. It was truly a blessing to be able to share with them!

Due to uncertainties with Tropical Storm Emily, I am likely to not take my trip to explore the colonial district in Santo Domingo. This is going to work out better because being here from the storm allowed me to be able to share at Cristo Transforma. Brad’s team member was approved for his visa so it is exciting to know that he will be able to visit the United States in the coming days!

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Dominican Republic Trip- Day 14

August 3, 2011 by admin
Today has been a day to experience the cultural differences of life in the Dominican Republic. Brad’s project for the day was to work on getting paperwork and necessary items completed so that he can go with one of his team members to the United States Embassy in Santo Domingo to apply for a visa to travel to the United States.

It has been a very interesting process to be able to experience. Businesses in the Dominican Republic have no concept of efficiency. Therefore, everything takes forever. Today, we began by working through the visa application with Brad’s team member. This was the most ridiculous application that I have ever seen. The United States government has added a terror/safety threat section. This includes scores of “yes or no” questions, which ask things like:
- Have you ever actively participated in an act of genocide?
- Do you have leprosy?
- Do you manufacture bombs?
- Are you a spy for a terrorist organization?
The questions were humorous because what person who wanted to do such things would select “yes” on a question. A ‘yes” on any of these questions would be an immediate denial of the application for a visa to the United States.

We also went to a bank. It was amazing to me how long it took to get someone to help us at the bank. When we arrived, there was one person in front of us. It still took us 25 minutes to see a teller. The lack of efficiency in business is merely a reflection of a more relational culture. This is a cultural difference that can easily drive a time-driven American like me crazy.

I was planning on going to Santo Domingo tonight to further explore the colonial district tomorrow, but the rain and unforeseen weather due to Tropical Storm Emily is keeping me in Puerto Plata.

Staying in Puerto Plata while Brad goes to Santo Domingo is going to give me an opportunity to preach at the Cristo Transforma, the drug and alcohol rehab center here in Puerto Plata. Brad leads a weekly Bible study for the men in this program. It will be a great opportunity to share with them. We will be studying John 15 and looking at the fact that spiritual change comes through the work of the Holy Spirit in us as we are connected to the vine.

The trip is beginning to feel long. The more conversations that I have with students, friends, and family at home, the more I look forward to the opportunity to be serving back in my church and with my students. This trip has just been further confirmation to me that God has called me to student ministry. The ministry experiences that I have had in the Dominican Republic have been amazing! They are things that I will remember for the rest of my life, but I know where my heart remains. I look forward to being home soon.
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Dominican Republic Trip- Day 13

August 2, 2011 by admin

Tonight, I preached at another pastor from the pastors’ conference’s church. Pastor Ricardo’s church is a Reformed church that is located in the community where the first Jurassic Park movie was filmed. I really enjoyed the service. It was great to see a congregation that is passionate about worship. God moved powerfully through the message! It was clear from the looks on people’s faces that they were connecting to what I was trying to say. It is great to see God at work through His Word!

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Dominican Republic Trip- Day 12

August 1, 2011 by admin

Today was a laid back day. I got to spend my day with a team from Louisiana, who is here to do an evangelistic baseball camp in two different communities. We began the day by going to visit the food and souvenir markets. It is interesting to me how different the food market was to the places where I would buy food at home.

In the afternoon, I went with the team to the championship game of the baseball camp. This was a double-header between the teams at the two camps. It is amazing the baseball skills of these high school students. Brad said that the New York Yankees have an agent who is based here in Puerto Plata to sign possible talent. It was great to see the joy on the high school students faces as they got to put into practice the things that they had learned during the baseball camp.

The camp ended by the team presenting the gospel. Over the course of the camp, God moved the hearts of 13 students to respond to the gospel. God is clearly at work! After the game and gospel presentation, we took both teams out to eat pizza. It was a great time of fellowship for them and a great way to end the camp.

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Dominican Republic Trip- Day 11

July 31, 2011 by admin

Today, I had the opportunity to preach at two different churches. It is Father’s Day here in the Dominican Republic. I am preaching on Luke 15 and the story of the prodigal son. It is a blessing to point people to the perfect Heavenly Father in the midst of a culture with paternal absence. On the way to preach this morning, I passed the prison. Outside of the prison was a long line of people with gifts to give their fathers for Father’s Day. It is sad to think about what those families must be going through.

The first church where I preached was a non-denominational church that is led by Blanco, one of the pastors who attended the pastors’ conference. The church met in a brick building with no windows, door, or air conditioning. People sat in plastic chairs. The service began with children leading the church in worship. It was great to see the kids singing songs of praise to God.

The sermon went well. It was a blessing to be able to have the same translator that I had for the pastors’ conference. We are getting comfortable with each other, which makes translation easier. It was great to be able to be a part of this church service and to serve Pastor Blanco and his church.

This evening, I preached at Jacobo’s church, which is Church of Christ. He is one also one of the pastors from the pastors’ conference. This church was unlike anything that I had ever experienced before.

