Basketball and Clean Feet

Well, yesterday I had a great experience here in the D.R. I went in the morning with a team to translate for a basketball clinic in Santo Domingo. I was partnered up with a girl who used to play basketball for the University of Southern California. She taught the kids some useful dribbling skills that they could practice even when we weren't there. There were also stations that worked on passing and shooting. Afterwards, we shared the gospel with them. Then, in the afternoon, I went to a church service in a village called Honduras. The service was great. We sang some familiar songs--although in Spanish and then listened to a message about serving others and how this is a perfect way to show others our love for Christ. In Matthew, we read about Jesus and how he was so humble that he washed the feet of his disciples even though he is Lord. Then, the group that we were with washed the feet of all of the adults and children in the church. It was awesome! While some washed, others prayed. I didn't get to wash anyone's feet, but I did get to pray over some. It was a very overwhelming experience -- one that I will never forget.

Irresistible God!

Well, unbelievably, it is my last week of my one-month trip to the Dominican and I haven't written on my blog since my first week. While I will attempt to let you understand what I have experienced on my trip, please know that whatever I say will not do justice to the experiences that I have had while here. During my second week in the DR, I was with a church group from Ohio. Similar to the first church group that was here from Tenessee during my first week, we visited local villages of haitians and dominicans and shared the gospel with them. Unlike the first group though, we had the opportunity to go to the same village each day. The village was called Dos Hermanas (two sisters). As I am one who believes in relational experiences, I loved the idea of working with the same village the whole week. By the end of that week, around 30 or 40 people accepted Christ into their hearts. It was such an awesome experience for me. (See, since I was able to speak Spanish, they had about 20 girls who had raised their hands saying they wanted to accept Christ to me and I asked them if they understood who Jesus was and why he died on the cross. After they explained their understanding, we prayed a prayer to the Lord asking for forgiveness of sins and they dedicated their lives to Christ. It was definitely one of the coolest experiences that I have had thus far. That day 20 girls accepted Christ (including one girl, who at the age of 3, very obviously and passionately expressed her belief in Jesus). Sometimes we discount what their little minds can understand, but she got it. CRAZY!

The following week, I traveled with a softball group which was composed of girls from Atlanta (Woodward Academy), Tennessee and North Carolina. The two coaches were former pitchers for UGA and UF. The girls were full of spirit and energy and it brought back memories of playing softball. Of the group of 20 or so girls, about half did not have a relationship with Christ, and by the end of the week, they all became saved -- expressing their belief in Him, desire to know Him and repent of their sins. Two girls caught my attention the most. Somehow, they felt close enough to me to want to talk to me about how they didn't believe, yet were burdened by the fact that they didn't have a desire to know Him. So, over the next two nights, they talked to me and we talked about what it meant to have a relationship with Christ and about the importance of prayer and reading the Bible... We prayed, talked, cried... The next night, actually the last night they were there, they accepted Christ. It was such a cool experience for God to work through me to get to them. One of the girls was from Tennessee. She didn't have a Bible and often complained that on the few occassions that she had tried to read it, she just didn't understand. On the morning that she was leaving, I gave her mine. You see, I had a student study Bible. I never understood why 4 years ago I had bought it. I liked the Bible, but it pointed to a lot of things that would affect teenagers and not me. I had my favorite verses underlined and I knew that God had allowed me to buy and read and underline that Bible so that on that day I could give it to her.

It's amazing how God works. We don't have a clue what he is doing, but later we are able to see His working hand! Oh what an awesome God we serve.

So let your light shine

It has been a wonderful week. After arriving in the Dominican Republic on July 1st, I spent one week with a team from Washington Avenue Baptist Church in Tennessee. It was a small group of 8-12 graders and we spent the week going to sugar cane villages (or bateys) in the area. We spent about 2 hours each day playing with the kids in the hot sun. Then, the group would perform skits for them and then explain the gospel and the importance of having a relationship with Christ, and each of them also gave their testimonies. (Imagine being 13 and understanding your committment to Christ enough to share it with complete strangers! What amazing kids they are!) Their skits were so awesome! There was one that was based on Matthew 13 and the parable of the seeds. I long so much to have the good soil. If you haven't read that in a while, you should. In the book that I am reading, Crazy Love, the author talks about how many Christians assume that they have good soil, but that in reality many of us have soil full of thorns meaning that we fall to temptation easily -- wanting to have Christ and the things of the world at the same time. The truth is, though, that we only need Christ. The things of this world don't matter. The second skit was one with a chain where death had a man bound. Jesus kept trying to free the man, but he rejected Him over and over again. Instead, he tried to get help from money, from sports, from love... and nothing worked. Finally, he surrendered to Christ and He freed him. What a great message! This week, I helped feed a village for a week, translated for people who don't speak Spanish and served teams from all over the United States as they come here to serve the less fortunate. I leave today a link for a ministry called Gloves for God. This ministry is out of Woodstock Georgia and the people involved collect money and used gloves, repair them and then bring them to the Dominican Republic and give them to kids who may need them. Today, I watched a baseball game and then listened to the gospel being shared with the teams. Gloves for God is an awesome ministry! You should check it out! http://www.gloves4god.org/. From all of the experiences and conversations that I have had this week, in combination with the relationships that I have built, I have learned so much. I hope to grow in my desire to be bold in my faith and love on those around me. Lastly, I have truly enjoyed being around everyone that I have met this week. Whether that be kids from a team, youth pastors, missionaries, parents or new friends, I am truly blessed. My verse for the week that I have been holding tight to comes from Matthew 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world - like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket, instead, a lamp is placed on a stand where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let yor good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly father." So let your light shine!