Before arriving at the church, Brad informed me that it was likely to be a 2 ½ hour service. I could not even imagine what a church would do for that long of a service. The service began at 7 PM with lots of singing. There was congregational singing for an hour. This was followed by a time where individuals could come and share a song that the Lord had laid on their heart. This time lasted 30 to 45 minutes. Then, it was time for me to preach.

The sermon went well. This was a charismatic congregation in that they would dance and clap enthusiastically in worship. They would also respond with “Amen” and applause at the high points of the sermon. It is always a blessing to preach when you know that people are connecting to what you are saying and are being moved by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word.

This church is in Augas Negras, which is one of the worst areas that Brad works. He ended the service by encouraging them to be lights in the midst of the darkness pointing people to Jesus. It has been a great experience to be in these different churches! God is moving around the world through His church, and it is a blessing to be able to see how different and beautiful His work looks in different places!

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Dominican Republic Trip- Day 10

July 30, 2011 by admin

The second day of the pastors’ conference went well like the first. The day began with a session on the importance of dependence on the Holy Spirit in the Christian life and ministry. This was grounded in John 15 where Jesus gives the parable of the vine and the branches.

This was a great session that was challenging and flies in the face of both the American and Dominican way of approaching church and ministry. We ended the session by having pastors spend time in prayer for each other that they would grow deeper in their relationships with God.

The fourth and final session was on the importance of preaching the truth from the Word. One of the things that I was trying to drive home with pastors was that the Word should be central in our Christian lives and ministries. This was practically taught by doing multiple exercises where the pastors would have to write the ideas of the text in their notebook and through praying topics directly from texts. The idea of exegetical, generating from the text, preaching and praying through scripture are foreign concepts to the pastors here.

To show the pastors exegetical preaching, I taught a sermon entirely from Ephesians 2:1-10 . This was a great opportunity to review with the pastors the importance of the gospel message. The session ended by having the pastors read through Colossians 1:15-20 and write down characteristics of Christ from the text. We then ended the session by spending some time in prayer to praise Jesus for being all of the things that Colossians describes Him to be.

The original plan was to do two more teaching sessions, but after starting the conference, I began to feel the Holy Spirit leading me in another direction. It was important to me that the pastors build community with each other so that they will be able to hold each other accountable and encourage each other.

There was a swimming pool at the hotel. Many of these Haitian pastors had never been in a swimming pool before. It was very entertaining to watch the pastors enjoy the pool. They were all hesitant to get in the pool at first, but once they got in, they were splashing each other and laughing. There was a time of bonding that happened in the pool and through the relationships that were built through this special moment together.

After lunch, we had a time of worship and prayer. Different pastors led different songs in Creole for our worship time. This was a very special moment. It always amazes me to listen to people worship God in another language. I wanted to make sure that we ended the conference in a specific time of intentional prayer. This time of prayer was based out of Ephesians 3:14-21 .

During the prayer time, Brad and I washed the pastors’ feet as a picture of service to them and their ministries. While we were washing a pastor’s feet, the other pastors prayed a prayer for the person based on Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3 . Then, the pastor shared a specific prayer need, and we prayed again for that need. This was a very special time for the pastors and me.

It was amazing to see the transformation that took place in the relationships between the pastors over the course of the conference. At the beginning of the conference, they were quiet and distant from each other. By the end of the conference, they had all become friends and had made a commitment to pray for each other and encourage each other. It is amazing to see what God can do in the hearts of His people in just a few hours!

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Dominican Republic Trip- Day 9

July 29, 2011 by admin

Today has been a day of final preparation for the pastors’ conference, which starts tonight. I spent the majority of the morning working on writing session transcripts. It is difficult because I am not very familiar with the cultural context and cannot picture in my head how it is going to work.

I had the privilege of meeting with my translator for about 2 hours working on the material for tonight. He has been very helpful, and it was great to be able to explain passages to him as we worked through them for the conference.

We began the conference by meeting the pastors at a restaurant for dinner. In typical Dominican style, this did not begin on time. The dinner was interesting. Brad had to leave to go get another pastor as soon as the majority of the pastors arrived. Brad is the one person at the table that all of the pastors knew. This created some awkward silence. It was interesting to watch these pastors make small talk with people that they did not know.

After dinner, we took the pastors to a local hotel where we would be staying for the conference and having the sessions. We ended up having 5 Haitian pastors come to the conference.

I was really nervous about leading the pastors’ conference. I am younger than all of the pastors and am not very familiar with their ministry context. In attempting to select session topics, I was looking for issues and texts that would have a universal application. After reflecting on the conference, I think that the Holy Spirit led me to topics that were both thought provoking and helpful. It was truly and honor and a privilege to have this opportunity!

In the first session, we looked at the ministry of presence. This is the idea of being there for someone who is in need. I began the session by discussing the fact that there are times in our lives and ministries when we know that God is in control and has a plan, but in those dark times, it is hard to see that plan. I shared that we often want to have answers for a hurting person or family, but many times, there are no answers to give. This is why the ministry of presence is important. There are times where we must simply be present with the hurting and show them Christ’s love through us.

The ministry of presence was discussed using John 11 , which is the story of Lazarus’ death. This is one of my favorite passages. In John 11:35 , Jesus chooses to weep with Lazarus’ family. This is ironic because Jesus knows that He is going to raise Lazarus from the dead. Jesus chooses to weep because He weeps with the hurting family. We worship a God who weeps with the hurting.

The first session concluded with a discussion of how God had used these pastors to display a ministry of presence with their people. We also discussed practical ways that pastors could be present for there people. We ended the session in prayer for people we knew that were hurting in our own ministries.

After a short break, we began the second session. In the session, we discussed Ephesians 4 : 11-16 and the importance of equipping others for ministry. I began by describing ministry as hard work and something that you cannot do on your own.

We were able to discuss the importance of seeing Christ as the head of your church. I encouraged the pastors that in order to be a leader in the church, you must first be a follower of Christ. It is Christ’s church working for Christ’s glory. Pastors are just stewards of the gifts and power of God.

The discussion in the second session was much more involved as pastors shared practical ways to get church members involved in leading in the church and in church services. I think that the pastors left the session with some important leadership lessons and practical ideas. The session ended with prayer. I had the pastors pair up in twos to pray for each other regarding God giving them wisdom in equipping others for ministry work.

The evening ended in an unexpected way. As pastors were beginning to go to their rooms, they started singing about the joy in their hearts through a hymn. It was amazing to see God beginning to build a community between these pastors. The pastor’s conference ended at 1 AM, and I was exhausted.

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Dominican Republic Trip- Day 8 (Compassion International Trip)

July 28, 2011 by admin

Today was the most amazing day of my trip so far! I was able to go and visit Benjamin, the 17-year-old student that I have been sponsoring through Compassion International for the last two years. It is really difficult to put the experience into words, but I will try.

The day began with an early, four-hour bus ride from Santo Domingo to Barahona. We met our Compassion International translator in Santo Domingo to make the trip with us. I was very excited the entire bus ride. I had barely slept the night be for in anticipation of meeting Benjamin.

When we arrived in Barahona, the pastor, whose church sponsors the Compassion International program, met us at the bus station. We traveled with him to the Compassion project site. It was great to see almost every person that we passed waving at the pastor. It is clear that he has been able to touch many lives in the community.

When we arrived at the site, there was a guy sitting on a bench outside of the Compassion International center. I opened my wallet to look at the picture of Benjamin that I keep there. I was almost sure that it was him, but it was hard to tell because the picture that I have is almost a year old. When we approached the center, I shook the guy’s hand and attempted to greet him in what little Spanish I know.

A moment or two later, the Compassion International project director introduced the guy on the bench to me. It was indeed Benjamin. My heart started beating in my chest. The student who I have had the privilege to write, to sponsor, and to pray for was now standing before me. The request that Benjamin had made to me almost a year ago in a letter to come and visit him had finally come true. This was a moment that I had imagined but always wondered if it would become a reality.

Benjamin and I were able to spend about four hours together. These hours consisted of touring the Compassion International project, visiting Benjamin’s family and home, seeing Benjamin’s school and the court where he plays on the school basketball team, and seeing Benjamin’s work. We ended the day out to lunch at a Dominican restaurant with Benjamin and the Compassion International staff.

At the beginning of the day, Benjamin was quiet and struggled to talk. I think that he was in shock because this day was a reality. In talking to Brad about his response, Brad said that it would be like me meeting my scholarship donors from UAB. It is a time where you are thankful for what someone has done for you and your family but you find it hard to put into words.

Throughout the day, Benjamin began to get more comfortable with me. It was a blessing to be able to watch eyes light up as I distributed gifts to Benjamin and his family. The little kids in the family quickly devoured the Gobstoppers and other candy that I had brought.

At the end of the day, Benjamin expressed his thankfulness and gratitude for my visit and investment it him. It is truly a blessing to be able to have the resources to invest in him. After my visit, I feel like I know how to more effectively write to and pray for Benjamin.

It was great to be able to see the work of Compassion International first hand. I have had the privilege of serving as a Child Advocate for Compassion International for a year. After experiencing what happens through Compassion in a project, I believe that God is using them to do incredible work. This will be a moment that I will remember for the rest of my life.

The day ended with another 8 hours on the bus back to Puerto Plata. As I rode, I could not stop thinking of the experience that I had. God truly works with resources surrendered to Him in amazing ways that only He could orchestrate. I am privileged that God allowed me to be used in the life of Benjamin and his family!

God can use you to help release a child from poverty in Jesus’ name through Compassion International. For more information on sponsoring a child, please visit click here.

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